The Source of All Evil

Chapter Nine

Michaela Walker.

Just how do you know?! She thought, terrified still, her lips quivering in both shock and fear. Only her close friends and mother knew about her crazy infatuation over this color, which was why she chose the gray shirt and blue jeans-looking pants to wear in this world, as clothes in her favorite color weren’t available.

The stranger didn’t notice, or he just didn’t care, saying. “The beast tamer outfit you have on is not suitable, so I’ll ask Celine to come and help you get changed.”

“N-No,” she uttered in her shaken state, and a frown formed on the stranger’s lips as he placed her down on the bed.

“What do you mean by no?”

“It’s impossible!” she said as if she was thinking aloud, shifting her glare around the room as the realization of what was wrong has just settled in her mind.

She coped with the fact that the book was magical and that she was now living in a story set in a fantasy realm. Rafe was the first person to change the story, which somehow got him to this place. Michaela was the last person to touch and alter the story.

Michaela was almost sure that Rafe didn’t change anything from the story afterward. And the little mermaids confirmed her doubt about the ability of that peculiar book, as the cursed queen as well used it to her advantage.

So far, all of this was on track with her analysis.

But why things got messed up now? Why was this beast no longer an inanimate statue? How did he know what she looked like? And why were there portraits of her from the other world in this place?

Michaela thought of two possible ways for this to happen. Either this palace was somehow connected to the outside world, which could be the key for her to leave this place, or that the book had the ability to clone itself to exist in both her world and this one, and someone intervened again, changing the story.

Michaela had a feeling that it was more complicated than that.

“Who am I?” She looked at the veiled man, noticing how he didn’t look puzzled by her question.

“Michaela Walker, has your brain finally started working?”

As if his answer confirmed her doubt, she narrowed her eyes. Deliberately, she went on with the other question that troubled her mind. “You’re not from here, too?”

The Celestial Master chuckled, and it dinged in her mind, validating her doubt about meeting this person before. “I always thought you’re a smart cookie. You can figure it out.”

Michaela, who got forced to lie on the bed like a ragdoll, unable to move, gritted her teeth. “You changed the story from that book.”

Her eyes twitched when he took a seat next to her on the bed, smiling her way. “More or less.”

Unsatisfied by his response, Michaela bit her lower lip in irritation, damning her bad luck in meeting men who enjoyed sounding mysterious and vague. “How? Do you mind explaining further?”

“Where is the fun in that?” He snorted, and if Michaela wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t Rafe, she would’ve sworn that it was him.

“Do you have the book now?”

He grinned. “How would I? Your. . . friend has it.”

Her frown deepened. She felt her head would split in two from how hard she was thinking. Michaela wasn’t sure anymore. This man in front of her implied that he changed the story of that book. It could explain why he was roaming freely in this world instead of looming over the palace's entrance in his statue form.

“Don’t look so upset.” He said, his hand reached for her face, brushing her disheveled hair away. She huffed, hating that she couldn’t defend herself, and put up a fight, glaring intently at him.

He smiled. “I’ll tell you everything when the time is right. For now, try to relax. I’ll send Celine to your room to keep you company.” He stood up to leave, looking back with a sly grin. “Don’t think you can escape this place. Those who get in, can’t leave. . . Oh! And your friend won’t come looking for you either. I kept him busy, just in case.” He said the last part before closing the door, making Michaela growl in anger.

It’s not like I’m waiting to be saved by Rafe, she grudgingly thought.

Michaela hated those who act like a damsel in distress in these types of situations. She was a strong woman, confident that she could make it out of here on her own. So, she focused on moving her body and on the mess that book created.

After some time, a soft knock came from behind the door as it slowly opened. A woman walked in, and Michaela quickly recognized her for leaving a lasting impression on her. She was the lady in the yellow dress she'd seen at the marketplace. The one who was standing next to her son, watching the mermaids in the fountain.

The woman curtsied, smiling her way. “We’re serving dinner soon. I’m here to help you change.” She politely said.

Michaela watched her open a wooden double door to a walk-in closet filled with dresses, shoes, hats, and all accessories any woman would want and need. And for someone who got used to wearing a shirt and jeans most of the time, that closet looked like a living hell.

“I’m not hungry,” she lied, keeping her attention on wiggling her fingers, relieved that the stiffness of her limbs was wearing down.

The woman, who she assumed her name was Celine, didn’t even acknowledge what she said, still smiling as she chose a sky-blue dress for her to wear.

“It’s been a while since Master visited the palace, and he looks really ecstatic to have you here. . . He asked me to prepare so many dishes just for you to eat with him.”

