He rose from his saddle as well, not about to let her best him, but as their destination came into sight, she settled back again. The gallop turned into a trot, as she stared at the glass structure up ahead.
“What is that?” she asked.
“I’ll show you,” he promised.
***
The structure was so big it would barely fit inside the great hall, its roof soaring high above their heads. The enormous panes of glass were connected by a silver framework that glinted where the sun caught. They could have shifted and neither their heads nor tails would have touched glass. In fact, they could have taken off and flown through the space.
Thousands of plants of every size and origin covered the floor, planted in gigantic pots or straight from the ground itself.
“We grow fruit here year-round,” Ewan said. “And flowers, of course. Winters here tend to get cold. Are you used to it?”
“The cold? It never bothered me,” she said. “We all run hot, I suppose.”
“True,” he agreed. “But the winters here get bitingly wicked. The wind kicks up and soon enough you cannot feel your cheeks no matter how your inner dragon tries to warm you.”
“That sounds intriguing,” Shannon admitted. “I’ll admit I’ve never been anywhere that cold before.”
“Then ready yourself. It’ll snow before months end,” Ewan said.
He walked on the narrow stone path snaking between plants and potted exotic trees, taking her to the very center of the structure. It remained obscured until they stepped out through a mess of potted plants, their enormous leaves stretching over their heads, and then she could finally see the true reason he had brought her.
There was a circular stone floor at the heart of the Pavilion. It was large enough to comfortably host a gathering of a few hundred guests and was often used as a dancefloor. This morning, however, there was an enormous wooden bell resting at its center. Ropes were being attached to it, a team of servants working tirelessly, with more arriving every minute.
“What is that?” Shannon asked, her tone awestruck.
“It’s the bell for the ball,” Ewan replied, unable to keep a smile down. Her eyes were shining with delight.
She’s a traitor, he reminded himself, tampering the smile somewhat.
He had brought her here because he had need of her. He was making use of her. He wasn’t attempting to bond with her. In any way.
She huffed a small laugh at his statement, asking, “What does that mean?”
“The Bell of the Ball is one of our biggest functions of the year. It rings out autumn and welcomes winter, signaling that the time of renewal and deconstruction has ended and now we’re in for a few months where everything stands still. It’s a time for reflection on the year that’s gone by, a time to ready ourselves for the work required of us in spring. Our lower classes get a few months of respite, living comfortably in their cottages. We do not expect them to work when the soil is frozen through. Instead, we all live off of what we’ve collected and harvested when the land was plentiful with offerings.”
Shannon watched as a tiny old lady Ewan knew well came into view, walking around the bell and touching every inch of it. The lady had a cascade of grey hair down her back, thick and glistening. She was wearing a plain, green dress the color of moss. In fact, if Shannon were to look a little closer she would realize the dress was made out of moss.
“Who is that?” she asked.
“Lady Marigold,” Ewan replied. “She’s here to bless the decorations.”
“Is she a sorceress?”
Ewan smiled and shook his head; no, she was not. Because she was so much more than that. But he did not wish to linger on one of his oldest and most trusted friends. Lady Marigold was too personal. It would be like introducing Shannon to his mother because the lady was nothing less. She had taken him in after his mother’s untimely death and cared for him at a time when he had thought he was going to fall apart with grief. No, he did not want to speak of or acknowledge Lady Marigold as everything she meant to him, not at this point in time.
“How long has she been at court?” Shannon asked.
“She’s not at court,” Ewan replied.
He could tell that Shannon had more questions, but thankfully she got distracted as the bell was hoisted off the ground, dangling precariously over the heads of those working on ensuring everything looked as it should. Lady Marigold must have sensed his aversion to her meeting Shannon and had vanished.
“Where did she go?” Shannon mumbled.
“Oh, she comes and goes,” Ewan said dismissively. “Look at the bell,” he added by way of a distraction, even though Shannon most decidedly already was.
The pestle was thick enough to be a log, carved with the same views of the kingdom as the castle walls. If it fell on the heads of those raising it off the ground, it would surely crush them. They looked unafraid while scurrying around, checking the pestle where it swung slowly now that the bell was in motion. The bottom of the pestle had four rings of silver wrapped around it and inside the bell ran a thick silver band.
