30
I had to say that after Pip’s wonderful outburst I found myself even more excited about the night ahead and especially as we were walking though the castle making our way to the party. It was so easy, given my surroundings, to get sucked into the past and I found myself wondering how it would have been if I had met him at some banquet back then. How would it have played out if I had been introduced to a man like Draven, lord of this grand castle? Or maybe I was getting ahead of myself, or should I say, more like ahead of my stature.
What if I had been a penniless servant, coming here seeking employment? What if like back when I worked the VIP, I simply found myself serving him? And in fact, that was the way it was always meant to be, no matter which time period we had found ourselves meeting in. A servant, then a concubine in the past and now a waitress. Well, evidence was pointing closer to that theory than the grand lady I looked like right now.
“Hey, what’s that look about?” Sophia asked, walking the way that a grand lady should look. She had the walk down to a fine art, with her skirt not getting in her way like mine was.
“I was just thinking about the past.” I told her making her smirk before saying,
“You mean you were thinking about Dom in the past,” she guessed, and I nodded.
“Do you want to hear my theory?”
“Yeah.” I said, after a moment of silence fell between us once I had expressed where my thoughts lay.
“Okay, come on, I will tell you on the way.” I frowned and said,
“On the way…I thought we were…” She grabbed my hand and started pulling me down in the opposite direction to where we had been heading.
“I want to show you something that I think you are going to like.” Okay, well I would have shrugged my shoulders if I’d had both my hands free, so instead I just agreed and let her lead me off. Then she let go of my hand as we could see a door at the end of another long hallway. I hadn’t been this way before and Draven hadn’t shown me, which had me more than a little curious.
“I think that no matter what time you were destined to meet, that it was always written to be a certain way. Think about it, even back in Persia, Dom held you at arm’s length to begin with…well okay, he cracked pretty quickly, but that was down to circumstances,” she said with shrug of her shoulders, as though she was looking back at that time for herself.
“You really think so?” I asked wondering if this would have been true.
“I do. I know my brother and much better than he thinks I do. I know that even if he had met you five hundred years ago, then he would still have acted the same. As much as he likes to think himself the type to just take what he wants without question, I knew the first moment he met you this would not be the case. Now, maybe if he was solely ruled by his demon, then this may be so, but his angel is what holds the real power and you my dear, bring that part out of him more than any other…giving him more power over his tested will.” When Sophia had finished she had given me a lot to think about, most of which I didn’t really have time to process because we had come to the door at the end.
“Now you wondered what Dom was like back in the past?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Then walk through that door and go see for yourself,” she said nodding to the door, grinning as though not only was she giving me something she knew I wanted, but also because it was also naughty.
And the second I opened the door I was stunned by what I saw, for she was right, in this one large space, there was a Draven for every modern era I had missed.
“It’s…it’s him, it’s Draven,” I said in whispered awe making Sophia laugh. Then she grabbed my hand and said,
“Come on, let’s sneak a look.” Then she pulled me into the long wide Gallery that was filled with every period style portrait of Draven I could have imagined. And each of them was beautiful in their own right.
“The first one is from 1426 I think, anyway when I suggested the idea he hated it but being that I am spoilt, he soon gave in,” she said referring to the first painting of his side profile, something that she told me was of the style this early on in portraits. Oh, it was Draven alright but if you asked me, they hadn’t gotten his nose right, but his jawline was dead on the money.
As we moved along Sophia would tell me about dates and time periods, often saying how he would put it off for tens of years, sometimes even reaching at least seventy years before he agreed to do another one. Talk about persistence, nagging someone for seventy years and getting what you want by the end of it is an achievement in my book.
There were paintings of him in different styles, wearing what was no doubt considered fashionable for a man of his wealth back then, but no matter the outfit, the continued theme through them all was that natural air of confidence he wore like a weapon against the evils of humanity.
But as I gazed at them all, ones that spanned throughout the ages, it was the one in the centre of the room and the largest of the collection that I was utterly captivated with. It was by far the best and took up the size of the entire height of the wall.
The room was filled with paintings of different sizes, some being just the torso and head, some being in a sitting position against a back drop of fields on a summer’s day or others more sinister where he would be wearing full battle gear, with the war painted on the background behind him, as though he had just slipped out of the fight to get his picture taken before running back in there with his weapon held high.
There were others in all his finery, with lavish materials draped over one shoulder and gathered there by a clasp, or large fur lined jackets over slashed doublets in royal colours. In one, he was even wearing a wide brimmed hat and a short cloak hanging down off one side. But it was that same one I kept coming to and I wondered was it because it was the only one where he was sat upon a mighty black steed, reminding me of my ancient Draven.
