Charter: Valafar

Meanwhile, Valafar went down with two plates of soup, somewhere under the castle, it was a dark dusty dungeon, almost empty, but a sad loud breathing could be heard.

– For your good behavior and food, as promised. – Valafar himself went down to the men, who were locked up in two strong iron dungeons.

He placed the first plate in front of an elderly man with a long white beard and a single antler protruding from his head.

– Hello again, former King of Morsalia, Francis Morsalia. – Valafar crouched down to get a better look at his aged majesty.

– Hu-hu-hu, you're a scoundrel. – The gaunt old man sat on the floor of the cold dungeon and glared at the pirate.

–Stop praising me! – Valafar laughed.

-Why don't you just give me my throne?

– Man, what do you need it for, you're already old, your only son is dead and you have no pregnant concubines, you don't need this Kingdom. – He stood up and, carrying another bowl of soup, approached another young man with a deep, bright scar on his face.

– And this is for you, my silent one. Now that you are not hungry, I think I will go to sleep, and you have fun if you have something to do!

He stepped out of the dungeon and closed the thick door behind him, a bowl of soup flew in, the atmosphere was stuffy and it was impossible to even breathe normally, there was a kind of toilet in this room and something resembling a medieval air conditioner that inexplicably went out. The silent man with the light, thick stubble drank the chowder in one gulp and put the wooden bowl down, looking darkly at the door through which Valafar had recently entered, waiting for the right moment to snap the pirate's neck and finally surface.

***

Athena finished her breakfast, wiped her greasy lips from the salad with a napkin and placed it in the empty plate where the cutlery had been, then leaned back in her chair and thought to herself: "What a lovely lunch", she really expected one of Valafar's servants to come and clear the table, but there was no sign of it, it was as if there was only one pirate in the castle and no one else. Taking the key she had found in the glass, Athena pushed back the king's chair and went to find the door from which the mysterious object had come.

Coming out of the large room in which she had awakened, Athena saw a large windowless corridor in front of her, with the royal family crest on the walls and candelabras lighting the way, each door had a light, but not every door would open with this key, searching for the right door Athena feared that she was here forever and would never be able to get out of this castle or find her way back home where her loving family was waiting for her. Her worries were understandable, as being unexpectedly transported to another world on a "save the world or be killed" mission caused nightmares that disturbed her and prevented her from getting a good night's sleep. No matter what door Athena put the key in, she could not open it, then she looked forward and saw a half-open white door. She walked quietly into the sunlit room, her eyes falling on the dusty shelves of books from this world that no one had cleaned or tidied for a long time. The room was incredibly large and had windows, the library could fit three huge elephants in its width and a giraffe in its length. Athena ran quickly to the windows to see what was outside, she saw the family graveyard of the King of Morselia, the image was similar to the one she had seen on the dead prince's grave, only there were many more trees and they looked older. The view from the window captivated the girl's heart, a huge number of trees like blooming willow trees were emitting pollen that was spreading all over the kingdom, she didn't want to stop looking just because it calmed her down and made her forget the problems and worries that were haunting her, Athena wanted to sit on the windowsill but was stopped by the snoring of a man in the far corner of the library, she was scared at first but decided to check out the situation and she was right, on the couch red-haired Valafar was sleeping sweetly drooling on the floor.

She sat down on the dusty floor with a pillow on the floor and just watched him sleep. She had many questions, like why was he feeding her or why were there no servants in the castle? All these questions made her uneasy, but one thing she knew for sure was that the man sleeping in front of her was very lonely indeed. Athena suddenly remembered her childhood and what it had been like for her in junior high, because she actually understood Valafar and his loneliness.

THREE YEARS AGO : Athena

– Athena! Have you seen my hairpins for tonight? – It was the girl's mother, Orlanda, and she was really looking for something valuable for herself. The mother came into the girl's room and looked around.

– No, I haven't seen it. – Athena replied, wiping off her musical instrument, a simple silver flute that the girl valued so highly.

– Oh, so you're already preparing for tonight's talent night? – Orlanda walked over to Athena and stroked her head.

– Mum! You'll ruin my curly hair and I want it to be like yours! –Athena pushed her mother's hand away so she wouldn't mess up her hair.

-Get ready for school, my little unapproachable! -Orlanda laughed.