Captured

As soon as Lynn woke up, the crazy episode of her race and the other events hit her in a rush. However, she had enough composure to stretch her legs in a lazy gesture. ¿How long had she slept? Beside her, Nana still slept, looking uneasy.

Lynn sighed, her body shuddering as she leaned toward the closed window. She carefully drew the curtain aside and found out it was completely dark.

Heavens... At that, Lynn closed the curtain and looked back at her companion. She couldn't help but be worried about Nana. ¿How would she react once she knew the situation they were in?

Things were out of control. The truth was that at the moment, the carriage was perhaps the safest place for both of them to be.

The truth is, I don't know what to do. Lynn thought.

Lynn kept looking outside; but, as it was already nighttime, she couldn't recognize the rider who galloped near her window.

Although honoring the truth, Lynn didn't put much effort into her attempt to see the stranger. Cause a very intriguing phenomenon was happening in the carriage's interior: the carriage was bright as if it had daylight.

Suddenly, as if answering her questions; a luminous sphere, no bigger than a fist, appeared in front of Lynn's eyes.

The sphere emitted a nice golden light as it gravitated and jumped above the carriage's cushions. While looking at her directly, Lynn didn't feel blinded or discomforted. Rather the sphere gave her a rare sense of warmth and calm.

"¿¡And what is this!?" Lynn said, unable to contain her astonishment and her seductive smile appeared again. "¿Are you perhaps the angel that will save me from the demons?"

Then, from the sphere, came a clean and clear laugh of a woman; it was a mocking laugh that ended up annoying Lynn.

"Heavens, ¿am I going crazy?" Lynn whispered while feeling anguished for the first time. Then, she threw herself over the seat cushion. Meanwhile, the sphere had found shelter in one corner and stayed there. But it was so cold that Lynn began to shiver; she finally cried while remembering her home and her beloved family. Lynn snuggled against Nana; however, her friend felt frozen. Nana was also shivering.

¡Nana...! Lynn almost jumped when she realized Nana had a bluish tone on her lips. Feeling concerned, Lynn took the cape and threw it on her friend's shoulders. In those right moments, she began to hear some chords that strangely seemed sometimes distant, sometimes close. They are perhaps just in my mind. But the fact was: Lynn knew that composition: It was a soft and mostly melancholic melody. ¡Ah! Lynn finally remembered: it was one of her mother's favorite songs. As a kid, enchanted, Lynn had listened to her mother playing it on the piano.

Remembering her mother gave Lynn renewed courage, and she resolved not to give up so easily. Lynn decided that as soon as she had a chance, she and Nana would run away from her captors. Lynn didn't know how she would escape or where to go, but she would certainly never give up.

The horseman riding to the left was a regal young man whose gaze and handsome features revealed a wild spirit. He was mounted on an imponent stallion so dark that its body gave off silver reflections with every movement. On the other hand, the other rider had a striking appearance: he was considerably shorter but scarier and looked solid and husky like a large rock. He seemed to be in his fifties, and his skin was full of drawings; even his dark hairless head looked heavily tattooed. Also, he had two short gray braids woven from the hair of his sideburns and a hoop on each side of his nose.

The younger rider tossed his long loose hair; he and his spirited steed seemed to be one, like a centaur. He appeared to be in his early twenties and was all long limbs with an impressive height of almost seven feet.

"There are already a few following us, Zhutak. Our lord will not be pleased if some rumors spread." - A grimace made the tattooed face more unpleasant if possible - "To be frank with you, I could not understand why we had to get involved in this matter. ¡What the hell! But now I do. It is crystal clear. There is no denying that lady is a well-carved piece. Tutanojh, the ruthless master of the spectrums, would fall at his feet. I think the lord should beware of those big violet eyes. ¿What do you say? Zhutak."

"The lord is invulnerable." - The young man answered calmly, but his eyes flashed. He shook his head briskly, once again his long hair ruffled under a wide-brimmed hat.

"¡Damn! Zhutak, it is clear you only have eyes for Nailé. I meant the woman. ¿What do you think of the woman we...?" - The older being had no choice but to cut his words under the savage gaze of his partner. However, he continued because if Ko had something good: that was his courage - "Listen, boy, you are handsome and strong... It's a pity that Nailé fancies the master. I would forget about her."

In response, Zhutak's horse pranced and, as fast as an arrow, past the carriage. Shaking his head gently, old Ko stared at Zhutak as this one galloped away.

Gradually as they advanced, the landscape began to change. So, soon the convoy marched past the wastelands into a wooded area. The night was still uneventful while the thick surrounding forest remained imperturbable. However, just after a soft breeze blew: a strange, heavy silence felt in the woods they were passing. The weird quietness kept lingering. Noticing the change, Ko shifted uncomfortably on his mount; his eyes flickered uneasily for a few seconds. Then, emerging from the shadows, as if coming out of nowhere: Zhutak appeared in front of him:

"We are about to have company." The young rider blurted out.

