Having a disturbingly bad feeling about this, she looked at her apprentice.

"I'll get it myself."  The empress told.

Amberosia followed closely behind the empress to see what was going on. 

The pounding on the door got louder and more forceful until the empress flung the door open quickly to see a witch standing there full of rage. 

"May I help you?" Spat Ralvania.

"Yes I need to talk to the bitch that stole my gargoyle." She told them with a glare of destruction in her dark eyes.

"Do you mean Ludwig?" Ambersia asked hiding behind the empress.

"Yes you mindless wench." 

"What's your name?" Ralvania asked trying to get her focus off of Amberosia.

"I'm Veronica." She stated then giving them a look of death, "Where's my Ludwig?" 

"First off no one kidnapped him, he needed a place to live so we gave him a home. He's our friend not our property." Ralvania calmly explained to this psychotic sorceress.

"Where is he?" She demanded with fire in her eyes.

"Probably sleeping in his cave."  Amberosia told her.

"I'm sorry but have we met before?" Ralvania inquired.

"Did you have a dragon with you traveling near Galderia?" Veronica hinted.

"Yes."

"Then we probably met briefly." She told the empress.

"I thought that was you." Ralvania told her.

Then Ludwig swooped down from the skies as he had sensed the dark witch.

"Veronica?"  He uttered her name and she spun around quickly with eyes wide. 

"It's me. What are you doing here?" 

"Looking for you. You've been here and not a word? Do I mean nothing more than the dirt under your talons?" She screamed at him.

"I had to." He stated calmly.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I can't say anything else in case they're still watching me." He explained.

"The council of Guardians?" She asked.

He nodded. "I will always care for you from afar. I'm staying away to protect you. Don't come back. I love you." He told her then flew off.

Angry embarassed and heart-broken Veronica stormed off back to her home, refusing to look at the two women that had her Ludwig. 

Once the dark witch had left, The empress looked at Amberosia.

"That was an intresting development." She stated before shutting and locking her castle doors just in case Veronica wasn't the only lunatic out this night.