As they got closer to the second row of gates, the atmosphere seemed to become more peaceful than before. The gates were wide open, with a few more soldiers guarding it, but they seemed to mind their own business, only eyeing the two as they passed by them.
Up close, the castle seemed somewhat less intimidating, with flowers growing on the walls around the entrance to what seemed to the castle. A blonde maid with short hair came over, dressed in the usual black and white maid attire. She made a small, polite bow, before stopping in front of them. "Welcome to the Castle de'Elleh! You're here for the ball, am I right?"
"Yes, we are." Ili responded, returning the smile "We were invited by the lord."
"I see... Well, I apologise, but the lord is away on a hunting trip at the moment. You came quite early..."
"Oh, I see. Sorry, we'll just come back later..." Ili said, not wanting to be a bother.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it! It's quite alright. You can stay at the castle until the ball. The lady of the house would be more than happy to have your company until then!"
"Oh, alright then. I suppose we could wait here, if it's alright."
The maid nodded happily. "Of course! If you would, please come with me. I'll bring you to the chamber our lady is at right now."
The two followed the maid through the halls of the castle. The place seemed really welcoming on the inside, with many windows letting in the warm light of the sun, with plants and paintings all around. After climbing some stairs and going down a hallway, the maid finally stopped in front of two large doors. She carefully pushed them open, revealing a large room, with large windows and many luxurious sofas and chairs, and on the other, paintings and musical instruments.
Towards the end of the room, surrounded by maids, was one single woman, with golden hair and golden wings, laying on a blue sofa, looking outside the window with empty eyes, as if not even being in the room. She was of a stunning beauty, with her perfect golden hair falling on her back, brushed gently by one of the maids, her wings resting over the sofa like a soft blanket.
Zephyr was stunned by the sight, frozen in place, seemingly lost in her magnificent beauty.
"An anselix..." Ili muttered, standing still much like Zephyr, her mouth agape.
"Lady Aenia, the visitors have come!" the maid spoke calmly, closing the doors behind her.
The woman was as if awakened from a dream, as she slowly turned her head from the window towards the two. Her wings pulled at her back, as she got up on the side of the sofa. "Thank you, Nania…" she said softly, and the maid that was brushing her hair stopped, making a small bow and moving back slightly. The anselix looked at the two for a few moments, calmly.
"Please, come, take a seat." she spoke, gesturing softly to the sofa in front of her.
The two made their way to the sofa, sitting down.
"I am Aenia, lady of this house. Who might you two be?" she asked softly. Her voice was so soothing and gentle, that it made sense why all of the maids seemed so calm and happy around her...
"I am Ililith, your majesty. And my friend is Zephyr. We are grateful that you allowed us to stay in this beautiful castle with you, your majesty." Ili said, making a bow as she spoke, followed by Zephyr.
"You are really polite. Your friend seems too. I am glad you were able to come." The lady looked outside the window once more, seeming lost in it again. "It is quite a beautiful day today, isn't it?"
Ili smiled softly. "Yes, indeed it is. Do you enjoy the sun, my lady?"
"Yes, I do... Tell me, you two seem quite young... You don't seem to be from around here. Why did you come to this city?"
"We are travelers, my lady." Zephyr responded.
"I see... It must be nice to travel..." The woman seemed lost in thought once again, looking outside the window. "I am interested... Can you tell me some stories from your travels?"
Zephyr and Ili looked at each other, before Zephyr started talking. "Well, there is a small city at the edge of the Iron Mountains. It's named Heidal. It isn't anything big or fancy like this city... It's just a small, simple village in the mountains... There, dwarves live in wooden houses, in a small valley covered in snow. Every twenty years, a festival takes place not too far away from the village. It's called the Dragon's Festival. There, people from all around gather together and have fun, drink and dance... And in the middle of the night, when the sky is pitch dark, fireworks shoot into the sky, as the battle between a mage and a legendary dragon takes life..."
The woman was giving him all her attention, listening quietly to everything he was saying. "Did you see that festival?"
"Yes, we did. We stood at the bottom of a crater, made inside the ribcage of a colossal dragon, as the fireworks shot up into the sky. It was beautiful..."
The woman looked at Zephyr with interest, as the maids also gathered around to listen to what he was saying. "Tell me more..."
Zephyr thought for a little, before starting again. "Well, this is the story of when I went to a fishing village, deep in the mountains... There was a lake that grew at the top of the mountains, in a large valley. The dwarves there built a small village around the lake. They would always go out with their boats to fish in the lake, as it seemed to never run out of fish... But one day, a massive storm came... The water level rose to the top of the houses, but there was something special about those houses! They were built on small floating platforms! So when the water came, the houses simply rose on the water, kept in place by some strong chains they stuck into the ground..."
