Chapter 10

Cornelia paced her room back and forth. She kept thinking on how she can free her friends but how can she help them when she is also imprisoned in her room for three effin days!?

Her fiancée had ordered the guards stationed in her rooms not to let her out unless he ordered them so. Somehow he doesn't want her to be a part of his little "interrogation" of her friends. She already told him several times that it is impossible for them to poison him because it wasn't their character to do so.

The man however didn't try to listen to her and after the night that they spent together he hasn't even showed up in her apartments yet! She was just so furious with him that if she had Taranee's power she could have burned him to ashes the moment she sees him!

Why does he refuse to listen? It's not like she was betraying him by siding with the people who "poisoned" him. She knew that her fiancée also knows that it is impossible for her friends to get that lethal poison given that the physicians had collected samples left from the wine and they found out that the ingredients used were some rare and dangerous herbs that can only be found in the depths of the Meridian forests. Surely they won't be able to retrieve that unless she helps them!

She was the guardian of Earth and she can just conjure any plants that she wants even those ingredients for the deadly poison so if he suspects someone then why not suspect her too? Besides right now, she had all sorts of ideas on how she can kill him for trying to touch her friends!

She sighed. Is there a chance that she could change this aloof, self-centered, arrogant and deaf Prince? She does not know but she also thinks that it was possible but with a lot of patience and understand. However she no longer had patience with him. If he won't let her out then she'll find a way. After all, she is still guardian! She had powers and why not use them?

She silently went to the balcony of her room and concentrated on the nearest vine she can find. The vine moved to her direction and she touched it and enlarged its size so it can handle her weight. Her room was a few meters above the ground and she doesn't want to break any bones or attend her wedding in a wheel chair so she needed to be careful!

Satisfied with her work, she rummaged the bed side table to find a pair of scissors. Today she was wearing a simple blue long gown and the length of its hem hinders her from moving freely so she decided to rip it off.

She then took a cloak from her wardrobe and wrapped it on her back. Hopefully, no one notices her climbing down her own room. She will need to do it quickly and discreetly. She imagined how her fiancée will react if he knew that she tried to escape from her captivity. She chuckled as the image of the angry prince entered her mind. For some reasons, she thinks that he looks funny when angry. His cold emerald eyes somewhat darkens, his face red and his nostrils glaring but she quickly removed the image from her mind.

If she thinks of him while climbing down, she won't be able to concentrate and will just fall down. She took a deep breath before wrapping herself on the enlarge vine. When she arrived in Meridian, she thought she already lived the life of a fairy tale Princess minus a gallant and charming Prince, she unluckily was stuck with a devilishly handsome Prince with demonic attitude. Now, she wasn't just a princess but now she became Jack in the Beanstalk, unfortunately for her, there wasn't any gold on the ground just pure mud.

She hated dirt; she hated mud, worms and other filthy things. It was ironic because she was the guardian of Earth but still, she was in love with her powers. Why not? It was one of the most powerful elements; she can move mountains, create gaps in the ground, conjure earthquakes, grew dangerous plants and of course there is beauty in it as she can also produce different sorts of beautiful and deadly plants. In short, her powers can bring destruction yet it can also bring beauty and replenish what's lost.

She grunted silently and hissed as the rough stem of the plants started to scratch her thin hands. She bit her lip when she accidentally touched a thorn. She needed to go down rapidly to stop it from bleeding. It took her a couple more minutes before she finally touched the ground.

She ripped her skirt again and tied the cloth to her bleeding hand. She then hurried to hide under the bushes when she saw soldiers marching near her area. She hurriedly flicked her hand and the vine again glued on the wall. When the soldiers had passed by, she quietly marched to the eastern side of the castle where the doors to the dungeons are found. Luckily there were a few numbers of soldiers today, so she didn't have trouble hiding away from them.

She took a deep breath as she stood in front of the metal door leading to the prisons. There was a small gap on the door where she can peak in to see what's inside. She tip toed and checked the area before pushing the door open.

There were a couple of doors inside and she can't figure where they were and she needed to remove the guards. No, she can just let them sleep. She closed her eyes and opened her mind to her element. I need a plant that can make these ugly men sleep. She thought.

"Earth." She hissed softly and then some groans can be heard from the other side of the door and some soft popping noises. She took a small peek but the room was covered with green smoke so she can't see anything. She waited for a few more minutes until the smoke settled.

Then she entered the room and she frowned as it was disgustingly filthy unlike her chambers. She took a torch from the wall and started walking towards the small doors.

