Ania told us the rest of it. "The last time I saw him he wanted me to talk about Joe so I told him about the store and the toy robots. That made him angry. 'Like your father,' he said. 'Like your father, you play at being the fool.' And he slammed the door when he left. Do you know him, Dad? What does he want me to tell him? I don't know anything about Joe's land and his fighting there. He didn't tell me anything much about it. Just asked me to wait for him." I looked over at Ironsides. I'd forgotten about the crazy man with the purple face and the eyes of a bug. Was he the Duke? If Ania was intent on getting to Joe, why did the mirrors bring her here? Maybe the crazy Duke was thinking the same thing at the same time. As for Joe, I was going to pound sense into him the moment I laid eyes on him. I was furious. I don't care that Ania blamed herself. Joe had no business going back to Strangetown to see her and then leaving her to wring her hands over his fate. Sure, I know. I sort of did the same to Kate. "We're waiting right here," I told Hector and Ania, "until those mirrors come back. Keep that candle burning, Hector." A low, hissing laugh echoed through the stone chamber. "The mirrors won't be back. Make yourself comfortable because you are my guests until my nephew comes to rescue you. And then you are all dead." The worst of it is, Hector and I couldn't find anyone else in the room. Believe me, we looked. *Pictures later. I've built the Duke's castle, Aghamore. Just need to sort through all the pictures.*
Ooh, ooh! I was just going home and I stopped in to read this and ... how creepy. I got goosebumps. Wonder if the guy has a PA system, Errol.
*a couple of pictures* Hector finds a lamp and Errol asks Ania what she knows. (Ania, *sigh*, is all grown up now)
Hector said, He has probably got a peeping tom hole in the wall so that he can watch us. He can also hear everything we say. Dad! What did he mean? Whats that horrible man going to do to us? Nothing, Ania. Hes just making big talk so that he can watch us get upset. Ignore him. Why dont you show us the dining room and the garden. She was still looking around the room with worried eyes but she said, This is the bedroom. Its cold. The stone walls are clammy to touch. The dining room is better because the walls are wood and there are pictures. But its really not much warmer. We followed her through a big, heavy iron door into a narrow stone hall. At the end, only a few steps away, was a set of stained glass doors. On the other side was a large room with a table and chairs in the middle sitting on rugs. Ania walked across the room and through another door. She called it a garden. A roof garden would be a better name. I had the feeling we were up high although we couldnt see over the walls. Underfoot was stone and another rug. The walls were stone, too, and topped with iron. There were pansies planted in a few large wooden pots. A stone bench. A tapestry and some other hangings. Overhead were stars, and I could just barely see the moon above the edge of the wall. This is it? I asked her. Its more space than a prison cell, she said. Then her eyes got big and she put a hand to her mouth because shed never said anything like that to me before. Im sorry, Dad. That was a terrible thing to say. But Ive been thinking about you and what it was like to be trapped in prison. This is not a good place. Its making me crazy. I nodded, It can do that. I looked over at Hector. He was staring up at the wall. I knew he was thinking about climbing it but I said nothing. He saw me looking at him and tilted his head a little. Somehow I knew it was his way of smiling.
Had to add a couple more pictures -- Hector studies the wall. A little hard to see but he's staring up at it. Also added another picture of the dining room. This castle house is a little more interesting but not really ready yet for prime time, except for a couple of rooms. I keep changing my mind about the rooms.
Ania is so pretty. Where'd you get her hair? It looks so real. Speaking of real I feel like I could walk right into those pictures. That castle looks so much like a real place it's spooky. Once again you leave us hanging. Oh, well, I guess we'll have to be patient. (Hurry up.)
