When Damia woke up, the sun had set and as she looked around her surroundings, she found that she had been left alone on the bench. She slowly sat to an upright position, holding her head, pounding with an intense headache. She wanted to head back to the castle, but she couldn't remember any of the turns she had taken when Prince Elric brought her here. Even if the maze had not changed over the years, should wouldn't have been able to find her way out without potentially getting lost in the deeper parts.
Fog started rolling into the room and she noticed another entry point where the south and east wall met. Had it always been there? Maybe it was an emergency escape route. It would make sense if Prince Elric had truly designed this to be a safe haven memorial for the late Queen. She decided to take the risk and go through.
The entryway led through a hall of more boxwood. It seemed this area of the maze had been unkept as the hedges had overgrown. An emergency escape shouldn't be so difficult to navigate. Then again, the prince had told her that he had only recently completed this area, so perhaps he had not tidied up the escape path.
As she continued progressing through the maze, she heard faint sobbing, which grew louder the closer she came to the end of the hall. Damia followed the sound, wondering if perhaps someone else had become lost in the maze along with her. Could it be that Prince Elric had sent for a healer after she fainted and now the healer was lost?
The sobbing continued and Damia reached the end of the hall, but she couldn't exit as it was a dead end, with only a small opening for her to look through. Curiosity for what could be on the opposite side to hold of her and she gazed through the opening. On the other side she saw a silhouette, appearing to belong to a female, sobbing as she kneeled on the ground in front of a lake. It was too dark so she was unable to see who she was, but she tried calling out to her.
Just as Damia opened her mouth to speak, she heard the voice of another.
"Why do you weep, shifter?"
That meant this woman was not the healer. But then who could she be, and what could she be doing in this area? All her life, Damia had been taught that the shifters had all been eliminated during the Great War, with her mother's ancestors being the only survivors of that time. Even the King was not of the shifter race. As far as Damia knew, she was the only surviving shifter, after her mother's passing.
"Who... who's there? Show yourself?" Though her voice trembled from her tears, the female rose from her kneeling position and took up her arms like a warrior.
Damia too, looked around, but could not make out any one else in the shadows. The voice spoke up again, but this time, there was movement in the lake, and from the water emerged a man.
"I am the guardian of the lake. Your tears have fallen into the water and called to me, so I am here. But what brings you here?"
The female seemed satisfied with this explanation and lowered her guard.
"Guardian of the lake, I have heard legends of these waters having the power to grant a wish. I hoped to discover if there was any truth to the legends."
"But then how has this brought you to tears? The tears that fell into the lake were filled with sorrow. I find it difficult to believe that not having a wish granted has hurt you so deeply."
The woman hesitated. "I... I..."
"Speak up, shifter."
"Great Guardian. I came all this way to make a wish, but as I arrived here, I realized I did not know what to wish for. I am in pain, not because my wish has not been granted. I was in pain before I even arrived here."
"Tell me your pain then. These waters will not let me rest until your spirit is at peace."
"It's my husband. His mind has been poisoned. He has been seduced by another and has agreed to take her child as his own. He has even killed her betrothed so that he may take her as his next wife. Come sunrise, he will force me to claim her son as my own, as though I gave birth to him so that the boy becomes legitimate heir to the throne. Once that's done, I fear they will conspire against me so that she may then become queen."
A shifter queen? Could there be a hidden village nearby that has gone unnoticed for all these years. Damia's curiousity was piqued.
"So, then your wish is to exact vengeance on your husband?"
"No. This is all that witch's doing, I only wish to free him of her spell. Then he will return to me."
"I see. Then I am unable to help you."
"But, why? Are you telling me that this is impossible?"
"To put it simply, yes. I have looked into your heart and found no love for your husband. It died many years ago. You are with him out of duty, but if he no longer wants you, even if I lift the spell on him, he will still not give you a child to heir his throne. What I see in your heart is that you do not want the throne to pass to another family."
"Then... what must I do for your help?"
"Are you willing to do whatever it is I require?"
"Yes, name it and it's yours."
"Allow the throne to pass to another."
The woman must have shown signs of disagreement because the man raised a hand to silence her.
"Do as the King will require due to the spell and claim this other woman's child. I do not have the power to break the spell before the time comes, but it will be broken before he can set any plans in motion to be rid of you."
"But then as you stated, there will be no child of my own and my lineage shall die with me."
"There is more that you must do for your wish to be fulfilled. The King may not grant you a child, but if you step into the lake, you will be with child, my child. I will then give you this elixir," and the man took a vial, filling it with water from the lake, and then turning to woman, "your sword, if I may."
The woman handed over her sword, and the man made a slice on his finger, allowing a single drop of blood to flow into the vial. He then handed her back the sword, along with the vial.
"As soon as you return to your home, pour this elixir into his chalice with wine, and ensure that he drinks every drop. It will remove the poison that was given to him previously, but it will also induce a heavy slumber, which you will then use to help him to bed. He will awaken, believing to have drunk too much and blaming that as the reason he allowed you to join him in bed. Having no recollection of the night, he will have no doubts of the possibility that he blessed you with child. More so, he will note a change of heart towards you, seeing you as the better fit for queen, and leaving behind his mistress. I will have more than granted your wish. Instead of your lineage being the one eradicated, it will be his. Consider it the price for his indiscretion. Are you in agreement with this plan?"
Before Damia could hear the woman's response, she heard someone calling for her from behind. She turned to see if anyone was approaching and when she turned back around, the opening in the wall had sealed.
She heard someone call her again, and having nothing more keeping her in her current location, she walked towards the voice. She came back to the room Prince Elric had designed and the voice was growing louder. It was reverberating against the walls, and echoing in her skull. She became dizzy trying to find the direction of the voice, and the room started shaking until suddenly she collapsed.