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Delia had been walking for up to 5 days and was exhausted. The first two and the last night she had spent in inns along her road. The third and fourth night she had been forced to spend alone in the forest. Luckily, she had her magic to keep her safe and warm, even if she could only light a fire and make things float.She was on her way to Camelot towards a new and safer life. For Delia it had been difficult to leave her childhood home and for her mother it was difficult to see her go. But it was necessary, and Delia was quite excited to go never the less.The reason she had to go away was mainly because people had started being accused of witchcraft a lot lately. It was therefore safer to leave. And leaving to a city and a country where witchcraft was even more forbidden was perhaps strange to others. But in the big city it would be far easier to hide than in the small village she came from.She had been in Camelot once before, when she was a child. She had gone there with her mother and remembered being mesmerized by the colors and elegance of the city. That may have just been her view through a child’s eye, but it was a happy memory and she looked forward to setting foot there once again.Unsurprisingly she didn’t remember much of the road to Camelot, so she had had to ask at the inns and follow road signs. Soon she saw the imposing towers of the grand city. She breathed a sigh of relief and a grin spread across her face. Finally, she could see her destination in the distance. Her pace quickened and soon she was running down the hill she had been standing on, her bags colliding with her legs. She went unto a small path leading into the forest. The path led her over small hills and bridges. Eventually she ended up on a bigger road that was well traveled. There were many people walking and riding that same road. The closer she got to the city the busier it was as people came from all sorts of directions. Finally, they ended upon some sort of clearing. The road was still busy, and she had to slow down and concentrate hard on where she stepped. She looked up briefly to see where she was going in the mass of people and almost stopped at what stood ahead of her. The city she was walking towards was perhaps the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. But she was still at quite a distance from it, so she shouldn’t judge too quickly. That didn’t stop her excitement though as she started walking faster swerving around people and carriages.This castle had many stories and maybe the most famous one was that of the great war. The great war had broken out between a rich noble family and the king that had ruled at that time. Delia had been only eight when the war broke out and barely remembered anything of it. She had been sent to her uncle in the time the war was going on. She had been brought to a village outside of the country and when the war had ended her mother had come back without her father and they had stayed in the village. She had asked about her father following the war many times, but she never got an answer and at some point, just excepted his absence. He was probably dead anyway, she figured.She had eventually gotten answers as to what the war had been about. Her mother had told her this story when she was sixteen either because she thought her daughter was ready or because she had become tired of all the questions.It had all started when the king that ruled then asked his nobility to raise the taxes of their people. Some questioned the kings wishes but obeyed them anyway. Only Lord Mount refused to do it. His people could barely sustain themselves and their families as it was so Lord Mount wasn’t going to raise their taxes without good reason. But when he asked for those the king would not give them.The king then tried to take the land away from him by vote under all the lords. But as most of the lords had nothing against Lord Mount Mount got to keep his land. Then the king tried another tactic. The king had the gift of magic and knew there for quite a few wizards and witches. Theses select few weren’t the nicest of people, they saw themselves as above other people, for their connections and for their gift. They didn’t see non-magical people as being worth of anything. So when the king proposed to some of them that they should kidnap Lord Mounts wife and daughters they immediately agreed. Mount had an inkling but no proof of who was behind the kidnappings. He hoped he was wrong about his suspicion. Meanwhile the king kept asking the lord to increase the taxes, which he in turn kept refusing. After many months of refusal, the king stopped asking. Off course mount thought that everything was well now and that he could focus on getting his wife and children back. But what happened next changed his mind.People were starting to disappear. First it seemed that it was just some kidnapping or murder spree going on in in the land. But bodies were never found, and the amount of missing people started piling up at an alarming rate. The fact that the king had stopped asking after the taxes was now suspicious. But to assume that the king was behind everything would be jumping to conclusions. It wouldn’t be fair.A year after the kidnappings had started the king confessed to Mount that he was behind it and that if he wanted to ever again see his family, or his people, he had to deliver the money within a week. Lord mount was baffled and enraged. Not only had the king kidnapped his family and had held them some place unknown but had also erased a third of his population and expected him to pay the earlier expected money. It was insane.Therefore mount decided to go to war against the king. Many people chose mounts side as they saw it as just after what the king had done. But there were also many people who chose the kings side. Those people were mostly magical people who were promised riches and freedom, whatever that meant. The fact that the king had magic on his side meant that the war was unfair.The war became one of the bloodiest, most brutal one’s ever seen. It lasted 3 years. In this time no one heard anything from the missing people, and they were mostly presumed dead. Mounts daughters would have been 9 and 14 by the time the war ended. After three years the fighting and the bloodshed had become too much for most people. This was why one day Lord mount challenged the king to a duel to end the war once and for all.Lord mount won this duel and killed the king. As the king was dying lord mount tried to find out the location of his family and the missing people. But the king gave him no answer.Because the king was dead the entire kingdom automatically went to Mount. After he proved that he would be a fair and honest king a man came to him. He said he knew the location of the prisoners and that he should stand in front of the city in full attire at dawn if he wanted his people back.He did as told and the next day the door of the city opened, but instead off the usual forest that stood behind it there was a large wasteland with what looked like little huts. Mount walked into the portal to the wasteland. no one knew exactly what