I've downloaded so much hair, (a lot of it nonfunctional for some reason or other even though I know about getting the mesh, too,) that I'm not really sure about where I got her hair. Try hairstyle #31 at pronumpsims. Most of the hair on that site is shiny and usually natural looking, and #31 looks less formal. I've also found soft looking hair at the simsconnection. The "Elegant Evening" on page 18 there, and the "Marilyn Hair" on page 21. I put "Elegant Evening (black)" on Alka's head and she looked good in it (no pictures because it didn't fit the story at the time.) I think Errol's hair is around there close by, too, and I like his hair so much I don't want him to get old and lose it. It's also the site where I found the Keanu Reeves hairdo for Joe. Still, some of the styles from simsconnection that look nice in their pictures don't look very good in the game, IMO. Same for some of the XMsims hair, strangely enough, for which I had very high hopes. I sympathize with them. Hair animation must be real tough and most people don't even try. Finding a goodlooking auburn colored hairstyle has been close to impossible. I gave up on it for Ania. And thanks for the complement about the castle. I've been looking at walls and floors at various sites, too. Breathtaking, some of it. I suspect that a good stone floor can make or break a castle room.
When we left the garden and returned to the dining room we found our host waiting for us with two of his guards. The guards drew their swords. The edges of those swords, from the grip to the tip, looked very sharp so I was careful to look very non-threatening. Ania and Hector stayed safely behind me. The Duke looked at Ania. So far as I could tell, anyway, because his face had turned in that direction. It was impossible to know from his eyes since they were black marbles. The purple paint was gone, though, and I saw for myself the terrible scars from the fire. Must have hurt bad, those burns. Your daughter is a very lovely woman, Sir Errol. I kept my mouth shut and just nodded. My Dear, he said directly to her, I have another dress for you. In truth, I have several, all of the finest brocade and velvet and silk. I will have them brought up to your rooms. Shoes, too. And hats and veils. You will look like a princess in any of them. Ania is as cautious as I am and nodded without saying anything. His face turned to me. I could see those marbles moving around in their sockets. Now thats a sight I can do without and I decided to focus my attention on the bridge of his nose, ugly in its own right but not one to make your stomach flip. You are not my only guests, this evening, Sir Errol. I am entertaining Duke Kenrick of Stalfort. I would like your daughter to join us and will send one of the handmaidens to help her dress. I regret that I cannot also have you and your knight, Sir Hector, join us. I will, of course, have your supper brought here. Shes staying with me, I said. Swords or not, I wasnt going to allow it. I didnt trust him. Dad Quiet! Youre staying with me. Thats final. The guards raised their swords and moved closer. The Duke waved them back again. No doubt about it, they were disappointed. I guess you can get used to anything, even cutting a man to pieces on your dining room carpet. The Duke said, I completely understand a fathers concern for his daughter but you should not worry. She will be safe. You have my word, Sir Errol. Dad, Ania took my arm. Ill be OK. But I will not be OK if you lose your head right here, right now. She wasnt talking about my temper. The Duke smiled, Not only beautiful, but wise. Hector put a hand on my shoulder. His grip was painful and I knew what it meant. All sides had voted against me.
Yeah! You posted. I have to say, I love the room, and the Duke is scary, but his guards ... are those bouffants? Sorry. They kind of cracked me up. Loving the story, as always, Lynet. Hope you don't mind my crack about the "helmets."
LMAO, I don't mind. The guards are wearing red capes with hoods but it's true, the hoods don't look very good. I should get them the helmets anyway.
Oh gosh the duke's scars are so scary! He's eerily pale too...It sounds like he wants to promise Ania to that Duke Kenrick dude...uh oh.
Yup, the Duke's a mess and mad as a hatter. I didn't get a good picture of his eyes which are those awful black alien eyes. Bug eyes, Errol calls them.