Reminding me of my King of Kings,
Arsaces.
And like the day that he found me in the desert, he reminded me as he was now in this picture. Positioned straight on his horse, those proud almost arrogant features that a man of high position possesses. He was also wearing dark armour, that obviously fit with the time period and hanging down by his side was a sword, one he had his hand resting upon the hilt, as if at the ready for the fight.
“Ah yes, I remember this one.”
“How come?” I asked knowing there was a story behind it. She laughed once and said,
“Because it is the only one he likes.” Okay, so in the end not so much a story, but more of a statement. But even so, I was shocked.
“He doesn’t like any of these?” I asked in astonishment.
“I think seeing as you have been here nearly two weeks and you haven’t yet seen this room, that is evidence enough. But even without it, I know because he has told me enough times throughout the years,” she said smirking.
“But why, I think they are beautiful. To be able to see him as he was, to get to see him through all the years I have missed…Sophia, this is like another gift to me.” Sophia gave me a warm smile and took my hand to give it a squeeze before shocking me still.
“Why do you think it was that he gave into me in the first place?” I frowned as I didn’t understand what she was trying to get at. This time she gave me a mischievous grin and told me.
“Because my argument was a sound one.”
“And that was…?” I asked waving my hand around telling her to roll on out with it.
“You.”
“Me?” My voice said it all…disbelief.
“I told him that one day his Chosen One would come into his life and when she did, she might find it difficult knowing he has lived so many lifetimes before her own, that this…” She paused to cast a hand out down the gallery before continuing,
“…This all might make it easier on her and that one day, she might even consider it a gift from the past.”
“Oh Sophia…to think that even then before you knew me you had my back… that you were thinking of me.” Sophia gave me a slight shrug of her shoulders as if it was nothing on her part, but I knew this wasn’t true. For starters, she had battled Draven over doing this for hundreds of years, at least. That wasn’t just worth my thanks, it was worth a bloody knighthood!
She was about to say something else when I heard her phone ringing. I was about to ask where she would even keep her phone in a dress like that, but then she surprised me. I watched as she reached into a hidden compartment on the skirt of her dress that the folds concealed nicely.
“What? Even girls in those days needed pockets,” she said with a nod to the nearest picture with a grin, before answering her phone.
“No, that’s not right, I said the dressed salmon first…okay, okay, I will be down there to deal with this shortly,” she snapped clearly annoyed.
“Well, it’s lucky the guests have only just started to arrive and won’t be sitting down to dinner for an hour, so you had better hurry!” Sophia said then she ended the call and said,
“I have to sort this mess out. Do you want to come with me or stay here and wait for me?”
“I can stay here?” I asked making her laugh.
“Of course, you can, Keira, it’s your castle now, remember?” I smiled at this but then with a reluctant glance at the door, I asked,
“But what about your brother, won’t he be angry if he finds out?”
“Honey, one look at you in that dress and he’ll have you another castle built if you asked him for it…trust me, he will get over it very quickly.” I laughed at her comment and watched as she walked down the gallery, then I shouted before she could get too far,
“Hey, Sophia!”
“Yeah?” She stopped to look at me just over her shoulder.
“Thank you… not just this but you know, for everything.” She gave me a warm smile and said,
“I should be the one thanking you.”
“Why?”
“Because I love any excuse to piss my brother off!” I laughed at this and said her name in reprimand making her laugh again. Then she spun on a heel, making me wonder again just how she did it in a dress that big. She then lifted an arm up in the air, with her back to me and shouted,
“Demon, remember!” So, I shouted back,
“Yeah, me too!” To which she replied calmly but loud enough for me to still hear her,
“No, you’re not!” And then the door closed behind her beautiful dress and its even more beautiful owner, leaving me alone with many different Dravens from the past.
I gave him one last look upon the horse surrounded by the gilded frame and continued down the gallery to the portraits I hadn’t yet seen. It soon became obvious to see that the skill level increased as time went on. And I think by the time I reached the one where he was dressed like something out of a Jane Austin novel, I was near panting at the sight.
In fact, I was so lost in my sexy fantasies about him, I hadn’t really noticed until now that dotted here and there were different antiques situated around the room and usually in between each painting. It was only now that I started to piece it together, although you would really need to be studying each one to realise it and well, I could easily make a profession out of studying Draven.
But why I had missed it and why many others would, was because usually in a portrait you are supposed to be focused on the person’s image and the background was there just to set the scene. However, in this case and on finer inspection, I noticed that the antiques in the room were also the ones from the different paintings. Like a blue and white vase that sat on a narrow side table and even the table itself was in another painting I had seen. I laughed as I noticed one portrait that even had one of the earlier paintings in the background of another, hung there behind him on the wall. It was clever in the way it was done and very subtle, but it was without a doubt Draven.
