Royalty [A One Direction AU]

{23} A Ghostly Visit

I spend the next two weeks in my cell without a single interesting thing happening. I don't see or hear from a single one of my friends, and as far as I know, my aunt is still in shock, refusing to communicate to anyone. The only person I've seen is Louis, who has been bringing me food and water, as well as occasionally reports on my friends. The only thing that I have time to do is think, and I've been thinking a lot about one thing in particular: every single time Louis enters my cell, he looks at the camera in the corner of the room, and the small star on his wrist seems to glow a little.

I've put a lot of thought into what's happening, but none of the possibilities make sense. One- Louis has been faking this entire time and can't tell me because of the camera. Two- someone who has access to the spell my family put on Louis millions of years ago is trying to tell me to do something that involves the camera. Three, also the most reasonable option- Daniel is looking through Louis' eyes, a spell that can only be used on someone forcibly under your control, and making sure that the camera still works. The thing is, the first and third options don't tell me why his wrist is glowing, only the second, and Louis would have found a way to tell me that he was in control by now if he really was. Plus, he isn't that good of an actor, so Daniel would have found out by now.

"Your Majesty." I hear Louis say, and he enters the cell. His eyes are instantly drawn to the camera, and the star flashes again, the light stronger than usual. What surprises me is that this time, Louis' eyes flash as well, temporarily going back to normal before returning to the dark color Daniel's spell made them. Louis looks at me, his expression as neutral as always. "Here is your lunch." Louis says, putting a tray down on the floor. With one last glance at the camera and another pulse of the star, Louis leaves the cell, locking the door tightly behind him.

I think through what I saw in more detail, and a reason I didn't consider appears to me. Maybe it isn't someone else trying to tell me something, it's Louis. He's fighting for freedom, but it only seems to happen when he looks at the camera. With that in mind, I stand, walking beneath the camera and looking up at it. The camera is still pointed at the center of the room, where it can see everywhere but the spot I'm standing in. Is that what Louis was trying to tell me?

A hand appears through the wall and I gasp, taking a step backwards. The hand reaches forward, grabbing my shirt and pulling me straight through the wall. On the other side, I find myself face-to-face with a translucent boy I recognize immediately. Josh.

"Took you long enough." Josh grumbles, and I cross my arms.

"What?" I ask, still confused. I didn't know ghosts could pull people straight through walls.

"I've been here for weeks, waiting for you. Louis knew I was here before Daniel took him. He's been trying to get the message across that I'm here to you, but he's trapped." Josh explains.

"What?" I ask again, and Josh sighs.

"Do you even know how those spells work?" I shake my head and he groans. "Basically, it replaces Louis' consciousness with a stronger slave one. The created consciousness takes over, pushes Louis' back into a cell of sorts, where he's stuck until the spell is removed and the other consciousness disappears. But there's a catch. The longer the other consciousness is in his head, the more it takes over. Louis' consciousness will start fading away, until eventually the only mind he has is the slave one. The process normally takes years, but the power of the spell put on Louis was so strong that it may only be a couple of months." Josh says, and I nod in shock.

"In a couple of months, Daniel is going to use the spell and take my magic." I say, processing everything. Josh nods, pointing at the wall he pulled me through.

"Louis' mind will be completely taken over a couple of days before Daniel performs the spell. There are three ways to gain control again. One is for it to be removed, another is for it to be overpowered by a new control spell, and the third is for the person under control to be faced with a situation where they must break free, where they or someone they love is in enough danger that their consciousness can take control. Daniel killing you by taking your magic would be more than enough to break Louis free, so he's waiting until Louis can no longer fight to do it." Josh explains, sighing. "He's trying to break free right now, but the spell is too strong. The only way to get him out of there is if you can find a way to perform the spell on him without Daniel knowing. But that's impossible."

I shake my head, smiling. "Not impossible, just difficult. Josh, if I stand in the blind spot when Louis comes to feed me, and you pull the through the wall, Louis will have to follow, right?" I ask, watching at Josh starts to see what I'm saying. "You can grab Louis and pull him into this room, and I can do the spell here. He'll be trapped, and Daniel won't have a way to get in." A smile forms on Josh's face, and he nods.

"Do you know what you need to do?" Josh asks, and I nod.

"Do you know anything about Louis?" I reply, and Josh shrugs.

"I know he can't die and he's been with your family since before anyone can remember. Also, he can't forget anything." Josh says, and I nod.

"Well the reason Daniel had to use such a powerful spell is because he had to overpower the one that was already on Louis, one so powerful that ten Wizards and a Sorcerer could barely beat it." I say, and Josh's eyes widen.

"Are you saying..." He trails off, and I smile.

"Louis was put under a control spell by one of my ancestors. I don't think it was the first King he knew, but there's no way to tell. When I turn eighteen my mum will tell me, if we get out of this. Then I'll be stuck carrying Louis' secrets and I won't be allowed to tell him. But to free him from Daniel's spell, I have to put my family's spell back on him, and make it more powerful." I explain quickly, and Josh nods.

"Does he know he has a control spell on him?" Josh asks, and I nod.

"I feel like he knows much more about himself than he lets on." I say, shaking my head. I never thought I'd see the day when I had to put a control spell on my best friend.