After changing clothes, I walked the almost familiar path to my father’s study. The maid and Larissa walked behind me.  My father was standing by the door  when I arrived and he was not alone. The magic teacher, Allen, was with him and it wasn’t just him, there were other people in the room, not that I knew any of them. I vaguely recognized the wizard man from the day before, still with his silly pointed hat and beard. I vaguely heard the maid bow and excuse herself. The magic tutor’s son was also there. He had to be around my age if not a year older. Would it be appropriate to smile at him? Probably not, we didn’t know each other. 

I settled for a small curtsy to the room at large before turning back to my father. He was talking to the old wizard man, his eyebrows raised. I overheard the words fire and maze so I had a pretty good idea what they were talking about. They were probably going over my awesome victory at the maze. Though, neither of them looked all that impressed. I wielded a bunch of fire without dying, that had to count for something!

I watched them converse for a bit before turning my eyes back to the other people. They were mostly all talking among themselves, except for the son of the magic tutor. He was looking directly at me. Unsure what I was supposed to do, I walked up to him.

“Morning,” I said in a low voice.

Now that I was in front of him, he no longer seemed willing to look at me. 

“Is that any way to address a stranger?” He didn’t look at me but I could tell he was smirking.

I gave him the most over the top curtsy I could.

“My apologies, sir. Good morning.”

Maybe I imagined it or maybe he chuckled. He looked at me again. He and the magic tutor had the same eye color. It was a bright green and it was somehow familiar to me but I could not figure out why. The only thing I could think about was the moment when all the colors had disappeared from the day before and I had seen two silhouettes. That was ridiculous. I hadn’t even seen their eyes.

“I heard you passed your test. I didn’t know you knew any magic. From the way my father speaks of you, I figured that you only pretended to know magic.” 

Whatever retort I had got lost when I took a look at his face. He was smiling. He was either really rude or just being playful. Either way, I didn’t mind.

“How old are you? Do you also attend the Golden… something, Institute?” I asked.

“Golden Cauldron?”

“Yeah, that!”

“It’s not, yeah that! It’s the Golden Cauldron Magic Institute. You should know that if you actually plan to attend. I was supposed to start last year but then my father decided to take a year off teaching to tutor some kid and I decided to go with him instead.”

So he just decided to take a year off school? Was that allowed? Maybe, it was supposed to be some school for nobles so the staff might be worried about the families of the kids getting angry or something. 

“Can you just take a year off school just like that?” I asked. “It must be because you’re related to the king”

I was joking, making use of what Anastasia told me last night but the way he flinched made no sense.

“He’s not my dad.” His voice was strained and he was definitely avoiding my eyes.

“The Allen guy is not your dad?”

“No no! He is! I thought-”

He hesitated, casting an uncertain look in the direction of the adults.

“I thought you were one of those people that think the king is my father.” Maybe it was my imagination but it looked like even having to say those words seemed to annoy him. 

“Why would I think that? You look like your dad?”

“People like to gossip. I have the same eye color as the king and that is apparently a good enough reason to assume I could be the illegitimate son of the king. Nobles love to gossip…”

“Oh, even if they do. It’s not like any of them talk to me so, really, who would I have heard a silly rumor like that from!” I hoped that it would make him feel better to say that but didn’t notice any change in his face.

“Didn’t the daughter of the Lang family come by this house a few times? Their family is one of the biggest spreading misinformation.”

Oh, I had no idea who that was.

“Oh, she wasn’t exactly my friend. I think they just liked my house.”

I was making a few assumptions but what does it matter at this point, half of what I have been doing lately is improvising. If my lies collapse, then I am not as good at acting as I thought I was. 

“My apologies. I thought you approached me because of the rumors her family is so fond of spreading.” He gave me a small bow. 

Maybe it was my imagination but he almost looked relaxed. Yet, there was something about him that was throwing me off. It was not something I could see by looking. He looked like a normal guy but something in the back of my mind didn’t believe that. The thought made my head hurt so I assumed it was a sign to stop. Ignoring the buzzing in my ears, I looked around for something else to say.

“Did you see the kid that was behind the maid?”

“The tiny maid?” 

He seemed amused so far but that was probably because he had no idea the unhinged idea forming in my mind.

“Do you think there is a chance I would be able to sneak her into the Golden Cauldron place? I think she could have some skill in magic.” 

I didn’t dare look at him. I was sure that he would think I’m weird for even suggesting it.

“Is she a commoner? Her being good at magic will just get her branded a witch and persecuted.” 

Okay, not the answer I was expecting but it did give me the opportunity to ask a question that had been nagging me about this novel world. 

“What is the difference between the magic I know and a witch?”

I waited for him to laugh. A person of my status would surely know…

Seconds passed slowly before I finally looked up. He was not laughing. I could not make any sense of his expression. 

“I thought you would know…” He said at last. 

“I may not have been paying much attention in my lessons.” I gave a small laugh that I hoped was nonchalant.

