CHAPTER 349: WHAT I SAW-I

Alice curved her lips into a smile and nodded briefly, "Yes."

"But aren’t I here to help break the curse once I have fully understood magic and witchcraft?" Ariel asked toward Morpheus who in return looked back at her and briefly seem to sigh.

"Yes but Alice is here to study the curse with me," Morpheus then looked at her green eyes, narrowing his own eyes, "But you seem to feel apprehensive toward Alice, is there a problem?"

"No," Ariel answered with a smile, "I just want to know a little, unless that you don’t like me knowing about it?"

Morpheus shook his head, "If it is something that you really wish to know, I won’t stop you."

"Thank you," Ariel then turned around, "I suppose then I should go now before I took too much of you two’s time. Morpheus," she then stared at him, lingered her gaze for a while and then at Alice, "I do wish that you don’t hide anything to me. I want to help you, sincerely. If you could explain me the reason behind your action, I will try to understand you."

Morpheus looked back at her, staring at her face and she could feel how his doubtful eyes that always pretended to truly trust her instead stare at her skeptic. She didn’t mind the gaze, letting him eye her for a while before turning away and leaving the throne room.

This much was enough.

To make someone trust you, pushing will do the opposite work.

She only had to do enough, to show that she is trustworthy, to show that her trust to him was biased, and the fact that she was more trustworthy than Alice.

At least, this is good for now.

"Princess!" Alice called which made her stop before she could leave the room for good. Her heart thump but she managed to turn around with a poker face toward Alice who had grinned, "Since I will be spending my time for quite a while here, I hope you take care of me well."

"Of course," Ariel answered, her eyes pleasantly gentle as she turned away and left for good.

Alice who saw the door closed then turned to Morpheus, "She doesn’t seem so bright, is she?"

But Morpheus wasn’t pleased with her and snapped back, "She won’t harm the sorcerers unlike you."

"I had no choice, alright? I was about to die and if I hadn’t done a reverse curse to heal myself with those two sorcerers, I would have died and your plan? It will be gone to smithen."

Morpheus’s hands then shot to her neck, pulling her in a chokehold, "And do you think I will simply allow such reasoning for the death of two of my own kin?"

Even with her neck being choked, Alice still grin, "Yes. Because you are a man who has a broader view, who looks to the result not the method. That girl you bring," then she veered the conversation, "Doesn’t she resemble Circe a little too much?"

Morpheus’s fingers flinched and though he didn’t show it in his face, Alice caught the sight and smiled.

"Not the face, not quite similar," hummed the green witch, "It is her... yes, her personality. She seems so headstrong, so naive and foolish, the type of girl who would do anything to protect this castle but soon give up when the man she loves is also in danger."

Morpheus’s teeth cracked at how hard he had gritted them.

"But right now she seems enchanted by you," Alice raised her hands to his face and gently leaned forward, staring deep into his eyes with her lips only a few brushes away from kissing his lips.

But Morpheus didn’t flinch and neither did she who had smiled so wide as though she had triumphed.

"If you use her, won’t she do everything to please you?" Alice then pulled away, cackling, "Perhaps she would even give her sister’s heart to your hand and- and yes, maybe this time you will have a Circe of your own."

Morpheus balled his hand into a fist before shoving Alice away from him, throwing her across the floor. His chest heaved as he harrumphed, looking down at her with a deep frown.

"There is only one Circe."

And with that, he walked toward the door, leaving with one lasting demand, "If you plan to stay here, you have to finish all your work as promised and steer away from touching any of my sorcerers. If I find out that you have harmed another one, it will be you who I kill next."

The throne door shut at exactly the time when the chickens cry and by the time morning had arrived again, Ariel had stirred first from her room, startled by the loud sound of crash that she had to stop the woman helping her braid her hair.

She rushed to stand, "What’s the noise?"

The servants who looked at her was also as curious and before they could answer, she had went to find the source of the sound first, finding out that the source of the noise came from none other than the hallway.

In it, a servant seemed to be holding her hands together, pleading profusely as though she had angered the King.

But it was odd because Morpheus had never once harmed or strictly admonish the servants.

Sure enough the person she had seen in front of the pleading servant was Alice.

She had a large splash of purple color on her green dress, large enough to cover her entire waist and arm.

Her eyes had stopped smiling as she looked at the color but she hadn’t said a word or lifted her finger either.

Just by standing there, everyone was scared of her, especially as to them witches were akin to Queens they could never afford to offend.

Worried, Ariel stepped faster to the scene, cutting the view between Alice and the maid, "I heard the commotion, it must have been an accident, are you alright, Miss Alice?"