-||Truth Behind the Mask||-

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven heard what he said and stopped heading towards her grandmother. He loved her? He didn't sound like he was lying at all. He really had been changing when she was with him. She could see what was going on and felt her heart sink in her chest. Her grandmother, who went back inside, smiled evily.

Haven didn't know what to do but knew they'd be taking him to the dungeon. She was going to get him out and didn't care what would happen to her in the process. She walked back inside to her grandmother then acted as if nothing had happened.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

He hadn't seen her response but watching her walk away had made him give up the little hope he had of bringing him back hope. When they dragged him into his cell the left him tied up. He whimpered slightly when he was in there, the cuts that littered his shoulders were bleeding.

Ray waited for a while before leading his horse up to the building. He'd brought a pack of things to trade. He'd also seen the expression on Haven's face. He knew of her magic and knew that she needed to be trained by someone more competent and kind than the old woman. He knocked on the large doors.

Four guards at the doors were nearly dozing off when they heard a knock. They opened it and upon seeing a traveler who looked like a trader they let him in. They were uneasy though as they began to lead the man to where Richard and Agatha were in the kitchen.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

While Agatha and Richard were in the kitchen, Haven had said she was going to go rest for a bit. Instead, she snuck down the hallways quietly and using the spell her grandmother had taught her to make her invisible. When she reached the cell where Alexander was she was in tears as she saw him.

She looked around at the guards that were there and thought a moment about how she could get them out. She knew she wouldn't be able to get Alexander out yet but she needed to let him know she was trying her hardest. She thought a little bit longer then settled on a simple mind control spell. It made sense that her grandmother had taught her something like that. She made the guards think they needed to step out for a little bit and when they left, she made herself visible again.

"Alex... I'm so so sorry." She said quietly, tears streaming down her face now. "Did you... did you really mean it? Do you really love me?" She asked as she walked forward a little more. "I'm going to get you out I promise." She said, the tears still falling.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

Alex tried to move so that he could look at her but his efforts were in vain. He slumped down as he tried to speak. He whimpered slightly and tried to look at her. He managed to get the one word he wanted out. "Yes," he said through the rope that felt like it was digging into his snout.

"My liege," Ray said as he bowed to Richard. "I have some things to trade. Herbs from the forest and from the fields also. They help treat wounds." He was still bowed as he spoke and nervous at the same time. He wouldn't be able to go back to his home right away after this but would end up taking a longer route.

Richard studied him for a moment and decided to trust him. He did look like a traveler after all and there were herbs he needed for a sickness he'd been harboring for a while. "Well lad," he said in a commanding tone. "What herbs do you have?"  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Agatha was starting to wonder where Haven was. She had a feeling she wasn't in the room they had given her.

Haven looked at Alexander and heard him say yes. That one single word made her feel all the more determined to set him free. "I love you too." She said looking at the ground then back up to him. "I'm going to ge- Oh no." She said. She knew her grandmother was looking for her. "I don't know when I can come back but I will. I promise." She said then bit her lip a bit and ran as fast as she could out of there, invisible once more.

She decided to run out into the garden so that her grandmother wouldn't suspect anything since she had gone to her room already. When she reached the garden, she started to make it look like she was practicing with the earth. Her grandmother came out and smiled then said, "I thought you were going to rest?" Haven smiled then said, "I decided to practice a bit more." Her grandmother shook her head then said, "No need to over work yourself, come to the kitchen with me." She then led Haven into where Ray and Richard were.

She was going to get Alexander out but there was a slight problem... she didn't know how yet.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

After Ray had told Richard what herbs he had they had come to a trade agreement. There was something else that Ray was here for and Richard had given him accomodations. He could tell by the look on Haven's face he wouldn't have to let Alex out alone. He would have to talk to her alone though and that would be the trick.

"And who's the young lady?" he asked Richard with a smile. "You're daughter." Richard almost blushed but he gathered himself quickly to look at Agatha. "It's Agatha's granddaughter, they were separated for a long time but they're happy to be back together."  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven looked at him and smiled a bit. Agatha laughed and nodded. "Very happy." Agatha said. Haven merely nodded at the statement. She was only happy that she had been taught some spells that she could use to help Alexander.

Haven looked at him again curiously. She wasn't going to say anything or make it apparent that she sensed something about him. She just hoped her grandmother didn't but so far it seemed she didn't.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"Well thank you very much for the place to stay my liege," he said as he bowed. "It's good to find a place that is safe to stay once and a while." What he was saying was entirely true because he was in danger whenever he was at home for the most part. He could easily have his horse killed or could be attacked when he was gathering supplies. He felt the need to leave though and he nodded slightly to Haven, looking at her for a brief moment before leaving. She would probably get the message that he needed to talk to her in private.

