by L M Lacee
Frankie stared at her as Harper’s eyes were cataloguing everything, constantly searching for danger because Harper knew that something other than human lived in that castle.
“What?” She asked Frankie when she felt her stare. Gleefully she said, no she sang. “Harper we just crossed a moat!”
Harper pretended she did not hear her because they had just crossed over a moat. A friggin moat! That ran under a drawbridge. A friggin drawbridge!
How the hell did I end up here? Harper wondered. She could not really believe her eyes when they had arrived and seen the castle. I mean a castle in this day and age really!
She hoped it was a movie set which was one of Frankie’s ideas, one of the many, many ideas she came up with on their first day here.
Much to Harper’s disappointment it was not a movie set, for her peace of mind it would have been so much easier if it had been because where there was a castle, there were castle guards, usually armed and dangerous. Friggin Charlie! Only she would live in a damn castle just to make my life harder! Growled Harper silently.
When they finally got to the end of the drawbridge, they both stood looking up, way up to the top of huge wooden doors. “Castle doors, so cool.” Frankie whispered.
“Those things have to be at least fifty, sixty feet tall.” Harper muttered not expecting an answer from Frankie which showed how this monstrosity had confused her thinking.
“Oh not that tall.” Frankie said making Harper turn her eyes on her and raise a dark eyebrow as she asked. “Are you sure?”
“Oh positive! It is because you are short, from my height. I would say twenty, thirty feet no more.”
“Well thanks,” Harper shot back. “When did we start comparing heights?” And yes she was slightly sensitive about her height.
“So what do we do?” Frankie asked ignoring Harper’s words even more so when Harper sarcastically replied. “I don’t know? Knock, ring a bell. What do you suggest?” Frankie did the lip thing.
Oh my Goddess, you are thinking about it?” groaned Harper.
Then Frankie smiled. “Ahha! Knock that is what that is for?” She pointed to a big brass door knocker in the shape of a dragon that lay on the door by its companion. Harper had been studying them as she waited for Frankie to finish thinking. Together Harper figured they weighed a ton maybe more.
“They could weigh a ton.” She told Frankie, “Can you even lift it, to bang it?”
Frankie grabbed its tail and slammed it down repeatedly. “Yep. Looks like it!” She again used the knocker it sounded like cannon shots to Harper. And yes she had heard cannon fire, damn Charlie!
BANG! BANG!
Harper looked up, way up and saw nothing. Frankie said. “What now?”
Harper found herself almost doing the lip thing, she pulled her lips straight and slammed her hands on her hips and said in a really loud voice.
“THE ONLY THING WE CAN, GET THE DYNAMITE!”
Frankie stood still with her eyes wide as saucers as she screeched at Harper. “WE HAVE DYNAMITE!!
Harper winked at her, Frankie asked, her voice lower. “What is wrong with your eye?”
Harper sighed and shook her head. Frankie quickly consoled her. “It is okay Harper I will go get the dynamite, is it in the truck?”
Harper was about to open her mouth to explain there was no dynamite when they heard a voice yell down to them. “What do you want?”
“Rude!” Frankie said.
“Yep.” answered Harper. They both looked up, higher, past the top of the doors, to the top of the castle.
“Battlements.” Harper said when Frankie opened her mouth to ask, instead Frankie changed her question and cupped her mouth and yelled. “We want to come in!”
A male’s voice asked. “Why?”
Frankie shouted. “Because!”
“Because why?”
“We need to!”
“Who do you wish to see?”
Before Harper could tell her who, Frankie yelled back. “We are on a Quest for the King and Queen, so open the damn door or I’ll have your head!”
Silence ensued as he disappeared from sight. Frankie gave Harper a wide smile, who just stared at her as Frankie asked. “What? I thought that went well.”
“Did you? Quest! King and Queen, really Frankie?” Harper shook her head slowly from side to side. Frankie huffed. “Yes I did, in books there is always a quest and a King and Queen!”
“Yet we are still outside.” Harper muttered and this time she knew Frankie heard her.
“But not with arrows sticking out of us so that’s a good thing.” Frankie returned cheerfully.
Harper decided not to discuss it with her anymore. A short while later Frankie said, “He seemed nice though!” Harper eyed her tall lanky friend and wondered how deep the moat was and if piranhas swam in there. She decided to ignore her instead, it wasn’t like she had friends to spare.
They watched the door, eventually a normal sized door magically appeared and opened. Males in black shirts and black pants with red and gold embroidered vests carrying large swords strapped to their backs lined up on either side of the opening.
One guard motioned for them to enter. Harper did with Frankie walking behind her as they walked between the lines of guards. Frankie said. “There is twenty, ten each side.”
Harper stopped mid-way and looked up at her friend. “Why?”
“In case you wanted to know.”
Harper sighed and walked on again coming to the end of the guards she stopped and again looked up at Frankie and asked knowing she should not but curiosity got the better of her. “Why?”
Frankie smiled, “In case you wanted to... she flayed her hands around. “You know...With your knives and stuff.”
