The answer was never.

Jade knew it.
She had to never let anyone know about the bunny.
Or that's how it appeared today.

'STOP IGNORING ME! I'M HERE! LISTEN, WE NEED TO TALK!'

Ugh. Annoying.

"Hoenir," she began. "I need some time alone..."

"Immediately? Your Highness, that would be... great." He hesitantly responded, visibly happy about the delay of the lesson.

"Yes. We'll meet up at the entrance of the library. See you soon."

Hoenir had the desire to reply, but his boss was already at the end of the corridor.

'ANSWER ME. STOP ACTING AS IF I WASN'T THERE!'
The voice grew louder.

Jade took an immediate turn in a restroom, where she knew she wouldn't be disturbed.
She slammed the door as fast as she entered and snorted.
"Shut the fuck up, Spirot."

"Oh, you finally answered me. Not too early, I think."
The voice exhaled, appearing in the air and not only in the reflection of the porcelain.

"A bunny, seriously?"

Spirot, or that's how she named it, was a spirit.

Upon her first night on Telin, the world of her novel, our writer couldn't help but think and think and think again.
A world you didn't know was the deadliest, after all.

With all these reflections, Jade found herself with questions. (Congrats for knowing the process of thinking.)
To answer these, she needed books.
Have you ever seen a baby of a day-old reading?
No.

Thus, when Spirot, a weird, enchanting ball of light, appeared in front of her in the middle of the night and said he could give her magic with which she could teleport to the library, of course she had been optimistic, and had signed as she could the contract.

Except, nine years later, on the contrary of what happens in the good novels, still nothing.
Not a trace of magic.
A big fraud in other terms.

"Yes," the spirit replied, "bunnies were your favorite animals, so I thought it would be—" it halted, realizing it was totally useless to explain this.
It sighed, then took back in one breath.
"YOU'RE CLOSE TO OBTAIN ALL THE CONDITIONS, JADE!"

"What do you mean about the conditions?"

Because yes, to have magic, there were conditions.
Reason there wasn't a trace of magic in her life for now.

"YOU MET THEM ALL!"

"Apart from one, right?" Her head cocked.

"Yes, but the smallest one. Doesn't matter."
It reluctantly mouthed.
"I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!"

She mumbled, one of her eyebrows down as the other was at her hairline.
"And what will happen when I'll have magic?"

"Uhm, you'll have it, I guess."

"Don't be dumb."
Her regard irritatingly swiveled.
"Once you'll give me magic, you'll go, right?"

It spun and chuckled. "Yes, since my task will be completed."

Speechlessness heavily took over.

"You'll have your liberties and dreams again!" It awkwardly beamed to fill the void. "And I'll patronize another soul! Isn't that fabulous?" It said gladly, spinning around cutely.

"Yeah." She managed, after a while. Damn, why did her heart have to feel crushed like that? Emptiness echoed in her question. "Can you please tell me what the conditions were?"

The fluffy bunny of a Chantilly color jolted.

"It just intrigued me."
She persisted with a shade of innocence and the color of mischief in the voice.
It would be a crowning achievement to, at least, know what those useless conditions were.

The bunny spun, swirled, twirled before deciding itself.
"The first condition was acknowledging your new life, or accepting your name 'Jade'; the second was to want magic, of course; and the third is—"
It unexpectedly paused.
"I cannot tell you."

Here we go again. The secrets of Spirot drove her crazy.
"What? THE THIRD IS WHAT?" She snapped.

"I CANNOT TELL YOU!"

"WHY?"

"BECAUSE YOU WOULD WHINE!"
The spirit tremendously crossed the mahogany door.

"THAT'S NOT EVEN TRUE!"
Jade screamed, slamming the door open.

"OH YOU SURE? YOU DID THE VERY SAME WHEN DECLAN STOPPED YOU FROM CHOOSING A NEW BOOK!" The floating bunny shouted back from afar in the corridor.

She followed it naturally, as fast as she could with her nine-year-old legs.
"THIS HAS NOTHING IN COMMON! NOW, ANSWER!"

"I'LL NEVER!"

"OH, YOU WILL. BELIEVE ME."
She menaced, catching up enough with it to be frightening.

"I will what?"
Asked a startled girl.

Calista.
At eighteen, Jade's oldest sister was like their mother, but in their father's color. Clear but wavy hair, big but dark eyes.

"Nothing. You won't do anything."
Improvised Jade, humbling her figure to not be the ultimate insane person.

"Are you sure everything's all right?"
Calista inquired, truly worried about her mental state, or Jade thought so since nobody knew Spirot.

