“The white sun is already dead; the black sun will soon rise. I have been purified by its radiance.”

The words sounded like a poem, or a spell, something that could bring a person to their knees. Both Rinaldo and Olivia felt their stomachs turn as they heard the words. They tried not to react, but it was challenging.

The woman watched them with her cat-like eyes, and Rinaldo looked away. The feeling left his stomach in a hurry, and he noticed Olivia doing the same. She was still holding her stomach when the woman stopped talking.

“What do you think of that? I never heard of that before.”

Rinaldo turned to Olivia. “Well, I don't know what to think.”

“What else did you hear?” Olivia looked at the woman with interest. “What happened after that?”

“After that? He took the girl with him. She was screaming.”

That was when Astoria appeared to apprehend the kidnapper. She had jumped up on the table and pulled the kidnapper's feet from under her. He fell, hitting his head on the floor. The kidnapper recovered just in time to avoid the next assault from Astoria.

Astoria lunged at the kidnapper and kicked him in the stomach several times. Her attack made the kidnapper double over. The next moment he was on his back, Astoria holding him with her body, one hand over his mouth and the other covering his eyes, pinning him to the floor.

Suddenly, the kidnapper kicked hard, hitting Astoria in the chest and forcing her to the floor. She hit the floor hard, hitting her head and her back. The kidnapper pulled the rope out of the window and left with Clarissa.

“Did you see which direction they took? Which way they went?” Olivia pressed.

Their questions didn't seem to intimidate the woman. Rinaldo appreciated that. “I don't know. They left through the window.”

Rinaldo and Olivia waited in silence. There was a moment of silence before the woman spoke again. “Do you need anything else?”

Olivia was about to say something, but Rinaldo spoke first. “What is your name?”

“It's Ela, milord. I am the resident's cook, and a few other things as well. I'm happy to help you with whatever you need.”

The woman's last sentence felt wrong to Rinaldo. Her voice was soft and refined, but there was also a sharpness to it. Rinaldo couldn't describe it, but he felt danger in her tone. It was almost like she meant her words to provoke a reaction in him.

“What do you mean by 'other things'?” Rinaldo kept her in his sight.

“I can do more than cooking.” She laughed, and it made Rinaldo feel uncomfortable. “I can provide certain services for you, milord, if you're interested.”

“What services?” Rinaldo had to know. He had seen how her eyes looked at him, as though she wanted to devour him. It made him feel uneasy.

“Anything you'd like. I am the best in the business.”

“No, thank you.” Rinaldo shook his head. “That won't be necessary.”

Rinaldo wanted to change the subject. He didn't know what he should think about the woman. It was almost as though she had an agenda, as though she wanted to draw him into something. It was a disturbing thought.

The only thing that stopped him from walking out of the room was that they had yet to investigate the room. He felt an uncomfortable tingling feeling in his neck as he felt the woman's eyes watching him. Her eyes were like windows into the shadows, and something was unsettling about it.

Olivia got up from her seat. “Thank you for telling us everything you know, but we won't be needing anything else right now. You've done enough.”

Ela gave them a bow, as she stood up from her seat. “It was my pleasure. I am glad to see that someone is looking after the girl. She's quite special.”

Rinaldo and Olivia watched her as she walked away. As she stepped out the door, Olivia stopped her in her tracks. “Wait. Why do you think Clarissa is special?”

“She has something few others have.”

Rinaldo and Olivia exchanged a look. Neither of them knew what to think about that. “Thank you for your help, Ela. If we need you again, we'll contact you.”

“I am glad to be of service.” The woman gave Rinaldo a cat-like smile. “If you need anything else, I'm sure you'll find me.”

“We will, thank you.”

Rinaldo watched as the woman left the room. He and Olivia stayed silent in the room. After a few minutes of silence, Rinaldo had to ask a question. “What do you think of her? Why do you think she would think Clarissa is special?”

“I don't know.” Olivia shrugged. She was looking out the window. The sky was still as clear as a crystal.

“Or maybe she knows something.” Rinaldo didn't realise how true it was. She was definitely hiding something, but what? “So what do we do now?”

“We investigate this place. There's something in here we have to find.”

“Sounds like fun. Let's go.”

Rinaldo examined the scene, while Olivia started investigating the rest of the kitchen. They made their way through the kitchen for the rest of the day, trying to understand what had happened. Nothing in the kitchen seemed unusual or out of place.

The kitchen was a vast room, not unlike any other place in the palace, and yet the room had a homey feel to it. The ceilings were high, and the walls were made of beautiful stone covered in white marble.

They went through all the cabinets, but there wasn't anything of note. There were several cabinets and drawers on the wall, as well as an extended kitchen countertop that ran the length of the wall. The cupboards contained a vast assortment of dishes, tools, bowls, pots, and pans.

There were four doors in the room; two opposite the wall opposite the window, and the other two on the side of the room. They could even have walked out of the room, as there wasn't anything of interest to them.

“This door leads to the servant's quarters.” Olivia pointed to a small door with a round window above it.

Rinaldo went over and pressed the door, but it didn't open. He tried pulling it open, but it wouldn't budge. “It's locked.”

“Let's move on.”

There was a door to the hallway on the other side of the room. The second door also led to the servant's quarter. But it was also locked. The last door led to a wide hallway with a grand staircase leading to the upper levels of the palace.

“What about the window? Can you get it open?”

“I'll have to pull it open from this side. Just be careful when you step out the window. There's quite a drop from there.”

