Sometimes life truly knows how to throw you off guard, and you wonder. There must be an error; this cannot be true. The truth was staring at Natasha everywhere she turned, and there was a lightness in the underworld’s atmosphere. The sun shone brightly in the sky today, and rain fell last night, filling the air with a light earthy scent and turning the earth greener and the castle stone a brownish-rusted sandstone. In the absence of sunlight, they appeared gray.
Natasha stepped outside the castle into this atmosphere and noticed the guardians stop and stare at the sun as if they couldn’t believe it was still there. Moreover, she could feel it as if it were inside her. Despite wearing leather sandals, Natasha feels the grass and damp earth beneath her feet. She pushed her cream dress up to her ankles to look around.
She walks straight out of the pathway outside the castle, seeing people coming in and out. Two massive gates and guardians stood there, allowing souls in and out. There was no wall attached to the gates, and the rest of it was open and cleared. There was a lake on her far right side, followed by a forest line.
The castle was damaged in a few places, and her heart squeezed. There was a whole wall that had burned marks.
Natasha turns to face Dmitri, the old guardian, and says, “My Lady.” She met him this morning. He is Azrael’s right-hand man and trusted advisor.
“His Lordship has requested you; God of War Virat has arrived,”
“What?” She asked, surprised. So far, she had heard about the God of War, that he is Azrael’s preceptor, and how he speaks about his Master. He looks up at him.
“Are you certain this is okay?” Natasha inquired.
“My lady, this is more than enough,” Dmitri assures as he leads her back to the castle. “From what I’ve seen of the God of War, he’s a calm and righteous man; there’s nothing to be concerned about,” Natasha says, her face unsure.
She didn’t know what to say or how to greet him. They walk to the castle’s entrance, then through the main hall and corridors. She looks down at her dress, which is a simple, plain cream color dress with long sleeves, which sounds like a big title God of War. She felt as if she were meeting royalty. Azrael, she realizes, is also royalty. She took a deep breath, trying not to look as nervous as she felt. She tucked her hair behind her ears.
“He is a famous guy, but he is down to earth; a simple bow and welcome would suffice; he is not looking for flattery,” Dmitri smiled, one of his wise and gentle smiles.
“Thank you, Dmitri; I appreciate it,” Natasha replied, returning his smile.
“You are most welcome, my lady,” He opened the wooden double door, which led to the library and study with fireplace. There were no chairs or seats, just a long oval-shaped, shiny wooden table. It was exactly like his chambers, with no furniture or decoration. Azrael was standing behind a table, and in front of him at the back was a man in a long dark brown coat with something gold thread shimmering on edge. The hair was black and tied into a bun at the crown of the head.
“I will do that as soon as possible, but I wish Brother Ishah and Sahir were present,” Azrael said.
She knocked.
Azrael looks over the man’s shoulder, and his eyes light up.
“Natasha, come in here,”
The man turned, and the first thing she noticed was his height. He was taller than 6. 5 feet and had hawk-like light brown eyes.
“He is my Master, the god of war, Virat,”
“An honor, sir,” Natasha bowed slightly, just as Dmitri had when they first met. She wasn’t expecting this; the man in front of her didn’t appear to be old or an experienced teacher armed with weapons. The God of War was a fit, muscular man in his prime, emitting an aura that could shift from calm to lethal in a matter of seconds if the situation demanded it. He was also quite attractive.
“And Master, She is Natasha my intended,”
“It’s a pleasure,” the god of war smiled and nodded. He has a deep throaty voice that sounds familiar as if she has heard it before. She tries to recall.
A knock on the door caused everyone to turn their heads, and Dmitri was standing there.
“Please accept my apologies.” My lords and ladies, there has been a situation; um, you must come and see this, my lord,” He looked at Azrael.
“There have been a lot of changes recently here; it’s only natural,” God of War nodded.
Azrael looked hesitantly at Dmitri, then at Natasha.
“You are not required for us to have a conversation,”
“It’s fine,” Natasha said with a smile.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Azrael says walking out of the library.
“It would be nice if you could have someone set up some proper seating arrangements and some tea and refreshment,” Azrael understands the subtle taunt in his Master’s eyes as he looks around his study.
“I will make sure Dmitri sees to that,” Azrael cleared his throat; Natasha tried not to enjoy it, but it was funny seeing Azrael uncomfortable, so far she had seen him sure in how he walked, and now his teacher has embarrassed him in front of her. It was in contrast to everything she had witnessed up to this point.
“That would be lovely,” God of War laughed.
Azrael bowed and left with Dmitri.