Forever Destined To The Silver Shadow

Celestia's POV: 

I didn't know if I should be relieved that Darius got released or should I have to be worried that I was still trapped in this fancy dungeon. He did promise me that he wouldn't touch me at all. That was the only thing that provided me relief. 

For the past two days, no one came to my room except Amelia. She provided me with the food and clothes that I needed. I can't trust any of them here. Still, I wasn't able to restrain myself from trusting Amelia. She is nice to me—and she didn't try to defend the actions of Theo to me. 

The only one who was giving me company in this lonely room was Tangerine. I was overjoyed to see her after these many years. I expected her to be in a terrible condition—but she was just fine. I should thank Amelia for taking good care of my pet!

I was peeking down the window of my room and admired the beauty of the ocean. The sun seemed to be burning the land, but surprisingly I didn't feel the heat or humidity. This must be the blessing of the Moon Goddess! 

Just when I was admiring the land, my eyes spotted something strange. Amelia was walking towards the ocean with a wooden basket in her hand. Once she reached near the waters, she placed the basket on the sand and knelt down on the shore. She took out a white robe from her basket and dipped them into the waters. 

Darius was wearing this same white robe when I saw him two days ago. While he left the island yesterday on a raft, I remember him wearing this same robe. How come Amelia has this fabric with her?! Something is fishy here! I do trust Amelia, but I don't think that she will give me an honest answer if I confront her now. I should figure out this mystery on my own!

I ran out of my room and sneaked downstairs. I was surprised by myself that I still remember the way to the dungeon as I am usually not good at remembering directions. Once I stepped into the cold dungeon, I heard a groan of a man. Just as I expected, Darius was still in the cell. He was not released at all! 

"Darius," I screamed and moved near his cage. He looked the same as he did two days ago, except for the robe that was grey in color now. His cell was not dirty or stinking like it was before. There were scented candles placed near the walls of his cell. At least Amelia is generous enough to help Darius! 

"How are you still here? I saw you leave in a raft—"

"What?" he shouted. "When did you see me leave on a raft? I have never left dungeon ever since I arrived here—"

I was puzzled. Then whom did I see leaving the island yesterday?! It took me a long time to understand that I had been played by that trickster again! 

"It was him! He left the island in your disguise," I cried out. 

He blinked at me and said, "Are you saying that he is now in the castle disguised as me?" 

After I heard him say that, I got even more anxious than before. I took a deep breath and clutched the rod of the cell. He is in the castle now! No one will be able to find out that he is not the Prince! 

"Our entire Kingdom is in danger," Darius blurted. "Our father is in grave danger! We should do something now before it is too late—"

I should free Darius from here! And I should let him escape from here. That is the only way my people can know that they are in grave danger. I surveyed the cell and tried to find out where the lock was in the cage. But I couldn't find it! How is this cell even sealed?! 

I recalled melting the iron bars just with the sparks in my past life. I wish that I could do something like that now. 

"Celestia, what the hell are you doing here?" I heard a woman scream behind me. It was Amelia! She was here with the food plate and a pair of clean clothes. 

"Oh, dear! How did you even find out about this?" she sighed out.

"This is betrayal," I yelled at Amelia. "That trickster promised me that he would release Darius. As usual, he betrayed me—"

She went to the cell without responding to me. Then she placed the food plate and clothes inside the cell for Darius and turned to me. "Come upstairs, Celestia! We really need to have a talk about this—"

I clutched the rods of the cell firmly so that she couldn't drag me away from here. "No….," I cried out. "Release Darius now!"

"Celestia, try to understand! Theo is doing this for you. Your father and this man in the cage are not your allies. They are your rivals—"

"Stop talking! I don't want to hear anything from you—" 

My grip on the iron rod tightened even more, when Amelia tried to pull me away from the spot. I was in so much agony that I almost didn't notice the sparks that were coming out of my palms. 

"Celestia, your sparks are back," Darius shouted. "Try to brighten up your flames a little more—"

"Don't listen to him," Amelia shouted and fixed her alluring purple eyes on me. It was hard for me not to look into her eyes. How can someone restrain themselves from looking at something this beautiful?! 

"Let go of the iron rod, dear! You don't need to free Darius. He is not your ally—"

"He is not my ally," I agreed with her immediately. 

"Celestia, don't listen to her! For the love of the Holy Aiden, don't fall for her enchantment—"

Whatever he was saying to me didn't even matter anymore. I was so much focused on her purple eyes. I let go of the iron rod next to me and grabbed the hand of the pretty girl. 

"I am willing to do anything that you ask me to do," I said to her.