The Dark Secret Of The Palace

It was still midnight when Stefan and Cressida got to Fendril Pandora. Cressida was laid on a bed in the room while Stefan kept watch over her.

He went closer to her and placed his two fingers close to her nostrils.

 " Is she breathing?" He bent his head to her face to confirm her breath. Cressida opened her eyes immediately. " You're awake. You kept passing out, so I thought you might die."

 Not paying attention to his talk, Cressida carried herself up groaning in pain. 




"Gosh




" Does it hurt a lot? He asked.




" I think I broke my bones." She said when she finally sat up.




" They said you were fine."




" Really?" 




" Then why does it hurt so much? What a useless body."




" Hey, why did you say you poisoned me? If you pretended like you did not know anything, they would not have tortured you."




"I had to make them believe that you were dying. Otherwise, they would not have opened your gate of energy. They just would have made an antidote."




" So you really did risk your life."




" I thought I might lose an arm or at least a leg. But I am surprisingly fine. The people of Pandora are too nice, if this is how they torture people…

By the way, you still seem pretty sick yourself. Why are you here?"




" Obviously to take care of you. All the practitioners here are all mages. They cannot find out about you, so I closed the door when no one was looking. Change your clothes for you, applied ointment on your wound and gave you a massage whenever you passed out."




"You did?" Cressida tried covering up herself on hearing this.




"Yes, I am the only person who is safe enough to come this close to you." Stefan leaned closer to her face as though to take a deep face, she seemed uncomfortable with the sudden closeness, kept leaning close and on getting to her cheeks he whispered. "All my life, no one seemed to know how desperate I was. No one has ever risked their lives for me like you did."




Cressida looked straight up into his eyes and he stood up from the bed. 

"Since I have survived as promised, I will serve you as my master. Up until now, I have served 12 masters. People thought I got kicked out every time, but I was the one who left. But now, I have finally found my true master. So I shall kneel before you and swear to serve you as my master forever." Stefan attempted to go on his knees as Cressida stopped him.




"On one condition, do not tell anybody about our relationship. You will continue to be my owner and I will continue to be your maid. Also, our relationship as Master and pupil will only last until you become the best and help me get back my energy. Only Until then. The moment I get back my energy and become Elena again, we will no longer be master and pupil again."




"Can you tell me why? Stefan was confused. 




" Because then, you should no longer have a reason to protect me nor should I have a reason… to go easy on you." She looked away as though memories came rushing.




" So you want to part ways once our business is done? " Stefan was inquisitive. " I see,hmmm, all right. Once I am no longer of use to you, you abandon me. Then I will respect your decision and let you leave." He concluded.




The midnight breeze played its beautiful rhythm endlessly, up on the stoned group placed above each other where Cressida stood while watching Stefan make his speech, remaining quiet until he finished. Stepping a bit closer to him she asked that he goes on his knees for his master.




Stefan obliged, he went on his knees almost immediately on the bare floor while she stood up on the stones.

" Henceforth, I, Stefan Donovan, your pupil, will serve and protect my master, Cressida,with all my heart.

    *******************

  

The very night Stefan submitted to his master, the dark secret of The Salvatore was revealed. 

An ally of The Salvatore happens to be a soul shifter, Feddrick's chief executor had opened the secret dark room of the palace using the Magic crown dressed in a black robe. As he walks into the elaborate hall with different dark paintings and stairs facing four different routes, he meets dead stoned bodies on the floor and a dark robed man placing his hand over the head of a living human until he turns stoned and dies. It was obvious, this Soul shifter was soul shifting with the bodies in order not to run mad, the chief executor watched in dismay.




 " You have turned to your true self, you will not run wild for a while." Feddrick who was present said after the shifted soul fell to the ground.




"Then I will meet you at the royal palace." The Black robe and veil man said as he turned to leave. 




" Feeding human Souls to soul shifters who are running wild, allow them to continue to be of use." Feddrick said immediately the man steps out of the hall.

" Did you kill the gisaeng that Elena's soul was shifted into? Turning to his chief executor, with a faded smile on his chin.




"Yes, we throw the body away. In lake Mildehelysian."




" Did you check for the blue mark?" Feddrick asked.

The chief executor remembers flipping through the dead girl's check and didn't see the blue mark. He knew there and then that they had killed the wrong person. But to save his head he told his master that he had seen the blue mark.




" The Elena I used to know would not have lost to you, but she must have lost her energy due to the body she is in now." Master Feddrick concluded.




" Do soul shifters lose their energy? The executor seemed anxious.




" If a soul is too strong, it enters an unbefitting body and cannot access the energy.




" Have you seen that before? The executor asked.




Frederick remained silent for some seconds. He was being summoned by the then king into his private Chambers, the King was feeble and terribly sick he led on his bed coughing and grinding in pain. 

"Your Majesty, I am master Daniel Donovan's pupil, Feddrick Gonzales. He said on his knees and bowed his head. The King on hearing his voice rushed up to him from the bed crawling.

"Feddrick?" The King said.




"Yes, your majesty."




"I am not the king, I am your Master, Daniel Donovan. Right now my soul has shifted into the king's body. Feddrick couldn't believe his ears, he slowly raised his head to behold the body behind the voice again and then saw the blue mark on the supposed King's chest.




"Master, is that you?" He went closer to where his master knelt.