Arabella and I planned on talking in the library, but it was so hot and stuffy that we decided to take a walk instead. The soft winds make the outside heat bearable as we make our way to the forest.
"You made a new friend," I note, "but you did not seem to meet any potential lovers."
"Annette, believe me when I announce that I have met one that causes my heart to flutter ever so quickly," she replies and plucks a rose from a nearby bush. A frown falls upon her lips when she notices that the dirt ground is likely ruining her shoes, but I know she has a pair identical to those.
"I, however, met an insufferable boy. He is from Saludor, and I would not have guessed the neighboring kingdom could have such improper ways of speaking," I tell her, and she mulls over my words with a small smirk. The ground crunches under our feet, and the eerie sounds of animals in the night sends shivers down my spine.
Walking in the forest is dangerous at night, but we managed to get away with going. James needed a cover so he could spend time with a girl, and Arabella and I needed an escort, so we all lied and said James was coming with us. We just have to make it back to the castle at the same time as him.
"-and gorgeous brown hair. I could not imagine more beauty than there is in that face." I catch the end of Arabella's side of the conversation, but she loses my attention again when I hear another voice cursing.
Arabella lets out a gasp when I pull her behind a bush so I can snoop. It might not be royal behavior to eavesdrop, but when have I ever turned down my curiosity? Never.
One of the figures holds a flame, but the torch is so small that I cannot even see it. A smaller figure ignores that the other obviously has the leverage in this conversation and stands in a rather leisure pose for getting yelled at.
"You're going to blow it!" The man yells, but the other figure does not reply. "When you go back in there, you better do it right!" The flame's heat and intensity seems to increase with every word he speaks. Despite the demands of the man, the smaller figure simply stands there, mute.
If I had blinked, I would've missed what happened. The fire jumps from the man's hand and towards the boy, who holds his hands up to protect his face. Instead of burning him, the fire simply rests in his hands before dissipating.
Once the man is gone, Arabella leaves the cover of our bush. The boy turns to look at her, but his face is cloaked by the shadow of his hood. She takes a step towards him, but he backs away.
"You're a… fire-user," she says with a scared and sharp voice that is very unlike her. While Arabella is typically empathetic and kind, she has never viewed magic-users the same way. Perhaps she feels so bad for our mother that she has the same hatred as her.
Instead of replying, the boy dashes away, but his cloak falls while he is running and reveals his dark, black hair. Arabella turns to me with tears brimming her eyes.
"Oh, Annette!" She cries, "that was awful. Two fire-users! A man similar in age to our brother, and a boy; though I suppose I should not call him a boy, for he seemed to be our age."
Two fire-users, here in our woods. My mind races with the possibilities; could there be more magic-users so close to home? Are they going to attack? Should I tell my parents, or let them be?
"Fire-users." I can't articulate a decent reply about the situation, so I just stand up, take Arabella's hand, and begin the walk home. We sit at the rendezvous point for what seems like forever until Jameson shows up, and we walk into the castle together.
Once we are inside, Arabella and I both dash to our rooms. Our lessons are early tomorrow, and missing them would be unwise, to say the least. Especially with our recent experience with magic, I am dying to learn more about the art itself, even if it's about how bad it is. You have to start with something.
I lay in bed, but sleep does not greet me. My mind wanders, replaying the fire-users conversation many times. Are they on their own or part of a bigger group? I've heard rumors about a group of magic-users called the Delphos, but I can't imagine them being so close to the castle. Wouldn't they have attacked if they were so close? These thoughts finally bring me to sleep, and I finally have relief from the plaguing questions.
The night goes by without a nightmare, and I wake up about one hour before the lesson begins. After I am dressed, I make my way down to have breakfast.
"Annette," my father says as I enter, and I curtsy before taking my seat. Arabella enters, and we share a look, but she also seems excited for our lesson today. Some of the other kingdoms do not have tutors for their princesses, and rather leave the queen to teach them, but our kingdom and some others have tutors for all the royals.
We eat until we can excuse ourselves, and then try to contain our excitement on the way to our lessons. I only hope that it will shed some light on what we saw last night; if it doesn't, I'm not sure what we should do.
Our tutor, Mister Tranté, is a strange man. He has nicely combed hair and wears fine clothes made of silk that have an almost royal look to them, but his face ruins the image. Jewels and beads are embedded into his skin on his ears and various places across his face. It makes him look similar to the pirates in storybooks, and he has the temper to match that.
As Arabella and I seat ourselves at our tables, Mister Tranté pulls down a map, but just as he is about to start teaching, a servant opens the door. He steps onto the intricate floors and bows respectfully to the three of us.
"By order of their Majesties, the King and Queen, the Princess' lessons are completed," he squeaks, and retreats almost as quickly as he entered. Mister Tranté scowls and angrily folds the map back up while muttering something about uneducated princesses.
Confused and upset about the abrupt ending of our lessons, Arabella and I walk back to the dining room to confront our parents. They couldn't possibly think we've learned all we need to; they ended it right before we learned about magic. My thoughts drift back to the encounter we saw in the woods between those fire-users. If I went back into the woods and found the magic-users, would I be kidnapped? Hurt? Killed?
We enter the dining room, and at first nobody speaks. I try not to look upset because I know my mother's reasons for disliking magic-users and talk of them, but it's difficult. My parents look almost surprised that Arabella and I have arrived, but I'm not sure why they expected us to be indifferent when they prevented us from learning about magic. It's an interesting topic, after all.
"My daughters," the King starts, but a coughing fit interrupts him, so my mother takes over.
"Talk of magic is now forbidden," she tells us, "even for you two and your brother." The blunt statement wouldn't normally matter to me, but ever since we saw the fire-users in the woods, I've been wanting to research magic. If my parents won't let me, then I might have to go behind their backs to find out more about it. And I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. I could sneak to the library and find books, but it seems like asking around won't go well. I'll have to find those books on my own; Arabella hates breaking rules, so I can't even ask her for help.
"I understand, Mother," Arabella replies, and curtsies before retreating from the room.
I don't bother responding, even though it would be the proper thing to do. My feet lead me to the stables, where I'll be able to find a cloak and less royal-looking clothes. With the guards stationed throughout the castle grounds, it's difficult to sneak out, but I manage to make it there unnoticed.
There's a light blue simple dress that fits me, and I manage to get out of my corset and other articles without my servants to help me. I notice that I feel almost bare in the dress and apron, but I prefer it to my usual daywear. After slipping off my shoes, I hide my clothes in a clean, empty stall that will probably remain empty long enough for me to leave and come back. I take a deep breath and head to the woods, ready to talk to the magic-users.