"I already feared that. We left the mines route behind us a long time ago." - Saying this, the man stretched out a pair of bat wings as black as the patterns on his skin. So far, his wings had looked like a large, black cloak.

"I don't want to risk the woman, Ko. You must go ahead, taking care of the carriage." - Ordered Zhutak.

"¿And leave you? Do not even think about it..."

"Listen," - Zhutak interrupted bluntly - "they outnumber us. There is no other way. I will take care of them. I can even see better than you in the dark ¡Come on! ¿What are you waiting for?

Ko gave the young man an admired look as they both knew who was after them. Without any command, the horses that pulled the carriage accelerated their pace. Although the coachman was no longer with them, the steeds had continued going on as if they knew the way and somehow also knew the place they were heading. Ko took one last look at Zhutak before moving further away and losing sight of him entirely.

As dawn began to start, the carriage continued its accelerated run down a little-traveled road. A few meters further, the old trail forked, turning off towards a drawbridge that was the only way to access a vast alcazar of reddish and shiny rock. An exuberant citadel surrounded the imposing construction.

Both the castle and the citadel were located in the center of a lake of dark and sinister waters. The castle stood out even more within the gray citadel, due to its polished and impressive walls and domes.

Just after crossing the drawbridge, at last, the steeds began to calm down their impetuous race. Meanwhile, Lynn, who had spent the night awake waiting for this moment to somehow figure out a way of escaping, had fallen asleep exhausted.

Very soon the carriage was lost behind the massive gates, that guarded the entrance to the citadel, and it began to advance its way toward the great red wall which surrounded the main building.

The streets in the citadel were strangely desolate: no merchants or locals could be seen going about their business, nor children causing disturbances in the streets, as would be expected in a common square. Only a few individuals could be seen, discreetly and fleetingly crossing the road, always wrapped in layers.

Meanwhile, the carriage continued to roll impetuously even when it was heading straight for a solid wall of red granite. The red castle walls stood out in the center of the citadel like a drop of blood on gray plumage. However, neither the grotesque Ko nor the steeds seemed to care about the obvious clash.

Inside the carriage, the nanny finally woke up. She stirred and then, after opening the window, her intrigued head peeked out. Just then the carriage was about to reach the walls, causing the woman to shriek shrilly as she was horrified at the prospect of crashing. However, when the horses reached the barrier: they went through the wall as if cruising a curtain of mere smoke.

Nana's scream managed to wake up the young woman lying next to her. For a moment Lynn looked lost until, little by little, her face took on a certain air of gravity. She took her nanny's hand and squeezed it; in turn, the woman responded with a hysterical look. Certainly, Lynn did not recognize that place, moreover what she was seeing gave her a very bad feeling. Not to mention that her mind was a mess full of gaps and voids from the previous afternoon.

"My goodness, my head is going to explode... it... it looks like it's going to explode into little pieces..." The older woman complained.

Well, if I'm feeling demolished right now... It was to be expected that her friend would feel worse. Lynn thought.

"Oh Nana, hang on in there for a bit. Don't faint now, please" - But the woman didn't faint instead she grabbed Lynn roughly by her shoulder, and once the carriage stopped its advance, practically forced Lynn to jump outside.

When Lynn got off the carriage, the first thing that attracted her eyes was the incredible gardens that surrounded the property. Nevertheless, it was not the time for such observations, so she concentrated her efforts on getting rid of her friend who was acting as if possessed once again. However, Lynn's attempts were in vain; because wearing an expressionless face, Nana kept a grip on her and kept pulling her unceremoniously.

I'm getting sick of this... Lynn thought wearily and she couldn't do anything to prevent herself from being practically dragged into a huge reception room decorated in exotic and splendid luxury.

If the façade and surroundings of the castle had overwhelmed Lynn with their beauty and magnificence, the interior surprised her with how beautiful and intimidating it looked. Lynn looked around suspiciously, but when her gaze crossed the immense windows, she was lost in thought contemplating the dense fog that began to cover the gardens she had previously judged enormous. Although she still couldn't tell exactly in which region they were, she was sure she was still in the cursed land because they hadn't had enough time to go further.

That is if I didn't completely lose track of time... She told herself, concluding that at this point, she couldn't be sure of anything.

At last, the silhouette of a lanky and ungainly man appeared in the doorway. Not a single servant could be seen in the huge mansion. The newcomer was dressed sparingly; his long, wispy hair was pulled back in a thin ponytail. The man waved elegantly an extremely white hand in a very formal salute and Lynn couldn't help but notice his almost translucently pale skin and his bony fingers. Meanwhile, the nanny had remained motionless to the point that she seemed petrified.

"I welcome the ladies. I'm Nordack, a butler at your disposal. Would you please follow me to your rooms, I hope the chambers are to your liking." - The man spoke with extreme formality. His words however had a bit of disdain- "The lord will see you during dinner."

