The Grand Hall

It was nearing 1 o’clock in the morning and the sliver of moon provided minimal light to their journey.  Many of the street lamps were not lit.  They scampered from shadow to shadow, never walking directly into the light cast by the glowing street lamps or lighted windows.  Erin’s eyes investigated every sound, checking over her shoulder.  Something exploded two streets over to the east, and just around the corner, a mob was stirring up trouble; but Aidan Roby led her round about in a very zig-zagging pattern.  They saw no one except a beggar hunched over, his hands covered in a frightening skin condition.  Aidan Roby tossed him a crust of bread and they hurried onward.

Their path grew darker as they neared the palace.  The street before the gates was completely black with the nighttime.  Aidan Roby took her by the arm and roughly drew her into the thick of the darkness.  Erin held her free arm before her and took careful steps on the uneven cobblestone.  When he let her go, he cautioned, “Don’t move – just a moment.”  Then he struck flint and a lantern fizzed into life.

The light revealed wrought-iron gates fifteen-feet tall, the design too closed to let even cats through.  Aidan Roby pushed it open and stood back to usher her ahead of him.

They scurried across an open space, unhindered, and Erin was prevented from crashing into the door only by Aidan Roby’s hand on her arm.  He took a key from a chain around his neck and clicked it through the lock.  The magnificent wooden doors swung open wide, unbarring the way to a great hall – large, wonderful, and mysterious.

Their shoes made displeasing noises on the floor, which echoed all through the cavernous hall.    The ceiling high above was plastered with paintings of cherubim floating among the clouds, revealed by large flickering chandeliers, which cast an eerie glow on the stone walls and mirrors.  Various surfaces shined and shimmered; and great columns trapped the luminescence within their boundaries, ruling over the hall with their grand design and splendor.

“I have never set foot here before,” Erin said, “and my father’s descriptions could never have prepared me for this.  What is this place?”

“It is the grand hall,” said Aidan Roby.  His voice, like hers, was hushed; but still it carried like a giant or a mighty king.  “This is where the king’s finest guard was used to stand, decked out in the epitome of flamboyance to impress visitors.  Often great balls were held in this same hall.”

“It’s magnificent,” she breathed.

~Meggy