Tapping her feet on the floor, Naavah waited for Fyodor to led her to his sorcerer's chamber. He told her about the appointment, and all the necessary details last night, before both of them fell asleep. However, she couldn’t overcome her fears or the sensation of butterflies in her stomach. It was the first time in many years since she was going to undergo a physical examination by a sorcerer for her health condition. Not only that, it was a person her husband knew. Even though she was uneasy about meeting him, she was more restless at the moment because Fyodor didn't know anything about the curse. She was wondering whether or not he would find out, how he would react, and what he would say after finding out.
“You don’t have to be nervous. Julian is a remarkable sorcerer, and he will surely respect your privacy,” said Fyodor with a reassuring smile.
She only nodded, smiling back at him, and left the room. Turning to the right, Naavah walked straight ahead until she came across three rooms, one next to the other. Perplexed, she blinked at Fyodor, waiting for further directions. She hasn't been able to visit and get used to the manor yet.
“Come with me. All these chambers are empty,” he said, chuckling.
Walking past those rooms, they turned to the left and went into a brightly lit hallway. The windows were open, and a breeze blew into the hall, making Naavah realize it was autumn already. It was amazing how quickly that year had passed, she thought. A few months ago, she would never have guessed that this year she would get married, move from her uncle's mansion, and be forced to do the medical tests again. It seems like all these events have happened so fast, and now there are even more things that need to be done. She was supposed to take her responsibilities as the new lady of the house soon.
“However, what will Fyodor do when he finds out about the curse?” she thought, peeking at him.
Walking leisurely, he was glancing outside the windows occasionally, enjoying the morning breeze. He appeared to be peaceful, and this made her frown. Guilt began to overbear her. But no matter how much she debated, she couldn't tell him about it. And she couldn't tell him even now. She was scared of his response and further actions.
“But why didn’t Dargan tell him? It's an important detail, after all. Could it be that he knew something about Fyodor that I do not?”
“What is on your mind, Naavah?”
“Oh, uh, I was thinking about those three rooms. Why were they empty?”
“The one from the left was either for the butler or the physician, depending on the emergency or our needs. The other two are for our future children,” he said, smiling mischievously.
She gasped, pursing her lips together, and avoided his gaze. She didn't know what to tell him anymore. With trembling hands and shoulders, she asked him about another room they were passing by.
“On this hall to the left are two rooms, actually. The room in the back is one of your office rooms, and this one," he said, pointing to the door next to her with his hand, "is the personal library.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You have two office rooms. One in which anyone can enter, and one in which only the people that work in the manor can. It is best to keep certain documents hidden from the public eye. You never know who will enter and search through your things. The personal library is only for me and you. Here we can store books that we don’t want others to see, or we can read here if we want some privacy.”
“Then what is this room?” she asked, looking in front at a chamber that was next to their personal library.
“This is a storage space for all things needed for the main library. From this room, you can get directly into the main library, and from there, you will enter the center part of the floor. It's where we and the butler have our office rooms.”
“It sounds complicated,” said Naavah, frowning and biting her lower lip.
“Once you get used to it, it’s not that hard. The second floor is distributed into three areas. The west wing, in which fifteen guest rooms are, each with its own bathroom. There is also a big hall in the back that every guest can access. Then, there is the central area, where our office rooms are. Also, there is a storage room for anything the guest rooms require, from soap to clean towels, pillows, and blankets. That is, for our maids to do their work without interruptions from the guests. And lastly, the east wing, in which we are.”
“And the only access to the east wing is through the library?”
“For the others, yes. I, you, and the butler have pendants made by Julian, who can teleport us here,” said Fyodor, taking out his blue pendant from his shirt’s pocket. “We usually keep the library’s storage door that leads here closed, especially when we have guests. If a maid needs to come to our room or to this wing, she will go ask Samuel, the butler, to teleport her here.”
Studying the pendant up close, Naavah licked her upper lip and frowned.
“I still don’t understand why you made it like this.”
“Protection. In case of an emergency, until someone reaches you, me, or our child, we will be long gone. We can teleport to the casemate with the use of this pendant as well. But only we can do it. Samuel cannot.”
“Fair enough,” said Naavah, nodding her head. “So, to get to the sorcerer's chamber, we need to go through the main library, is it not?”
“No. We need to keep our way straight ahead and turn to the left after we pass the library’s storage room.”
“Why is his chamber so hidden?” asked Naavah, racing her pace along with Fyodor.
“He wanted his own tower. It’s something about a sorcerer’s pride.”
Passing by a long stone wall, Naavah assumed they were on the other side of the main library. And she was right. Her husband built the entire manor to be safe for both his workers and his family.
After a few seconds, she could spot a door in a dark corner on the right. Reaching it, they both entered a big and round chamber. She looked inside it, astonished.
Many weird paintings and parchments in a foreign language were hanging on beige walls, making her think of an old, dusty library. The chamber's height was impressive, seeming like it could lead to the sky. She thought about the structure of the manor she saw on her arrival but could not understand how this could be. Nothing looked like this room, although here it was: big, tall, and overwhelming.
Making a few steps further, she almost stumbled upon some hotchpotches with various herbs. She recognized some of them due to the fact that she studied herbology. However, there were a few unknown ones that she had never seen before. She decided to ask the sorcerer about them later if they would befriend each other. She raised her eyes to see a tall and very thin man standing at his desk with light brown hair, green eyes, and glasses hanging on the edge of his straight nose. He was handsome but seemed cold and unapproachable.
“I see that you finally made it,” said the man, without stopping from reading a paper.
“Here, take a seat,” said Fyodor, pulling a chair for her and ignoring the sorcerer.
She thanked him, and after that, she raised her head to look again at that man.
“She is my wife, Naavah. I brought her here for her medical tests,” said Fyodor, looking at the man as well.
“Alright. I have your last medical report. Seeing that you didn’t take any medication or had any medical interventions in the past year, we can proceed with the general tests. Undress and move over there, please.”
While Naavah began to take off her dress, Fyodor winked at her and said he will be in his office room. After he exited the chamber, she focused on what she needed to do.
It was a known feeling to her: being alone with a sorcerer for health inspection. But still, her hands were sweaty out of nervousness. Although everyone knew what a newly married couple was supposed to do on their first night, she was still aware of the love signs Fyodor left all over her body. And the man in front of her will be able to see them. Besides, she had that birth sign on her right thigh.
After placing a few empty bottles on his desk, the man approached her and cast a spell on her. It allowed him to see all of her muscles, bones, and organs in great detail. It was a routine for every medical inspection.
“Skliemb.”
A strong, blue light, in the shape of a square, enveloped her body. It went from head to toes. It didn’t turn red, indicating a problem, until it reached her right thigh. But he didn’t say anything. And he didn’t point out the biting marks she had either.
Next, he took some of her blood and put it into one of the bottles. Then, he took a hair lock and placed it into another, and lastly, he put her to spit into the last one. He mixed some different colored potions with all of those and waited a few minutes for them to change color.
“I am Julian,” said the man in a low-pitched voice.
“Naavah. Nice to meet you,” she said while dressing up.
He looked intently at the bottles and took each one of them in his hands, starting to shake them. It seemed like anyone could do it, but in fact, it was a hard task. He needs to know the exact quantities, mixture, and timing to obtain precise results.
“Well, it seems that you are in good shape. Except for muscle soreness and an approaching cold. I will give you some tea to prevent the cold, but I have a question for you, my lady,” said Julian, while he looked at the bottles and began to prepare a few herbs for the tea.
“Tell me,” said Naavah, watching his movements while rubbing her palms.
“When and by who were you cursed?”
