I hung there petrified in mid air not even daring to breathe as looked at my captor,

who was holding me firmly in I don't know what as I saw no mana strings or any other indication of magic,

in fact I coudn't even sense her it was if she was already dead,

and even then I had a feeling that the fact that I was alive didn't mean much to her, anyway

She seemed to be enjoying the moment as she was enjoying watching me suffer,

but there was a gleam in her eyes that told me that she didn't mind at all

I took a deep breath and tried to calm down, if this woman wanted me dead I would have been dead already,

even though I was in danger I still had to remain optimistic, I had to hold on

if it meant I would live through whatever this monster had planned for me

"Where is your father you must've escaped from him haven't you?"

She asked with a smirk on her face, it didn't seem real.

It wasn't a question, so it didn't sound threatening

it sounded like an interrogation

I was flabbergasted what was this madwoman talking about

'my father, what did that man have to do with anything, according to the memories i hadn't seen him in years'

Even though the situation was scary, I was more confused then scarred

"NO mam, i didn't runaway from my father he kicked out ages ago," I answered confusedly

her smirk grew wide as she looked like she was laughing inside of her head, she had to be enjoying this

"Your lies won't save you little girl, I'll make sure of that,"

My head began to spin from her insane words,

however, even after everything that had happened in the last few minutes I kept my composure, even if the situation had changed I had to stay calm.

This woman could kill me, and I needed answers, so instead of arguing I decided to take advantage and change the topic

"who are you?"

"Don't bother about that answer my question, Radiant" The old woman hissed in anger as the grip around me tighten

I quickly shouted

"I am not lying and I am a boy," I yelled at her angrily

this time her grin became even larger

"oh yes?"

she whispered under her breath, but loud enough for me to hear,

then she turned and faced all the beasts that have cornered us,

she began waving her hands as electricity began to dance in her hands then,

just when my eyes couldn't even keep up with her rapid movement,

She stopped and then she mimicked the motion of tossing rose petals as

she tossed a handful of small sparks in every direction,

then those sparks transformed into golden bolts as they flew towards the black bears, causing their bodies to erupt in flames

I gasped in shock and watched helplessly as her magic destroyed the poor creatures one by one until only a handful remained standing which were now running away at top speed incomprehensible for a beast that size.

Some decided to fight

they roared and snarled at the old woman while brandishing their sharp claws at her

but it was useless, she was too high in the air

They all roared angrily, almost looking angry and hurt

" Poor beast" she muttered lowly

then, with a flick of her wrist the sparks flew forward in a large arc

and hit each of the bears in the chest, causing them to burst into flames and melt.

She completely destroyed them in mere moments as she threw her arms up in triumph and smirked evilly.

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She turned around and walked over to me, grabbing my arm with a death grip and hauling me across the clearing as if I weighed nothing.

I was struggling to get free, but she was stronger than me and I was powerless to resist.

"now, stupid girl do you want to tell granny the truth,"

But before i could answer she Began to fly away

"What do you want with me?" I asked her as she continued dragging me along.

"I want to teach you a lesson," she replied simply

"What kind of lesson?"

"To not ever lie to me, girl,"

"I am a boy and did not lie, my bastard of a father did kick me out," I argued

she flicked her finger a spark flew towards me causing an indescribable immense pain causing my body to convulse and I doubled over in pain.

"that's where you're wrong, you lied to me and I punished you for it, now I'm punishing you for it again..."

She started fly away dragging me along causing me to vomit from the nausea

"Please don't hurt me," I pleaded

But she ignored me and continued on her way

"Now you will come with me, I have many questions for you”

, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the smell of blood filled my nostrils, but I stayed the entire ride as she flew over hundreds of wagons, carriages,

people carrying all kinds of goods, carts, wagons and carts of all types;

As I looked upon the magnificent scene of destruction and death,

I was overwhelmed by emotion,

it was as if I was seeing a part of our world that I had never seen before, and I felt as if I were drowning as if I were losing my footing.

The tears flowed from my face as I looked at the surrounding people in despair.

*************

I screamed out in agony as I was thrown to the side, and I landed hard onto the dusty ground rolling several times before finally stopping.

I could feel the blood seeping from my mouth as I panted heavily, as I sat up on to my knees and leaned my back.

My wrists ached from where they were pinned behind my back, and the skin there felt broken and burned.

The woman laughed maniacally as she landed next to me, we just had been flying over a clearing created by circling of a dozen most luxurious carriages arranged in a circular formation around three long tents that seemed to be at least 3 times bigger than everyone else's tent, and I noticed that there was another set of tents that looked similar to the prince's tent.

