Nora's good mood, brought on by the pleasant, unexpected meeting, evaporated as she walked into the thick shadows, which the castle cast over the moat filled with deep, dark water, frozen around the edges where it lapped at its freezing, stone confines.

You need to think about more serious things now-- getting a job for instance, she reminded herself, ordering her heart that was still fluttering excitedly inside her chest, to calm down, as her quick footsteps clattered softly on the drawbridge.

Becoming a guide in the castle had been her dream for so long. She had the history and legends of the ancient building, the small town sitting at its foot and the infinite forests encompassing it memorized. But her hopes of getting the place were not high-- even though not a very well paid job, it was, or used to be, a popular choice of young, romantic girls, those braver than her. Nora had always been too shy to speak in front of a large group of people, dressed in a replica of a gown of some previous owner's wife, depicted in one of the hundreds of paintings immortalizing the castle's long past.

I can do that now, she promised to herself as she stepped through the open massive door made of dark, polished wood and iron, into the Entry Hall, and seeing that the room in the far corner labeled as 'Office' was still dark, crossed the vast, ill-lit space towards the ticket booth.

Nora hated these things-- moving, applying for a new job, starting all over again-- and all the changes they brought. She would have to come for an interview if they called her, speak with people she had never met, trying to impress them and sell herself, hoping she would not disappoint should they choose her.

Gathering her courage she inhaled deeply, breathing the ancient castle in. The strange mixture of smells emanating from the time-worn, damp, stone walls, the bright flagstones covering the ground rendered uneven by the constant passage of millions of feet, the old wood from forests that most likely no longer existed, created a unique scent of past and history, and she loved it.

Taking the last few steps towards the booth, Nora took her glasses from her bag to read the ticket girl's name tag.

"Good morning, Anna." She said to the pretty, smiling girl who could not be more than twenty. If this is the kind of employee the Count wants, you don't have a chance. The thought flashed through her mind but Nora pushed it away quickly and continued, not giving herself time to change her mind and walk out, "I would like to apply for a job. I was wondering if I could leave my CV with you, seeing that the office is still closed?"

"Yes, that's fine. I'll hand it over to the secretary when she arrives. Just tell me, are you applying for a place in the castle, or the hotel?" The girl asked, sticking a yellow Post-it square to the plastic cover containing Nora's CV and scribbling something on it.

"I'd prefer the castle, please, but should there not be a vacancy for guides..." Nora wasn't thrilled by the idea of working in a hotel, but if there was nothing better she could not be too choosy. At least she had worked as a receptionist before, and her previous experience might help should she accept a job in an office.

"All right," the girl beamed at her, "as long as you put your contacts in your CV, this is it for now. Someone will call you from the office, in a few days most likely, to let you know. Have a nice day."

"Thanks." Nora smiled back at the polite girl, slipping her glasses back into her handbag.

This had gone well enough, she thought, walking around the Entry Hall curiously, trying to spot some recent changes. The souvenir shop was still here, hidden in one of the small rooms attached to the hall, which in the past might have served to house a servant, or a gardener, and so was the bookshop selling postcards and prints of the most famous paintings hanging in the castle, books about its history-- the place where Nora used to spend most of her pocket money as a teenager. She wondered if all those books she had bought were still up in the cottage...

There was a small coffee shop which she remembered too, in the last room connected to the Entry Hall. Then, beyond a beautifully carved stone arch, there was a yard, surrounded by one curved wing of the castle to the left, and towers and turrets above and beyond, on all sides. It wasn't flat, making her wonder how clever the masons of old were to build the castle on this travertine mound, making the building one with the stone lying beneath. As always, she found the place breathtaking.

The closest tower standing to her right was the one adapted into the hotel-- she could see the long reception desk through a glass sliding door, a handful of guests gathering for breakfast in a brightly-lit room visible through tall, diamond lattice windows to the left. However, the changes done to the castle were minimal, displaying the owner's love and respect for the history of the building, while making it a living part of the present.

Nora let her gaze stroll around the entire courtyard, caressing the high towers, the noisy flock of ravens or crows watching her from the rooftops above, their voices ricocheting off the walls towering above her, her eyes pausing longingly on the door leading to the castle's wing where the guided tours started. It was shut though, it was too early for visitors.

She walked back across the Entry Hall then, waving at the girl in the ticket booth, and out, across the wooden bridge and down the hill, towards the town, leaving the castle behind. Cold wind had started to blow, chasing grey clouds across the cobalt sky, making Nora wrap her arms across her body for warmth.

She wanted to look at Albert, see how he had passed the night before visiting Clelia, so she retraced her steps through the park, instead of walking by the row of houses, shops and restaurants standing along its edge, leading towards a small, medieval square.

When she walked out of the shelter of trees, finding the car just as she had left it, it was starting to snow.

Nora frowned at the sky that had turned grey while she had walked through the park. She didn't want it to snow. Reaching her home through the meadow buried under a layer of snow would be a nightmare.

There's nothing you can do about the weather, she reminded herself, directing her steps towards the old buildings surrounding the parking lot, looking for the archway leading to the square, and the cobbled lane where Clelia's shop and house stood.