Jazelle returned Priscilla’s smile with a forced one of her own, then followed a few paces behind the older girl. She frequently glanced about the corridor with wary eyes, looking for any other branches off the one they traversed, any sign of stairs, or anyone else lurking about.
	[i]How big [u]is[/u] this place?[/i] she wondered when the straight walk stretched impossibly onward. She kept her hands in her hoodie’s pocket, her posture slightly hunched and shoulders tense.
	It was not until the third time they passed one of the windows, faintly admiring the view, that she realized they were going in a circle. Without making any perceivable turns. Her pace faltered, and she looked around with new interest and mistrust. Were they stuck in some kind of loop? Was this some sort of trap Sunder had set up?
	Either way, Priscilla had not stopped. Jazelle contemplated waiting there to see if the girl would pass by again, but deemed it unwise to lose sight of her and hurried to catch up. It was impossible to say what, if anything, would happen if she stayed behind. 
	She was about to ask about it when they passed the window once more, but, at long last, the hall changed, offering them a new sight. And what a strange sight it was. Even the atmosphere here was different. Her pace slowed as she tried to examine the multifarious contents crowding the furniture pressed against the stone walls, ranging from the familiar to the unidentifiable, from the mundane to the grotesque.
	[i]Are these... enchanted items?[/i] she wondered. As they passed, she moved slightly closer to one wall to get a better look at the skeletal candle-holder, the wax of the candles not so much as dripping despite the flames burning at the wicks.
	She cast a glance to Priscilla to make sure she was neither looking nor getting too far ahead, and reached to touch one of the bones of the hand, wanting to see if they were real. Before her hand got too close, an electric buzz kissed her fingers and spread painfully up her arm. She drew back with a hiss and griped her arm with the other hand, but the sensation vanished as quickly as it had come.
	"Don't try to touch enchanted objects," she grumbled to herself under her breath, then, with a frown, once more caught up with Priscilla.
	When they reached the double doors, their size giving Jazelle pause, and entered the dining room, she stopped just inside and gawked at the room before her. Though she was not sure what she had expected, [i]this[/i] certainly wasn’t it. For all its grandeur, the tables on either side of the fire and chef’s table looked dismally empty with the few people to occupy the many seats situated at each.
	Then, her gaze settled on Sunder sitting at the third table directly across from her, the flames of the fire flaring up and occasionally blocking the sight of him. Judging by his expression, he liked mornings just about as much as Jazelle did on a school day.
	Jazelle startled slightly when Priscilla spoke, giving a reminder of her presence. She nodded absently, then paused. She opened her mouth to ask, “How long is [i]awhile,[/i] exactly?” but the servant had already turned and left.
	Jazelle scowled after her, then looked back to Sunder. She glanced to the food on the cook's table, her stomach rumbling from the delectable smell of cooked meats and baked bread that pervaded the room, then made her way around the tables in a slow, yet confident pace as she he reluctantly went to follow Priscilla’s instruction.
	“Mornin’, Sunshine,” she intoned as she pulled out a seat beside Sunder and sat, angling it slightly toward him and leaving what she hoped was a safe distance between them. She replaced her hand in her pocket, and slumped lazily in the chair, trying to hide her unease, though her eyes remained as alert as ever.