All those questioning thoughts make my head throb in pain.

Shuddering once again, I push those thoughts away and then look at Alcina. She's looking at me right back. Her eyes burn with rage so strong that it threatens to consume me.

Why does she hate me?

Suddenly she lets out a cruel laugh that resembles an angry witch's cackle. I stifle the urge to flinch at the shrillness of her laugh.

"You don't know why I hate you?" she speaks, her voice hoarse. It was calm, few minutes ago. Now it's hoarse and it grates on my nerves. Her cloak-covered frame hides her body from me, only her rage-filled face visible.

I do not answer, unable to really form a conversation with her. Something in my gut tells me that I should not indulge into a conversation with this witch. She's evil through and through. Her pores also leak out the negativity that I find repulsing. How was she able to hide this negativity is a mystery to me!

Or perhaps she found a reason to turn evil after I met her?

I am so confused by her presence here that I do not even tremble when she appears right in front of me. She bends down at my eye level and stares into my eyes, her gaze searching for something and extremely angry.

"You ruined all my plans," she screams in my face, making me wince at her shrill voice. It's hurts my ears.

Backing off a bit, she continues glaring at me and then stomps her foot, her cloak fluttering around her as she does. She then looks around the cages and then a cruel smile makes up to her face.

It's sinister! And ugly!

"You will be one of them, soon," she coos, her voice soft all of a sudden.

I see her hand flicking before everything around me goes dark. The black magic seeps away from me and my skin stops prickling slowly.

She has left.

Only when I am sure that she's gone do I sigh in relief and rub my hands on the arms of the chair.

That was a frightening sight!

~~~~

In this place where there is only enemy keeping a watch on me, I feel utterly alone. This loneliness eats at me. Earlier, before Fenris saved me, I hadn't known what having a family meant like. Now that I have got a taste of having a family, I finally know that I was on a path of healing myself, mending my broken soul.

Now suddenly, my second chance at life got stolen away. Only because Alcina decided to go against me, against Fenris by hurting his sister.

I am sure by now Alpha Connor must have started looking for me. He must have informed Fenris as well. Who knows, Fenris might have already reached Blue Moon pack to search for me. The thought calms me a little but I also know that I have to get out of here myself. I can't risk Fenris being caught off guard by Alcina's true nature.

She might even trick him and then hurt him.

The thought alone is scary enough for me that I start thinking of ways I can get rid of these chains.

I think it's been more than a few hours since I have been brought here. First, Wulfric came to visit me and then Alcina came to visit me. After that, I was pretty much left alone with my own wandering thoughts.

And my magic is returning to me. Slowly, minute by slow minute, I am getting my magic to work. I can't use much of my energy but I can block my thoughts from being invaded. It's the first thing I tried after realizing that I can use a little of my magic.

And that's the first thing that I was successful in doing. Now my mind is hopefully secluded from any foreign invasion. I had to be very stealthy to make sure that I don't alert anyone of my little magic.

They would tighten my chains if they knew.

Now that my mind is protected from Alcina and Wulfric, I start trying to focus on the chains. I focus on melting the chains with my magic. With every passing minute, a little of my magic surfaces, allowing me to breathe a little easily.

And with every burst of magic that resurfaces despite the Lead Silver's effect, I channelize it all to awaken my fire. I use my fire to melt the poisonous alloy, trying not to wince when the melted alloy flows over my skin before falling down.

It's a painful process, but a necessary evil. There's no other way to get out of these chains.

Hissing through the burn of molten alloy on my skin, I close my eyes and complete the process. Only a bit of it is left on my left wrist. I am yet to start with my right one and my legs but it's a start.

I do not move, not wasting any of my energy as I push the molten alloy off my skin. Only when the last of the alloy has fallen off, do I move. At first, I can't believe that I have successfully melted off all the Lead Silver on my left wrist. I can't believe I have grown to harness such magic.

It boosts my confidence.

Slowly, I raise my wrist and then flick it a bit. Pain surges through my arm but it is due to the remnants of Lead Silver that were absorbed into my skin during the melting process. It will wear off, hopefully soon. It's bearable, at least.

A few minutes pass by as I breathe through the relief that comes with having one wrist free of Lead Silver.

Then I set off on the task of removing the Lead Silver chains from my right arm and the rest of my body. All the while I make sure that my mind is closed to unwanted visitors. If anyone accidentally brushes past my mind, they will be trapped in it. +

It is a difficult task to set up a trap in your mind but it was necessary to make sure that Alcina and Wulfric stay away from me. I don't even know if they are working together but they both came to visit me. It means that they played a role in my abduction, and I have assumed they are both working together.

I am sure that there is some ulterior motive here. There actually no reason for Alcina and Wulfric to be working together. She's my cousin, yet she's a black witch. It's hard to believe that Alcina's changed sides. Especially because Fenris never failed to show his adoration for his little witch cousin.

~~~

So, engrossed I am in removing these chains off my body that I am startled when a cold cackle is heard around me. It's haunting, making me shiver in fear of the unknown.

It's still dark so I don't know who's laughing but it's very scary.

I try to recall whose cackle it is but I am unable to recognise it. As soon as it was heard, the sound disappears and I am left confused at the sudden silence.

Perhaps I am hallucinating?

Shaking my head, I am distracted when I realize that my legs are no longer burning and that I am almost free except for the chain being wrapped around my stomach.

It is difficult to remove the chain wrapped around my clothes. My magic is not able to penetrate through the skin and outward.

Taking a deep breath, I try to focus on the chain, hoping to get rid of it before someone decides to barge in on me. The magic inside me pulses, ready to burst but it is not strong enough to penetrate the thick layer of clothes.

