Julia

  The trials in sword fighting and feng were, as expected, a disaster, and Julia was happy to not have to do any of them in her sed year... However, she didn’t know which subjects she would choose yet... The academy was supposed to prepare them all for their future careers and Julia still didn't know what she wanted.

  'Nothing' might have been the most accurate a the moment. None of what her mother expected of her.

  Above all, she knew what she didn't want. A she was sitting in the academy.

  During the feng exam, she bent her foot and had to stop the exam early. Whether she had to repeat it, she did not know yet. Now she sat in the small hospital room of the academy and rubbed her ag ahe academy employed a healer as a nurse for minor acts and other things. The witch was taking care of a student who had bumped his head.

  Julia watched as the witch made the bump and bruise on the boy's forehead disappear with softly glowing magic. Healing magic was iing to watch. After a few mihe other student was allowed to return to css.

  Julia hoped not to have to go back to css any time soon... The lesson would be math and she had little desire for it. She rubbed her ankle, lost in thought. The pain slowly subsided until it disappeared pletely.

  "So, let me see your foot!" The witch, a young woman with long blond hair and gsses, smiled at Julia. She palpated Julia's ankle and frowned. "I was sure your foot would have been swollen slightly... But now everything looks fine. Does anything hurt you?"

  Julia shook her head.

  " you stand on it? Please give it a try."

  Julia stood up. Her ankle no longer hurt and she was able to walk through the hospital room fwlessly. "Nothing hurts anymore. As if nothing ever happened."

  Should I just skip math?

  "Strange... Well... Then you must have been lucky. Unless you're also a healer?" The nurse ughed. "Well, you go to your lessons. You don't need my help."

  "Thank you!" Julia left the hospital room. In front of the door stood Marie, who had previously helped her to the hospital room.

  "And?", Marie wao know. "Is everything alright?"

  "Yes, apparently nothing happened." Julia hooked up with her. "Thanks for your help."

  "You're wele. What subject do we have ?"

  "Math."

  "Ah... Yes... That's right. Have you done your homework? I sat on it for two hours yesterday! It was way too much!"

  "I started, but I didn't finish. I was too tired."

  "As a princess, you probably won't eve into trouble..."

  "You're right... If it isn’t graded homework. Some teachers do not care whether I have dohe homework or not... But our math teacher is not one of them... I'll probably have to rework them! Do you want to skip?"

  "What? Skip? Is a princess allowed to skip lessons?"

  "I think the same rules apply to me as to everyone else..."

  Marie giggled. "Are you sure? Well... Holy, I don't want to find out... And our teachers love to give us way too muework..." Marie held the door to Julia's open sihey had arrived there by now.

  "Would you like to meet after css? We do homework together?"

  Now Marie was beaming. "At your pce? Of course! You've never invited me to your pce!" She nodded eagerly and sat down in her seat. "Gdly!"

  "Of course!" Julia went to her seat, as her teacher was now there and wao start the lesson.

  In the end, some other students had not doheir homework as well because it had been too muany, and no one was expected to rework the missing part. But they had been given new homework. This time it was a little less.

  But they had to write an essay on politistead. They should write it in groups of two. Their teacher wahem to write ideas on how to deal with the current uprisings. The essay was graded.

  At the end of the school day, they were informed that a guest speaker would be ing to the magic css the day. A powerful wizard who was one of the few who could use all three types of magi total, there were currently only three witches and two wizards who were in the queue. The you witch was now around one hundred years old. Siheher a young wizard nor a young witch had shown all three types of magic.

  In css, it would be abnizing one's personal magic limit, as many young people were not or hardly able to do so. Crossing one's own limits could be very dangerous. There were cases where young witches and wizards had fallen into a a for years. In a few cases, it eveo cardiac arrest. Therefore, the topic was an important part of the lessons.

  Julia wasn’t ied in that. And it was the same with the essay. If she simply ignored her magical talent (as far as she could), then she couldn't reach her limit, right?

  "Shall we write the essay together?" asked Marie. She had moved her chair to Julia's table.

  "Gdly." Julia didn't mind. Besides, they wao do homework together anyway.

  Helga and Philip seemed to want to write the essay together. They were already talking about various possibilities. Helga even apologized to Julia for not w with her as if she had assumed Julia wao work with her.

  Julia hadn't po do that. And besides, Helga and Philip were inseparable. Of course, they worked together. Helga seemed relieved now because Julia had found a partner for the essay.

  Pia joihem at the table. "Shall we write the essay together, Marie?" she asked. "Or do you work with Julia? I haven't found ao work with yet."

  "I'm writing the essay with Julia. I'm sorry," she informed Marie. "But I'm sure you'll find someone..."

  "Yes... Otherwise, I write the essay alohis is probably the fastest. Someone else would just stop me... And I already have an idea of what I want to write."

