As soon as the carriage had reached the castle steps, Brendan exited, and then helped Alina down. Sirs Vohn and Cas dismounted their steeds from in front and behind the carriage, followed by the other Knights that had followed at a greater distance.

Smiling thankfully up at Brendan, and not releasing his hand immediately, Alina then turned to the castle entrance and noticed her father standing there waiting with Mr. Howard at his side.

Norman looked ready to kill someone.

Uncertainty and apprehension filled Alina’s belly, when Brendan’s grip around her hand tightened. Immediately, it were as ithough he had cast some kind of spell, as a small spark of strength returned to the pit of her belly, allowing her legs to move regardless of her worry, up the castle steps until she was face to face with her father.

“I was told you two were going for a walk,” Norman began coldly. “It is now nearly dinner time, and you have been gone since this morning-- did you two ride in the carriage without a chaperone?!”

Alina’s eyes widened and all reasonable thoughts left her head.

“Your Majesty, Sirs Vohn and Cas rode along each side of the carriage windows and had full view of us the entire duration of our time together,” Brendan interjected calmly.

Norman rounded on the Troivackian King, nearly making Brendan put his hand on the hilt of his dagger out of habit.

“Where were you all this time?”

“W-We went and saw a play-” Alina began nervously.

“A play?! in the dark?” the Daxarian King roared making Alina take a step back so that she was almost behind Brendan.

“Sirs Vohn and Cas sat directly behind us,” Brendan clarified immediately.

Norman looked past Brendan where the two Knights who had been the supposed chaperones stood at attention, their eyes cast downwards dutifully.

“Is this true?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” both men answered in perfect unison.

“Nothing happened, I swear, Father. It was a perfectly innocent outing! I… I will go… change for dinner.” Alina released Brendan’s hand and slowly crept around her father who seemed deaf to her as he continued glaring daggers at her future Troivackian husband.

When she was at the doors she mouthed a heartfelt apology to her betrothed who didn’t dare acknowledge her message- he was all too aware of the fact that he was a muscle twitch away from the Daxarian King taking the nearest weapon and killing Brendan on the spot. Witnesses or not.

Alina resolved to grovel for Brendan’s forgiveness over her cowardice at dinner should he still be intact by then…

Once safely behind the closed doors of the castle, she raised a hand to her chest, and closing her eyes took a shaky breath before taking a step forward, and crashing into someone.

Stumbling back but catching herself against the front door, Alina managed to straighten herself and discover that she had walked into none other than Tam Ashowan.

Tam's eyes were lost to the present world.

His face was pale, and there was a hopelessness about him that seemed to ward off the servants that filed past his peculiar location.

“Err… Tam? Lord Ashowan?” Alina waved her hand in front of his face, trying to break him out of whatever trance he seemed to be stuck in.

When he still didn’t respond she reached out and pinched his arm.

He jolted back from the sharp pain and blinked several times.

“Ah, Princess. My apologies.” He bowed.

“Not a problem, but… is everything alright?” she asked with a small frown

“I… wouldn’t… say so, no,” Tam replied vaguely before shuddering.

Alina waited, but his gaze was growing haunted again and she worried he’d drift away before telling her anything, so she poked his forehead and once again forced him back to reality.

“Tam! What’s the matter?” she laughed nervously. She had always known he was a tad aloof, but this was something else entirely.

“TAMLIN ASHOWAN! TAMLIN ASHOWN, WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? I TOLD YOU THAT I- Oh, hello, Princess!”

Alina leaned to the side to peer around Tam, and found Royal Mage Keith Lee descending the grand staircase behind Tam with his usual broad smile.

“Mage Lee,” she greeted with a small curtsy before turning her questioning gaze to the youngest Ashowan.

“Ah, pardon my interruption, Princess, but Lord Tam here is to assist me for the next month with my work, but he keeps disappearing and it is growing rather tiresome. Come along, Lord Tam! Just because it’s nearly dinner time doesn’t mean we slack off! Now, I want us to conclude the chapter we began working on today as it is imperative that I may finish my autobiography before the end of the year.”

The mage had turned back around and was already chattering to himself while once again mounting the stairs, unaware that Tam hadn’t moved an inch or even acknowledged the chastizement.

Alina turned to stare at the future Viscount with a small smile.

“Tam… did my father-”

“It’s my punishment. For an entire month.”

At long last Tam turned to look at her, his features stressed as he tentatively reached out, and gripped her shoulders.

“Please… never again… ask me to help you. I can’t… ever do this again… I’m sorry.”

“LORD TAMLIN!” mage Keith Lee’s voice roared down the stairs.

Giving Alina’s shoulders one final squeeze, Tam turned, and like a man facing the executioner's block, trudged towards the stairs.

