The Urgent Need To Do Some Interior Renovation

Sophia was wandering around the villa. It was the day after she had awoken. After some more rest she felt nearly fully recovered again. She was going down the marble stairs and opened a door on the first-floor wall. She knew where it would lead her. She climbed down the stairs and followed the long and dark corridor. Nearly at the end she found the cell she had seen in Kieran’s dreams. She looked at the shackles that held young Kieran all those years for a while. Then she went till the end of the corridor and through the door. Sophia came into a room with a stone altar in the middle. There were chains to restrain someone on it fixed in the stone. Sophia also noticed some scratch marks and reddish spots. She turned around and went back through the corridor and up the stairs. In the entrance hall she chose another door and went through it. After crossing a few rooms, she found herself in a kitchen area. There was a table. This was where she had seen Kieran and Nora eat often. The bowls they used were still there. Sophia picked on up. She noticed something stuck inside. It looked like a piece of petrified mushroom to her.

“That bitch…” Sophia mumbled and put back the plate.

She continued roaming through the rooms and went to the second floor. She went down the corridor that she knew would lead her to the study room, but she randomly chose another door first. Behind it was a bedroom. She recognized the room instantly. Sophia went closer to the bed. There was no doubt. This was the room and bed that he had seen Kieran and Nora do all sorts of things. Least of all sleeping. Sho looked a bit closer on the bedding and spotted a single long and curly blonde hair. Sophia suddenly felt anger rise inside of her and she needed something to vent it on.

Valeria came running after hearing the loud bang. She rushed through the door where she heard the noise coming from. She spotted Sophia.

“Are you okay? What happened?” She asked worried.

Then she noticed that the mostly empty room had a bed-sized hole in the wall, where probably a window was supposed to be.

“What the hell happened?” Bastian asked, storming into the room.

“I would like to know that as well,” Valeria added.

“I threw the bed out of the window…” Sophia explained, calmly.

“You did what? Why?”

“Because I felt like it.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Don’t ask… it had to go.”

Valeria and Bastian looked at each other very confused.

“Well at least you seem to be feeling better, that’s good to see…” he then said shruggingly.

“Yeah, I feel better now… Great in fact.”

“Well then if you’re feeling so great and your immediate need for interior renovation is sated for the moment. I want to show you something. I think you might find it interesting.”

“What is it?”

“Come, I’ll show you.”

Valeria led her to the study room. A big book was on the table.

“Here look at this.” She said and pointed at the pages of the book.

Sophia took a closer look. The symbol depicted on the page was identical to the one that she and Kieran had. Sophia read the corresponding paragraph.

“That can’t be…” she mumbled.

“Seems like it can…” Valeria said and smiled cheekily. “I think congratulations are in order.”

“It says here that the sign is a symbol of an ancient wedding ritual. When there is real love between two individuals and the willingness to put even their life in the hand of each other the symbols on their bodies will match…”

“And I wasn’t even invited to the ceremony… I thought we were friends!”

“Shut up that’s not funny!”

Sophia read the paragraph again. She did not misread any of it.

“It really seems to be true…” Sophia mumbled perplexed.

“Do you mind it to be?” Valeria asked carefully.

“No… I… don’t know…”

“You don’t know?”

“No… I mean… I would not mind it… but…”

“But?”

“He should have a say in this too… I don’t know if he wants… me…”

“I see…”

Valeria thought for a moment.

“Well, he does have the same symbol as you do, right?” she then asked.

“He does…” Sophia admitted a bit flustered.

“Then with what is written there… that means he…”

“Maybe…”

Sophia rubbed her reddening face.

“Before you faint, could you read the other pages as well and especially the handwritten stuff? There is a lot of magical mumbo jumbo that I don’t understand. Maybe you will.” Valeria mentioned.

Sophia began reading the other stuff and her expression darkened. Especialla when she read the handwritten notes.

“Those bastards…” she mumbled as she finished.

“What does it mean?” Valeria asked.

“To put it simply…They altered this… wedding ritual… and used the willingness of someone to put their life in other hands to force someone into servitude… that’s what they did to Kieran…”

“Those bastards…”

“Right… to use something so sacred in such a sinister way…”

Valeria furrowed her brows.

“Wait a minute…” she began. “Does that mean that the old hag Inquisitor is not only behind all this other stuff… she’s also Kieran’s ex-wife? How does that make you feel, current wife?”

“It makes me want to slug that bitch in the face…” Sophia grumbled. “And don’t call me that!”