Key To A Goblin's Heart

Magnus' POV

I woke up with a jolt, sweat beads covering my neck but the horrible dream was still fresh in my memories. It was the third time in a row, that I had a dream such as this. I am not generally prone to nightmares, but the confinement within the Ruby had made my senses really friable. Now,I can't close my eyes without stumbling into a nightmare. 

Today's dream was the strangest sort. I saw myself walking through a dark path, covered with blood-red leaves and I was following a trickle of light that shone above like a fine beam and illuminated the way ahead. It was night time, I guess, but I couldn't be sure. The sun might as well have been hidden by the dense canopy of trees above. 

I didn't remember how I had landed in such a place, but somehow a vague memory stirred in my mind. I shoved it away as immediately as it came, not wanting to remember that terrible day. But, the vivid picture of my dreams still haunted me, and I could see that day as clearly in front of my eyes, as if all that had happened yesterday. 

My throat was perched, and I reached out for the jug. It was half empty and I drank the entire content to satisfy my thirst. Victoria's room is dark, shedded by the thick curtains that do not allow daylight to enter it. The curtains shone with a translucent glow, indicating that it was day outside, but I didn't dare to open them. The last thing I wanted, was to be discovered now. 

Victoria had saved me from the ruby, but at what cost? I am trapped here, bound by that ancient curse which she had used to bind her soul to me. I can't escape, without letting her know about my whereabouts, and I can't harm her without inflicting pain upon myself. That clever girl! She had indeed outwitted me this time. 

She insisted on putting me in the dungeons, but that won't be possible without revealing my identity first. As of now, I am a truant, who had somehow escaped the Ruby and is on a run. The Queen had posted guards all around the periphery of her kingdom, aiming to search for me but she had not thought of looking inside her own palace yet. 

Cassadrei had insisted to wait for a while, before revealing me. She knew what her mother would do if she came to know about Victoria's betrayal, and I think they are trying to prepare some way to face it without the fear of consequences. 

Victoria puts me in an enchanted sleep, everytime she goes out of the room. I think, she is still scared that I will somehow escape and she is not ready to take any chances. 

But something's wrong today, I have woken up even before Victoria has arrived and disenchanted me. She must have done the spell in a hurry, because the effect hadn't lasted long today. But why? Why would she be in such a hurry as to leave me unguarded?

I lay on the bed, thinking about the options when suddenly, my eyes fell upon a small notebook lying open by the desk. It was like a diary, and I remembered seeing Victoria carry it with her. Maybe, it's her diary? Maybe, it can have some valuable information that can give me a better insight of her life. 

Out of curiosity, I reached out for the diary. It was lying open on a particular page, and I frowned as I read it. This contained a detailed account of the curse that was placed on me, a comprehensive anatomy of the Ruby that had enclosed me and several pages were dedicated to the mechanics of the Dark Arts that had enabled my imprisonment. 

My hands started shivering inspite of myself. This was no ordinary diary, as I had supposed! This had the most detailed accounts of Dark Magic on it, and anyone who would stumble upon it can do dangerous stuff with it's help. 

I flipped through several pages, and came across several unfinished works, where the writer had started detailing the particulars of different kinds of Dark Magic and then abandoned it. I read those accounts, and was soon convinced that this diary is not meant to be in Victoria's possession. 

This wasn't her work, that much was sure. But then, whose was it? A thought stuck me suddenly, and I reverted back to the first page of the diary. 

I almost dropped it in shock, for written across the first page, in bold letters was a name that I had least expected to see as the owner of this diary. 

"Queen Iphigenia of Mafhaelore."

Why would the Queen possess such a thing? And why would she dabble in such Dark Arts, when her religion explicitly forbids it? Is there more to her, than meets the eye? Was Donald really speaking the truth then?

I started perusing the diary closely now, and as I read the initial entries, it became clear that this was originally meant to be an account of the Queen's daily life. She wrote about her deepest secrets, her insecurities, her worries about running such a huge Kingdom and there were several pages detailing her infatuation with her husband. 