Instantly more males poured out from what looked like hallways. Harper eyed her friend. “Really!”
Frankie shrugged. “Touchy!”
Harper put her hands up and nudged Frankie. “Hands.”
Frankie put her hands in the air but couldn’t take her eyes from the males coming towards them they were all huge and all dressed as the first guards were.
“They are all really tall and did I say huge already? I mean their muscles, must have muscles, do you see the way they fill out their shirts I wonder if they have them specially made?”Frankie asked not bothering to lower her voice. Harper watched the males watch them and saw the smirks and a couple of chests get puffed out and the flexing of muscles under Frankie’s impressed gaze.
She really wanted to laugh at her friends observations and the male’s posturing but did neither. One; she didn’t want to hurt Frankie’s feelings, secondly, males were touchy when you laughed at them especially when they were armed. Instead she answered. “Yep! I saw.”
Frankie looked around at what was obviously an entrance or greeting room she never remembered what it was called, it could have been the grand hall she thought about that for a minute, no it was an entrance or foyer, she was sure, anyway it was fantastic all large stone work, like a proper castle should be.
With a huge medieval fireplace dominating one whole wall, the other stone walls held delicious looking tapestries on them they almost covered the whole wall. Two large sweeping staircases either side of the fireplace rose to the upper level and there were suits of armour guarding each staircase.
Several halls lead away from the area which is where the males had come from and the floors were a piece of art in themselves with beautiful large stone tiles that looked almost like two dragons, one red and one gold entwined which were embedded into the stone. It was amazing and the stones just reeked of legends and age, what a fabulous place, seriously it was enough to have Frankie swooning.
Harper watched everything and felt a hum coming from the stones beneath her feet it was like a small vibration that had her toes inside her boots curling. The hum was soothing, almost like a lullaby that sang a greeting to her, it was wonderful.
Hello! She mind sent and was only a little surprised when a v
oice answered.
Welcome home.
This is not my home!
It has always been your home.
Do I know you?
We have waited a long time for you!
Who are you?
The Dragon Lord will tell you.
Then the presence was gone leaving Harper feeling disconcerted, she hated this mystical stuff but unfortunately being half faerie she had no way of stopping it and worse she did not know if she could, or wanted too. Well color me a mystery! She thought as she looked at Frankie and the guards. Nope, none of them seem to have heard the voices. Well okay then, just me then! Harper thought. Right so conversing with voices. What next dragons!
The males had come to a stop in a half circle around both females while Frankie gleefully looked around her and Harper, she finally sighed and said.
This is nice for a castle don’t you think Harper?”
“Yep. I do”
"Do you think they will let us look around?”
“Yep. I do”
Several of the guards were having trouble holding it together and several others wore confused looks which Harper discounted that was normal around Frankie. The ones that worried her were the two that were dressed similar to the other guards, except there was no fancy vest for these two and their swords looked like they had seen more use than the others, another difference was in the way they held themselves. They were yet to look away from her and Frankie, also there had not been any checking them out as the others were doing, did she say, Hot, Hot, Hot!
Which meant one of two things, they were gay and she really hoped they weren’t or they were bad asses which she really hoped they weren’t, it just made things harder, not impossible, just harder.
Frankie was doing the lip thing, when the males parted like the red sea, and the tallest male so far walked up to them. Frankie’s mouth dropped open and she squeaked. “Harper do you see him?”
“Yep. I do” Then Harper looked up and then up some more and asked a Frankie question. “How the hell do you breathe way up there?”
He raised just one blonde brow and smirked.
“Huh! See it is a height thing.” Frankie told her.
“Really it so is not, he is just absurdly tall.”
Harper groused back.
“Oh he really is not. It is just you are so sh...”
Harper turned her granite eyes on Frankie whose voice died away. She asked with a decided edge to her tone. “You were saying?”
“Nothing!” Before Frankie could say anything more the giant male said. “Ladies please?”
Frankie shivered and she was positive the little bubbles in her blood stream which started to die down since they had become surrounded by all the guards came back to life at full force. The sound of his voice shot right to her soul and she was sure those little bubbles were starting to pop with excitement. Frankie shut her lips tight so her thoughts would not spill out. O.M.G! Did I say O.M.G Gorgeous!
“Please what?” Frankie manage to croak out.
“Please stop talking!”
“Oh okay.” Frankie frowned at the tall male and looked at Harper. One thing this male would have to learn, she, Frankie Spring, abhorred rudeness and that was as far as she was concerned, rude. She said so now to Harper. “Slightly rude.”
Harper replied, “Yep it was.”
He frowned at her then Frankie who did the lips thing, Harper thought she heard a growl come from him but when she looked up, he looked calm. Huh! Must have been mistaken!
“Thank you Ladies, I am Commander Johner Kingsley of the castle guards. These males are the castle guards. Now if you would come with myself and my guard to see the Prime. We would like to have a little chat about why you are here?”
Harper asked. “What or who is a Prime?”
“He would be the second to the Lord of the Castle.” Johner explained while his Dragon roared. SHADOW!
