Every Queen Needs A Castle

After some time out in the wilds, her paws began to ache, and she tired of adventure. She returned to the place where it all started, a sun-bleached shore where the shore kissed the sea or vise versa. Though as soon as she returned, she felt the urge to leave again. Bad memories and sensations resided there, and she took great care in avoiding them. Not only that but winter was among them, so the time was nigh to search for a new place to call home. While her companion would have been content to join her, she thought it best to split-up as to cover more land… Or at least that is what she told him. Really, she sought some alone-time to work through her emotions in peace without simultaneously causing him concern. After agreeing to meet back up at a certain time, she headed off in a specific direction to scope out the place she had in mind since they arrived.

Loosely packed sand dunes turned into hardened frost-covered earth. In the distance loomed a sort of hazy mist that surrounded the place. Bits of stone protruded through the coverage and as she got closer, she could make out the overgrown remains of a castle. The marshes back home had such ruins hidden within them, but few weren’t swallowed by the swamp or weathered into dust. She used to live in a similar ruin and found endless entertainment exploring every hallway and secret passage. That was why she felt inclined to explore the inside of those stone walls. Well... that and to escape the cold.

Nox entered through a gap in the courtyard door. Wooden splinters and cracked bits of steel hanging loosely had caused the large door to split from its stone mold. She stepped inside embracing immediate relief as the structure shielded her from the wind. A stale scent seeped into the air. Beneath her paws was a tattered carpet that extended further inside. She could tell it was once red, but sunlight and time had bleached it a pale-tangerine. Each step stirred the dust into the air until flecks of it floated all about. Streams of muddled sunlight lit a dim path further into the ruin where dusty trinkets of all shapes and sizes remained: some disturbed and some set in time, exactly how they were left. Her eyes lit up, eyes catching on a particularly interesting object. It was a sort of husk of metal pushed against the wall. There were a few of them, come to think of it, but that set was one of the few that remained intact. Light reflected off the dust-coated steel in mesmerizing ways. She reached out simply to touch it before moving further down the corridor. When Nox turned a corner there was a red-door slightly ajar. It beckoned her into a room where she found not more suits of metal, but a room filled with books. Tattered remnants of knowledge were strewn about the floor as well sitting untouched on various shelves. She slipped past the door with ease and began sifting through dusty piles until she found a leather-bound book with an interesting cover.