Chapter 36 Magic Cancels Magic
Getting out of my room excites me more than fear. Who can blame me after Zhier locked me up for three days?
Even so, I am not free to take my time enjoying my independence because we are, strictly speaking, in a rush. We're on a run against time, and we also need to make sure that we don't encounter other fairies along the way.
"My lady, are humans naturally slow, or is it just you?" Efeiza wonders, looking back at me as we run.
"Efeiza, I would very much appreciate it if...you don't talk to me. I'm running out of breath." I wasn't very athletic, but I don't usually run out of breath this easily.
"Geez, what did you do in those three days?"
"What do you expect a prisoner to do? Workout?!" I look up at her in an annoyed manner before I notice an intersection. "Efeiza, we're taking a left from here." I instruct when I remember the outline of the map.
Efeiza presses her back against the wall and drags me along with her before we can turn.
She places a finger over her lips to signal me to be quiet.
I pick up Jade from the ground and then lie with my back against the wall, just like she does.
Soon I hear distant footsteps approaching.
I watch as Efeiza draws a dagger from beneath her skirt and, before the fairy guard can scream, stabs him in the neck.
Blood splatters over her face when she twists the dagger and carefully lowers the body of the guard on the floor.
When she turns back, she gives me a bright smile, not even the least bit bothered by the purple blood on her face. I grimace, causing her to look at me in concern.
"What's wrong?"
"Y–You got a little bit of something here." I point at my nose, indicating where the blood splatter is on her face.
Efeiza starts to wipe her face on her arm, but when she raises her head, it becomes worse; her face looks like it is painted purple.
If only it's paint though.
"Is it gone?"
"Y-yeah, it is." I lie.
God, I feel like some of the blood even reached her eyes. I feel sick. I rather not say anything anymore, or I might make things worse.
We start to move again. This time at a quicker pace. A few more guards showed up, but Efeiza and Jade easily handled them. By the time we get there, Jade and Efeiza are both completely drenched in purple.
I think that it is safe to say that I don't want to look at them.
It's not blood; it's paint. It's paint. It's paint...
We stop in front of a wall, which is the location that Faragon hinted at. It's at the top of the castle and at the very end of the hallway. It was heavily guarded, which makes me more convinced that we are at the right place.
"Lady?" When Efeiza looks at me, she arches an eyebrow. "Why are we stopping here?"
"This is the place on the map." I tell her, but even as I say that, staring at a wall is giving me some doubt about the authenticity of the map. I even checked the paper with the drawing of a map on it.
Was Faragon shitting on me? Is the map fake?
I had just thought about going to find Faragon when Efeiza and I noticed Jade scratching the bottom of the wall.
Efeiza and I exchanged a look before she started placing her hand on the wall.
A bracelet that she has starts to glow an ominous red.
"Theres magic here." Efeiza sneers and says it like it's a bad thing. "Only magic and cancel magic."
"Is it that bad?"
Efeiza nods. "Pretty much. We're talking about the level of royal magic here. In this case, only those with royal blood can cancel it. If we can't cancel the magic, there's no way for us to reveal the real door and enter."
"Well that sucks." I try to remain as calm as I can while I try to think of a solution. "Is there really no other way? We went into all that trouble to get here."
"Maybe you want to check in with your fiance and negotiate. Or, maybe the ring has some remnants of his magic that—"
"Not happening. And he is not my fiance.
" I give her a look of annoyance. I can't believe that she's making a joke out of this.
I swear, when the situation is less tense, I will get back at her for this.
Although she did give me a clue about our situation.
"On a serious note, you said royalty level magic, right? "
"Right."
"Can a remnant of Klovis's magic be used?"
Efeiza's eyes widen, like she has just remembered about the mark on my hand. "That could work, but only if it still has some magic left."
I look down at my hand. The mark has been rather faint compared to the time that I was brought to this realm, but the mark is still there.
"There should be. I hope." I gulp and place my hand on the wall.
I feel a twinge of heat on the skin where the mark lies.
Soon, a massive wooden double door opens before us.
I draw my hand back, feeling it burning but not enough to cause harm to my hand.
I turn to Efeiza, and I see her going to the door and opening it.
"I guess Faragon gave you the hint knowing that you might be able to access this chamber.
" Efeiza whistles. "Get behind me. There might be traps inside.
" She instructs. I wordlessly follow her lead.
The room is dark save for a few pixie lights floating around us that Efeiza unleashed.
