Typhon's Revenge

Chapter Six

Earth

After dinner, all of us got up and headed towards the door. Aileen was the first to walk out while Alex and I walked at the very end. 

Noah was leaning against the wall, smiling at us. "Are you guys ready?" 

"Yeah, lead the way," Aileen said and Noah nodded his head.

"Have you seen any part of the castle?" Noah asked us without turning around.

"Only the throne room," I responded and Noah nodded his head.

"Alright then, let's take a small detour before I take you to your rooms. Or should we leave that for tomorrow? I don't know how tired you all are," Noah asked as he stopped abruptly and looked at us.

"I think it'd be best to have it now so tomorrow we'll know how to move around. We don't know how long we'll be here but we might as well get to know the place," Kalani said with a shrug and everyone nodded their heads.

That's when I realized how quiet Andrew had been all day. He still looked uncomfortable, especially considering that Kalani remained glued to him at the hip which only made things tenser between Aileen and Kalani. I had a feeling my cousin wasn't quick to forgive and that she was still hurting from the kiss she had witnessed. And the more Kalani kept herself close to Andrew, the more uncomfortable things became between us.

Which was why I pulled Alex to the side as Noah started to lead us away. 

"What's wrong?" She asked as she studied me closely. 

Shaking my head, I pointed to Kalani and Aileen. "Have you talked to Aileen? I mean about what happened with Andrew and Kalani."

Alex slowly shook her head and frowned, "no, but I know I should. I just haven't been able to because we don't have much privacy. But I will. I also noticed the tension between the two. I don't see how they're supposed to work together if things continue like this."

I nodded my head and sighed. "Andrew also wants to talk to her, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Maybe we should talk to Kalani as well, get them to straighten things out," I suggested and Alex frowned.

"I don't know. Aileen can be very... untrusting. She doesn't usually listen to someone who has hurt her, believe me. When I played a joke on her when we were little, she didn't talk to me for weeks, it wasn't until Barbara intervened that she even looked at me," Alex said with a chuckle and I shrugged.

"Well, Barbara isn't here anymore. It's up to us," I said as and Alex didn't say anything as the two of us hurried to catch up with the others before we lost them from sight. 

"Great, you didn't get lost," Noah said as he saw us approaching the group.

"Sorry," Alex murmured as she gave him a sweet smile. Aileen looked back at us with a raised eyebrow, but thankfully, she didn't try to reach out to me to find out what was going on. 

"No worries, just try to stay together. Some parts of the castle can be very... confusing," Noah said before continuing. "Anyway, as I was saying, yes, all the floors are marble, and all the decorations are made out of precious metals or gems since we have a lot of them down here. 

Moving on, if you walk all the way down this hall you will find that where it ends, there are two directions," Noah said as he stopped at the end. "To the left, you will find the library, the garden, and many other rooms that are not important to mention. Meanwhile, to the right, you will get to the throne room, the main entrance, and there's also an exit that leads to the stables."

"What about the rooms?" I asked as I tried to make a map in my mind. 

"Those are on the second floor, to get there, we need to walk to the hall on the left," Noah said. "Before you get to the end of the hall, you will see some stairs to your right that lead to the second floor towards the guests' rooms. To get to the royal bedrooms, you need to head through the right hallway and before you get to the throneroom, there's a fountain with a secret button that reveals the stairway."

"Is there a place we can use to practice? I mean, a place to train. Someplace that is danger-proofed," Aileen asked as she turned to Noah. 

"In fact, there is, it's also on the second floor next to the guest wing. I can show you before I take you to your rooms. In fact, we're going to head that way since to the right there's nothing to see," Noah said more to himself than to us as he turned right. 

We trailed after him as he walked through the hallway and stopped in front of big, black double doors on our left. "This is the library. You will find it is pretty big and filled with many more books than you have ever seen. Inside you will find Amanda, she is the keeper of the library and she knows where to find everything. I think she has been here since the castle was built."

After a moment, he continued walking until we reached the end of the hallway where there was a large glass door with a surprising view of the garden. Being in the castle of the Underworld, I didn't expect to see grass or flowers, but somehow, there were. Even trees. 

My eyes widened as I saw tall trees all around the garden and even an imitation of the sun stood above us. "This is the garden, a very pretty scene if you ask me. The sun is an imitation but the plants are very real. And that small building you see there, the barn, that's where you'll find our horses. If you ever want to train outside, this is the path you should follow," Noah said as his eyes looked at us in amusement as he saw the awe in our faces.

