For the forty-eight people who are following this story - this chapter is for you.

Chapter 21

Daine was being pulled in the opposite direction as the stairs. She hadn't been saying much during the conversation, but as they moved forth to the wall of the attic she couldn't help to exclaim a bit tartly "It can be that I am gifted with wild magic, but there is so much I can do with my gift and walking through walls isn't one of them!"

He was laughing deep down in his throat, a rumbling sound, as they stood only inches from the wall made of stone "I don't expect you to" he replied and spoke a word she didn't have a chance to understand. It was an important word she concluded as there was a cracking sound and dust suddenly falling from cracks in the wall. An opening revealed itself as the wall began to slide to the right and after a few seconds she found that she stood in a secret pass-way. "This is only used by the inner circle of the King's members and friends" he explained while creating a small ball of blackish fire to illuminate the space before them.

'Indeed' Daine thought walking behind him, taking in every movement he made. If he was one of the members of the King's inner circle, she had an even greater task before her – one she wasn't sure she was ready for. Coming from a northern country where the occupants had considered her unworthy of anything, other than her gift, she wondered how she would manage among others. The presence of the Prince determined to follow his father's footstep gave her an oddly taste in her mouth.

Was she going to be forced into altering herself, to mix in or blend in, so others would accept her easily? Or would they just accept the oddity of her nature without being scared? So many questions presented themselves while they walked for some time, turning this way, turning that way – finally Daine lost count of the many turns while her head spun with unanswered questions and asked the one question that her mouth was willing to speak audible. "He called you 'Uncle'" she said softly as small mice crawled forth, sniffing the air that was left behind them.

"The King and Queen don't have any siblings, so the people who are closets to them are their kind of family. Take the King's Champion for example; Alanna is godmother to all their children as the King and Queen are to her children. The Grown Prince has, let me see" he paused for a few seconds counting on fingers Daine couldn't see before he continued "is it six or seven 'uncles' with me included – and he has five aunts – they are not in direct bloodline with the throne. The last one who was that, Duke Roger, was killed several years ago by the Lioness".

She frowned. How could the King have a Champion acting on his command, one who had killed the only real 'uncle'? Back in Galla the King would have executed the Lioness and then spread her body-parts all over the country for such a crime. He had done it with others, men from the army that had been disobedient, to set a kind of example.

She wasn't prude over how the old King had ruled the second place she had called home, but still – she didn't comment on the things he had told her or ordered her to do, other than to find a way around them so the result was the same, without taking it to extreme measures."This is a strange Kingdom" she whispered low, hoping that her words would be heard, but by the chuckling sound coming from him only told her that wasn't so.

Numair shook his head, but continued to pull her after him, gripping more firmly around her wrist as if he was afraid of loosing her along the way "You have absolutely no idea" and with that he held out his tanned hand and pushed the wall they had reached and suddenly they was standing in a large room where words of anger and arguments was flying through the air.

"How do you suppose I should teach them, when something" the man in question threw his head toward the old iron door "'that'" he spat the word out "has one of my squires trapped" Yelled a fiercely looking man while gesturing at the poor boy with reddish hair. "I don't care about the spells – I have to give them their instructions for tonight's ball, if they ever are to serve the tables".

A man, apparently the King scratched his nicely and well-trimmed black beard while looking with some annoyance at the man yelling. He lifted his hands in somewhat of a gesture of surrender "Wyldon – you of all have to understand that I can not just sent my gift towards the door and then expect that you will get him back. We are talking about very ancient spells here – ones we shouldn't tamper with. If the Chamber of Ordeal indeed did what you said, then I'm sure there is a greater meaning – or at least an explanation".

"Then get Numair to convince the Chamber to release that boy" Wyldon demanded as Daine and Numair came forth, and the secret door behind them closed. She looked at where the boy in question stood and saw thick silvery fog holding the boy firmly in place in front of the door. His hands were glued to the door and he stood like a statue, as if waiting for something.

The black-robed mage spoke calmly to the man who was responsible for future knights training "Wyldon – I'm afraid that I have to disappoint you, but Jonathan is right. The Chamber has its own will and if I should try to command it to release the boy, which I won't, it would cause more damage to the Kingdom then the Dominion Jewel did during Jonathan's coronation".

The huge man, which head was slightly bald with sharply chiseled features and while Daine looked up and down the man, she noticed that he, as the other two men standing beside her, was well build. She frowned over the fact the few times she had seen a man inside the castle, which wasn't much as she only had been near the kitchen, he held features of hard working appearance or was well muscled. Looking at the man she found that she didn't exactly liked the man or maybe it was because of his attitude towards the King and her future-husband-to-be.

The man, she had inspected, spoke with a cold voice "So you are saying that whatever the Chamber wants from the boy, we simply have to wait for it and then it will release him?"

Both the King and Numair nodded, but it was Numair how replied "The only thing I can do is to check which spells that are active -" his voice froze as the boy they was talking about turned his reddish head with a jerk and looked with completely black eyes to where Daine stood. Cold was crawling down her spin as the air around them became colder and the still-standing-air that floated around them, pick up only to tear their clothes.

When the boy spoke, Daine was sure that it wasn't the boy's real voice, but something of the divine and as he still continued to stare at her, she realized with horror that he was about to speak about her and sure enough, he did exactly that.

"She's here" the boy managed to say before he collapsed on the floor, released by the door as the door itself was being forced open by an invisible force – first they saw only darkness inside the little square room, but as the air became colder and she could see her own breath standing from her mouth as small clouds of ice crystals, an image or a person materialized on the middle of the stone floor.

An unearthly light showed from above and down onto the old woman sitting in a rocking chair, holding a bundle of something. As a pale small hand became visible, grabbing after the air, a crying broke from the baby. The woman sitting in the chair gave it a small push, making it rock back and forth more eagerly. Her hair was long and brown, curls falling over her right shoulder with strains of cray in it and as she pushed the pink blanket back from the child's face she began to sing in an light voice.

'Hush little girl, don't you cry – if I'm not mistaken you are marked for life'

The audience, the ones being present in the chapel was frozen to where they had stood. The air around them was colder now then Daine had ever felt before, and something, someone was holding her hand, squeezing it hard – she wanted to scream, but couldn't – no words was allowed and even if she tried, Daine's tongue was clued to the roof of her mouth. The woman continued as a sinewy and wrinkled hand caressed the cheek of the crying child.

'Hands forced into binds, given no choice – you can seek forgiveness in the Goddess voice'

The baby was screaming now as the old woman lifted her head and stared directly into Daine's eyes – the same blue-gray she had herself. Daine wanted to break free, but Numair held her firmly in place and slowly the old woman transformed, becoming younger by the second. Daine tried to tear her hand away as the replica of herself, younger than she was now – the age she had been when her own child was stillborn, looked back at her, continuing singing with a light voice.

'Please my child, do not whine – the Goddess have given you the Untouchable sign'

Now she wanted to be anywhere then where she was. Feeling panic raising in her body. It was a mistake to come here, to allow him to lead her to this kingdom. Taking a step back the replica-Daine rose from the chair, dressed in rags of a bloody dress, as she continued her singing while lifting the child up in her hands, as if offering the baby.

'If I'm not mistaken, then mark my words – no one can escape the divine curse'

The girl dropped the child so suddenly that Daine now did scream out loud while scrambling forward – the cold air hitting her as she reached the threshold of the door, not allowing her to enter. The child landed on the hardness of the floor, the baby's head cracking on the floor and everything became silent, but as for a soft whisper of the girl at thirteen, who continued her singing.

'Hush my girl, don't you cry – if I'm not mistaken you will die'