MOONCHILD
BY
LYLLY

Chapter Two: Trickery

Mandor - after leaving the Empress at her bedchambers - went straight to the room that has been put aside for him. Now, as he leafed through one of his books, he smiled wickedly. "Ah, yes," he muttered under his breath, "everything is going exactly the way I predicted it would." Tucking the heavily bound book beneath his arm, he strode over to a tapestry with blazing dragons upon its velvet surface. Lifting one side, he started to feel along the wall behind it. "Where is it?" he muttered in frustration "I know its here somewhere. I just found it this morning!" Without warning, a panel swung forth revealing a secret passageway with stairs leading deep down below the Tower itself. "Ah, ah, here it is! I knew it. Good thing nobody else does. This room is never really used and the tapestry is only dusted from the front." The panel door closed inaudibly behind him.

Mandor made his way down some gray stone steps, omitting the damp, chill air around him as he continued his journey forward. Going deep, deeper underground. A long, dimly lit corridor was at its bottom, there was moss growing in small patches along the ground and walls, also made of stone. A vague moist, earthlike redolence was in the atmosphere. The only sound was the click clacking of his boots as he marched down the passageway. He opened a door embedded at the very end of the hall. It squeaked and he stopped, listening for sounds indicating that someone from up above had heard. Nothing. Even though he was quite far below the Tower's main floor, one could never be too careless. Satisfied, he entered, sealing the entrance.

Before him was a large spacious room containing old chairs, tables, and other pieces of furniture that had been too worn for further usage upstairs were stored in the corners. Frayed rugs lay on the wood floor, while tattered, torn tapestries hung from the walls. A stone door was on the far side of the room. Mandor went to this door and opened it. He saw that the hallway alongside it led went in the directions of the dungeons. A sneer curved his lips. Those bloody things hadn't been used in centuries, he thought, this will be perfect. No one's been down here in years. After making sure the hidden door was firmly in place, Mandor went about setting up the chamber to his liking. He dragged one of the dark oak wooden tables to the center of the room before ridding the fireplace of all its cobwebs, dirt, and burned charcoal that must have been coals at one time or another. Mice came flying out of a rusty iron cauldron, which he now hung in the middle of the hearth, to land roughly on the floorboards. Their wee feet pitter-pattered as they scurried to hide in all the nooks and crannies hidden in the walls. A sudden burst of light made the last mouse look up before whoosh! it vanished into a crack in a floorboard. This light had come from a ball Mandor had conjured up and was now suspending in midair. Bright green flames flickered all around it.

Mandor was now grinning madly as he stared deep into the center of the ball. "Come now, come my pet. I summon you. Let me see what you are up to." Trails of silvery-gray smoke billowed out from the middle of the ball as an image of a jet-black dragon came into view. Its massive wings beat the air as scorching red-orange flames shot from the long mouth filled with razor-sharp teeth, setting whole buildings up in smoke. From deep within it's throat, a loud high-pitched sound burst forth, shattering windows, sending entire blocks of buildings crashing to the ground, destroying two towns along with half a city in its wake of flames and earth-shattering shrieks. Fantasians were screaming, running for their lives as this great creature snapped at their heels, hoping to grab a bite for lunch.

"Hah-hah-ha! That's it my precious pet, do what you will, For that so-called- empress will never suspect that I was the one who sent you." Still laughing like a madman Mandor spun around in a circle pulling his sable cloak around his body. "The little virtuous wretch has no idea of what I have in store. She should not be the one controlling Fantasia! It should be me! But I cannot do such a thing with her still obtaining the throne! There must be a way to get rid of her"

Nearly a half-hour passed before a loud burst of maddening laughter boomed around the chamber. "Ah, I've got it! I will find a way to marry the Empress. Once I have done so, I will seduce the little royal and then... make her my personal slave! I was clever to disguise myself as a white owl to fly over here. Even better, I was lucky enough to gain entrance into the Ivory Tower. The Empress does not seem to care for me as much as I had hoped. She is kind enough to let me stay but that is not only her nature in contrast but her duty to do so in the first place. I could sense her wariness grow throughout the day. She does not suspect me, which is a good thing. Still the good-for-nothing demimonde is smart enough not to put her full trust in a stranger until she gets to know them better. But nonetheless, I will woo and coax her into surrendering to me no matter what it takes! For after we wed she will, from that night on, be my concubine. With Moonchild out of the way, I, Mandor, will be able to obtain not only the throne, but all of Fantasia as well. Finally, I will have a chance to do with this world as I will!"

Outside the Tower, thunder boomed and lightning crashed as this yeoman began to work out the details to overpower Fantasia.

The sun was setting as Moonchild made her way through the lavish gardens surrounding the Tower, lost in thought. Perhaps her thoughts of Mandor's behavior the previous night were misleading. Yes that was it: her mind had reacted too quickly and she had secretly judged him - something that was not in her nature or position to do - too soon. After all, he had only been here one day, so there hadn't been enough time to get to know him. Her small hands gathered the skirts of her white dress as she descended the stone steps that would take her to the next level of this massive garden. The raised material fell to pool gently about her dainty feet as she petted a fawn with one hand while feeding the mother some grain, retrieved from a small metal bin hanging on the side of the low, circular fence, with the other before moving on.

A sound from behind made her jump, Moonchild whirled around, heart pounding, body tense and ready to fight - even though she was strictly forbidden to do such a thing - if need be. But it was only Mandor coming towards her, a faint smile lighting up his ice-blue eyes. Quit it, her mind scolded, you are being ridiculous. It is only Mandor, so calm down! She forced herself to relax as she gave her guest a warm smile.

"Good evening my lord."

"The same to you my lady." Mandor offered her his arm; "May I join you?"

"Of course." Came the reply as she slipped her arm through his, her fingers lightly holding onto the crook of his elbow. They continued slowly along the path, admiring all that was around them.

"You certainly have a lovely place here, Your Highness."

"Thank you."

"It is a beautiful evening is it not?"

"Yes, it is." There was a pause, "My lord--"

"Please, Your Highness, call me Mandor."

"Yes, well, Mandor, about this dragon. Why is it causing so much destruction? What do you think it's after?"

"I do not know Your Highness. Perhaps it is one of those creatures that just ... enjoys those sort of things."

Moonchild's eyes darkened as she took all of this in. "Oh, I see." As Mandor helped her down another set of stairs, she suddenly tripped on the hem of her gown and would have gone sprawling facedown upon the ground if it hadn't been for Mandor catching her around the waist in mid-fall.

His joyous laughter filled the coolness of the night air as he straightened her back up. "Having a hard time walking are you, Your Highness?"

Moonchild looked up from trying to untangle her gown from around her ankles; her expression was of half shock and half-mock anger. "My lord!"

"I am sorry, I did not mean to offend you Your Highness. I was only jesting."

"Moonchild. Please call me Moonchild." She moved a stray hair off of her forehead back to where it belonged. "And I know you were, not to worry." She smiled again before a sudden gust of wind came over them both.