“I don’t care about your damn Master! I said I’m not hungry!”

She felt awful that she was letting out her anger on this woman, but Michaela got disgruntled by everything that happened. Not only did this beast kidnap her, but he also made it so she was unable to move, proudly displaying those jarring paintings.

Was she supposed to feel happy by seeing those paintings?! She wondered, still shaken by that creepy portrait of her in her living room. Whether this Master was from this world or the other, Michaela felt adamant in making him pay for violating her privacy.

A scowl appeared on the beautiful woman’s face, silently staring at her while clenching the blue dress. Michaela didn’t care if she has offended her. She was the one who got offended the most.

Celine sighed, placing the dress on the bed. “You still can’t move?!” She sounded surprised, studying her limp body.

“No, I can move. I just chose to lie motionlessly like this.” She cynically replied, snorting when the woman’s frown deepened.

“The charm should’ve lifted by now.” She calmly stated, ignoring her sarcastic comment. She reached between her bosoms, pulling out a small vial.

“Well, this is a trick I haven’t seen before.” Michaela chuckled when the woman smiled.

“I’m sorry, Lady Michaela. It’s a bad habit I picked up from back in days when I worked at a brothel. It used to excite the customers.”

“I can see why,” she mumbled absently as she started moving her fingers fluidly. The other must’ve misunderstood what she said, bearing a lilt of annoyance in her voice.

“It was hard to make a living when the Master wasn’t around. I had to do what I did to survive.”

Michaela just frowned, realizing the mix-up. “I was talking about the trick, not your previous job. And what do you mean by your Master wasn’t around?”

A smile brightened her face, looking happy with her response. Celine chirpily went on. “Master had to travel somewhere for something pressing. He returned only yesterday. . . Silas and I are the only help available in the palace, for now. We will hire more soon.”

She turned around and walked back to the closet, checking the shoe collection. Michaela silently watched her and exclaimed when a thought crossed her mind.

“You can leave this place whenever you want!” Michaela blamed her overwhelmed mind for not thinking about this when she first saw her. “How do you get out from here?!”

The woman was kind enough to answer her questions, so Michaela wanted to use her kindness to her advantage. If Celine could leave, then she had a chance to escape this place, too. Though she had many unanswered questions about the Master of this palace, Michaela wasn’t stupid to stick around and find out. Once she’d get far away from here, then she’d think about it.

Celine turned around, holding black, flat shoes, bearing a complicated look. “Only those with the celestial tablet can enter and leave freely.”

Michaela read about the different tablets the powerhouses of this world used. Only the clan members and some of the esteemed guests of each powerhouse would have one. The higher the grade of the tablet, the more conspicuous places you could enter and explore. The Divine masters used them to avoid getting spied on and securely hide their valuables from other powerhouses.

“And let me guess,” Michaela sounded exasperated. “I have to ask your Master for one?”

The woman nodded, placing the shoes by the foot of the bed, thrusting the vial close to Michaela’s lips. The latter stared at it with a frown, grimacing at the gooey-looking green liquid inside it.

Celine giggled at her reaction, saying. “This is a potion that will get rid of the charm instantly after you drink it. It’s efficient against any other magic.”

Michaela still didn’t open her mouth, her eyes clouded by uncertainty. She didn’t know this woman before today, so she wasn’t about to trust her. Besides, the matter inside that vial looked unpleasant to her eyes.

“Thanks, but I don’t want it. I think I’ll wait it out.” She said as she looked away, forming a rigid smile.

Celine beamed at her, sounding indifferent as she explained. “I thought I could help you out, as you’ll need to be able to move and fend for yourself.”

“Huh?!”

“My Master is very vigorous and insatiable. He plans to sleep here tonight, with you, on the same bed.” Celine languidly said, emphasizing each word for Michaela to get the implicative message. “But if you don’t want it. . .”

“Give it here!” Michaela cut in, feeling embarrassed that she fell for this like a kid who wouldn’t drink her medicine. But if there was any truth in what Celine said, Michaela didn’t want to be around to see what their Master would do to her.

Just the thought of it had her skin crawl in disgust.

In her twenty-three years of life, she never thought that her virtue would be in danger. Men in her world avoided approaching her for her carefree attitude and aloofness, intimidated by her strong personality.

Celine hid her smile terribly as she brought the vial closer to her lips. Michaela took a large breath, anticipating the horrible taste, closing her eyes as she opened her mouth wide. She drank it all in one go, opening her eyes, frowning at the aftertaste that wasn’t half bad at all, looking inquisitively at Celine.