he had seen in there, but when the new king came back his eyes were haunted and tears were streaming down his face. Next of him walked a girl, she reached about his shoulder and was thin as a stick. She looked ill and dirty, her clothes were ragged and hanging off her shoulders. It was his eldest daughter Patience.Behind them appeared more people. They looked about the same as the princess, some even worse. Reportedly many had died in whatever place they had been held captive in. Amongst the dead where Mounts wife and youngest daughter.This left Patience, who was 14 at this time, as the only heir and as the king had no desire to re-marry, he brought her up as an heir and gave her the education that would usually be given to a prince. She was taught in multiple languages, combat and more. Many changes were made in regard to the laws. Of magic, all magic, the practice was strictly forbidden and punishable by death. Many people agreed with this as they had seen what damage magic could do. The weapon was too dangerous. But Delia did not want to dwell on that yet. Now that she was thinking about the story, she wondered how the princess was. She had to be a few years older than her. she wondered if the princess was really as fierce and amazing as she had imagined her to be. She would probably get to meet her as she was lodging with the court physician. The court physician was a man called Patrick Turner and was an old friend of her mothers who had exchanged letters with him requesting her daughter’s stay there. Delia had another letter with her in her bag that she was to give to him upon arrival, to confirm who she was.As she finally reached the gate the mass of people was still dense, but the sounds of the city got louder and louder. The road into the city started out wide and quickly divided into several smaller streets. she went into one that went up the hill towards the palace. Here the streets were dirty, and the smell was foul. The houses around her were small and stacked on top of each other. The people around her looked poor.At a certain point she saw a building that stood out in its lesser surroundings. It was a big stone building, a bit like a church, but if you’d make a church a house. It was dark and massive, and its windows were scarce and small. It was intimidating and Delia stood still in front of it. There were steps leading to its front door. Next to the door was carved in neat block letters “Nonnatus house”.Suddenly the door opened, and an angry looking nun stepped out. She didn’t seem to be angry at anything in particular, but it was more as if the air had done something she didn’t like. Once she noticed Delia looking her frown made space for a polite smile.“Can I help you?”The question caught her off guard, she hadn’t expected the woman to actually talk to her. But she might as well ask if she was walking in the right direction towards the palace.“Yes, I am looking for the palace, its this way right.” She asked gesturing in the direction she was planning to go with her left hand.“Yes, just keep following the road and you will get there eventually”“Thankyou.”'Well that was the most useless conversation in the world’ Delia thought to herself. With that she resumed her way towards the palace. The amount of people seemed to be increasing around her and she found it harder not to step onto someone’s feet or not to be run over by a cart. In the mass around her something seemed to be happening. Something more than the usual talk amongst locals. The crowd she found herself in was collectively moving in one direction and she was caught in the middle, having no choice but to move with them. They were all whispering amongst each other and she tried to hear what it was about. The words she caught made her blood run cold, they were “witch” “and” beheading” and various exclamations of surprise disgust and horror.The words made a chill run all the way along her neck and spine. It made her want to run. To just turn around and leave. Hide, while she still could. While no-one knew her yet and no-one could ever find out.But she couldn’t, the curiosity was too big. Deep in thought she forgot about her goal, instead following the mass like a sheep following its flock. When she finally looked up she saw that they were gathered on the square in front of the palace.Everyone’s attention was to something in the middle of the square. She had to worm her way through the crowd in order to get a good look.In the middle of the open space on the square sat a woman on her knees. She was shackled to the platform she was sitting on and in front of her stood a block of wood that had sinister black lines running down from it. She was pale, thin and looked terrified as she searched frantically through the crowd and then hung her head in defeat. It was as if Delia was in some sort of trance as she couldn’t look away. The attention of the crowd was now towards the balcony where the king was speaking.“Let this be a lesson for everyone. This woman you see her before you has been found guilty of conspiring to use enchantments and magic. As the law of this land dictates, and I have installed this law myself, is the conspiracy to practice and practice of magic banned and punishable by death.”Delia felt the dread in her stomach grow. Despite this she couldn’t stop watching the woman, not even when the woman laid her head on the block, not even when the bull lifted the axe, not even when it came down and blood spattered around and not when it came down a second time so that the head dislodged and rolled away, her face forever frozen in agony. There were shrieks from the crowd as the people flinched away from the spectacle.As the king had said it had indeed been a lesson. But to her it all meant something different to what it meant for those around her. To Delia it meant that she was going to have to be very careful if she wanted to live.The attention of the crowd was diverted as the king spoke up again."During the great war many of us saw the damage that magic does. We have done our best to drive the practice of magic out of these lands for the last ten years. Evidently this fight is not over. But, with every execution like this we come one step closer to driving this evil out of our realm.Therefore I announce a festival to celebrate ten years since the end of the war. Let the celebrations begin."With this he turned to leave but stopped as the silence was disturbed by a loud wail that vibrated through the square. Delia frowned and looked for the source of the cry. Her search didn’t take long. In front of her, next to where the platform stood stood an old woman in a dark cloak. She stepped forward towards the balcony where the shocked king still stood. “There is only one evil in this land, and it is not magic. It is you, with your hatred and ignorance.”She gestured towards the young woman’s head.“You just killed my daughter. And I will promise you. Before these celebrations are over you shall share my tears. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. A daughter for a daughter” the woman cried, her voice raising with every word.And then, fast as lightning, before the king could tell his guards to capture the woman, she disappeared in a whirl wind of dust leaves and pieces of fabric.
