The next morning, Vanessa was awoken by rapid knocking.
Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock!
"Tiger! Get up!"
Vanessa hopped down from bed and opened the door to see Bonnie standing there.
"What is i-" Before he could finish talking, Bonnie grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the hallway to a small playroom. Inside was a small table and five stools, set with tea and breakfast.
"Welcome to my tea party." Bonnie gave a little curtsy with a clumsy smile that went from ear to ear.
Vanessa decided to play along despite only being half awake. "Yes, thank you for inviting me. Is there a specific reason why?"
Bonnie just giggled like a madman and made him sit down at one of the seats with food, there were only two. Bonnie sat at the other one across from him herself. The rest just had empty plates and teacups. She conjured three illusions of giant teddy bears to fill the table. Only after everything was set up did she answer his question.
"I told my mom we were going to have a tea party for breakfast instead of eating in the dining hall. That way we could talk, and you wouldn't have to force yourself to eat."
Vanessa put on an embarrassed smile. "Was it that obvious?"
"Not really, but you always were less talkative after meals, and I put it together after what happened yesterday."
"I really am sorry about that..."
"It's fine. Play with me today and I'll call it even."
Vanessa nodded and let out a chuckle. "Sure. So, what did you want to talk about?"
"Are you actually going to meet with your mother? Knowing my mother, she'll send a knight to make sure you get where you are trying to go. If you are meeting another vampire, it won't end well with a knight at your back."
"I'm not quite meeting my mother. I'm meeting a... relative of sorts who can get me back home. But, yes, they are a vampire."
"Alright. Then the plan, or my plan, really, is to create an illusion to act as your mother to get you away from the knights, and then you can figure it out from there. There is a fountain near the market square, so say you are going to meet your mother there at noon. The illusion won't hold up for long after I'm not able to see it, so you need to get somewhere where people won't see her disintegrate. I'm also still working out how to make auditory illusions, so if the knights try talking to her, say she isn't able to speak or something. Any questions or suggestions?"
Vanessa shook his head. He couldn't believe Bonnie was helping him this much.
"Good. Now I just need to make the illusion of your fake mother. That's going to take at least a day to prepare. You aren't meeting them tomorrow, are you?"
"No. That should be fine. There is something I am curious about, though."
"Yes?"
"How are you able to create some illusions so easily, like these at the table, but others you find difficult, like this fake mom or hiding my other features?"
"That's pretty simple, actually. I suppose you could look at it as a difference between disguise and design. A disguise needs to be realistic, and like your eyes, often needs a mana battery which adds to the difficulty level. Whereas, with design, it is a lot more fluid. I can just fill blobs of color and add a few fine details. With the fake mom, I have to take many things into consideration, breathing, walking, facial expressions; even the smallest mistake can make it feel uncanny, which would likely alert those who saw it."
"That... makes sense. In a way."
"All that said, could you pass your plate over here? I'm still hungry."
Vanessa played with Bonnie in the carriage on the way to Hidelldorf, as per their agreement. This mostly involved illusory games of chess and dress up. Bonnie especially liked covering him in bows and dresses and giving herself a beard for whatever reason. She seemed happy, though, so Vanessa went along with it.
Vanessa did have to admit that he looked pretty. He especially liked the navy blue ribbon. It complimented his auburn hair nicely.
The time passed too quickly, and soon, Hidelldorf's stone gate inevitably hovered on the horizon. When Bonnie's mother left the carriage to talk to the city guards, Vanessa checked the location on the paper he brought with him once again. On the front was a rough map of the area surrounding Hidelldorf.
'Snowed-Inn - Inn and Tavern, 15th Street, West Port.'
The back of the paper had a date and time listed for two days from now at midnight, as well as the signature of one of his mothers' commanders, Maria, who was in charge of getting him back. Vanessa tucked the paper back into his pocket.
Bonnie's mother came back into the carriage. "I reported the incident with the vampires. They will make sure such evil will not happen again."
Vanessa nodded, looking at the ground.
"Those parasites aside, do you know when you are supposed to meet your mother?"
"W-we were going to meet at the fountain in two days at noon."
"Alright then. I hope you don't mind keeping Bonnie company until you leave."
"I will."
Comfortable silence settled once more over the carriage as it began going into the city. A huge castle towered over everything else in the center of the city. The carriage flew like a crow towards the castle and arrived at its destination.
The carriage door opened and Vanessa followed the knights while Bonnie and her mother went to greet the lord of the territory. He wondered if the lord would let him stay in the castle.
~~~
Pollina led her daughter through the familiar castle. It hadn't changed a bit since she last saw it. Two knights followed them while the rest had gone to rest in the barracks.
It didn't take long to arrive at the parlor where her parents received their guests. None of the other guests had arrived yet, since the ball was still several days away, so Pollina and Bonnie got to be the first to greet them.
Sitting on couches in the center of the room were her parents, a gruff older man and an elegant older woman.
"It is so good to see you again, father, mother."
"Hello, grandfather and grandmother."
"Hello, little one. You have gotten taller since I last saw you. Please sit down."
Pollina and her daughter sat on the couch opposite from her parents. Tea and tea cakes were set on the table in front of them. Pollina and her parents made small talk about this and that. Her daughter, as usual, was unresponsive to the conversation. Bonnie seemed list in thought as she ate the tea cakes.
After a little while, the clock struck five times. By then, Bonnie was just staring at the ceiling.
"Bonnie, why don't you go rest before dinner? You look tired."
"Where?" Bonnie said.
Pollina's father answered, "A maid will lead you to your room."
Bonnie nodded and left the room, following the maid like a duckling.
"She is still as talkative as ever, I see," her father said. His tone was sarcastic, but hidden behind was genuine concern.
"Yes. Bonnie has been better recently, but I still worry about her. I think she finally made a friend on our trip, though, so she must be making some progress."
"Bonnie made a friend?" This time is was her mother who spoke.
"Yes. I haven't mentioned it yet, but there was a wagon of vampires that attacked us on the way here. A boy named Victor was tied up inside, so we decided to help return him to his mother. Bonnie seemed to enjoy having him around. It's the most I've seen her talk with anyone other than me and Dian in years."
"It is a shame he won't be around her much longer, then. Did you already separate with him?"
"No. He is meeting his mother in the city in a couple days, so he is staying with the knights at the moment."
"That won't do," her father said, shaking his head and calling over a maid.
"Father-"
"Go clean out the room next to Bonnie's and guide the boy staying with the queen's knights there."
"Yes, my lord."
Pollina sighed as she watched the maid leave the room.
"Did you really think I would kick out the child?"
"No, but I worry for Bonnie sometimes. All she does everyday at the castle is play with and learn about her magic. She is talented, and I want to be supportive, but I really wish she could have a real friend, instead. I don't think it's good for her to be lost in illusions all the time."
Pollina's mother spoke. "I understand your concerns, but change has to start with her. Hopefully, after having had one friend, she will know how to make more in the future. Be patient. I'm sure everything will turn out fine."
Pollina nodded. "Yes, mother. I suppose you are right."