“It’s not bad. What’s in it?”

Michaela’s body soon started to heat up. A tingling sensation traveled down her spine as something burned through her veins. “I feel weird.”

“Master doesn’t share with us the ingredients he uses in his potions, and he made this especially for you. . . I found it weird that it doesn’t contain spiritual water, but I wouldn’t dare to question Master's craft.”

Michaela got concerned when the burning sensation increased, feeling a similar burn to a muscle cramp all over her body. “This s**t burns.”

“Yes, Master said that it’ll burn a bit for it to work. Please try to bear it, Lady Michaela.”

Michaela grumbled, cursing the Celestial Master in her head, groaning as the burning sensation became unbearable. And when she thought it’d get worse, the pain subsided, and Michaela could move her body at will.

She wobbled off the bed, pacing back and forth for her limbs to loosen. Celine stood beside her in a lingering silence, watching her with careful eyes.

“I’ll help you change your clothes.”

Michaela stopped what she was doing, placing her hands on her hips, giving a side look to Celine. “You can leave. I’ll get ready.”

Celine seemed reluctant to leave the room, but Michaela insisted that she’d be left alone, making her oblige to her demand. Celine asked her to head downstairs, where Silas would be waiting to take her to the veranda.

Michaela stood there, getting impatient, waiting until Celine left the room. As soon as the door clicked, shutting behind the overly friendly woman, she hurried to where a heavy blue-gray and white curtain covered a balcony, testing the knob. It opened, a cold breeze caressed Michaela’s flustered face, making her shiver for how lightly clothed she was.

The balcony of the bedroom she was in seemed two-floors high. Michaela checked the perimeter when she spotted the tall tree on the side, hoping to use it to get down. No one was around, which proved that Celine was telling the truth when she said that only she and Silas were in the palace, apart from their Master.

Michaela prayed in her head that she’d make it down the tree alive, lifting her right leg over the stone railing in the balcony, holding onto to it tightly, before lifting the other leg over it. Now that she was on the other side of the railing, the distance to the ground seemed way higher than she presumed. It could be due to the fear she was experiencing that instantly heightened her phobia of heights. Michaela felt herself sweating nervously, her heart drumming in her ears, urging herself to take a leap of fate and jump towards the tree.

The distance between the balcony and the tree wasn’t that far, possible to achieve. But Michaela’s mind got inundated by several stupid scenarios, discouraging her.

She heard someone knocking on the door to her room, and she panicked, taking a large breath as she jumped towards the tree. Time seemed slow all of a sudden, as Michaela realized how idiotic her sense of adventure was, that she forgot to face the tree when she jumped.

Fear crippled her senses, distracting her from quickly reacting until her back bumped into something hard. The blow from the collision with a thick tree branch sent her forward in the opposite direction. She flailed in the air, trying to hold anything to slow down her fall, but there was nothing on sight.

She couldn’t think of anything aside from how painful it’d be to hit the ground, closing her eyes tight shut. Luckily, strong arms encircled her body, hovering with her in the air. She knew it must be the beast, who was probably watching her embarrassing failure. Michaela opened her eyes, frowning at first, feeling her eyes tingle with unshed tears as she started hitting the person who saved her.

“This is all your fault! You left me, asshole!”

Rafe looked as indifferent as usual, clearing her doubt about if it was really him, saying with a hint of delight. “And you thought it’s smart to jump off the balcony? And I didn’t leave you, Michaela. If I remember quite well, you’re the one who wanted to 'leave and find a job'.”

She hated how he was always right, huffing. “You put me in a position where I had no choice but to leave. The master of this palace tricked me into believing that he was you, offering me the piece of candy I wanted, then he charmed my body when he kissed my cheek. . . I must’ve fainted, as when I woke up, he was carrying me to this place, and I had no control over my body. . . Then he said that you won’t be able to come to get me and that I can’t leave this place. . . He has creepy paintings of me around the palace, and his servant told me that he wants to sleep with me. . . What was I supposed to do?! Sit around and wait for him to do as he pleases?!”

Michaela rambled on in both dejection and fear, unaware of the storm of emotions that filled Rafe’s gray eyes. He narrowed his eyes at her, asking. “He kissed you?”

“Uh-huh,” she hummed in thought, feeling her cheeks heat up when she remembered what happened between her and the Celestial Master. “He intended to kiss me on the lips, but I moved my head away just in time for his lips to press on my cheek.”

“He kissed you?” Asked Rafe again, but this time, his voice was darker than before. Still, Michaela didn’t notice, lost in her thoughts.