The sound of a key turning in our bedroom door woke us up the next morning.

"That would be Euberta," my trainer groaned, struggling to sit up in the other bed. "Man, my arms are killing me. Now I know what waving fiery torches does to your muscles."

"Tell me about it. My hand feels like I punched a wall," I said, massaging my fist. "Maybe Madam Clark was wrong. Maybe witch-fighting is my forte."

"Maybe it's mine, too. Tell me you saw me kick that goblin."

"Son of a dodo! When the two of you are done trading war stories, can we get some breakfast?" Muffet asked irritably from the windowsill. "Some of us less important individuals are hungry, you know."

"Sorry, Muffet. We'll get dressed." Maud glanced at her frog, who was sitting on the nightstand beside the gold leaf I had plucked. "Morning, Alfonso."

He ribbited, glancing at the leaf with a wary expression.

"What? You don't like that?" I asked. "We got it from a tree in the goblin castle."

"Oh, for the love of hairballs!" Muffet exploded, his taffy-colored fur standing on end. "We know you had a great adventure, la dee dah, good for you."

"Muffet!" Maud exclaimed. "What is the matter with you this morning?"

The cat hunched his shoulders, eyeing the leaf next to Alfonso. "Sorry. It's just . . . that thing. I don't want to be in the same room with it. It reminds me of . . ." He covered his face dramatically with one paw.

"Of what?" I asked.

Maud shook her head at me. Later, she mouthed. I wondered if it had anything to do with Muffet refusing to tell me about his past.

I hid the leaf in my pocket as we dressed in silence. Downstairs, we ran into Princess Rebecca, who showed us to the throne room. The servants had laid out a sumptuous breakfast.

"Do you have strawberry yogurt, perchance?" Muffet inquired, looking a bit more cheerful now that the leaf was out of sight.

Rebecca stared at him open-mouthed. "Uh . . . yeah. Yes."

"This day is getting better already," said the cat.

King Frederick looked smaller than ever, perched on the huge throne in scarlet robes. He was chattering about a new gargoyle to no one in particular, while his daughters milled about, looking bored. Some of them threw hateful glances at Rosamond, who stood kissing Peter furiously as though to make up for lost time.

"Where are the other guests?" I asked. "You know, that sour girl and the prince in purple."

"Hightailed it out of here this morning. Wouldn't you, after seeing that?" Rebecca asked, throwing a disgusted glance at Rosamond and Peter, who were slobbering all over each other's faces.

I beamed. The thought of Jessaline fleeing with her tail between her legs gave me infinite satisfaction.

"Ah, good morning, fearless fairy godmothers!" the tiny king said, catching sight of us.

Peter pried himself away from Rosamond with difficulty. Ever since his display of heroism, he walked with greater confidence, though I noticed him tripping slightly as he hurried to shake our hands.

"I can't thank you two enough," he said. "Rosamond and I are getting married!"

"Why, congratulations," Maud said, winking at me.

"The young man showed me the evidence," King Frederick said, holding up a silver goblin leaf. Muffet gave a low, upset hiss when I pulled out my own leaf to give to the king.

"I'm afraid that door in your daughters' chamber will have to be blocked, Your Majesty," Maud said gravely. "And you should probably have the lowest level of the castle checked for any more secret passageways."

"I will. I've already had some of my finest stonemasons block up the stairwell with giant boulders," he answered. "No one will be coming or going there anytime soon." He gave his daughters a significant look and they glanced away, embarrassed.

"I wonder why those goblins took the trouble of luring the princesses there in the first place," I mused. "Do you think Leo wanted your kingdom, Sire?"

The king's face darkened. "I don't doubt it, my dear. It isn't enough that they have a prime piece of real estate in any goblin's estimation, but they want my beautiful castle, too."

I nodded, though the damp walls and moldy gargoyles couldn't have been farther from beautiful in my opinion.

"Thank you both for your help," Rosamond said to us. "To think I could have been marrying a monster instead of my hero." She batted her eyelashes at her new husband-to-be. "Will you two stay for the wedding? As honored guests?"

"Unfortunately we must go, Your Highness," Maud replied. "Noelle and I have another client waiting and must return to Irisia today."

We said our goodbyes after breakfast and lugged our bags back out to the carriage.

"Did you ever think about getting married, Maud?" I mused, as we pulled out of the courtyard.

"Oh, yes. It's hard not to when it's such a big part of your job," she said cheerfully. "But the right person never showed up. And fairy godmothers haven't got much time for that sort of thing, anyway."

"Did you always want to be a fairy godmother?"

She chuckled. "I love my job, but there was a time when I wanted to do anything but this. Sometimes I think if my family hadn't pushed me so much, I'd love it even more."

"I know how that feels." I smiled, thinking of home.

