“Sister?” Ivy said.

Sasha´s chin was coloured pink. She had seen where her sister’s eyes had traveled when she had met Elias in the door.

“It was he who started it.”

“I knew it was a bad idea to leave the room”, Ivy sighed. “Why?”

“It hurts like hell.” It was a bad excuse. “And he is a healer Ivy.”

“You didn’t have to give him a hickey because of that.” Ivy laid her hand in Sasha’s palm. “You could have waited for me.”

The softness from Ivy was like a lullaby, and she felt like drowsing. She was on new ground, unsure of how to handle the new circumstances, the loss inside her.

“I don’t know why I did it, Ivy. Elias, he... Well, he just makes me so mad.”

“You have to calm down. Don’t let him get the best of you.”

“I won´t”, Sasha yawned. “I think I might owe him an excuse, maybe, he gave back some of the magic he took.” She played with the energy, feeling the familiar warmth.

“Don’t be too quick on forgiving Sasha. He is raised by them.”

“I know. I was so close to bringing them on their knees.”

“We will win Sasha. You just have to be patient. Haven't I promised you to victory?” Ivy pulled the blanket higher up, fondly caring for Sasha. ”How is Isaak?”

“He misses you. I was to fetch you and come home, and see where I am now.” She squeezed Ivy’s hand, trying to reassure her, not wanting to tell her he was coming for her. Not wanting to see more worry lines.

“You will have to grow stronger again. Until then we will play nice.”

Sasha laughed. Ivy joined. That would be a new one for Sasha, playing nice.

“Seriously Sasha, how much did they drain from you?”

Sasha tried to collect the flow of magic in her stomach, but she felt no answer. The warm swivel of power was gone, the tickling sensation, nothing. She could still feel the magic, but it didn’t answer.

“I'm below the first level”, she confessed. “I will have to start all over.”

“Ouch. That is bad.”

“At least I know what to expect this time. I will master it faster.”

“Elias told me about mother”, Ivy whispered, changing the subject ”With you this weak we have to go home, you are fragile, the witchcraft...”

“Yes, soon”, Sasha interrupted, not wanting to hear how close to total humiliation she had been. “Just let me rest for a while and then we come up with a plan.”

She sank in her pillow, not having the energy to eat the soup Ivy had brought. She just needed to sleep.

“I already have a great feeling for the perfect plan sister.”

Sasha didn’t hear the rest, she drowsed off to sleep, and in her sleep, she was hunting. She was running in a forest, her hand close to her sword, but each time she thought she had closed in on her prey the speed went up. She ran as fast as she could, the sweat lacking on her body, covering her in moist. The prey was almost there, but not really.

She woke up with a silent scream. Looking around in the unfamiliar room she saw neither Ivy nor Elias. But she was not alone. On the chair beside her sat a man. Someone she hated dearly. He cleared his throat.

“That must have been quite the nightmare.”

He was tall, not as lean as the statue of him on the square in her hometown. Still, he towered over her, his body language oozing of power.

“The queen kept you for herself. I have waited for you.”

Sasha felt cold down her spine. This man had no warmth in his eyes. He was licking his lips.

“I can make you forget you have ever met her”, he said.

If the rumours were true, that was not in a good way. Sasha felt like crying. So close to her goal, and so far away. She wanted her magic, and if not, she wanted to do the next best thing, she wanted to hit him.

He put his fingers on her arm, pressing them down in her flesh.

“I can make you forget that you ever met her”, she spitted back, wishing she had the magic to back it up.

“No one can”, the king answered.

It was time to play it cool or scream for help.

“Are you sure? You seem to have forgotten your second daughter”, she said. “Not recognizing your kids might come next to forgetting your wife, don’t you think?”

She smiled. She had made the calculations right. Ivy would be proud of her.

“She had twins”, the king said, the realization written in his face. “That damn witch. I would have burned her twice.”

He paused, closing in on her, studying her blue eyes, knitting the brows.

“You look nothing like her”, he said, “You look like my sister.”

