Chapter 142 - Jailed!

The task of sneaking up to the castle in broad daylight was more difficult and time consuming than Alexa expected. But she succeeded, with the help of Alexander, who had an excellent aerial view and could keep her aware of the castle's surveillance without being noticed.

At this moment, her heart was beating wildly, as she hid behind a thick column and tried to reach the stairs that went down to the bas.e.m.e.nt of the castle.

From time to time, a muffled drum sound interrupted the noises common to a small castle. Alexa was sure that the drum sounded in the castle's bas.e.m.e.nt, where she already knew that Magnus was imprisoned.

She waited for a couple of servants to come out carrying a tub full of water. They chatted quietly among themselves, occupied with the weight of the object and focused on their conversation,

"Don't you think this will cause problems in the future?"

"The priest is impressed by this man's resistance and indomitable spirit. He must satisfy the goddess Eostre. Our harvests were not good last year, but it's not surprising ... The Baron was no longer the same."

"Well," laughed the man, "now he will never be the same! The Saxon is a heartless monster!"

"But can they can control all his fury until the festival?"

"It doesn't matter. When the Great Horned One uses his body, he will only do what he has to do. He just needs to be worthy for the great Horned god to possess him!"

They moved away from the door, leaving it ajar, and Alexa, followed by the nightingale, slipped immediately onto the torch-lit path.

"It's not because they hate Baron Brentford they have the right of kidnapping a new candidate for his role at the festival!" she mumbled to Alexander, feeling inflamed by the absurdity, allowed and supported by the local population.

Before Alexander answered, a terrifying scream echoed down the staircase, paralyzing the princess in place.

"NOOO! AHAHHGH!"

It was Magnus.

Alexa took her hand to her heart, as if that could make it stop hurting and beat so fast.

The drum sounded again, and exalted voices speaking something she couldn't understand, could be heard from down the hall. Even more cautiously, Alexa went to the door. Strange vapors emanated from within, with a strong, sickening smell. A male voice sang a sort of repetitive song, but there were other muffled voices talking inside.

The princess pulled the fabric of the cape around her face to protect her nose. She was sure that the smoke was toxic in some way, because she smelled the unmistakable aroma of henbane1 and mandrake2.

"Alexander, you mustn't go down there. These vapors can be fatal to a system as delicate as Romeo's," she whispered. 

~ I'll be watching the door. Take care, ~ he agreed, since he couldn't afford to lose this body too.

As soon as the nightingale flew back to the top of the stairs, Alexa ventured to peek into the room from which the hot vapors and the confused, muffled sound oozed.

It was hard to see, and she dared to enter the room, hiding behind large oil jars. 

The place was wide, although the ceiling was low, and with small openings in the wall that brought in some natural light and allowed air to enter. 

It wasn't a dungeon, but a circular room carved out of the rock. Unknown symbols for Alexa were painted on the walls, and the wide columns that supported the ceiling were also arranged in a circular manner, for some reason.

In the center of the room, an iron cage went up to the ceiling.

Magnus was inside the cage, half n.a.k.e.d and with bloodstains on his body. 

His wild, disheveled appearance was frightening.

From where the princess was, Alexa couldn't see his face very well, but Magnus' altered and aggressive state was clear even from there.

Magnus from time to time slammed his body against the cage door, which rattled on impact, even though it clearly hurt him. At the same time, he put his hands on his head, pulling his hair in despair, and looking haunted by things that only he could see. His golden eyes even seemed to glow in the dim room.

Outside the cage, an old man dressed in white rapped nonstop, rhythmically. Another man with no shirt and with weird drawings on his body, beat the drum at smaller and smaller intervals. 

Both seemed absent minded, immersed in what they were doing, in some kind of religious or narcotic ecstasy.

But she heard a groan coming from the opposite corner, which also caught Magnus' attention, even in his altered state.

Changing her angle in order to see better, Alexa could only see the female silhouette against the light of the torches attached to the opposite wall.

'It sure is Lady Gwen!' she didn't need to see more to know her identity. Nor did he need more light to know that the woman exhibited her body libidinously for the imprisoned man, inciting him with m.o.a.ns and poses that would probably make even a sober man very excited.

The woman mixed words in an unknown language with words that Alexa understood, while teasing Magnus as if he were an animal destined to cover a female. 

