The Golden Scepter - Chapter One

She reached it without incident, stared in awe upon coming to a small room filled with decorative chairs and tables. She figured it was some sort of meeting room, but not the main hall. A scabbard of polished ivory was set above the threshold of the door opposite her. She doubted that it even contained a sword as she walked up to examine it. Candles that had been lit in the room reflected a warm glow against its surface, and she knew that if it was a weapon, it would be rarely used in combat. Something stirred behind her, and she spun around to see a maid, clad in a dress of pure black, staring at her.

" Sorry to have intervene in your delight mistress, but I figured you would like something to eat?" The maid waited for no reply, but disappeared hurriedly into a side door, which obviously led to a smaller kitchen than the one Maryin had seen when she'd first arrived to Brodens Keep. She took her seat at one of the chairs, crafted from cedar, varnished red, and studded with runes that were as beautiful but not as expensive as rubies. The sweet aroma from her chair forced a smile to her face. She sat up straight, imagining herself to be a queen.

The maid appeared silently from the door, carrying a silver platter decked with fruits, breads, meat, and wine in what appeared to Maryin to be a crystal canister.

" If mistress would like anything else, you may rely upon me," the maid placed the platter before her. Rushing, she walked over to a column of shelves that were fixed into the stone wall before Maryin and removed a glass as red and as pour as the wine. She poured it to the brim, then smiled as she receded into a distant corner.

" Please," Maryin said as she waved a hand to the chair before her, " I don't like to eat alone, sit with me." The maid hesitated slightly, not use to sitting with guests as they ate.

" Would you like anything else? Some more venison perhaps," she rose as if to fetch the meat right then and there, but Maryin stopped her and said everything was fine.

" How long have you worked here?"

" I live her mistress. Being a maid is something I enjoy," she looked at Maryin's plate with a scowl on her face, " your rolls look too hard, I should get some hotter ones for you." She stood.

" Honestly, they're the best. Everything is fine, honest." The maid sat back down, as if it was against her will.

" What is your name?"

" Leona, mistress."

" Please, don't call me mistress, but my name is Maryin." Leona's eyes flicked quickly to Maryin's platter.

" Why yes mis... Maryin."

" Good."

" If you don't mind my asking, where are you from exactly?"

" A long way from here. I am from a city known as Crest. Have you heard of it before."

" I'm afraid I haven't. I have lived in these guarded walls for all my life. I know very little of the lands and cities around it."

" Don't you feel funny, being cooped up here all the time? Don't you ever go outside?"

" There is a balcony in my room. I go there if I want to go outside. But venturing from Brodens Keep is not allowed for us, and neither would we want to do so."

" Do you have any family?" Maryin asked as she drank a draught from her chalice. Leona's eyes observed the level of the wine, then stood and poured Maryin more of the wine until it once more was at the brim.