Jade sat on her bed in the empty dormitory with her hands folded over the other with an aura of placid calmness. She had not allowed herself to be riled by the ribbing her roomates had inflicted on her. The news of her disqualification had spread fast but her serene countenance had given the other competitors no satisfaction. They had left for their day's task leaving her behind. The tall girl now awaited the arrival of her carriage. Soon she would be back in Mr. Gepetto's cosy home.

A guard knocked on the gilded door and Jade took a calming breath before rising to receive it. The red clad man handed her a sealed envelope which she opened with fumbling fingers, the only sign of her nerves.

"Join your comrades in the library. I have set them a research task which is enclosed within this letter. Regards, Sir Elliot Martin," Jade read the short, crisp note with blooming confusion. There was no mention of her departure.

"Is this it? Do I not have to take my leave soon? My luggage is packed," The girl asked the guard, pointing at her threadbare belongings set in the middle of the room.

The guard shook his head, "You are no longer leaving the premises. The order to remove you from the competition has been cancelled."

Jade's brown eyes were wide as she struggled to hide her glee. She looked at her luggage once again and then back the guard who was waiting for her expectantly.

"I am ordered to take you to the library," The mustached man made a gesture out to the hallway and Jade did not have to be told twice to move her stupefied rear out into the passageway.

...

Elliot walked into the Prince's room with a dour expression. He had done what his young master had bid him to but he was not pleased with the outcome. His greying eyebrows became even more pronounced seeing the man had not changed his position since they had last spoken an hour ago.

Luke had his head on the plush carpet on the floor while his legs were propped on the bed. He still wore the formely damp clothes he had worn the night before. In his hands was a novel worn by years of reads and rereads. Elliot's nose scrunched as if he smelt something unpleasant.

"Cease your foolishness, boy!" The older man barked making the younger one roll his grey eyes, "People are beginning to talk."

"Beginning?" Luke snorted with a brittle laugh, "I should have thought they would be bored of me by now."

"Creeping about in the dark, scaring the maids and night guard..." Elliot grumbled as he started putting together the dishelved room. He pulled up a tatty pair of shoes that the Prince had never owned, "What is this garbage?"

"I saw her again," Luke set the book on his side and placed an arm over his eyes as if it could shield himself from the visions that taunted in his dreams.

The old secretary had no words since he could not understand what tormented his charge. The dreams were getting frequent and the desperation to solve the young man's problem was increasing.

"Then it is imperative we solve the matter of your new secretary immediately," Elliot changed the subject to something less controversial, "Remind me why you want Mr. Smith in the running and refuse to consider Mr. Dartmoor?"

"He has shifty eyes. I don't trust him," Was Luke's impertinent reply. He now sat on the carpet while Elliot picked up the mess around him. A maid would be in soon as per schedule but the older man needed to get his frustrations out on something or else he would start screaming at the Prince.

"This Paul fellow I will not abide. I could hear his dinner making its escape from his mouth from across the table," Elliot said, crossly.

"I have to tolerate him not you. You shan't be on my side after the new secretary joins us," Luke replied with a faint smile.

"And you cannot be considering Ward? But you are. I have done as you commanded. He is reinstated," The grey haired man groused.

"He is acceptable. Even you have remarked so," The Prince answered.

"Acceptable does not reveal his origins. Who knows where he hails from. My resources found nothing on him. Absolutely nothing. It's as if he appeared from Mr. Gepetto's apartment out of thin air!"

"Mr. Gepetto can be trusted."

Master Elliot looked incredulous as he read the stubbornness crossing his charge's face. He knew there was no fight that could be won now.

"Oh, heavens, why do you have this grimy bunch?" The grumpy man pointed at the dirty shoes destroying the expensive carpet the spoiled prince left no opportunity to defile.

"I saw a girl at the lake," The Prince uttered softly.

"Was it..." Elliot was frightened. He wished he could protect the Prince even through his arms were too stubby to enclose the boy like they used to.

Luke frowned and looked away. The Prince was starting to lose his grip on reality. He could sometimes not discern what was real and what was a dream. He did not wish to frighten his secretary but knew he must confess sooner rather than later. The shoes, just like before, were a symbol that he wasn't dreaming. There truly had been a girl at lake. Whether it had been her or not he could not surmise.

"A girl wearing these hideous slippers? At least the glass ones were appropriate," Elliot tried to break the tension.

"Glass would have been a disaster on grass. It's sensible," The Prince was mercifully diverted.

"Here you find a mysterious girl's choice of attire sensible but cannot find it within you to understand the dangers of employing a man without a past," The secretary went back to his favourite task of berating his charge.

...

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.....

Jade perused the contents of the shelf in the library. The books were diverse and unfortunately placed alphabetically making her task more difficult. She could hear Paul in the other row cursing the tedious task set before them. Harry had taken command of a table with his plethora of books and was making diligent notes at a fast pace.

Robert's assumption had been correct. Prince Luke's entire episode with the girl had something to do with magic. They would not have been asked to research and write an essay on the subject if that were not the case. Although it was never vocalised what the purpose of this open ended task was Jade had realised it was sensible to frame the entire essay on relevant details.

