Their journey to the dungeons was quiet and awkward, with guards surrounding them from every corner making sure not even a breath of air could escape.

Emris, when will this nightmare end..

Luna quietly wondered, she was still fuming over Mylo, who had to make matters better or for worse volunteered to carry Helene into the dungeons. They passed by cages filled with crooks, thieves and alike, dead animal carcasses laid motionlessly on the floor. Luna was horrified, she had never been outside of Otos. Seeing the parallels between their kingdoms made her grateful to be born into her family but simultaneously she pitied the guards who walked these halls at night.

These halls haven't been attended for years, she suspected but by earlier judging the king's throne room Viltarin seemed to have no issue with its assets. The lavishing party, the expensive armor of the elite, and flamboyant decor stood in glaring contrast to the rest of Viltarin—like comparing the sky to a swamp.

"We have arrived, Princess," the knight announced as he and the princess stood beside Mylo. Only the princess and Mylo were present at that moment. The guard halted at the bottom of a staircase, bowing deeply to the princess. "I will see you again, intruders. Mylo, return to the grand hall as soon as you are finished here. We have matters to discuss." The princess of Viltarin cast a sidelong glance at Luna and then at Damien, her gaze sharp and assessing. "Mage, move!" Mylo commanded, pushing Luna to ascend the stairs. Luna shot him a cold look but began climbing the stairs nonetheless. After what felt like an endless climb, they reached a wooden door guarded by a sentinel. Mylo signaled the guard to open it and nudged Luna forward. Damien, bristling with anger, was about to confront Mylo but was restrained by Logan; the last thing they needed was to escalate the situation. As Luna entered the room, her eyes widened in surprise. "Lily!" she exclaimed. The princess of Otos who was sitting near the window sill changed her expression from utterly bored to relief and excitement in a flash, Lily, dashed towards Luna and embraced her tightly. "Luna!" she cried. Luna returned the hug and then, with a concerned expression, cupped Lily's face to check for injuries. Her gaze traveled over Lily's frail form and the untouched food on the table, her disappointment evident. Before Luna could voice any questions, Mylo strolled in carrying Helene in his arms. The sight of him did not startle Lily; she seemed to recognize him from her previous encounter in Viltarin. Mylo carefully laid Helene on the cold floor, examining her features with a furrowed brow. Though he felt a vague familiarity, he couldn't place where he had seen her before, and the effort of recalling only gave him a headache. He stood up, took in the tense atmosphere as the gang members eyed him menacingly, and then quietly left the room without a word.

Luna quickly moved to Helene, gently resting her head on her lap. The gang sat around the room in silence, each person lost in their own thoughts. The quiet was soon broken by Lily, who knelt in front of Helene's almost lifeless body. "What happened?" she asked Luna, her voice choked with tears. "Did this happen because of me? Because you and Helene came to save me?" Her voice broke as she received no immediate answer from Luna. "No, Lily! It's definitely not because of you. Don't you ever say that!" Luna responded in a calm voice, though her fatigue was apparent. "No! It is because of me! I am the princess of Otos, and I was the one who got kidnapped. It's your duty to rescue me. That makes 'me' the root of the problem!" Lily said softly.

Luna gently caressed Lily's cheek and held her trembling hand. "You are like our own sister, Lily. You always have been and always will be. Yes, we work for your father, but this is not just a 'duty' for us. We came here to save our sister, not just the princess of Otos." Lily's tears continued to flow, and Luna carefully wiped them away. Damien watched, surprised to see Luna showing such tenderness to someone other than Helene. The bond between Lily and the two mages was deeper than he had realized.

"Child, you haven't eaten in days. Go and have something to eat, please." Despite Lily's initial refusal, she eventually gave in after Luna's urging. Lily invited the gang to join her for the meal, but Damien declined, seeing that Luna was unlikely to eat anytime soon. How could Luna think of eating when Helene lay unconscious? Her mind was all over the place and for the first time she hated the fact that she was not a healer.

She made sure Helene was stabilized by her own powers. It drained her, but she didn't mind it at all.

Wake up Hells, c'mon

After three hours of laying in silence Luna looked around the room. The princess was making small talk with Kiara. They seem to hit it off well...

Adam was somewhat trying to keep his eyes open, it seems the princess's spell was still affecting him.... Or that he was sleepy. Damien and Logan on the other hand were not even blinking. Luna sighed thinking about everything that went wrong. Damien would sometimes look at Luna with sympathetic eyes but nonetheless made a move towards her, he wanted to give her space.

Would things have been different if they just let some other mage take the mission.

