What kind of Magic?

Chapter 6

"What?!" The warlock looked angry.

"You heard me." Langia said. "I'm not leaving."

"Oh, yes you are!"

"Oh, no I'm not!"

He glared right back at her with the same fierceness. "You have to leave."

"Well, I'm not going to!" Langia took a step toward him. "I stand by what I said earlier. I'm not leaving unless you are."

The warlock nodded and made a waved his arm around the room. "Well, it appears that you will be here for a while. Just know that this is my castle and my rules."

"Excuse me," Langia said. "I am a princess. You can't just talk to me that way."

He took a few long strides until he was only a few inches away from her. When he spoke, he spoke very quietly. "If I remember correctly, your kingdom ends at the edge of the woods. Since we are not in your kingdom, you have no authority here. As long as you stay, I overrule you. Understand, princess?"

Langia looked up at his bright purple eyes. She nodded curtly.

He turned away from her. "Now, like I said, I have rules. First of all, none of your white magic."

"I don't remember mentioning anything about me being a white mage." Langia said suspiciously.

The warlock cleared his throat, and gestured to the golden lights floating around her. "It's kind of obvious."

Langia had completely forgotten about those lights. She felt her face flush.

"So, none of those lights." As he said this, he snapped his fingers and the lights around her extinguished. The only light came through the open doors. It was harder for Langia to see the warlock. His bright purple eyes seemed to shine in the darkness.

"Don't do anything to harm any of my property." He continued.
"And now, the most important rule. No personal questions."

"What?" Langia asked. "What kind of questions?"

"Mm, that sounds like a question to me."

"Fine." Langia said. "But I just have one question, and it isn't a personal one."

He made a gesture. "Go ahead."

"Why aren't you sending me out, instead of letting me stay?"

He hesitated for a second. "Mino likes you, and I trust his judgement."

"That thing likes me?" Langia asked. She prepared for the warlock to say something that she had just asked another question.

"Of course. Can't you tell?"

"No."

"You must have never been around a Minotaur before."

"I can't say that I have."

"Well, Mino can take you to a room." He said. "I am being gracious by letting you stay here. But if you mess up one little thing you're out of here."

Langia nodded. Mino came bumbling into the room. The warlock nodded to Mino, then he left the room. Langia then looked to Mino. "I'll follow you." She said. "Go ahead." Mino grunted once and went to a dark staircase leading them to a second floor. He went down a small hallway and lead her to a door at the end of it.

The room was a good size, but it didn't have much in it. Langia studied the room as she walked in and shut the door behind her. The only things in the room was a small bed with black  bedsheets and small table with a rickety looking chair. Instantly, Langia went to work. The warlock had said she couldn't do anything to harm his castle, but he never said she couldn't change it to her liking.

Langia waved her arm over the bed and the black sheets simmered and changed to a white color. She also added some touches to make the bed more comfortable. The table and chair were changed into a white desk with a chair with golden cushions. The floor turned white, the color radiating out from her  feet and climbing up the walls and ceiling. Where the color met at the middle of the ceiling, a lamp sprouted, filling the room with light.

Langia stood back and admired her work. After just a few seconds of this, she went to her desk. She snapped her fingers and a few of her magic textbooks appeared before her. She spent the rest of the day, pouring over these books. Langia was determined to finish her mission. She would do whatever it took to take the warlock to her palace, even if it meant breaking him out of here.

Langia looked up everything she could about curses, because she was sure that's what the barrier was. She had studied magic her whole life, but she had never seen a curse like this one. She found no mention of barrier curses in her studying.

Langia almost considered returning to her palace so she could use some better materials, but the warlock didn't seem like the type to welcome her back after she left. And then there was the matter of the warlock himself. Langia racked her brain of everything she learned in her magic lessons. There had never been mention of anything other than light magic. That didn't make any sense.

Yet, Langia had seen the Dark Warlock with her own eyes. She had seen him use magic, when he extinguished her glowing lights. Mino was probably some magical creature created by the warlock. Langia even felt a magical presence around the castle and the grounds, like the constant energy of some spell.

It was a long time before Langia put down her spell books. She couldn't tell what time it was, for there were no windows. But she would guess that it was much later into the night. She made a mental note to conjure some sort of clock in her room tomorrow. By now however, it was to late and Langia sunk into her bed and fell asleep.