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The shock subsided as she walked further past the square where the execution had taken place and the old woman had disappeared. Soon the event went the back of her mind as she was enraptured by the beauty of this part of the city.She walked over the flattened cable stones where she passed numerous people. She was searching for a way into the palace. She followed the high palace walls until she rounded a corner. There she potted a small door that was seemingly used by servants. Someone in there probably knew where Dr. turner had his practice. Once inside she stepped up to the first friendly looking girl she could find and asked for directions. The girl pointed outside the window towards the other side of what looked like a practice field. She had assumed the building behind the field was nothing but a garrison, but apparently, she had been wrong. She arrived at a door and opened it. There she was met with a small spiraling staircase that led to a hallway with only one door. Next to the door was engraved; Court physician Patrick Turner.She knocked.There was some rustling and a distant “come in” coming from somewhere on the other side of the door. She carefully she opened the door and peeked inside. The room she stepped into was big and poorly lit. There were multiple tables with books laid out and cabinets spilling with pots, plants and strange herbs. She spotted dr. Turner on a balcony against a bookcase that reached the high ceiling. He was looking for something standing on a chair with his back to Delia.“Dr. Turner?” She asked.He turned to look at her, leaned too far back, broke the railing and fell.In an impulse she froze him in midair, quickly located the bed and moved it under him. Then she unfroze him so that he fell on the bed.Once he had recovered from the fall he stood up, slightly disheveled. Surprised he looked between the bed, then at the place it had been and then at Delia who stood a few meters from him.For a moment she feared that he had figured her out and froze.“But, how did you?”She was about to come up with an excuse, hoping to brush it away. But he quickly followed up with.“Who are you?”Relieved by the chance to change in topic and perhaps forget what had happened she reached into her bag to find the letter from her mother she was supposed to give him.“My name is Delia Busby. I believe my mother and you exchanged letters about me coming here? Wait.” Delia said reaching further in her bag. When she finally found it at the bottom, she pulled it out, somehow not spilling the contents of her bag on the floor and handed it to the doctor.Once the doctor saw the writing he smiled. “Ah, off course Bronwyn’s daughter. I thought you would come on Tuesday?” He frowned.“It is Tuesday.” "Ah, yes off course. Well I had already made your room ready, follow me."They crossed the room towards a small door. He opened the door for her and she walked in. She studied the room for a moment. There was a cot in the middle, a side table with a candle and candle holder. There as a wardrobe and a desk to one side of the room and a window that looked over part of the city to the other side. She stepped towards the window with her bag half way on her back. She looked out and admired the view it had over a busy street.“I’ll leave you to unpack, lunch will be ready when you’re done” Dr. Turner said from the door. Delia half turned and gave a small thanks.She was more focused on the view she had from her window. She could see the palace with its white stone that came from the mountains and blue roofs. The sun shone high in the sky and the colors were vibrant. Then she turned her attention back towards her next task. Unpacking. She stepped towards her bed and put her bag on top of it, opened it and started to unpack.For travel purposes today she had worn trousers. She had quickly found out that that had been a very good decision.In her bag there was another pair of trousers, one shirt, two dresses and a warm coat. They were all made from the same kind of fabric but all dyed in different colors.She put her clothes in her closet and put her bag under her bed. Once she was fully done, she sat on her bed and surveyed her room, checking her internal list to make sure she was done.She went outside her room where dr. turner was still sitting at the table.Finally, she could take in the room, there were all kinds of things. There was a bookcase and cupboards with all kinds of plants and herbs in pots. It looked like the insane cabinet of some kind of alchemist.Dr. Turner was making sandwiches on the dinner table.The table was a heavy looking wooden one. There were two plates on it, a bread, a ham and a jug of water.She sat on the opposite him and her offered her one of the sandwiches.She took a bite and soon she was wolfing it down like there was no tomorrow.“Long journey?” He asked.“Yeah, sorry” she replied a bit embarrassed. “Don’t apologize, you clearly need it.”She slowed down her eating as Patrick read her mother’s letter on the other side of the table.Dr. turner was a nice man. He didn’t speak with judgement and didn’t ask too many questions. he looked old and wise. Not in the classic grandfather sort of way but more in the father sort of way. Like a person who has lived for a considerable amount of time, has seen a lot of things, has heard a lot of things and you could easily ask for advice.He had a frown etched in his forehead while reading and sometimes glanced in her direction as if he expected to catch her do something strange. She didn’t know what but just hoped her mother hadn’t mentioned her gift. She didn’t know if she could trust him, and just because her mother did didn’t mean she would. He might send her away or worse report her to the king immediately.When he was done reading and moved to put down the letter his hand bumped against the jug of water and it fell off the table.In a reflex she froze the water in midair. But remembering what she was doing and that she had to be careful she let it go causing it to fall to the ground and splash water everywhere.Fear rose up inside her, he couldn’t have missed what she had done. To still try and hide it she rose up, grabbed a towel from the table and went to clean the water up.“How did you do that”She froze, hesitant about what to say next. Should she brush it off, act like nothing happened. Or should she just tell the truth and face whatever was coming. But before she could do much of anything he continued speaking.