Julia

  It was raining on Sunday. Cleo had left in the m and had hugged Julia tightly to say goodbye.

  Julia had told her and Charlotte on Saturday what a spectacle they had made at the e ball. Cleo had ughed a lot about it. She couldn't remember anything and had endured Peter's taunts with posure.

  Peter had a lot of fun teasing her with her drunken escapade.

  Charlotte had stayed until Saturday night and had ughed at her stupidity just like Cleo.

  Peter y on Julia's bed and pressed one of her pillows to him. The queen had told him that a tailor would e by on Monday to take his measurements for his wedding suit.

  "And if I just eat very, very mud get fat before the wedding? Then I won't fit in the suit anymore!" he groaned.

  Julia y o him and also pressed a pillow to her. "Then mom would buy a new suit for you at the st minute..."

  "Then I won't get fat! 't you stay until Monday? Without you, I'll go crazy here!"

  "Unfortunately not. I have to go back to the academy."

  "And if you skip?"

  "And missed the test? Mom asked for my grades yesterday..."

  "And?"

  "My grades are rather mediocre... I think she was disappointed. Cleo, Fritz, and Lea were, at least as far as their grades were ed, model students. I'm not. Magic is just not my specialty, politics is b, I'm too clumsy for feng and sword fighting, and history is frustrating. It is always about our oh-so-great past and about svery. Our teacher talks about it like it's a real success!"

  "Most people see it that way, little sister." Peter threw the pillow at her. "Mother would be shocked if she heard you talk like that!"

  "I know." Julia threw the pillow back. "And that doesn't make it aer! Peter? You could just say 'no'..."

  " I do that? Say 'no'? That doesn't make it aer... But maybe this one!" Peter hit her with the pillow. Julia ughed and tossed hers at him. Within seds, a cheerful pillow fight broke out between them.

  There was a storm when she drove back to the academy with her three servants in the evening. The carriage swayed irong wind. Julia had drawn the curtains in front of the windows, as Finn was afraid of the lightning fshing furiously across the sky.

  This time they did not ride in separate carriages. Marko had fallen asleep and was leaning against the left window. Leopold read a book he had received as a gift from another servant in the castle. An adventure hat arently very humorous. From time to time she heard him ughing softly.

  "How long will we be driving?" Finn tried to make himself small on the padded bend leaned against the sleeping Marko. Marko didn't seem to mind.

  "Maybe an hour? Nothing will happen to us, Finn."

  "And if lightning strikes us?"

  Julia looked out of the window for a moment. "We are very far away from the thuorm. No lightning will strike us."

  "Are you sure?"

  "I am! Peter liked your embroidery. Who taught it to you?", she tried to distract him.

  It worked. Finn smiled. "My grandma. She also taught me sewing and knitting. I couldn't romp outside with the other kids and I was bored often... That's wheaught me."

  "What else do you like to do?"

  "My father always told me stories. I enjoyed listening to him... And I often puzzled with my mother in the evenings."

  "You like puzzles?" Julia grinned. "My brother Paul also likes to puzzle. I never uood what he enjoyed about it."

  "It's rexing. And it's good against boredom."

  "I always found puzzles b," Leopold murmured, without looking up from his book.

  "Puzzles are not b, Leo." Finn crossed his arms. "You have no idea!"

  "To be ho, I always found it b too. I always ran away when Paul wao puzzle something with me... I preferred to climb trees with Peter."

  "You climb trees?" Now Leopold looked at her. "Is that allowed for a princess?"

  "Not if you ask the queen. I ruined some dresses while climbing... Oer and I tried to build a tree house, but we didn't get very far... Nobody wao give us nails and hammers."

  The three talked about tree houses until the carriage arrived at the academy. Leopold said that his father had built him a tree house and Fited never having one. Instead, he had built booths with chairs and bs in the living room.

  Someone had brought bread and cheese to her hallartment. Presumably employees from the kit of the academy. The four had dinner ao bed a little ter. They were all very tired.

  That night, Julia had another vision. She saw her mhing. She saw a group of people walking through the forest in the dark. She couldn't tell who it was. She saw soldiers riding horses to a vilge in the forest. She saw herself looking out of a simple window. There she saw a small, fine garden.

  On Monday m, Julia went to the dining room to have breakfast, as Sophie was not there yet. Finn, Marko, and Leopold ate together with the other servants and employees.

  Marie almost squealed when she saw her friend at one of the tables and immediately sat dowo her.