Jade nearly bumped into Jacob who was just as perturbed as her about where to start. The girl decided it would be best to ask the librarian which books should be suitable. Through the maze of rows she bumped her way out of the mix of men loitering around like lost lambs and found herself facing someone even better than the librarian; the head librarian's daughter.

Emma sat on a carved wooden table at the end of the library writing furiously in her notebook. The spot was wisely chosen since rays of sun exclusively brightened up that particular corner and it was well away from the rest of the occupants of the room.

Jade's steps faltered when she realised who sat on the other table right behind Emma. The Crown Prince was perched in a corner with a drab little book doing a very poor job of reading it. The fair haired girl has apparently not noticed the gaze firmly fixed on her back. He was surprisingly without any of his usual companions or guards.

The tall girl observed the scene with a mixture of annoyance and amusement. She did not know what the man was up to. Did he mean to join the girl he spied upon? She doubted it for even he must know Emma would swiftly vacate the room if she was aware of his presence. He would have to be daft to be oblivious of the effect he had upon her. Jade decided it was time to play with fire.

"Ello, ello, my fair lady," Jade squeezed herself into the ornate bench opposite the girl paying no mind to the dark haired man. She had no patience for whatever the Crown Prince was planning.

"Greetings, pretty boy! What brings you to my lair," Emma bestowed upon her companion a sunny smile. Her friend noted her petite fingers were stained with ink.

"I've been assigned a task:

Magic!" The brown haired girl flaunted an empty sheet of paper in front of them.

"Oh, they're back with that hypothesis. Ever since that girl came in Prince Luke's life, magic has been brought up again and again by Elliot," Emma twirled her pen in her fingers thoughtfully.

"And what is your opinion?" Jade asked with a complacent smile. She could see furious movement from the corner of her eye, "Do you think Elliot is correct?"

"I may be a practical girl but there are many unexplained arts spread throughout the kingdom. I believe anything is possible," The corn haired girl answered decisively.

"But why Prince Luke? Who has he offended to be plotted against thus," Jade wondered. She rued how self absorbed she had been over the past couple of years. Her father had tried to instill good habits like regular newspaper reading but had failed. She knew very little of palace gossip.

"Pfft. Can't think of a single person. Luke's hardly the social butterfly but the Crown prince..." Emma made a hand gesture to show her disdain.

Jade's eyes unconsciously wandered to the table behind them and it was now empty. Her presence had clearly deterred the Prince from his goals. Hiding her victory Jade pondered on the more pressing matter before them. After all she had an essay to write.

"What if the Crown Prince was the real target and Luke came in the way?" Jade threw a wild theory out there but shook her head in negation, "How could a beautiful girl be a punishment, anyway?"

"There has to be more. He's barely functioning. I've heard he roams the castle at night. Did you see Luke at the dinner? Pecking at it as if it was poison," Emma made a pitiful face.

"I cannot in good conscience pen all of that in the essay. It's too personal... Although I will research all of the symptoms. It is a must I understand what plagues the Prince if I have to work for him."

"Maybe you should write about transformation spells and identity hiding spells..." The short girl furrowed her brows as she made very helpful suggestions. Jade was glad she had taken the detour to her friend.

..

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...

Long after her essay was complete Jade put her last book at the librarian's desk. The middle aged man gave her a withering glare but she was equipped with knowledge from Emma that the library closed an hour before midnight. Any earlier was because of the lack of occupants.

The tall girl unraveled her patterned cravet from around her neck as she walked the empty corridors. Her neck creaked with every movement made by weary body. In the time it took to place the cravet in her leather satchel a man's form appeared at the end of the lamplit hallway. Jade stared at the unmoving form.

"Are you lost?" The girl called out, clutching tightly onto the bag wrapped around her torso. The reply was a deafening silence. Her curiosity overcame her hesitance and Jade took steps in the silent man's direction mindful of her feet sinking into the dense carpet unlike the plainer one outside her room. She marched forward until she found herself staring at the pale countenance of Prince Luke. The man was barely dressed as if he had jumped out of bed. His shirt hung loose revealing a well defined chest.

The man stood staring at nothing at all. His stunning grey eyes were glazed over as if he slept with his eyes open. Was sleep walking another one of the maladies he was afflicted with Jade wondered as her eyes studied the seemingly marble carved Prince.

"Your Highness, what brings you here?" Jade whispered but as predicted there was no reply. She prodded the man's chest and there was no reaction; not even a blink.

"Wake up," The girl waved her hand in front of him and snapped her fingers hoping he would relieve her of her problem. She upended the vase settled in a small nook nearby until only water remained. Pouring a little liquid out in her hand she sprinkled it on his face.

"Can you see me?" The brown headed girl asked.

"Yes," The man murmured, "I see you."

Jade took two startled steps back as the man's eyes lost their blankness and landed squarely on her face. There was an undefined emotion in his grey eyes that uncoiled like a snake.

"D-Do you need any assistance back to your rooms?" Jade asked, letting the vase fall to the carpet. She looked down at the flowers they carelessly trod on. She wasn't sure why she was shocked to realise the man was barefoot.

"I will manage," The man all but breathed, disheveling his long hair further with a stray hand. He turned around and walked away without preamble. Jade could have accosted him and demanded she accompany him but she was too dumbfounded by the entire interaction to function competently.