It turned out that a hostage could, in fact, become quite untidy, especially when the Really Evil Pirate Drake accidentally shoved her into a rge pnt that might be a bougainvillea but probably wasn’t, because Pandy didn’t actually know what a bougainvillea looked like. In any case, the Lovely Princess Lavender took a tumble, along with several potted pnts, causing the embattled pirates to cease attacking each other with invisible swords and instead hurry to her aid. Wayward Pirate Pete had to hurry to her room to get a brush to fix the princess’ hair, and after that the three children decided that it might be best to py a game of Tiddlywinks.

  Therefore, when Dalton appeared to summon the three – and Pandy, though perhaps that was not his intention – he found them seated around the table, where they absolutely weren’t pretending that the winks were gold coins and the pot a treasure chest guarded by the ghost of Really Evil Pirate Drake’s First Mate, who was killed by Really Evil Pirate Drake for failing to prevent Wayward Pirate Pete from making off with Lovely Princess Lavender.

  Honestly, the whole thing made Pandy’s head spin, but the children were quite happy, at least once they restored Eleanor to her previously impeccable appearance. The maybe-bougainvillea, however, was not so lucky, and had been hidden behind a particurly rge hibiscus in the undoubtedly-futile hope that Lady Alice wouldn’t notice.

  “Her Majesty is ready to depart,” Dalton told them. “Please, allow me to lead you to the front door, Your Highness.” He bowed deeply, with one foot perfectly pced in front of the other, and one hand against his chest while the other swept out toward the door.

  Eleanor nodded, though her lip quivered as she looked at her two new friends. Geraldine promptly caught the princess’ pale little hand in her tan, freckled one, and said, “We’ll see you soon, Ellie. Don’t worry.” It was obvious that she wanted to say more, but Dalton’s presence made her pinch her lips together as her eyes spoke for her.

  Thaniel nodded. “Lian says that at Falconet, all the students in each year have one big css together, and there are smaller csses with five people, no matter if you’re a boy or a girl, or what rank you have. So we’ll definitely get to be in css together, and we can eat together and py after school every day!”

  Both girls gave watery smiles, and Eleanor moved toward the door Dalton had opened for her. As she did, Pandy saw a leaf stuck to the bottom of one dainty blue shoe. Somehow, Pandy didn’t think the Queen would miss such a btant botanical blunder, so she darted forward, trying to yank off the offending greenery with her teeth, only to have something very heavy impact her side, sending her flying. She let out an involuntary squeak as the air she’d been pretending to breathe was forced from her lungs, and red numbers exploded across her vision.

  -12 LF

  Pandy thumped against the wall, losing another two Life Force in the process, only to feel herself lifted into the air by the scruff of her neck. Whatever had grabbed her was far harder than flesh had any right to be, and when she managed to turn her head enough to see her captor, she saw herself reflected in the bnk helmet of a person in full pte armor.

  Oh, wait. She knew this from several scenes in Prince Kaden’s arc. If she hadn’t been in so much pain, she might even have fangirled a little upon seeing something else so obviously drawn directly from Gacha Love. Unfortunately, she was in pain, and she couldn’t even fix herself while everyone was staring at her.

  “To whom does this beast belong?” asked a deep, hollow voice, and the knight gave Pandy a little shake. “It was trying to bite the princess.”

  Thaniel was pale as a sheet, but he stepped forward, lifting his chin. “That’s my Bunny, and she wasn’t trying to bite anybody.” He held out his arms. “Give her back!”

  It was obvious to everyone that the knight had no intention of doing any such thing, until Eleanor stepped forward. Her hands were balled into fists that almost shook with fear, and her face was even whiter than Thaniel’s – easier for her, since she started out quite pale – but she spoke in a voice so cold Pandy was shocked to hear it come from her.

  “You will release the rabbit at once, Sir Andrew. I assure you that if it intended to harm me, it has had ample opportunity over the past hour.” She stared up into Sir Andrew’s gleaming helmet, no doubt seeing only her own determined gray eyes and resolute expression reflected back at her.

