Celestials and a Demon prince

Chapter 7: Compeller

The guards led her through the long corridor till they got to the cell's entrance, she had stopped struggling and only followed them sheepishly with a glare on her face, the huge door that lead to the cell gradually opened with two guards controlling it, they led her slowly down the slant stairs, it was quite dark and few lamps illuminated the place. The walls had carvings that spoke violent descriptions in them, she could decipher the meanings of the carvings and they were stories of heinous punishments for crimes commited by perpetrators. She knew all this especially when witches were major victims of it. They finally got to the last step and from there began the numbers of cells which were mostly empty but the horrific sights of weapons she saw inside these cells got her heart racing, right there she understood it was no ordinary cell and it was meant for a special purpose, yes for people like her.

The emptiness confirmed the king's victory over her kind, she was probably the first witch he had caught in a long time but how sure could he be? Except he had some power that he could tell. Something was not right with the king's decision to imprison her without evidence of her identity, her thoughts trailed back to the cells and she wondered what cell she'd be put in. She rather not be in any as the weapons set for purnishment which she saw there were no joke to her. They came to a stop at a particular cell and her eyes widened when she saw the figure of a person chained to the walls.

"Compeller," she almost muttered, the girl in the cell looked ragged and mentally disoriented, if she was a witch like her, how was she still breathing and alive? She obviously looked like she had been locked for a long time, the compeller must have gone far in it's work to peel of her skin gradually untill she was left with skeleton. Still she couldn't figure, the guards threw her into the cell and when they grabbed the compeller on the opposite side of the wall, her whole being flared from inside, she was yet to accomplish her mission but here she was about to be chained and melted till she was nothing.

Against her will she revolted, struggling not to be chained, however she could not do much to save herself as using her magic would ruin any chance of her getting to the princess. A loud hiss escaped her mouth as the clamped the chains on both arms. She had been invincibly burned and it was extremely painful but she was able to keep her cool for some moment untill the guards left shutting the door behind them. Once she heard them leave she let out a loud screech folding herself as if to contain the pain, this single act awoken the girl who had been sitting in silence as she looked at her terrified.

"What are you looking at filthy human! She cursed, her voice beastly. The girl in a flight of terror hastily moved glueing to the wall as she stared in shock at the scene playing out in front of her. Fiona had long recognized the girl was an ordinary human, she perceived her scent the moment she got into the cell and she radiated no dark energy hence the realization. Her specie as a creature could sense other supernaturals and humans through their scent and the energy they radiated.

"W-who are you? The girl stuttered, her voice shaky.

Fiona remained calm as she could feel the compeller taking over her demons, she was getting sudued, her magic was fading and she could do nothing but let it happen, she had two more days before the magic of her mistress started wearing off and her body peeling to reveal her true nature and this compeller was only going to quicken the process.

She groaned as a violent flow rushed throughout her body, her chest rose against her control and she held a prolonged gasp, dark veins popped throughout her neck and her eyes dimmed dark. The compeller was at its final stage of dominating her and she was only reacting to the effect.

Ari the maiden girl broadened her eyes in horror and her lips parted shakily and then she let out a loud scream that almost shook the walls of the cells and with that climax Fiona's body slumped making her look no order than normal. She had passed out and Ari screams were not heard. The place was built in such a way that sound couldn't penetrate, this was because it's sole purpose was to toture supernaturals and since the castle was also the living home of the royals, measure had to be taken to see to it that the screams of the tormented did not echo through the castle or maybe not. The doors opened shortly and Ari could only wonder if they actually heard her screams, the thudding steps of the soldiers could be heard as they approached untill they were finally in view of her.

"P-prince Edgar." She said almost silently staring at the figure with extraordinary features before her. She bowed slightly in respect to him as he strode into the cell to stand before them. He caught sight of the collapsed fiona on the side and a hint of worry settled on his face but when he had confirmed that she was indeed alive his calm countenance returned then he focused his gaze on Ari who was already shaken by everything she had just seen. She held her head slightly bent as she avoided the prince gaze but when he strode closer to her she was forced to lift her gaze.

"... Your Highness." She greeted once again and bent her head in shame of her appearance. Edgar had a more worried look on his face as he stared at her unwillingness to face him.

Ari...." He called, his breath vibrating through. He reached out his hand slowly towards her head and when the tip of of his fingers touched her hair, he sighed deeply before going ahead to slide her hair gradually to the back. He then slowly grabbed her chin as he lifted her face towards him, the corners of her eyes were flooding with tears and without restraint it flowed, he felt a pinch of emotion as he saw the tears stream down her eyes and the pain it harboured, then he did even more, breaking his royal protocol and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry." He managed to voice out as he was feeling completely helpless, Ari had been locked away in the cell since the night the princess had gone missing, she was the princess handmaid and she had been the last person with her that night.

Elnora had persuaded her to lead her out of the palace at night after claiming to have received a message from a stranger in her dream and cause of her gift she knew it wasn't like any ordinary dream, Ari had brought her a commoners cloth and given her a shabby make over, a weak attempt at concealing her royal visage in case anyone saw them. When they finally got to the spot which Elnora had said the stranger wanted to meet, they were greeted with utmost silence and they had almost given up after waiting a while when they suddenly felt an unnatural chill grace their skin. Two ladies suddenly approached from the thick darkness and strode towards them. She had excused their presence as the princess demanded but after a while of dead silence she grew suspicious and decided to take a peek and to her dismay the princess and the two ladies were not there. She cried making failed attempts to locate the princess before deciding to head back to the palace.

She had confided in Nora, the old lady in charge of the kitchen and she assured her that everything would be fine and that she should pretend not to be aware of the situation. She further told her she would be safer that way and putting up a fake story of how she had attended to the princess that night before leaving her. Morning came and unfortunately for everyone the king was furious learning about the princess dissapearance, he took immediate action and she was unprepared for it. Her fear and nervousness had given her up when the king interrogated her mercilessly, she confessed everything being under pressure and the king had not believed her but rather accused her of being an accomplice. He sent her down the dark cell as he had suspected her to be a witch and despite Edgers intervention the king did not go back on his words even after they had found the princess.

She was loyal and Edgar knew too well, her mother had served his mother when she was a new princess in the royal house and faithfully she served. Unfortunately Ari had been caught in this situation and the King cared little about her family's service to the royal household.

"Your Highness," she called pleadingly, " I promise I am innocent and would never do anything to hurt the princess." Edgar's hand froze on her skin as he had her speak, he had grown fond of Ari just as Elnora had and he believed her but the King wouldn't release her yet.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this but be patient, we've found the princess." Her face lit up excitedly hearing his words. "... But she is still unconscious." Her face fell as his second words came out and before she could utter a word Edgar continued. " Once she wakes up you will be free Ari... I'm really sorry for what you had to go through." He said reassuringly, a sigh of relieve escaped Ari's lips and she smiled uneasily and with that Edgar stood leaving her to dwell on her new emotion.

As Edgar walked through the corridor he stopped halfway his mind working fast enough to bring up different suggestions as to how he could handle the situation with the Princess. His men behind him were confused as to his abrupt pause.Then he turned his head slowly silently calling the attention of the man beside him, getting the message Aegen moved closer to him.

"I need you to get the carrier hawk to me immediately." Aegen's eye brow hiked as he heard the prince, why did the prince need the hawk and who was he planning to send a message to? The prince had kept and trained this hawk ever since he found it hovering at his window every night, but the bird was quite special and needed no training at all. Aegen knew it was important if the prince needed the hawk and with that he went off to get the bird to prince.