First, I explore the tower we are staying in. Outside my room, a long hallway stretches in both directions. I gasp at the width, height, and architecture. Illustrious picture frames adorned with detailed paintings of people I do not know line the walls. The builders designed the arched stone ceiling with stone pillars equidistant from each other.
Beside each door, lanterns with golden flames light the hallway. Large stone blocks, similar to concrete, make up the walls. A wide royal blue carpet with a golden border stretches in both directions. There are many more rooms here than I realized. My room is one of many, which I assume comprise the main living quarters. There are so many I cannot count them all. Both directions seem to go off into the distance.
From what I assume, there are rooms for the handmaidens, servants, and maids. I take the path to my right down the long hallway. We walk for several long minutes and still do not reach the end.
"How long is this hallway?" I blurt out after we come to four intersections.
"Just a bit further. We merely have to pass another intersection before we reach the stairwell, my Queen," Leonita says.
"Only one more! Oh man, we should have gone the other way."
"There are two identical intersections that way, my Queen," Eulalia says softly.
"You gotta be kidding me! How big is this place?" I say, frustrated.
"At any of the four intersections, we would cross another hallway like this before reaching the outer hallway," Leonita explains, taking my arm in hers.
"Yes, my Queen. The Trinity Queen's Keep is one of the largest in all of Sidra. Only a handful of Keeps could compete with its size and glory," Eulalia adds.
"Isn't this a little overkill?" I ask.
Leonita shakes her head. "No, my Queen. It is necessary for your protection. We can assign the Fated Queens to any of the rooms and on any floor. They are all fit for a Queen. The castle's staff, handmaidens, servants, and maids fill vacant rooms. The royalty of Sidra fills others, and Royals like yourself are here," Leonita explains.
"You mean the two of you have a room identical to mine?" I ask curiously.
"Not exactly. Each room has its own theme. If you want, we can show you ours," Eulalia whispers, looking down as she walks.
"Come now, Eulalia, you know our Queen would relish the idea. Have a little more faith. Our Queen is more than pleased with you and me," Leonita replies.
I rub her lower back before patting her gently on her bottom as Eulalia looks over her shoulder at me. My lips curl into a smirk as her breasts jiggle like bells hanging from a Christmas tree at her sudden surprise. She looks at me with a cherry-colored face, and I instinctively take her arm in mine.
"M-my… My Queen, we are not in the privacy of our…," Eulalia says, embarrassed before I cut her off by leaning in and kissing her. I pull back and gaze into her eyes.
"No need to feel embarrassed, Eulalia. You are like a gorgeous flower blooming on the side of a mountain," I say as I kiss her again.
"It should elate you. Finally, our Queen expresses fondness for you in public," Leonita says.
I turn to Leonita, and her expression is one of pride. My interest in her is a prospect she has hoped for since her training began many years ago. I let her arm go and slip my hand between the slits in her dress. I grope her bottom as we walk. She keeps her gaze on me, and I cannot prevent myself from leaning in to kiss her. She moans softly as I kiss her gently on the lips.
"We are at the final intersection. The stairwell is only a short distance away, my Queen," Eulalia whispers.
I admire them and hold them close as we walk down the long stretch of the hallway to the stairwell.
We find tall, metal-arched double doors at the end of the ridiculously long hallway. Eulalia walks up to the doors and exerts strength to pull them open. A gust of wind washes over us, and metal groaning fills the hallway as she pushes the doors open. She holds the doors open with a metal latch at the bottom of the floor. We walk into an enormous, grand stairwell. As we enter, my jaw drops...
I look at Leonita, "Are they all this grand, and how many stairwells are there?" I question.
"Four, one at each of the inner hallways. There are hallways that wrap around the keep. At each corner is a doorway to another section of the castle," Leonita explains with a smile.
We walk over to the stone balusters. I peer over the edge and gasp. I knew we were high up, but I never expected this. There are so many floors below that I cannot see the bottom. I shake my head repeatedly.
"There are at least a hundred floors below us, Leonita!" I blurt out.