Alina waved to her friend’s back, a pang of guilt making her wince.

“I’m so sorry, my friend. I swear, one day I will repay this debt!”

Tam weakly waved over his shoulder to indicate he had heard her, then continued his climb to his doom.

***

Katarina Ashowan was resting comfortably in one of her favorite places of her childhood home as the brilliant glowing sunset waved its dying rays against the orange sky.

Despite the beauty of the sunset, she had her back to the view.

In fact she was sitting on the roof peak of her bedroom balcony, and was leaning against the fine stone spire with her legs dangling on either side of the masterfully crafted stone.

She was still wearing her emerald dress that she had worn to see the King earlier that day, but she had removed her jewelry and her long waving red hair fluttered in the breeze unbound as the waves of the Alcide sea crashed against the cliff over and over.

She stared at the rock wall before her that lead to another peak of her home built into the cliff. While the view behind her was always spectacular, sometimes she needed less stimulating sights to wade through her thoughts.

“Rough day?”

Kat resisted jumping at the familiar voice.

Turning her gaze upwards, she regarded Likon, the boy her parents had taken in thirteen years prior peering at her from over his own balcony ledge.

She didn’t bother answering as he skillfully descended the balcony down until he could comfortably seat himself across from her. His light brown eyes studying her patiently.

“When did you get back?” Kat asked while folding her arms across her middle.

“A little while ago,” he answered vaguely.

“Let me guess, work for my parents you can’t talk about?”

Likon’s weary smile and brief nod made Kat roll her eyes.

“I don’t understand why they trust you more than their own children. Honestly, it feels like my mother is trying to get you to take over the Viscount title,” the young lady muttered bitterly before watching Likon’s features tense.

“Wait, is that what’s going on?! Are they finally going to admit my brother is doing shit all to prepare to take over?” Kat’s golden eyes sparkled, and Likon for a moment was humbled by their magic.

After a breath of stillness he hung his head to his chest, his white tunic hanging loosely across his chest as his freshly washed dark brown hair fell forward.

“Come on, you can tell me that much!” Kat goaded feeling a devilish smile take over her mouth.

Letting out a long sigh, Likon raised his gaze to her once more. “You seem oddly happy about the idea,” he answered ambiguously.

Letting out a snort and slumping back even more against the spiral Kat’s smile faded, and in its place was anger.

“I’m tired of me being the devil to his perfect witch.”

Likon had heard her make the rant thousands of times, but he waited to hear yet again without any attempt to interrupt her.

“You know how the first witch always is praised as being the perfect bridge between nature and the Gods, while Satan is the one who failed his family and tries to destroy everything good? That’s Tam and I. Even though he does nothing! He wasn’t extraordinary in his studies, he learned how to wield daggers better than me, I’ll admit, but… just because he doesn’t get in trouble doesn’t mean he’s perfect! It just means he does nothing! It’s like all he wants to be is nothing, because he is so scared of whatever it is that happened when we were children.”

Kat shook her head irritably. “He won’t tell anyone what happened! So he’s going to shrivel up and die alone because he can’t be bothered to try. Meanwhile, I try all the time and all I get is punished.”

“Kitty Kat?” Likon asked quietly.

“Don’t call me that. You know I made Da stop calling me that years ago.”

“I know, but you’ll let me call you that now because I’m your favorite person in the whole wide world,” Likon teased with a smile.

She laughed but didn’t contradict him.

“Kat, that thing you told me about years ago… is it still… is it getting worse?”

The young noblewoman’s face froze, then melted into a look of open pain and fear.

She swallowed with great difficulty.

“Yes. I… It… isn’t getting better like I was hoping.”

“How are you controlling it?” Likon asked, his hands gripping the roof as he tried not to convey his worry.

“I just… try to keep moving. Though lately it’s been… harder. I know I’m doing stupid things… mindless things, and I know it’s my fault, but… they don’t understand. They don’t know how hard it is to… to…”

“Think clearly?” Likon supplied gently.

“Yeah,” Kat reached up and wiped away the tears from her eyes hastily before they could fall.

Sliding forward so that they sat toe-to-toe, Likon reached out, and gently touched her cheek, drawing her eyes back to him.

“Don’t tell me to tell my father! He’ll just get scared, or summon another teacher or… worry. I don’t want them to know," Kat burst out, her voice frustrated but her face pained.

Likon gently tugged a lock of her hair. “Hey. I’m not telling them anything. It has to come from you. You know you’re the real boss of me.”

Kat’s chest ached as she stared at his softened gaze and familiar face.