Through their dim glow, I can vaguely see. ..
...wait.
"Are those gold and diamonds!?"
Efeiza gives me a look. "Oh, I forgot. You humans think that those are valuable." She says it like she wants to tease me.
"If they are not valuable, then why are they in here?"
"To keep the ground occupied." Efeiza answers me.
"Weeds would grow on empty patches of land.
Also, it's the best way to bury magical items to keep their magic resonance at bay.
" It just occurs to me that theres no flooring inside this room.
To be more accurate, the place looks more like a jungle than a treasury.
Thick trees wind their way around, almost as if they were trying to trace the room's dimensions.
"So, my lady, do you have any clue how we are going to find the mirror? "
"Can't we just divide and conquer? I go left and you go right while we dig from the pile of gold and diamonds."
"I would not advise that." She wrinkles her nose and eyes the mountains of priceless human gems suspiciously. "Some may contain artifacts and magic items under the pile, while others might contain traps."
"Great." I let out a breath. "How do these fairies know where they put their artifacts if they just lay them on the floor and bury them? Don't they have shelves for that!?" I know that this is not the time to rant, but I am just getting frustrated with the situation.
Efeiza laughs at my little outburst. "They use their magic to feel where the item that they want is." I did not expect an answer to my question, but hey, there it is.
I bury my face in my hands. We're so close. I want to find Klovis as soon as possible. I want to see him.
"Ow!" Something inside my dress belt suddenly pokes my skin the moment I decide to squat on the ground. I realize that it's the piece of mirror that I took a while back and my only way to contact Klovis before.
That's it! Maybe I can use this to call for him.
"Klovis, are you there?"
No answer.
"Klovis, if you can, please answer."
Still nothing. Now, I am getting angry and impatient.
I take a deep, calming breath before I glare at my reflection in the mirror.
"If you don't answer, I am going to read your diary—" I stop myself.
I don't think that he is going to answer me if I threaten him.
I should call out to him in the way that he told me that he would respond.
I close my eyes, placing my lips closer to the shard.
"Klovis, I need you. Give us anything to lead us to you. "
The mark on my hand burns once again. The radiance increases, and the mark appears to have completely faded away. It morphs and forms into a thin thread of light coming from the broken piece of mirror, which starts to appear and connects to one of the treasure piles.
I start to follow the path of the thread before digging through it and finally finding something reflective underneath.
"Efeiza, can you give me a hand?"
Within seconds, Efeiza has joined me and is assisting me in lifting a large circular wall mirror with thick golden frames that coil like roots around it. There's a broken off piece at the bottom left corner, and the one I'm holding in my hand is an exact match.
Without any hesitation, I placed the broken piece back in place.
As soon as the piece aligns with the original body of the mirror, the surface of the mirror begins to liquify and swallow my hand. If Efeiza had not grabbed me by then, I would have been swallowed by the other side.
"Are you okay!?"
"I'm fine. I was just surpri—" My mouth opens in a silent gasp when I feel someone grasping my hand from the other side of the mirror.
It's warm and familiar. Even when I cannot see who is on the other side, I can't help but smile because, in my mind, I already know who it is.
I close my hand tightly on the hand that's clasping mine.
I look back at Efeiza. "Pull me. Quick!"
Efeiza follows my command and pulls me by the waist while I use my other free hand to reach through the mirror and secure the hand holding me.
I am never going to let this hand go. I make a silent vow to myself.
It takes both of our strengths before we are able to pull the other party out of the mirror.
Efeiza moves back while I come crashing down on the ground and hug the true Seelie Prince in my arms. I pant.
I'm not sure if it's because of the effort that I exerted or because the guy in my dreams is finally in my arms.
Klovis. I see him, finally, in his true form. His skin is a bluish grey, and his long hair is as black as a moonless night. Two ram horns are on his head, which would have made him seem like a devil rather than a Seelie prince.
I feel a laugh in my ears that brings tears to my eyes. It sounds so real.
"How long are you going to embrace me?" He starts to tease, moving back a bit to allow me to see his face. I'm met with purple and golden eyes and a very kind smile.
He's beautiful. He's Steve. He's finally within reach.
I breathe out, the tears come pouring down my cheeks, and I bury my face on his shoulder. "You're here."
I feel him hug me tightly in return. "Yes. I'm here." He whispers, patting my head and back like I am the one in need of comfort. "I missed you."
"I missed you too, Steve."