"Where are we headed to, your highness?" Sylvia asked, her eyes cautiously observing everything around her.

The man holding her hand had his usual warm and gentle smile on his lips, however, the tension in the air around them was palpable.

"We are done dancing. We have other plans for tonight." Mikel curtly replied to her question, without actually answering her and tip-toeing around the issue.

But Sylvia knew that this was probably the main reason they were here tonight or rather why he had brought her along tonight.

What else did this devil want from her other than her obedience? She gulped as her gaze wandered over the silhouette of the man.

She watched him casually greet the passersby as they headed further deeper and deeper into the castle.

Their hands were tightly locked together and the two of them were walking in a slurred hurry as if they have had too much to drink, giving the onlookers a different image than what they were really up to.

Sylvia felt her heart drumming loudly.

She wondered what secretive place they could be visiting in the castle using the grand ball as a decoy and distraction.

And even with this said distraction, was it really so easy to sneak around the King's castle?

If by chance they were to be caught, it would only be her head on the guillotine while the devil would probably go scot-free being of royal lineage.

So with every step they took, Sylvia grew more and more nervous.

Even though most of the castle guards and the servants were in the front part of the castle where the ball was taking place, the other areas of the castle still had several guards patrolling.

However, since Mikel was a royal prince, the first born son of the king, no one dared to stop him or question him.

He strolled casually as if he had the right to go where ever he wanted and he dragged Sylvia along with him.

The two of them had walked for a while now through long winding empty corridors, hand in hand, and they had almost reached a far corner of the castle.

The King's castle had six towers in total and right now the prince and his slave were standing beneath one of the towers.

Unlike the other parts of the castle, this tower was neither guarded nor even lighted.

In fact, it was a simple thin, and tall tower with just a spiraling staircase within the tower itself and no other structure such as a room or even a nook.

Huh? Sylvia blinked as the man silently started climbing up and she as well followed him.

"What are we doing here, your highness?" She asked. Shouldn't they be sneaking around and entering something like a royal treasury perhaps???

"Hmmm…" Mikel hummed lightly without answering her. The man's pace had slowed down though he still held her quite firmly.

"Just some star gazing." He muttered under his breath.

The two of them climbed the many many spirals and reached the top of the tower with Sylvia panting out of breath.

The strong wind loosened her bun and her hair fell apart, cascading down like a waterfall to reach her hips.

Sylvia tucked away a few errant strands behind her ear and gaped at the scenery in front of her.

She could see the beautiful lands of Kalindor and with the blanket of darkness enveloping the Kingdom, the several lights dazzling within it were a spectacular sight to behold.

Though it would have probably been better to catch a glimpse of this view during the daytime, this wasn't too bad either.

The cold breeze and the sparkling lights gave her a sense of calm and tranquility, but not enough to make her forget the man standing beside her or the thing that they were up to tonight.

Sylvia stopped sightseeing and turned to see what Mikel was up to.

He had by now loosened his grip on her lit up a torch that lighted the small terrace sort of space at the top of the tower on which they were standing right now.

It was an open tower, but there were pillars around and a railing for protection.

She leaned against the railing and watched the man curiously.

Is he by chance going to push me down from the top?

The obvious question floated on Sylvia's mind when Mikel's gaze momentarily landed on her and he laughed at her expression.

"I am not going to murder you." He said. "Stop worrying. This will be over soon."

He then squatted down and traced the floor underneath them with his hand.

Sylvia gasped as she suddenly noticed a faint circle and some weird engravings or rather symbols within the circle.

She couldn't recognize those symbols and did not understand what this was.

And when she looked up, she saw that Michael already had his eyes closed muttering something under his breath, and as the seconds ticked by, the circle started glowing faintly.

Sylvia immediately stiffened up and moved away from the circle. She could tell that something was going on and she was not keen on waiting and finding out what it was.

She quickly ducked out of the tower's terrace and stepped back into the spiral staircase, beginning to run down.

"Stop, Sylvia," Mikel said, but she didn't listen to him this time.

However, the man muttered something inaudible, and the next instant she found her body frozen in place, unable to climb down any longer.

"You promised to behave." Mikel sighed, as he walked down and picked her up like a sack of vegetables.

He then climbed back up, once again bringing her to the small terrace, with the circle and the engravings.

He gently placed her down on the floor and then sat down beside her. "I cannot do this without your consent."

Sylvia tried to retort back but she still couldn't move.

Mikel sighed and mumbled something again, the next second the restraint on her body disappearing and her voice returning.

However, before she could say anything, he turned to look at her and asked. "Do you trust me?"