Julia

  The m, Leopold was unusually quiet. He seemed to be in a bad mood. Marko and Finn, oher hand, talked nonstop. Marko just talked about the tasks he and Leopold had to do i and the dining room the previous day. They had been mainly there to wash dishes and wipe tables. While they had peeled a lot of potatoes over the weekend....

  Sophie had made scrambled eggs this m, which they all enjoyed with their sandwiches and buns. It tasted wonderful!

  Then it was time for them to go to css. Meanwhile, Julia was curious about what the guest speaker would tell them.

  That night she had another vision, but she didn't uand what it meant.

  She saw the vilge in the forest again and all three kinds of magid then there were these children again...

  They had to hand in the essay today. Right at the beginning of the first hour. She had lied wheold Marie that she was satisfied with the result. In fact, she only shared Marie's opiniarding the ban oers...

  The politics lesson was b, as always. After that, they had history. Julia watched Philip fall asleep in css. Helga also looked tired. Had they sat at their essay for so long that they were now deprived of sleep? Their essay arently one of the lo o Pia's essay.

  Then it was time for the magic lessons. The guest speaker was a friendly maiently answered all the students' questions about his special talent before starting css.

  "Knowing your limits is particurly important," he said. "Most of you have already reached your full potential or are close to it. That's why it's important to talk about it today."

  Pia raised her hand and snapped eagerly.

  The guest speaker ughed about it. “Yes?”

  "Where is your limit? You are particurly powerful, aren't you? Do you have a limit?" she wao know.

  "That's a very good question." He nodded. "I have only reached and exceeded my personal limit once. Luckily, I just fai the time. It is important the signs. Dizziness, exhaustion, and tiredness. Some even have to yawn or sneeze." Some students ughed. "When the magical talent has just awakened, your body still has a natural prote from it, but it disappears when you reach your full potential. You're probably still used to the fact that when you're at your limit, you just 't use magic for a few hours. Once you reach your full potential, you cross your limit so that you always defend yourself and others in case of emergency. But the price is high because you could faint or worse." He looked from student to student. "Those who have only a low level of talent reach their limits faster than those who are mifted. In which of you did the talent show itself te?"

  A handful of students, including Julia, raised their hands.

  The guest lecturer nodded. "You have to be extra careful, even in css. Students have already fainted because they absolutely wao plete a task, although they had long since reached their personal limit. But who knows, maybe one of you will have a special talent?" He winked. "If you belong to the small circle of gifted to which I belong, then all kinds of magic will show themselves in you. In this case, you still have the prote for a long time that your cssmates no longer have, as you only reach your full potential around your 25th birthday. Do you have any questions about that?"

  Until the end of the lesson, he answered the students' questions.

  In the lesson, feng, Julia was told that she did not o repeat the exam. Her feng instructor said he had seen enough to grade her.

  She expected a terrific bad grade.

  After css, she did her homework in one of the gardens. It had bee cool, but the sun was shining.

  Wheuro the hallway, Sophie was waiting for her with a warm stew. Marko and Leopold had already eaten so as not to be te for their work. They were always expected after lunch to wipe the tables in the dining room so that the tables were when students returned for cakes and pastries. So she only ate with Sophie and Finn.

  Finn said that he had finished sewing the coat and proudly prese after dihe coat, which was simple in cut, was sewn from dark fabric, which Finn had embroidered on the sleeves with geometric patterns. It looked good on him.

  When Marko and Leopold returned in the evening, the elf was still in a bad mood. Julia wao cheer him up, but she didn't know how.

  Finally, she asked him if they wao go for a walk together.

  Leopold agreed and they set off together. Si had gotten cold in the evening, both wore warm jackets and Julia had thrown on a woolen scarf that Sophie had knitted for her.

  "Finn is very good at sewing," she tried to start a versation, as the elf had been silent. "Have you seen his coat? It looks really good. I think my brother Peter would like it too..."

  Leopold just nodded.

  "How was it i today? And in the dining room?" she tinued.

  "It was quite ok. The staff is stressed but they are not rude. But Marko actally dropped a pte... Some were more upset than necessary... You'll probably get a bill soon."

