Most who visited the large stone tower that stuck out of the usually cheerful castle town came there for some form of unusual medicine or to ward off bad luck. They would very often knock on the door and only be greeted by a single silver eye peering out to them from behind a small hole in the wood of the door, which would then be used as a means to hand them whatever they had needed. But Princess Henrietta had not made her way past the endless rows of wooden and plaster houses for a bottle of medicine that would likely make any man sick if they only knew the contents.

As she approached the tall tower, the scenery quickly changed from the bustling, cheery hubbub of the town to a quiet, secluded area. The silence was broken only by a raven at the very top of the tower, who had just landed by one of the only two windows. It seemed the creature had built a nest in that window which remained forever opened, while the other was forever closed to the view of the castle. She knocked on the door, ignoring the large black bird’s warning cry as it swooped down from its perch, landing on the stone roadway a few feet away. It glared at the princess and cawed while flapping its wing to scare her off. She responded with a giggle.

“Very intimidating, Poppy,” Henrietta replied to the bird. “Simply terrifying.”

Her knock was at last answered by two eyes from behind a hole in the tired wooden door, which looked so flimsy, it may very well have fallen over at any second. One brown eye and one grey eye scanned her up and down for a moment, then squinted at her face. She seemed impatient with their investigation, but she allowed it to continue if only because she knew yelling would only encourage the man behind the door to continue wasting her time. Finally, the young man spoke to her with a tone of distrust.

“What’s the password?” He interrogated from the safety of his tower.

“Password?” She placed her hands on her hips. “You’ve never asked me for a password before! And I just as well wouldn’t know it either, even if you did make one up.”

“No password, no entry.” He mocked from behind the door. “Can’t have any spies snooping about my work.”

“Even your crummy old bird recognizes me,” She stepped closer to the door with a scowl, reaching her hand through the hole in the door and grabbing a fistful of wavy black hair. “Now you’re going to let me in, or I’ll use your head as my own personal battering ram!”

“Alright, stop!” He pleaded, “Just let go already!”

When she released him, she could hear a grumble about manners while the man unlocked several bolts that kept the door in its place. With a creak, it swung open, revealing walls lined with shelves, and each shelf overflowing with books, so much so that many had to be stacked into piles across the floor. Papers were scattered about in no particular pattern, with only a few trails of untouched floor leading from the door to the desk in the center of the room, to a large ladder that rose up to wooden pathways that floated in the air, suspended as though by a string that could not be seen. The wooden platforms wound in a spiral all the way to the top of the tower.

The man, garbed in black robes with a silver trim and a long, dark cloak, watched the Crown Princess enter his library and he closed the door behind her. She turned in a full circle as she approached the desk, her eyes trailing up the rows and rows of books on everything from medicine to the history of the arcane arts. She had always found these books much more fascinating than those of her kingdom’s history or the ones on astronomy, although the young man who walked up to her would argue that astronomy was incredibly important.

“My Lady,” He began, “I believe you’re supposed to attend Sir Vandenberg’s ceremony today. You shouldn’t be here, you’ll make yourself late.”

“My dear Theodore,” She replied, “I will not waste my time observing a man who has done nothing of interest for me. His inventions follow rules and structure that he did not set in place. I fail to see what makes them so exciting.”

“Everything he creates, he creates for your family,” Theodore argued, trying to help her see reason, “You should be grateful.”

“Why would you defend him? He’s the very enemy of your art,” Henrietta laughed, “Won’t people stop coming to the Court Sorcerer once technology solves all of their problems?”

Theodore only laughed, finding the notion absurd. He was largely against the use of most technologies (with the occasional exception, such as the holographic light of the digital candles scattered about his tower). Sorcery was what people turned to in times of trouble, and they would turn to him again. However, he had a good deal of respect for Samuel Vandenberg and his creations, since despite their differing philosophies, Vandenberg seemed to agree that every endeavor should be for the betterment of Syllina, rather than personal gain.

“No matter the case,” The princess responded after his silent answer, “I suppose I could stand to go, if you accompany me. Heavens know you could do with a little time outside. Besides, I think I’ve earned it.”

“Earned it?” Questioned the sorcerer with a raised eyebrow. “You’ve been visiting my library for well over a year and you’ve barely learned a thing. Just last week you called me a warlock. I’m a sorcerer, those are two very different things!”

Poppy the Raven cawed down her disagreement from her nest.

“Yes, they are!” He shouted up to the bird.

“Come now,” She took hold of his hand and began to drag the man outside of the comfort of his tower. “There’s no point in hiding while the whole kingdom celebrates.”

As unwilling as he was, Theodore followed the princess out into the daylight. He had known her long enough to know that she was incredibly stubborn to a fault. Many times she had attempted the recipes of his spellbooks to no avail, and repeated the process again and again for hours. But for now, the two of them walked down the stone lined streets of the castle town, crossing over half finished rails built into the ground for the invention of the man everyone wanted to see.