Will had to admit that he was a little taken aback by Anna’s greeting.

‘Also, what kind of name is Anna for a mage?’ Thought Will. He always imagined mages would have names he could hardly pronounce.

“Hello Anna, nice to meet you too” Will replied even though he thought that it was a really strange thing to say to someone who was about to kill him soon.

“Are you ready Will?” Anna asked.

‘Am I ready to die? Fuck no… But it’s not like I have a choice in the matter’ thought Will.

Anna smiled as Will nodded and she motioned for Will to follow her.

Will was impressed by Anna’s calm demeanor. Will didn’t think he’d be able to talk to someone he was about to kill so calmly, but then again she was a mage and she must’ve had lots of practice. Maybe Anna was like a butcher, making sure the lamb was calm before severing it’s neck with a single blow. Will followed Anna while lady Mildred followed him as they moved along the corridor. Anna stopped at the end of the corridor and opened the door to the right.

They entered a room which had the floor completely covered with some kind of fur that Will didn’t recognize. There was a table in the corner and a few chairs nearby. This room connected to another and his view to the next room was blocked by curtains. The mage Anna, moved forward and entered the next room. Will could smell incense burning in the room. Will followed Anna and entered the room. His eyes immediately fell on Alice and Agnes who were standing near the bed that seemed to take up most of the space in the room.

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Both the maid girls had puffy eyes either from crying or from lack of sleep or both. They both bowed in unison as Lady Mildred entered the room behind Will. The maids looked surprised to see Will but didn’t ask any questions. Mildred barely acknowledged their presence as her eyes were glued to the person lying on the bed.

Will saw Messenia lying on the bed with blankets pulled up to her waist. There was a thin cloth strip placed on her forehead. Messenia was covered in a sheen of sweat and although she seemed to be sleeping, Will could see her body jerking rigidly now and again. Even though he was about to be killed for the sake of piggy, it was hard to feel hatred towards her when she was in that condition.

“How is she?” asked Lady Mildred

“Much the same my lady, the fever still hasn’t broken but the bleeding has stopped” Agnes answered. Mildred looked to the mage with a pained expression which Anna acknowledged by a nod. Anna reached for a pouch that was dangling from her thin belt and pulled out a chain. It was a silver chain with delicate links and embedded with a large sapphire stone. Anna took WIll’s left hand and placed the chain over his wrist, holding it in place.

“Will, Are you ready to give up your life to save Lady Messenia and follow my every command?” Anna asked.

Will saw the eyes of Agnes and Alice go wide in shock as they stared back and forth between Will and Anna.

Will took in a deep breath. He was somehow going to end up as a willing sacrifice to save Messenia’s life. Will hadn’t really given much thought to how his life would end. There was a time when he thought his step father Walter might kill him, but at least that didn’t happen. At least he’d die saving someone’s life even if it was piggy. Although, it wasn’t for piggy that he was dying. It was for Rowan, Mary and Cara, the people he truly loved. Cara would be safe because of him. As far as reasons for dying, that was a pretty good one in Will’s opinion.

Will looked into Anna’s eyes as he said “Yes, I am ready”. Will could instantly feel something crawling on his skin from the chain and going into his veins the moment he made the reply. Will could feel the sensation moving up in his arms and connecting to his heart. The moment he felt it touch his heart, the end links of the chain on his arm connected and the gemstone embedded on it changed color from sapphire to amber.

Will pulled away his hand in shock, but even as he pulled away he could feel the light sensation of something tugging his heart, connecting his heart to the chain and the chain to the mage. Mildred and the maids seemed just as puzzled as Will.

“Now, we shall begin” said Anna with a smile that reminded Will of a hunter who just ensnared her prey.