But I couldn't think about that right now, I was focused on my wrist which stung like hell

I looked at it and saw that the skin around my wrists and ankles was burnt, there weren't even any scratches there as if it was all made of iron.

The old woman approached and pulled me up by my arms,

"Stand" She commanded

I obliged reluctantly, and then she pushed me against a carriage as well as she could with her withered hand and I fell to the floor

"Now, let me ask again what is your name?"

"Rafaelle" I lied

"Tell me Rafaelle," She demanded

"Why did you run?"

I was confused irritated and angry at the same time and didn't understand why this mad old crone was asking such incomprehensible questions

"I didn't run away from my father, he kicked me out, remember?"

"Ah, I see... You would need further education in the ways of the Magisterium, wouldn't you? Well, I don't suppose I can blame you for being ignorant of the ways of the magisters, considering how you came to be here," she mused.

Before she could elaborate what the hell this magisterium was or what hell education did I need, the prince and a dozen guards that followed him came running toward us

he stopped in front of me

"You! What happened? Why aren't you dead yet? "He said sounding furious as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration

I glared back at him coldly, although I knew I couldn't give him much satisfaction by answering honestly to his accusations.

"It's none of your concern, Your Highness, please return to your duties, and tell the guard to take me to the dungeons. I need to talk to my sister about something," The old woman said with a sneer.

by the looks on her wrinkly face, she was getting annoyed at his questioning looks

"But lady Kesala he is my property!" he shouted

the old woman sighed in annoyance as she rolled her eyes, clearly not in the mood anymore

"Look I know your mother raised you better than this, however, you cannot allow yourself to lose control because you're feeling inferior"

she growled.

then she grabbed my collar

"I want him for a few days then I will return if he is alive , deal?"

He hesitated and thought about it for a moment and nodded his consent

then, to my surprise he took my hand and kissed it tenderly

"see you later beautiful"

before sending me on my way to hell, as the old woman dragged by my neck to one of the luxurious carriages

As soon as I entered the wagon I tried to shake off her hold and walk towards the door, but she tightened her grasp on my throat as I struggled harder than before,

I was sweating profusely from the sudden amount of effort it took me to break out of her chokehold.

I was breathing heavily and desperately trying to gain any sort of energy back.

I could see in her eyes that she wasn't planning on letting go anytime soon; the old woman's gaze was dark, malicious, and deadly, as the fire in her eyes grew brighter with every second.

I was gasping for air, but still, she hadn't released me;

"Ah, Ravella darling, bless you for being at the right place at the most opportune time"

she said to the shadows at the corner

"here take this abomination to the room will you and find my granddaughter for me"

"Yes Mistress"

The shadows said in unison

Then, as if on cue, four dark shadows emerged from the darkness and held me tightly in their grip. One shadow led the way towards the doors to the carriage and opened the doors.

And out the shadows emerged a woman, tall with pale blonde hair tied up in a bun on top of her head, she was very beautiful, dressed in white silk robes with gold embroidery that glittered in the light, her icy blue eyes flashed dangerously with excitement as she smiled wickedly at me.

"Aww what a cute little thing, aren't we?" She cooed

Her voice was soft and melodic, unlike any woman I've heard before

She had an athletic physique with a slim waist and a round bust that protruded slightly beneath the silk robe, and well-defined muscles forming a perfect body.

"Who are you? Where am I and where are we going?" I croaked out in desperation.

"Oh, honey don't worry about a single thing" She purred as she caressed my cheeks tenderly

"we're taking you somewhere safe, my love"

I struggled harder to escape, I needed to get rid of this hideous creature immediately so that I could return home and make sure no one saw me leave, but she was too strong

******************

I was shoved roughly on to the dark metal chair, my body was still burning with pain from earlier and my wrists were hurting badly, I guess I shouldn't have tried to escape.

I could only look in to darkness and listen intently to the footsteps approaching me from behind, and as the chains on my legs clanged together with every step I heard coming my way, I shivered in fear.

When the footsteps got closer, I recognized the scent of sandalwood and perfume wafting through the air, which meant that the person that has arrived was definitely that woman

"Oh, honey comfortable aren't we?" She whispered as she caressed my cheek lovingly

"you are in deep trouble so you better tell the truth"

"you see i can smell when someone is lying"

she whispered to herself, then she bent down and gently kissed me on both sides of my lips

as she did so, I closed my eyes as I began sobbing hysterically