"Will? Irma? Taranee? Hay Lin?" She called out but no one seems to answer. She in a loud voice repeated calling her friends again. Was she inside the wrong dungeons? It was impossible, this is where Phobos often keeps his prisoners and those he interrogates, so they should be here.

"C-cornelia?" She was relieved to hear Will's voice. It was coming from the farthest room on her left. She hurried towards a guard and took the key hanging on his side pants. She ran to the corner and pushed the key inside the hole and the door opened.

Another disgusting smell welcomed her and then darkness.

"Girls?" She called out. Then from another side of the room, a small fire lit up and tears fell down when she saw her four friends. Without any hesitations, she dropped the torch she was holding and ran to hug them. "Oh! I'm so worried about you girls!" She said while sobbing. The girls hugged her back and they were also crying in happiness when they saw her.

"Cornelia! I thought you already abandoned us!" Hay Lin exclaimed and wrapped her in a tight embrace. She smiled as she saw the relieved and worried faces of her friends. They all looked okay except that they were all filthy and smelly for not having a bath for several days. But she didn't mind hugging them. She badly missed them and she was sorry for making them suffer this humiliation!

"Well, I couldn't just leave my best girls." She said as she wiped the tears away from her face and moved to hug the others one by one. When they were done exchanging pleasantries the looks on their faces was changed in a more serious one.

"Sorry if it took so long before I could visit you. Phobos imprisoned me in my room and I just escaped to see you girls and check if you are all okay." She sighed as she looked at her bruised hand.

"Hey, you don't need to be sorry. We understand that you saved us from being snake- chow. Besides it was surprising that the lizard man was following your orders. I can't imagine him taking orders from girls." Irma commented but she disagreed with her idea.

"Hey, Cedric's not that bad. In fact he is even kinder than his master." She snorted at the water guardian. "But anyway, I still don't have any information who framed you for poisoning Phobos."

"We know, the guards were also talking about it the other day and we can hear their conversations here." Will answered. "Have you seen Caleb since the ball?" The red hair then asked and Cornelia lowered her eyes when she remembered her last meeting with the rebel leader. She had broken his heart but it was necessary. She once adored the man but she realized that she wasn't in love with him.

"Yeah." She replied bitterly and the girls seemed to notice that she wants to avoid the topic so they went to business again.

"So, who do you think wants to threaten Phobos' life?" Taranee asked her, and she shook her head. She had no idea who could be behind the attempted murder. Surely, her fiancée had gained a lot of enemies after he usurped the throne so there's no surprise if someone tries to kill him. It was shocking however that he wasn't able to feel the magic of the enemy when she was glamoured as Will.

"There's a chance that it's a magician." She answered after thinking about it for a while.

"Why do you think so?" Irma asked seriously.

"Phobos wasn't able to detect his or her magic that time when they were dancing with each other so surely it seems to be a big power player and not just a usual rebel." She explained. "Not only that, when the wine was examined, it was found out that the poison was made from really rare herbs found in the most dangerous places in Meridian so I doubt if a normal creature or human in Meridian can get a hold of it."

"But who could that be?" Hay Lin asked and they fell silent. They all had no idea who this mystery person is. Will then reached for her hand and gently pressed it.

"You have to be careful Cornelia. Since Phobos is the target of the culprit, there is a chance that he will turn to you. He would think that you will be a great value for Phobos because he chose you as his fiancée. So surely he will also come after you." The keeper said and she nodded. It was really possible and she can't help but be afraid for her life. She sighed but then she quickly recovered as she remembered the time.

"I need to get going and you also need to get out of here soon. I don't know how long I knocked out the guards but you all need to escape. Phobos doesn't listen to me and surely he will continue torturing you or let you rot in jail." She said as she helped them all up. The girls nodded and Will reached from the inside of her cloth for the heart of Kandrakar but she hurriedly stopped her friend.

"You need to transform outside and away from me. We could be seen here." She said and Will nodded. Then silently went out of the room, passing the still asleep guards. No one noticed them and they successfully reached the courtyards without being detected. Satisfied that they had come far, she bade her friends' good bye.

"I will see you again all. I plan to invite you to my wedding." She smirked.

"Ohh.. It seems like someone is exuyteeedd!" Irma teased and she felt herself blush at the statement. If only you knew Irma. We had spent the honeymoon earlier than the wedding. She thought to herself. She then started hugging her friends and after that she hurried back to the balcony of her room where she climbed the beanstalk again. She sighed as soon as she was near the fence but to the first thing that welcomed her was Phobos' angry face, staring at her from the balcony. He reached for her hand and she reluctantly gave it to him, gasping as their skin touched each other. He helped her up.

"We have a lot to talk about young lady." He said grimly and she gulped.