The uneven wheels of my suitcase rolled and stalled as I pulled it down the corridor. I probably wouldn’t use half the crap I’d packed, yet I still had the nagging suspicion that I’d forgotten something. Turning my head, I glanced down at the massive piece of luggage. I'd actually tried to fit inside of it before I’d packed my things last night. I was proud to report that yes, I did fit. However, I didn’t know if that said more about how big the bag was, or how small I was.

“This will be your room for now.”

I lifted my gaze to the manager as she gestured to an open door on her right. Though I’d met her just once before, she seemed like a nice enough person. I was pretty sure her name was Melissa, though for the life of me, I couldn’t remember her last name. She was taller than me, but that wasn’t something to write home about. I mean come on, I fit inside my suitcase. She also had long, curly auburn hair that was starting to go gray. If I only had her appearance to go by, I wouldn’t think she was the managerial type. She looked like she’d just escaped a Renaissance fair where she had her own booth selling healing crystals. Though, considering the hotel she was running, that probably wasn’t a far cry from the truth.

With a hard yank, I hefted my suitcase over the threshold of the doorway and stepped into my new room. I didn’t pause to look around before dropping everything I carried onto the bed.

“I apologize for the state of things,” Melissa said.

I glanced up to see what she meant. The room I was in wasn’t terribly large, but it was big enough that it should have contained two beds. There was only one, however, nestled in the corner and now covered in my bags. Surrounding the bed were a few feet of free space. The rest of the room was filled to the brim with—stuff.

“I meant to get all of this cleaned out before we had more employees come,” she continued, sounding frazzled, “but opening this place for the summer has been crazy.” Folding her freckled arms, she shook her head. Her earrings jingled with the movement. “I would put you up in a different room, but everywhere else is full.”

“This is fine,” I said in a rush. I was trying not to get my hopes up. This was too good to be true, right? “I don’t mind at all,” I continued, “but does this mean I won’t have a roommate?”

She looked at me, an apology written on her face. “Yes,” she answered, “I’m afraid you’re going to be alone for now. I really am so sorry. In the first couple of weeks we’ll sometimes get a girl who quits, so I could move you into that room when the time comes.”

I shook my head, hoping I didn’t look too eager. “I promise you,” I said, “I’m fine without a roommate. Take your time with all this—” I paused. “What is all this stuff?”

She gave an airy laugh. “Antiques mostly. I did have everything all nice and neat in boxes before I started going through it, but now it’s just a giant mess.” She took a step forward, resting her hand on what appeared to be part of a spinning wheel. “During the off-season months I like to go antiquing to see if I can find anything that can give this place a more authentic feel.” She patted the spinning wheel and heaved a sigh. “But we are busier this year than ever before, so organizing everything will just have to wait.”

I nodded as she spoke, staring at the tangled mess before me. “If you want,” I said, “I could go through some of it in my free time.”

“Oh thank you,” she said, “that’s very sweet of you, but there will be plenty of other things here you’ll want to spend your time on. Here, I’ll show you.” She turned around and left the room, her peasant skirt flowing around her. I shook my head as I followed, my long blonde hair swishing with the movement. She was kind of weird for an older lady, but I was fine with that. The world could always use more weird.

As we headed back down the hallway we’d just come through, I glanced at all the closed doors we passed. Muffled voices could be heard from inside the rooms. To my right, there was an entrance to the bathrooms and showers. So far, this place didn’t look at all like I’d expected. These were just normal dorms.

Upon reaching the end of the hall, Melissa pushed open the door and stepped outside. Before us, I could see another building similar to the one we were just in. I figured it was the men’s housing. Then, to my left, was the hotel. Melissa walked over to a wooden door at the base of the tall stone wall.

“Here is the employee’s entrance,” she said as she pulled the door open. I followed close behind her. I couldn’t wait to see inside.

Darkness encompassed me as I stepped through the doorway and I waited impatiently for my eyes to adjust. When they finally did so, it took all of my self control not to jump around like an excited idiot.

I was standing in the stone passageway of a castle. Mounted on the walls were brackets containing electric candles that sent a soft glow down the hallway. Melissa smiled when she saw my expression.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” she said as she began walking forward again. I scrambled to keep up. I was too busy staring at everything.