  "You're back! How was the ball?" she immediately wao know as she hugged Julia cheerfully. Helga, who was sitting at the same table with Philip, looked at Marie indignantly.

  Julia hugged Marie just as tightly aed the urge to stick her to at Helga. "The ball was like any other. You didn't miss anything." Except for Babette's horrible dress and my drunken sister.

  "I thought the ball was very successful," Helga added. "We had fun."

  "You were at the ball?" Marie let go of Julia and looked enviously at Helga.

  Helga smiled. "Of course. I was invited. Don't worry. Only noble families were invited."

  "That's mean Helga." Julia squeezed Marie, who had turned pale. "You didn't miss anything, Marie. But it would have been even more fun if you had been there. But the guest list was kept small, unlike my birthday."

  "Guest list?" Pia sat down with them at the table.

  "My brother's e ball," Julia expined and bit into her apple, which she ate together with simple cereal.

  "Oh yes. Marie had told me about it. You're rewriting the test today?"

  "Yes. But I hardly got around to studying." And I didn't feel like it either...

  "I think I failed." Philip tore up the cheese bread that y on his pte. "I have a very bad feeling. The test was really hard!"

  "Then I'll probably fail too." Julia shrugged.

  Peter

  The tailor talked to the queen about various fabrics, while his assistant took Peter's measurements. He stood still, trying not to ent sarcastically on his mother's every statement.

  No. He did not want a noble fabric.

  No, he didn't want to look good on his wedding day.

  No. Bck would not ftter his skin tone wonderfully.

  Yes, of course, he wao please Babette. Why wouldn't he want to please her, wonderful as she was?

  Yes, he loved simple clothes. Nothing that stood out, please!

  He could have screamed.

  "I have a few suits with me so we choose a suitable cut. Rather elegant or maybe something cheeky?" The tailor, a small round man with wild blond curls, smiled. His assista Peter's room, only to return shortly afterward wearing five different bck suits.

  "That sounds wonderful." The queen nodded. "But I don't think a cheeky suit fits the occasion."

  Peter groaned.

  "You'd be surprised!" The tailor handed Peter the first suit. A bck suit with gold buttons and dark blue lining. In addition, a simple, white shirt without embellishments.

  Peter surreo his fate and tried on every suit. He looked at his refle in the mirror in his dressing room each time befoing back to his mother, the tailor, and assistant to hear his mother's verdict.

  He himself did not like any of the suits. They were all b.

  His mother opted for a bck linen suit with a subtle golden border and a matg white linen shirt. She thought Peter looked the most elegant in it. She did not ask for his opinion. She assumed that he agreed with her.

  Then, finally, the tailor said goodbye aer had his peace. The queeo drink tea with a few noble dies who had been specially invited.

  Peter y down on his bed and pulled the b over his head.

  How could he survive this?

  He needed a pn. Urgent!

  Julia

  Sophie screamed and cursed while she chased after a few fairies with a broom. Julia and her servants had left the window open in the m and had left the sugar open. Marko had made hot chocote in the evening before they went to sleep.

  When Sophie returned, several fairies sat in the rge sugar bowl and helped themselves to the sweet luow she chased the little people through their apartment. The little fairies, oher hand, giggled and stuck out their to her. They were too fast for the old dy.

  Finn and Julia watched the spectacle from the kit door. Marko and Leopold helped out in the rge kit of the academy and were not around.

  A little fairy hid in Julia's hair.

  "Little beasts!", Sophie cried. "Now we need new sugar! Why are they here? They have a beautiful forest!"

  Finn ughed. On his shoulder sat a little fairy and ented on the show giggling.

  "There's sugar here." Julia shook her head. "Let's lock up the remaining sugar in the cupboard. If they 't get to the sugar anymore, they might go by themselves."

  Sophie groaned. "I don't like fairies. Even if you try to chase them away with a broom, they still think it's funny!"

  "I think they’re cute." Finn looked at the fairy, who was now sitting on his palm, waving happily at him.

  Julia held out her hand to the little fairy hiding under her hair. The little person had bright yellow butterfly wings and carefully climbed into her hand, from there the fairy hopped onto Finn's hand to joiher fairy.

  "They seem to like you," Sophie remarked.

  "I didn't run after them with a broom. Let's lock the sugar away."

  "Or we have new roommates!" Julia grinned.

  "I wouldn't mind," Finn also announced with a grin.