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Days had passed since Pamela had started working under DomDaniel's watch. In all her life she hadn't met someone as despicable as him but she was tolerating him the same way that Alther was. Pamela woke up in her new bedroom that was next to Alther's in the Wizard Tower. The place always gave her a headache and apparently DomDaniel didn't care about it. He just wanted her to learn perfectly so that he can use her as a winning card. His insistence in her learning had gone far enough for him to stroke her every time she made a mistake.

As Pamela walked to the mirror, she studied the bruises on her cheeks that some were still red, some turning brown and others becoming purple. It wasn't easy to learn anything with the fear of getting stroked by one of DomDaniel's charms but she thought it to be the price for success. His strokes always came in an instant became she could even react so she kept telling herself that it didn't mean that she was weak.

The knocking sound came and made her jump and look at the door. The door was knocked twice and after a short pause a single knock. It was the code she had worked out with Alther, in case anyone -including DomDaniel- wanted to surprise her. She walked to the door and opened it.

"Hi!" said Alther uncomfortably since he somehow felt responsible for Pamela getting hit. He wished that she would conceal the bruises somehow so he won't feel as guilty.

"Hey, Breakfast?" she knew how he thought about her bruises but didn't find any fault in him.

Alther nod his head. "You better hurry. He's in a grumpy mode today." he motioned her to hurry up.

Pamela closed the door behind her. "What a shock." she mumbled quietly and saw Alther grin as they walked to the hall. They both sat at the table as DomDaniel was ordering the teapot to make three teas.

"You used to be so clean when I took you in." exclaimed DomDaniel sarcastically as he was filling his bread with butter. Pamela looked up from her plate and shove her messy hair aside. She saw Alther's worried glance but his sarcasm or swears no longer bothered her.

"Hello to you too, Mentor." she answered calmly as she knew such talk would annoy him the most since it made him feel old

Before DomDaniel could retort, Alther jumped in between their ever horrifying conversation. "What's on today's agenda? Again Anti-Drake Chants?" he asked and looked at Pamela who was relaxing and eating her breakfast. She hadn't even bothered to wash her face much less comb her hair just to irritate DomDaniel who liked her at first just because of her looks.

"Mind your own business boy. I'll tell you when needed." DomDaniel snapped at Alther while gazing at Pamela with irritation. When he saw her calmness he dropped his knife and sat back. "I can't stand the sight of you today. Get out of here!" he groaned unpleasantly but Pamela just winked at him with a smile and stood to leave. "Both of you." he kicked Alther's chair which made tea pour on his shirt.

Swiftly Alther left with Pamela. They walked aimlessly in the Wizard Way with Pamela's hands in her pocket and her loose coat flying behind her in the air. "You're mad?" asked Alther and turned to her.

Pamela knew what he meant by that. "Not anymore." she answered curtly.

"He likes you, well more than me at least." he clapped his hands to warm them and looked straight ahead.

"I know." Pamela didn't try to console him by telling him that maybe DomDaniel liked him more since in her opinion being liked by DomDaniel wasn't such a big perk to offer it to anyone. They were passing by the Manuscriptorium that Pamela stopped. "I need to go in there for a moment." she unconsciously checked her appearance in the window which brought Alther laughter but she ignored him. Her look wasn't very likable at that point with fuzzy hair, bruised face and torn lip. Pamela tried to braid her hair but her hand got stuck in it. She wished that she had chosen another method to disturb DomDaniel.

"Come on, you're looking fine." Alther waved his hand in an indifferent manner.

Pamela turned to him and eyed him with suspicion. "Really?" she asked sheepishly and wished she hadn't. All of this was ridiculous but pleasant at the same time.

Alther shrugged. "Well, you are beautiful; not as beautiful as my Alice but pretty enough." his comment made Pamela smile and gather her confidence to go into the Manuscriptorium. The door ringed and made all the scribes look at her but she walked straight to the desk at the corner.

"Hello..." she didn't know what to say. They hadn't seen each other since the day at the ice tunnels and now everything felt awkward to her.

Brian looked up with surprise but his glance went to her back and he frowned slightly. Pamela followed his gaze and saw Alther standing there. When she looked at him, he winked playfully and waved at Brian.

"Hey," Brian finally spoke and Pamela stopped glaring at Alther's ludicrous acts for making fun a them and turned back to him. "What happened to your face?" he stood up to take a closer look, clearly worried.

It had been so long that Pamela had forgotten the feeling of having someone worry about her and she enjoyed it. "The usual." she answered flatly. There were times that Alther had been worried about her or even Cerys but this for some unknown reason felt different.

