The Unexplained

Chapter 9

My eyes widen. "Cas, what're you doing?"

She climbs up onto the sill. "I'm coming, father..."

And she jumps.

~~

I gasp and jolt upright in bed. Just a dream...it didn't happen again. I glance down at Cas, who is asleep on the very edge of the bed. And she's safe. I look down at my hands. So much has happened since then, and so much has changed. Jack is more childish, the opposite of what he was eight years ago, and Cas and I have been living on our own.

Thanks to our grandfather's help of course.

I sigh as I stand, and then I leave the room into the large, spacious area of Jack's living room. Where he lives is not completely independent of the rest of the castle, but it's his own living space, as he is the prince, although he hates that title. I remember him telling Cas and me when we were younger that the castle is split into about three to four major sections, each with different functions and such. You have the throne room, which leads off to the king's quarters and own section on the east side, with another door that leads off to Jack's on the west. Those are the first two. The third makes up some of the middle and basically all of the back of the palace. There's a huge, and I mean, huge, banquet room that could fit maybe about five hundred? I've never eaten in it, and I'm pretty sure it collects dust until some festival comes along for visiting royalty. In the back are huge fields for training the army, the best in the realm, or so Jack has told me, and I don't doubt it. I've watched the many men in shining silver armor spend hours on that grass, every move practiced until perfected. I've probably forgotten the rest, but I do remember that there are at least four infirmaries spread out in the palace, and I think two libraries, the King's and Jack's. I smile slightly, remembering Cas's amazed expression when Jack showed us the library down the hall from the rooms when we first came here. Like mostly everything else in the palace, it's big. Hundreds of books line the shelves, with more information than I would ever want to discover, unlike Cas, who would spend most days in there, her nose in some random book.

I glance around to find Jack on the couch, watching TV.

Yes, even elves have cable.

Yawning, I make my way over. He doesn't notice me until he looks away from the screen and I am beside the couch, but I am focused with wide eyes on what is lying asleep beside him.

A huge wolf is curled up next to him, its head resting on its paws. Its fur is literally as white as snow, or Phe's hair and the wolf would probably be really cute if its massive size hadn't caught me off guard.

Jack tilts his head to the side at me. "Something wrong?"

I walk around the couch and plop down next to him, the opposite side of him as the wolf, and I grin up at him. "When did you get a dog?!" I blink and glance at the wolf again. "A...big dog," I say, then I look back up at Jack. "When did you get a big dog?" I restate.

He laughs and looks back at the TV screen. "This is my best friend, Conner-" he starts, but I interrupt him.

"Ha ha ha, very funny. Man's best friend."

"You didn't let me finish. This is my best friend, Conner, and he's been living here for...four years? Oh, and he's not a dog."

"Oh I'm sorry, wolf," I say, then I pout. "And I thought Cas and I were your best friends!"

Jack looks at me with wide eyes. "Well, you are! You guys just aren't here...all the time...so Conner kinda fills the hole of loneliness in my heart," he says dramatically as he puts a hand over his heart. "Plus he's smart, so he's kinda useful..."