Babette

  "Is everything alright?" Her stepmother smiled worriedly at Babette, "I saw you with Peter from the window. Did yue?" She had sat dowo Babette, who was embr a white pillow on her bed.

  "Oh. It was nothing." Babette did not look up from her work. It was not apparent what she was trying to embroider. Flowers? Animals? Something abstract? "Peter had a silly idea. I talked him out of it."

  "A silly idea?"

  "He wao visit his sister after the wedding. She 't e to our wedding."

  "Which sister?"

  "Julia." Babette snorted. "He wao visit her at the academy."

  "You could go there together. That would be a nice gesture." Her stepmother stroked her back. "Don't you think so?"

  "We will be busy after the wedding. I don't know when he wants to visit his little sister. In addition, as newlyweds, we should take a lot of time for ourselves."

  "You may be right. What did Peter say?"

  "He tried to py stubborn."

  "The two seem to be very close. Maybe that's why he wants to visit her? I imagihat he is very disappoihat Julia will not e to your wedding."

  "Still, we will be too busy to visit his little sister at the academy. After the wedding, friends will visit us. A small celebration. Not to mention that several noble families will surely invite us to dihe king told me that we are expected to visit the rger noble houses after our wedding. After all, I'll be a princess by then."

  "My daughter, a princess." Her stepmother kissed her on the cheek. "I'm very proud of you. You will fulfill your new role wonderfully!"

  "I know." Babette put her embroidery frame aside with a smile. "I’m vihat I’m an excellent princess. The Queen has assured me that she thinks I am the best choice for her son."

  "Are you looking forward to Saturday? And Sunday? Your wedding will be a great event. The royal family is certainly full of anticipation. After all, your wedding will be followed by Prince Fritz's wedding. And I heard that Priorsten will also get married? I must admit, I was surprised when an illegitimate son was reized as a prince."

  "That actually was surprising. Nothihan his existence, won’t you agree?"

  "A sdal!" Her stepmother reached for Babette's embroidery frame and viewed Babette's efforts skeptically. "What are you w on?"

  "I bouquet of flowers."

  Her stepmother raised her eyebrows. "Oh. How wonderful."

  "Isn't it?" Babette took the embroidery frame from her and tinued her work. "This will be a wedding present for Prince Fritz and Pau. Self-embroidered pillows. I thought something personal would surely appeal to them. I'm going to embroider another pillow. Then they have a pair."

  "You have big pns."

  "I have enough time. That shouldn't be a problem."

  "What does Peter think of the idea?"

  "I haven't discussed it with him yet. But I am sure he will agree. I don't think he's been thinking about a gift yet. He's too busy with himself."

  "You may be right."

  Marie

  It was unusually quiet in the house. Her mother refused to leave the bedroom and her father sat quietly in front of the firepce. Theo's parents silently crept around the estate, ing, cooking dinner, and bringing cake. Retives were there and also a few friends to help the grieving family. Ina pyed in the garden and Theo watched her. She didn't uand why he didn't want to py with her. Marie sat at the window of her room and watched the two siblings. In the m the funeral had taken pce. Marie avoided the guests who had stayed for coffee and cake to mourn her little sister. Her grandparents would stay until dinner.

  Marie wao be alone.

  She could not fet the little coffin that was now buried deep in the ground. The cemetery was about half an hour from her home. Why did this have to happen? Mia had been so small and Marie wasn't with her when she felt bad.

  Julia

  Without Marie, everyday life at the academy was more than just b. She would have liked to apany her friend, but she was not excused from css for the funeral of Marie's little sister. Instead, she had to endure several hours of feng lessons to prepare for the tour. Two weeks of intensive lessons. That was her personal nightmare.

  Every muscle hurt her. Mrs. Drüse demaop performance from her students, especially from the clumsy princess.

  "If you stumble through the tour like that, you're ridig the royal family!", she ented when Julia stumbled over her ow for the huh time. "How do you want to survive iour?"

  "Why is there a tour at all!", pined Philip, who was sitting on the sidelines drinking water. "It's the weekend!"

