That morning, while everyone else went busily about their duties, the great castle hummed with quiet activity — footsteps echoing, documents opening and closing, soft orders spoken along long corridors.
Silas, as always, took no part in it. He rested comfortably upon a large sofa near a blazing hearth; firelight cast a gentle warmth while heavy snow fell thick outside, blanketing the grounds in deep white. Beside him sat a mug of hot chocolate, thin steam rising slowly — still far too hot to drink quickly.
Silas breathed out slowly, gazing toward the window.
"Everything falls exactly where I want it. Nyx… good riddance indeed."
He lifted the cup and sipped carefully, eyes half‑closed, satisfied that every scheme woven within his mind was nearly complete.
Suddenly — a soft sound against glass. Tap.
A small squirrel leaped nimbly inside, landing lightly upon the wooden floor. Fin. His eyes found Silas at once; seeing the rabbit lounging like a monarch, he let out a sharp huff.
"Couldn't even invite me along," Fin grumbled, trotting over toward the sofa.
Silas only glanced sideways, unbothered.
"I have important work now. Princess Celestia trusts me completely — never guessed she'd be so easy to lead."
Fin hopped up onto the far end of the seat, sitting uninvited beside him, flicking his tail.
"Oh, you're right enough there… and speaking of missing folk — haven't seen Ryan in ages. Where did he vanish to?"
Silas shrugged loosely.
"Who knows. Trying to slip away, I expect. He matters very little in the end — let him stay or go as he pleases."
Fin fell quiet a moment, then spoke again — tone sharper, serious.
"What do you intend to do next?"
Silas smiled broadly, more confident than ever.
"Once I finish this drink… I go straight to Her Highness. I shall make myself her most trusted advisor. Convince her I am the only soul she can truly rely upon."
Fin grinned wickedly.
"And don't forget — I want plenty of nuts as payment."
"Naturally," Silas replied with a wide, knowing smile.
He drained the last of the hot chocolate in a few long swallows, stood up, brushed smooth his fur, and strode out of the quiet chamber toward the royal offices deep within the castle.
Princess Celestia's study lay at the end of a long corridor, lit softly through tall glass windows framing the wintry world outside. Silas stepped boldly inside — only to stop short. The room stood empty.
"Hmm… where is Her Highness?"
Before he could move further, the door clicked softly shut behind him.
Silas spun around. There stood Princess Celestia, hand still resting upon the latch. Her expression was calm… yet her eyes were sharp — far too sharp for someone who had supposedly only just arrived.
"Were you looking for me, Silas?" she asked quietly.
He instantly shifted his posture, putting on his most gentle, respectful air.
"Indeed, Your Highness — I came only to offer my help and service."
"Help? Do you wish to become my personal assistant then, Silas?"
"I would never presume… yet should you wish it, I would be honoured beyond measure," he replied, feigning humility perfectly. He smiled to himself — certain everything unfolded exactly as planned.
But Celestia did not smile back. Instead she stepped closer. With one swift motion she grasped both his long ears and lifted him straight up until their eyes met level. Silas dangled helplessly above the floor, stunned motionless.
"Princess… why — why lift me so? Is it because… I am simply too adorable?" he joked nervously, trying to brush aside his rising unease.
"You are mistaken, Silas," she answered coldly. "You shall never serve me in that way."
He frowned in confusion. "Why not? Have I not helped you greatly all this time?"
Celestia laughed softly — a sound holding no warmth at all.
"Helped? You have done nothing but try to twist and manipulate me."
Silas's eyes widened. "What? That is absurd — I would never —"
She walked to her desk, picked up a thick folder, and held it right before his face — even while he still hung suspended in mid‑air. Every page bore handwriting he knew perfectly well: his own.
He froze completely. "This… how…?"
Celestia looked straight through him without emotion. "I know exactly whose side you stand upon — Alice's. I pretended to see nothing, all this while… and in the end, I caught the true traitor red‑handed."
Silas began to squirm and struggle, but her grip was far stronger than any ordinary rabbit could hope to break free from.
"What… what exactly are you implying, Your Highness?" His voice rose higher, edged with panic.
She did not answer at once — only pushed the papers closer still, as if forcing him to understand every word written there.
"You betrayed Qas. You betrayed Liy. And above all… you betrayed Nyx."
Silas went utterly still.
"Did you truly believe I never learned how you misused Nyx's name to buy and trade goods? Or that I never noticed documents upon my desk being quietly swapped out?" Her tone grew sharper, biting.
"Still… this is hardly proof enough," he stammered weakly.