The Duke and his guards left but the guards didnt go far. They stood just outside the dining room door. Hector opened the door once and looked them over. They grinned and looked back at him. He shut the door. Ania said, Dad, Ill be fine. Its just a dinner party, right? I tried to smile. It was hard. Sure, Sweetheart. Youre going to eat dinner with them. Im not good with remembering how old my girls are. Ania must bewhat18 or 19? Not sure. Sure of one thing, though. She was too young to understand men like the Duke. Frankly, I suspected he was well beyond my own understanding. A couple of the Dukes people showed up carrying a large trunk. They put it in the bedroom. They left and came back again with platters of food and set two places at the table. It looked like fish. It smelled like fish. I hate fish. Then I wondered where the fish came from. The swamp? An older woman showed up and said something in a soft voice to Ania. The two of them went off to the bedroom. Hector sat down in front of the food and played with it. Hes a robot with no mouth and no stomach but he didnt seem to know that, and I was not going to remind him. I had no interest in the food. What I wanted was for Hector to climb the garden wall and find a way out of the Dukes castle, but we had to wait for Ania and the servant to leave. Hector ignored my pacing and concentrated on cutting up the fish on his plate. After awhile I grabbed a piece of bread and cheese and thats when Ania and the servant came back into the room. I was pleased to see that Anias dress was very conservative, covering her up almost to her chin. She was also wearing a ridiculous hat with her hair pinned up under it. I told her several times to stand away from the men, more than the length of an arm. Of course, she said. Dad, I really will be OK. I promise. I nodded and watched her leave with the servant. Hector sat down again in front of his plate and I went hunting for the bathroom. Its attached to the bedroom and its small and very cold. And theres no sink, just a bowl and pitcher of water. I poured water in the bowl and splashed it on my face. Ice cold. No towels, either. I looked for one in the bedroom and found the trunk of clothes. Whoa, boots! Too big for Anias little feet. I tried them on and they fit OK. A little big, maybe, but OK. I found a jacket and pulled it on against the chill. I pushed the ends of Kates scarf inside my shirt and felt much better. Then I went to get Hector because it was time for him to stop fooling around with the fish.
When I cut out the scrap metal to build Ironsides I didn’t spend a lot of time filing down the rough edges in some places, like his feet. It was one reason for keeping him out of the house. Viola got really angry about the scratches he left on the floor. He tore bits of yarn out of the carpeting, too. But a rough metal edge on your toes turns out to be a good thing for climbing stone walls. Hector went up that garden wall like a spider. In less than a minute he was swaying wildly on top of the iron railing that topped off the stone. He danced around up there for a few moments looking for his next move and then disappeared. I waited long enough to be certain there was no sound of a falling robot then hustled myself into the dining room to wait by the door. He was a long time getting there. I started to think he’d fallen to the ground after all. Then suddenly, on the other side of the heavy door, I heard the sharp clang of metal, grunts of pain, a body thrown against it, a thud, silence. I stood away from the door, expecting Hector but maybe not. The door swung wide and there he was, safe. I stepped over the guard and sucked in a long breath of the cold night air. “Where were you?” I said. “On the roof. You can see a lot from up there. I saw the Duke’s friends arrive. I also saw the stable and horses. We need a couple of those horses.” “Did you see Ania?” “No. But I think I know where they all went to eat. I saw servants carrying food.” “Let’s get the horses first, then Ania. Is this creep on the floor going to wake up?” “Not soon.” “Where’s the other one?” “I threw him over the wall. He’s under the bushes down there.” “Throw this one into the dining room and shut the door.” It was not easy finding our way down to the stables. The castle home of a Duke is a busy place. Servants ran up and down the stairs, back and forth in the halls. Fortunately, all their attention was on the Duke and his party at the other end of the building. And fortunately, too, big old castles are full of large nooks and crannies where even a shiny metal robot can step back into shadows and be out of sight. I think every muscle and bone in my body ached from nervous tension by the time we got to the stables. And there, of course, we were faced with very large, curious animals who wanted sugar or something from me. Who knows? I’m not too familiar with horses. I looked at Hector. He looked at me. I said, “Can you put a saddle on this guy? I’ve never done it before.” “I haven’t, either. But I’ve seen it done. Stand back.”