There were other things too, like clocks, carved boxes, a Chinese style fruit bowl, making me giggle because of the other day and the fact that Draven had actually pulled a prank on me.
But what really drew me in was a sword on the wall, hung just within reach on brass hooks. I walked back over to the centre picture to see that yes, it was as I thought.
It was the same sword.
I don’t know why I was so drawn to it, but I was. Maybe because out of all the items in the room that were mirrored on the walls, this was the one thing that he had actually been touching. So, I don’t know why but I found myself walking back to it, and before I could stop myself I was reaching up to touch it.
It was fairly simple in its design, not really being too ostentatious or anything. It was more like a sword that you could see belonging to a Knight and one that wasn’t used for show. It was silver and black, with a T bar across the blade that was attached to a black round handle that was embedded with silver strips. The handle finished with a round shield that looked to hold his family crest in polished gold.
I couldn’t help but run my fingertips along its long length marvelling in this being something Draven himself had used, defending his land and his people. I was about to stop there when the picture flickered in my mind’s eye and I found myself reaching for the handle like Draven would have done. My fingertips skimmed the twisted metal design and then came across something that didn’t feel right. Something that shouldn’t have been there,
A switch.
“What is…” My voice was cut off by my own actions or should I say the result of them, as I had put pressure against the round button I had found. The second I did I heard the distinct sound of locks sliding back from their casings and then I watched in shock as the large centre picture I had been obsessing over swung open slightly. I let go of the sword in slow motion, almost as if I was too scared to move too fast in case the painting fell and crashed to the floor.
Yes, that would be bad and a major ‘oh shit’ moment.
I don’t know what I had just done but somewhere in the rational side of my brain, one reserved solely for ‘oh shit’ moments like these, I wondered if it was for security reasons. I knew galleries all around the world had security in place behind each of their paintings, locking them in place to prevent them being stolen.
Was this what that was?
For some reason I didn’t think it likely, for I doubted he would be worried about burglars coming in here and nicking portraits of himself. Hell, from what Sophia had said, sounds like he was close to inviting them in and giving them away.
Either way, I needed to go and check to see what damage, if any, I had caused this time. So, I walked back over towards the painting and the closer I got to it the more it started to look like a large door. It was slightly ajar with only enough space to put your hand through so that you could pull it wider, something I hadn’t yet had the courage to do. I knew that it was probably just some hidden passage like in Afterlife, as that place was filled with them. No doubt for Draven to spy on his people to make sure there were no traitors lying in wait.
But even still, I didn’t know what to do next. Of course, I knew what I wanted to do and that was to step inside and see where it could lead. However, I knew that from past experiences what could happen when I would just wander off and usually it came with sharp teeth snapping at me from behind bars.
But really, would Draven have a dungeon or temple in a place like this? Surely it couldn’t be a requirement for every home he lived in. I could just picture the realtor’s face when telling her his requirements. This thought made me giggle aloud but done more so out of nervousness. I looked back down the hallway where Sophia had just left and remembered that she did say she would be back in a few minutes. So, if anything did go wrong, at least I had that as a backup plan. And also, she had said that this was my home now too, so surely whatever was behind this painting was also mine by default…right?
Okay, so after convincing myself that it was a good idea and my curiosity basically winning out over all past events and twisted my logic on any reasons why I shouldn’t, I slowly snuck my hand through the crack and pulled back really slowly. It was as though at any minute I was half expecting the picture to crash to the floor like I had first dreaded happening. I mean, it wasn’t like something like that would go unnoticed, it was the size of a freaking car for Christ sake!
But this didn’t happen, no instead it swung open with ease and once it went past a certain point, it must have triggered a switch or something, as lights started to flicker on. I could see the old style wrought iron lamps had been fitted with the marvel of modern day electricity. Well, when Draven said this place came with all mod cons, he hadn’t been kidding as even his spooky hidden spaces came with easy day living accessories such as the light bulb.
Surely that was a step up for me, because as a rule, all bad situations I got myself into in the past normally started with flaming torches on walls or crazy angry exploding lamps like back at Afterlife when I had been lured there in my sleep. Another one of Sophia’s interfering ways of trying to push Draven in the right direction…that being, my direction.
So now, with the warm glow of light bouncing off whitewashed walls, I could easily see steps leading down to a dark space, telling me that it went a fair way down. So, with only my dangerously curious nature leading me, I took my first step…
Into one of many unknowns.