“It takes years to be able to do that. Where did you study?” He asked.She frowned. Study? She didn’t know magic could be studied. She thought it was just something that was there or it was not. “I, I don’t know. I’ve always been able to do this. You’re not going to tell anyone are you?” She asked carefully as she sat back at the table.He frowned “Delia the king is a friend of mine, but there are some things I don’t agree with, such as the ban on magic.” He looked around for a moment seemingly looking for something. “Wait.” He told her as he stood up, crossed the room and walked up the steps to the bookshelves. Delia was relieved that the doctor was so positive about her magic. He was a good man, they would probably get along fine.Dr. Turner returned to the table with a big book covered in strange symbols and pictures. The front said ‘Spells and potions’“It is a book of magic, I’ve had it here for a long time, but I’ve never come at a level of magic that I would be able to use it. I am afraid that I never will. But a person like you might learn a lot from it.”Delia was surprised and relieved the fact that the doctor was fine with her ability to do magic was one thing, but him having studied it and able to help her like this was amazing.She took the book from him and looked through it in wonder. There were all kinds of pictures of plants and animals and people and pieces of texts in foreign languages. It was beautiful inside and out. Of some she didn’t know if she would ever need, but they were quite interesting. Perhaps this book could serve as her evening reading, she didn’t have anything else to read and if she memorized some spells then if she would ever need one she could use them directly.“Thank you” she said looking up from the book. “You’re welcome,” he said smiling “I am glad to have found someone who can use it. But you must hide it in your room. There is a loose floorboard somewhere, we don’t want anyone who shouldn’t find it to find it.”She nodded gratefully.“Thank you.”She picked up the book and went to her room. Stepping into her room she walked over the floor listening to hear for a board to creak louder than usual. Soon she found what she was looking for a meter from her bed. She went to her knees and pried the board out of the floor with her fingers. There was a small compartment underneath, just big enough for the book to fit in. When she had put the book in the compartment, she sealed it back up.“Delia?” She heard from the main room.She got up and peeked outside of her room. “Yes?”“If you are done, I have an errand for you to run.”She walked into the room. “I’m done”Dr. Turner walked towards her with a small bottle in his hand.“This is for princess Patience, she suffers from night terrors. She’s going to need it.” He handed her the bottle. “Her rooms are in the palace. You can go in through the servant’s entrance right across the field, you can’t miss it. There you can ask for directions.”Delia nodded gratefully, happy that she had something to do.“Oh, and Delia, I am planning to teach you some things and help you with your magic. But I do have to work here so I can’t have you here all the time. After running this errand, roam the city and make some friends or find something to do. That way you don’t have to stay here all the time and become bored.”She nodded and left.Arriving on the field she could see several men, she assumed knights, getting ready for training. Delia walked into the servant’s entrance and looked around for someone who didn’t look too busy or angry to show her the way. But before she could approach someone, she noticed a person dangerously trying to balance multiple plates food in her arms.She quickly jumped into jumped into action grabbing one of the plates out of the girls arms and using her other hand to steady her. “Ohh thank you.” the girl said, relieved.“Are you ok?”“Yes, honestly its already difficult for me to carry two, I don’t know what I was thinking trying to carry three. I thought it would be faster.”“I’ll help you, where do you need to go.”She could ask her for directions later. The matter of the bottle wasn’t that pressing as it would only be used in the evening anyways. She could take time to make a friend in the meanwhile.“The dining room follow me. My name is Barbara, I’m new here. I wanted to make a good impression but letting everything drop out of my hands probably wouldn’t have helped that.“Yes, probably not. I’m Delia, I’m new here too.”“You work in the kitchen?“No not at all, I don’t work here. I’m staying with doctor turner. I couldn’t stay in my village anymore and my parents are friends with him, so they arranged it.”They walked through several halls until they ended up at two large oak doors. These doors opened to a great hall with a high ceilings and tall windows. Here there was a big table in the middle of the room. It was set up in a u-shape with a white sheet already covering it. There were many maids and servants busy setting up the table, presumably for the feast.“You are terribly kind for helping me, but I presume you were on your way to something.”“Yes, actually.” she got the bottle out of her pouch “Dr. Turner sent me to bring this to the princess, but I have no where her chambers are.”"Oh, I know where they are. Follow me”“So where are you from?” She started.They kept talking, Delia absolutely oblivious to the directions in which they were going.Suddenly Barbara stopped at a door.“Here it is.”Delia had not been paying attention on the way there, way too busy talking to her new friend.“Well, I’ll leave you here. Just knock on the door, she’s probably in there.”And with that Barbara left leaving Delia on her own. Now that she was standing there alone, she grew uncertain.What was she supposed to say? She had never spoken with someone who was royal before. Was she supposed to bow, to address her with “your majesty”? Or perhaps that would be too much. It was just a small delivery after all. Delia settled for addressing her as she would address anyone else. If she was doing something wrong the princess would probably say something about it and then she could do better next time.She took a deep breath, prepared herself for what she was going to say and knocked. Almost immediately the door opened.In the opening appeared a tall blond woman.“What is it...oh...who are you?”“Delia, Busby. Doctor turner asked me to bring this to you.”“oh, I don’t think so. Well, yes, he might have asked you that, but not for me. You’re probably looking for Patsy, I’m afraid you’ve just missed her. But you can give it to me, I’ll pass it on to her.”She took the bottle, opened it, took a sniff and grimaced. “yep, this is definitely it. Sorry I had to check, you never know.” She said apologetically and then turned back to the bottle. “gosh, I don’t know why she takes it. But well.” She shrugged and then changed the subject.“Are you coming to the celebrations tomorrow?”“uh, yeah I think so” she replied uncertain.