Into the Castle (Zoe)

The castle was huge. Even from a distance, it looked huge, but up close… just… wow. Even the defensive wall wrapping around the outside was intricately carved. It was beautiful. The top of the wall had gargoyles all looking at the gate and I could see men-archers stationed at the top. Our carriage had stopped for the gate to open. It was an iron bar gate that was slowly being pulled upward.

“We should probably go meet the king,” said Za… Bug. Jesus, thinking of her with a different name was so weird. Oh yeah, and I would probably get the gender wrong half of the time too.

“But I’m in a nightgown,” I protested, “And I don’t know how to act!” If I was going to meet a king, I had better at least know how to act, much less going in there like this.

“Nah, you shouldn’t worry,” Bug assured me, “King Ben is a pretty laid back guy. He doesn’t really care how you act around him. If you treat him like the king he is, he’ll only embarrass you. Believe me, I would know. Just walk by my side and do what I tell you and you’ll be fine.”

“It’s true, Bug has a very distinct lack of manners around the king. I’ve been there recently. It was highly cringey.” agreed Patches's voice from next to me. I turned to see a man with brown hair. “The king is pretty laid back and nice though, I must admit. He’s never treated me like a great spirit, not once. We have a mutual agreement to act like friends, also, he is very close to his people. He has never once cared for those formal talks, he just wants to hear the honest truth no matter how bad it may be, and he wants to hear honest opinions. So treat him like you would anyone else.”

“R-really? Is he really like that?” I asked. I was kinda curious. Why would a king do all of that? He’s, like, in charge of tons of people. Why would he not want to be respected?

“Yep,” the two of them said at once.

“That’s so cool!” I said, as the carriage began moving forward once more.

“Yeah, it is. Although, you should be careful around him,” said Patches, “He is a little… weird around Bug, and he's been acting weird to me too ever since the fortune teller.”

“Wait, whaddya mean?” I asked.

“You’ll see,” answered Bug.

“Oh yeah, I think since Bug’s introduced herself in this world, I might as well too. I’m a super powerful spirit. If you want, you and I can make a contract. It is usually pretty dangerous for spirits to make contracts, but I’m special,” Said Patches.

“You’d put your life in my hands?” I was really struck by that statement. Someone trusting me with their life? Me? The useless person that was always alone?

“Well, Patches is a super powerful spirit. He has watched over you for so many years and he has turned into a great spirit, so nothing dumb you do should kill him and he can protect yo a lot easier if you make a contract with him. Just give the boy some closure knowing you’re safe. Plus, if you get into any sticky situations, you can use his powers to fight or escape. Patches has masses of power built up from the centuries he’s been alive, so he could be a very powerful and useful spirit,” said Bug.

“Uh… well then… How does this work?” I asked, convinced by Bug’s argument. I didn’t want to hurt Patches, but a contract did sound pretty cool...

“You can use the contract circle in the castle. It would take months to make one on your own. After we meet with the king, I can help guide you through the process. Plus, a contract circle takes long enough to create, but one for a great spirit like Patches would take years. Still, we have one here at the palace, so again, I’ll guide you through the process.

“Oh… Okay,” I said. The carriage rolled to another stop.

“Alright, I’ll guide you to the throne room,” said Bug, opening the side door of the carriage and helping me down from the large steps. I stepped on the sharp gravel and winced. I didn’t have shoes on. Bug picked me up and sat me on her back, then carried me through the large doors and into the castle. The doorway was intricately carved, organic patterns lining them. There were guards outside the door and they let the three of us in, saluting Bug.

“Hey, you don’t have to give me a piggyback ride,” I complained. This was weird. I didn’t need to be carried.

“You have cuts on your feet, I would rather not make the maids clean up blood, plus, it probably hurts to walk, so yes, I do,” she replied. Well, she wasn’t wrong. We walked in silence for a little bit and I observed the walls of the palace. They were white and the carpet beneath out feet was red. There was gold paint all along the walls, and really cool patterns that reminded me of castles that I had seen in various mangas. After a few minutes, a large pair of doors guarded by two fully armored men appeared. Bug was once again saluted as the doors were opened by the guards. Was she allowed to just go wherever she wanted? That seemed pretty cool. She carried me into the room. It was huge. The ceilings were giant, and there were bookshelves filled to the brim with all colors of books. There was a ginormous window on the opposite side of the room. In the middle of the room was a desk with stacks of paper. The extreme majesty of this place simply astounded me. Bug carried me to a door on the side of the room. It was a very large door as well. When she opened the door, I saw that it was a bedroom. In the bed was a man, half under the covers. He looked like he was nude. I couldn’t see any underwear, but the covers covered him up just fine. He looked super handsome. He had blonde hair and red eyes. He was waiting on a mini table that sat above his lap. That must be the king.

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