The Wizard's Broken Angel

Chapter-7

Ronan tapped on the chains with his huge stick and they slithered away from Miley's wrists and waist. "Please calm down and listen carefully."

Miley took in deep breaths and nodded.

"Our Strong Earth is divided into two parts. The world of light and its being is called Zenara, the place where we currently stand. Creatures like angels, witches, wizards, dragons, elves, mermaids and all purebloods and descendants of light occupy it. The second part is Nigrack, the dark world. Every dark creature inhabits that part like werewolves, vampires, basilisks, dementors, etc. It's difficult to differentiate who is a Vampire and werewolf there because of the rise of the Shadow clan. Whoever became a part of their clan covered their entire body with black bandages that they used to perform dark magic. Soon this clan overpowered the existing ruler and started ruling Nigrack making it compulsory for everyone in Nigrack to cover themselves in black bandages and robes. And from your explanation, it looks like those Shadows took your family to Nigrack."

"How do I save my family?" Miley asked.

"Their Shadow prince has recently resurrected, he seems to have gotten more powerful than before. Unfortunately, the magic of beings of light doesn't work in Nigrack and theirs doesn't work here, so the only way to search your family is to physically search for them in the Blacklore castle," Ronan took out a map from his huge sleeves and handed it to Miley.

"Map?"

"Do you know how to read it?"

"Yes," Miley unrolled the map and had a look.

Pointing towards the castle far away from Zenara, Ronan continued, "this is where the dark prince would have enslaved your family."

"What? Why would he do that? What has my family ever done to him?" Miley frowned.

"In your last life as Iris Scintilla, he was in love with you but when you rejected him, he couldn't endure it and not only finished your previous family but also scarred you," Ronan said.

"What? Scarred? What do you mean?"

"You will understand once you regain your previous life's memories. Lady Miley… for you to understand everything that's happening to you and your family you need to have Iris Scintilla's memories."

"How do I get them? Wait! Why should I trust you anyway?"

"As I said, it's your choice to trust me or not. But the solution to all your questions will come to you when you accompany my lord, Zach Zero. He is heading towards the same destination where your family lie. The choice is again yours to travel all by yourself in this unknown world or choose to travel with lord Zach. As your well-wisher I can advise you only one thing — trust lord Zach," Ronan said.

"I can't! He's the reason for all this," Miley peered outside the window.

"The reason for all this is the dark prince, not lord Zach. He was just trying to protect you from him. My lady, you must trust him. If you accept my offer, come to the royal garden at midnight. Lord Zach will leave then. I hope you know the way to the royal garden," Ronan bowed and limped out of Miley's room.

Holding the map in her hand, Miley contemplated, Zach was trying to protect me? Now that I see he did protect me from those wendigoes and perhaps when I fell in the ocean too, but he didn't even try to save my family. He attacked dad and Tragon. No, there's no way I can trust him. I will go on this journey alone.

Miley rolled the map and opened the huge wooden cupboard in her room kept beside her bed. Peering at the different types of clothes she picked up a jade scissor and smirked at the clothes.

----

Ronan was in his room, dimly lit with green flames candles and torches burning. There was no bed, just a medium-sized old-looking couch, a rocking chair, a huge cauldron with bubbles of various dark colours escaping from it. Ronan had placed his stick beside the door and was going through some parchment papers lying on the table beside the cauldron.

"Ronan!" Zach stormed into his room, "why did you set her free?"

Ronan bowed, "my lord, you can't earn her trust by caging her. You have to set her free. Let things happen to her, at the end, she will return to you."

"What? What do you mean?"

"My lord, I am sure from what you did to her and her family, she will never trust you, but you can change that now. From now on if you pretend that you are helping her and you care for her, she might start trusting you."

"What makes you think that I will do it?"

"Because you need your saviour symbol, don't you?"

Zach narrowed his eyes. Ronan continued, "the best and easiest way of gaining someone's trust is to blind them with your love. When she is madly in love with you, take your symbol back and after that, you can kill her or do whatever you want."

"Make her love me?"

"Yes, my lord. I made a proposal to her today and I am sure she will decline it and try to go to Nigrack on her own," Zach interrupted Ronan.

"What? How could you? Do my orders hold no value in your eyes?"

"No my lord, it's nothing like that. Since you don't have a plan to gain her trust I am trying to help you. She will try to run away from the palace before midnight. You will have to hurry and keep an eye on her afar," Ronan said, slyly.

"You are the same merciless and emotionless as always," Zach said with an impassive face.

Ronan smiled, "in politics and ruling there is no place for emotions and I will suggest to my lord to remember it and not develop emotions for that broken angel on the journey. Remember what happened last time. You just need to gain her trust, get back your saviour symbol and then forget about her. To make my lord's work easy Ronan will take care of the last Miley after the symbol transfers on you."

"Huh! As if I care, do whatever you want I hate her anyway," Zach was about to leave his room when Ronan stopped him.

"My lord, please get ready soon, you will have to follow her."

"I know you don't have to tell me."

----

Meanwhile, as expected Miley was on her way to escape from the palace again. Her long hair tied in a high ponytail with a small leather belt that was usually worn around the wrist. She was wearing a high neck red shirt with no collars, over it was a sleeveless white leather jacket tightly fastened by brown leather belts around her waist. Another carrier belt was strapped around her abdomen just above her groins. Their belts continued to her things to hold a medium-sized dagger she found looking around the room. Below abdomen, she wore red skin-tight pants that ended into the leather anklets arising from her boots.