“I’ll see you then!” The woman said and closed the door.Now that Delia was free from obligations, she could roam the city.Arriving at the practice field she saw that training had begun. In the corner young men were practicing one on one with swords. On the far end she could see people practicing archery. Suddenly she caught a flash of long red hair in a ponytail.This person was practicing knife throwing with a moving target. The target was held by a boy who was running around with a big wheel.The knife thrower hit bullseye every time without fail. It was so fascinating that Delia couldn’t do more than stand there and watch. It wasn’t until the person turned around that she saw it was a woman. She was wearing a dark blue tunic with a brown pair of trousers underneath it. Around her waist was a belt with knives and pouches attached to it. Her movements were elegant and graceful and very strong. The joy on her face was mesmerizing. It made Delia’s heart beat fast and her skin grow hot. Who was this woman, she needed to know.And then it occurred to her that she already knew, Patience Mount the crown princess. She was the only person it could be.She was then shaken out of her trance by Patience yelling at the boy. “Faster! I want at least a little bit of a challenge today boy!” The boy tried but failed to follow up the order.Then the poor thing let the wheel fall. It rolled a few meters and fell on its side. But the boy kept on running.What happened next angered Delia even more. Patience didn’t stop throwing knives. She kept going, throwing them at the boy who was now running for his life. “That’s better!” Patience laughed. Delia looked on in disgust, the woman suddenly being a lot less attractive to her. She couldn’t just let this happen, it wasn’t ok. She had to say something about it, status be damned.Furious, she stepped towards her. “Hey!” She yelled to get the woman’s attention. “Do you think that’s ok! Who do you think you are?!"Patience turned, frowning. “Who do I think I am? Who are you? You’re interrupting a training session. You’re not supposed to be here, it’s not safe.” “It doesn’t matter who I am and I don’t care if it’s safe or not, what you were doing to that boy is not ok. No-one deserves to be treated like that and you can’t treat someone like that no matter who you are.”“And who exactly do you think I am?"“Oh, I know who you are. You’re Patience Mount, crown princess. And honestly Patience. I had expected so much better of you. But it turns out that you’re just like all other rich and royal kids, spoiled and arrogant.”As she was talking Patience’s face grew redder. She was getting more and more angry. Delia saw this as a positive response, at least it was getting to her.“How dare you, you came all this way just to insult me?”"No, I’ve come all this way to tell you that you’re doing something wrong, as obviously no-one has ever said that to you before. I think it’s about time someone put you in your place."She expected Patience to say something back, but she remained still. She scoffed and looked away in response, missing the look of pure sadness washing over Patsy’s face. She quickly schooled it and narrowed her eyes looking at the mysterious woman in front of her.“You know I could have you arrested for that?”“For what? For telling you some things you didn’t want to hear? What would you father have to say about that?”“Arrested for insulting the king’s daughter and interrupting a trainings session of the kings guard without good reason. He’d agree with me.”“I don’t agree, but if you really want to arrest me than you’ll have to catch me.” Delia challenged, stepping backwards not actually expecting Patience to follow through.But Patience did follow through. She took a sprint and Delia turned around and started running. She ran across the field with the other woman close on her heels. She was shouting things left and right, undoubtedly to get others to help catch Delia.But Delia wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She slipped into the first street she saw and directly rounded the corner into another one. She tried that a few more times and then looked back to see if she had lost the princess. To her dismay she had not.Patience was worming herself through the crowd of people at the same pace as she was.Delia decided to go for another tactic. A little cheating wouldn’t hurt right? The princess had one on her for being a trained warrior anyways.She looked around and saw that above her there were lines with clothes hanging from one side to the other. She looked back through the mass of people to see where Patience was. A bit before where she found her and in a few other places not to be suspicious she let the line on one of the sides go, causing the line of clothing to fall on the princess. Delia grinned at her small victory but gathered her wits and continued running the moment patience had untangled herself out of the threads.The consistently bumping into people, animals and other things was annoying. But patience was probably having the same problem.Once she was out of the street she ended up on a market place. Here she let a few chickens go out of a penn which had not been as securely closed as it should have been anyways. It halted the other woman for a few moments. Meanwhile Delia tripped numerous times over things she couldn’t see and could only just keep herself from falling every time.This caused the princess to gain on her as she had much more experience with running through market places.She quickly hid behind a stall and waited for the princess to appear.A few stalls from her there was a merchant selling fish, and underneath the stall was a crate full of grappling hooks. Through the noise of the market no one heard or saw Delia tuning it on its side, so it was facing the street. When patience went by, walking slower, now looking for her, she hooked one of the hooks around Patience’s ankle, making her trip and fall. Delia quickly jumped out of her hiding space and could just feel the princess pull on the legs of her trousers as she scrambled to get up.She swerved through the mass until she found a street and slipped into it. The further she got the fewer people there were.The chase went on for a few more streets until two things happened.The first was that it dawned on her that she had nowhere to go and that she was getting further and further away from the palace where she could find dr. turner and she could explain everything.Second was that she was getting exhausted. Her eyes were watering, she wasn’t breathing properly and there was a stinging in her side. She needed to stop for a few minutes. But where?As previously stated, she had no idea where she was or where she could go. She assumed everyone here was loyal to the royal family and would turn her in directly if she tried to ask for help. And there were no alleyways where Delia could hide where Patience wouldn’t follow her. Maybe she could run to the forest. No, then the guards there would get her at the gate. Maybe she could run through the city until Patience was tired. But she herself was already tired.Or she could go to that poorer part of the city where she had been earlier, where the cloister was. There had been dark spaces, maybe she could hide there.But while Delia was contemplating all her options she had unknowingly slowed down. She was shaken awake by the sensation of two arms grabbing her and before she could fully register it, she was brought all the way up to the palace and locked in a barely lit jail and sitting on a pile of hay.