Magnus turned to the female figure, moving sensuously, his back to the princess. Even so, Alexa realized that he seemed quite affected by the surrounding sounds, because after each touch of the drum, he m.o.a.ned as if in pain. Lady Gwen m.o.a.ned broken words,

"Oh, get ready! Take your female! Pour it on me! Oh yeah! Will you come for me? Yes, get ready to ravage my insides, yes!"

'Honestly, what does that crazy bitch think she's doing?!' Although Alexa's will was simply to jump on her and slap that woman senseless, she doubted that it would help her get Magnus out of there.

Her eyes were on fire from the toxic smoke, and the drum was speeding up as the man screamed. The princess didn't know what was going on in the First Prince's head,, but he held the bars of the railing trying to approach the woman on the other side, while she squirmed and showed herself shamelessly to him.

Then he suddenly crouched down, putting his hand on his head, and bellowed,

"NOOOOOOO! IT'S NOT LIKE THIS! NO!"

The drum stopped, and so did the annoying litany. Alexa heard Lady Gwen's voice exclaim in deep irritation and rage,

"Arghh! Damn Saxon! Why don't you accept the Great God Cernunnos?! You have to be ready by tomorrow night!"

Magnus was panting and started coughing as he m.o.a.ned. Alexa's heart felt like it was going to tear in half, and almost unconsciously she tried to spot some object with which she could attack them. Only her common sense told her she needed the Prince to at least recognize her to get him out of there. Clearly he was intoxicated and having horrible hallucinations.

"The Horned One hasn't found his way to his body of yet. But his mind is listening to the call of the Goddess, and his heart will respond at the right time," said the old man, coughing next. "Leave him in the mist, the gods will speak to him ..."

After saying this, the old man took a cloak, which he used to cover the white clothes he wore, and went to the door. 

Alexa had to hide, holding back the urge to cough, and saw when the damn blonde woman went to the bars of the cage where Magnus was, calling him sweetly in a strange language.

Magnus was lying near the railing, and Lady Gwen reached out to caress his chest.

Alexa narrowed her eyes in hate. 

But the delusional Prince grabbed the arm that came towards him violently, causing Lady Gwen to come up against the bars. She cried out, hitting her face against the railing, and tried to free herself, but Magnus pulled her arm, muttering in Holstein's language,

"You crazy bitch, you're not her! I see your true face!"

The old man and the drummer came to help the lady, but Magnus had already released the woman's arm and turned on his stomach, looking exhausted. 

The men snickered at their lady, but the woman didn't seem to care either. They were all to a greater or lesser degree intoxicated from staying there, but Magnus was in a worse state. 

The Princess wondered if, had it not been for the heart of stone in the Prince's chest, whether he would have endured the prolonged exposition to such a narcotic substance. 

Alexa supposed that he was being drugged since the end of the duel, when Lady Gwen needed to keep him under control so he wouldn't go after them, as promised.

When the princess realized that they had left, and closed the door behind them, she ran to the cage door, looking for a way to release Magnus.

But why were her movements so slow and why did the walls seem to come towards him?

In addition to the scent of the mandrake, she smelled the daffodils1, and the moist smell of earth and fresh tombs reached her nostrils. She shook her head, focusing on the vision.

Alexa couldn't see how that damn cage was opened. And in the distance, she heard Alexander's voice calling to her, and her hand on her shoulder, frozen,

"Alexa! Danger!"

She saw Magnus's yellow eyes looking down at her, but she looked back, startled that Alexander had touched her shoulder.

The door just opened. In Medieval times, mandrake was considered a key ingredient in a multitude of witches' flying ointment recipes as well as a primary component of magical potions and brews. These were entheogenic preparations used in European witchcraft for their mind-altering and hallucinogenic effects.

All species of Mandragora contain highly biologically active alkaloids, tropane alkaloids in particular. The alkaloids make the plant, in particular the root and leaves, poisonous, via anticholinergic, hallucinogenic, and hypnotic effects.Daffodil or Narcissus

Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids. There is also a long history of the use of Narcissus as a stimulant and to induce trance like states and hallucinations.

White narcissi, are especially associated with death, and have been called grave flowers.In Ancient Greece narcissi were planted near tombs, and are often described as portents of death, an association which also appears in the myth of Persephone and the underworld.

Alexa mentioned to have recognized the white daffodils embroidered in the dress she found in her first room in Holstein as a 'dark omen'.

Henbane was historically used in combination with other plants, such as mandrake, deadly nightshade, and datura, as an anaesthetic potion, as well as for its psychoactive properties in "magic brews". These psychoactive properties include visual hallucinations and a sensation of flight