Ninety-eight

Celia

The steady rhythm of the nightsteed’s hooves clopping against the road lulled me to sleep and I was not even aware of how time flew and how we reached the castle.

Somebody shook me and it took them three tries to wake me up. I opened my eyes, expecting it to be Jasper but it was Grace.

She smiled at me and spoke, “My lady. Let us get you to your room then you can sleep again”

I straightened my back. My neck was feeling a bit sore after having leaned on the coach’s wall awkwardly for the length of the ride.

“Wh-where is Jasper?” I asked and Celia answered, “He went to do some work and asked me to get you to your room.”

I let her help me get out of the carriage. In a weird sense of way, coming back to the palace somehow made me feel like I was returning to a familiar place.

It would be a far cry to call it my home but it did make me feel as if I could rest without getting thrown out of the room or attacked in my sleep.

As I and Grace chatted on our way back to my room, I saw Matr