What….Who….Where? He asked.
There in front of us, are you blind?
No of course not!
And yet you did not recognize our shadow?
I was not looking for her was I? She is very cute! Johner could hear the thread of suspicion in his dragon’s voice when he said, we are talking about the tall one!
Johner snorted. I do not know who you were talking about but that was who I was talking about!
We take our shadow.
What has come over you? We don’t act like that, we will court her.
I want SHADOW!
Too bad, we are a Kingsley, we behave accordingly.
NOW! His dragon demanded. Johner told him quietly. Remember what happened with Sharm and Edee!
He could tell his dragon was thinking about what he had said because he came back with a subdued.
We will court shadow.
Johner waved his hand for the females to proceed him. Harper put her hands down, shrugged and walked past him and several other males, including the two who did not look like castle guards. Frankie scowled at him put her hands down as well and sniffed loudly as she too walked past him.
Two guards walked in front, the others fanned out and more followed. Harper could feel the male’s eyes on them making sure they did nothing stupid. Which sort of made her smile, she knew something they did not. Harper Easton did not do stupid, Frankie on the other hand well stupid followed her sometimes!
Frankie walked ahead of the male with the golden blonde hair and could feel his eyes on her hoping for her to do something outrageous so he could pounce on her. Ooh! Pounce, now that had possibilities! No! Bad girl! She growled at her inner Frankie. Plus she knew something he did not, Johner Kingsley may be heaven to look at, and tall with big muscles as well as cute with that straight nose and those blue eyes and his long straight blonde hair, that she would like to run her fingers through. Grrrr! No bad Frankie! He also, maybe had a body that was mouth-watering enticing but he’d gone and pissed her off. There would have to be groveling now!
Harper found herself totally entertained, especially when she thought about them trying to get Frankie to talk and make sense. Hahaha! When they walked down a set of stairs and along several underground tunnels and past every office in the castle, Harper was sure, at least twice, the guards in the lead finally came to a halt. As they parted Harper could see they ended up in front of two doors side by side. Harper, like Frankie knew what lay behind the doors bare rooms, commonly known as interrogation cells.
Johner cleared his throat, the first sound from him since before they had stated walking. “Please ladies take a room each.” The two lead guards opened a door each showing exactly what Harper suspected, interrogation rooms. Frankie refused to look at Johner, she opened her mouth then snapped her lips together and instead she gave Harper a wink and a smile. Harper in turn gave her the thumbs up before they each entered standard interview rooms like one would see at any police or sheriff’s station, the only thing different were these ones were cleaner and smelled of lemon. Unfortunately both Harper and Frankie had seen the inside of police interview rooms enough to critique one.
Entering, Harper looked around and spotted the camera in the corner, she sat in the available chair at the table to wait. Frankie finding herself alone paced. She did not like closed in spaces, much as she hated to admit it even to herself, she was scared without Harper.
Johner felt sweat roll down his back as he watched the females enter their rooms and when they were safely inside he dismissed most of his guards leaving two to stand outside their rooms.
Something itched at him a fleeting impression but he could not make any sense of it, especially with his dragon grumbling at him.
He sent someone for their vehicle and to find out where they had been staying to retrieve their possessions which along with their vehicle would need to be searched. He was sure there were no explosives but the female’s knives were concealed around her person, so it was better to be safe than annoyed, later.
Johner with Ark and Axl, walked into the command
room that held the live feed from the interrogation rooms. Right now both females were on screen. Johner’s dragon roared. SHADOW!
He pleaded with him. I know… I know. Just give me a minute!
We left her!
Yes but she is safe. I swear! He collapsed into a chair, they were to wait for Lars, Prime to the Dragon Lord. Johner looked up when his Sire walked in.
Rene` had been father to Johner since he was two years old, he was as much his son as any of his birth sons. Concerned at Johner’s look, he asked. “Son?”
“Shadow.” Was all Johner could get out over the roaring of his dragon and the struggle he was having to contain him.
Rene` looked at the two females and then to Ark and Axl, he gave a nod to the screen and they both shook their heads. Ark told him. “No idea.”
“She’s a little thing.” Rene` mused.
Johner finally got control of his dragon with a promise they would be with their shadow shortly. He straightened in his chair as he squinted at the screen that held Frankie. “Do you think so?” He asked as he looked at Frankie pacing in her room.
Rene` looked again at Harper. “Yes, very tiny.” Johner looked to where his Sire was looking and laughed. “No not her, the other one.”
Rene` turned his attention to Frankie, smiled and said. “Well she is lovely?”
Johner smiled with pride. “She is and she says the most adorable things.” Ark and Axl snorted at his description. “What?” Johner asked.
Ark stated. “You have not seen the recording yet?”
“No what recording?”
Axl loaded it up and they spent the next few minutes watching and listening to Johner’s shadow and Harper as they entered the castle grounds. Rene` found himself laughing with Johner as Ark and Axl grinned. Ark asked. “Doesn’t she remind you of someone?”
