A bitter chill had sunken into the small corridor, the first signs of fall taking the warmth from anything below ground. The satchel at Veronica's side was lined with chocolate coated cookies, and a gross bouquet of raw vegetables one of the chefs had prepared for her. There wasn't a question in her mind as to which one the boy would grab first, the trick was finding where he was hiding this time.She came to the hatch, standing atop her small stool as she prepared to push it open. But a sound from the other side stopped her, muffled voices conversing, passing, and fading. Her heartbeat thrummed.The boy had been the only one she had ever seen near the walls, and the people that had passed definitely didn't sound like children.Veronica cracked the hatch for a hair of a view, the embroidered red cloaks of two foot soldiers barely in her sights. Their helmets were rustic bronze domes, lacking the vibrant red and white crests that adorned castle guards. They were street patrols—but she
Veronica barreled through the halls, a shiny steel bowl tucked over her head as she carved a clear path to her destination.Adrian's room was so far from her own, privileged to the same hall as her mother and father's bedchambers, and nearly as grandois. When Horus and Adrian weren't scrapping in the courtyards, they were almost always doing something in there.Veronica confirmed her theory as she pressed her ear to the door, letting herself in at the sound of Horus' voice.Adrian was quick to call out her trespassing, stepping out of the hold he had Horus in to cross his arms and slap a sour glare on his face."Don't touch my door.""It's not yours," Veronica snipped back, clutching the bowl tighter as her brother took a challenging step. She quickly stole Horus' attention. "I need your help."Adrian scoffed at her caked shoes. "What's with all the mud? Mom's going to have a fit.""None of your business, I need Horus to help me.""We're practicing. Go get Maria or Jackling to help yo
Horus gazed up the hill of crimson steps to Veronica's room. He had counted to five hundred, and found Mr. Jackling well before he found Veronica. Apparently, while counting in a passage behind a closet, Horus had somehow climbed out a window. At least, that was Jackling's truth as he spent the better part of ten minutes going over the dangers of climbing onto roofs with himIt wasn't the first time Veronica had fed him an outlandish tale. But Horus ate up the blame every time. Veronica blabbered when she panicked, which meant she was hiding something. And that something was always better dealt with without the adults getting involved.Adrian would have more than a sharp word for him when he got back to that problem he'd up and abandoned. Things were simpler when the children of Acadrius weren't revulsed at the sight of one another.Horus made quick work of the stairs, fixing a lopsided shoelace and dusting his collar before gently knocking to call his presence. A muffled shuffle was
Veronica surged with confidence, a top and trousers that she had stolen from her brother's room, as well as one red envelope embellished with gold trimmings hiding between two books she had snatched from house Acadrius' library. She had the best idea to get Mr. Bunny safely out of the castle, and perhaps have him earn her parent's favour for a second visit.Her birthday celebration was in two nights. She had been lucky enough to find the spare invites before Ambelsine the records-keeper discarded them all. With the right clothes, he could easily blend with a room full of rich traders and nobility—and walk right out the front door.The guards paid her an odd look as she waved to them, the two at her door hesitating before allowing her into her room. She tried not to show a reaction. She had told Mr. Bunny not to make a sound, the guards would run in with a loud enough crash. But the room before her was empty, the small pile of books and food she had placed for him tidied up.She checke
The door opened, the boy squatting lower into the tub as Veronica peeked in. She flaunted the tiny beginner's book like a sack full of slivs, tiptoeing up to the tub with a devilish smile."I found it.""You don't have to whisper, we put up a sound block enchantment.""You guys have to teach me!" Veronica piped. She quickly landed on the bar of soap in Horus' hands, putting two and two together at the suds popping in the boy's hair. "Horus, that's soap.""Yeah...""That won't do, it makes your hair all icky." She grabbed a tray full of mysterious pots, smearing at least five of the creams together before her mysterious concoction was complete.No amount of dodging could save the boy from being her test dummy, but the smug way he simply let Veronica rub the bubbly concoction into his hair irked Horus to no end. She grabbed some more of the secret spread, only stopping when not a single black hair could be send through the froth of rose bubbles on his head."You're never going to smell
It was the end of the painfullest slumber party in history.Veronica had exorcised her birthday immunity to raid a closet of nearly all its bedsheets, and prop them up as a haphazard blanket fort in her room. It was the perfect mess for the boy to hide in when someone walked in without knocking, but also a tight fit when it came time for sleeping.Veronica had been ushered away at the crack of dawn for the maids to prepare her outfit, which left the boy in Horus' care. He had to get the two of them ready, and hope to the gods that the boy picked up at least half of the common Latos mannerisms he had taught him. But all of that was to the side as Horus stared at the boy tucked into a corner of the blanket fort.Horus didn't know what was weirder. The way he held a few flowered bauble pins out the side of his mouth as he sewed, or the fact that he looked like a seasoned seamstress as he cinched the waist on a pair of pants Veronica had swiped from Adrian. The cut was tall enough for him
It had been a little over an hour since the nosy boy named Horus had been dragged off. But the silence finally let him work without prying eyes. The size of the pants had allowed him to stitch pockets inside, just big enough for a dagger to hide beneath the folds on either side. Horus had likely thought he was being smart when he hid his old clothes and daggers from him, but the presence of magic in the air always escaped Lumer senses.He pulled them out of a pile of blankets, finding the rest of his trinkets and the invitation to shove in his pockets. With some hesitation, he bounced the black spool of string in his palm, staring at the shiny silver needle and pocketing the whole thing. He had to be preapred to use anything.Hopefully Veronica wouldn't miss the small thing, nor the black cloak he found in her wardrobe.Blue crystals twinkled at his fingertips as he traced his hand down the cloak. He just needed to be invisible from a distance for a few minutes. Most of the guards had
It was all wrong.The corridor was too tight. The guards were too close. Too tall.It was too cold, suffocating.He was meant to be in the room to at least give him some time to think."Are you alright?"The boy snapped to the voice. What was a blink to him, was long enough to land him on the ground, palms to the floor to keep his entire body from shaking. He didn't know how long he had blanked out for, but the king had taken a knee to come closer to him, washed with concern as a few of the surrounding guards hovered over the scene to see where they could offer help."Come lad, can you stand?"His gut twisted at the way he tried to help him up, but with Vera bracing his other side he couldn't very well squirm away from the king. He doubted that he'd even have the energy if he decided to. But he knew now with the scene he'd caused that he would have to respond with more than a nod.Cilvren would have had his translational enchantments up to date, but there was a standing risk of a few