  They passed two gardeners who were still renewing the flower beds. Two tall men. One of them looked up and noticed Leopold. He didn't seem tnize Julia. But this did not surprise her, si everyone knew what the Queen's you daughter looked like. "Hey, elf! I know you!" he excimed. "Because of you, our colleagues were fired! There was a pint! Probably from the princess herself! Just because you were so sensitive! You'll pay for that!" He looked at Julia, who looked at him angrily. He didn't seem to care. He didn't know who she was.

  "He's going to pay?" asked Julia before Leopold could say anything. "And what should that look like?"

  "What it will look like?" The gardener spat on the sidewalk. "I'll e up with something! My best friend was fired because of him! Now he has to find a new job so he feed his family! And all because of an i elf and a stupid wolf who don't know their pce!"

  "You're talking to the princess!", hissed Leopold. "And I know my pce!"

  Now both gardeners stared at her. "The princess?" said the other, who had been silent until now.

  "I gdly firm to both of you that my servant knows his pce. And it is clearly higher than yours! But I'm happy to talk to your employer about your behavior today! I will not tolerate my servants being threatened!" She took Leopold by the hand and pulled him away, not waiting for an answer from the two gardeners.

  Leopold's hand was warm.

  "Thank you." He looked fused.

  "The gardeners are idiots!" She was still angry. Julia stopped in front of a tall rose bush, on which wilted flowers still hung, a go of Leopold's hand. "I'm sorry you had to listen to something like that. Again!"

  "Thank you. That you defended me... Even if I could have do on my own." He wi her and rubbed the hand she had held until retly. "Let’s go."

  Then he held out his hand tain. Julia grabbed it without hesitation.

  Hand in hand they walked through the rest of the garden, which was lit by many nterns.

  Marko

  "Do you know what Julia's favorite color is?", Finn wao know. He was lying on his bed, with his head under his pillow. Marko didn't know why he was doing this. He himself sat cross-legged on the floor.

  "No. I didn't ask her about it. You?"

  Finn shook his head under his pillow. "No. Would I ask you otherwise? I know what I want to sew for her... But not the color! A thank-you gift must be just perfect, right?" His voice sounded somewhat muffled uhe pillow.

  "I don't know... Does she need a thank-you gift? Do you owe her one? I don't think so... And... Does it have to be a dress?"

  "Yes! What else could I give her? I 't buy her anything! And Sophie told me her measurements... And I want to say thank you, Marko."

  "Why does Sophie know the measurements of the princess?" wondered Marko. "And why do you have your head under your pillow?"

  "I don't know." Finn ughed. "Just like that? You should give it a try! It is very rexing... And about her measurements: Julia retly got a new dress. That's probably why Sophie knows hers."

  "Oh... But to give it a try... No thank you. I don't want a dress."

  "I mean the pillow!" Finn ughed. "You should try that. Not the dress!"

  "Oh." Marko had an idea. He y down with Finn on the bed and uhe pillow. "Something like that?" he asked.

  Finn ughed even more. "You have your own bed!"

  "And what if your pillow is much more rexing than my pillow? Should I be at a disadvantage?", joked Marko.

  "Of course, we don't want that," Finn agreed. "You should be able to rex as well as I do!"

  "Thank you very much. That's very generous of you... Do you also find it stuffy? Uhe pillow?"

  "... Yeah..."

  "It's not very rexing..."

  "Maybe... Shall we test your pillow?"

  Both burst into resounding ughter.

  Peter

  Peter looked at his refle. He looked tired. Tired and unhappy.

  Around his neck hung his sister's . He bed his hair and used a golden hair clip to hold it out of his face.

  Babette and her parents would e the day. Just like the wedding phey had chosen. The Queen agreed with the decision and arranged for the appoio be arranged. A first meeting.

  Peter went to his rge wardrobe. He needed armor. A Babette defense armor.

  Unfortunately, nothing had worked so far.

  He pulled out some clothes until he found the right one. After that, he went to his little sister's dressing room and looked through her jackets as until he found what he was looking for. A white, crocheted vest decorated with shimmering pearls.

  That would certainly displease Babette very much... And that would at least be a small victory...

  Julia wouldn't mind if he borrowed some of her clothes... The vest was a bit too tight for him, but that didn't matter. He liked the shimmering pearls.

  Then he looked through her jewelry.