The Unprotected
Chapter 19
Joban gasped at what he saw. The foyer was a beautiful sight.
They were facing a large marble staircase which had a long, flowing jade green carpet laid down upon it. The floor was white and smooth, making Joban feel like he was standing on a glass floor which had masses of white puffy clouds trapped beneath it.
“Joban, hurry up!” Brendor urged, snapping Joban out of his daze.
There were various doors positioned around the foyer - some had doors you could open and close, and some were archways - and even some hallways leading to other parts of the house.
On the walls there were painted pictures of stern looking people, some looking dignified, others looking polite, but not kind. (Joban wondered if these were some ancestors of Tirdor and his wife or just some paintings they had found in the attic.)
Brendor and Joban passed through the largest archway that was situated on the left hand side of the grand staircase, and entered the ‘downstairs living room’.
“Here we are.” Brendor announced, seating himself on one of the three wine-red couches, next to Rion.
The walls were a pleasant cream colour, and the carpet was white and fluffy, Joban imagined what it would feel like to walk bare foot through the thick mass of carpet. He was very tempted to try it, but suddenly lost the urge when he spotted something nasty crawling through it.
The wide window frames were black with wine-red drapes that were held open by evenly cut pieces of red ribbon. Since it was coming to night time, maids swept into the room to close the drapes and to flick on the lights.
On one side of the room there was an open fireplace, which had obviously been used quite a lot. Some unburnt wood had been placed into the fireplace for decoration. On the mantelpiece, there were some old, sepia pictures of people of various ages and animals.
One of the pictures, Joban noticed, was a picture of a medallion quite similar to his.
Joban dodged the antique wooden coffee table that was in between the three couches, and sat down on the last unoccupied couch.
Across from his couch was Rion and Brendor. Joban moved his gaze to the couch to his left. Sitting there was a man and a woman, who looked to be in their forties or early fifties.
The man had strong, muscular arms and wore clothes that showed off his strong figure very well. His hair was cut short and was reddish-brown and his eyes were big, intense and green.
The woman was small and fragile, and wore a beautiful white dress with emerald green bands around the long arm-length sleeves and emerald green streaks flowing down the skirt piece. Her hair was almost a white colour, and looked thin and wispy. Her hair was worn simply, with the two front parts of her hair pulled back and pinned up with a jewelled green hair piece. The woman quite liked to wear green, as it matched her green eyes.
The man began to speak. His voice was gruff, as if he had just gotten rid of a cold, “Hello boys, I am Tirdor and this is my wife, Celeste. Did you have any trouble getting here?”
Rion looked at Joban in amusement; Joban had obviously fantasized Tirdor differently.
Rion turned his head toward Tirdor and Celeste, “Yes, only one problem, but it’s a long story.”
“Oh well maybe you can tell us about it at dinner, we are glad you have come, we haven’t had visitors in a while. After dinner, we will show you your rooms you will be sleeping in tonight, we hope you enjoy your stay here with us.” Tirdor rose. Celeste gracefully stood as well, “Come and we shall go straight to the dining hall, you three look hungry. I hope you have a big appetite, there is enough food to feed an army!” Tirdor guffawed loudly at his own joke.
Celeste smiled politely and took Tirdors’ arm. Rion, Brendor and Joban stood and followed them out into the foyer and up the marble stairs, into the dining room.
They were facing a large marble staircase which had a long, flowing jade green carpet laid down upon it. The floor was white and smooth, making Joban feel like he was standing on a glass floor which had masses of white puffy clouds trapped beneath it.
“Joban, hurry up!” Brendor urged, snapping Joban out of his daze.
There were various doors positioned around the foyer - some had doors you could open and close, and some were archways - and even some hallways leading to other parts of the house.
On the walls there were painted pictures of stern looking people, some looking dignified, others looking polite, but not kind. (Joban wondered if these were some ancestors of Tirdor and his wife or just some paintings they had found in the attic.)
Brendor and Joban passed through the largest archway that was situated on the left hand side of the grand staircase, and entered the ‘downstairs living room’.
“Here we are.” Brendor announced, seating himself on one of the three wine-red couches, next to Rion.
The walls were a pleasant cream colour, and the carpet was white and fluffy, Joban imagined what it would feel like to walk bare foot through the thick mass of carpet. He was very tempted to try it, but suddenly lost the urge when he spotted something nasty crawling through it.
The wide window frames were black with wine-red drapes that were held open by evenly cut pieces of red ribbon. Since it was coming to night time, maids swept into the room to close the drapes and to flick on the lights.
On one side of the room there was an open fireplace, which had obviously been used quite a lot. Some unburnt wood had been placed into the fireplace for decoration. On the mantelpiece, there were some old, sepia pictures of people of various ages and animals.
One of the pictures, Joban noticed, was a picture of a medallion quite similar to his.
Joban dodged the antique wooden coffee table that was in between the three couches, and sat down on the last unoccupied couch.
Across from his couch was Rion and Brendor. Joban moved his gaze to the couch to his left. Sitting there was a man and a woman, who looked to be in their forties or early fifties.
The man had strong, muscular arms and wore clothes that showed off his strong figure very well. His hair was cut short and was reddish-brown and his eyes were big, intense and green.
The woman was small and fragile, and wore a beautiful white dress with emerald green bands around the long arm-length sleeves and emerald green streaks flowing down the skirt piece. Her hair was almost a white colour, and looked thin and wispy. Her hair was worn simply, with the two front parts of her hair pulled back and pinned up with a jewelled green hair piece. The woman quite liked to wear green, as it matched her green eyes.
The man began to speak. His voice was gruff, as if he had just gotten rid of a cold, “Hello boys, I am Tirdor and this is my wife, Celeste. Did you have any trouble getting here?”
Rion looked at Joban in amusement; Joban had obviously fantasized Tirdor differently.
Rion turned his head toward Tirdor and Celeste, “Yes, only one problem, but it’s a long story.”
“Oh well maybe you can tell us about it at dinner, we are glad you have come, we haven’t had visitors in a while. After dinner, we will show you your rooms you will be sleeping in tonight, we hope you enjoy your stay here with us.” Tirdor rose. Celeste gracefully stood as well, “Come and we shall go straight to the dining hall, you three look hungry. I hope you have a big appetite, there is enough food to feed an army!” Tirdor guffawed loudly at his own joke.
Celeste smiled politely and took Tirdors’ arm. Rion, Brendor and Joban stood and followed them out into the foyer and up the marble stairs, into the dining room.