In all of Telin, magic was commonly developed and worked on as any other scientific subject.
However, in Menless, magic was rare.
Inside the only Empire, most of the magic users hadn't finished well, and although the kingdom had the reputation to be really progressist thanks to their regent couple, opinions on magic were firmly entrenched as harmful.
The magicians were persecuted or isolated because of their reputed insanity.

Well, everything nice for an imperial family member.

"Yes, it's alright. I was just talking to someone who, I wished, would be more quick-witted."
Jade replied, half-joking, half-dead inside.

A light upset snort was surely produced by Spirot since her older sister only chuckled.
"Jade, you are the most intelligent nine-year-old I talked to in a while."

"In a while only? I thought I was the only one," she sighed.

Her oldest sister might seem cold in the first place -- with her intimidating and humorless look -- but she was really kind after you got to know her.
"Still," Calista insisted. "Did you get annoyed by anyone? Did someone harass you...?" A scary glower grew on her face.

"NO! Of course not. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Jade delicately grinned, burying away her shame of someone discovering her monologues.

Yeah, I talk alone most of the time, and also with a spirit you don't see, but everything is alright.
No schizophrenia in the horizon.

"Glad nothing's wrong." Her sister exhaled with relief.

Jade loved to see Calis relieved -- all her features joining a divine harmony.
But now, she had a better question on mind.
"Calis, what are you doing here?" Calista's quarter was in the west hallway at the third floor, a trotte away.

The inquired person offered her a fleeing look.
"I had to see Father... because he called."

"Oh, and what was it about--" Jade tried, as her sister straightened.

Her mouth closed immediately and tensed. "I have to go." Calista slightly blushed. "Bye."

"OK... see you later..."
Jade jabbered, her older sister was already far in a perpendicular corridor.

Their father never called Calista.
The only times he did it had been about her entrance at the Academy and the time she hid Declan's paint brushes (but he had deserved it, having painted her favorite dress in marmalade, color she hated.)

The bunny appeared again, swirling, twirling in the air like a butterfly.
"Something's off."

"I know." She retorted, but Jade knew well that siblings just had their own lives. No need to overthink all of this. "Why didn't you speak until now?" Was a way better interrogation than what Calis and her parents chattered about.

"To make you look less schizophrenic, dear." It curtseyed.

She poorly eyed it. "Your mouth."

"I always mind it. You should know. Look at those lips, isn't it evident?"
It insisted, jiggling its nose in the cutest manner, making her giggle.

"Enough time wasted with you. Let's go back to Hoenir."
She hurried as Spirot gasped and flooded her with objections about how she used her time.

●●●

The west hallway on the first floor was welcoming, with the warm colors contrasting from the rest of the castle.
Probably since it was the women's hallway, the one decorated by the empress.
She loved to pass by and was truly excited to be ten because it was at that age she would be able to have her own chamber here.

All the first floors' hallways of the castle were illuminated by bay windows, and in sunny days, more than outstanding, these bays were wide open on the interior gardens.

Earlier, she had fled from Hoenir by one of those, but now it was more the other way around.
The bay had to flee from her or be wide open, considering she'll break it down if it wasn't. She had seen someone through it.

"Sister!"

She hopped on Ian, none other than her favorite sibling and twin. (As long as he didn't talk about food.)

This twin being not so much of a twin as they only had in common their eye color, a golden tint inherited from their mother.
He had their father's hair color; she had their mother's one.
He had their mother's smile; she had the opposite.
He preferred salty as she had a sweet tooth.
Etcetera.
So what made her love him so much?
She did not have an idea.

"Ian! How are you? What did you do this morning?" She enthusiastically hugged her brother, killing the only exhale she heard him take.

"I started the new training my professor planned." He grinned back, an inaudible panting escaping his lips. "Was fun, but I'm definitely dying tomorrow." He dramatically placed his hand on the forehead and leaned back, straight out of a theater.

"Muscle aches will be the end of you, powerful boy?" Jade slyly twitted.

"I don't really know..." Ian hesitantly said, actually pondering the facts. "Tomorrow's activities will surely."

"And which are?"

Her twin inquired her with the eyes. "Uh, did you forget the date, and what comes with it?"

This instantly piqued her interest. "Which day are we?" She queried.

"We are--"

"We are a sunny day! Which is in itself incredible, isn't it?"

Startled, the twins spun their heads around, copying meerkats.

"Hello, other pair!"

Jade, the least traumatized of both after the skip of her heartbeat, replied. "Hi, Flanana."

Flanagan, their older, at thirteen years of age, loved to startle people.
He was finally back from the Academy, enjoying the exceptional holiday at home.

"Stop calling us like that! We aren't just another pair!" Immediately defended Ian at the pseudo-insult of his older brother.

