Forever Destined To The Silver Shadow

Celestia's POV: 

I followed Marilyn quietly until she reached the waterfalls. The crystal water was cascading down the steep mountains. So this is the starting point of this stream! 

The water level of the stream seemed to be very high here. Around the stream, there were so many dense, greenish trees and shrubs. Some of the trees were floral, and some were not. 

I noticed there was a couple of ash wood trees here. So from this is where Marilyn got the ash wood to make the bows and arrows. Everything makes sense now! 

Marilyn was strolling on the slippery rocks which were right next to the waters. I didn't follow her up there. If I move close to her anymore, then I would be exposing myself to her. 

So I hid behind a giant ash wood tree and watched her. The huge trees were completely blocking the moonlight from reaching down here. It was so dark, and I wasn't able to see anything clearly. 

I almost didn't notice a red-haired man who was lurking behind the shrubs that were next to the rocks. Even though it was dark, the red-haired man's skin was glowing like white pearls. 

His eyes were gleaming red, and by that, I was able to conclude that he is neither a Mage nor a Wizard. He is a Vampire! What on Aiden's name is a vampire doing here? 

"Alaric," I heard Marilyn say. "Please give me another chance. I will prove my worth to you."

What??!!! The leader of the Vampire Clan Alaric is here? And Marilyn is talking to him as if he were her mentor!

"You have disappointed me so much in the past few days, Marilyn," Alaric grunted. "You have failed in every task that I gave you."

"But the Silver Shadow is very powerful. He managed to overcome every one of my schemes. It's not my fault!" Marilyn protested. 

Is this really Marilyn? Why is she allying with the Vampires??!! A lot of questions arose in my mind. I wanted to go out there and confront them. But if I do that, I might not get any answers to my questions. 

"Why did you have to appear in the battleground?" Alaric raged at her. "The Vampires were doing good until you appeared on the battlefield with your puny ash wood bow and arrow. Are you really on our side? Because you almost knocked out three Vampires with ash wood."

Marilyn grunted. "That was one of my strategies to divert attention on the battlefield and make the Dawn vulnerable. And it worked! Dawn was on her knees, and she blacked out on the battlefield. But the Silver Shadow saved her!"

So that was an act?!!! Was she diverting the attention of everyone on the battlefield? I thought that she was really in trouble and I helped her. But she did all of that on purpose? Due to her, my energy was drained!

"That trickster Silver Shadow is the reason for all this chaos," Marilyn continued. "He got in our lands and assured my father that he would save the Valley. And he managed to do it once. But this time, he is not going to win."

Alaric didn't say anything for a while. It seemed like he was assessing the words told by Marilyn. After a long time, he said, "Did you manage to slip the potion I gave you in the firewater cauldron?"

"Yes, I did," Marilyn answered back immediately. "I mixed the enhancing potion in the Firewater. Now everyone who drank it has become lunatics."

I knew it! I knew that something was wrong with the firewater. The enhancing potion always multiplies the effect of anything it is added to. Since Marilyn added this potion to the firewater, the impact of the intoxicant got multiplied. 

That is the reason why they all got crazy within a few minutes after they got drunk. I should get out of here and warn them all! But will anyone listen to me? The last I saw them, they were all at the peak of insanity. 

Theo will listen to me! I think that he is powerful enough to fight off the effects of the firewater. Probably he would have found out the truth about this whole thing by now because Theo is always ten steps ahead of everyone else. 

I wanted to listen to the rest of their conversation, but people are in danger. Saving people is my priority. I almost sprinted on my way back to the cottage. It took me a while to get there. 

I should have opened a portal here! But if I had opened a portal, then I would have exposed myself to Alaric and Marilyn. I still don't know why Marilyn is conspiring against her own people! Why would someone aid the Vampires? 

For the sake of Aiden, she is the daughter of the Northern Mage Lord Magnus, and in the future, she will become the Lady of the Northern region. 

I will find out about her true motives soon! I reached the banks of the stream, and I was horrified to see the sight in front of me. All the Mages were lying unconscious on the ground.

I tried hard not to step on any one of their bodies that were lying on the grass. My heart sank when I saw Ember's unconscious body. I crouched next to her and checked her pulse. 

She seemed to be alive! Everyone around me seemed to be alive. I was able to sense them all breathing. But how did this happen? The enhancing potion must have made them faint! 

How can I wake them up? Perhaps Theo might know something about it. I got up from the ground and went to my cottage. I noticed that Theo's body was not there on the floor. It shows that Theo is conscious and well despite this. 

The door of the cottage was open. I got in and went to my room. My eyes lit up when I saw Theo! But he wasn't normal. I was scared to notice that he was still drinking the toxic firewater from the goblet. 

"Theo," I cried out. "Please don't drink it. It is not good."

I snatched the cup from his hand and dropped it to the floor. The goblet made a loud thud when it hit the ground, and the reddish-brown liquid spilled out of it. 

"Celestia!" Theo shouted out. "What have you done? I am going to punish you for this!"

What??!!!! Is he going to punish me for saving him from going insane?