THE TRAP (Iselen P.O.V)

                                    

                                          
            
                          
We haven't had any more adventures as the Sorceress promised. Our life has been quiet for the past two months and we've established a comfortable daily routine. Every morning, after having breakfast, she instructs me in the mysteries of the magic for a few hours, then we have lunch and she spends her evening in her office while I try to entertain myself reading, embroidering, playing with Lucifer and working in the back garden. The study of herbs and plants, their properties and uses, is one of the cornerstones of magic so Ruby has lent me a book on the subject and she's insisted that I should grow as many plants as possible and learn about methods of drying and preservation. 
                          
To be honest the garden has become my own piece of paradise, if it weren't for my plants and flowers, I'd have gone mad with boredom. Twice a week we go to the market together and some evenings we take a walk around the port, Ruby watches the ships arriving and then she buys the most exotic goods directly from the captains. From time to time we leave the city with Deva and she let me ride her at full speed; of course those are my favourite moments, I miss my daily rides. The rest of the time I stay confined in this extremely well protected house with a paranoid vampire and of course I never go out without her. 
                          
Today is one of those days in which boredom is almost killing me. I have nothing to do in the garden and the plants that are drying in a dark room aren't ready to be stuffed in dark crystal bottles. Since our home is kept clean magically and I don't need to do house work, my only options are embroider, read for a while or play with the cat. Unfortunately Lucifer is about to take a nap on the living room windowsill and he pays no attention to me... maybe I could bake a cake for dinner or something like that. Thoughtfully, I rub his thick fur while looking absentmindedly through the window till I see someone that catches my eye:
                          
-          Eric? – I whisper in shock.
                          
It can't be my old friend, this isn't possible. What the hell is my uncle's stableman doing here, drinking water from the fountain under the apple tree? But it must be him, Eric doesn't have a twin brother as far as I know. Maybe he decided to run away like me, maybe the life in Agartha has become unbearable. I wouldn't be surprised if that Fat Bastard has led the kingdom to chaos or maybe the Guard has started a purge and is getting rid of some so-called 'traitors.' Maybe he has been accused of helping me to get out of there, he was my only friend in the Court after all... maybe he's escaped from prison. Eh! Where is he going now? 
                          
-          Eric! Wait!
                          
I run out the door leaving behind one shocked Lucifer just in time to see Eric going out the square towards the city's main street. It's market day so carts, mules and people are making a great deal of noise; I don't think he'll be able to hear me, not even if I scream his name from the top of my lungs. So at the moment I'm satisfied with not lose sight of his back till we reach a quieter area; luckily he's wearing his usual dark red doublet and is easily distinguishable. A few minutes later I see him getting into a narrower street and I follow him without thinking. 
                          
-          Eric!
                          
-          I'm sorry, have we met before?
                          
Oops! It's not him. He certainly looks like him but... there's something wrong, as if the contour of his face wasn't well defined and his appearance was some kind of optical illusion. Thanks to the Sorceress lessons I can feel the remains of the magic energy flying around this fake Eric. This is not good, in fact it looks like a trap. I see now that I've made a mistake and Ruby is likely to give me hell when I get home because I hadn't permission to go out... if I can get home alive. Suddenly I miss my girl very much. 
                          
-          I beg your pardon, sir. I thought you were someone else. 
                          
Saying goodbye with a kind smile I turn around to get out of this alley in a hurry when something stops me, my legs refuse to obey me and keep walking. I look down to see the tips of my boots poking out under my skirt, I want to make sure that my feet are still there because for a moment I felt that they were vanished and that's why I couldn't walk anymore. My first impression of him was right: there's a lot of magical energy floating around this fake Eric. I've got myself in real trouble now.