Julia

A white wolf. A black wolf. Blue-green dragonfly wings. Had she seen the three? In her vision?

Julia thanked her with a nod and saw out of the corner of her eye how her new servants were led out of the room. Cleo and Lea sat back in their seats, while Agathe returned to Julia's side. Servant. Personal servants... I never wanted that. I don't want to decide over the lives of others.

"Let's keep celebrating and be happy!" she turned to her guests. While the orchestra played cheerful dance music and servants cleared the cake buffet and replaced it with a dinner buffet, the queen turned to Peter. "I want you to ask Babette to dance. Let's hope she doesn't get repelled by your ridiculous suit. Afterward, you will accompany her to the buffet and chat with her. And after that, I want to see you dance with more young witches."

Peter grimaced. "I like to dance with the other ladies, mortal or immortal, but I will not dance with Babette. She doesn't suit me and I don't appreciate her very much."

"You're going to dance with her!" The queen looked at him warningly. "You won't ignore her. If you find another witch you appreciate, fine, but Babette is an excellent choice."

"Of course, mother," Peter murmured and left the stands, presumably to reluctantly ask Babette to dance.

"That he must be so stubborn." The queen sighed. "We should mingle with the people." She smiled at her other children. "Julia? I'm sure some of them would like to congratulate you personally. After that, feel free to look at your other gifts."

"Gladly," Julia lied and rolled her eyes. I'd rather go... But I better keep an eye on Peter. Maybe he needs help. Babette is a challenge.

Finn

Everything was foreign. The building? Strange. The people around him? Strange. The colors? Strange. The smells? Strange. The elf? Strange.

Marko. Not a stranger, even if he hardly knew him.

His wrist was still burning as he followed the strangers through the corridors of the castle. They went a little too fast for him and he struggled to rush after them. Marko had fallen back a bit and looked at him from time to time. Finn looked away every time.

It was all strange. He would have loved to hide in his bed at home. But this is not my bed anymore. Not my home... What did I wish for? This wasn’t my wish. I didn't want that. Why are there so many people here... It's too much!

The servants stopped in front of a large, brown door. "You will sleep here from now on. Down the hallway is the canteen for the staff, opposite this room is a small washroom with a toilet." One of the servants, a small man with gray hair and deep wrinkles, pointed to the opposite door, while the other two servants were already leaving. "Your uniforms are on your beds. Breakfast is served at 6 a.m., lunch at twelve-thirty, and dinner at twenty-two. Night rest is at midnight. Tomorrow morning you will be officially introduced to Princess Julia. Before that, you will be instructed in your new tasks and duties. Change your clothes and come to the canteen when you're hungry. Our cook has a stew for you." With that, even the last servant left them all.

Finn was exhausted and tired... He was not hungry. He just wanted to sleep... And hide... He looked shyly at Marko. The tall wolf opened the door to their new room. "Then let's see where we ended up here." He looked at the elf. "I'm Marko and that's Finn." He pointed to Finn, who was grateful to him.

"Leopold, but you can call me Leo," the elf introduced himself. He was slightly taller than Marko, had light brown, curly hair, and was very slim, while Marko was quite muscular. Marko's dark, frizzy hair stood out a bit as if he had walked through a storm.

The room they now entered was narrow. Three beds, three high shelves, and a table with three chairs just found space in it. The walls were painted white. On one wall hung a simple still life. The bedding of the beds was grey. Everything smelled new and clean. On each bed lay their new uniforms and the bags with their own clothes and belongings they had taken from home.

"Then this is probably my bed!", Marko announced and sat down on the bed where his bag lay and looked at the dark blue uniform. "Are you hungry? I don't, but I probably should eat something. Tomorrow will be a terrible day."

Finn sat down on his bed. Everything is foreign. I think I'm sick. At least the bedding is soft. I have never had such a soft blanket.

He looked again at Marko, who was already putting on the new uniform.  The dark blue suited him well.

Peter

Babette smelled unpleasant. Too sweet and heavy. Her perfume made him dizzy. As they danced together, she talked about her newest horse. He barely listened.

"Of course, shooting star still has to get used to it. I've only had her since yesterday. She's still a bit shy, so I can't tell you much about her character. The breeder said she was a bit strong-willed," Babette said.