“To your left,” she said, pointing, “are the stairs and elevator. We have four floors that you’ll be cleaning rooms on.”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked where she pointed. All I saw were heavy, old-looking wooden doors. “There’s an elevator?” I asked.

“I put it in to accommodate people with disabilities,” she said, “but of course, everyone uses it.” She rolled her eyes as she turned a corner. “Over there,” she said, pointing again, “are the kitchens, and down that hall in the bottom of the tower, is the small dining room. We serve breakfast and lunch in there, but dinner is served in the great hall.”

My head was spinning as she talked. I’d only been walking for a few minutes and this place was already feeling like a maze. The dark passageways all looked the same.

“Here we go,” she said, pulling at my attention again. Up ahead of us was another room with doors wide open. It had better lighting than the hallways and I grinned when we stepped inside. “This is the Wardrobe,” Melissa said. As we walked further into the room, I could see a few hotel guests browsing the rows of clothes.

A red-faced woman sat behind a desk at the front of the room and nodded as the manager came to a stop. “This is Julie,” Melissa said. “She’s the head of the Wardrobe.” Melissa turned to the woman. “Can you get me a cleaning uniform—small?”

With a quiet huff, Julie nodded and walked away, disappearing among the aisles of clothes. I bit my lip, feeling out of place in my tattered jeans and t-shirt as I looked at the dresses. This all seemed so surreal. I’d wanted this job for so long and now I was actually here. I had to work all summer to pay for college anyway, why not do it in a castle?

A moment later, Julie reemerged holding a dress that looked vaguely like a long potato sack.

“Ah,” Melissa said as she took it and handed it to me, “here is your uniform.”

“Oh, um,” I tried to force a smile, “thank you.” This thing couldn’t be considered dress. It was a brownish gray pillowcase with sleeves.

“Don’t worry,” Melissa said, grinning at my reaction, “On your days off, you’re more than welcome to browse the same selection as the guests and wear something nicer if you want.”

I nodded as we left the Wardrobe. “I will definitely do that,” I whispered.

Leading me through another few passageways, Melissa finally came to a stop as we passed beneath a huge archway. My steps slowed as I looked around. Up until now everything I had seen was pretty cool but this—this was incredible.

I was standing in the great hall. The stone walls gave way to enormous arched windows and on the opposite ends of the room were two fireplaces, large enough that a grown man could stand up inside of them. Shields and swords were hanging on the walls and there were even a few suits of armor standing in the corners of the room. At the far end there was a small stage, and long wooden tables filled the rest of the space.

“Whoa,” I breathed.

Melissa gave me a wide grin. “Isn’t it just fantastic? I always get so excited when people see it for the first time. They get on that bus out there, drive past all the Amish buggies and then poof! They’re not in Pennsylvania anymore.”

“That’s for sure,” I breathed as I turned slowly to get a view of the whole room.

“Oh darn it all!” she suddenly exclaimed. I glanced at her in surprise. She was staring at her watch. “I’ve really got to get going now, I’m so sorry.” She looked up. “Do you think you’ll be able to find your way back to the dorms?”

I felt a thrill of panic. “Uh, I think so, maybe.”

I had no idea how to get back.

“Good,” she said, “feel free to wander about after you get changed.” She started to turn away, but then stopped. “Make sure when you start work tomorrow that you don’t wear so much make-up. Foundation and mascara is fine, but I try to get my employees to stay away from eyeliner and dark lipstick because they don’t look very authentic. You’re wearing quite a bit of both, I’m afraid.”

I felt a twinge of embarrassment as I pursed my lips. Apparently there was a downside to working here.

She paused for a moment, as if to gather her thoughts. “If you’ve got any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask me, or any of the other staff.” Her eyes widened as something occurred to her. “You know, in all this rush, I’ve completely forgotten your name!”

“Jess,” I answered, feeling a thread of relief. At least I wasn’t the only one forgetting names. “Or Jessica, I go by both.”

“Well Jessica,” she said, reaching out and taking my hand, “I truly hope you enjoy working here. And if you ever get lonely and need a friend, come talk to me and I’ll set you up with my son. Heaven knows that boy could do with a girlfriend!”

I managed an uncomfortable laugh. “Thank you for everything, Ms…?”

“Oh, just call me Melissa,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Maybe that was why I couldn’t remember her last name. She’d never told me. “And welcome,” she continued, “to The King’s Rest!”