"There are far more than that, my Queen. We are on floor 190," Leonita explains.
I gasp again and look above us. There are no less than another ten floors above us.
"Are you saying this Keep is two hundred floors total?" I ask, with a lump in my throat.
I never imagined a medieval society capable of building a two-hundred-story keep, let alone an entire castle of enormous size.
"My Queen, there are another fifty floors above us. As I said before, my Queen. We assign the Queens to any floor in the Trinity Queen's Keep. It is vital for our Queens' locations to be obscure," Leonita explains.
The space below goes down as far as the eye can see. To the far side of the grand staircase is another set of massive arched metal double doors. The right and left have identical sets of metal doors as well.
"Where do the other doors lead?" I ask, turning to Leonita.
"They lead to separate parts of the castle, but the passageway to our left is the barracks for this floor. Each floor maintains a barrack with no fewer than one hundred royal soldiers and a dozen royal knights," Leonita says.
"Yes, my Queen. The door to our left leads to this floor's armory and training facilities. We could explore it with you later if you'd like," Eulalia says.
"I would like that very much, but your quarters come first!" I say, pulling Eulalia closer and kissing her on the forehead.
"Y-yes… my Queen," Eulalia whispers.
Leonita pulls on my hand and leads us down the grand staircase. The architecture is fantastic and elegant. The distance in the middle of the stairs is vast. Leonita leads us down close to the stone wall. The staircase itself measures no less than fifteen feet across. The broadest set of stairs I have ever seen in my life.
The grand staircase design influences everything from a combination of Victorian, Greek, and medieval English styles of architecture. The Queen's Keep appears to be void of anyone but us. After descending several floors, we haven't met another human being.
"Is every floor identical?" I ask as we walk down the stairs.
"Yes, almost, my Queen. We designate some floors as combat floors," Leonita replies.
"Combat floors?" I question.
Leonita stops halfway down the stairs to the next landing and looks at me. Eulalia clings to my arm as Leonita looks at me.
"My Queen. There are many enemies of the Fated Queens. We must defend you at all costs. However, as handmaidens, our combat prowess is not comparable to the enemies you will confront. Therefore, the builders of the combat floors designed them into the Queen's Keep for repelling enemies. One cannot pass through a combat floor without obtaining approval from the floor's Captain," Leonita explains.
"The floor's Captain?" I ask in a bewildered voice.
"The Floor Captain, or Raid Captain, as most call them," Eulalia explained, her voice carrying the quiet reverence of someone reciting a lesson learned in childhood, "are the strongest warriors in the Sidran Royal Army. Each one is chosen through a series of trials that few survive. They are not merely tests of strength, but of endurance, tactical judgment, and an unbreakable will. A candidate who breaks under pressure is disqualified immediately, regardless of how skilled they are with a blade."
Allowing the gravity of that statement to linger for a moment, she continued, "The trials last three months and begin with one thousand candidates. By the end, fewer than ten usually remain standing."
She spoke with absolute certainty, never once sounding as though she doubted the system she described. "Each combat floor is protected by an entire garrison of no fewer than five hundred soldiers. They rotate through scheduled shifts so that no soldier is ever forced to stand watch while exhausted."
Her admiration became more apparent as she went on. "Every Captain personally selects seven Vice Captains from among those who survived the trials alongside them. Those officers are trusted above all others. Each Vice Captain then commands several Lieutenants responsible for specific defensive sectors of the floor. They train together every day until they know one another's instincts almost as well as their own."
Her expression grew more solemn as she reached the end of her explanation. "The Keep's General at Arms has given them a single order: defend every floor with their lives." A faint smile touched her lips before she finished. "My Queen, not one of them would hesitate to do exactly that."
"Isn't that a little overkill?" I question as Leonita leads us back down the stairs.
"No, my Queen. It is an extremely serious matter. Your enemies will not be helpless," Leonita says as we go down another floor.
"I see; well, is that why this place seems empty?"
"Affirmative, my Queen. The Queen's Keep has been on high alert since your appearance," Leonita says.