He’d been there for her for almost as far back as she could remember…

“I don’t know what’ll happen if one day it gets the best of me,” Kat croaked, suddenly unable to hold his gaze. “I have to become the Princess’ handmaiden, and… I have to be still for most of what we do and I don’t know… if I can do it.”

Likon reached up with his other hand and forced her to face him directly, her golden eyes once again meeting his. Somehow the tears in her gaze made her seem even more ethereal…

“You’re an Ashowan. You just need to find a way to handle this, and you will. Keep looking for an answer, and you know if you ever need my help I’m there.”

Kat couldn’t speak past the lump in her throat, only nodded as she allowed unbidden tears to fall.

Likon didn’t release her face as he continued to gently rub his thumb against her cheek, waiting for her to calm down.

“Why couldn’t you have been my brother?” Kat asked with a watery chuckle.

“Because the Gods assumed I had enough problems,” Likon answered quietly, only half teasing.

Kat felt a new wave of grief flood her being as she stared into his eyes.

“I’m sorry you’re in love with me.”

Her words hung in the air for a moment, and she watched the familiar, horrible sight of pain filling Likon’s eyes before he managed to conceal it again.

“Don’t be. It isn’t your fault. I didn’t have a chance when you made my Winter Solstice wish come true.” He then leaned his forehead to hers, the touch making him swallow with great difficulty. “You still feel the same about me as before I take it?”

Kat reached up between them and wiped away the fluids leaking from her nose.

“Given that you aren’t self-conscious about doing something as gross as that, I will take it as a yes,” he sighed, but managed a smile.

With great hesitancy, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead before finally releasing her and leaning back away, his hands falling to the peak and his shoulders hunching.

“If you want me to avoid you or not bear my soul to you, I-”

Likon held up his hand, stopping her immediately. “Your mother sends me all over the continent and to foreign lands on a regular basis. One of these days, I’m going to find myself a fine woman. With breasts that could make a man weep, and you will be left regretting turning me down as I shower her in riches and attention.”

Kat laughed while wiping away the last of her tears. “I will call her sister and welcome her into the family with open arms. I will also thank her for helping you see that I would be the worst wife in the world as I am too outspoken, unrefined, and impulsive to give anyone a peaceful life.”

Another moment of forced joviality and sadness passed between them, which somehow made Kat regret her words.

Knowing that any further discussion on the matter would only result in more heartache, Kat tried with renewed vigor to change the subject to a lighter topic.

“Are you going to be in Austice for long this time?”

Likon let out a long breath and shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. I just got back… I think your mother wants me to stay until the end of summer at least.”

“That’s good… I think by then I’ll be rather sick of you.” Kat managed to gently tap her toe against his shin playfully.

Gently, Likon returned the kick, this time his smile far more genuine. “I heard about your brother’s punishment… I think I already saw your father and him breaking into the Troivackian moonshine.”

Kat cackled. “I have to admit, hearing his punishment was by far the best part of my day. The look on his face… I know I’m an awful sister to admit this-”

“At least you know you’re an awful sister,” Likon added on sagely.

Glaring, the Lady continued her train of thought. “It was nice to not be the only one having to face some consequences.”

“Keep in mind he is only in trouble because he was trying to help you, Kitty Kat. Your brother… Your brother might be feeling something similar to you, you know. We all know he has some kind of magic. Maybe it’s doing to him what it’s doing to you,” Likon reasoned slowly, knowing that the topic of Kat’s sibling could be met with a variety of strong emotions.

Surprisingly however, she refolded her arms across her middle and raised a lazy eyebrow at him.

“Can’t I just gloat for a day before feeling terrible again?”

Likon laughed. “The sun has set. Your day is officially over.”

Kat grinned in response and turned her face up to the pale sky where two stars had already begun to twinkle happily.

“So it has.”

Likon studied her face for several extra moments before he too turned to look upwards.

“By the way, they’re sending me to Troivack with the Princess," Kat announced matter-of-factly.

His head snapped back down as he stared wide eyed at her, Likon's heart tripped over itself and his stomach lurched unpleasantly.

When Kat lowered her face back down, she gave him a small apologetic glance before her already glowing eyes fell down towards his chest.

“Not for forever, but a year… I leave after they’re married. So… maybe while I’m gone you can finally find that busty wench you’re already so fond of-”

Likon immediately reached for her, and pulled her into himself hugging her tightly, his heart pounding. He didn’t dare let her look at him and risk his control weakening to the point of stealing a kiss that he had no right owning.

Even though it would not have been the first time he had done so with her… he didn’t wish to add another burden onto her shoulders.

So, he held onto her as long as she would allow. Already fearful of how she seemed to be slipping further and further away from him… with no hope of him ever closing the distance ever again.