Sasha had been sneaking out, going down to the tower every night, looking up at the lit window. Her mother was staying there late nights, working at something. She didn’t know why the eagerness, but she seldom saw either her or the king. Something about the ball had spooked them and Sasha was afraid she knew what. Or rather who. Isaak.

It put her in a bad mood for two reasons, she couldn’t finish her promise to Elias, and she was worried for Isaak's sake. She was his bodyguard, his hitman, and this was the closest to the real danger he had ever been. Sasha had sent her sister and Isaak, together with the guarding dragon, to his townhouse, wanting neither of them in the castle.

When she finally let go for the night, following the queen's step back to the castle, she was tired. Tired of waiting. She was just about to go back to her quarters when she heard a muffled sound. Sasha slid back in the darkness of an alcove. Someone else was up this late night. Could it be Elias?

Slowly, silently she moved towards where she had heard the sound. There was a faint light painting the corridor in shadows. On the other way of the hall outside Elias's chamber she saw a dark figure, carrying what looked like being another human being. That was what had made the sound.

The figure disappeared around the corner, a muffled scream and then silence. Only some shuffling steps were heard in the eir night. Sasha followed suit.

When she rounded the corner she just saw how the hooded figure disappeared through a door, with what she now assumed to be a limp body hanging over the shoulder. Sasha bit her lip, anger boiling through her. She was pretty sure what was going on. The king had found yet another plaything.

When she pulled the doorknob, the door fell open, the king forgot to lock it in his haste to have fun. Sasha slid through the door, breaths shallow and body on guard. She had never been down this corridor, and it was a long one. At the end of the corridor was a staircase, and another door from where she could see a bright light shining. The king kept someone up in the room, of that she was sure.

She had to do something. She couldn’t just let this happen. Not again. Never again. With a determined step, she moved forward, drawing magic into her hands. She had no plan, she just knew that she was stronger than the king. He might heal, but she could take him out long enough to release his capture and flee. There was a long time since she had visited her mother anyhow.

Her steps took a sudden stop. Something was in front of her, an invincible wall she had not seen until she stumbled upon it. Confused she stepped back, taking a closer look. She couldn’t see anything odd, but when she put her hand forward she could feel a smooth surface. It looked like some kind of security measure. She guessed this was the king's secret corners. Maybe there were more alarms here than she had first thought. The earth magic should do the trick. Sasha took a deep breath, feeling the connection to the soil. The magic poured out of her hands. Nothing happened. Not even a tiny string rupture in the wall. Her breath quickened as she moved backward, away from the power field in front of her. Another wall, another invincible force field.

“Curiosity killed the cat.”

The dark figure walking down the stairs was indeed the king. Sasha gritted her teeth. She had walked straight into this, not even feeling the magic around her. Magic so soft woven into the castle that it must be a part of it, older than any of them.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

The king smiled, slowly poking a wooden stick through the power field. It hit her in the stomach with its sharp edge. Sasha just glared at him. It didn’t hurt and she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of jumping around like a circus animal.

“This was easier than planned”, the king said, locking smudge.

“What were you doing?” Sasha asked.

“Her?” The king said, looking up from where he had come. “Oh, she will wait. She hit her head pretty bad, will probably not wake up anytime soon.” He chuckled.

“Let me help her”, Sasha said. It was a far cry from begging, but she was not in a situation to be picky. Caught in the power field she was stuck, her options slim.

The king struck with the wooden stick. He was fast, but Sasha’s was faster, it rammed into the wall, broken in two. One part in the king's hand, the other one on the floor in front of her.

“So, you are afraid of a small cat?” Sasha spat.

“No, I’m doing a small favor. The queen is worrying about Elias you see.”

“I have no wish of inherent the throne.” Sasha interrupted, not liking where this was going.

The king just smiled silently, drawing a hologram with the half piece of the stick. Sasha tried to brush out the marks but she was too late, the figure already glowed with fire, the magic pulsating from it. That was when the realization hit her. This was not an alarm system, this was a trap.

The king throws some grains through at her. When they passed the power field they transformed into glowing metallic needles. She tried to blow them away with the wind, pushing the elements against her attackers, but it was futile. They just bounced at the invincible wall, coming at her with an even higher speed. They attacked her in a swarm, drawn to her body as if she was a magnet. She cried out loud when they pierced through her skin, the smell of burnt flesh filling her nostrils as she almost passed out. She had nothing to comfort her, no magic to use. She couldn’t come through the barrier, her magic useless with no enemy to attack.

The king snickered, throwing some more grains her way, intently studying where every one of the hooks entered her skin.

“Elias is obsessed with you. I am doing him a favor. He will not even recognize you when I am finished.”

“You are crazy.”

“Well, you should know, it runs in the family, witch.”

Her father laughed at his jokes. He wouldn’t stand a chance against her in combat, but he had prepared. The king's strongest suit was his invulnerability. His greatest threats were the depths of his evilness, combined with what was a worthy opponent even in combat.

The king stepped even closer, studying the pins going through her body. She looked like a giant fished, being stuck on a fishhook. In this case several fishhooks.

“You are not a healer. You will bleed to death slowly, no one hearing your screams”, the king said. “You will not get another chance of spreading sadness in my family.”

“I am family”, Sasha said with a pained voice.

“So you say.”

The king sat down on the ground just outside the magic circle.

It was odd, him being here would risk drawing attention. She would have thought he would leave her to suffer alone, being eager to cover his tracks, closing the doors.

“Why are you still here?” Sasha asked. Her vision blurred from the pain of moving her chest enough to speak. Any magic she could have drawn would just worsen her situation, but there had to be a way out of this. If she only could get her stuff together long enough to figure it out. How could magic enter the circle, but not leave? What kind of trap was this?

“And miss the show?” the king snickered. “I have nowhere else I will rather be.”

“Such attention”, Sasha humored although she felt the dizziness becoming overbearing. “Such fatherly devotion.”

Maybe she could call for the knights of Aaliyah. She still could let the king forget his whole life. That might help her get out of this situation.

“When the burning ends, the needles will start rotten your flesh, black tendrils eating away your skin.”

“You sick bastard.”

The king casually threw more grains her way, the swirled of them hitting her like angry bees. Sasha screamed, the elemental powers pouring out of her, to little help. The wall just reflected them, pushing the hooks even deeper into her flesh.

With one last look at her father she fainted.