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Laying on her side in her dark cell Delia contemplated the events that led her here. Mocking the princess may have been a bad decision, yes. But Delia had been right. What the woman had been doing was wrong and she said something about it. And when she started threatening her, she had said somethings back, no big deal right. Apparently, it was.But they couldn’t keep her here for more than one night, she reasoned. Hadn’t Dr. Turner said that he knew the king? Oh, she was going to have to apologize to him, and probably run some extra errands. Her first day in the city and she had already managed to get herself in jail. But at least it wasn’t for her magic or something equally damning. And now that she was here, she could familiarize herself.With the rats? An irritating voice said in the back of her mind. She hoped she wouldn’t go crazy here. She had heard of people going mad in places like this. But that was if they had been there for months without seeing sunlight and barely eating anything, she would probably only be here for a-A strange sound interrupted her thinking. It didn’t sound like rustling or metal rattling. She stayed still, listening for it to come again."Delia" Was that a voice? Was she going mad? No, she couldn’t become mad from just a few hours. But what if she was always mad? “Delia" came more insistent from the under the floor.No, she wasn’t always mad she continued, letting her mind run. She had never before had any symptoms of hearing voices and going mad doesn’t happen that quickly. Just look at the facts Delia. And, besides, she was just theorizing because she was afraid and lonely. She was all alone in a dark cell after all. “Delia?"No, it wasn’t in her head Delia concluded. Someone was calling her name.Was it someone within her cell she questioned as fear struck her again for a second. She looked around quickly. There was just enough light from the moon that she could see there was no-one with her in her cell. And besides the call was too far away and came from beneath. She didn’t remember there being any rooms beneath the jails, in most castles there aren’t. And how did this person know her name?“Delia?” came again from the depths.It wasn’t someone she knew. It sounded old and harsh. Like the breath of a really old man. Maybe not a man. She didn’t know what it was.She waited for a few minutes listening for another call. But it didn’t come. She laid on the floor, propped her arms under her head and tried to fall asleep.The next morning Delia was awoken by rattling of metal as the door opened. As she opened her eyes, she was immediately met with the streaming sunlight that came through the small window in the wall. She squinted and sat up, a little confused and sleepy. Dr. Turner stepped into her cell obviously angry.“Delia, you never stop amazing me.” Now awake, she stumbled to get up.“I’m so sorry doctor turner it won’t ever happen again”"No, I hope so. I really though you would be more careful.”Delia guiltily hung her head."Now I pulled a few strings to get you out of here but there is a price attached to it.”Delia frowned."What is it?”"You will have to spend two hours in the pillory as compensation.”‘Fantastic’ Delia thought sarcastically.
—————————————————————Delia returned from the pillory two hours later. She tried really hard not to inhale too much so she wouldn’t have to smell the food that was covering her body. Arriving at the door of the doctor Delia opened it with the not dirty side of her finger. “Welcome back, I see you payed your price.”He greeted her cheerfully. But he was probably still dissapointed.“Yes, I learned my lesson. I’ll be more careful.” she promised, not really in the mood for jokes and just wanting to wash everything off her."Good, I trust you. I filled a tub for you, it’s in your room. You can clean up there. When you come back I’d like you to deliver a potion to lady Helen, I’m almost done with making it. She is a singer who is going to sing at the feast this evening, she needs it for her voice. We are to attend that feast as well, so wear a dress, so you won’t stand out so much."“Thank you, yes I will.”With that she went into her room and locked it behind her. In front of her stood a tub full of steaming hot water. Next to it stood a small table with some soap, a brush and a towel.There Delia heard her name called again but ignored it in favor of getting the food and smell off of her.She stripped down and went in. 20 minutes later she had scrubbed and washed herself thoroughly and the room smelled like flowers. Finally, Delia could breathe normally. Delia dried herself and put on a red dress that would probably make her blend in with the crowd at the celebrations well. She heard her name again but ignored it and walked out of her room. She took the potion from Dr. Turner and walked out of the house.She crossed the field outside to the palace and asked there where lady Helen’s chambers where.She followed the directions she had gotten and made a mental note to start exploring the castle one of these days so that she could commit every room and its purpose to her memory. Arriving at lady Helen’s rooms she saw that the door was half open.
Delia carefully peeked inside.“Lady Helen?” She asked into the room.
There was no answer, no sound at all coming from the room that would indicate that someone was present.She approached a dressing table inside the room. The things on top of it were quite strange. There where the usual things, a comb, kohl and the like, but through all that were herbs, notebooks and a strange doll made of straw. Delia had a strange feeling about the setup, it was very suspicious and could only mean one thing. “Delia” spoke the same hollow voice as she had heard yesterday.Her head shot up and she frowned. Who was that and how did they know her? This distracted Delia thus far that she put the doll down and pushed her suspicions to the back of her mind. She couldn’t ignore the voice anymore, she had to find out where it was coming from.She set the potion on the dressing table and left. The mysterious voice kept calling out every ten minutes or so. It sounded far away, somewhere downstairs. She already knew the place it was coming from had to be somewhere beneath the dungeons, but where?The further the voice led Delia the more deserted her surroundings became. It became darker and colder as she was led deeper into the palace. Eventually the voice led her to a dark hallway. Here it was quiet and the sound of her shoes echoed against the walls. It was cold here with an arch lit on both sides by torches, coloring the wall an eerie yellow. The wall. The stone entrance opened to a stair that seemingly led to black nothingness.The voice called again, and it was clearly coming from the unknown darkness’s before her.She was nervous, the chill from the air around her perforated her clothes and made her shiver. She looked left and right along the lonely hallway in hesitation. The voice called again.She made a decision.She took one of the torches and made her way down. the chill increased the further she went down, holding the torch in one hand and holding her dress up with the other. The only warmth she felt came from the torch in her hand. Even though she was determined to go down she was careful. Her steps slow and heavy. They sounded flat and light on the stone steps.Her name was called again, singling she was going in the right direction. She looked back once and saw the entrance as a little white spot in the distance.Delia quickly turned back and refocused on defending the stairs. The air this far down was dry and stuffy. The voice was becoming louder, and her steps were becoming surer in response.At the end of the stairs she was met with a large wall. Delia waved her torch from left to right and on her right was met with another entrance. Through there she found a room that looked like it was a catacomb. There were several graves statues that she assumed were from different kings and queens. “Is there anyone here” she asked, frightened, preparing for something to jump out of the darkness at any moment. There was no answer.Then Delia’s name was called again, from further into the room. She walked on and discovered an obscure opening in the wall, just big enough for her and the torch to go through. She ended up in a tunnel that went slightly downwards. The light of the torch illuminated much more of her path now as that tunnel was quite small. She walked down and heard her name become louder and louder.The tunnel ended with an arch that led to a cliff in what looked like a giant cave.She could see nothing but the ground she was standing on and where it ended a few meters in front of her.