Chapter 3: Fjellborg - Ⅱ
Coming to a standstill, the RV had stopped quite some distance away from the Fjellborg Castle.
Inside the RV, Arthur was sitting on the stool that was placed in front of a mirror attached to the wall. Looking into it, he looked back at his reflection. With a pair of sharp grey eyes and an equally sharp nose, his entire face seemed to be sculpted by hand out of a stone. Even for his age, he had unusually sharp features.
He was wearing a formal white shirt. The topmost button was undone. He was wearing a black vest over the shirt that was tight fitting, clinging to his body and accentuating it. To top it off, a charcoal coloured overcoat completed his ensemble.
His ashy brown hair fell in rough bangs over his forehead and stopped just above his eyes. Casting one last look at his own appearance, he let out a sigh. 'My hair looks messy.' He thought. 'Well, whatever.' However, the thought vanished from his mind.
"I am ready~" Astrid hopped in from her room. Arthur's eyes flicked towards her for a moment, before returning back as he looked down. She was wearing a black A-line dress. It was quite simple. Extending down to below her knees, her feet were hidden underneath thick black leggings. She was wearing long boots that stopped at the middle of her calf.
Despite the simplicity, it seemed to suit her perfectly. Her hair was done up in a bun completely, getting rid of the single side ponytail.
"You changed your hairstyle." Arthur commented, not looking at her.
Astrid glanced in his direction. "Well I can't act freely in front of everyone, you know." She spoke, the playfulness in her voice dissipating with every passing moment. "I am your attendant, I'm not a part of this whole thing. It's above me." A smile formed on her lips. "Not that I care about it, hehe!"
Arthur shrugged. "If you say so. We should go now." As Arthur looked outside the window, he saw three helicopters parked beside the castle. "Including us, four of the 「The Seven Syndicates」 are already here."
"Huh! Are we going to go?" Astrid looked flabbergasted.
"Isn't that the whole point of travelling all this way?"
"No— I mean, God, Arthur! Look at your hair!" She pointed her slim finger at him, looking at him with disbelief. "You can't go out in the world looking like that. Geez."
"It doesn't really matte—"
"You bet it does. Sit down." Walking over to him, she pressed his shoulders, making him sit forcibly on the stool. Picking the brush on the table, she started to comb it out. The messy hair tangled into it, however, she kept brushing it evenly, disregarding any prospect of pulling his hair out.
Creating a centre parting by combing his hair straight back from the forehead, she then used a fine-tooth comb to create a clean parting down the middle. Using her fingers she pushed the hair on each side of the parting slightly forward and outward, creating the "curtain" effect, framing Arthur's face while maintaining a relaxed, natural look.
Her sleek finger formed a hook around his chin, as she tried to make him look up. However, his head was locked in place. Placing his hand over her wrist, he pulled it away. "That's… enough." He spoke, making Astrid take a step back.
"As you wish." She gave him a curt nod before moving out of the room and towards the door that led outside of the RV.
As he felt her steps get meeker by the second, he stood up as well. "Here goes nothing."
Once he stood up, he looked at himself in the mirror. Without a response from himself, he finally walked out of his room.
—------------------------
"Good afternoon, Sir Arthur." The man stationed at the exit door greeted Arthur, taking a subtle bow. As he stepped outside, the violent wind brushed against his face, making his hair fly back and his overcoat to flap on either side. "I apologise but the weather here in Oslo—"
"I am aware." Arthur dismissed, stepping outside. Astrid—who was standing beside Henry—the butler greeting Arthur—started to follow Arthur closely behind, her footsteps falling in a perfect rhythm with him.
"Err— Arthur?" Keeping a composed face, Astrid called out to him from behind.
Arthur suddenly stopped. "Speak now. We won't have a chance to hold a conversation inside. At least not freely."
"Well, I—uhh." She stammered over her own words, tipping her head down as she nervously twiddled her thumbs together. Giving up, she sighed in frustration, before glancing back at his curious gaze. "It's nothing important. Sorry."