I hope shooting star bites.

"I think you're dressed very fancily today. But red is also present in all the colors as if we had agreed to wear matched clothes. But jewelry doesn’t suit you, Peter. You'd better leave it to us ladies."

I solemnly swear to wear jewelry from now on.

"What do you think of a wedding in the snow?"

"What?" Peter almost stumbled over the words.

"Our wedding. In the snow." Babette fluttered her eyelashes and probably accidentally stepped on his foot. Although... Maybe it was intentional.

"Aren't you a bit hasty?" he asked, puzzled. "I didn't propose to you."

"But you should, Peter. It's getting silly!"

"Babette, how nice to see you," Julia interrupted her. She had hurried towards them. "Am I interrupting you?"

Babette grimaced, while Peter took the chance to get out of there. "I have to go to the bathroom," he mumbled his excuse and hurried away. Thank you, Julia! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! My heroine!

Just before he left the hall, he turned again towards the two girls. He saw Babette's annoyed face and Julia secretly winking at him.

Julia

"Do we want to get something from the buffet," Julia asked the annoyed, fire-red Babette.

"Why not," she replied reluctantly. "Do you like my gift? It's the little pink box."

"I haven't looked at the other gifts yet. I'll do that afterward in peace. But I promise to open yours first. Thank you, Babette."

"Of course. What is your opinion of a wedding in the snow?"

The two made their way to the buffet, avoiding the dancing couples they had previously stood in the way off.

"Snow? Isn't that a bit cold?" Poor Peter. He doesn't want to marry her and she is already planning the party.  "Wedding dresses are not necessarily warm... Who are you going to marry?" asked Julia, innocently and as if she didn’t know.

"The celebrations would then have to take place mostly inside... But I think a wedding ceremony in the snow is wonderful. Dad would let me get a wedding dress with a fur collar... and of course, I'm marrying Peter!"

You won't become an animal rights activist... "Does Peter want to marry you? Aren't you a bit hasty Babette?"

"Of course, he will marry me. However, I don't know what he is thinking about that horrible suit and all that jewelry he wears." Babette snorted and shoveled sausages onto a small plate. "Once we're married, I'll coordinate our wardrobe."

Julia took vegetable sticks and some cheese. "And if he doesn't want to marry you? He could also look for someone else."

"Why would he womed dab," Babette asked now with her mouth full. Small pieces of sausage came out of her mouth.

I wouldn't want to marry you either. "Babette? Has he ever shown interest in you?"

"Of course! We danced until just now. Really, Julia! Are you so blind?"

Julia shook her head.

Leopold

He and Marko quickly found their way to the canteen. Finn had stayed in their shared room. Apparently, he didn't want to eat. He had only shaken his head when Marko and Leopold wanted to set off.

"Is Finn just shy or scared?" The little wolf had been shaking all over his body the whole time.

"Finn is sick," the other wolf replied. "I don't know how he's supposed to work here."

"Sick?"

"Yes. Sick. Weak. Not made for work. His bones break easily."

"Oh." Leopold looked around the canteen. The space was large, with several tables and chairs. At the end of the room was a simple food counter. On a table was a large saucepan with a trowel. Three places were covered around the pot.

"There you are!" An elderly lady with a long snow-white braid approached her. "The uniform suits you well... Oh!... Are there only two of you?"

"Yes, Finn is not hungry," Marko answered her question.

"Oh, dear... The poor boy. Maybe it's the excitement. Tomorrow will be a big day. You get to know the princess. My name is Luise. I have been working here as a cook for forty years. You will like the stew. Potatoes, peas, and carrots. No meat, if one of you is vegetarian. Sit down." She pushed the two to the table.

"I'm not a vegetarian. Finn probably isn’t either. Wolves are not usually vegetarians," Marko answered the question as he sat down on one of the chairs and took stew.

"Me neither," Leopold added.

"Good, good." Luise smiled. "There are usually three hot meals every day. In the morning there is often porridge, occasionally scrambled eggs with or without ham, and buns with butter. For lunch and dinner, you can choose between a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian meal. And now I'll let you eat in peace."