Ismene woke up in comfort so thorough it was distracting. The silence was remarkable; no coworkers passing in the halls, no daily dorm bustle. Then she remembered where she was.


    She had reached her room, set the book cases down, stripped off her travel clothes. Then laid down, just to feel the bed in her bedroom... and she''d fallen asleep. There was no dorm bell to wake her up, not here.


    She hadn''t gone down to the Library to work that night at all.


    Ismene sat up with sudden wakefulness. What time was it? The bedroom was dark, and outside the glassed windows, she could see moonlight on the mountains. It was still night. She checked the mechanical timepiece by the bed. Harmonia wasn''t going to be happy with her if she found out that Ismene hadn''t gotten straight to work. But that depended on Harmonia finding out, and Harmonia had probably enjoyed a long rest, a nice dinner, and a bath. She wouldn''t necessarily know.


    Ismene had no intention of letting Harmonia find out; that was all. She could probably get away with starting the read-ins of their books in the morning. The momentary stab of guilt in her stomach started to ease. It would be fine.


    Besides, she thought. She was in the Castle. She was safe. No one was going to tattle on her. No one could get into her room without her permission—the door wouldn''t open for them—so she could hide in her room all she wanted. It was a wonderful place.


    It might be late, but she was wide awake now. If she wasn''t going to get to work yet, she might as well make some use of her time before she went back to sleep.


    Ismene got out of bed and stretched. "Well, good evening, then," she said to the room. She never felt entirely alone in the Castle. No, that wasn''t it; she was surrounded by people at home, and always felt pressed-in and over-aware of others. Here, then, she felt aware of the space around her; expanded, somehow. Safe, again. It was a comforting feeling.


    Ismene felt much better now than when she''d arrived. Turning up the lamps a little, she started to make herself at home. There was a selection of rich things in the closet; Ismene pulled out a nice soft light robe to slip on.


    For the days they would be here, this space was all hers. In the main room, with no lamps lit, the glassed-in view of the mountains was beautiful. The mountains were a dark ragged line against the stars, but not completely black; there was a murky, shadowy depth to them. Ismene could see spots of dark stone against snowy greyness. It looked so cold, but inside, Ismene was warm enough.


    Ismene had stayed down other turns of the guest hallway, with views in other directions. No matter where she was quartered, the view from this high up in the Castle was always lovely. Her favorite was the side that faced the cliff passage. From there, she could see past the bridge and chasm to forests, rivers, and the remains of whole cities in the lowlands. The Castle and the circle of land around it had known inhabitants once. No matter how many horror stories people told of the Castle''s past (or how many dreams people had, sleeping within its halls) it must have been a fascinating place. Ismene wished she could have known it then.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    Perhaps it was better that Ismene found it now, when there was less to see. Work wouldn''t take her there, so she''d never get the permit to go. Then again, if she hadn''t left home, and done good work for Lady Harmonia, Ismene would never have seen the Castle at all.


    She didn''t bother turning up the hanging lantern in the main room. Opposite the bedroom, instead, on the other side of the central space, Ismene turned the room''s light up and found a little office with lamps and desk. She liked the way the Castle divided the work space separately from the main room. It was as interesting in its way as having a separate sleep space.


    Back in her bedroom, Ismene was pleased to find the doorway to the privy and, beyond that, the bath. The Castle always seemed to have them, and they were a prime luxury of the trip. Lighting it up, Ismene sighed happily.


    The bath was massive, hewn from one great piece of veined, gold-shot stone. Its outside walls curved in underneath it, and Ismene supposed it must be flat-bottomed so that it didn''t roll. Fixtures set into the wall would fill it with water, already as hot as she could ask for. The rest of the room was stone, so she could get it as steamy as she liked without worrying about damaging any wooden walls.


    It was like a big dorm bathing room, but fancier, and better, and she didn''t have to share it with anyone. This was definitely where she''d be spending some time. She worked the taps, starting a bath. She could eat and sleep when she was clean.


    The knock on her suite''s door startled her. For a moment, Ismene thought her truancy had been exposed; that Harmonia was at the door. But the knock wasn''t followed by Harmonia''s expectant voice, and she thought better of her nerves. Pulling her robe tighter, Ismene answered the door.


    There was a Hand there, carrying a tray. The sight and smell of food made Ismene''s stomach quickly, painfully hungry.


    "Good evening. You should eat," the Hand said.


    Ismene remembered herself and took the tray. "Thank you," she said. She didn''t know how the Hand knew just when to come in, but she was glad of it.


    "It''s nothing," the Hand said. "Do you enjoy visiting here?" they asked.


    Ismene blinked. "Very much," she said. "Thank you for having us. I''m happy to get these chances to visit." The question was a little unusual; so was its source.


    The Hand considered the comment, and nodded. "You can''t stay?"


    "We''re only staying for ten days," Ismene shrugged.


    The Hand nodded. "Enjoy your meal. Good night." They left without another word.


    Ismene wondered if they had meant something by it. The Hand''s visit had been very on the nose; but how had they known?


    That wasn''t something she was going to answer immediately, and she was hungry and sleepy. Ismene took her tray into the bath. The stone tub was full soon, and Ismene took advantage of the wide rim to set her tray right down on it before shucking her robe and slipping into the gloriously hot water.


    She washed up and tucked into the food. Fruit, a slice of meat-and-egg pie, and her favorite: milk-fried bread. At some point, the Hands had figured out that she really liked that village breakfast staple, and it had been included in a lot of her meals since. It made a wonderful late-night snack.


    Well-fed, Ismene washed up again and soaked for a while. Before she could fall asleep in the bath, she fished herself out and got dry. Only then, all clean, with her hair brushed and body soothed of its travels, did she pull back the covers in her bed and get to sleep properly.