"What about you? Do you miss working for your parents?"

"I didn't think I would, but now I'm not so sure." I filled her in about the shoemaking dreams I'd been having. "Maybe it means I should try making glass shoes for real."

"Sounds lethal," Muffet commented.

"Well, you've certainly got time to perfect your formula if you want to make a pair for the King's Festival," my trainer said brightly.

We returned to Irisia shortly before noon. Our carriage clattered through the streets, cutting off other drivers with reckless abandon. They shook their fists at us, but kept their mouths shut when they saw the C.A.F.E. emblem on our door.

Valentine greeted us in the lobby. "Welcome back!" she said, cuddling Muffet. "I hope your mission was successful?"

"Very. We're on our way to file a pink report this very minute," Maud said with a grin, then turned to me. "Every time we visit a client, we fill out a report for Madam Loreena Darcy, the Godmother of Recordkeeping. They're color-coded by how the mission turned out, and pink means wedding."

Maud led the way to the cafeteria, where we went around to a side of the wandwood tree that I hadn't seen before. Carved into the trunk was a door with a keyhole. Maud used her wand like a key and we went down a set of neat wooden stairs. "This is where the recordkeeping department is. Our Wish Room is here, too, but only authorized personnel can go in."

I recalled what I had learned during Trainee Week. "That's where the scribes collect and record wishes? And they send someone out to determine whether a wish is valid or not?"

"Exactly."

The recordkeeping department was a quiet, desk-filled room that took up the circumference of the wandwood tree. Godmothers sat at tables here and there, whispering and filling out forms.

Maud handed Alfonso to me and scanned a long table stacked with different colored paper. She selected a pink sheet. "We fill out basic information like client name, kingdom, and conflict, and write down all the details. The more precise, the better. The Council examines these records and discusses them with each fairy godmother at her yearly review."

I nodded, sitting down beside her. She had already filled half a page with her neat handwriting. When she finished, we got up and gave it to Madam Darcy, who sat on a raised platform at the front of the room. She looked approvingly at the shade of pink.

"Another successful mission, Madam Lee?" she asked. "How refreshing, especially since every other report I've gotten today has been blue." She glowered at someone behind us, and I turned to see Jessaline Snapp and her trainer sitting together, looking uncomfortable.

I felt like I should have been happier about the fact that my archenemy wasn't doing well, but somehow I couldn't find it in me. She just looked so downtrodden.

Maud tactfully avoided looking at them on our way back upstairs, but I noticed that Sloane darted a look of pure hatred at us. I stared her down, refusing to be intimidated. At last, she turned and whispered something to Jessaline, her lips curved in a humorless smile.

"They look like they're planning something else," I muttered to Maud. "They're getting desperate."

"If Sloane Davis wants that House seat, she'll have to work for it fair and square, like the rest of us," my trainer answered. "Well, I'm off to the reading room. The Bar exam isn't going to study for itself. Why don't you take it easy? We'll stay here tonight and leave for Heliotropia first thing tomorrow."

"I think I'll go stretch my legs in the village," I told her. "Do you need anything?"

Maud brightened. "Actually, yes. Would you mind stopping by Janice's hut in the Tented Market again?" She dug around in her pocket until she found a crumpled receipt, using her magic wand like a fountain pen to scribble something on the back. "Take Alfonso, will you? He's in need of some fresh air."

"Sure," I said. Since he and the cat seemed destined to be my companions, I went to invite Muffet, too.

"I haven't been to the Tented Market in ages," he said. "Valentine's been so busy."

It was unseasonably hot for early September, and my companions and I entered the shade of the market with relief. The streets had been unusually packed with women today. Apparently, Prince Christopher had just driven by in his carriage.

"Imagine not even being able to leave your house without the whole town swooning," I said, shaking my head.

Alfonso ribbited, as though he knew exactly what that felt like, but Muffet shrugged. "It's part of the job of being a handsome prince," he said.

The first item on Maud's list was a book from the goblin bookseller's cart. The thought of being so close to a goblin after what had happened in Viridian did not excite me.

"They're all books on dark magic," I grumbled. "Why does Maud even want one?"

"To study for the Bar, I expect," the cat said. "Fairy godmothers can't shy away from the dirty side of the business, you know."

The goblin sneered at me as I scanned the titles. "Can I help you with something, princess?" he asked. Thankfully, I managed to find the book Maud wanted and paid for it as quickly as I could. I wanted to get away as soon as possible, especially since I couldn't stop thinking about Leo practically melting to a puddle when Peter torched him.

"Come back soon, princess!" the goblin screeched after me, as I hurried away with the frog and cat.

I shuddered. "All right. Where to next?"

"Not the frog cart, that's for sure . . . princess," said someone behind me.