It was early the next morning and Lillian pushed open the bedroom door quietly.
"This was Maria's room, but it doesn't look like she has left much for you to search through. She certainly didn't bring much luggage." Lillian and Dama entered the room and closed the door behind them.
"And you're sure that no-one has been in here or tampered with anything?" asked Dama.
"I'm sure."
"Let's start searching. Anything unusual. A bunch of herbs – a bundle of twigs next to the fire. She always did like flower magic." Dama started searching through a dresser, rummaging through her sister's clothes looking for anything that may lead her to Simon. After half an hour, Lillian called out to Dama.
"Is this what we're looking for?" Lillian held out five glass orbs, each the size of a small orange. Three orbs were glowing with a blue light, the other two were black inside.
"Could be," said Dama smiling grimly. "Pass me one of the blue ones." Lillian did so and Dama held the orb in her hand for a moment, then passed her wand over the top of the orb. A few mumbled words later and the orb turned from a smoky blue to a dusky pink. The name "Lillian" appeared, etched onto the glass surface. "So that's how she was doing it," said Dama.
"Doing what?"
"Reading your mind Lillian."
"I thought she did that when she touched my arm?"
"No. That just finalised the spell. To use this type of magic, Maria would have needed to prepare a spell over this orb, then touch you as she said the final word of the spell."
"Which is?"
"Heart. I've used the spell myself once. After completing the spell, she would be able to read your mind just by holding this orb to her head. And, if you were a weak minded individual, she could have controlled your actions as well. You have been unwell recently?"
"Yes."
"Headaches?"
"Yes – what of it?"
"She was probably trying to force you to do something when the headache started. I'm impressed you fought her off."
"I felt like my head was being compressed by an invisible force, but that happened many times..."
"How many and when?"
"The night after Maria met with the council. Again the next morning and last night just before she came into the room."
"Then I was right. She was trying to control you. And this should be destroyed!" Dama lifted the glass orb above her head and smashed it against the floor. Lillian gasped and staggered a little. "Are you okay?"
"Yes. Thank-you. I think," she held her head, wondering if it was painful because a new headache had started or because an old one had ended.
"Pass me one of the black ones." Lillian gave her one of the orbs. Again, Dama waved her hand over it and the orb flickered to a deep red colour as the name 'Flora' etched itself onto the glass. "She must have used this while interrogating Flora." Dama dropped the orb to the floor, breaking it. "And I guess the next one is Fauna's," she said, taking the last black orb into her hand. Sure enough, the name Fauna scrawled across the glass. "I knew she'd never betray her sister." Dama pitched the orb at the wall and it shattered upon impact. "She made me kill an innocent."
"You had no choice. It was an accident."
"It counts. Trust me on this." She lifted one of the two blue orbs and tapped it irritably with her wand. 'Merryweather' formed on the glass.
"Where is she?" asked Lillian.
"I don't know. But I can find out." Dama held the orb to her head and closed her eyes. "In the dungeon. In one of the cells. When I break this, she'll be released from the spell. You should go down and explain things to her. I'll break the orb in about ten minutes to give you time to reach her."
"Alright. But who is controlled by the last orb?" Lillian and Dama looked expectantly at the last glass ball. Dama passed her wand over it and cried out as the name formed. As Dama fled from the room, Lillian picked up the orb. The surface was decorated in a flowing italic script that formed the name 'Prince Charming.'
Sorry it's been so long between updates and that this is just a quickie. Chapter 17 is coming up soon!