Day: 123

Days Left: 5357

Lives Saved: 0

It was an odd situation, attempting to escape one's own home. She could have easily hypnotised all of the guards to just let her past, or even just ordered them, but she can't have anyone know that she left. Even using spells, there was the risk of them eventually remembering. How could she explain that she was going to someone's house to find a hidden birthday present? Sending someone else would have been more appropriate but...

Queen Corinna IX gazed back at her reflection in the mirror.

No. She had to do it herself.

After dressing herself in the plainest and unnoteworthy clothing she could find, the queen placed an enchantment on her mask. It was no simple spell, difficult to maintain but necessary if she was to go unnoticed. Anyone would see an ordinary young woman's face instead of her blank and featureless mask. A similar spell had been permanently placed on her personal assistant. Though the golem resembled a human it wasn't perfect; it still needed something to cover up its uncanniness and keep up the illusion of it being a real person for this advancement in golems was still yet a secret.

Once she gathered everything she needed, the queen telepathically communicated to her golem assistant 'Jane' that they were leaving.

Her assistant nodded and walked alongside her as they both exited the castle. It was simple enough, with the multiple enchantments the queen had cast in precaution none of the guards or servants paid them any notice as they casually left the grounds.

Fortunately, the Warren-Earl-Best estate was situated close by to the castle, for most of the household in the current generation and their ancestors had served the royal family. With almost all of their members living under the same roof, the Warren-Earl-Best estate was more than large enough to accommodate them all with four floors and its own small car park. The queen entered through one of the side doors, effortlessly unlocking it whilst bypassing the alarms and enchantments. If it was anyone else, they would have been set off, but the queen remembered the password. Back when she was younger, this place was one of her safehouses. If she was in danger, she could easily hide amongst the other numerous children in the household.

Now it was time for the tricky part, navigating this mansion of a place to find Corinna Warren's room. In preparation, the queen had pulled the vague location of it from the young woman's mind, but the building was still like a labyrinth.

Luckily, it seemed that the majority of the household was out to watch a school play leaving only a few stragglers that kept to themselves or were already asleep. She only had to pass a few in the corridor, and with all her enchantments, none of them even gave her a second glance.

Eventually, Queen Corinna found the room, seeing one of the doors with the sign 'Bess and Corinna's Room' in colourful confetti. Entering, the monarch was relieved to find it empty and began following Corinna Warren's instructions to retrieve the birthday present from its hiding place.

"Hello?" said a voice.

The queen turned and found a young woman, perhaps a teenager, standing in the doorway of the room. She almost thought it was Corinna due to the blonde hair and numerous freckles, but their face shapes were different.

"What's your friend doing?" the girl asked the golem assistant.

"Looking for your birthday present," answered the assistant after receiving its lines telepathically from the queen.

"Well, you're not gonna find it here." The girl flopped onto one of the beds. "Trust me. I checked everywhere for it."

With all of the enchantments the queen had placed, the girl wouldn't question why two strangers were in the room. But there was still the risk that she would see through the illusions on the queen's face if they talked for too long. She had to finish this quickly.

"I don't think we've met." The girl held out her hand to the golem. "I'm Bess."

"Jane." The golem accepted the greeting after a delay. It was difficult to look for the present and control the golem at the same time.

"What about your friend?"

"Cori."

"Cori? Is it short for Corinna? My sister's called Corinna too." Bess looked over at the queen. "Is she your sister? You look alike."

"No."

"Do you have any sisters?"

"Yes," answered the queen, accidentally.

"You get along?" asked Bess.

"No."

"She a bitch?"

"Yes." The queen paused. "We both are."

"What's up with your voice? Sounds all crackly."

"Sore throat," the queen lied. She continued to retrieve the present, refraining from speaking as much as possible. When Bess saw her use magic to move the floorboards, the teenager went on a ranting spree about her relatives who were capable of magic, barely breathing in between sentences. Her and Corinna were definitely related.

Eventually, the queen found the present and replaced the floorboards.

"Wow! You found it!" Bess jumped with glee. "Can't believe she hid it under my own bed! I would never have guessed!" She attempted to grab it, but the queen prevented her.

"You are not allowed to open it until your birthday," ordered the monarch. "It is the law."

"No, it ain't."

"We can make it so."

"Yeah, right..." Bess scoffed, giving up.

Now all that remained was for the queen to erase Bess' memory of her visit and placing the present in a more obvious hiding spot.

Something thudded in the hallway outside. Rhea Earl stood in the corridor, trembling, her eyes fixated on the queen, a pile of clean towels dropped on the floor. She stormed into the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. "What are you doing here!" Rhea gasped. "Your Maj-" She stopped herself, seeing Bess was also in the room. Of course, Rhea had been trained to see through these sorts of illusions.

The queen held the birthday present aloft. This just caused more confusion and questions in Rhea's head.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. But why-"

"It is none of your concern," the queen explained through her golem's voice. "We will be erasing your memory of Our visit."

"What!" Bess exclaimed before the queen placed a finger on her forehead, sending the girl into a sleep-like trance, her eyes glossed over.

Rhea, having witnessed and accustomed to this procedure, did not resist. She stood ready, her eyes closed and waited.

The queen hesitated, her hand lingering in the air for a moment as she gazed at her old nursemaid. She let her hand drop, then reached for the door.

"Wait!" Rhea pleaded, almost grabbing onto the monarch's arm before stopping herself. "Please..." her voice croaked. "Please, let me trade places with Corinna. I should have been the one to go!"

"No." The queen turned to face Rhea, using her own voice this time. "You should have all been executed. You should all be dead. But I took mercy on you because I was weak. I gave you all a new option. Corinna Warren is in The Eternal Abyss because I would never send you down there, because no one else volunteered."

The ground trembled beneath their feet, the window panes rattled and shook. Rhea cowered in front of the monarch.

"You all should have died for betraying me!" The queen edged closer to Rhea, the floorboards quaking under her step. "I gave you that new deal. I am helping your precious great-niece to survive down there so that none of you will die. I put her in a section run by your great-nephew so that he could protect her. Why! Why should I when this is what I get in return! How much more special treatment do you want! I did this to make you happy!" The queen clutched at her neck. Her throat was burning. She barely made it through those last words without coughing. "I only came here so I could see..." Her voice trailed away, realising the futility of it all.

"Cori..." Tears streamed down Rhea's face, her eyes softening. "Cori, I'm-"

The queen didn't allow her to finish her sentence, touching her forehead and wiping the memory of her visit.

Glancing back at her old nursemaid and Bess, in a trance that they will wake up from in ten minutes, the queen left the Warren-Earl-Best estate and returned to her castle.