Her clouded mind was interrupted when she heard the door unlocking. Through the door came the stranger in the throne room, the man with the mysterious eyes. He was wearing a blue attire with a golden hue. His presence felt different up close, it was no longer intense and intimidating and though Luna was cautious she couldn't help but feel comforted. He slowly walked towards Luna, whilst eyeing the rest in the room. Damien stood up glaring with his menace eyes, a normal man would have cowered but the stranger didn't seem to care. As he was closing the gap between him and Luna, Damien stood In Front of him blocking his path.

"Hey pal, What do you think you're doing?" Damien asked, towering over him.

"I'm here for my duty as Archmage Roden's apprentice. I will not harm anyone. So Step Aside" The man spoke up with a calming yet a somewhat authoritative voice, straining the words of the last sentences. Damien was still reluctant to let him go near Luna and Helene, he said nothing but glare The audacity... His duty my arse.

" You don't have much of a choice either, I have her antidote right here. So either I heal her or she dies." The stranger replied with a more stern voice "Seems like both of your friends have been injected by the poison, Unless you have a better plan to save them pal".

Damien looked at the mages, he could see from Luna's pale face her powers were slowly draining her, The color that was once on her face seemed to have vanished.

"It's okay Damien. He is telling the truth." Luna, who could hardly move herself, gave a weak yet reaffirming smile to Damien, and with a heavy sigh he got out of the way. She stared at the stranger who sat beside her trying to heal her sister. He took a small bottle out of his pocket, he held it in the air and with a moment of inspection, he poured it into Helene's mouth. She could see Helene's wounds were slowly disappearing. She felt a sweet relief, "Very fond of her aren't you..." the stranger muttered trying to hide his smile.

"I'm sorry..?" Luna asked bewildered, the shock of today's event left her mind fogged

Why is he smiling?...

"Apologies, this is just my first, seeing you smile.. Genuinely.." He said, whispering the last word. In Luna's peripheral vision she saw Damien rolling his eyes .

"Now if you may, let me treat you," The stranger said, asking permission to inspect her condition.

Luna nodded, He reached out, "But first may I know your name?" she said, stopping his hand. He was stunned by her boldness to touch his hand, nevertheless he shook his head with a smile "Aziekel, Aziekel Crowe". He longed deeply into Luna's eyes forcing her to shy away from eye contact. Aziekel Crowe... such an odd name...

He closely looked at Luna, he lifted her hand inspecting her green veins. Her breath was shaky but was it the effect of the poison or the strange kind man in front of her, even though she didn't know. His touch was soft as he traced the veins in her arms, their tension was palpable enough to cut through with a knife.

Aziekel's skin was pale as the moon, his white hair was neatly gathered into a bun, with a few pieces that escaped and fell into his face. Although his clothes did a good job hiding his physique she could tell that he was fit, from his steady form and hands.

Through the pieces of his fallen hair Luna saw his eyes, deep pools of black, she couldn't help but be hypnotized by them. It was as if his eyes were serenading her, she kept wanting to stare more and more. Unbeknownst to her, she tried to move his hair out of the way. Their moment was interrupted by a scoff.

Luna escaping from his trance looked up to see everyone in the room looking at her with different expressions, Lily and Adam giving her a smirk, Logan and Kiara pretending to be busy and Damien who was still scoffing and pouting like a child.

Aziekel didn't seem to mind Luna or the gang's attention, he pressed two of his fingers into Luna's hand and muttered a spell. She felt her mind become clear, her vision becoming clearer

"How do you feel?" He asked ,

"Definitely better than before.." Luna said, then looked worryingly at Helene who still hadn't gained consciousness . The stranger got up "According to Roden's commands I should inspect all of you..." His soft voice morphed into a deeper tone, "to Heal you of course... "

"No chance mate, " Damien said walking away from him. "Fine, if you resist I shall not force you" Aziekel said whilst giving Damien a look of annoyance .

After a good 2 hours he was done healing everybody. "She will wake up in about 30 minutes. You don't have to worry anymore ." His gaze fell upon Helene then to Luna. Luna simply nodded her head and sat in the corner emotionlessly.

"How did you know he was not going to harm anyone?" Damein sat beside Luna.

" I didn't, but I wasn't gonna take a chance with Helene's life on the line. Besides, healers are normally caring and they are the least deadly ones." she sighed gazing up at him. "Oh yeah? So helene is not deadly you say?" he scoffed, making Luna chuckle. "Helene is a warrior. Yes, She is a healer, but she has always been a great warrior." She looked at Helenes recovering body with a gentle smile. "You really love her, don't you? Like your own sister."

"What do you mean 'like' she IS my sister. We grew up together. Trained together. We were inseparable." she finished.

I hope i meet him again, couldn't even give a proper thanks