Chương 18: Count to Five

At least the interior of the palace wasn't dark and dreary. That was one thing that surprised her the first time they were brought inside of its walls.

Outside, the steepled towers and ominous facade were a weathered dark gray. With the clouds that hung over the entirety of Gray Vale, you almost got the impression that there must be soot in the air that gradually coated everything in a thin layer of powdery black. More than once Cora had looked down at her fingers while walking home, expecting to see them also accumulating that powdery black film. But it was never the case.

Inside the palace though, it glowed with a surprising warmth despite the vast size of its halls and rooms. Did the queen and her sons use their wings in here? It would not be surprising given how high the ceilings rose. The only obstacle to flight would be the pillars and the elegant cascades of glass and fabric that decorated each new expansive room.

Cora never would have imagined appreciating the decadence of a place like this. She was more of the simple nature type who preferred being outdoors, fingers sunk into soil with the scent of sunshine washing everything in its golden rays of life. But with the barren land they lived in now, the palace was a welcomed respite. If there was a sun in Gray Vale, it was the interior of this palace with its grand chandeliers hanging low from the ceilings making everything inside sparkle.

"Right," Grayson looked around once they had passed within the palace's walls into the grand entrance. Apparently not finding who he was looking for, he turned back to offer Penelope and Cora a smile. "I will show you to the rooms where you will be staying for the foreseeable future."

He would not typically take it upon himself to do such a menial task, but he wasn't going to leave Cora and her mother to wander the place themselves. They would get lost. And the staff he trusted most was nowhere to be found. This was going to be a delicate situation anyway, so he supposed he could act as guide for the day.

"Rooms?" Cora repeated. "Plural? I want to stay with my mother in the same room."

"Miss Cora, I can assure you that your mother will be safe with us here," he replied simply and turned to lead them away from the entrance.

Cora rolled her eyes and stalked after him with Penelope close behind.

Several grand staircases and turns later following on Grayson's heels, they entered an area of the palace with narrower halls and fewer warm lights. The chandeliers were gone from this part of the palace, replaced instead with torches secured on the walls.

Cora and Penelope both slowed their steps, feeling a change in the atmosphere. It may have just been an illusion caused by the different light here, but this new hallway that was so far removed from the grand entrance of the palace felt cold.

"I do apologize," Grayson turned to wait for them. "We have not used this area of the palace for quite some time. I will make sure it is updated now that you will both be staying in its apartments."

The Veiled surged back into Cora's vision and she shivered, squeezing her eyes shut again to try forcing it out. She was meant to sleep in these quarters. She didn't want to see any haunting visions of what was crossing through this dimension, and if there were bats or demons swarming outside of the windows here, she certainly didn't want to be aware of it.

Grayson had already turned to continue walking ahead of them, and she felt Penelope place a hand on her back.

"Remember what we use to practice?" She said softly in her daughter's ear.

When Cora was young and first started becoming aware of this other realm of energy and unseen beings that she was able to witness with her fae eyes, Penelope would help her practice getting it under control. She could always tell when her daughter was disturbed by something in the Veiled. She would never talk about it, but Cora would become rigid and often visibly afraid, avoiding the eyes of those around her in hopes that they would not notice the change she was witnessing in their midst.

"Count to five," Penelope whispered, keeping her hand on Cora's back as they slowly continued walking so as not to lose sight of Grayson in the dim hallway.

"It doesn't work like that for me anymore," Cora sighed.

She shivered again when a screech attempted to catch her attention outside one of the arched windows. It had to be one of those creatures, and she did not want to see it up close. It wasn't often that she heard things from the Veiled that others could not. Typically it was only extra information for her eyes, but apparently Gray Vale was full of unwelcome surprises.

"Just give it a try," Penelope said next to her and began counting for her daughter the way she would when she was a child. "One… two… three…"

Cora sighed again and tried to calm her mind. Something about her mother's voice was particularly soothing, reminding her of a simpler time. She didn't even want to imagine what she would do in this situation if her mother wasn't here with her.

"You are staying in my room with me," Cora rasped harshly with her eyes still closed.

Her mom chuckled. "Perhaps the counting does not work for you anymore because you don't focus like you used to."

"Can you blame me?" Cora whispered, glancing over at her mom and avoiding the windows. She didn't want to see any hint of what was out there even in her peripheral vision. "This place doesn't give you the creeps?"

"No more than the rest of Gray Vale," Penelope chuckled again in an attempt to lighten the mood. She continued rubbing her daughter's back before dropping her hand to her side.

"It is not such a bad thing to no longer see the Veiled when you are stuck here. Let's just put it that way," Cora sighed miserably.

A shadowy figure passed by them in the hallway, rippling the air in its wake with a new depth of cold. Cora's eyes darted to her mother's, and she knew that it was her alone who saw it.

"Okay," she sighed with an edge of desperation in her voice. "Will you count for me again?"

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