Secret Room

Alastair's eyes were fixed on the closed door for a long time before he snapped back to his senses. He took a deep breath before he closed his eyes and apparated back to his castle. He had completed his mission and had found out the whereabouts of the girl who had captivated him with just her eyes. If his instincts were not wrong, he was sure that she was the one he and Osiris were looking for more than fifteen years. Now that he knew where the girl lived, he did not have to worry about searching for her. He could wait patiently and find out more about her slowly but surely.

The man had been kind enough to leave the two women to themselves the previous night. He found it impolite to stay in the same room with not one but two women, especially when they were sleeping. He was not the one to invade someone's privacy this way, not to forget that this was completely against his morals. He was not a creep. So, he had made himself comfortable in another empty room in the mansion and had spent his night waiting for the arrival of dawn. 

Being a king, Alastair was a light sleeper. He had to be aware of his surroundings, especially when there were possible threats from everywhere. Also, the man had a heightened sense of hearing. He had kept his ears open for any sounds from Samantha or the girl with her. It was the only indication for him to find out if they awake or not. He could not barge into the room the way he wanted, not when there was now a possibility of him getting found out. It was dawn right now and that meant he would not have any suitable place to hide from the two women.

As soon as he heard some noise from the room where the two women had been sleeping, he had not immediately apparated there. Instead, he had fixed his ears on the room and had eavesdropped on their talk, trying to find out what they were up to. It was only when he had been sure that the two girls were about to leave the room, did he go to see the girl one last time for the time being.

He waited for a long time in the room before he decided to leave for now. Although he wanted to stay back in the village Soren and follow Samantha, Alastair was a king and he had things to attend to at the castle. He could not leave his work unattended. So, he returned home using his ability to teleport. He landed right in his room and for a second, he staggered due to the lack of energy in him. His ability to apparate had its own cons. Covering short distances was not a problem, but the larger distances took a toll on him and sucked all his energy away. 

Alastair's head felt heavy and he was slowly losing consciousness. However, he still used all the remaining strength in him and dragged his body towards the wall behind his bed. There was space for him to walk around behind the bed and he pressed a knob hidden behind the torch that was hung on the wall to the left. Immediately, the wall in front of him split in the middle and separated giving him space to step inside. It was a secret room which nobody other than Alastair and his family knew about. To any other person, the wall would seem to be normal even on a closer look and the knob to open it was concealed by a witch's spell. So, only the royal family could access the room and that too without being found out.

Alastair did not have to worry about being disturbed as the door to his room was still locked. So, dragged his body and by now, he was sweating profusely. His attire was completely drenched and the world around him seemed to be spinning. He took short, deep breaths to prevent himself from collapsing and when he felt it to be manageable, he snapped his fingers. Immediately, the room lit up. 

It was a small room that could fit only five people at one time. There was nothing inside other than the four torches to light the room and a square shaped platform in the center of the room. Alastair took slow steps and plopped on the platform and crossed his legs. By now, he did not even have the energy to lift his head. "Ignis da fortitudinem." That was all he could mutter before he fell unconscious. (Fire, give me strength.)

The next second, huge flames erupted from the platform and engulfed Alastair's body. His clothes started to burn before they turned into ash. The temperature in the closed secret room rose until it became unbearable for any normal human being. However, to Alastair, this was nothing. His bare body was enveloped by thick flames of fire and it seemed as if his body was burning. But it was not the truth.

Although Alastair was lying unconscious in the middle of an inferno, the fire was not harming his body in any way. It was barely touching him as if he was bathing in there, his skin and body completely unscathed. 

After a long time, the intensity of the flames diminished slowly, and finally, it died leaving a naked Alastair on the platform, along with the ashes of his burnt clothes. A few seconds later, Alastair opened his eyes and this time, his eyes were fiery red. He blinked his eyes twice before his eyes went back to his normal shade of light brown. Slowly but steadily, he got up. His previously weak body seemed to have been revitalized and there was profound energy in him that was gushing through his entire body. His strength had doubled after being engulfed by flames and there was a healthy glow on his face.

Alastair's gaze fell on his burnt clothes which now had become ash. He could only sigh, not in pity for them but for himself. He could always buy another set of clothes for himself. But the problem here was, he now had to clean the room spotless. "Samantha, look what you are making me do." He sighed, shifting all the blame on the poor girl even though he knew that she was not the one at fault. It was he who had gone searching for her and not the other way round.

Alastair swiftly cleaned the room and it did not take him much time to leave the room. He walked naked out of the secret room and went to take a thorough bath before getting dressed for the day. He now had two important issues to deal with before anything else. One was to bid farewell to his esteemed guest, Eleanor Zale and the other was the interrogate his trusted man, whose house he had just returned from and find out more about Samantha.