Brian let out a loud sigh of frustration and held his waist as he looked around. "You still want to continue?" he whispered so that no one can hear him. "Stop it while you can." he hissed stubbornly but Pamela was considered stubborn herself.

"No." she was firm in her opinion. The warmness of his worry about her faded and got replaced by anxiety.

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked and led her to the door and much to his irritation Alther followed them with amusement as if watching a movie. In the alley behind the Manuscriptorium he turned to her waiting face. "Look at yourself, all these bruises which obviously hurt by the way. Are they worth it?" he eyed Alther to leave but he only responded him with widening his grin and raising his eyebrows in rejection.

Pamela too didn't want Alther to hear all this but didn't want to be left alone with Brian either. "I thought I put everything behind me, I really did but then I realized that it's impossible to do so." she had cried and screamed so much in her pillow at nights that she had no tears left even when remembering all those things. "All these." Pamela pointed at the bruises. "I need these to go on. Every time that he strikes me; I don't feel the pain for every single stroke counts as one tenth of the pain my family and friends suffered to save me." she saw the question in Brian's face. "Tell me, if this happened to your family - which I hope never happens - what would you do?" she felt her body temper go up. "What would you do in my shoes?"

Brian looked at Alther who now at least wasn't grinning at them. "I don't want to talk about it right now." he started to go but Pamela took his arm harshly.

"If you can't answer me then never ever talk about me giving up because you can't under_" Brian cut through her words and faced her.

"I was where you are now at 10." his voice was horse and low as if coming up from bottom of a well. "I too wanted to take revenge and I had every means to do so but I didn't, interested in the reason?" his action weren't normal as if he was trying to calm himself down. "Because my only brother got meddled in it and got hurt. I understand that you have no one to care about but can't you at least, for once, consider me as someone important in your life? Important enough to give up this revenge?"

For some unknown reason, letting everything go and just living her life was impossible for Pamela. "I can't." she muttered quietly but the only reaction she got was Brian looking away from her and straightening his back. "Brian_" she wanted to convince him so she started to hold him by his shoulder.

"Okay." Brian didn't let her to touch him and strode off briskly. Pamela stood there for a moment and watched him leave with depression. Seeing her vulnerable, Alther came to her side.

"You okay?" he asked and patted her shoulder.

Pamela sniffed and smiled. "Yeah, just forget it." her attitude made Alther wonder about the source of her undying strength. As they walked out of the alley Pamela cursed herself for wanting to see Brian without thinking of the impact. 'Better that he leaves.' she thought to herself for her determination on getting revenge was getting weaker every time she saw him. Something in him reminded her of how she used to be around her family. The thought made her stop and realize the reason of her weakness in front of him. He acted like she was his family and that made her desire his approval in everything she did.

"What?" asked Alther when he saw her pause but Pamela just shook her head and continued walking. Alther started talking nonstop about his experiences with DomDaniel which helped Pamela in clearing her head. When they reached the palace; Alther tucked his hands in his pockets nervously and blushed. Pamela looked more closely and saw Alice Nettles.

She laughed with amusement at the reason for Alther blsuhing. The sound of her laughing was odd as it cracked at first before coming out whole. "See you later." she waved and started to leave but Alther took her hand.

"You can't just leave me here." he exclaimed without knowing that he was revealing his emotions for Alice to her. Pamela just laughed in answer and freed her hand, leaving him to talk with Alice. She went into alleys so to make sure no one was following her and when she made sure she finally stopped and her smile gave its place to a grim look.

Pamela rolled up her sleeve until she saw the Fearless brand. She closed her eyes and pressed her hand on the black square with a crown in middle which looked like wizard's hat as well. When she opened her eyes, Tertius Fume was floating in front of her.

"You better have a good reason for dragging me here." he looked at the alley. "Came here first myself the first night I established the Fearless, glad, otherwise I would be returned." his distraction frustrated Pamela.

She waved her hand in front of him. "Hey eyes on me!" Pamela waited until he concentrated on her. "What happened? You were supposed to contact me."

Tertius Fume creased his eyebrows. "All in the right time and_"

"And that is now." Pamela finished impatiently. "I don't have much time. We had a deal and that was for you to help me if I helped you but what are you doing? If you don't tell me what to help you in, then how can I get what I want?" she shouted the last sentence but Tertius Fume only float higher. "Oh for God's sake, stop floating so high. You look like you need a chain or something to stay on normal levels."