  Of course, Pia already had an idea. Julia would have been very surprised if Pia hadn't had o. She herself was happy to work with Marie. Marie must have had an idea... The only idea Julia had was to stop suppressing others... Then the uprisings would no longer be necessary and would stop on their own... But she couldn't possibly write that, right? What if the queen found out about it? Her mother didn't particurly like being criticized.

  Marie

  The princess's apartment was very spacious. Much more spacious than the small room Marie shared with her roommate. There was a kit, dining room, and even a living room! And tons of books! Marie wished to be a prioo... Then she would have all that!

  Julia's housekeeper had cooked noodles with sauce. They tasted delicious. Marie was a little surprised, however, that Julia's servants ate with them. That wasly appropriate... The servants were all very nice, even if one of the two wolves, Finn, hardly said a word. Marie did not miss that Julia blushed slightly whealked to the elf. She could also see a slight blush on the elf's cheeks aen avoided the princess's gaze, only to look back at her when he felt unobserved.

  That's iing.

  After lunch, the elf and the other wolf, Marko, went back to the academy's kit. The shy wolf cleared the table together with the housekeeper.

  Marie and Julia sat down in the living room to do their homework. They first did their assig in math, which fortunately did not take very long. After that talked about the essay.

  "What do we want to write?" Marie chewed on her pencil. "You could arrest all the insurgents and put them in jail for a few years?"

  Julia shook her head. "No. Then the prison would be overcrowded. At least one more would have to be built for that pn to work... And the stru would again take a few years... And in addition, why Imprison someone for being dissatisfied?"

  "They are attag the soldiers!" protested Marie. "And wasn't there on attempted atta the Queen? I am in favor of building more prisons. These people endahers! And they are breaking the w! Even if take a few years until there is enough space for all the prisoners!"

  "Well... We're just supposed to think about it... Nobody will implement what nning." Something seemed to worry the princess. But Marie didn't know what.

  "So let's write it down?" she asked.

  The princess nodded.

  The two sat at the essay for two hours, because Marie had more than one idea and they only took first. And they deviated from the topi time to time... After some time the housekeeper brought them delicious cookies and they took a little break.

  Marie had a lot of ideas, about what they could write: stricter ws, such as a ban on assembly for more than three people ierritories perhaps? She also wao express her s about the ban oers in the essay. After all, it also forbade servants to write to their families. Here she was in favor of rexing the w.

  "That would certainly calm the elves down a bit!" argued Marie. "You give them something back."

  "And tighten the w up elsewhere?"

  "Exactly! That sounds like a good pn, doesn't it? What else would you do? So far, we've only written down my ideas..."

  "None." Julia leaned against the sofa. "Let's formute everything, yes? Do you want to write, or should I?"

  "I'm writing!" Marie was very proud of her writing and the princess wrote a bit indistinctly.

  In the end, Marie read the eext aloud to see if there was anything else they o add.

  Then the essay was ready.

  Leopold

  After work, Marko sat dowo Finn, who tio sew. The mysterious sewing work was clearly reizable as a coat now. Marko and Finn talked about what Finn wao sew after that and the shy wolf told him that he nning to sew a dress for the princess. As a surprise and as a thank you. After all, she had brought him a lot of fabrid the soldiers and the an had to help her carry it.

  Leopold had left the two wolves to their own devices. He was bored... But what could he do? He didn't want to disturb Marko and Finn... And he didn't want to eavesdrop on them uionally, after all, he wasn't part of their versation.

  Then he heard the voice of Julia's friend from the living room... She read a text about the uprisings.

  Curious, he liste the door.

  He didn't like what he heard.

  Marie read a text aloud in which proposals were made on how to punish the insurgents. These included prisoences and other prohibitions that the two girls had sidered.

  In the end, he heard the two girls say that they were satisfied with the text...

  He hadn't expected that... At least not from the princess... But now he finally knew what she was really thinking!

  She was just like all witches.

  And why should she be any different? Her mother was, after all, the queen.

  She had servants! Servants who were bound to her with a spell. And one of them was Leopold himself.

  A she was always kind to him and the two wolves...

  She had even brought them gifts.

  Leopold couldn’t make sense of it.

  And why was she so pretty?

  It would have all been easier if she had been ugly and unfriendly... But now he knew what she was really thinking, right? She was just like all witches. Correct?

  It had all been hypocrisy... Right?

  Leopold went bato the boys' room and y down on his bed, moaning.

  "What's going on?", Marko wao know.

  "Nothing. I'm just in a bad mood," he replied. "How long do you need for your coat, Finn?"

  "Oh! I'm almost done. And then I sew a dress for the princess! Otherwise, I always sewed clothes for my mother, but... Well... Sewing clothes fun!"

  "Do we want to py cards?" Marko grinned. "I'm sure that cheers you up, Leo. Do you want to py too Finn?"

  Finn blushed. "No... I prefer to sew... Have fun!!"

  Leopold wao py cards and smiled about the fact that Finn was getting redder and nervously pricked his finger while sewing, while Marko tried to persuade him to py along.