“I'll be careful. You look for something.”

Rinaldo stepped out of the window. It was a great distance to the ground, and he had to hold on tightly as he descended. He felt his feet hit the ground, taking in the surroundings. He saw that there was a narrow field of grass, and a forest in the distance.

There was a gate leading out of the castle, and it was open. The rest of the scene was the same as the rest of the gardens. It was a beautiful scene, with beautiful trees, fountains, and flowers. The flowers looked like they were in full bloom, and the gardens looked lovely.

There were three trees on one side, and two on the other. They were in a perfect formation around the castle, giving the place an open and welcoming feel. There was one spot where the grass was short, as though someone had trampled over it.

“Rinaldo.” Rinaldo looked over to see Olivia standing next to him. “Do you find something?”

“I saw a trampled grass spot, and I looked at it carefully. Look what I found.”

Olivia joined him on the spot, and looked down. There was a pair of red slippers. “Looks like Clarissa was wearing her slippers. I'll grab them, and you head inside. I'll meet you back here.”

“Okay. I'm going to go search around the area.”

Olivia nodded, as she picked up the slippers. She walked off, back to the castle, and Rinaldo continued his investigation. Rinaldo looked around the castle, and he couldn't find anything that seemed out of place. He couldn't find anything that appeared to be a clue.

Rinaldo came back to the kitchen with nothing of note. “Let's take a quick look at the rest of the castle.”

Rinaldo and Olivia spent the rest of the day searching for anything of interest in the palace. They went through the entire palace, finding nothing. Rinaldo thought he may never find anything.

The day went by slowly, as they searched through every room in the palace. Rinaldo thought the search may not be successful, but it was worth a shot. Perhaps there was something worth finding other than the slippers.

“I'm feeling sleepy, and I want to go to bed.” Olivia yawned.

Rinaldo was feeling the same way. “Let's call it a day.”

“I can't believe we spent the entire day searching only to find a pair of shoes.”

Rinaldo nodded. “Let's go back to Astoria's room, and see if she has something to say.”

As the two entered Astoria's room, a sense of dread overcame Rinaldo, something he rarely felt. It was a feeling of something not right. He opened the door to her room and turned the knob slowly.

When they entered the room, Rinaldo felt something warm and wet on his feet. He looked down and saw a pool of blood on the ground. He took a step back, and took in the scene. There was a lot of blood in the room, and Astoria was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Rinaldo looked around the room, trying to figure out what had happened. “Astoria!”

Olivia saw Rinaldo's expression. “What's wrong?”

Rinaldo grabbed Olivia's arm. “Astoria is dead!”

Someone had slashed Astoria across the back of the head. The blood had trickled down the wall to the floor, and pooled over her, covering her face. There was a large gash on the back of her head, and significant knife-like cuts on her body.

Olivia looked at Astoria's body and sobbed. She dropped to her knees, and grabbed Astoria's hand. “Astoria!”

Rinaldo shook her shoulders. There was no reaction. Rinaldo felt a wave of panic and anger. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her again, this time much harder, but she wouldn't budge. She was motionless.

Rinaldo held her body in a way that kept her head from hitting the floor, and helped her up onto the bed. He tried to hold her to keep her stable. When she finally reacted by moving her arms and legs, Rinaldo realised she was still alive.

“Thank goodness.” Rinaldo let out a sigh of relief. “You're alive, Astoria.”

Astoria slowly turned her head towards Rinaldo. “My head hurts.”

“I'm going to get some help.” Olivia took a step away from the bed. “I'll be right back.”

Rinaldo watched as Olivia left the room. He didn't like the expression on Astoria's face. “You're bleeding.”

“It's nothing. It's just a little cut on my head.” Astoria laid back against the pillow. “I'm a monster, you know? I can't die. You don't have to worry about me.”

Rinaldo pulled the blanket up to Astoria's chin, and saw the gash on her head. “Astoria, you didn't just get a simple cut on your head. Someone attacked you. Who did this to you?”

Astoria turned her head to one side. “I don't know.”

Rinaldo knew it wasn't true. “You know, Astoria. Tell me what happened. Who attacked you?”

Astoria turned to face the wall, and Rinaldo knew she was refusing to say anything. Rinaldo couldn't understand her refusal. He couldn't bring himself to physically force the answer out of her, and didn't know what else to do.

When he tried to get her to open up, Astoria just continued to stare at the wall. “Astoria, talk to me.”

Olivia burst back into the room, followed by Ela. They brought a bucket of water and a towel. “Is she okay?”

Rinaldo looked at Olivia, and saw her concerned expression. “I don't know. She doesn't seem to say much of anything. I think she's in shock.”

“Oh, my poor girl. This isn't good.” Ela dropped next to Astoria. “Let me help you.”

After cleaning Astoria's wounds, Ela held her hands, and they glowed. After about ten minutes, Astoria's complexion improved. Rinaldo knew she was healing Astoria's body as her wounds disappeared. The three continued to sit next to Astoria, waiting for her to respond.

She opened her eyes and turned to face Ela. “Thank you.”

“I just speed up your natural regeneration. Nothing special.” Ela smiled as she helped Astoria to her feet. “How are you feeling?”

Astoria was still in pain, but felt better than she had been before. She sat on the bed, holding her head. “I feel a bit wobbly.”

“That's because you got stabbed in the head. You're still weak from the loss of blood.” Ela sat next to Astoria on the bed. “We'll get you fixed up, and you'll be good as new.”

“I hope my attacker doesn't come back here.”