  At st, the knight lowered Pandy into Thaniel’s waiting arms, and the boy cradled his pet close, making something grind together in her chest. Thankfully, there were no outward signs that she’d been hurt, so she quickly cast Minor Heal, bringing her LF back up to zero.

  Casting of Minor Heal successful. 5.26% experience gained towards next level.

  Sir Andrew stared at Pandy and Thaniel for so long that Pandy started to think he might actually attempt to arrest the boy. Then the knight turned to Eleanor and gave a shallow bow. “As you say, Your Highness.”

  Even Dalton looked relieved as he gave a thin smile, waving his hand toward the front door. “If I may, dies, gentlemen.” Everyone except for Sir Andrew nodded, and they all trooped after Dalton, with the knight’s metal boot-cover things making absolutely no noise as he walked. Pandy knew this was because all of the Knights of the Royal Eagle wore enchanted armor that concealed sight and sound of them unless they wanted to be seen or heard, but it was still slightly disturbing.

  The queen was already in the carriage when they arrived, and it was clear that she was less than pleased with the dey. Upon seeing her mother, Eleanor turned to the other two children, and was halfway through a small curtsey when Queen Louisa said, “Eleanor, darling, what is that on your shoe?”

  Dalton immediately crouched, plucking the errant leaf from the sole of the princess’ shoe with such finesse that he had straightened back up before anyone else could even turn their gaze downward. Pandy saw him tuck the green betrayer into the little pocket on the front of his waistcoat, all without his small, polite smile so much as twitching.

  Eleanor swallowed hard, but managed to finish her curtsey, then make her way down the steps, one hand resting lightly on Sir Andrew’s armored forearm. The knight helped her up into the carriage, where the queen waited, her lush lips pressed tightly together. The princess sat on the far end of the seat beside her mother, barely managing to avoid the queen’s full skirt. Across from them sat the strangely familiar Augustus Bckwood, who had his nose buried in a book, for all the world as if he wasn’t sitting in a magical carriage with royalty.

  Sir Andrew climbed up onto the seat beside the driver, only to vanish as soon as he settled. Thaniel and Geraldine gasped at this casual dispy of powerful magic, but that was just the beginning. A moment ter, the driver flicked the reins, and both horses stamped hooves that suddenly looked more like dense fog than whatever hooves were meant to be made of. Their manes and tails rose, surrounding them like clouds, and gray mist streamed from their eyes.

  The Cloudmanes pranced, each strike of hooves against cobblestone sounding like the sharp crack of cloth blowing in a fierce wind. Then they ran forward, but with each step, they lifted slightly higher above the ground, until the carriage itself was flying. As everyone else stared in awe, Pandy, who had seen this many times in the game, wondered why the carriage didn’t just dangle from the harness attached to the elementals, but concluded that, as always, the answer was probably magic.

  “Are those really elementals?” Thaniel finally managed to ask, and Geraldine nodded.

  “I read in one of my books st year that all the members of the royal family have elemental steeds, but I thought those were just really pretty horses,” the girl said, sounding awed.

  “Was that Regal Rituals: The Essentials of Royalty and Court Etiquette or From Courtiers to Crowns: A Newcomer's Guide to Royal Etiquette?” Lian asked as he stepped up beside the children, sounding genuinely curious. “If it was Regal Rituals, you’ll really need to supplement it with Courtiers. The former was published almost fifty years ago, and while it’s accurate as far as it goes, things changed with King Fergus and now Queen Regent Louisa. Courtiers isn’t as strong in general, but it is up to date.”

  Geraldine looked down, and when she answered, her voice was unusually subdued. “I think it was, um, Little Lords and Ladies: A Fun Guide to Royal Etiquette. It had really funny pictures, but it talked about what to do if a member of the royal family came to visit and brought their Cloudmane, because you can’t just put them in the stables with the normal horses.”

  Pandy remembered that one. It was in the library at Condor, and was actually one of her favorites. Even when she was doing a pythrough where she didn’t bother to read all the books, she loved that one because of the adorable pictures. There was even a ‘good’ character and a ‘naughty’ character, who illustrated what to do and what to avoid. It was one of the reasons she knew the difference between using ‘Majesty’ and ‘Highness’, and that all nobles shouldn’t just be called ‘Your Lordship’.