“Not in your lessons, I mean someone should have told-”

He abruptly stopped. His eyes lifted. The room had gone silent and they were all looking in my direction. The boy had disappeared from my side and was standing near his father. I looked around for my father, moving to stand next to him. 

“You burned down the maze.”

Somehow his tone made me realize for the first time that I may have acted rashly. He didn’t raise his voice at me but I heard the disapproval loud and clear. 

“The Sorcerers were very clear that although you passed the test, they want us to pay for the damages.”

I looked down. Perhaps, I should have prepared for the test in a better way?

“They have also informed me that although you have been accepted to the Magic Institute, your acceptance is probationary and any further destructive acts will grant you an immediate expulsion.”

What? Since when did actions have consequences! I nodded in what I hoped was a meek manner. What would be the best way to reply? Maybe it would be best to just remain silent and accept the reprimand?

“I understand. I will refrain from burning down any more mazes.” I said looking up.

Yeah, that was the wrong answer judging from the cries of outrage from the wizard man and his pointy hat group. At least the half smile my father gave me was comforting. 

“Or anything else?” He suggested helpfully.

“Or anything else.” I agreed.

Getting expelled before getting to the school sounded really boring anyways. Being on thin ice with the school really put a damper on my plan to sneak Larissa into the school. No, that was still the plan. They said I would get expelled if I broke anything else, not if I broke any more rules. 

The main wizard guy stepped up. He began speaking but busy with my own plans I barely heard. I got one word or two and it was mostly about the responsibility that every Sorcerer must have towards nature and something about magic not being meant for destruction but really who has time for lectures. I stared in his general direction with what I hoped was a regretful or cowed look.

“Is that clear?” I felt as if I had been jolted from a deep sleep. I blinked quickly before I nodded. I hoped that whatever I was agreeing to meant I was agreeing to be good or something.

No one said anything, did they expect me to say something?

“I understand.”

Yeah, from the way their faces relaxed, that was definitely the right answer. Also, they were apparently done with me since they surrounded my father again and resumed their conversation. Feeling awkward again I stepped closer to the bookshelves and when no one called me back I picked up a book at random. Why does my father need half a library in his study anyways?

Before I could focus on the book, I noticed a shadow fall over the page. 

“Oh hey, that’s a good one. Probably won’t help you sneak a commoner into a school for nobles.” It was the boy.

“Yeah, I would probably need some help with that.” I said jokingly. I doubted he could do anything more than I could even if he was related to the king.

“Some fake papers making her the cousin of some of the larger noble families would do.” 

“Oh yeah, sounds super easy. I’m sure they just give out free fake papers to any kid who asks for them!” I closed the book and put it back. I couldn’t focus on the words anyways. 

“Maybe not to you, you don’t have the necessary connections but I do.”

I half turned but he grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at the shelf again. 

“Don’t turn around. We are not talking. I’m looking at the bookshelf too. It is better to not look suspicious when doing illegal stuff.” He muttered sparing a half glance to the talking adults. I wanted to look too but I didn’t need to be forced to face the books again.

“Why would you do that? If it is so illegal…” I glanced at a random book just out of my reach. 

“You must believe she can be very good at magic or else you would not even bother. Of course if she gets caught that will be very bad for her but there is always the chance that if she is good enough, no one will care. It is a very small chance. It sounds interesting.”

Maybe it was because I could only see his face out of the corner of my eye but his smile almost looked sinister. Yeah, there was no way I could trust that guy.

“Maybe not, but you already told me too much. Something like this can get you expelled, and maybe even arrested. If everything goes well, we can get this random kid in the school and then all three of us can hang out like the best of friends.” He muttered still with a creepy smile.

I don’t know why I even decided to talk to that guy…

I reached up and attempted to grab one of the books. It was too high. Still, I reached as high as I could. Anything to avoid looking at the guy behind me. I died in a maze and yet I was starting to feel more anxiety about the person behind me. He reached up. He was barely taller than me. He could not reach either. Somehow that was the most comforting thing about the entire interaction. No matter how weird he was, he was just some kid no matter what influences he claimed to have.

For a moment we both stood there, before we both burst into laughter. The room went silent again as every head turned to look at me again. The boy took a step to the right and grabbed a random book. They must have decided we had just been joking around because the talking resumed soon afterwards. I turned my eyes back to the books. 

“So how do you just get fake papers?” I asked in a low voice after making sure the talking remained constant. 

“Oh, I just have to talk to some people. Call in a few favors, nothing interesting.” He chuckled at the book he was holding. 

“Would I be able to see that?” I asked. Considering I had only left my house twice, I didn’t think I would do very well. I also did not trust the guy enough to go anywhere alone with him. However, I doubted the guy would want me around while he was doing illegal dealings so it didn’t matter. 

“Can the little girl even manage to sneak out of her crib long enough?” There was no way to miss the mocking tone. 

“I think I can figure something out.” I said in my calmest tone. 

“I can just go get you later.” He closes the book and puts it back on the shelf.

“Wait, later?”

He did not look at me as he walked back to his father.

Did I just make plans to sneak off later for an illegal deal?

No way.

He had to have been joking!

Maybe.