Feeling frustrated at being so close to victory, I huff a little. My hands start pulsing and it is a sign. My magic's returning.

Taking a big risk, I try to call my fire. If someone passes by me, they'll be able to detect my magic. I have to make this quick. If it even works. Muttering a small prayer, I aim the little fire bullet right at the Lead Silver Chain wrapped around my belly.

As the fire is magical, I control it and successfully avoid burning myself in the process. The fire lands on the chain and slowly the chains start pulverising. The pungent odour of the disintegrating metal reeks into the air but I focus on the burning.

I can get rid of the smell later but right now I need to make sure that nothing else on my body is burning except for that chain.

A few excruciatingly slow moments later, the burning sensation eases and I feel free. Wiggling in the seat I wince at the small tug on my stomach but otherwise, it's all good.

Getting up from the chair slowly, I wave my arms, distinguishing the smoke and smell of the burnt Lead Silver chains. Taking a deep breath, I sigh in relief and take a step ahead. My legs support me completely which makes me feel much better.

Slowly my legs start tingling, belatedly making me realize that it's the sensation of melted snow that makes my toes tingle. Bending down to take a look at my legs, I realize that my whole body's temperature has increased.

It's burning up!

But I feel fine. I definitely do not have a fever; I am sure of it. Maybe it's just the onslaught of my magic returning. As the pulsing energy flows through me, sluggish yet effective enough to make me stop and take note of it; I feel rejuvenated.

And my hands start glowing.

I stare at them in wonder, my fingers appear orangish-red as I hold them in front of me, taking in their appearance. I do not feel any burning sensation yet my fingers are pulsing with fire. This fire is ready on my fingertips, ready to burst out the moment I allow it.

Determination surges through my veins alongside my fire as I take a few more steps, this time using my fire to guide me through the way.

For the time being, I let the cages as they are, not wanting to disturb those prisoners but from the shocked gasps that I heard during my rejuvenation, I know that they are very much aware of my presence as well as movement.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind wander yet cautiously, not wanting to bump into anyone. It would alert them or give them a chance to snatch into my mind. It would be a complete disaster if I let myself be vulnerable like that again.

Taking a few cautious steps, I continue to walk ahead, following the trail that my mind's making. Right now, I am searching for any witches or vampires around me. If I could just get closer to them, I might catch them off-guard.

As I walk through the snow, it melts whenever my feet touch the ground. My body is hot because of all the fire inside me. I need to let it out. And what better target than my enemy himself?

But I need to find him first. Any try not to panic when that happens.

Sighing at my wayward thoughts, I continue to walk till I reach a stony wall like barrier. Lifting my hands up like a torch, I look around trying to make out what exactly it is. Sure enough, it's a wall like structure. Perhaps it is some sort of a building or a castle?

Not knowing if what I am thinking is correct, I put my hand on the stone wall and try to find an entrance through it.

Running my hand through the wall, I close my eyes focusing on which direction to proceed to find an opening. Through my magic, I can make out that there's a window like aperture on the left side of the wall. And so, I start walking toward the left side and soon enough am greeted with the window.

Making sure that the other side of the window is safe enough for me to climb in, I quickly jump inside, minding my robe and hair.

Once inside, I continue with my search when suddenly I hear the cackle. It's eerie and it's the same one that I had heard earlier. Only this time, it is a lot clearer than before. And from the sound of it, the laugh is pure evil.

I feel my hackles rise at the sound of the female laugh. Not allowing it to deter me from my mission, I proceed further.

Raising my hands up, I note that I am in some sort of a corridor. It appears very similar to the school in Crimson Shadow. Ancient and Royal.

There are various inscriptions here which I can't understand because of the dim light and my lack of knowledge about the figures and drawings.

What is this place? Am I even in the Blue Moon region?

Not sure about my location, I follow the eerie cackle, turning a few times on my way. Just as I am taking another right turn, I am greeted with a soft light on the far side of the corridor.

From the looks of it, this light appears to be a natural form of light unlike the one induced from Alcina's black magic back in the garden. Hoping that it is a positive sign, I start making my way toward the light.

I do not pay attention to the walls of the corridor, bypassing any turns that I encounter on my way. Focusing on the light on the far side, I soon reach near it and almost shriek in elation when I find that it is indeed the natural sun light.

Walking into the sunlight, I let the rays get absorbed into my skin. It feels good. Spreading my arms in the air, I take a look around myself.

Once again, I find myself in a garden but this one is different. There are no cages and prisoners in this garden. This one looks pleasant and refreshing.

Just as I contemplate taking a walk in the garden, I spot a female who appears to be taking a stroll in here. However, she keeps herself confined to the shadier part of the garden.

Not sure if she's a friend of Wulfric's or Alcina's, I decided to go back inside the castle. However, my luck decides to take a nosedive because the female finds me. I am expecting her to walk toward me or alert Wulfric or Alcina about me roaming freely but she doesn't do anything.

She doesn't even move from her spot under the shades. She just stands there looking at me, frowning at my presence here in the castle.

She appears quite fragile. And my curiosity increases. Taking a huge risk, I spread out my mind, and take a brush past her mind. She flinches but otherwise doesn't show any emotion on her face.

It makes me more curious because this female appears clueless about her situation.

Just who is she? And what is she doing here? Is she a prisoner like me? why would she be roaming this place alone if she's a prisoner? Or is she special?

~~~~

Thank you for reading!!

How was the chapter?? Who is the new female? Or do we know her? Any guesses?

Please do vote and leave your reviews in the comments section.