  Lian’s face stiffened, but then he forced a smile and said, “I see. Well, eventually, you should read Courtiers to Crowns. It really is the best recent work on the subject.” Turning to Thaniel, he held out a hand and continued, “Now, we should go to your room and pack. Students may arrive up to a week before term begins, and going early will allow you time to get used to the campus before csses start.”

  Thaniel’s face lit up, and he started to pce his hand in his brother’s, but just before they touched, he hesitated. “But what will Geri do? She won’t have everything she needs.”

  Lady Alice and Lord Captain Reedsley had been hanging back as the boys spoke, but now they moved forward. Pandy didn’t miss the way Lady Alice clung to her husband’s arm, in spite of the fact that it crushed her skirts against her legs, and lifted the hoops holding the fabric into the air rather awkwardly. Her practical brown shoes were even exposed to the light of the sun for perhaps the first time since they were purchased.

  “Her Majesty has, ah, kindly arranged for Geraldine to attend Falconet on a schorship this year. It’s unusual, but not at all unheard of, and it will allow us to purchase books, clothes, and other necessities, since we don’t have to contribute to tuition,” Lady Alice said.

  Something flickered over Lian’s face when the word ‘schorship’ emerged from Lady Alice’s lips, but Pandy wasn’t certain why. There weren’t any schorship students at Condor, at least not that Pandy knew of, so what was that moment of discomfort for?

  Geraldine missed all of it, because she broke out into the broadest smile Pandy had yet seen on her face. Whirling toward Thaniel, she caught the hand that was still hovering in the air. “We’re really going to go to school together, Thaniel!”

  Thaniel grinned back. “Of course we are, Geri!” His eyes flickered up toward his brother, but Lian didn’t attempt to get in between the two children. What had happened to him while he was away? If possible, he was even stiffer than he had been before, but he was also significantly less angry. That boded well for Pandy’s Taming of the Vilin pn, not that she’d had much opportunity to work on it so far, and would have even less after Lian left for school. Still, it was a worthwhile goal, not only because it should prevent a lot of deaths, but because….well, just because.

  After a few moments, Lady Alice gave a soft sigh and stepped away from her husband, though she left a gloved hand resting gently on his forearm, even as she allowed her now-wrinkled skirt to fall back into pce. “Well, Geraldine, we should go change, and then we must head into town for some st-minute shopping.”

  She smiled at Lian, and that smile was almost as genuine as the one she’d given her own daughter. Whatever was going on, the Reedsleys and the Conroys weren’t enemies, at least not yet. That was another improvement over the game, as far as Pandy was concerned.

  “Corbin tells me the executor of the Dunning estate has yet to be finalized, but funds have been released to you to purchase supplies and transportation to school. I know you’re eager to go, but I do believe it would be in Thaniel’s best interests to wait another day or two at least. He’s comfortable here, and no one else their age will be at school yet.”

  Well, Eleanor would be there, but even if Pandy could talk, she wouldn’t have argued, because both children were staring at Lian with pleading eyes, and even ‘Killian the Villian’ was visibly softening. At st, he said, “All right then, but Thaniel, you need to begin studying. It doesn’t look like you’ve even opened the books I left for you, and I know Cassie didn’t teach you anything. You can read surprisingly well, but when it comes to facts and figures, you’re going to be so far behind everyone else that it will take you all year just to catch up.”

  He looked quite stern, and Thaniel wilted. “All right,” the boy mumbled. “But can I still listen to Captain Reedsley’s bedtime stories with Geri? He does th’ very best pirate voices.” Raising a pretend sword, he lunged at an invisible enemy, crying, “Avast, ye nd lubber!”

  For the briefest of moments, Lian’s lips twitched, but then he said, “I suppose so, but only if they’re not too long. Getting a good night’s sleep is an important part of preparing your mind to learn the next day.”

  Thaniel and Geraldine exchanged looks, then chorused, “Of course.” Only Pandy knew that the hand beneath her belly twisted as Thaniel crossed his fingers.