Chapter 3: Getting Lost in the Castle

CAEL – THE QUEEN LEAVES

“Try not to die while I’m gone.”

Ashara kissed him lightly on the cheek, just enough to melt part of his brain, and swept out of the chambers in a swirl of red silk and firelight. Something about an emergency meeting with the Council of Seven.

“You’re free to explore the castle,” she’d said. “There’s no room you’re forbidden from. You’re my husband.”

Which sounded sweet… until he realized it was also a threat. If he got in trouble, she’d still find him.

So now Cael stood in the hallway, alone, staring down one of the castle’s many sprawling corridors.

“How bad could it be?” he asked himself.

The castle rumbled in the distance. Something roared. A chandelier fell from the ceiling and then hovered midair, reattaching itself through magic.

“Right. I’ll just… walk forward and pray.”

CAEL – THE GRAND TOUR (DISASTER PENDING)

To his surprise, not every room was horrifying.

Some were just weird.

* A massive kitchen, where masked imp-chefs yelled at each other in four languages. One tossed him a pastry. It exploded. No one reacted.

* A peaceful reading room, complete with a fireplace and a massive three-headed cat who hissed only once before going back to sleep.

* A torture chamber, filled with creepy tools and enchanted echoes of past screams. Cael noped out immediately.

* A training yard, where armored demons sparred in pairs and completely ignored him. One looked like he was on fire. Literally.

* A cozy guest lounge, where a single ogre napped on a velvet couch, surrounded by teacups. Cael backed out slowly.

And then…

He opened a door.

Fire.

A baby dragon blinked at him and let out a “WHOOOSH.”

He slammed the door shut and patted his hair.

“Okay. That’s enough surprises for…oh hey, a spiral staircase.”

CAEL – UNWELCOME REACTIONS

As he wandered deeper, he encountered various castle residents: maids, armored guards, and stern-looking officials.

Every single one stared.

Some whispered. Some scoffed. Others openly looked at him like he was a stain on the rug.

But none dared act on it.

One maid curtsied stiffly. “My lord.”

He waved. “Hi! Lovely… castle.”

Another simply said, “Hmph,” and walked away.

The soldiers in the west wing bowed… after several seconds of hesitation.

“They’re not scared of me,” Cael muttered. “They’re scared of her.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

He wasn’t wrong.

CAEL – THE HIDDEN ROOM

In one forgotten hallway, a cracked tile gave way under his foot. A rumble followed. A portion of the wall shifted with a loud ka-chunk.

A hidden room.

Inside: dark stone walls, ancient runes, and a glowing portal hovering above a pentagram.

“Yup. That’s cursed,” Cael whispered. “I should turn around.”

The portal pulsed. Wind whipped through the chamber. The ground trembled.

He took a step back, tripped over his robe, and fell in.

“I regret everything…!”

THE OTHER WORLD

He hit the ground hard.

Ash, lava, cracked stone. The sky glowed crimson. Jagged mountains clawed at a swirling black sky. Destruction bloomed in every direction.

He saw a boulder float by on a river of fire.

“Nope.”

Then he fainted.

THE CASTLE – PANIC SETS IN

The servants realized something was wrong after the third hour of silence.

The search began in hushed urgency. When he couldn’t be found by nightfall, urgency turned to panic.

When the portal room was never located, dread filled the castle.

“Someone check the kitchens again!”

“Did the dragon eat him?”

“No, the baby dragon’s on a vegetarian diet.”

“What if he… left?!”

“Don’t say that out loud!”

“The Queen’s going to kill us all…”

ASHARA – A TWO-DAY TRIP, AND NO HUSBAND

Ashara stormed back into the castle after two days of negotiation and thinly veiled threats from other Demon Lords.

She was in a mood.

“Where’s Cael?” she asked a maid, frowning.

“H-He’s not in your chambers, Your Majesty…”

The castle shook as her smile vanished.

“Where. Is. He.”

The answer: no one knew.

Three soldiers were promptly flung through the nearest wall.

ASHARA – THE PORTAL ROOM

After grilling the remaining staff (verbally… barely), one trembling maid recalled seeing Cael near the disused east wing.

Ash’s eyes narrowed. “Of course. That room.”

She stormed into the corridor, traced her finger across the runes, and the stone wall peeled back.

The portal was still open.

“Idiot,” she muttered and stepped through.

ASHARA – RECOVERY MISSION

She found Cael facedown on a plateau of cracked stone, drooling slightly.

Lava hissed nearby.

She scooped him up, shook her head, and vanished through the portal again.

CAEL – COLD WATER (AGAIN)

Splash.

He gasped, sputtering awake.

“Cold! Why is it always cold?!”

Ashara loomed over him, arms folded.

“You vanished.”

“I fell in a portal!”

“You worried me.”

“I didn’t mean to!”

She turned away, pouting. Not angry, just… moody.

“I missed you for two days.”

Cael blinked.

He suddenly realized this was not the time to argue. Or explain. Or joke.

“Would a shoulder massage help?”

She didn’t answer.

But she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her cloak off.

ASHARA – SOFTENED

The massage helped. His touch was clumsy but warm. That strange calming aura washed over her again, smoothing out the fury.

She exhaled softly.

“You’re still an idiot.”

“Yes, dear.”

CAEL – THE AFTERMATH (AGAIN)

What started as a back massage quickly escalated.

Ashara’s mood improved. Cael’s health did not.

He woke up hours later, scorched, twitching, and vaguely aware of a cracked bedpost.

“I’m not sure I’m emotionally or physically equipped for this marriage,” he wheezed.

INNER MONOLOGUE

“Today I got lost, mocked, fire-blasted, dragged into another world, and married harder than any man should be married. And it's only day three.”