***

A few hours later, I found myself standing alone in my room. My suitcase was spread open in front of me, its innards overflowing as I attempted to put my stuff away. I was taking a break now. Unpacking sucked.

As I took a seat on the edge of my bed, my gaze wandered over to the mountain of junk towering beside me. The antiques that I could see among the jumbled mess were actually pretty cool, and there were a ton of boxes that only hinted at what was inside of them. Sliding off my bed, I scooted over to the base of the pile. There was a cracked porcelain vase from one of the boxes and a few wooden figurines nestled underneath. Setting them all aside, I dug deeper.

The dust covering some of this stuff was overwhelming. I sneezed. Rubbing my nose, I stood up and leaned over the boxes, trying to see if there was anything else I could grab without making the whole pile come crashing down. Behind some rickety shelves, I saw the shine of something metal. Moving carefully, I picked my way through the mess and with a groan of effort, I pushed the shelves out of the way. The metallic shine belonged to the hefty clasp of a long wooden box.

I stared at the box for a little while, trying to judge if it would be worth it. Since the box was skinny and long, it would be difficult to pull free from the mess, but it looked intriguing. And it might have something even more fascinating inside of it. Clenching my teeth, I leaned forward, reaching for it. The seat of the spinning wheel dug into my leg and the corner of the shelves scraped my arm, but I didn’t care. I’d gotten a good hold on the box. With a sharp tug, I pulled it free from the mess and dragged it out onto my floor. It was heavier than I thought it would be.

Kneeling down, I smiled as I ran my hand over the faded wood and rusted metal. The clasp didn’t budge when I pulled at it. My smile faded as I pulled on it harder. It was rusted shut. With a sigh, I leaned back, my gaze wandering over to my open suitcase. I could see one of my combat boots sticking out over the edge. Slowly, I returned my gaze to the box in front of me. A couple of good hits with the shoe would probably make the latch far more compliant, but I couldn’t very well go damaging stuff that didn’t belong to me.

I stared at the box for a moment longer. The curiosity would eat away at me. Standing up, I went to my suitcase and retrieved the shoe. I wouldn’t hit the latch too hard, just enough to loosen it up.

After a couple of good knocks, I pulled at the clasp again and it popped open. I gripped the lid of the box, pausing a moment before I opened it. “Please be something awesome,” I whispered. I squeezed my eyes shut as I lifted the lid. After a moment I let myself look down.

For a while I didn’t even breathe. Lying across the bottom of the box was a sword. At a glance, I could tell that it was crazy old. The metal was dark and corroded. Near the hilt, the blade was so rust eaten that it was barely connected. This was something that should be in a museum, and yet here it was, right in front of me. I moved my gaze to the shoe and felt a twinge of guilt. I really shouldn’t have hit the box.

Turning back to the sword, I reached out and ran my fingers over the blade. The metal was colder than I thought it would be. As my fingers wrapped around the hilt, I couldn’t push away the thought that messing around with something like this could very well get me fired. But when would I ever have another chance like this? I’d just found a medieval sword! I couldn’t not touch it.

Rising slowly, I stood up and lifted the sword with me. It was almost as long as I was tall and now that I wasn’t sitting on the ground, it was quite a bit heavier too. This was unreal. Holding it out in front of me, I swung it around a little bit to get used to its weight.

There was a knock on my door.

Without meaning to, I dropped the sword as my heart leapt into my throat. It hit the ground with a dull thud and I glanced around quickly, panic filling me. That had to be the manager. She was back, and she was going to see me playing around with this artifact and then she was going to fire me faster than I could blink. Without giving myself time to think, I grabbed the blanket from off my bed and threw it over the mess I’d made on the ground.

As I stepped over the blanket to get to the door, my foot got caught in the fabric. Then I was going down—hard. I put my arms out, so my face wouldn’t take the brunt of the fall, and I landed elbow first. A splitting pain shot through my arm, followed by a sickening crack.

My eyes were wide. Had I—had I just broken my arm?

I was frozen for a while as I lay there. Another knock sounded at the door. My arm hurt, but the pain didn’t seem bad enough to be a break. Maybe I was in shock. Shakily, I stood up and moved my arm around. It was sore, but otherwise fine. So what had cracked?

I looked down and peeled back the blanket that was spread over the floor. My heart started beating a little bit faster. I had broken the sword.