Arthur takes a moment to study her expression, long enough for her to raise an eyebrow and shift uncomfortably under his watchful eye, anxious about his extended silence.
"Hmm. If you say so." Arthur replied, his shoulders lifting in a casual shrug. Then he reached out for Astrid's hand, hesitatingly. A chill went down his spine as he felt her skin against his and almost recoiled from it, however, he maintained a practised layer of composure. "Feel free to speak your mind."
A relieved smile formed on her lips, the two moles on the left side of her mouth curving upwards. "Thanks, I will, later."
Nodding his head, the two of them finally started to make their way towards the castle. The castle was located at the edge of a cliff. The moderate sized waves of the North Sea below struck the rocks, and clouds rumbled overhead, creating an eerie atmosphere.
As Arthur walked, Astrid took a bigger leap and walked side-by-side with him. The sight of towering walls made of weathered black stone greeted their eyes, rising ominously from amidst the canopy of trees that formed a makeshift forest around it..
Since the Fjellborg Castle sat atop a jagged cliff, its silhouette loomed with a chilling cadence against the backdrop of the ever darkening sky.
"It's darker than usual…" Astrid commented, a looming premonition making a chill run down her spine. With her hands clasped behind her back, she took an inch closer to Arthur, a subtle form of dread overcoming her. "...I've never been this scared while coming here."
"This is your second time." Arthur replied, looking straight ahead. Although the blank stare focused at nothing in particular. "Maybe you're just under the weather."
"No, no—" She shook her head and hugged her own arms. "—it somehow feels creepy."
"Hmm." Arthur only hummed, stealing a glance at her as Astrid eyes darted anxiously in every conceivable direction.
RRRROOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM
Like the roots of a century old tree, the bolt of lightning diverged in every direction, brightening with every passing second before slowly flickering out of life, like a candle suddenly being whiffed out in a storm. The resonant thunder rumbled like the growl of a centuries old creature, making a tangible tremor rack everyone's insides.
Beyond the entrance gate, a cobblestone courtyard stretched before them, illuminated only by the pale glow of warm yellow bulbs attached to plastic covered wires that lined the branches of the trees that lined the boundary of the path.
The courtyard was flanked by towering turrets, their pointed peaks disappearing into the night sky. Each turret was capped with a menacing gargoyle, their stone faces contorted in a state of eternal, never-ending agony.
The air itself seemed heavy with the scent of damp earth and decay, and the sound of rustling leaves and distant howling winds only added to the eerie atmosphere.
Before long both Arthur and Astrid had arrived in front of the castle's body.
The main entrance to the castle was a massive wooden door, reinforced with iron bands and adorned with ancient symbols of protection.
Astrid took a slow step, making her fall behind him. The guard stationed at the entrance pushed the door open. As he saw the badge glimmer on Arthur's longcoat's collar, it stood in front of Arthur, giving out a strong salute. "We greet the Heir to Olvasen!"
Astrid peeked at Arthur as he gave the same shallow nod at them. 'He must be fighting his urge to roll his eyes, hehe.'Giggling internally, she thought.
As the heavy door was pushed, they were greeted by a blast of cold air and the musty smell of age-old secrets that the castle seemed to have been harbouring for centuries.
As they walked in, an array of flickering torches illuminated the wide hall that was the first thing to greet the newcomers. Two spiralling stairs extended upwards from each corner of the main hall. The walls were lined with suits of armour and tapestries depicting scenes of battles and conquests.
Conquests that had never occurred in recorded human history. Conquests that had something… oddly an inhuman feeling about it.
The main hall's vaulted ceiling soared high above them. A long wooden table dominated the centre of the room, flanked by high-backed chairs adorned with beautiful carvings. At the far end of the hall, a massive stone fireplace crackled and roared, casting eerie shadows across the room.
As Arthur took a step towards the side, the door that led to the basement, suddenly a hand extended and blocked Astrid's path. Arthur looked back over his shoulder, his pale grey eyes flickering between its natural shade to an eerie, bone chilling shade of ghastly grey.
"What's the meaning of this, Albert?"
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