Marko

Visitors had come. Some soldiers had come into the house with a roll of paper. Now they talked to his parents in the living room. Soldiers meant trouble. Marko tried to distract himself with a novel, but the worry won. Should he go down? Or was he already too old to listen? Quietly, he crept out of his room and down the hall.

"They’re teenagers!" he heard his father growl. "And we're supposed to send them to the palace? As a servant? And Finn has just turned fifteen and he is sick! We can't send him away! His parents won't want that!"

Finn?

"Is it a life-threatening disease?" a strange voice asked. "Does he need medication?"

"No, not directly," his mother replied, barely audible. "And there is no medication."

"Then he will move to the palace. We know that you have several sons. You will also send one of your sons to the palace, at the behest of Princess Cloe."

"Our three oldest are all married! And our youngest is only seventeen!"

What?  Shocked, Marko ran back to his room with rumbling steps.  To the palace? I? And Finn?  Finn can't possibly work! He rarely leaves the house!

Leopold

Leopold sat on the bank of a small stream and carved with a sharp pocket knife. Two soldiers stood nearby, keeping an eye on him.  A day ago, one of the witch princesses had come to his home village. Together with some soldiers as bodyguards. She came to choose a new servant. For her younger sister. The younger ones, who were between 15 and 30 years old, had to gather. Her choice had fallen on him. In a few hours, he would receive the first binding spell and then leave for the palace.

There were four types of binding spells. The first binds a person to a specific place, such as a house. The second binds a person to a group of people, such as a family. The first two spells were often combined. The person concerned was then tied to a specific family and their property. This meant that the person served the family and could not leave the property, or even the house, depending on the binding spell. Then there was a temporary binding spell. This tied the person to another person for a certain period. The affected person could then move freely within a certain radius but had to follow and obey the other person. This binding spell was used when someone else picked up one servant for a family or individual person. The fourth binding spell was similar to the Temporary spell in that it tied the affected person to another single person. The affected person could then move freely within a certain radius but had to serve the other person personally and could not move too far away from the other person unless the other person wished the bounded to do so. For example, to do shopping in another city. However, the bounded was always forced to return to the other person. None of the spells could be lifted. The temporary spell could only be converted into one of the other spells.

 The fourth binding spell was the spell that Leopold found scariest.

I hate them! I hate them all! I could run away! No... There are soldiers everywhere. Running away is impossible. And if I succeed... Would they punish my parents?

"Can I sit with you?" he heard someone ask. Leopold looked up. It was the village elder.

"The creek is not mine. Anyone who wants to can sit here," he replied pouting.

The eldest laughed softly. He was 700 years old and had witnessed the great war and several uprisings against the witch monarchy. But all these years were not visible to him. He looked like he was in his early thirties. "I guess you're right. You're carving?"

"Against frustration."

"Have you packed everything? Are you excited? You will see the palace." The older man smiled tiredly.

"Angry is more likely to be the case!" Leopold threw the piece of wood into the stream. The water splashes up. A few drops hit him. "I don't want to be a servant! For no one! Especially not for a witch! No one should have to!"

"Would you be willing to risk everything to protect others?" the elder asked quietly so that only Leopold could hear him. "I have an idea. Let's talk about it in my house where no one can eavesdrop on us."

An idea?  This piqued his interest. "Of course." Leopold spat out the words in his anger. "Everything!"

Julia

There was hustle and bustle in the castle. Everywhere was cleaned and decorated for Julia's big birthday ball. The most important noble families would come. Servants, most of them people, hurried busily through the corridors. Unlike elves and werewolves, humans did not receive binding spells. They could leave the palace at any time, or retire.

Julia was lying in the bathtub and hardly noticed the hustle and bustle. She had little desire for the ball, where not only her 16th birthday to be celebrated but also the appearance of her magic. And not much longer and she would attend the academy and return to the palace only for a few weeks in summer and winter. Seven summer weeks and three winter weeks. New friends.  Since she had always enjoyed the boredom and solitude of private lessons, the prospect of friends actually sounded tempting. She got out of the tub, drained the water, and grabbed a towel to dry herself off.

At least I get out of the palace for a while. And not just for a few weeks when I visit Lea in the summer.

Julia put on her bathrobe and went to her dressing room. There lay light, white linen trousers and a pink linen tunic, which had been placed on her chair. She changed her clothes and went back to her bedroom. There she grabbed a book. A very old, heavy plant encyclopedia, which Fritz had given her... Some of the pages had come loose from the binding and the paper felt leathery. She flipped through it randomly and came across an entry about elves.

