She Plays his Game

‘Elara’ sighed impatiently. “Alright, I’ll play your game.”

“Excellent.”

Everything else suddenly dissipated from Zangard’s mind, the time he’d spent down here, the need for escape, what he might do when he returned to Octoton. None of that mattered right now. This girl intrigued him. It was time to see if his magic still worked.

“First question, then. What’s your real name?”

She gulped. “I already told you my name, it’s Elara.”

Zangard beamed brightly, a smile that would crack the face of a lesser mage. This was going to be fun.

The blue light was dim, but still there. The girl was nervous, sweating a little on the forehead.

“Where are you from, Elara?”

“Agrazza.” The reply was curt. Hard to tell if that one was a lie right away, but he’d have the truth out of her soon.

“Hmm. So, what are you really doing down here?”

She gulped, then wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her sleeve.

“I- I was just exploring the ruins above and came across the hole in the ground.” That was the biggest, most nervous lie Zangard had seen in all his years. So many cues, the nerves in her voice, the tremble of certain words.

“Alright, enough questions for now, let’s see if you were telling the truth.”

“And how are you going to-”

Tell me your real name.

“Vanilla,” she said in a voice devoid of emotion. She felt at her head, as though she’d suddenly been hit with a headache.

Zangard could keep his power discrete if he wanted. But he preferred his subjects to know that he was controlling them, bending them to his will.

Where are you really from?

“Novilla.” She put her hand over her mouth, disbelief that she’d just told him that.

“Two lies so far, Vanilla. It’s not looking good for you.”

What are you really doing here?

“I was told this was the location of the Undercity. I came to steal the treasures that lie beneath.”

“Hmmm. Intriguing.”

“What did you just do?” She sat down, holding her head in her hands.

“Oh, I merely controlled your mind. It is my power.” Zangard looked at his callused fingers. “Now, we agreed that if you lied to me, you’d be punished. What shall I do with you?”