  Mrs. Drüse put her exercise sword aside and called the css together. "Who tell me why the tour is important?"

  Kra snapped her finger excitedly.

  "Yes?" Her teacher looked at her with delight. "Do you know why, Kra?"

  "The feng tour is an important tradition of the Academy. On Saturday, all students in the first year will pete against each other. The result bees part of their feng he top performers are expected to tinue feng lessons from the sed year onwards, as they are eligible for a career as soldiers. On Sunday, the students of the sed and third years will pete against each other, who have tio study feng as a subject. The tour ends with an award ceremony. The best pce from the sed and third year will receive a trophy and the ce to participate iraining for elite soldiers after the academy."

  "Very good." Mrs. Drüse nodded. "ime, don’t snap, please!"

  "Why a feng tour? Wouldn't a tour in sword fightiter? When it es to finding future soldiers?", Helga wao know.

  "Well, until a hundred years ago, there was also a big sword tour. Does anyone know why it is no loaking pce?" Mrs. Drüse looked into the round. No one came forward. "Feng is about skill and discipline. Sword fighting is much more aimed at inflig great damage on its oppo and killing it in a real fight. Too many young students were seriously injured in the sword fights, so this tour was abolished very quickly. It was too bloody. This is also one of the reasons why you only practice with wooden swords. It was a w enacted by the Queen herself. The teachers responsible for the sword fights at the time were dismissed. So I'm surprised our princess didn't know this!"

  Julia turned red. Why should she know? No one had told her about it. She had the feeling that Mrs. Drüse did not like her very much.

  At the end of the day, she y exhausted on the sofa. She had rested her head on Leopold's p, which stroked her hair. Finn sat at her feet and knitted socks like Sophie, who was sitting in the armchair. Marko sat o Finn's feet a on his legs while reading a book.

  " I skip css tomorrow?" Julia had her eyes closed and ehe feeling of Leopold's warm hands in her hair.

  "No way!" Sophie sounded indignant. "What would the Queen say!"

  "But I'm not made for feng! And Mrs. Drüse is stantly moaning at me!"

  "Then you grit your teeth and make an effort. Do your best, that's enough." Sophie sounded unvinced by her own words.

  "Shall I protect you from her?" Leopold grinned.

  "Yes, please!"

  "And how do you want to do that, Leo?", Marko wao know.

  "I'll take you with me and you'll bite the teacher!", Leopold presented his pn. "It? That would be a good start, wouldn't it?"

  Marko pouted. "What? Itocks? As a human or as a wolf?"

  Now Finn ughed too. "Better as a wolf. As a human being, that would be aremely questio! Why itocks?"

  "Why not?" Leopold had stopped stroking Juliet's hair. Instead, his warm haed on her shoulder. "You bite the teacher's butt, as a human or a wolf, whichever you prefer, and I flee with the princess!"

  "Marko is not allowed to turn into a wolf on the grounds of the academy", Sophie objected.

  "Great!" Marko groaned. "So I have to bite her butt as a human being? Ew! I don't want to bite her butt! I don't even know her!"

  "Oh? And if you knew her, would you want to bite her butt?", Julia teased him ughing, sat up, and leaned against Leopold. He put his arm around her and kissed her on the cheek.

  Marko shook his head in shock. "No! Not even then"

  "But now you're making a fuss, Marko!" Leopold grinned mischievously.

  "What? No!" Marko crossed his arms. "Finn! Help me."

  "Huh?" Finn looked at him ily. "Who do you want to bite it? If not Juli's feng instructor?"

  Now Marko turned red.

  "Oh. But I'd like to know that too!", Sophie agreed with a wink. "Who does our dear Marko want to bite it?"

  "Uh... So... Uh", the wolf stammered sheepishly. "Nobody! I am going... and jump with my skipping rope. I need exercise! Urgent!"

  "What a pity", Finn murmured softly and gri Julia in amusement. "Shall I help you, Marko? With exerg?" He wi Marko. "Cheer you on?"

  Marko became even redder and fled the room. "No. I do it alone!"