'In the forests of the elves many medicinal herbs bloom, so it is worthwhile to trade with them.'

How old is this book? It must have been written before the war... Trade with the elves... Today they have to give up part of their herb harvests.

Julia sighed. None of this was fair! Or did she see something wrong?

She put the old book on her bed and buried her face in a pillow. Can this stupid ball take place without me? What if I just climb out of the window? And disappear into the wilderness? ... I make a rope out of my duvet and climb like a spy... No... Acrobat! Out the window and escape my fate! ... Or like a fugitive from prison? In the end, I only offer the servants a  reason to laugh, because my rope breaks, I have no acrobatic talents and I fall into a hedge. Pure wilderness! So much for my career as a fugitive.

There was a knock at the door. Julia sighed... A servant, an elderly lady with mouse-gray hair, came in with a ball gown. "Your dress arrived in time. Just look," she frolicked exuberantly. "I was afraid you might have to put on one of your old dresses."

"That certainly wouldn't have been a problem," Julia murmured. I have so many dresses, no one would have noticed.

"But this one is especially pretty!" The servant held up the dress proudly. "Don't you think? If I had such a dress, I would never take it off! ... Although... Then I would probably smell unpleasant at some point." She giggled softly and placed the dress over a chair. "Unfortunately, your shoes haven't arrived yet. I'm terribly sorry, but you have to wear an older pair."

"Probably no one will look at my feet." Julia looked at her new dress. She saw it for the first time. Her mother had commissioned it. All she had said was that she had ordered a new dress for the ball from the court tailor. It was pretty. Pale green with floral embroidery.

"Are you excited?" the servant asked. She had been working in the palace for many years.

"A bit. Thank you, Sophie." Julia smiled. "I think I have just the right pair of shoes in my closet. Otherwise, I just go barefoot. Surely nobody notices that?"

"Scandalous! Afterward, it is said that the princess cannot afford shoes or is rebellious!" Sophie laughed out loud. "That would certainly be the topic of the evening."

"Better than being asked about my new, fresh magic every three seconds. A seer, like her mother! We can expect great things from you!"

"Oooooh! Sparkling and new! Have you seen my future? Will I get rich? Famous? Am I marrying a prince?"

"I saw you dancing in my dress. Barefoot! Together with the chimney sweeper!" joked Julia.

"You work for the royal family for years and what is there as a reward? A chimney sweeper!"

"Better than a clogged chimney."

"I'd need one first." Sophie disappeared into the dressing room. Julia followed her listlessly.

"Did you mean those shoes?" Sophie held up bright yellow, fine shoes.

"No. They don't." Julia pulled out a pair of delicate, white strappy shoes. The straps were decorated with colorful fabric flowers. "That's what I meant."

"Oh yes. They're also very pretty," Sophie agreed happily. Then a thought occurred to her. "How about a cup of cocoa? To celebrate the day?"

"So that I pour it over the dress?"

"Not really." Sophie folded her arms reproachfully. "Cocoa makes you happy, tastes good, and tastes good!"

"What?" Julia laughed. "You repeated yourself."

"No, I didn't!" Sophie winked at her. "It tastes so good that these are two reasons!"

Peter

"I expect the best of behavior. You won't get drunk." The queen looked at him reproachfully. Why does she ALWAYS look at me reproachfully?  "There will be a lot of young, lovely ladies, I want you to dance with as many as possible."

"Haven't I danced with every young witch? With all the celebrations where we or even just I were invited?"

"With many, yes, but not with all. You will be 21 years old in a few months. I want you to find a witch by then that you will marry. You are a prince, albeit a mortal one. As a prince, you have an obligation to the crown. All marriageable young witches from all noble families will be present at this ball. You will take advantage of this opportunity."

Peter crossed his arms. "Duty aside, I thought this was Julia's ball. Shouldn't it be about her? About her 16th birthday?" You didn't celebrate my birthday that big...

"It's going to be about Julia. About her birthday and her magic. She is now part of the community. Of course, it will be about her. You don't have to worry about that, Peter. And now go and put on something appropriate. You can't strut around in your pajamas all day!"

Peter looked at his striped pajamas. I find pajamas very appropriate. And comfortable! "Of course. When will the ball start again?"

The queen glared at him angrily. "We expect the first guests in two hours. Your siblings should also arrive soon. Surely you don't want to greet Fritz, Cleo, and Lea in pajamas?"