He came down. "That's a bit over the line." Tertius Fume warned but Pamela was more furious than him for not being able to get her job done.

"I don't have time to effort on neck pain." she retorted. "Now, what do you want me to do?" she tried to calm her voice.

Tertius Fume rubbed his transparent forehead. "That's why I hate women. So noisy." he mumbled with a voice that Pamela could hear but she just crossed her arms and tapped his boots on the ground, waiting for his answer. "Fine, you first have to pass a test." he looked at her, expecting a retort but she just raised her eyebrow. "If you can become the Ice faction army commander; then we'll talk."

"How on earth can I be the Queen's advisor and the army's commander at the same time?" she knew it to be impossible but he just smiled.

"Your problem." Tertius Fume was glad to see her mouth shut for once and eyes showing her desperation for a way out. "Only contact us when you done that." with that he floats away so fast that she couldn't follow him. Pamela walked the alley back and forth numerous times in order to find a way to achieve both.

The first person that came to her mind was Martin but with a shake of head she realized that he would never give up his position. She pictured the qualifications of each and every army member she had encountered and then it came to her. "James!" she expressed out loud and snapped her fingers. He was the perfect candidate. So she ran to the palace. At the training ground's gate, a guard stopped her.

"You cannot get in." he knew her from her days in the army so he blocked her way with his sword. Stepping back with unusual obedience she blew a strand of hair out of her face.

"Okay, just deliver a message and I'll go." she smiled in a way that made her eyes sparkle. "Tell soldier James to meet me tonight, 7 o'clock sharp at Wizard Sandwiches. No excuses." she paused to get confirmation from the guard before going off. Unaware that she was being followed by Brian.

7 O'clock:

Pamela sat on a table far from the window and tabbed on the table while waiting for James to arrive. She kept on repeating the things she wanted to tell James. The bell above the door made a clicking sound as James walked in wearing blue shirt and black trousers. He looked around and saw Pamela sitting in a corner. He had to pass many tables to reach where she was, including the table Brian was sitting on with his back turned to them. James sat across Pamela. "Good evening, finally figured that I'm the perfect one?"

"To you too." she answered with a charming voice and ignored his wry tone. Her tone was unusual for Brian as he had never heard her speak so delightfully. James's grin widened by her tone.

"Nice choice of place." he picked up the menu and handed it to her. "After you." he saw her confused face at seeing the strange menu and took it from her. "Don't tell me that you just spent all your time working since you arrived at the Castle." he mocked, forcing a fake laugh out of Pamela as she looked around.

She looked with suspicion at the back of Brian since he was looking familiar to her but with a logical thinking as to how he might be there she looked back at James who was ordering for them both. When the waiter was gone he leaned forward with enthusiasm and circled his hands. "I came here upon your command. What is it that you wanted to talk about?"

Pamela too leaned forward, so close that their hands almost met. "I have a favour to ask." she didn't like the knowing smile on James's face but carried on. "You seemed to know something at the day of training, am I right?" she saw him smile happily at having his threat work. "But you didn't tell anyone, why?"

"You really want to know the answer?" he whispered. "What a silly question, of course you want to know since it's you, the mastermind Pamela."

She smiled back. "I like that term." Pamela glanced at his hand wanting to take hers. "But only when I get what I want." and she drew her hand back, leaving his hand empty.

James laughed with amusement and fist his empty hand as he too sat back. "Now we're talking. So what is it that you want?"

"Not before we eat our dinner." she saw his satisfied smile while she let him talk excessively about the army and the soldiers. She tried not to let her mind sway from his words, though the conversation was boring for her.

Brian could hear their every single word and felt more furious by second. He knew that he had no right to get mad since Pamela had told him beforehand the extends she would go to achieve her goal but the way James talked was out of tolerance for him. He just sat there biting his sandwich bitterly and aggressively as they continued to talk. It was when the sandwiches arrived that James stopped talking and gave Brian time to restrain himself.

Pamela stared at the sandwich in her plate, trying to figure out a way to eat it without looking disgusting. She pushed the fork in the middle of the sandwich and in a minute it all spilt on her plate forming a despicable mixture of bread and chicken floating in red sauce. She twitched her mouth and cursed herself for choosing there as a meeting point. "You need charts and diagram to eat it."

"Here, have mine." said James and he pushed his untouched plate in front of her and took hers. "Just pick it up with your both hands and eat it slowly." he started picking on the mess in Pamela's plate but she pushed his plate back.

