The cold

Magpie

Andrew stared at the boy through the slightly ajar door, yesterday had been an eye opener for him. His master had killed Jeremy, another boy who faithfully served him, merely because his master was angry with the sudden appearance of Eyene. He could see himself in Jeremy's place any day, the only reason he was still alive was because it was poor Jeremy who was around when master received the annoying news. 

The boy Neil, he seemed like a person who would help him, he was really nice to him when they'd crossed paths in the library, asking him if he needed help searching and all that. He was of course scared to ask the boy for help, what if the boy became angry or decided that he was bad and didn't deserve a chance, what if he would hurt him when he came to know that the only reason he was working in the castle in the first place was to find the stone his master had ordered him to . He was scared ,terribly so, but this seemed like his only chance to get out of his master's hold.

Neil felt weird, like he was being watched. He was in the library, making full use of the free WiFi the palace had, browsing stories online and such. It was just too bad he didn't know of it earlier but oh well, better late than never. He looked at the door, seeing the same boy again. The boy didn't scurry off this time, he stood still where he was, half hiding behind the door , reminding Neil of a scared puppy. Neil quickly smiled at the boy, not moving much, he didn't want the boy to run off again like he had done before, especially with the way the boy's eyes were screaming for help. It surprised Neil when the boy actually got into the room, with hands that shook slightly and white knuckles. 

Neil's jaw was literally on the floor when the boy had finished talking, he had of course heard of the burnt down village before, except it was blamed on a forest fire rather than a fey , and to think of what the boy had to go through after that,no wonder he had so many scars. "I'm sorry, please, I know it was wrong for me to search for the stone, don't kill me, please.." the boy said in a shaky voice , his eyes down, too terrified to look up. Neil stared at the boy dumbly , it was obvious the boy was the victim here, the poor thing caught in a situation where he was just too scared to come out lest he be killed. Neil told the boy it was better if they told it  all to Damien or Nerezza, they would know what to do next. It took a lot of convincing and a promise to the boy to not let either of them hurt  him, before the boy agreed to it. Of course Neil didn't exactly have to get an OK from the boy before doing this, but he felt it was important, he didn't want to make the boy regret trusting him, especially when it must have taken a lot of courage on the boy's part to do so.

Damien listened to the boy patiently, he figured this was the big break they needed, someone who could maybe point a few names. Call him heartless for wanting to use someone in such a weak position but the boy had, in the first place, sneaked into the castle and played traitor for a while.Of course one could argue that no real harm was done, the stone not found if indeed there was one in the castle. "What is your master's name?" he asked eagerly,waiting for finally getting something to work on. 

The boy faltered for a second, his face scrunched up in thought. The man had always been 'master ' to them, ever since the day he was brought there. In fact he even referred  to the man as master in his head, it had actually not even occurred to him that 'master' had a name. Damien sighed, this wasn't going the way he planned it. "Was there someone he served, can you name anyone at all?" Damien asked. " Um...there was this lady he used to call Magpie, uh, she was scary,she liked talking about how she was better, in fact ,I think it was her who told master to find a stone, perhaps to try to become blood fey himself, we weren't really told more than what he thought we should know, um,yeah" the boy said in a small voice,  scared of what would happen if his answer didn't please the prince.

Damien scowled, things suddenly becoming clear to him. Margie Maggie Dale Inn, the Magpie. It was a little surprising , of course, but it even fit the description of 'the forgotten one' . Margie was one of the few people who took part in the uprising before that wasn't killed, pardoned because it was believed she was coerced into taking part in it. From the look of things now, they were obviously mistaken, especially if she was the one behind all this. It was weird to actually know for a fact that they were wrong. She had always been a loony one, the outcast of the lot, a person who wasn't taken seriously, a trait that probably saved her from a death sentence, despite the fact that she was a blood fey. 

"So, Andrew, you can stay in my place for a while, it'll be fun, you can meet Spots too, he can be a darling when he wants to be!" Neil exclaimed happily, figuring the boy couldn't exactly go back to where he was before, where that vile man, the evil guy who destroyed villages, captured helpless boys and made them call him master and do his dirty work for him lived. Damien wasn't much too keen on that idea. The castle was a far more safer option for the boy , especially when 'master ' would probably search for the boy. The castle did have a barrier against prying and besides that Damien wanted Neil safe, and Neil's little idea would've put both of them at risk. The boy was definitely staying in the castle for now, he figured he could make the boy room with a guard or something, put said guard in charge of his safety too , an option far better than what Neil had suggested .