26 CHAPTER#26:I'm the matriarch of this is domain

She heard footsteps close by the doors of the master bedroom. She tightened the belt around her waist to cover herself. A particular knock on the doors and a familiar voice in her ears relieved her.

"Come in."She allowed Jafar to enter the room.

"Pardon the intrusion madame. You summoned me?"

-"It's hard to trust him... But I have no other choice. The servants here are wary of my existence and Mina is too naive."

"Sir Jafar, If I may ask you for a favor," she asked him to escort her to where Mina and Nemesis were.

"That... But my lady, the master said that it is safer to be inside the room."

Luciana knew he would try his best to prevent her from leaving the room. After that, he was the only other person besides Erebus who witnessed her attempt to escape.

She smiled and remained poised. She was tired of grieving. Now that she was married and a wife of a lord. She should act like one.

"Sir Jafar."She cut him halfway before he could change her mind.

"Who are you in this place?"She asked politely.

"What...do you mean my lady?" he asked her hesitantly.

"What is your role here?"

"Master's Attendant."He replied.

"And who am I?"

"The Princess..."

"You're wrong. And I am well aware you are not beating about the bush."

"That..."

"Know it well that I am no longer Amanécer's princess but your lord. I am the legal wife of your lord. And my word is the word of your master during his absence."

He was left speechless.

The grief of being sold off and being sacrificed was evident in her eyes. But the fear had subsided as if she was made to lead people around her.

-"They lost a precious asset to us."He smiled and knelt before her.

"I apologize for the inconvenience my lady. This servant will obey your command."

"You will do so I will see to it."She responded critically.

"Now, please show me where Nemesis is."

"Yes, my lady."He escorted Luciana out to the landing of the first floor. The fortress had too many stairs for every floor due to its construction on the mountain. Mina once told her that the foundations were twice as deep as that which was above the mountain. She was an enthusiastic child.

"My lady... If I may be so bold as to ask you a question."

"Go ahead."She looked straight ahead without looking at him.

"What makes you look out for a child that is not yours?"

-"What an odd question. Is he testing me?"

He stopped and looked back at her.

"Does it matter? Can't a mother see her child?"She smiled and looked at him.

He did not respond.

-"Why does she care about people who are strangers to her? I get why Erebus grumbles about her. Every demon cares about itself. They have no sympathy for anyone. It's nearly impossible to believe people like her exist."

The hallway led them to a broad series of rooms.

There were more rooms on this landing than the upper floors.

The warm sunlight entered the stained glass windows. It reminded her of the day when she failed to escape this place.

"Jafar, how did you know that I was about to flee this place?"She had been curious about how she was found out before she could even find a pathway that could lead her out of the fortress.

"The walls have eyes and ears, my lady. Even the air around you can see and feel."

"What do you mean?"She couldn't get a hold of riddles. It was one of her flaws. She disliked people who used roundabout ways to speak.

"Has my lord not yet informed my lady how this place works?"

-"I wished he would at least trust me enough to do that."Her heart ached. Her marriage life had turned up with a bitter start. She could not trust the people around her. Her husband was more concerned to watch out for her actions. The servants always had their guard up around her.

-"It seems that the master has not even told her how he found out her plans. A pity. But telling her may be a better way to keep an eye on her."

"The wisps you see glowing at night time."He slowly answered her so she could listen carefully.

"You mean those small lights that look like fireflies?"

"What are fireflies?"

Stunned to hear that there was no knowledge of such species in this realm. She gaped at his clueless face.

"Those small insects that glow up at nighttime."She tried her best to explain.

"You mean the faeries."He pointed out.

"What are faeries?"

It was now he who stared at her with much of a surprise as she was.

-"Of course, how could she know about them?"

"They are fire spirits. They can change forms." he continued.

"Here we are."

They were the same doors she recognized when she first heard Nemesis crying behind those doors. Now there was laughter and chattering and no sign of grief.

-"Maybe he is adjusting himself well."She thought a little disheartened.

"When can I go to Mama?"She heard him ask Mina.

"Young master, Madame will call us back once she is done with work."She heard Mina's voice.

-"Is being intimate also the duty of a wife?" she frowned.

"My lady, are you not going in?" he asked her interrupting her thought.

"I think they are fine." she shook her head and turned around.

"And one more thing. Could you please ask Mina to lend me her clothes?"

She could see suspicions recurring on his face.

"Just for the time until I manage my own clothing." she finished off with it.

"But your clothes have arrived today my lady. Why would you need to wear servant's clothes?"

"I... Don't understand..."She looked at him lost with words.

"It is the least Master could do for you. It is his job to provide for you and your son. He is your legal husband and has fathered a nameless child."

-"Though his behavior was outrageous after he saw the final cost overall."

"Although... There is a subtle issue."He sighed.

As he escorted her through the hallway she heard voices from the room close by the stairway.

She stopped close to the door.

"How much will it cost to hire one?"She heard the familiar voice.

"Um... Sir, it requires quite a lot of money to find one who can fulfill the given task at a reasonable price."Another voice she could hear.

There was another shaky voice that suggested if the appropriate amount was paid then they could immediately find a trustable person.

"My lady?"Jafar turned back and saw Luciana standing ten steps behind him.

"But magicians are very costly my lord."

"I don't care. Find me a capable magician. Only then you will receive the payment."

It was Erebus who was bargaining with the traders from Blue Van. She put her hand on one of the grey stones on the arch of the door.

The stone gently pushed inward with the touch of her hand.

The heavy stones of the floor rumbled and opened beneath her.

-"What's going on?"She looked frantically back and forth.

"My lady!"Jafar called out to her.

She screamed in a shrill voice realizing her fall into the depths of darkness.