toward a transparent door that led into the palace. Even though I was always at the palace, I had never been inside the Great Hall because that area was private. I always met the king in the Assignment Hall, which was another fancy name for an office. The first thing I saw when I entered the Great Hall was a black grand piano that stood at the far left end of the hall between two vast, golden marble arches, with statues of ornamented creatures beneath them. Gold-tinted walls were adorned with intricate, golden carvings and antique paintings.
The yellow-and-brown marble floor glittered with gilded flourishes and a black-and-brown design of the Grandinian coat of arms. Our coat of arms was a golden shield with a pair of angel wings extending from each side. A diamond located in the center was segmented into four pieces, each piece representing one of the four neighboring worlds. The northern most section represented Lumens, the eastern section Earth, the southern section Grands, and the western section was for the Underworld.
The vividness and orderliness of the interior of the palace took me by surprise because Grandinians were supposed to be evil. In the middle of the hall, an oversize golden table surrounded by ten ornamented granite chairs hovered in mid-air. Carvings of lions holding swords in their teeth adorned the tops of the chairs.
Huge chandeliers floated in the air beneath an enchanted red sunset. There was no ceiling, but when I looked skyward, it appeared as if the heavens were close enough to touch. The inside of the palace reminded me of an ancient Greek palace, particularly Mt. Olympus’ architecture. Somewhere, a symphony played, and angels sung sweet olden melodies.
Everything I looked at seemed to be laden with gold. It was ostentatious, and I hated it. I had no idea why a smoggy and cold place like Grands would have a beautiful hall when the rest of the palace looked nothing like this room.
“Where am I?” I asked, thinking the door had been a portal to another realm. Like Lumens.
Lumens was a kingdom located between Earth and Heaven. I had heard that Lumens was an enchantingly beautiful kingdom. The sky was always blue, and there was laughter everywhere. I had never been to Lumens because I couldn’t stand to be around people who were selfless and good. There, King Babylon and his wife Queen Charmeine ruled. They had a son, what’s-his-face.
“This is the Great Hall.” Sela landed, puffing out her gown.
I laughed. “Nice try, Princess.” This couldn’t be the inside of our palace, because Grandinians were evil, and nothing beautiful came from us. “Okay, where’s the catch?”
“Humph…I’m not sure what—”
“This is a joke, right?” I explored the room, walking over to one of the statues and pacing around it. “Is this a reality show host?” I pointed at the statue. “Because his face looks familiar, and it’s not Alexander the Great.”
“This is the great…great…” Sela murmured.
“What?” I was confused. “This is really the inside of the Grandinian Great Hall? What the hell?” When I first entered, I had thought it was a cover-up, but then I thought someone was trying to make fun of me. “What the hell happened? Did you rent it out to Aphrodite as a camp?” I’d have understood if they did because Aphrodite was, after all, the goddess of love and beauty. The moment I asked this, I heard Sela’s heart pound violently.
I appeared right beside her and smirked when her heart stopped altogether. “Are you scared of me?” I leaned into her and gently placed one of my hands on the back of her neck. “Is this really the inside of the Grandinian palace?”
“This is the…” Sela paused. I waited for her to continue, but she didn’t.
“Well, then.” I moved my hand from her neck to her shoulder. “How about this?” Before Sela even blinked, the hall looked like a bomb had exploded. The chairs were wrecked, the piano and pillars lay shattered on the ground, and smoke and dirt filled the air. Now if I’d entered and seen the Great Hall like this, I’d have been right at home. “It looks much better now, don’t you think?” I leaned closer into Sela.
“We should—”
I bent and whispered in her ear. “We should have dessert.”
The moment I said this, a male voice called out from behind.
“Father,” Sela gushed and quickly flew away from me. When I turned around, King Daligo stood with two guards behind him. The guards froze in fear the moment