“Hello?” She called into the air.“Who are you? Why do you keep calling my name?”“So many questions Delia.” came a booming voice from above.There was a great wind that made Delia take a step back a great dragon flew down and landed on a rock in front of her."How tiny you are for such a great destiny. " he chuckledDelia was beyond confused. What did he mean? How did he know her, what was he talking about? he hadn't answered any of her questions yet and was just laughing. "What are you talking about? What destiny?”“You’re destiny Delia. The one that is so intimately intertwined with that of the land and its heir.It didn’t mean Patience did it, where was this going? “Heir? You don’t mean the princess, do you?He went on as if she hadn’t spoken.“Dark clouds are gathering over this land Delia. The water is slowly turning black with blood. Patience is the one who must bring this kingdom from darkness into light. But she can’t do that alone, you have to be by her side, only then can she succeed.”“But that can’t be right. You must be talking about another patience, because this one is a horrible person.The dragon laughed. “Not everything is what it seems like, young witch. You judge too quickly.Personally, Delia disagreed with that. A person who threw someone in jail for some petty insults was not a good person, there was just no way.“Are you sure I have to do this? Isn’t there another Delia that was supposed to be standing here, listening to you and fulfilling the destiny you speak off?”“You can hear me now, can you not? I am speaking to your mind and your mind alone. If you weren’t the one meant to fulfill this prophecy you would not have been able to hear my call.”He went on.“You and Patience are two sides of the same coin. You must understand that. You form one force that cannot do without each other to succeed.”“But why? What did you mean with dark clouds gathering? Bringing the land from darkness to light. What darkness?”“A threat is coming young witch. An old threat but a dangerous one non the less. The two of you can not prevent it from coming. It was foretold long ago when your fathers fought in battle. You can only defeat it. But you still have much to learn Delia, before you can attempt it. Not only is there a threat towards the kingdom. There is a threat to the royal family itself. You must prevent anything from happening to the princess. Because you and she are the only hope of the kingdom. Now go Delia, you have a lot to do.”And with that, before Delia could say anything more, the dragon flew up to wherever it had come from. Baffled and confused she stood there. On a stone ridge in an enormous cave hidden underneath the city. She turned around and went back. Through the tunnel, through the tomb and the stairs. But this time the fear of her surroundings and the dark couldn’t get to her as she was only occupied with the dragon and what he had told her.The conversation with the dragon stayed with her for the rest of the afternoon. She tried to figure out what to do with the information she had gotten. The thought of some threat that would bring darkness to Camelot was quite scary. But the fact that she had to work with the princess was another thing. Previously she had hoped that she would never have to see the woman again. But now she seemed to have no choice. But how could she keep an eye on the princess as much as to make sure nothing happened to her? Was she going to have to spy, stalk her to make sure nothing bad happened?She wasn't sure she even wanted to do that. The princess had proven herself to be arrogant and Delia had made her decision. She wasn't going to trust her. Two sides of the same coin was a strange and ridiculous statement. And so was them not being able to be without each other. Delia could fare fine never having to be near the princess ever again.After she had come back, she and Dr. Turner got ready for the celebrations and an hour later they walked in together.The room was decorated beautifully. There were blue drapes hanging over from the ceiling and candle stands were lining the walls. People were talking and dancing. They looked rich and of high status. Delia felt a little awkward and intimidated. As she scanned the room for anyone she knew she quickly spotted Barbara standing by the wall with a tray full of small foods. But rather than working and offering people things from the tray she was staring at the crowd in wonder.Delia smiled at the sight and approached her, interrupting her daydreaming.Barbara’s face lit up when she saw her.“Hey, you’re here!”“Yes, Dr. Turner was invited, if I want anything to eat tonight, I have to eat here.”“Are you excited for lady Helen to be here to sing?”“That’s the singer, right? I heard of her, Dr. Turner asked me to deliver her something for her voice. But I didn’t see her, and I’ve never heard her sing.”“Well she is amazing according to the other girls. Apparently, she sang here last year with the king’s birthday. I didn’t start working here until much later, so I didn’t get to hear it. But it was wonderful everyone said.”“That’s impressive, to get so much praise and get invited so many times. She must indeed be very good.”“Yes she must be. A friend of mine, Emily, was to bring her fruit this afternoon. I haven’t seen her since but I am very excited to hear everything from her.”Delia decided to change the conversation and looked around the crowd.“Who are these people actually?”