Page 17 of Slippers and Thorns
One tower was inaccessible due to the dark, thorny vines that had managed to grow through the castle walls and now completely covered the internal tower wall, and there were several places where the roots of the climbing ivy had damaged the mortar holding the stones together, but none of it was unmanageable.
Although she clearly still felt a little worried about the manner of their arrival, Katy appeared determined to stay bright and cheery and find the positives in every room. If Ella wasn’t going to be discouraged by a little bit of strangeness, Katy was going to play the part of real estate agent as originally planned.
Ella clasped Michael’s arm and strolled contentedly to the next room. Aside from the mustiness, the air felt perfectly normal now. Their guards spread out around them, scanning for unexpected hazards, but none of them carried themselves as if concerned. She could almost convince herself that she was still in the Himmelsburg castle, just in an area fallen into disuse.
“Is something wrong, Michael?” she asked. His forehead was scrunched up as he studied one of the rooms.
“No,” he said slowly, drawing out the word. “I just… it seems familiar somehow.”
“Familiar? I didn’t know you’d been here before.”
Shaking his head, he replied, “I haven’t.”
“Other than seeming familiar, what do you think about it?” she fished.
He looked over at her and smiled, although the crinkle in his brow remained. “It was a beautiful castle once. I’m sure if Axel and King Steffan were to find the time to renovate it, it would be once again.”
Ella nodded, trying to decide if she really wanted to do as Katy had suggested. Yes, something had been odd when they arrived, but that was to be expected of an isolated area in which no human had set foot in over a decade. Right?
“I’m glad we came,” he continued. He rested his hand on hers again. “We’ll have to thank Katy for bringing us.”
She focused on the feeling of his hand on hers. How long had it been since they had walked like this? Since they had spent so much time together, touching or not? Excluding the recent travel, she reminded herself, grimacing internally.
It was absurd to allot the credit to the place, but Ella was desperate for anything that might bring a return to the happiness she’d once had. So, she decided to take the chance. “What if we did?” she asked in a rush.
“If we did what?” Michael responded, bemused. “Thank Katy?”
“No,” she clarified, “if we fixed it up.”
Michael gave her a strange look. “It’s in Ralnor. It belongs to King Steffan.”
“Yes, but what if he would sell it to us?” she argued. “It’s right on the border, and he isn’t using it. And if he didn’t want the land to become part of Daraigh, couldn’t we just own it the same as anyone else might?”
He considered her. “You didn’t come up with this just now, did you?”
Ella lowered her gaze to the floor. “It might have been Katy’s idea.”
Michael chuckled. “I should have known. It did seem like a rather sudden and unusual idea to take a day trip to explore an old castle.” He glanced at the couple in front of them. “Is Axel in on it?”
Shaking her head, Ella replied, “No, I don’t think she told him why she wanted to come.”
After poking their heads into a few more rooms, Michael resumed the conversation. “I would have to speak with Father about it, of course. But the idea has potential. We could arrange for some workmen to come out, then occasionally—”
“Couldn’t we help?” Ella interrupted. He raised an eyebrow. “I mean, instead of only sending workmen, couldn’t we come with them and be part of it? Together?”
Michael’s smile became a little tighter. “We’ll see. But since we don’t even have approval to seek an agreement to purchase it, I think we might be getting a little ahead of ourselves.”
“Of course,” Ella agreed reluctantly. She’d known it was unlikely even before she asked.
Still, even if it wasn’t the project Katy had envisioned, perhaps it could be a retreat once it was returned to its former glory. And maybe that would be enough.
CHAPTER 8
Ella
A
short time later, it was time to return to the road. Thankfully, the overgrown section close to the castle had lost the strange oppressive feeling of the morning. Once they reached the point where the road widened, Ella and Michael rode next to each other for most of the afternoon, sometimes speaking and sometimes sharing a contented silence.
