The lost true love

Chapter 20: Rafal's daughter

Dovey's POV

After Tedros comes to tell me and Lesso about the girl in the School Master's tower, we decide to take a look. As we walk up the stairs, I get some chills down my spine. All this time it has been Rafal in charge. It's quite a disturbing thought that I have always followed him blindly.

At the top of the stairs, I push open the door and walk in. I notice that Lesso is hesitating hugely, but after a few moments and a few deep breaths, she follows me.

'What a mess! Very little of those books can be saved,' I exclaim as I take in the room.

'With a few simple spells, that will be fixed in no time,' Lesso says as she walks to the small platform where the Storian is standing. When to her great surprise the feather is nowhere to be seen.

'I see the pen nowhere. That is new, normally he is always busy with some book.

With incredible speed, an object flies past my face straight at Lesso. It cuts through her jacket sleeve and pins her arm against the table.

'What the hell was that,' cries the redhead as she tries to pull the Storian from her coat sleeve, but just before she can touch it, it comes loose. It hovers right in front of her face.

'How dare you. Just entering someone's quarters unannounced,' a voice behind me calls out.

Turning around, I look straight into the eyes of the 15-year-old girl. I can now clearly see her black curls, which are themselves worse than Lesso's.

'Hello, it was never our intention to just drop in. I am by the way-' She doesn't let me finish and interrupts me immediately.

'You are Clarissa Dovey; the fairy godmother.'

'And what is your name?' I ask her.

'That's none of your business. You can leave now there is nothing to talk about,' she tells me as she stands at the bottom of the stairs.

'There are several things we need to discuss young lady,' the redhead replies, with the Storian still hanging in front of her face.

'There are none of those Reader,' she bites Lesso, 'There's the door. If you're not out in ten seconds, I can't promise you'll get out of here alive.'

When the redhead hears that remark, I see her cringe. She has given up a lot and kept a secret so that she could survive. It has to hurt that all those secrets are suddenly being told.

'Ten... Nine... Eight... Seven... Six... Five... Four...'

'Did you know who the School Master was?' Lesso asks her, 'Did you know he was Rafal?'

'Three,' the girl counts on.

Neither I nor Lesso have moved a step yet. Not that I intend to. The child can say a lot, but against both me and Lesso she cannot win.

'Or did you think he was the other twin brother? The good one of the two,' Lesso continues.

'Two.'

'You don't have to follow his orders. He is dead. He can't do anything to you,' I shout at her.

'He would never, ever hurt me!' she shouts back, 'and he is the Good brother and not the bad one!'

'He's not. Rafal is the Evil School Master,' Lesso explains to her, but she is clearly not listening.

'And you are a princess. Like I'm supposed to believe that. My father told me all about you Leonora of Gavaldon. You are useless and weak! He was right, you should have stayed in Gavaldon! I can't believe he let you live! I have never seen anyone so weak!' she shouts at my colleague. With an invisible force, the redhead is pushed against the wall.

'Leave her alone!' I shout at the girl whose finger lights up bright red. 

'See. Weak! You need a stupid Ever to defend yourself! Is there really nothing you've learned Reader? Your kind don't belong here!'

She walks straight to Lesso and gets in front of Lesso's face. Trying to stop her, I notice my feet are clinging to the ground.

'Rafal is dead and there's nothing you can do to change that,' I tell the girl as she takes a knife from her pocket.

'That's the reason I have to finish his work. Maybe I should commiserate with you after all Professor Dovey. Nothing hurts more than seeing friends die. Don't stress, you will soon follow,' she says to Lesso before walking in my direction.

'Take me and leave her alone! She hasn't done anything!' the redhead shouts after her.

'Emily didn't do anything either and look what happened to her. Maybe it's better that you just don't get attached to people Leonora,' she tells Lesso.

When I hear her say Emily I hold my heart. I meet the redhead's eyes and I can see the tears welling up in her green eyes.

'Just say a quick goodbye to your lives because these are your last moments,' the girl says.

'I don't need to say goodbye. Just stab me. I don't need to live any more. I'm a failure anyway,' the redhead replies.

'In that case, maybe it's not so bad to make you suffer for a while longer,' she says before walking back up the stairs.

The spell she cast on the ground disappears and I can move again. I rush towards Lesso who falls to the ground. 

'This is our chance. We need to escape now,' I say as I help the redhead back to her feet. I walk to her walking stick, which I throw at her. 'She's not looking anyway.'

'Dovey, she needs help. She's been manipulated,' the redhead whispers as she catches her cane.

'Are you out of your mind, she wants us dead. That is her own decision and not Rafal's,' I exclaim, but I make sure the girl cannot hear us.

'She believes Rafal is her father, but he is not. Rafal no longer has children. She has probably been kidnapped. Give me a moment, I can remind her that she had a life before this.'

'I am not convinced, but you have a point Rafal can never have children otherwise we would have known,' I tell her, but I am not convinced Lesso is really going to get through to the girl.

'Rafal had a child but she's dead,' the redhead whispers so softly I can barely hear it.

'What, and you don't tell me anything,' I cry out. Why does she never tell me anything.

After I say it, I see tears rolling down Lesso's cheeks. It hits me hard.

'Emily was mine and Rafal's daughter.'