Sasha sat up, dodging the king. She didn’t want to stay in the bed with the king in the room. She needed the distance, and she didn’t like the gleam in his eyes. The nightgown was not her own, but it was very modest, and for that she was thankful. She sat down in the armchair, bringing the cold soup from her bedside table, using it as a shield. The king still watched her, sitting on the chair next to the bed, following each movement she made.

“It will make her unhappy if something was to happen to you”, he stated and shook his head. “I will send someone to bring up more food.”

“Father”, Elias voice suddenly filled up the room. He sounded winded as if he had been running. “How come I always find either you or my mother when I come to talk with Sasha?”

“Sasha? Is that her name? A lovely lady if I may say.”

Elias clenched his fist. He looked from his father to Sasha, the eyes fixed on her arm and the blue marks. The smile he had when he turned to his father was forced.

“A spoiled brat, not much different from her father I would guess”, Elias answered.

The king laughed, the frightening figure seemed to be human for a while. He rose from the chair, patting hard on Elias's back. Sasha held a tight grip on her bowl.

“Mother asked me to bring Sasha to the training”, Elias said. His mouth made a disapproving grimace.

“She needs hot food first. Where is the queen by the way?”

“She’s in the stable, looking at the new mare you brought her”, Elias answered. ”Nice grey colour, she is a beauty.”

“Good, good indeed”, the king said with a broad smile. “That horse is a real devil, she will like her.”

Sasha listened to the king’s footsteps as he disappeared.

“You heard the king, food first, training later. Take on some clothes and then we go to the kitchen.”

“I thought he would send up some?”

“Sweetheart, sorry to disappoint you, but that will not happen. He will have forgotten about you the very minute he leaves the room. He will go directly to the stable.”

Elias turned around and Sasha gathered her clothes and went for the bathroom. She was wobbly and had to focus on the doorknob. Some food would put everything right. She had been through worse. Isaak would be disappointed in her if he saw her now.

Sasha splashed some cold water in her face and took a deep breath. One step at a time, first she had to control her magic. Unfortunately, it seemed that doing so included the man on the other side of the door.

“Hello stepbrother, lead the way, right to the dragon's den.”

Elias raised one eyebrow.

“Ah, the dragons. I have been waiting for that one. You trust too easily, you were easy prey for Aiden. You need training in fighting as well.”

“I thought I heard the steps of another human down there.” He had not denied it, he had been there. In the maze, with the snakes. It was simply not human.

“Introducing you to my family was never my choice I am afraid”, Elias said. “But now that it is done, we have to tackle the outcome. The faster we go, the faster I get my orb back and you could disappear again.”

“Why don’t you just take the orb?” She put her hands on her hips, staring at him.

“I plan on restoring your magic, and my mother plan on forcing magic upon you, that she has stolen. Double the intake in such a short time will not only hurt Sasha, but it could also kill you.”

“I don’t understand.”

“The magic you took, what is laying inside you, it will protect you. I am a healer. The orb will ensure you can handle what you will get.”

“Why do you do this?”

Elias looked away and scratched the back of his head.

”I’m the nice guy?”

”Please”, Sasha said.

“I’ve seen what the queen usually does,” Elias said and he sighed. ”If I would have drained you totally of power you would have been useless to her. It would have been smoother. You would not have interfered with my family.”

“Still, you told them who I was.”

“I don’t want to talk about it”, Elias sneered. He raised his voice. “You will train, and you will give back the orb when I say you are ready. And you will be thankful.” He spitted out the last.

“Then just give it to me now. I can handle pain.”

“No Sasha.” He took her by her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. “You don’t understand how this works. Taking magic back demands that you earn it. You have to redo each level, each struggle. You have to be worthy.”

“I can’t wait that long!” Sasha couldn’t hold the words back. She and her sister would be stuck here. It would take ages before she could kill the king. More maids would go the path that she had done and it hurt. It hurt badly.

”You will be worthy Sasha, and when you are, I will be remembering you of how thankful you feel.”

”You wish”, Sasha replied dryly.

“It’s time to walk princess”, Elias said and pushed her towards the door. He laid a hand on her back. “Let’s give you some food and then we will see how much pain you can handle.”

Sasha grinds her teeth. She would fight, and she would be strong again. Nothing would stop her, not Elias, not the queen, and especially not the king and his fat scary fingers.

Especially not the king.