The journey continued. They leaped through the main hall without drawing the attention of the crowd, and the way became easier. As they progressed towards the Queen's chamber, "What's the deal with all this art and these stones here?" Emerald asked.
"Heh, don't disrespect the great art of the kingdom," Genna replied, her prominent royal blood showing in her tone.
"You call that art? No wonder you guys are so dumb," Emerald said, trying to take pride in the so-called human world wonders.
"What is there that you humans have to be so greedy about?" Genna's question was straightforward; she didn't even take a second to let the heat get away.
"We have the Mona Lisa and Da Vinci paintings," Emerald stated, a classic human boast.
"Fucking bullshit. You really thought that was the work of humans? We, the greatest Homo sapiens, are the ones who made it." Emerald kept his mouth shut after that, knowing he couldn't win an argument against Genna's omnipotent knowledge.
They kept walking, but as they progressed, Emerald's legs began to feel heavy, slowing him down. Genna, eager to see her mother, wanted to push past his lagging. As Emerald noticed her eagerness, he paused, standing still like a statue, "Holy cow, is this kind of thing even possible?" he murmured. It was something he had only ever seen in medieval fiction. He used this distraction to get her mind off their destination.
Genna caught on quickly. She paused for a few seconds, turned to him, and whispered, "The Queen's chamber is straight up ahead. Will you be good?" Emerald nodded in acceptance.
As she hurried away with a child's excitement, she yelled a request back at him. "Don't go around causing any unwanted trouble, boy. Madam Genna ain't got no time for dilly-dallying or any more troubles." He gave her a big "Yah!" in reply.
Genna stood there for a minute before pushing open the queen's chamber door. The maroon marble block slid over the white one, and the floor gave off a perfect reflection as she stepped inside. The fading sun cast a mirror image of the queen onto the frame. "Morning, Mom," Genna said, walking out to the balcony where the lady was. "Oh my god!" the woman rushed to her and hugged her as hard as she could. "You've taken on a bad scent. Don't tell me you fucked that guy."
"Ew, Mom," Genna replied, pulling away.
The queen gave her a sarcastic look and then cracked up. "Come, have some tea," she invited, gesturing to a seat with a wild view of the kingdom. "Where's the guy, Gen?" she asked, ending her question with an arch of her eyebrow.
"He's looking around the castle."
"No wonder. Anyway, how's life been over the years, sweetheart?" They continued their chatter.
Meanwhile, Emerald was dazzling and running around the hall like a kid. Suddenly, his eyes landed on a cat. He took a glance and then picked it up. It was cute and furry. He petted it and brought it close, rubbing it against his cheek. One thing was for sure: Emerald was living his dream in the castle, having found a cat, just like science says, an emotional support animal.
Emerald put the cat down and walked off, following the path Genna had taken. It led him to the North Tower, which he knew was where the Queen's room was located.
The chatter continued in the balcony. "You look pale, Gen. Does the boy treat you badly?"
"Nah, he's a stubborn kid. The dude doesn't even give me an eye," Genna replied.
"Interesting, so a different guy, huh?" Suddenly, they looked at each other and nodded, a silent understanding passing between them. Emerald entered the room. It took him some time to push open the heavy marble door. The room laid out like a seabed, vast and timeless, feeling like a different world entirely. "Such vastness," he muttered to himself.
"Oh, it's you. Over here," Genna called him over to them. Emerald walked over and felt a shock run through his body just from seeing the Queen. A momentary dream flashed—different faces, all asking the same question: 'Are you leaving again?' He couldn't understand what it meant. When he regained his consciousness, he was standing there, waking up to Genna's fingers snapping in front of his face.
"Pleased to meet you, Queen," Emerald said as soon as he saw her.
"Gemma Embridge, nice to meet you. You must be Emerald."
"Yah... ahu... I'm," Emerald was still in shock.
"Why are you babbling just to say 'I'm'? You're kind of sus," Genna said, noticing a reverberating glow in his left eye.
"Am I, really?" Emerald replied with embarrassment.
Her mother started laughing. To take the heat off, Emerald slowly joined them for tea on the balcony, on the North side of the castle. The Queen's room was the only one in this utmost corner. He started looking at the dense forest. It was so vast that he couldn't see the end of it. At the end, there was a mountain range covering the capital from what Genna had called the "ghost town."
"I heard you're quite the poker," her mother asked.
"Poker?..." he stood without any idea what she meant.
"I meant you're quite the nosy guy when it comes to knowledge, kid," the queen sighed.
"Oh, that. Well, not the kind of guy who likes dates and names, but tales, though," Emerald replied.
"Well, Genna and I need to get going. There's a family member she needs to visit," her mom said, glancing at the fading sun.
"You coming? It will be fun," Genna asked, inviting him to join them.
"No, I'm good. After all, I gotta get some rest," he said, still feeling rattled by the earlier shocks.
"Oh shit, you don't know the way, right?" Before they left, Genna came back running to ask if he was truly okay.
"It's not a big deal. I'm a man, after all." Genna looked at him for a few seconds and then called out for Eva. A cat came running through the door, even though Emerald had struggled to open it earlier.
"Nice kitty, is it yours?" Emerald asked.
"Nah, she's a porter," Genna casually stated.
Emerald looked surprised. "Porter?"
"Well, it can take you to your room or even give you a tour of the castle," Genna said.
Emerald's surprise grew. "What the actual fuck? How's a cat supposed to give me a tour?" he asked.
"Well, you see, somethings can be a little funny," Genna caught the fun in the words and said, then patted the cat's head and spoke to it. "Brown, take the boy for a tour or whatever he asks for, and don't kill him or harm him, got it?"
The next thing Emerald knew, a blonde woman was standing in front of him. Without even thinking, the words jumped out of his mouth, "No freaking way!"
"Well, this is Eva Brown. She is the head of the Brown household. Also, she can turn into a cat or whatever she wants at will," Genna explained. Emerald's mind went into a frantic scramble, realizing that this was the exact cat he had just met in the hall.
(To be continued)