Richard sighed after the guy left. He looked at Agatha who would probably know what he needed to do. "Well I need to talk to the troups that are stationed in the dungeon," he said with a sigh. "I just want to make sure that they're alert and ready if we ever need to put someone down there and they need a changing anyways." There wasn't really a good reason for him to go down there. What he really wanted to do was beat his son around a little bit for being so untrusting. He'd tried to reason with his son before but because they had little in common and never saw each other it was difficult.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven didn't even want to know what Richard was going to do to his son but she had in fact gotten the message Ray had given her. Agatha sighed a bit then said, "I'm off to bed, I'm tired. Don't stay up too late, dear, you have things you need to do tomorrow." She then retired to her room for the night.

After she left, Haven ran after the man who had just left. She quickly caught up to him and asked, "Did... did you want to talk to me?" She kept her voice low so no one would get suspicious if they were to hear.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

It didn't take Richard long to get down to the dungeon. He had a few secret passages in this place that he'd found useful over the years. When he got down there he dismissed the guards and took out a blade that was at least the length of his hand. He bent down in front of his son then, looking at the glint of the knife at the same time.

"I see you're alive and well, son," he said with a smirk. "But then again since you're mother is dead I don't have to call you son anymore! That's right, you were born without a father and that's the way it will stay, a b*****d child." There was a smirk on Richard's face and Alex was squirming, feeling the pain of what he said deep inside.

Ray flinched slightly after Richard and Agatha had left. He was looking at Haven straight in the eye with a determined expression right now. "You're his friend right," he asked, not wanting to say his name out loud. "I can train you instead of her training you."  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven looked at him and nodded. "I suppose you'd call me that..." She said, unsure of what they were to each other. After all, they had told eachother they loved one another. "You could?" She asked keeping her voice quiet. "That'd be great!" She said.

She then raised an eyebrow and asked, "Do you know how to get him out?" She was really worried now about him, she could feel something wasn't right. She knew that Richard must be doing something to him and she didn't like that at all.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"I'm not a hundred percent sure but there are secret passages in this building. If we get out though we'll putting our own lives in danger and Agatha will come at us with all the strength she has," he said in a stern tone but low in volume so no one would have overheard what he said. He shifted his stance to look about the room and then remembered the horse he had.

"My horse has to come with me though," he said. "He's my dearest companion and he needs a new home anyways." He sounded almost as if he would die in the process but he had already promised himself that if he could safe both Alex and Haven he would train both of them in what they need to know.

Alex flailed his legs as much as he could but the binding held them still. He began to whine insistently when he felt a knife dig into one of his sides. The blood that streaked down his side was warm and the scent made him wild. He struggled more and finally Richard stepped back with a wild grin.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven nodded and said, "Ok." She knew that she was putting her life on the line but she'd do anything to save Alexander. She hadn't ever loved someone as much as she loved him and she knew that now. Seeing him there... She shuddered a bit at the thought.

"Ok, so what now?" She asked quietly. She really hadn't the slightest clue what to do but he seemed to have an idea.  

[- symphonic disaster -]

"The dungeons have an exit in back," he began to explain. "If we can get him out of his cell we could use one person as a diversion and have the other escort him out the castle. The guards down there will need to forget what happened though."

He was planning it out in his head but he could just as easily take Alex out the front door because of some spells he'd learned from his master. They were unusual and not even Agatha was aware what they were. She knew the existed but did not know who knew them or what they were.

"Alexander," Richard said with a smile. "Let me tell you a little bit about your mother. I met her and she was starving on the streets, pregnant. I took her in because she was too beautiful to resist and she promised me that she would tell you I was your father."

There was a bit of malice in his voice and Alex grimaced slightly and snarled. His snout was rapped hard with a hollow sound and he was quiet again. The story went on and it turned out that after the years had worn on, Richard had not found the child pleasing. They attempted to have more children but each time was a failure. That is why Alex was cursed.  

[Rosalind Bloom]

Haven nodded and said, "I can create a distraction." She knew she would be able to and she'd rather she get caught then have Alexander stay there. She wasn't going to let him stay in there like that, even if it meant dying herself and she knew there was a very good chance of that.

She looked over at Ray again then asked, "How soon should we do this?" She wanted to do it as soon as they were able, she of course would need to think of a distraction.