Mature content warning
"Magician!" Someone burst into the room. The door crashed into the wall with a loud bang.
Clotiel lifted his head to glare at the intruder. It was Olga's captain. From the rafters, he could see the young man's black head turning here and there, trying to find him.
Clotiel spread his wings and fluttered down, changing back to his human form as he reached the ground. "My name is Clotieldezoe," he reminded the captain in his mild voice. "As I have mentioned many times, Sir Captain of the Guards."
"Where is the Princess?" Giotto was shouting - his spittle rained on Clotiel.
"Is she missing again?" was the magician's impassive reply. "She must have gone to the raintree again -"
"I've searched all the usual places! Why do you suppose I'm here, Magician?" Giotto drove his clenched fist into the wall. "Where is the princess?"
^e^
Everything was bleary, but as she came to consciousness, she was slowly aware of something soft beneath her. Someone was hovering over her - she could hear heavy breathing and the brush of hot air against her neck. She tried moving her, but her hands and legs were bound.
Her eyes snapped open as she felt the cold blade on her skin.
Olga gasped "No!" as the blade slid straight down her body. The cloth fell away, revealing her pale skin. "Stop…"
The man took away the dagger and pressed it against her chest. "Do you like it rough, my Lady?" In the dim light, she could barely see the face beneath the hood. The man chuckled. "My Lady. Hah! What kind of a lady are you?" He threw back his hood and laughed.
She did not know his name, but he had been there when the gifts were brought in and presented to her. This man was one of her suitors.
"Why- Why are you doing this?" Olga asked. "You who desire to be a king - How can you do something like this?"
The dagger trembled in the man's fist. "I used to dream. I used to dream of being a king - Your king - of a prosperous kingdom, but you!" Olga stared at the knife. It was shaking quite violently now. His face was twisted in fury. "You destroyed that dream! You destroyed me!"
He grabbed the front of her dress and ripped it apart. His palm grasped one of her breasts and squeezed it.
Olga spat. "You insolent trash!"
He had his hand around her neck, his fingers crushing her windpipe.
"Watch your tongue!" he hissed. "What magic? What treasure quests. You were just toying with me, you wench. And I -"
Olga could no longer hear him. She could feel herself slip away -
^e^
"She is still within the castletown. She is close, but her presence is fading away."
The magician's words still echoed in his ears as he ran down the stairs, through the roads, through every alley.
Princess, where are you?
"Hey there, handsome!" A voice called out.
Giotto turned to see garishly-dressed women on the steps tittering.
"Don't hurry, the night is still young," said another, hanging out from a window.
Giotto knew who they were - ladies of the night, they were called.
He ignored them and pressed on.
"Aw - come over here!"
"Come on!"
"So handsome - come to us." Hands touched and caught his body.
"I'm in a hurry!" He shouted over his shoulder, annoyed.
"To save the princess?" asked a voice.
Giotto turned back to the front.
A woman stood in the middle of the road - completely naked. Her curls fell from to her knees, spread out and glowing from the street light. Yet she was different from the women before. And the most remarkable of all were her eyes - her crystal lashes glittered like diamonds around her pale eyes.
"This way," she said, her voice barely audible as she turned around and walked. Ghostly candles flickered alive, lighting her path. The rest of the town seemed to dim to darkness as he followed.
"What is this place?" Giotto wondered aloud.
"Do you like magic?" The woman asked as she took his hand. Upclose, Giotto could see that her ears were not rounded, but pointed like how faeries were storied to have.
"No," he replied bluntly. "The princess loves it, but to me, it's something unnatural. And you are a little bit like that too. Like Princess Olga."
The woman smiled and blew air.
The lights died and suddenly, in front of the captain, was a great house.