ASHLEIGH.
Her eyes were anxious. I was ushered to the carriage. I didn't even know the servant's name, but I followed him. I took another glance to the man and failed to even ask his name. I squealed as I was pushed inside the carriage, I looked around the interior.
It was a celestial craftsmanship. It is a vehicle that seemed as though woven as a fabric from the sky. It was carved for ancient, polished wood. I admired the cushion I was sitting on before my servant come inside. Or was it the title I should supposed to give her?
"My Goddess, you've been missing in the Golden Dinner! They were all looking for you! I thought you're in your chamber!" She was scolding me. I was clueless, and just looked at her features. Her face was beautiful, marked by the signs of quiet admiration and a trace of weariness. Her clothing seemed fine, too.
"And you haven't changed!" she squealed.
The carriage moved with a steady grace, gliding at the earth, rather than rolling on wheels. A single small window adorned one side of the carriage. It was shaped like a crescent moon, and there was a sculpture embedded on it. I got puzzled, touched it, and it was a carved shield and sword. The glass was not the normal transparent one that I know, but it was an enchanted surface shimmering with pearlescent glow.
I gazed outside, and I am sure that I think that I can see the forest and the wild beyond, but I gasped. The world outside was blurred, and it's similar to a portal of realm between the worlds. It was like the divine realm has come alive in my eyes. My eyes glowed as I saw the sea of clouds, as if I'm seeing the night sky beyond, both the present and the future meeting at each other.
The carriage was a sanctuary of comfort. It was draped in silks and velvets. The air also smelled like jasmines. I looked back at the window again. Then, I realized, that Ashleigh is living the world of Devi, a goddess suspended between the two worlds.
"My Goddess, My Goddess! Devi!" I heard a shout right in my ear, so I came back to my reverie and jumped in my seat. I turned to her while holding my chest. I got afraid that my thoughts were transferred to another mind, but that wasn't the case.
"Devi, are you sure... you are well? Your face looked like you're drained of blood..."
I swatted her worried hand advancing towards me. I don't think it was even important for me to receive her worry. I looked around the carriage and pointed at somewhere nonsense, and asked, "What are those? Why I have curtains of this kind? I mean, who had curtains that has shield and sword embossed in the fine cloth?"
As soon as it come out of my mouth, I regretted those words. I don't think it's a good question. It will just bore the bewilderment out of this servant. I don't even know her name, and yet, I'm confusing everyone around me. My servant's eyebrows creased, nearly connecting the two lines together.
"What did God Abraxas do to you? Oh my! This is not good! We have to hurry!"
Her hand trembled slightly as a mist emerged. It was a whisper of ethereal, similar to a smoke dancing. A silent word, and her gaze looked at the front, and the mist carefully carry the message, from the breath of her thoughts. Wow. I was... surprised. Is that what people do here? What in the world am I?
"Go faster," she whispered. The mist spread along the air and went out of the window. I was just looking at it and after a few seconds, the carriage surged forward through the sky. The wheels spun like the wind of the heavens. I don't have any control with my body, so I had to take a hold of myself down the cushion, while the servant had a questioning look on my face.
I don't care about her. I had to hold myself or I'll be flopping my body to the window and I'll be dead for good. And who the hell is Abraxas? I heard it from her. It was surely a man's name, but who knows. Maybe he's the one who is naked on top, the one who tried to kiss me, and the one who put me suspended behind the walls.
I will never forget that man, if he really has that name.
The vibrant blue sky faded into darker shades, accompanied by ominous clouds. It parted shortly before the carriage, and when I looked out of the window, it revealed a towering silhouette of a castle looming in the distance. A castle... again?
"My Goddess, you're acting really strange. Did something happen when you're at Abraxas castle?"
Her voice was soft, but I can't even answer her the way she does. I just looked at her, and I still find it difficult to form any words. I felt the carriage descended swiftly, slowing down as they approached the castle's old gates. It landed without a noise, the wheels gliding to a perfect halt upon the cobble stones of the courtyard.
After we arrived, the silence fell. The footman's boot clicking sharply as he approached the door. The horses breath come in snorts as they stomped their hooves. There was a lock unhinging, and with a low groan, the carriage door opened. The door swung wide, and behind her, was the darkness of the night.
The servant turned to me and said, "I'll be the first one to come out. I'll guide you, My Goddess."
She hitched the long dress up and went out with the footman's guide. I was hesitant to come out, but I needed to. I was afraid they can see through me. And I think they do. I looked at my nightgown, and it's just ending above my ankles. I went down along with my servant.
"We're already in your castle. And everyone has left the Golden Dinner. I wished they're not talking behind the clouds." Behind the clouds? What is she saying? The servant gestured for me to come at the gates, and since I was new to this place, my gaze fixed upon the towering walls for the first time. The servant hitched my nightgown and swiftly turn me towards her.
I creased my eyebrows and tried to wriggle out. But she held me tight. Her eyes bored towards me.
I was so deceived by that pupils. I don't think I can even move with her heated stare.
"You shouldn't be seen after the clouds had covered the moon. And yet, you are still wandering around, My Goddess," she threatened. Or was it even a threat? She ushered me inside. But before we even reached the gates, it was that thing again. That teleporter thing.
It was a shuddering breath held too long. It is a brief and infinite pause between the two worlds. On an instant, the air around is thick and heavy. The time folded, and the space around us seemed to twist. Familiar sounds and sights melted away. The world itself was being rewound and erased.
I just closed my eyes, as I was swallowed in the weightless, disembodied sensation.
Then, with a snap, the ground beneath our feet felt solid. I had to close my eyes tightly because I am afraid that I might get dizzy and fall back into the entirety of the universe. Lingering up my spine, it was an electric shock that shot up through my veins. Blinked and disoriented, the world fully solidified in my eyes.
Inside the castle, the air was ominous. There was a scent of iron, sweat, and crushed stone. A vast hall where she was standing right now has truly... commanded reverence.
"Wowwww. How big this is?" I was in awe that I don't even realize that the servant behind me crossed her arms over her chest, and a death glare exuded towards me. I pursed my lips after I admired the ceilings soaring above me. It was lost in a thick mist. It looked really magical, and it seemed to swirl in response to every breath.
"My Goddess, turn around and face my inquisitive thoughts."
It felt like an order, so I had to get away from admiring the castle and beyond and towards the snake-like physique of her eyes.
"You are acting strange. From the moment I approached you..." She took a step forward towards me.
"You doesn't seem like the Goddess of War. Are you really... my Goddess?"
Does having another structure of the pupils were enough to put me in harm? Can she do something towards me if I answered that I am... what? The Goddess of War?
"Goddess of... War," I even paused a little. She was about to advance towards me and touch my head when a voice roared in the staircase.
"I think you should stop, Atelier, for shoving your business under her nose."