Miley looked at herself in the huge mirror, "woah! I always thought of cosplaying someday, but I was too broke for it. Now, even though I have almost lost everything, I can at least wear this type of dress once. Shame on me, I need to find my parents. We can admire my fashion style together once I find them. She hurried, picked up a black cape till knee length and draped it around her shoulders fastening them with silver chains around her collarbone.

She peeped outside the window and found that there were no guards in the royal garden, "strange where did they disappear suddenly. Up until now, there were guards almost everywhere. Is it possible that they work nine to five here too? It's almost night, maybe they took a break, but can I jump from here, what if I sprain my ankles. This room is on the second floor, no. It's too high, if I jump from here I might die even before starting my journey. What should I do then?"

Just then her eyes went on the long rugs created from trimming the gowns.

Meanwhile, Zach and Ronan were already present in the royal garden with Zach's one chain revolving around the two making them invisible to others and Miley.

"My lord, if you go on a journey dressed as a king people will recognise you easily," Ronan looked at Zach's cloak.

Zach chuckled, "I told you not to worry about me. I am not a kid anymore. Even if I don't age, I am growing in experience," Zach's chains on his wrist turned pitch black later melting and spreading throughout his body. Soon Zach's dress of the king disappeared and he was covered in black bandages till neck. He didn't cover his face with them. At the point where the bandages ended a black robe formed over Zach. It went down till his shin.

Ronan nodded, smiling, "no one will be able to differentiate between a shadow and you. Your magical and dressing abilities have drastically improved my lord."

Zach put on the black hood attached to his robe that covered half of his face, he looked towards the window of Miley's room, "what is she trying to do?"

Ronan turned back just to look at Miley trying to get down from the second floor through the window with the help of a rope made by attaching rugs.

"Why can't she just take the door? Can't she see I have removed all the guards so that she could escape easily," Zach couldn't believe his eyes?

Ronan scratched his chin, "I had just heard, but I saw today, humans like to make easy things difficult. Remember my lord this time you will be dealing with a human with a soul of an angel. Unpredictable and unbelievable things are on the way."

"Yeah. I can see that," Zach said looking at Miley who toiled down the rug rope. He gasped when one of the knots opened and she was about to fall but Zach saved Miley through telekinesis. "Unbelievable, this girl is just so unbelievable!"

Miley looked around frantically, "am I alive," she checked her bones and legs, "how did this happen? There is no one here, by any chance… is it possible that my magical powers are starting to bloom." She looked excited at her palm.

Reminded that there was a family she needed to save, she got up from the ground, dusted her clothes and ran to the royal garden. Stopping a few steps away from where Zach and Ronan were standing, she took out the map, "where does it say I need to go? Uh… yeah first I need to cross Highlow Woods. It should start as soon as I step out of the back door. She used the fountain's light to see the map. The fountain in the royal garden glowed like neon lights at night.

Miley opened the small metal back door with a creak and dashed out.

"What was the use of climbing down the window when she announced she was running away?" Ronan asked.

"What was she wearing? She looks the most suspicious person, she calls it a disguise? And you expect me to gain the trust of a clown like her? She is going to lure trouble with that dress of hers, she looks like an assassin or something," Zach sighed and came out of his invisibility cover as the chain wrapped itself around his waist as a belt.

"My lord, I wish you a safe journey," Ronan bowed.

"Safe? Don't joke with me, as long as she is around, safety will run far away from me. Make sure you handle things until I return," Zach said.

Ronan nodded.

Zach's chains revolved around him and he flew over the boundaries of the palace behind Miley. Keeping an eye on her being invisible.

At the starting of the journey, Miley peered at the dark woods that she needed to cross to begin the journey.

"What is she looking at now? Just get into the woods," Zach flew in the air a few feet above Miley who was pacing on the periphery of the woods.

"If I go in right now, I might encounter wild animals. I don't even know if I will find lions, tigers or dragons and gryphons. It's better to wait till midnight, when that kidnapper comes, I will secretly follow him. Haha. I am a genius. That will be better," Miley said to herself unaware that the kidnapper she was thinking to follow secretly was following her.

"What! What rubbish! Is this girl sick! Just get in the woods. I swear on my life I will kill her sooner I guess," Zach looked at Miley with an impassive face.

"No! No! I can't go on a journey with him, ever! I have a map and on the way, I can eat some fruits, if they are edible and fill my stomach. I don't need that boy's help or protection. I can do it on my own," she tapped on her chest twice and took a few steps to the woods but the dense, eerie and dark gravity in the woods made her take her steps back, "no! I am too scared." She fake cried.

"If I keep on waiting for her to start, I bet I will not be able to end this journey, ever!" Zach was sitting in the air with his legs folded and hands crossed across his chest, "the only way to make her overcome her fear is a greater fear." Zach smirked and sent one of his chains on the ground that transformed into a medium-sized basilisk and slithered creating a lot of noise behind Miley.

Miley stood thunderstruck hearing the heavy breathing behind her back, she didn't even turn back, shouting she sprinted into Highlow Woods.

Zach held his mouth trying to stop his laughter, he floated to the basilisk and caressed it good job. The basilisk turned back into the chain and wrapped itself around Zach's wrist. He too floated into the woods.

The two who were meant to be on opposite sides, fortunately or unfortunately, were about to go on a journey of changing the fate of not only their loved ones but also themselves.