Two more pictures-- Errol gets out of the dining room and Hector tells him about what he saw from the roof. Very large animals.
The horses were tolerant of our clumsy efforts, although one of them made it a point to step on each of my feet. If not for the boots Id have been crippled. It still hurt. At least he didnt try to bite me, probably because he tried to bite Hector first and found the taste of oily metal to be pretty bad. According to horse logic, therefore, I would taste equally bad. A little while later, after all four of us were covered with sweat, two horses were saddled. I told Hector to lead them along the shadow of the wall to the gate. Get them outside the gate, if possible, but dont lose them. Im going to go and get Ania. Alone? How? When you pushed that guard over the wall, did his sword go with him? Yes, but Take care of the horses. Wait for me. I left Hector buzzing quietly to himself and to the horses. They seemed to find his touch on their noses more tolerable than mine. Maybe it really was Granddad haunting those circuits because I could hardly credit myself for all of the robots talents. As I ran back to the castle and around into the darkness beneath its walls, I suddenly found myself worrying about the urn. If we found it and opened it, what would happen? Would Hectors ghost disappear? To my surprise I realized I didnt want him to disappear, even if he gave me nightmares for the rest of my life. Worry about it later, I told myself. A moment later I tripped over the body of the other guard. There was no reaction from him and I decided not to look too closely at the body. It had been a long fall and the angle of his arms and legs did not look like something anyone living could do. The sword was several feet away. As I picked it up I heard voices. One of them was Ania. I bent low and moved further along the wall. I saw candles. I saw three of them talking under the arches of an open passage--the crazy Duke, Ania, and another man in a velvet jacket who must be the other Duke. Anias voice was husky. I knew immediately that she was very upset or angry because she always started to lose her voice when she got upset. My grip on the sword tightened and I looked for a way to get up to the passageway where they stood.
Ania told me later about the dinner, that it had all seemed quite civilized and benign. She had expected more people and had hoped thered be other women but the group was small. It was just Ania, the two Dukes and three men encased in armor who did not even set their swords aside. She had tried keeping up with the conversation but didnt know anything about the country, the war, the people and only barely knew the language. That she knew any of the language at all had surprised her. As dinner ended and the servants took the plates away the crazy Duke had suggested getting some fresh air. Ania had agreed. Duke Kenrick came with them. Then the crazy Duke had suddenly started talking about Joe, boasting that a messenger had been sent to tell Joe we were prisoners here and would be executed in two days. Kenrick had objected and put a hand to Anias throat. I will not allow you to take a sword to this lovely neck, hed said. Still gripping her throat hed pulled her against him, trying for a kiss. Ania had shoved him violently away and started telling them both exactly what she thought of them, in her own language, using words she must have learned after she got to college because neither Kate nor I had ever used words like that around the house, at least not since the girls were born. Im pretty sure, anyway. Ania said she was real glad to see me appear out of nowhere, waving a huge sword over my head as if I knew how to use it, which I didnt. But I was ready for a fight, no mistake. It was chaos for several long minutes from that point on. I was in a battle for our lives. Hector had not trusted me to handle things alone and had come running. I yelled at him to get Ania safely away and for once he listened to me. I do not honestly know anything about swords except that they are extremely sharp and lethal. The swords that people carry around in Joes country are also extremely heavy. Every time the sword in my hand connected with the sword in the guards hand--yes, a guard had come at the Dukes shout--the result was more than a loud noise, it was a flash of light and a roll of thunder, too, right through every bone in my body. The guard had failed to throw off his cape and it was the end of him. Overconfident or stupid, I will never know. Maybe it was just my good luck and his bad luck. Either way, the cape tangled in his legs and now hes dead and Im not. I pulled my sword free of the body and looked around for the Dukes. They were gone. I heard shouting in the distance and I ran to join the fight that now pursued Hector and Ania.