¿The lord? ¿Which lord? In front of this behavior, Lynn couldn't help but feel exasperation for the first time in her life.

"I wish to speak to your lord, ¡now!" - She exclaimed with energy - "I demand an explanation for the recent events, the sooner the better. ¿Why was I so uncourteously brought, against my will, to his domains?"

If the butler was surprised by her demands, he did hide it very well. Instead, the man just smiled kindly; taking care not to abandon his reserve. Then, he looked meaningfully at the older woman and Lynn blushed with understanding. So, Nana would drag her in case she resisted.

Of course, Lynn didn't want to provoke more hardships for her nanny; therefore, she swallowed her indignation and with a gesture showed that she was going to follow him. And so, without more preamble, they began to make their way to the mentioned chambers.

The castle was more than immense, Lynn told herself that she had failed while judging it before. After going all the way up to the second floor, they took several corridors and turned so many corners that Lynn's head began to ache. An endless carpet of the brightest red was the only constant, like a path of blood before them. Lynn tried to study the shields on the walls as well as the large paintings but she couldn't focus. She was so tired. The graceful sculptures and the eye-catching paintings which decorated the walls just made her feel restless. On the outside, the castle could be red; however, inside it was shiny silver as if thousands of petite diamonds were embedded in its walls. Lynn hadn't seen such a precious thing before. She would have praised it effusively if she hadn't found herself in the current circumstances. At last, the butler stood in front of a polished wooden door in a hallway brightened by huge chandeliers filled with candles.

At least thirty large candles on each chandelier, ¡what a waste of wax...! Lynn thought with disdain.

The pale butler opened the door with a bronze key. Once the chamber was opened, he invited Lynn and Nana in with a studied and elegant gesture. Without needing another signal, the two ladies entered the chamber. As they both walked through the unfamiliar rooms: Lynn looked relaxed and Nana gave dismayed looks at every wall.

As expected, the rooms were huge and beautiful and, on the other hand, were quite different from the rest of the castle. Somehow, Lynn perceived a soothing feeling just by being inside it. The sensation was both warm and cozy as if she had arrived somehow at home, and that was strange.

Inside the bedroom, the colors ranged from white to beige and lavender. First, they found a small reception room with modern, comfortable furniture and a nice tea table. Beyond, Lynn took in the main room as well as part of the bedroom and the entrance to the bathroom. As they passed the small drawing room, Lynn's gaze was caught on the swing of an ethereal curtain that flowed over the open windows. They were a mix between pale lavender blue and white. The sense of freedom Lynn felt by looking at them for just a few seconds, almost made her laugh due to the irony of the situation.

The butler said his goodbyes after reminding them of teatime and lunch. The man added that any member of the household would guide them when necessary. He also remarked that all of them were at Lynn's disposal.

As soon as they were alone, Nana relaxed a little more.

"Nana, ¿how are you?"

"Fine... I guess. But... ¿where are we, dear?! ¡What a disgrace... what a disgrace...! ¡Oh, dear Lynn...! - The woman was a nervous wreck.

"It's just... you go into a trance every moment, Nana. I think right now it's urgent that you rest, you look exhausted. Here, come to bed." - Nana ran a hand over her head with a dazed expression and she just nodded dumbly. She looked miserable so Lynn made her lie down on her wide bed. — "Please take a rest... I will watch over you, my Nana."

"What a misfortune my child..."

The nanny was so devastated that she fell asleep as soon as she lay down. Approaching her, Lynn let out a sigh when she checked Nana's breathing rhythm. Then, she immediately stood up and paced uneasily around the room.

That room was one of the most colorful places she had seen in the castle, so far. Well, to be fair it was the only one. After seeing her new rooms, the rest of the castle seemed, too luxurious and stuffy. There was one fact: although the neatness and tidiness were undeniable, something had disturbed her senses in the castle; it was like a second heavy atmosphere that plunged her spirit. Of course, her current position was undoubtedly a reason for her anxiety; so, the fact that she felt uncomfortable in that great, unknown residence was to be expected. However, the sensation was absolutely strange and persistent: it was as if she was short of breath.

On the other hand, Lynn began to consider the possible motives for her kidnapping. The money could not be in the interest of her captor; a glance at his properties was enough to notice that he was extremely rich. In addition, whoever the stranger was, he had to have a lot of power and confidence since Lynn herself came from a distinguished and notable lineage and her family was so important and well-known as to have influence even beyond the country.

Lynn sank herself into such thoughts for a few seconds until she stopped walking right in front of a huge moon mirror, as tall as herself. The mirror gave her back a strange version of herself: she was haggard and her hair was a mess.

As might be expected, she also felt exhausted. So, Lynn gave up her intention to remain on guard duty. Then she laid down in one of the large divans in the living room. However, her dream never came. Half an hour hadn't passed in her wakefulness when she started hearing the familiar melody. It was her mother's song once again so Lynn practically jumped on the couch.

"Mother..." She whispered, then she took a few steps towards the door.