Thea

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The ring glowed brightly and warmed even more, almost burning my finger. I had never used it before, so I didn’t know what was going to happen and just waited.

As time went by, there were no other changes and it was starting to get frustrating. Did I do everything right? I have seen my mother do it many times, but why then does nothing come out? After all, it glows, so it works, but why is there no result?

- Okay, let’s try another way. - I sighed and did the same ritual again.

- Show me the way to the dungeon.

The light from the ring began to concentrate inside the gemstone and disperse to the sides, and then gathered into one thin white ray, pointing to the wall, in which a passage was formed, which had not been there until that moment.

Raising my eyebrows in surprise and rounding my eyes, I was amazed at the wonderful magic. A pleasant feeling of satisfaction spread through the body that the ring was still working. I immediately wondered why I hadn’t used it earlier.

Smiling and biting my lip, I was pleased with myself about to enter the aisle, but I remembered one moment that needs to be corrected.

- Change my appearance. - I whispered to the magic stone and the next second a light haze enveloped my body, interspersed with a pleasant, almost tickling, tingling of the skin.

When the magic was over, I went to the mirror and was amazed at how well it worked.

A slender, tall girl with dark brown hair to the waist, braided in a thick, careless braid, looked at me from the mirror. The clothes were radically different from what I used to wear. It was catchy and daring, rather vulgar, tightly fitting all the contours of my body and tightly squeezing and lifting my chest. But this cut out on a dress of a color blacker than the night simply amazed any imagination. I rolled my eyes and exhaled slowly.

This, of course, is not what I imagined, but the most important thing is that now I don’t look like myself, which means it will do.

The passage in the wall seemed to have corroded the masonry, revealing a long steep staircase leading down. There was a strong smell of dampness and musty air, moisture flowed down the walls and there was no lighting at all. I was a little afraid to go into the unknown, especially since the past experience was painfully unsuccessful for me, and now I was going to go there of my own free will. I had a hope that the magic of the ring would help me out as a last resort, so putting aside all doubts, I went inside and the passage behind my back tightened.

For a small fraction of a second, I felt the desire to run back, but even then my mother’s ring helped me out and illuminated the cold underground passage with a dim light.

The staircase went deep down, so that its end could not be seen, only the impenetrable darkness ahead. I walked softly down the stairs, trying not to make too much noise with my heels. Initially straight, now the staircase is spinning, dragging me further and deeper. My footsteps echoed in the empty space and the ringing drops of water dripping from somewhere. Goosebumps have been my faithful companions on this journey.

I do not know how long it took until I got there, but my legs were buzzing, and I still have to go back. That was another test I had to face. I found myself in some kind of room in which the echoes of water drops and someone’s quiet moans were heard. Painful moans. I was seriously scared and put my hand on the ring, completely hiding its light.

- No, don’t go. - an exhausted hoarse voice sounded. – Come back, please. Don’t go away.

My heart was squeezed with fierce fear and anxiety. That voice was so pathetic, giving way to tears. I could hear every sob that seemed to tear my chest apart from the desire to help anyone.

Wishing to make the light brighter, the magic spread throughout the room, which surprisingly turned out to be huge. I froze in place, completely speechless from what I saw. It was... like a bad dream.

I was standing in the middle, and there were metal cages all around, entangled in waves of magic. There were countless of them. And in each there was a prisoner, tortured, mutilated, bleeding, and some did not show signs of life at all. I held my breath, trying to catch my breath and suppress the tears coming. It was too cruel, too much for my innocent mind.

- H-h-heeelp... - that lifeless voice was heard again.

I hurried to this voice, suppressing the nauseating urges from the terrible stench that stood in the dungeon. It smelled of vomit, feces, and something decomposing. But I had to hold on, I had to help. Lighting my way ahead, I reached the cage, from which a skinny bony hand was sticking out in search of help.

I sat down next to the cage, watching a terrible picture where a young man was lying on the floor in the dirt, his whole body covered in blood, covered with wounds and abrasions. He was so skinny that the bones showed through the skin. How can you bring a person to such a state?

- How can I help you? - I asked with a tremor in my voice.

- A girl? - he looked at me and

smiled miserably, wiping his tears with his hand. – What are you doing here? I’m afraid that such a little girl can’t help me with anything. They’ll kill me. They’ll kill us all.

I looked around the underground prison. It was a terrible sight, not for the faint of heart.

- Who did this to you? -I asked. – Oh, I’m sorry, I was completely distracted. – and the next moment, with the help of the ring, I teleported a glass of water that was in my guest room.

I handed him the glass, and he accepted it with a trembling hand, immediately draining it to the bottom.

- Thank you very much, milady. But you shouldn’t be here. They can come back at any time. You urgently need to leave. - he waved his arms weakly, pushing me to leave this gloomy place.

I abruptly stood up and straightened my posture, towering proudly over the prisoner.

- I’ll get you out of here. Do you hear me? I will definitely get you out of here, and then you will tell me everything. – he just smiled melancholically and nodded, as if agreeing, but I understood that this was just an appearance so that I would leave as soon as possible. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I went to the place where the stairs ended, but she wasn’t there. That’s right, because there was no passage to my room. I turned to magic again and asked her to help me get back.

***

Raphael

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I flew out of Thea’s room like a hurricane, fueled by negative emotions. She stirred my consciousness every time, blew up my brain, leaving me no opportunity to behave adequately.

Analyzing her behavior and heartbeat, which betrayed her blatant lies, I became even more wary. I couldn’t sleep last night, I still can’t get used to a night’s sleep, and therefore I was waiting for her to come back to go to bed.

But time passed and I didn’t hear anything, so I went to check. As I thought, she was not in the room, but the most interesting thing is that I could not catch her even at low frequencies, as if she had disappeared without a trace, although this is impossible.

My blood flowed in her veins, and therefore I knew that she was somewhere nearby and alive. Otherwise, her disappearance remained a mystery, which I foolishly decided to leave alone. Who would have known that it was necessary to sound the alarm. That damn scar on her arm exuded magic, only a fool wouldn’t notice. Well, or the princess herself, who did not possess any magic.

I left her room as quickly as I could, so as not to do anything that would hurt her. My dark aura has already started to get out of control, spreading around and destroying all the objects that get in its way. The thought that her brother was somehow involved in this scar and, possibly, her disappearance, haunted me. I’ll skin him if he lays a finger on her.

A little later I met Dex, Milos and Richard in my room. They, like me, were puzzled by the issue of weakening magic, but for us it was rather a winning situation that we definitely need to take advantage of. I have ordered the entire royal family, and especially the Crown Prince, to be closely monitored.

Closer to lunch, this annoying princess came to me again. Lunch was planned today with those guests who had arrived in advance to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. It was impossible to miss, especially since this is a great chance to see who the Horel interacts with the closest. It should not be ignored that he is planning military operations in the south of the country.

Walking with Madeleine to the dining room, I was scalded with boiling water from the realization that I had returned Thea to her feminine appearance. Cursing to myself, I wanted to go back, but again I caught myself thinking that I didn’t feel her presence. What the hell is going on in this castle?