"Lost my appetite. You eat." she sat back and looked at her failure to eat a sandwich but she cleared her head as she had far more serious things to worry about. "Well James, what were you saying that day about seeing me in the forest?" she knew that he was pretending to focus on his food. "You must want something in your life that I can help you achieve." Pamela smiled pleasantly which made her face even more beautiful. She had spent a lot of time to get ready and be clean for this meeting.

James started at her. "Yes, there is something that I want." he put down the sandwich and straightened his back. "I want to become the Queen's personal bodyguard." his eyes told her that he was being honest. "It's all I ever dreamed of and I think you are the kind of person that can pave the way for me to achieve it."

She kept her business-like smile. "That's not hard to do." Pamela expressed with confidence and saw happiness in James's eyes. "But everything has its price." she widened her smile and let it reach her eyes as well. "You can have what you want only when you make the Ice faction army commander. Don't worry about Martin, he'll have his opportunity."

James smiled back at her. "You drive a hard bargain Pamela." he finished the same time as Brian started couching for he had took a big sip of the glass out of anger. They both looked at him and Pamela suddenly figured out who he was. She wasn't sure about the amount of the conversation Brian had heard but felt anxious for the first time that night. "I accept." James said.

Distracted she swiftly turned to him. "Oh," she closed her eyes for a second to focus and opened them with a new smile on her face. "Great, thank you for accepting my offer." James bowed his head wryly in answer. "And here I thought persuading you was going to be hard." she giggled as she glanced from the corner of her eye and saw Brian's hand fist on the table, so she was right.

"I thought so too but you are hard to resist." he too laughed with joy and continued eating his sandwich. After an hour of talking, they walked out of the Wizard Sandwiches. He turned to her. "Need company?"

Pamela shook her head. "No, see you." she waved her hand and left first. She didn't return to the Wizard Tower but wondered aimlessly around the Castle. She still had the sense of someone following her. At the small lake she stopped without looking back. "You can come out now Brian." she allowed her voice to change from the softness of meeting with James to it usual stern self.

Slowly Brian walked out of the shadow to her. He didn't meet her blaming eyes but looked at the boats. All of the sudden Pamela started to laugh and clap her hands for him but her laughter was not genuine.

"So Mr. Detective, how much did you hear? Or let's put it this way, for how long have you been following me?" she pushed her hair back rashly. Brian knew her laughter was from the irritation of being followed but he didn't feel bad.

"All of it. Since we broke apart at noon I followed you around the town to get to know the woman I was so dying for." he answered quietly.

She let out a loud sigh. "Offfff... well, what do you think? Did you like it?" her mocking voice was disturbing Brian more than anything.

"Don't make want to tell on you." he just said that and started to walk away but Pamela ran and stood in front of him with her hands held open in the air. She took her breath and looked him straight in eyes.

"If you're done with me then be done with me. Never call my name again or question my actions, okay?" she almost pleaded for his disappointed gazes were bothering her.

Brian came closer. "So you're never going to quit?" he asked with a low tone. Pamela shook her head in denial and let her hands drop. He suddenly smiled and took her hand which amused her. "Your choice, I give up." his sudden mode change rose Pamela's eyebrows. "Quite a night, huh? Let's take a walk." with that he started walking to the port and Pamela followed him in awe. She still wondered as to why she hadn't gotten rid of him yet.

After walking a while they reached the port which was lined with storages. Brian pointed at one of the storages. "This is mine. The first thing I bought with my money."

"It was smart of you to do so." complimented Pamela but stood stiff and vigilant as his behaviors were suspicious.

"Want to see it?" he unlocked the door and held it open for her. "After you." he said.

Pamela walked quietly to the storage. At the door step she stood to take a close glance at the expression on his face but his face was empty from all emotions and all she could read from his eyes was curiosity. With a shake of her head she went it to see a dusty storage filled with items she couldn't make out in the darknes. "Is there any light in here?" she asked and looked around blindly as she she walked further in.

"Pamela, please forgive me for this" Brian's voice made her turn in time to see him close the door. He locked the door before Pamela could step out. "I have no choice." he mumbled under his breath and sat on the ground next to the door. Brian closed his eyes and tried not to hear her banging on the door and shouting. He was going to save her from going too deep into this job, even if it meant locking her up.

I'm sorry guys if I updated late as I was very busy these days. I'll try to update soon and hope you liked it. Please tell me your thoughts on it.

P.S. I have mentioned 3 characters from 'Mystery in past' in these chapters, comment if you spotted them. :-D Bye for now!