How did this frivolous account suddenly turn so nefarious? I continued reading, rather rapidly glancing through the pages, looking for anything of value. When I was halfway through it, I finally found it. 

I read at a rapid speed, unable to believe my eyes. Donald had spoken the truth, but I had refused to believe him. I felt like an idiot, for letting that dark magician go, because now I felt he could give me a lot of answers. If only I could find him now!

It was true then, the Queen had really sacrificed her own daughter to delay the effect of the curse that ran through her veins. How could a mother do this? How could someone sacrifice her own child? Somehow, tears sprung into my eyes, as I remembered my own mother who had died protecting me. And, the people consider this woman virtuous! The very thought made me mad with rage. 

But then, one thing bothered me greatly. This diary, as I have seen, contains really sensitive information about the Queen. Then, why would she not be bothered by it's disappearance? It can be possible that she had given it to Victoria or Cassie, they must have stolen it somehow. I was almost sure, that Victoria had used it to free me. Then, why would the Queen place the diary in such a place,so that it would be discovered so easily?

I couldn't make any sense as to her motives now. I racked my brains, searching for an answer, and suddenly something struck me. But, can it be possible? If this diary was discovered by Victoria….no that would be blasphemous to think about!

I reopened the first page and looked more closely. And there I saw it, confirming all my doubts, a drop of dried blood at a corner of the page, almost hidden by the lines that ran across it. 

This diary was bound by Blood Magic. 

This means, that only the person who had secured it with her own blood can open it. Or, anyone who had her blood running through their veins. I could only read it because it was already open on the table, and had I closed the diary, I would not be able to open it again because I am not related to the Queen by blood. 

But, things now got more complicated after my discovery. If Victoria had been able to open it (and I had seen her do it on several occasions), then is it possible that she is related to the Queen by blood? There can be no alternative explanations!

I had often thought about my encounter with Donald before, but never before had I tried to actively recall that visit. That was a dark phase of my life, and anyone who knew me then would swear by it. I had just completed my education and everyone agreed that I would be a remarkable soldier. However, I had no desire of the mundane, I had a thirst of knowledge that wasn't so easily satisfied. 

So, I started dabbling in Dark Magic. 

I travelled far and wide, met a lot of people and read almost all the forbidden books on the subject. The more I read about it, the more convinced I was that this was to become my ultimate destiny. Until, of course, I met the greatest Dark Magician of all ages, Donald. 

I travelled to his abode, far up in the mountains, covered by a thick forest on all sides. I travelled without company for several weeks and just when I had lost all hopes of ever seeing the light of day, I found Donald. 

He was a dilapidated man, as gnarled as the roots under which he sat. He beckoned me and asked me the purpose of my visit. When I told him, that I wanted to be his pupil, he had laughed. I was adamant to prove myself, so I insisted on staying with him for some days, so that I could prove to him that I was worth it.

That was one of the greatest mistakes of my life. Donald had been nothing like I had imagined. He dealt with demons, fed them life from the animals that inhabited the forest, he was friendly with the darkest creatures of all ages and he did stuff that was not only unimaginable, but also full of horror. 

I had soon got the taste of true Dark Magic, and I wanted, desperately to flee from it. I did, at the end, flee from him but not without bearing scars of my own. 

It was Donald who had told me the story of the Queen. I had not believed him at first. But, he always persisted in his claims, that he had been the one to cure her. He spoke fondly of the price that the Queen had to pay for her life. He was almost gleeful when he mentioned that her first born daughter was stillborn, dedicated to the demons to cure her curse. I was disgusted by it. 

But, there was something else he had said. Something, I hadn't been able to understand then. He told that the curse had somehow gone wrong, that the stillborn daughter had somehow breathed again after a few days. He was terrified by it, and so he did something dreadful then. 

I don't think he told what he had done. But somehow, that daughter was resurrected and as far as I can remember, delivered to Earth!

Can it be true then? Is Victoria the Queen's long lost daughter, and Cassadrei's sister? Can Victoria, then be the true heir to Mafhaelore?