W.I.T.C.H.: The Bloody Throne

Part 27

It was a lot and Ionah barely fulfilled her task, but she managed to place her little gift to Cedric in his luggage and sneak out of his room before the Lord turned the corner. It took Ionah all night to carefully fill the red-rage liquid into a fine crystal, in the shape of a rose, that functioned as the head of a robe pin. She had to do this without taking a single breath, as she wasn't sure if the dampire's potion would work on her and she didn't want to fall victim to a tool meant to serve her. Now, with the rose pin and a fabricated note placed where Cedric would easily find it when he opened his luggage, Ionah hoped to take a quick nap before the royal dinner, where she would have to introduce herself and entertain the guests with a few parlor tricks. Part of her was excited that soon her plans, which just happened to fall neatly into Armana's, would soon come to fruition; at the same time, she felt pains of guilt in her chest. Over the years, she had grown fond of the Escanor siblings and even liked Will, thinking she was a good match to Phobos, but her feelings shouldn't stand in the way of everything she had worked towards over the years. She had done that once before and paid a heavy price for it.

Just out of sight of the Lord's room, Ionah waited for a second and listened to the sounds of the castle. There were the usual cracks and groans that an old castle bore; more echoes of life than indications of anything living. Just when she thought she'd find the Lord and urge him to change into something more comfortable for the royal dinner, after the long travel, did she notice a faint sound and shrunk against the wall. Closing her eyes, she listened to the sound and recognized it as that of footsteps approaching. As tightly as she could, she pressed herself against the wall, hoping it was Cedric and not a random servant. If it was, then she could use her actions as an excuse to practice more of her tricks for the royals.

Her breath caught in her throat when she heard the door to the Lord's room open and then quickly close. Certainly, this was her intended target and she couldn't fight her old habit of sneaking up to the door and peeking through the keyhole to see if the sneak took the bait. Internally, she hoped that she managed to mimic Miranda's handwriting enough to trick Cedric, externally, she was as still as a spider in its' web. Slowly, a smile of success crept onto Ionah's lips as she watched the Lord open his suitcase and find the gift for him on the very top of his belongings.

She watched him put it on before turning to leave, satisfied that her task was fulfilled, but a little voice inside her wept for the young Lord. Just like she had watched Phobos grow up, she had observed Cedric and it was that part of her that remembered him as a child that wept. Still, she knew that her plans, which perfectly fit into Armana's, required someone to take the fall. Now, she had Cedric and the rebel boy that would take the fall for everything that was to occur.

Ionah didn't like Armana. Everything about the Duchess rubbed her the wrong way. From the way she stuck her nose up at the other kingdoms, to the way she belittled the old religions; everything about the woman bothered Ionah and she wished she could present her full power to this low-life Duchess. Ionah wished she would make Armana gravel at her power and might, but right now that was a thing of impossibility. If Ionah truly had her way, tomorrow's events would never happen. Sadly, that wasn't an option. Everything she had worked for all these years could only come to fruition if everything went right tomorrow.

Still, she wondered if she could find a way to spare as many souls as possible; which was why she sought out Caleb. With Caleb, she didn't have to sacrifice Cedric and, if she played her cards right, she didn't have to sacrifice Caleb either since Caleb still had family and friends that could take the fall for him should Caleb prove himself useful.

This reminded Ionah that there wasn't any time to take a nap, just yet. She had to return to the portal and find Caleb to ensure he hadn't changed his mind. Considering the amount of infatuation she saw in his eyes for Wilhelmina, she was certain he wouldn't abandon the plan, but it was better to be safe than sorry. At the same time, there was one more pawn that she had to find and recruit before Wilhelmina gave birth if Wilhelmina was even pregnant, to begin with; right now, she was just going off a strong notion. As she made her way back to where Caleb should be camping, Ionah hoped that her notion was right.