4- The Lady of Castle Rook

The subway terminal on 51st Street had been closed off for a week.

A tall and slender man stood on the other side of the caution tape and peered into the white bubble that engulfed the subway cart.

“Have you had any success?” He asked the woman standing next to him.

“I can’t be certain. I know he had heard me, but he’s been virtually unresponsive.”

“But you’re making progress?”

“I am.” The woman nodded to him.

“Thank you.” He laid a hand against her shoulder before walking away to address another man in uniform.

Selena Dresel walked closer to the subway. It hadn't even left the terminal yet, though she could tell from what little she saw of James’ thoughts that he had imagined so.

Inside one of the smaller windows, she saw a woman in a red leather jacket further down one of the seats, frozen in place.

James sat on another bench, the only man on the train who was still blinking. And only a few feet away from him another woman lay unconscious on the floor, her brown hair covered her face, and she wore a jacket with the initials DHI plastered across its back, a pair of handcuffs in her hand lay underneath her fingertips which only loosely wrapped around them. Selena closed her eyes again and focused her attention on James.

The visions came blurry, and quickly, but through the vagueness, she could see a castle and two figures near James, a man and a woman. Both of which, as she had learned, were fictional characters.

James.

She called out to him, even though he proved unreceptive when awake and at least slightly responsive while unconscious. While he was awake it was as if a steel wall barricaded his mind, though while he slept it was closer to being made of stone— still hard to pass but not impenetrable with access to the right tools.

James.

She called out a couple more times, and for a second the metaphorical wall faltered, but immediately repaired itself and a migraine suddenly attacked Selena. She grimaced and turned her head away from James like that would cure her severe headache.

Selena shared another glance at the officer lying next to him and knew that she would be even harder to reach. With a sigh, she spared one last look at James before walking away and figuring she’d try again later.

Off to her side were more agents, urging on helmets and armor that Selena wasn’t quite sure they’d be needing, nor did she need any mind-reading to tell that they were all nervous- some more than others. At the front of the group, their captain began to give them the final details about their mission.
—-

James heard a ringing in his ears that for a moment drowned out Evelyn’s voice, but disappeared quickly.

“And as the prophecy told, the lords and ladies alike joined together, and it was a battle that lasted days, with honorable lives sacrificed, but in the end, the trolls fell.” She had told the tale leaning over the table.

“It was I who had delivered the final strike,” she leaned back in her chair, taking on a smug smile. “It was what won me the title of Lady of the Castle Rook in the first place.”

“What a wonderful story.” Leon bit the inside of his cheek, it was only in response to his own braggadocious stories that inspired her to speak.
“I only tell the truth.” She tilted her head high with the smug smile dragged across her face.
“Any comments?” She turned her focus to James, who was absently nodding and staring towards one of the shields plastered on the wall. Nothing was interesting about that shield in particular, but James had wrongly figured it would save him the need to make conversation or seem otherwise occupied.

Slowly, his bobbing head came to a resting position which was tilted slightly downwards, and he realized that she was awaiting his response.

Leon and Evelyn clearly both anticipated something, but what that something was James didn’t know. He barely had time to rest from when Evelyn had found them in the stairwell and brought them to the small room he believed to be a dining hall. He still hadn’t figured out who Charles was, or where.

“I said, any comments?” She flashed a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, her tawny hair falling down her cheeks and resting just past her shoulders.

“Give him a break, your self-absorbed story clearly bored him,” Leon said.

“I was self-absorbed? As if you actually could have saved that woman by defeating a dragon.”

“None of my deeds are fabricated, save your projection for someone else. And how did you defeat the trolls? Was it ‘Charles’?”

“Yes it was in fact,” she took on a defensive tone. “And the both of you are lucky Charles hadn’t dealt with you when I asked earlier.”

“Because he isn’t real!” Leon shouted, leaning over the table with his hands raised extended and parallel to his neck.

“We already went over this. He is very real.” Evelyn furrowed her brows and leaned over the table as well.

“You’re as crazy as James.”

“I am not!”

James' head fell into his hands as the shouting match continued.

“Don’t think you got away with this yet James!” He lifted his head slowly as Evelyn’s anger was directed towards him, and he briefly saw Leon slump back against his chair and slouch his posture in what he couldn’t tell was either frustration or exhaustion.

“What?” He forced the question out of his mouth in an effort that was harder than he thought.

“I invite you into my castle and you couldn’t so much as compliment my story?”

She wore a thin smile which didn’t quite reach her eyes, though James saw the disingenuous appearance nearly falter when Leon scoffed at her question.

“You seem very…. strong.” James would never lie to anyone and call himself a wordsmith.

“I… seem… very… strong?” The smile faded quickly from Evelyn's face, and James could’ve sworn he saw the right side of her face collectively twitch in a sudden flash of anger.

Leon burst out in a fit of laughter that distracted both Evelyn and Leon.

“What is so funny?” She asked.

Leon wiped at his eyes while the last gasp of lighter escaped from his lips.

“We should leave.” James interrupted.

“We can’t leave.” Leon stood up from his chair and stared at James, exasperated.

“I’m going home.” He insisted and for what felt like the first time that day spoke with confidence.

“We kind of tried that already didn’t we? It hadn’t seemed to work so well.”

“We can try again.”

“Please do,” Evelyn said offhandedly, and sipped from a wooden mug James hadn’t realized was there. “You are growing more of a nuisance with every passing breath.”

“Then maybe Charles can help us leave. Wouldn’t that be great? If he was real, that is.”

Evelyn took a deep breath and slammed her mug on the table.

“For the last time, he is real! I wouldn’t even need him to get you two out of this forest, it isn’t hard at all.”

“You know how to get out of here?”

“It’s at the fountain.” She shook her head as if it was obvious.

“We didn’t see a fountain on the way here,” Leon said, easing his brows.

“That’s because all you’re good for is waving your wand and hoping for the best.” She rolled her eyes. “You said you came here on a floating cloud, it may have been covered by the treetops.”

“Will you show us where it is, please?” James felt the desperation laced in his own tone as he rested both heels of his hands on the table in front of him and stared at Evelyn.

Evelyn studied James for a moment, her hazel eyes seemingly peering into parts of himself that even James hadn’t known.

“I suppose there’s no better way to get rid of him-“ she gestured at Leon with a flick of her head, “than to make sure the both of you leave this forest.”

She stood up from her chair and walked over to James, then held her hand out. James hesitantly shook her hand, while Leon grumbled to himself about what Evelyn said.

“James and useless magician, I hereby declare, I will show you to the fountains.”