Peter

  All servants were busy on Friday evening. Everywhere had been ed and i, the staff jured up a delieal. The queen smiled throughout the day and the king also looked pleased. The reason for the joy was the visit that awaited them. Fritz and his fiancée, who would stay until Sunday evening.

  Julia was unfortunately not released for the weekend, as on Friday evening all students of the first year of the academy had their first riding lesson. Even a princess could not miss this. But for the ball to celebrate her new magic, she would be there. Without her, the ball could not take pce, although Peter suspected that Julia would not mind. Her ball was supposed to take p Saturday in two weeks.

  He regretted that she was not at dinner. He had to face the exuberant joy of his mother alone, who had been talking all day about how she could not wait to meet the young witch she thought Fritz had chosen.

  "She must be a wonderful young dy!" His mother smiled into her tea. "And they could be here anytime. I 't wait."

  Peter rolled his eyes.

  To make a good first impression, his mother had him and his father wear new suits to match her new dark blue evening dress. He felt sorry for the tailors who had to sew the clothes at the st minute. Peter and his father's suits looked identical, pin, and incredibly b. Therefore, Peter had done his best to improve his suit. A rge, sparkling brooow adorned his suit jacket, and he wore colorful socks and slippers that his mother had not yet noticed.

  They sat together in the firep and waited there for the arrival of Fritz and his mysterious witch. Servants had lit the firepce, and on a serving trolley stood small tarts, and biscuits.

  Then, finally, a servant annouhe arrival of Fritz and Pau, Pau Schmal.

  The queen almost jumped for joy in the armchair in which she was sitting, when the servant annouhat the longed-fuests were there. Peter had to smile. His mother boung in an armchair? Like on a trampolihat was a funny thought. The servahe door open for the guests. Together with Fritz came a pretty, young woman with dark skin and short, frizzy hair. She smiled shyly and made an awkward curtsy.

  "Mother? Father? Peter? This is Pau", Fritz introduced her.

  "I'm gd to meet you." Pau looked shyly at the queen and the king. "Fritz told me a lot about you."

  "Did he?" The queen nodded. "e. Sit with us." She poio a small sofa opposite the one where Peter and his father were sitting. "Did you both have a pleasant ride? You are certainly exhausted. Fritz said you met in a hospital?", tihe queehe two had sat down.

  Pau nodded. "The ride was very long, yes. I work at the reception in the hospital in Butal." She looked restlessly at her teacup, into which Fritz poured her tea.

  "The hospital in Butal is one of our new hospitals." Fritz smiled tentedly. "I instructed the new hospital ma there for several months and helped with the choice of staff. That's whe for the first time."

  The queen nodded. "At the reception? Then you're not a healer, Pau?"

  For Peter, the versation seemed like a job interview and not like an informal meeting.

  "Oh. No. I have no magiow Pau seemed worried.

  "A mortal, then." The queen looked at Fritz. "She must be special if you chose her? Your father was also mortal... We only had a few years together."

  Peter watched as the queen's gaze darkened. But her smile remained unged. A mortal was clearly not what she wanted for her son. Had she bee sant? After all, she had once married a mortal. She made a fool of herself, but Peter chose to keep quiet about it.

  "Oh yes. She is!", firmed Fritz. "We want to get married in the spring. After Peter."

  Peter grimaced. His father gave him a warning look. "In spring?", he turo Fritz. "This is a good choiot too close to Peter's celebration, but not too far away either. Do you already have a date?"

  The versation tio revolve around weddings for quite a while. Peter didn't listen. Instead, he went to the trolley and picked out a handful of tarts, which he then tried to sta top of each other into a tower. When his tartlet tower was finished, wobbly but finished, he formed a trench of cream and some tea, which he poured onto his pte. Finally, he used biscuits to build a bridge over the ditch. He named his creation 'Cake Fortress' and then quered it with his fork. The tarts tasted wonderful.

  His family ignored him at first, only Paule watched the quest of the cake fortress in disbelief. At some point, the queen decided that he did enough and gave him a sinister look. "Peter, please stop messing around with your food!", she hissed.

  "I don't mess with my food. I quer a fortress! The walls have already fallen!" Peter poked around a little more with his fork in his tarts. Pau giggled.

  "And? Has the enemy already beeed?", Fritz wao know. "Or do you have to eat everything first?"

  Julia

  Peter had written a letter.

  She sat on the sofa in the living room and leaned against Leopold, who had fallen asleep. It was te. Just before midnight. Julia read the letter with a furrowed brow. Peter told her of a new half-brother that showed up. Obviously, her father had cheated on their mum. Her new half-brother was called Torsten aer didn't like him. He wrote that he regretted that Julia could not e to dinner with Fritz's fiancé. Her mother had told her about this dinner, but Julia was not released for it. For that she was grateful. She didn't feel like having a stiff dinner. Unfortunately, her mother also pnned a big ball to celebrate Julia's new magic.

  Julia would have liked to do without su event.

  She had already had to celebrate the magic she didn't want. Why did she have to do this a sed time?

  On the living room table y her homework. She was too tired to finish them. Her first riding lesson, or rather riding lessons, had been exhausting. Of course, she had sat on a horse before. As a child. The horse's back was too high and too bumpy for her and she had cried until she no longer had to get on a horse. That was before she discovered her love for climbing trees. But trees did not move from the spot. Horses did.

  Now she had terrible sore muscles and was more than just tired. They had to the stables and groomed the horses before the students practiced climbing on a horse oer the other. Only then was she allowed to climb onto the actual back of a horse. Some of the students had already been able to ride. They helped those who couldn't. Like Julia.

  Her riding instructor was amazed when he learhat the princess could not ride and had made it his mission to help her a lot. And he did it loudly and boastfully...

  At the end of the seemingly endless riding lesson, Julia decred riding one of her most hated activities. It was exhausting. It was shaky. And it was associated with many horse droppings. Pia even stepped into one and one of the boys in her css had slipped and fallen into the dueeming with juicy horse poop. Also something Julia was happy to do without.

  But she wouldn't have wao go to that dinher. So maybe it was good that she had to take part in riding lessons. Unfortunately, she would also have riding lessons on Saturday and Sunday. Every m. The riding block was a tradition. After that, they would receive riding lessons every Tuesday and Friday afternoon. In two groups. The beginners and the advahey would be divided into these groups on Sunday.

  "Are you still awake?" Sophie came into the living room. "Oh! Leopold is already asleep. Marko and Finn are sleeping too. Go to bed princess. You have to get up early tomorrow."

  "How about I'm sick at the weekend?" suggested Julia. " I don't have to get on a horse then and I could sleep in."

  "Then you'd still have to get on a horse on Tuesdays and Fridays. It wouldn't help. Give the animals a ce. Maybe you'll enjoy riding in the end."

  "And if I don’t?"

  "Then at least you learo ride?"

  "That's not a very good sotion."

  Sophie packed Julia's homework. "You still do your homework tomorrow. e on. Off to your bed. I wake Leopold up and send him to his bed."

  Julia yawned. "All right. Good night, Sophie." Tired, she made her way to her room.