Timeless by Amanda Paris Page A

generations following their forefathers, to complete
the massive outer walls with four tactically advantageous towers.
Guards manned the walls at all times, ready should intruders
approach to attack.
    The last of the masons had only recently
completed the finer work, including the multiple gargoyles Lamia
had ordered built when she married my father. She required them to
work at a nearly impossible rate of speed and with impeccable
precision. They adorned every arch and entrance, perpetually poised
to leap out and frighten onlookers. Many a scream was heard
throughout the day and night by the castle dwellers still
unaccustomed to their fearsome gaze.They always caused me to shiver
as I approached. I averted my eyes, eager to avoid the daemonic
faces leering over us as we entered through the drawbridge, which
crossed a large, murky moat.
    Glad to be free of Lamia for a time, I
hurriedly left before she remembered me, finding my way to my
chamber, located far from hers. Damien would likely still be in the
field. The celebration had begun and would continue through the
evening, when the contestants and castle inhabitants would drink,
feast, and dance merrily at the banquet. They would forget for a
time the oppressive presence of Lamia, who cast a dark shadow over
us all.
    The afternoon dragged on interminably. I
spent the majority of it sewing, hoping to avoid my stepmother,
who, fortunately, did not seek my company. I guessed that she had
begun to suspect my feelings for Damien, and I didn’t want to
answer her questions. I had no facility for lying and didn’t relish
the punishment she might mete out to me.
    Millicent, my maid, sat quietly beside me,
mending one of my skirts. Since Lamia had arrived, I received no
new clothes, and Millicent did her best to alter the ones I did
have.
    We worked for awhile, our heads bent over
together, but I grew impatient and finally stood up. Walking over
to the window, I began pacing.
    “Wearing the floor out, are we?” Millicent
asked, not looking up.
    I stopped in front of the window that
overlooked the woods below.
    “Got something on our mind, do we?” she
prodded.
    I started at the question, lost in my own
thoughts.
    “Sorry. What did you say?” I asked.
    “Hmph!”she muttered.
    Millicent had been with me since birth, and
she was more mother to me than maid. I had no secrets from her.
    “Sorry. I was just thinking,” I replied,
snapping out of my dreamy state.
    “This wouldn’t happen to be about a certain
knight who won a certain tournament today, would it?” she asked, a
smile on her face. I could feel her warm wishes, though I didn’t
turn around.
    “Mmm,” I murmured.
    “No, I think not,” she said, putting down the
dress and turning to me with concern.
    “I suspect it’s her, isn’t it?” she
asked.
    She came over and put her large, comforting
arms around me, just as she’d done since I was a child. I laid my
head on her shoulder, glad to have her with me.
    “I hate her,” I said fiercely.
    “I know, dear. And she’s going to do
everything she can to keep you from him.”
    “What are we going to do?” I moaned.
    “I don’t know. Maybe you should talk to your
father,” she answered kindly.
    “Do you think he would listen? He’s bewitched
by her!”
    “Shhhh! Don’t say it,” Millicent whispered,
looking over her shoulder as she crossed herself.
    “Well it’s true,” I said, though I lowered my
voice.
    “Oh, my dear,” she said, stroking my long red
hair. There was always comfort to be found with Millicent, though
we both knew that this problem was larger than both of us.
    “Try not to worry. It will work itself out. I
always say so, and it always does,” Millicent said in a soothing
tone.
    Not this time, I thought, sighing. This time,
it’s too big for you.
    ****
    That evening, the great hall filled as we
prepared to feast the champion. Finally, I would get to see him, I
thought, wishing he wouldn’t be the center of so