Julia

Julia pulled her large suitcase out of the guest room and gave him one of the servants, who stowed it. An elf, with transparent dragonfly wings and snow-white, short hair. She didn't know how old he was. Just like witches and wizards, elves were immortal and could only die by accident or murder and, in very rare cases, by disease. Werewolves, like humans, were mortal.

Lea came up to her and hugged her tightly: "I'm going to miss her a lot, but we'll see you again on your birthday! Haven't you forgotten anything? Oh and if... Then I'll find it and bring it with me!"

"I have everything, I think." Julia squeezed her sister tightly again and then got into the carriage. Another servant, a werewolf with light brown wolf ears and friendly grey eyes, held the door open for her.

"See you soon. I wish for a lot of books for my birthday and a pink cake!", Julia said with a grin as the servant closed the door. She waved through the window of the door again, then the carriage drove off. Back to the castle. Away from the freedom of her sister's house. Julia saw the small mansion and her waving sister again briefly, then everything disappeared behind dense trees and bushes. Their short visit was over.

I hope I remain mortal. I don't want to be a witch. I don't want to be a healer, a seer, a soldier. Not a military boss like Cleo. Baker. The smell of cookies in my nose all day long, that's what I want! No servants around me who have no other choice and whom I cannot release because the binding spell will cost them their lives!  No cruelty. No power!  Freedom!

The drive back to the castle went over old roads and paths. It would be a few more hours before she reached the lock, so she closed her eyes.

Blue-green dragonfly wings. Two wolves, one white and one black. A dark carriage passing through the golden gate of a white wall. White buildings, with bright blue roofs. A sign. Academy for Gifted Witches and Wizards. Forest. Endless forest. A village.

A knock woke Julia. Still dazed, she opened her eyes. Next to her, the door was opened. Julia looked tiredly at the young servant. An elf with green dragonfly wings and straw-blond hair. Green. Blue-green wings, strange dream.

 "Welcome princess," the servant murmured shyly. Fine, pale white, ornate lines ran around her left wrist. The sign that she was tied to the castle and the royal family. "Her Majesty is waiting for you in her office."

Not yet fully awake, Julia just nodded and got out of the carriage, staggering slightly.

"Sweety!" she heard a cheerful, dark voice call. Her brother Peter, who was five years older, hurried up to her, lifted her up a little awkwardly and whirled her in a circle. "Welcome back. And? Magical experience? Fire? Water? Hypnosis? Or are you still one of us bores?" Peter winked laughing. "Welcome home!"

"Still a bore. A special occurrence. I can stand alone. Thank you."

"Sure?" Slowly, Peter put her back on her own feet. "Just now it looked as if you wanted to fall out of the carriage!"

"Almost. And then a madman came and whirled me around. Did you see him by chance?"

"No." Peter grinned broadly. "He must have escaped. Don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"Wonderful!"

Julia saw the servant carry her suitcase into the castle. Teal. Strange dream.  "Mother is waiting for me. We can talk later."

"Then up, up, little sister," Peter waved her away. "Let's see the mother-daughter reunion. Should I get the party pennants? Confetti?"

"Of course! And crackers!" Laughing, Julia went into the castle. Several stairs, corridors and corridors finally led her to her mother Agathe's office. Without knocking, she opened the door and... obviously burst into an important conversation between her mother and the finance minister.

"Oops. I can come back later!"

"No, no. We were already done," the kings objected with an amused sigh. The minister nodded and left the office with a small bow. "And? How was the ride? Welcome back. Did you have a good time? How is Lea?" The queen hurried around her desk and embraced her daughter warmly. "I missed you, dear."

"Lea is fine. It was very nice. I overslept the ride. Hello Mom."

"Have special things happened in the last few days," Julia's mother asked.

Julia shook her head. "No. Nothing worth mentioning." She knew exactly what it was all about. Her mother hoped for magic. "No magic, Mom. No."

"Or dreams? Perhaps? Sometimes visions hide in dreams. Images of the past, present or future."

Strange dreams? Yes! "No."  It was just a dream.

"Never mind. There is still time! And I have work to do. See you at the dinner. Unless you want to help me? Sort the letters by importance? Maybe?"

"Not really. Sounds boring."

"Boring but important!" the queen objected. "But you're certainly exhausted from the drive.

„Mama?“

"Yes? Sparrow?" The queen sat back at her desk and was already looking through some letters.

"Would you be disappointed if I were a mortal?" Julia asked the question she had been asking for weeks.

"I won't be disappointed, sparrow," replied the queen, not looking up from her many letters. "Certainly not."

"See you later." Julia left the office. Relieved, she walked through many corridors, up stairs and down to her room. There their golden wallpaper and gold-colored four-poster bed awaited them. Her suitcase was on top, on one of her cupboards. Her clothes had long since been taken away for cleaning and Julia's belongings had already been put in the right drawers and placed on the right shelves.  Even if I wanted to, I could never be messy. Everything is  put away immediately. Maybe I can create my own chaos at the academy  ? ...  There are probably more stairs and corridors than here and here there are already too many for me... This castle is ridiculously big...  I don't want magic.

Peter

Peter strolled through the castle garden. Colorful flowers bloomed, sculptures and fountains stood everywhere. Birds chirped, crickets chirped. The garden was beautiful. A few gardeners cut rose bushes. But Peter hardly noticed any of this. He was deep in thought. Would Julia become a witch? The queen seemed to have no doubt about this, even though Juliet's birthday was almost around the corner. The last few days she had talked about enrolling Julia at the Academy and how much she was looking forward to it.

Peter had no magical talent. Does he wish he had one? Yes! Of course. To be mortal, to be a normal person, he found boring. That had little style. He would have been happy even about a weak talent. He could still remember his time as a teenager. Every day he had waited for magic until his 16th birthday came. He often watched Cloe manipulate fire and wished he could too. Magic never came.

He knew Julia wished she was boring; to be mortal. While he had been waiting for magic, she was waiting for the absence of magic. He loved his sister very much, but he could not and would not understand that. Magic had style. He would like to be a magician. Instead, his mother forced him to come to every party, hoping he would find a young witch to marry. So that it could be of use.

His mother loved him, he knew that, but she cared little about what he wanted. This had also been the case with Ingried and Paul and the two had turned their backs on the castle and their mother. They had renounced their titles of nobility in order to live their own lives. What did Peter want? Except magic? He didn't know yet.