Ili listened intently to Zephyr's stories as well, to the stories from his past... She never heard of these. She felt a little bad... Maybe he didn't want to tell her, or maybe she just never asked enough... Well, the least she could do now was to sit and listen to his stories, now that he was telling them...
Time passed, and Zephyr told a lot of stories from his past... He seemed to have been far and wide, and seen things Ililith would have never guessed he's seen... Now it seemed a little more understandable how Zephyr was as resourceful as he was, and how come he's survived for so long, alone...
After some time, Zephyr finally finished most of his stories, taking a pause.
"I see... Thank you. Your stories have been beautiful," the anselix spoke, nodding softly. The woman's head then turned towards Ililith, who seemed to be looking at her wings for quite some time. "Is there something on your mind, dear?"
"Your wings... Can I touch them?" Ili asked, not taking her eyes off them.
"My wings?" The woman turned her head towards her golden wings, before nodding softly. "Alright, you may touch them…"
She took a step closer towards Ili, allowing the girl to touch her wings. Ili gently ran her hand through the feathers, but her eyes didn't seem to be that of a child who wondered what they felt like.
"They're so... Soft..."
"Ili, stop that. It's not polite." Zephyr said, slowly pulling her hand away from the woman's feathers.
"No, you don't understand. The wings of anselixes are sharper than knives... You could cut your hand by simply touching one of the feathers. But these are soft... Lady Aenia, if you don't mind me asking, you know what I'm talking about, don't you?"
The woman looked softly towards the ground, caressing one of her wings with her hand softly, a somewhat saddened expression on her face. "I do... And I am an anselix, that much is true... But about my wings... I would rather not talk about the subject."
"They are giving you something, aren't they? To make your wings soft and harmless... I've heard that slave masters used to give anselixes certain drugs to make their wings soft and weak..." Ili said, with a hint of sadness in her voice.
"It's tea..." the lady spoke, to the surprise of all the maids. "The tea I'm drinking contains a substance that softens the wings..."
The maids looked at their mistress in disbelief. One maid's eyes started to tear up, as she spoke. "My lady, I never knew... If I knew, I would have never given you... I'm so sorry...."
"No, it's alright. It's not your fault. Any of you. And taking the tea... is my decision, and mine alone." the anselix spoke, looking softly at the maids.
"What...? But, my lady... Why would you do something like this?"
"It's the lord's orders. If you don't give the tea to me, and if my wings happen to hurt him, there's no telling what he would do to you. You're all precious to me, so I'm not willing to risk losing any of you because of such a small thing..."
"But, my lady..."
"No buts. It's alright, and it's my decision, so please, respect it."
The maid turned her head to the ground, trying to hide her tears. "Yes, my lady... I understand..."
The anselix turned her face back to Ili and Zephyr, looking at them softly.
"I was a slave... And I was bought by the lord of the house to give him a child..."
She turned her head to the wall, where a painting of a red haired boy in a white cloak was placed.
"Rainer..." Ili spoke softly, understanding the implications.
"Oh? So, you've met my son?" the woman asked, a small smile on her face. "I'm glad... He's turned out to be such a fine young man, hasn't he...?"
Ili looked at the woman. She felt as if she was about to cry, only held together by a fragment of strength. "Why... didn't you run away...? You seem... sad..."
"Because of him... Because of my son..." the woman responded, looking at the painting, lost in thought. "Because I didn't want him to become someone like his father, and because I love him... I wonder how he is doing lately... He hasn't come home for quite some time, and I'm not allowed outside of the castle..."
"You're not allowed..." Ili wanted to ask, but a maid touched her sadly on the shoulder, signaling that it would be better if she didn't continue. Ili stopped, nodding silently.
The woman turned her head back towards the window, seemingly lost in thought once again. It was a rather tragic sight... Almost like that of a bird who lost its wings... Trapped in a cage her whole life, and lost its will to fly...
Sounds started to be heard at the gate of the castle, as voices started to be heard more clearly. Guests started arriving, and along with them, the lord of the castle.
The woman turned her head slightly towards the sounds, listening calmly. She got up from the sofa, with a few maids by her side, while the rest rushed outside to go to the gate and take care of the new guests.
"Thank you again for your stories." The lady said with a soft smile, looking at Zephyr and Ililith. "I hope we meet again sometime, when you'll have even more stories to tell me... I will be going to my chambers. If you need me, just tell one of the maids and they'll help you find me. Have a nice night, and a pleasant stay!"
"Of course, your highness! We will!" Zephyr responded with conviction, holding back his tears. "Be well, and have a pleasant night!"
With that, the anselix left one way, as a maid brought Ili and Zephyr outside of the room, before closing the doors. Then, she led them downstairs, where the guests were starting to arrive and entering the castle. Behind previously closed doors, a large room stood right next to the entrance. The room was much bigger than the others, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, expensive paintings and statues of gold. The walls were painted pure white, and the ceiling in a golden yellow. This was, without a doubt, the ball room...