Homeward Bound part 2
"Tabitha, dear," Flora began once we were settled in the coach again. "We have a long ride ahead of us from here--just about two hours, I should think. I suggest you ask any questions you might have on your mind right now so we can get them out of the way in order to take a bit of a nap."
"Let's see... we've shopped, I'm fed, and I'm in a very happy place right now. If I'm dreaming, I'm not ready to wake up just yet," I managed to stifle a yawn. I was ready to drop off where I sat. I was about to ask why she wasn't asking me any questions, as I had noticed that she had not really asked me anything about me--but then, I wasn't so sure I wanted to answer any, but other questions did come up that I decided I wanted answered. I took a glance out the window and successfully stifled another yawn.
"Good point. So tell me more about Amber. Do they speak French there as well? And just how many languages do you know? How big is Amber, anyway? Do we live in a mansion, or something?--a sprawling estate, or in the middle of a city? I like the middle of nowhere, myself--lots of trees and nature, kind of like home," I began and had a sudden painful thought of home. The ostracism, the Tabby Hunting, the being looked upon as different, the homesickness for Gran and Grampa and my wolf friends.
"No, not like home," was all I said softly.
"Tabby, what's the matter, dear?" she asked. I snapped out of my reverie.
"Oh, nothing really," I began. "I was just thinking that it will be nice to be in a place where people accept you for who you are, not fear you because they don't understand. That will be nice." I really meant it. "Maybe I suppose I had a twinge of either the homesick feeling or else the wine is talking. I'm okay. It's all good." I reassured to not make the moment so heavy.
Flora paused, then decided to answer my questions. "Hmm," she began. "Yes, there are some who speak French, though the most common and official language is Thari, which is what all other languages are based on. Personally, I never counted how many languages I can speak. Maybe fifty? " She gave a little shrug. I think my jaw dropped momentarily. I couldn't even begin to fathom that many! Yikes! Flora straightened herself up again and continued on.
"The realm of Amber is vast indeed. And I suppose," she took a look out the window and looked back at me. "Considering where you have been, Amber herself will be overwhelming. Not to mention the Castle. But you will be seeing that soon enough, of course." I felt a new twinge of excitement.
"Ah. Right on time," she indicated that I take a look out the window. I felt a kind of elation as I did, taking in the scenery before me--the most beautiful I had ever seen anywhere. One lone mountain was rising in the distance and I was able to make out the walls to a building. I couldn't help it. My jaw dropped again.
"Wow!" I breathed, trying to put what I was feeling into words. "Gorgeous! That's where we live?" I stared. I couldn't take my eyes away. So this was to be my new home. I couldn't wait to start exploring it.
"Yes, it is," Flora replied simply. She was amusing herself by gauging my reaction.
"Wow!" I couldn't help saying again and couldn't take my eyes away even if I wanted to. "So this is Amber. How much longer until we get there?" My foot was beginning to twitch in excited anticipation again. I was consciously biting my lip in attempt to keep myself quiet and something resembling restrained--yeah, right.
"This is more exciting than my birthday! I feel like a little kid!" It was true that the giddy feeling was taking over and things were beginning to feel a bit surreal. I was finally going to meet my father whom I had never seen before. Seeing Amber suddenly made that prospect so much more real and tangible. I felt a thrill. It was a rush. My foot quit twitching.
"So how does he like to be addressed? Do I call him Dad? Father? Just Eric? Do you think he'll recognize me? has he said anything to you? Is there any protocol I need to know?--tell me now, or else I just know I'm going to make a fool out of myself and fall flat on my face!" I returned my attention to what was out the window, taking deep breaths to commit the new smells to memory.
Flora smiled. "I don't think you have anything to worry about," she comforted. "Your father, or dad, or whatever you choose to call him, will be very glad to see you. Tabitha, dear, just be yourself."
Be myself. Ah, my dear auntie, if you only knew what "myself" really was and was capable of!
"We should be reaching the gate to Amber City soon; about half an hour, I think," she said after she let things sink in a little. The coach, I noticed, had reached the crest of a hill and I could see little buildings begin to crop up. My heart began to race. I couldn't wait to get there! I was silently trying to will the coach to go faster.
Flora let the silence reign and I was taking in the scenery that I didn't want to miss a moment of. Homesteads, farm houses and a few huts passed my line of vision before the half hour had passed, and sure enough, we were rolling through the gates of Amber City. I was so concentrated on what I was doing, straining my senses, sorting out the smells of the approaching city that I found myself getting overwhelmed and light headed, but I really didn't care. I was looking to the castle, anticipating what it would look like once it came into view.
Flora pointed it out; a lone building on top of the mountain, towering over the city. My new home. My insides were doing flip-flops! But the view was soon obscured and my attention was focused on the city that we were now in--the marketplace and then into a very upscale neighborhood. It looked like one back home, but instead of just a handful of houses, there were dozens, and it all seemed to go on forever. Eventually, the houses got more and more closer together and as I continued my "smell-a-thon" I could swear I could catch whiffs of sea salt. By this point, the Castle came back into view and the twitch in my foot resumed, picking up the pace.
"Sea salt?" I muttered out loud. "How far away from the ocean are we?"
"The harbor is a couple of miles in that direction," Flora replied pointing north. The coach rounded a bend and began gaining altitude as we began the climb up the mountain. The castle was getting bigger by the moment.
"So big!" I muttered again and simply stared. (You can only say "Wow" so many times!) I sat back, trying to wrap my poor noodle around it all. "Like a fairytale. It'll sink in later, I'm sure." This was just surreal for me.
"Indeed," Flora was still amusing herself by observing me. Maybe it was a breath of fresh air to her to see someone react to seeing Amber the way I was.
The last stretch of the journey seemed to be taking forever. I wanted to get there faster--now!--yesterday! As we passed a guard hut, two guards saluted. We finally passed through the main gate, into the exquisitely manicured grounds, around a beautiful fountain and baskets of flowers. The coach finally came to a stop at the bottom of some massive stone steps. A wave of tingly feelings washed over me of a brief instant. Flora got down first and helped me out next. With my feet on solid ground, I took a deep breath and found that I was holding it as I looked to see what was at the top of the stairs.