Celestia gave a thin, dangerous smile. "Oh — isn't it?"
She laid a single picture down upon the table. It showed Silas perfectly clear — standing over files in the record room, carefully replacing papers, glancing over his shoulder to ensure no eyes watched.
Silas fell silent. For the first time, his perfect confidence shattered completely.
"I never guessed such a sweet‑looking creature could be so devious," she murmured. "And now… I wonder exactly what I ought to do with you."
Fear burst fully within him. "No — please! Don't… don't do anything terrible! Put me down — I beg you! Alice — she put ideas in my head! She made me do every bit of it!"
Celestia studied him long and hard.
"One truly controlled or tricked never dares harm or deceive innocent folk just to gain advantage," she said heavily and sternly. "You chose every step yourself. And you shall be punished, Silas — punished severely."
He hung frozen in the air, trembling. For the very first time within these castle walls… he understood that every grand plan he had been so proud of was not only uncovered — but utterly finished, with no path left to turn back.
Celestia said nothing more. Holding Silas suspended solely by his long ears, she walked calmly out of her study — as if carrying a rabbit this way were the most ordinary thing imaginable. The corridors, once busy with folk passing by, fell instantly quiet; every official paused to stare, yet none dared speak or ask what was happening.
Silas wriggled feebly, stinging pain and deep embarrassment pricking sharply through him.
"Princess… please — might you set me down in a more… dignified manner?"
"If I let go now," Celestia replied coolly without glancing back, "you would run straight away."
Silas fell silent at once.
Before they could reach the great staircase, a voice cut clearly through the hush.
"Why do you hold him so, Princess Celestia?"
Celestia stopped. Standing directly in their path was Alice, as though she had been waiting there all along. Her gaze fixed instantly upon Silas dangling helplessly in the Princess's grip.
Silas froze completely. "Alice…" he breathed barely aloud, hardly believing his eyes.
Celestia turned her head slightly toward her.
"Because he betrayed me," she answered evenly. "Just as you have done as well."
Alice lifted an eyebrow. "I have?"
Celestia stepped slowly closer, still carrying Silas between them.
"But you are far more than a petty traitor. You have tried to unravel and destroy Wonderveil itself."
The air grew heavy and sharp. Alice paused a moment before replying — her voice soft yet thick with hidden meaning.
"Your Highness… I never intended to —"
"You are a witch," Celestia cut through her words. "And no ordinary one… an Abyssal Witch."
The very name seemed to make the air itself grow colder and heavier still. Alice stiffened.
"…How could you possibly know that?"
Celestia did not answer straight away. Instead she glanced calmly toward the shadows lining the corridor.
"It is a long story," she said quietly. "Is it not, Elowen?"
Alice spun sharply around. From deep within a side archway, Elowen stepped out — unhurried, composed, even faintly smiling. Silas stared utterly bewildered.
"Elowen…?"
She came to stand beside Celestia, looking steadily at Alice with an unreadable expression.
"Our quarrel… it was all an act," Elowen said calmly. "Merely to uncover who truly pulled every string from the very start." She paused briefly. "And never did we guess… it was you all along, Alice."
Alice bit her lip hard; her hands trembled slightly — not from fear, but from rage barely held back. In a heartbeat, thick dark mist swirled and coiled all around her shape. Silas gasped.
"Alice… no —"
But before anything else could happen, that shadow‑swallowing mist closed completely around her — and she was gone.
Silence rushed back in. Silas still stared at the empty space where she had stood only moments before.
"…She just… vanished like that?"
"And now — Silas," spoke another familiar voice. He turned quickly. Nyx stood there beside Elowen; behind her came Ashveil and Charles. Seeing them all together left Silas utterly speechless and stunned.
Yet greater surprise still waited. Ashveil calmly tossed something onto the stone floor.
Thud!
Fin. Bound tight with rope, he landed in a heap and coughed softly — just as bewildered and shocked as Silas himself.
"Hey — what is this?! Why am I tied up too?!"
Silas could only gape. "…Fin?"
Elowen stepped forward slightly, her tone turning serious.
"We must move quickly indeed. Alice is far too dangerous to leave unchecked."
Silas struggled still to grasp everything unfolding around him, when Celestia spoke softly from behind him — calm and final.
"Indeed we shall."
Those two words settled over everything, making the air grow tighter still. Soon after, Silas and Fin were led away without choice toward the small dungeons deep beneath the castle — down passages dark, damp, and far removed from every warmth they had known above.
