Sarah Burton was a tall, fair Lady with shiny brown hair and beautiful red eyes much like Alice's, possessing slightly longer ears and looked like she was in her late 30's, at least that's what her age would've been in the human world but she was an Elf and elf's lived particularly long lives and while she looked like someone in her 30's she was 74.
She was married to Robert Burton a nomag (which referred to non-magic humans) whom she fell in love with on her expeditions to the human world to learn about their kind of magic.
While the magic secretly practiced in the human world was inferior to that of the Demon and Angel races they were widely known for their healing magic. She became friends with Peter's real mother who was also a nomag and accompanied her to the castle when Demon Lord Nazario fell in love with her.
It was during her expeditions to far reaches of the Demon realm she met Melissa through which they became friends.
"Mom!" Alice screamed with all the excitement in the world as she ran to hug her mom with tears in her eyes.
"How'd you get here?" Peter asked coldly scrutinizing her with untrusting eyes. He wasn't particularly pleased with her arrival because he was confused as to how she escaped a properly secured palace after being supposedly captured.
"I still have friends amongst the Castle guards who're still loyal not to the Demon Lord Vermont but to the power which is in you," Sarah said, they broke me out last night when they confirmed the power of the former Demon Lord still existed within you," she continued.
When Peter saw the beautiful smile Alice wore, he became satisfied with the answer she gave and smiled back at her. Peter was keen on finding more about his mother from Alice's mom but Melissa beckoned to him and they retired to their rooms leaving the mother and daughter to catch up after spending a long time away from each other.
Morning came and it was the most beautiful Alice ever had since she left her mother to find Peter on her instructions. She woke to the sight of her mother staring at her with her kind eyes and hugged her tightly never wanting the morning to end.
Later that day after Alice and Peter finished their evening lessons from Melissa, in which they learned cloaking spells, they gathered to have dinner.
With the tables filled with delicious food and sweet wine, with the sound of merriment and laughter in the air, Melissa smiled as she tried but failed to hold back her tears because it was the first time she felt like she had an actual family after her mom, dad and two brothers were killed by the Dark ones on their farm many years back.
And for Peter, it gave him a feeling of relief as he came to understand that he wasn't alone. After they had dinner Peter couldn't resist the urge to ask how Sarah had snapped him out of the grip of the former Demon Lord's power, so he asked:
"How did you do it?".
"Do what Peter?" Alice responded.
"How did your mom release me from the control of the Demon Lord's powers?" Peter asked.
"I used a forbidden spell Peter, I tried separating the power from your soul but I saw that you wouldn't survive if I took it out so I locked it away inside you," she said. You can still use a little of the power occasionally, but you won't have a say over when the Power is activated, when it is you'll be able to control it".
"And as for you Alice that was a reckless thing to do, getting Peter to use that spell," Melissa said sounding disappointed.
"She's right my dear, if the spell had gone wrong I would've gone straight to the dark dimension," Mrs. Burton said.
At this point, Alice began to sob as she whispered under her breath:
"I'm sorry Mom I just wanted to see you again".
"It's alright my dear," Mrs. Burton said gently clenching Alice's hand.
Alice then got up and walked over to Peter, she sincerely apologized and gave Peter a deep long embrace.
The following day before their morning training Mrs. Burton called for a meeting to let them in on the information she had gathered before she was seized. She found out that The Demon Lord was talking about waging a war against the human world to a member of the Demon council and a priest from the Order of Priests.
So they began making preparations to leave for the Human world to warn the chairman of the magic council who was based in the French capital, Paris. After they were all set and ready to go, Mrs. Burton stepped out to create the portal but as she weaved her hands nothing seemed to be happening.
Melissa came forward to try but met the same fate as her friend. Alice tried but it still didn't amount to anything, then it was Peter's turn to try, he weaved his hands Like he was taught and suddenly the air became cold and a sizzling sound echoed through the fields but before the blue light could follow, the sound stopped and the air returned to normal.
It then dawned on Melissa and Sarah who had experienced something like this before, a spell blocking Transportation Magic had been cast by the Order of Priests, blocking entrance and exits from being made in or out of the Demon realm, and the reason Peter was able to get that far in opening the Portal was because of the Power inside him but he couldn't complete it because the power had been locked away and this time couldn't take control of him.
They went back into the cottage thinking up a plan to leave when an idea hit Mrs. Burton.
"I know of a man who was rumored to have been able to know a way out of the realm when the lockdown was implemented a couple of years back. I think we should go seek him and see if he could help" Mrs. Burton said.
"If we're to leave we'll have to all use disguises because I don't fancy Vermont letting us roam freely without having his soldiers chase us around," Melissa said.
Sarah who was highly skilled in Illusion magic prepared materials that would aid her in making the perfect disguises for the lot of them.
She made four wigs for the four of them and while it didn't look like it was going to disguise them much it managed to hide them perfectly because it changed their appearances.
Immediately they put it on they began to look like totally different persons, and the only way for the spell to become undone was if the wig was removed by the caster of the spell. After eating lunch that afternoon they set off to find the strange man at sundown.