16. Chapter 16

Chapter sixteen

A fter trekking hours by carriage, the packed dirt road turned to cobblestone. After another hour on the cobblestone road, A large castle began coming into view on the horizon.

Haven didn't have words for what was slowly being revealed before her. Beautiful didn't even begin to cover what she was seeing, it was truly glorious.

Nestled against a large glistening lake Haven could only see a part of and a deep green pine forest was a castle fit for a queen.

Made out of some sort of light stone, it was long and rectangular. Two tall spires sat on either side of a large double door connected to the bottom level of the castle. The next three levels sat inset so you could spend time on the flat rooftop of the base level. Haven could see herself spending a lot of time under the sun on that rooftop or stargazing during the night. She'd bet that nights out here would compare to no others. It wasn't just the clear view of the sky or lack of light pollution, it was the magic of such a beautiful sight. It hung in the air even this far away from the castle.

The spires were made up of a darker stone than the main walls and matched the towers that made up the corners of the top three levels. There were vines creeping up some parts of the castle, giving it a whimsical and aged look. Tall rectangular windows could be seen on every level along with many balconies and gables.

While the forest spanned to the left of the castle as far as the eye could see, Haven could only see a sliver of the lake that appeared to wrap around the back of the castle. The parts of it she could see were only in her sight because of the angle they were traveling at. Towards the right was what appeared to be a large, expansive garden with rows of flowers and what could be vegetables. As they got closer, Haven could see people in the gated gardens, some appeared to be tending to the plants, others were just walking. It wasn't hard to assume that the garden alone took up acres and acres of land.

The sight of so many bright and blooming flowers had Haven wearing a bittersweet smile. It reminded her of her mothers garden. She hoped once things settled she could find a way to contact her mother and let her know that she was alright.

Despite what she had been told by Binah about her mother knowing exactly where she was and keeping this world a secret from her, Haven wasn't convinced. It had been just Haven and her mom for so long that the idea of her mother keeping such a huge secret was hard to grasp. Haven hoped to eventually not only get word to her mother but actually get ahold of her so she could get the story from her, because surely she hadn't actually kept so much from her?

The idea that her father had been fae made more sense to Haven. That idea was much easier to grasp. She assumed he had intended to tell her but died before he was able. Haven certainly liked that explanation a whole lot better than the alternative provided by Binah.

As Haven, Roman and Trevor grew closer to the castle, a tightness grew in Havens chest that could only be identified as anxiety. Haven had been dealing with it for so long that the feeling itself was as familiar as breathing.

While the castle that was slowly growing closer was truly beautiful and Haven was more excited than anything else, everything was quickly becoming very real. The sight of it was a physical reminder of everything that was going to happen in the coming days that until now, had felt like more of a dream than reality.

Haven was going to be tested, whatever that meant, find out which royal family she descended from and then begin training to take her place wherever she belonged. Even if Binahs first statements were correct and she ended up as a princess last in line for any sort of throne, surely there'd be expectations to go with that position. And what if Binahs letter held more weight than Haven was letting herself believe and she did end up as a queen, what would a position like that entail?

Anxiety had Havens breath picking up, her heart beat almost painfully against her chest and her fingers subconsciously went back to picking at her nail beds. Before the anxiety could grip Haven fully, Roman reached over and placed his large hands over Havens much smaller ones .

"Haven listen to me and take a breath. It's going to be fine, you are not alone."

Roman began taking long, slow breaths in attempt to have Haven mimic him and slow her own breathing. Haven listened to the deep sounds of his breathing and felt his hands grasping her shaking ones for many long minutes before she began to calm down. Eventually, her breathing returned to normal and the trembling she hadn't noticed before subsided.

"Are you okay now?" Roman asked

Haven nodded, "Yeah, I think everything just became very real all of a sudden. I didn't even realize what was happening before the anxiety had ahold of me"

"Makes sense," Roman told her, "Remember, you're not doing this alone and no matter what the thoughts in your head tell you, you belong here."

Haven allowed Romans comforting words to wash over her. The reminder that she wasn't the only person going through this helped more than she could admit. Roman was right there with her and no matter how put together he seemed, Haven knew he was likely just as nervous as she.

Roman slung his arm around Havens shoulders. Fifteen more minutes of the horses at a slow pace had them at the front of the entrance to the castle. Roman hopped off the carriage before holding out his hand and helping Haven down.

"Can you believe this place?" She asked, looking up in amazement.

"I know, it's truly a sight isn't it?" Roman responded, also looking up at the castle .

Haven nodded her agreement and followed him to the front of the carriage where Trevor was unclipping the horses.

"Someone should be out shortly, I'm sure they knew we were coming." Trevor said.

"Who's they?" Haven asked

"The crown regent, he's been ruling in lieu of the descendant of Queen Montali. "

Out of the corner of her eye, Haven caught Romans jaw tightening almost imperceptibly. She couldn't decipher that, or the slightly annoyed look that came over his face when Trevor started speaking about the crown regent. The look was over in less than a second so she chalked it up to him being tired due to recent events and her mind still feeling off after her minor anxiety attack.

Haven watched Trevor finish with the two horses. He started to walk to the left of the building with a lead in each hand, leaving the carriage behind. Haven moved to follow Trevor but he stopped her with a raised hand and said,

"No, you guys wait here. Someone will be out to get you soon."

Haven hesitated before she stepped back next to Roman. Trevor quickly disappeared around the castle and out of view. Deciding to make the best of their wait, she began taking in her surroundings, immediately noticing the fae on the roof of the main level. Almost everyone seemed to be watching the two of them. As they caught Haven looking back at them, most turned away. A few didn't, some outright stared, not caring if Haven caught them. One unsettling thing Haven noticed sent small shivers down her spine. Most of them weren't looking at Roman. Even though he was right next to her, Haven could tell that those who were looking were staring directly at her.