"Yeah, but you'll stay all your life the second pair of twins in this family." Flanagan answered, his smile sly. "All my condolences for the loss of your dignity. Or inexistence of it, should I say?"

"They're gladly accepted."
Jade simply hovered over the provocation.
"Why is the original pair incomplete today?"

He sniffed, shrugging to erase his frown.
"We aren't Siamese twins, Jade. Gilbert and I have other pastimes than fighting each other. He stayed at the Academy to do Gaila knows what."

"You speak more intelligently than you normally do." Ian threw, irritation pursing his lips.

"And you use more brain cells than you normally seem. Or are you using an unknown potential?"

Jade wasn't sure of what she could, or wished, to do to stop that profound debate.
Fleeing seemed the best option.

"Brothers, as you seem really into entertaining yourselves this way, then do." She decided to interfere. "I'll just go cause I won't caution your quirky hobbies."

They straightaway paused.

"Oh, and what will be your destination?"
Mocked Flanagan, annoyed by the interruption.

"The library and Hoenir."

At the mention of the boy's name, both of her brothers stiffened.

"You," muttered Ian, with a voice lower than we could except from a nine-year-old boy, "still see this old guy?"

"And you," added Flanagan with the same tone, "are still determined to educate him?"

"Affirmative for both." She declared, confident. "I'll leave you on that. See you later, brothers." She left without a look back at them, books and possibly Hoenir (if he hadn't fled already, coward,) occupating her thoughts.

 When she turned in another corridor, Flanagan crouched to Ian "We have to protect her." He uttered, dead serious, his brows glued one to the other.

"Protect wouldn't be the right term, big brother," Ian sighed, "since she's the menace, but we have to oversee them, for sure." Jade's twin earnestly shook his head up and down.

They gave themselves an intended glance before separating as if nothing happened.

●●●

Jade pushed the large double doors of the library. Her library.
Well, pretty much hers for the time accumulated there.

She looked at the right.
She looked at the left.
Nobody.
Hoenir had really taken the chance to vanish.

A muffled sound, the one made if a book fell, flew to her ears. It was from the fourteenth or sixteenth section on the second floor.

Of course, she climbed the stairs in a flash of light.
Of course, she arrived quietly, as you should in any library.
And, of course, she witnessed a scene she shouldn't have.

Hoenir grasped a green book in one hand as the other held Ember, her sister, like in one of those romcoms.

What in the flying fuck was that?

"Excuse me, imperial Princess, for my rudeness." Hoenir mumbled as he let go of his grasp. "Are you hurt?"

He called her sister 'imperial Princess'.
What was that favor treatment?
He only used that title when he made her a pique.

Hoenir didn't have to appreciate her, but she was his boss. He had to give more respect to her!
Well, matter of fact, it didn't matter anyway because their annoyance of each other was mutual.

If the situation was different, our girl would have laughed aloud. Unfortunately for her desired wheeze, it was one of her sisters who was under Hoenir's charm -- as red as a peony -- and not any other girl.

Ember had a thing for Hoenir. And the other way around too.
It was so obvious that even a blind would have seen it.

"I-I-I'm fine." Ember stammered, hiding her face as she could.

"Fantastic." He said, putting an improbable great distance between them, making it all comically out of place. "Please do not try to catch those highly placed books anymore, your imperial Highness."

"Yes..."

They stared at each other blankly, as always when they crossed ways in the library when Ember came for peace to sing and Hoenir followed Jade.

"It nice to see you again..." Jade's sister made a pause, quickly meeting the boy's eyes with a serene look. "...Hoenir." She smiled sheepishly as the impossible happened.

He blushed.
A little, very little, but he did swiftly before putting his convenience expression back.

Adorable. OK, maybe a pinch laughable also, but they were so adorable.

She shipped that.

She really wanted to pick them up, throw them in a room, and lock them up, so they talked to each other for hours.
It was, as usual, a marvelous idea.

(The hell, ahem, excuse This Narrator was adapting the idiom to Telinian, the Sorre is wrong with our writer?)

"Ahem." The couple seemed to fly to the ceiling when they jolted.
"Hoenir, I see you lead quite of a conversation with my sister." Jade began as both of them leaned their heads silently, like they were scolded.

"Yes..." he mumbled as a lectured kid.

"Gorgeous, isn't she?"

His eyes fell out of his orbits as Ember decided to commit murder on our girl.

"Stop hitting! I-I'm just saying the truth!"

The only thing that stopped Ember's violence on her sister was Hoenir's intervention. "I think so too, your Highness..."

Ah, youngsters. Get a room, please.

"Well, I have a book calling me right now!" Jade smiled, perfectly knowing what she was doing. "See you laaaaaaaaaaaater."
And our girl magnificently drifted away under her sister's aghast prattles.