Heavy iron doors slammed shut behind them with a deafening ring: CLANG!
Silas sank down upon the cold stone floor, still trying desperately to untangle all that had happened in only a few short minutes. Nearby, Fin twisted and turned, trying uselessly to slip free of his bonds.
"This… this certainly wasn't how I imagined my day going… or all those nuts I was promised."
Silas said nothing. He simply stared blankly ahead into the gloom. Alice had vanished. Elowen stood united with Celestia. Nyx and the others were in control once more.
And for the very first time… Silas understood clearly: he had never truly been the master of this game at all. He was nothing more than someone caught deep inside it — trapped forever.
.......
The old mansion stood silent upon a windswept hill. Walls once magnificent now bore fine cracks; half‑shattered windows let the night wind sweep through unhindered.
Deep inside, Alice stood alone in the great dust‑covered hall.
The crash and clatter of things thrown and broken echoed endlessly.
CRASH!
Ancient pottery shattered against stone.
THUD!
Heavy chairs were overturned and cast aside.
Alice breathed hard and raggedly, shoulders heaving. Her eyes burned wild — roiling with rage, bitter disappointment, and something deeper still… a hunger never satisfied.
"Useless… all of it useless," she muttered low. "I am a witch… I am meant to be great."
Her voice rang hollow through empty space — no answer came back.
She began to pace back and forth, fast and restless; hair fell loose and wild, yet could not dim the dangerous aura wrapping her like a cloak. In her mind's eye, Celestia and Elowen appeared again and again.
A plan meant to unfold perfectly… crumbled to dust in a heartbeat.
"I should have won…" she whispered, even softer now. "I was meant to hold everything in my hands."
Her fingers clenched tight as if struggling to hold back something ready to burst forth from within.
Yet beneath the anger, memory began to pull her far back into the past.
Long ago… Alice had not been this way at all.
She was once a student at Wonderveil's Academy of Magic — standing among others who sought knowledge just as she did. Gifted, yes… but not yet dangerous.
One day a friend spoke gently while they studied together in the library.
"Alice… do not lean too heavily upon magic alone. We must learn other things too."
Young Alice had only smiled scornfully.
"Magic is everything there is to learn."
She paid those words no mind whatsoever.
From then onward she chased greater knowledge, greater power — without limit, without care or caution.
Until the day she found a strange book deep within the academy's forgotten underground archives.
It bore no clear title. Its pages were dark as night, seeming to swallow light rather than reflect it.
And though warnings were marked upon its cover… though the academy had forbidden it utterly…
Alice opened it anyway.
The first arts she learned were no ordinary spells.
They were forbidden magic.
Power to twist and shape minds.
Power to weave dreams into solid reality.
And worse — magic that slowly ate away at the heart and kindness of whoever wielded it.
Yet to Alice then, none of that mattered. She saw only one thing: power.
In that memory, she stood before her teachers and fellow students within the great hall. Her master looked deeply troubled.
"Alice… where did you come by such knowledge?"
Calmly, she lifted the dark book high.
"I found this — hidden away in the old archives."
The master took it in hand. His face blanched pale the moment he read the very first line.
"Alice… this was never meant for anyone to study freely."
"Too late for that," Alice answered simply.
Even then, dark power began to seep and swirl outward from her form.
Friends drew back in terror.
"Alice — please stop!"
"We're your friends, Alice — remember!"
But such words could no longer reach her. All she heard now was the rising roar of power growing ever stronger inside her.
Then it erupted.
Not mere magic — it bent space, unravelled thought, fed upon human fear.
Her master fell, body broken and wounded by magic out of all control. Alice stood over him… and slowly reached out — drawing something deep from within him.
Strength.
Power.
And something far darker still.
Her friends tried to flee.
"Run — get away!"
"Alice, please — calm down!"
But Alice would not be stayed. She caught them one by one — not merely striking them down… but stripping away hope itself first.
And one by one, they fell.
When all was done, silence reigned within the great hall. No voices of friends remained. No words of warning. Only Alice stood alone in the centre — the sole witch left standing.
The memory faded fast, yet its mark remained heavy upon her. Back in the crumbling mansion, she stopped pacing. Her hands trembled faintly.
"…It is not my fault," she murmured — yet her voice lacked the fierce strength it had held earlier. "I was simply… stronger than they were."
She drew a deep breath, forcing those thoughts far back into shadow. Her gaze sharpened again.
"Wonderveil… Celestia… Elowen…"
A thin, cold smile touched her lips — harder and sharper than before.
"This… is far from over."