Quietly, Ariel moved through the dim corridors of the palace, fully aware that the only place Morpheus would ever permit an outsider to enter was the throne room. She crept along the edges of the hall, eyes scanning every shadow, every flicker of torchlight, and only stepped from the corners when she was certain the path ahead was clear.
She paused once, just behind a pillar, as a pair of guards passed. Neither of them so much as glanced her way.
Her fingers reached instinctively for the bracelet around her wrist, a piece she had made herself, following Morpheus's exact instructions, however begrudgingly. Twisting it slightly, she felt the warmth of her own magic pulsing faintly through it.
So, his teachings weren't just riddles and manipulation after all. The enchantment had worked.
The bracelet didn't make her invisible, but it dimmed her presence, muffling her aura enough to slip past those attuned to the presence of others. A cloak of silence in a castle always listening.