"Now, the stairs I mentioned, are right here," Noah continued as he walked through our group and headed a couple of steps back. A stairway came into view inside a room. My eyes widened when I saw the large double staircase. The steps had golden accents on the black marble and the rail was made out of polished gold and a large chandelier hung from the ceiling. 

"Be careful where you step, the floor can be very slippery," Noah warned as he started to lead us to the second floor. 

As we reached the top of the steps, the corridor divided into two as one led forward and one to the right. "To the front, you will find a utility closet, lounge area, and the training room I was talking about. To the right are all the guest rooms of the castle. I'll take you there in a moment. In the meantime, follow me."

We headed through the hallway in front of us where Noah stopped and opened a door to our left revealing a well-lit room with a big TV and sound system along with chocolate brown couches and a light-colored floor. At the other end of the room were two big windows with dark red curtains hanging open in front of us, revealing another view to the garden and to the rest of the Underworld. 

I could see myself spending time here, just relaxing after a long day of training, because knowing Aileen, she was probably going to push us to the limit and maybe even a bit more. I didn't know about Andrew but I guessed he was going to stick with more theoretic teachings rather than physical. He was Athena's son after all. 

"And finally, at the end of the hallway, you will find a training room. Although I must warn you, it has been a very, very long time since anyone has used it. it will need some cleaning up before you can train in there. There are also some weapons that you can practice with. Just some basic swords, bows, and knives. And the whole room is silent-proofed so don't worry about the noise," Noah said as he pointed to the doors at the end of the hallway. 

"Okay, anything else you'd like to see before I show you to your rooms?" Noah asked as he turned to us with expectant eyes. 

"Truthfully, I'm feeling very tired. I think we just covered the basics, and if everyone's okay with it, I'd like to rest and get cleaned up," Alex said as she looked around the group. As my gaze followed her, I noticed all of us did look tired. It had been a long day and I had a feeling most of our days were going to be just as tiring and long as this one.

Thankfully, the rest of the group agreed and Noah nodded his head. "Very well, then follow me to the guest corridor."

We followed Noah to the other side of the second floor before he stopped abruptly and pointed to one door. "Here is the ladies' room." He opened the door revealing a big room with dark wooden floors and two beds inside. There were three doors inside but all were closed so I couldn't see what was through them. 

"Here is where the ladies will be staying. Although, Your Majesty will be staying in the royal rooms in her room," Noah explained and Aileen instantly stiffened.

"Hold on, no. I want to be close to my friends in case something happens. We shouldn't be apart. I'm sure that won't be a problem," Aileen said with a serious look on her face.

Noah pursed his lips together before nodding his head and sighing, "Your wishes are my command. Your father made it very clear to follow your wishes. And for some reason, I had a feeling you would say something like this, so I made sure to choose a room with a connection to another room." He said as he walked further into the hallway and opened the door next to the one he had opened. 

"This will be your bedroom, princess. As I said, both rooms are connected and they share a bathroom. Meanwhile for the boys," Noah continued as he walked further back until a door appeared to his right. "They will be staying here. They'll have two beds, a closet, and a bathroom to share. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask any of the staff you might come across. Or, in case you don't see anyone, there are bells in each room and if you use them, someone will appear. Any questions?" Noah finished.

Shaking our heads, Noah sighed and smiled. "Okay then, I'll see you soon. I'll leave you to get freshened up and to rest."

Slowly, Noah walked past us and towards the stairs but not before looking at Aileen with something behind his gaze. I shared a look with Alex but neither of us said anything and soon he was gone. 

"Well then, I'm going to take a shower," Kalani said, breaking the silence. 

She quickly disappeared inside her room and the four of us were left in the hallway standing uncomfortably. 

Andrew was looking at Aileen with his mouth open as if he were trying to make out the right words to say, but she was avoiding looking at him. "Come, Aileen. There's something I want to talk to you about," Alex whispered softly as she grabbed her best friend's arm and began to lead her into her room. "I'll see you later," Alex said as she looked at me with a warm look in her eyes. 

Soon, a door separated us, and only Andrew and I were left standing outside. "You'll get your chance to talk to her. Just be patient. Neither of us is going anywhere soon, okay? But, I do call being the first to take a shower," I said as I walked inside our room and headed directly to the bathroom.