“Oh, they are mostly lords and ladies from around the city and the rest of the land and there are a few knights.”Just then Barbara was called away and excused herself to go back to work, leaving Delia alone.But before she could start roaming mindlessly or try to figure out who everyone was by their clothing the princess and her blond friend came in. Delia felt her mood go down immediately. She had known patience would arrive at some point; she had just hoped it would take a little longer. The princess was dressed in a long navy dress with a golden cord tied around her waist. Her red hair was loose and reached halfway to her elbows, it seemed to be the fashion as most ladies in the room had long loose hear. Patience looked smug as she walked in, as if she ruled the entire room. It angered Delia, so arrogant, so full of herself. Delia really wondered what the dragon was thinking. How could she ever like this woman, let alone be by her side to help her achieve her destiny, their shared destiny as the dragon had told her. She rolled her eyes internally; it was all so dramatic.The princess smiled at people who came up to speak to her. The smile was the fakest smile she had ever seen. Why was it not genuine, did she not like her people? was she that horrible? How could the dragon ever expect the two to get along?She directed her attention from the princess and her friend and looked for Dr.Turner, wondering what he was doing. She found him on the other side of the room in deep conversation with the king. About what she want sure. But she had no desire to go there and talk to the king.She looked further across the room. There were ladies and lords talking to each other in small groups. This was the difficulty of coming somewhere where people already knew each other. Groups had already been formed and you were the odd one out. You would have to find people that were like you. But in a place like this Delia thought that highly unlikely.Suddenly the sensation of a slender warm hand interrupted her musings. Delia quickly turned around and found Trixie, Patience’s friend, standing in front of her. “It was Delia, right?”“Yes.”“How are you? Are you excited for lady Helen to sing? She said excited, as if they were she=aring some sort of secret.” “I’ve never heard her sing but I’ve heard a lot of praise for her, so I am curious to see if it was justified.”“Well I can assure you, it is. We were here last year, me and my parents, and we heard her sing at the kings birthday. It was wonderful. Like stepping into a dream.”“I look forward to it.”“Me too, I have not been inside for twenty minutes and I am already bored.”She looked away from Trixie for a second and was immediately met with Patience who was looking at them from a distance with an expression that could only be described as distrusting. She quickly looked away and refocused on Trixie.“Sorry what did you say?”“I asked if you had been to one of these gatherings before. When I approached you seemed awfully nervous.”“No, I admit I haven’t, I come from a small town, these kinds of things don’t really happen.”“Than its very understandable. I have been going to these things since I was thirteen, so I’m used to them. But you’ll learn. Are you staying here for long?”“For the foreseeable future.”Then you will definitely learn, I can probably help you. I got patsy out of her shell, somewhat.” she said as she spared a glance at the woman in question. “I believe I can do anything now.” She laughed and Delia grinned along with her. So that is where that fake smile came from, she just wasn’t very good at it. Well nobody is perfect.After sharing a few more stories the guests were asked to take their seat at the table, as the entertainment would soon start. Delia was to sit next to doctor Turner for dinner, but since that wouldn’t start for a while she chose to join Barbara who was standing near the wall behind the kings seat. “Hey are you excited for the performance? What did your friend say about her?”“Oh, no one has seen Emily since she went to lady Helen. I am actually a little worried. But yes, I am very excited. I only hope she is as good as everyone has been telling me she is. I’m afraid they have made my expectations for her far too high. I think what is most important now is to focus and try not to let anything fall or spill.""Yes, that's probably the best plan."The room grew silent and Delia could feel the anticipation from the people around her for what was to come. A large decor piece was brought in and placed in the middle of the hall. On the platform stood a tall woman with long black hair and an orange dress. Her face was friendly and when the king announced her she smiled back kindly."There she is!" Whispered Barbara in her ear excitedly.Lady Hellen started her song and almost immediately the entire room was enraptured in the sound. The song was classic, something that would fit with the status of the people around her. It was beautiful, elegant and floated through the room like the water in a creak. Soft and strong. As Delia stared at the woman, mesmerized by her song, she felt the air grow thicker. Her mind became foggier and her eyes heavier. Delia frowned. She looked around and noticed that in the last minute the room had gotten considerably darker, the fruit on the tables were rotting and with unbelievable speed spiderwebs covered everything. The people around her had collapsed and were leaning on each other, all falling asleep.It dawned on Delia that it was the song Lady Helen was singing that was enchanting the people.Quickly she covered her ears with her hands, blocking out the sound. Almost immediately she started to feel less tired. The fog in her mind cleared and she could think properly again. She hid behind a pilar, keeping an eye on lady Helen. There she waited to see what the woman was going to do next.Once everyone around her seemed to be asleep the song stopped. The face of the woman had change from kind and dedicated to determined and angry. Lady Helen reached for her dress sleeve and pulled out a small throwing knife. To prevent the woman from throwing it Delia quickly located the chandelier that hung above Lady Helen. She loosened the rope that was holding the chandelier in the air causing it to fall.It pushed the woman to the ground and covered her lower body.The harsh sound from the fall was enough to wake the people up. Confused and surprised they sat up straight and peeled the spiderwebs from their clothes. The room became lighter and, on the floor, to everyone's shock, the woman changed. Her hair became gray and she grew older somehow. It hadn't been lady Helen at all. It was the old woman from the square.In a last attempt to achieve her goal she pushed herself up by her arms and threw the knife in the direction of the princess. In an impulse Delia shot forward and pushed Patience off her chair and onto the ground. In shock they looked back to her chair and saw that the knife was stuck exactly where her head would have been.Not wanting to stay on the ground obviously, they scrambled to their feet. The old woman lay still on the floor, succumbed to her injuries. When Delia looked up the people around her were smiling at her. They looked at her in amazement and wonder. She grew a little shy at the attention. But she didn't have enough time to let it get to her as the king grabbed her shoulder and thanked her almost tearfully. He wanted to do something in return for her saving his daughter. Before she knew it she was declared personal assistant to the princess. A position wanted by probably a lot people, but not Delia. She and patience looked at each other in panic. They both tried to protest the king. But it was no use. Their voices went unheard through the cheering of the people. And that marked the first time Patience Mount and Delia Busby could agree on something. Neither of them liked this.