Julia

  The days passed very quietly. Marko and Leopold had to help i. They said in the evening that the food was brought to the students' rooms and that they had to help. Some of the students had been rude and Julia wished she could tell these students her opinion. She herself used the days to read. Just like Finn, who read whenever he had nothing to do. They y together on Juliet's bed and looked through her books. Finn snuggled up to her. Sophie knitted when she wasn't taking care of the household, with Finn helping her.

  Julia had tried to magically see how her friends were doing, but not much had e of it. Instead of her friends, she had seen a teacher give a student's test a bad grade and make a note about notifying the student's parents of his worsening grades.

  Marko said on the sed day that he had seen several healers in the building. Later, when there was a kno the door, Leopold opehe door to ohey had already expected the visit.

  The healer was an elderly dy who stopped at the door and inquired if there were sick people in the apartment. Whether someone had a high fever or spots. But they were all healthy. When Leopold told her that they had been through the illness some time ago, the healer left again, as there was nothing for her to do here. The m, a new note hung on the apartment door with the information that healers extehe quarantine by two days. In addition, the letter stated that two students and a teacher had died of the disease.

  Julia observed in the m how darkly dressed gentlemen carried three coffins from the academy. The image shocked her. Her brother Felix had said that the disease was very aggressive and that help sometimes came too te. The healers of the try were not always fast enough with those affected and some were also ill themselves.

  Where the disease came from was still unclear.

  The days flew by and after about a week, csses started again.

  Julia was a little queasy when she went to her on Monday. Her cssmates were unnaturally quiet and Julia was very upset that two were missing. Elias, the seer. Julia had talked to him a lot at the beginning of the magic css, as they were the only seers in the css. Pia was also o be seen.

  Helga and Philip talked quietly. Marie came over to Julia.

  "How was the ball?", she wao know.

  "Eventful. Where is Pia? And Elijah?"

  "I don't know. I'm worried. I hope nothing happeo them. The healers came very te... Apparently, many were ill. On Saturday m, the first case of illness occurred and in the evening many were sick. It caught me on Sunday. It was really scary. You stayed healthy?"

  "I had been ied before. One of my servants was ill... So yes. I am good. My servants too."

  When her css teacher ehe , Marie went back to her seat. Her teacher made a sad impression. Julia looked at Helga, whed her shoulders.

  "Good m, css", he said. "As you may have noticed, two of your cssmates are missing. Pia is still ill. She will probably join us again tomorrow. Your cssmate Elias, unfortunately, died of the disease. Just like your feng instructor. Therefore, the feng lessons will be celed for the time being until we have found a eacher. Tomorrow m we will hold a farewell party for the deceased in the dining room. Unfortunately, a student from the final csses also passed away." He sighed. "Fortunately, we do not have more deaths to mourn, as tragic as it is."

  The rest of the day was very quiet. Elijah's friends grieved and were excused from css. The whole css was in shoo one expected to lose a cssmate.

  The teachers did not give them any homework that day, and in magic css, Julia could not trate and therefore did not plete any of the tasks assigo her. Her tutor, therefore, ehe lessons for her early.

  The m, all the students gathered in the dining hall to mourn the deceased. Some students cried. But most were relieved to have survived the disease themselves or to have been spared from it.

  After about an hour, they returo css and the day took its usual course. Instead of feng lessons, they had an hour for self-study, in which Julia pyed catch outside with her friends instead of studying. Pia was bad proved to be very good at the game.

  In the evening, Marie came to Julia because they wao do homework together. But they hardly got to it, because Marko always disturbed them to throw pillows at them, until a pillow fight broke loose, which Leopold also joined. Finn helped Sophie cook dinner. After dinner, Marie left without their homework being done.

  In the meantime, Julia no longer felt like doing her homework a it alone. Instead, she pyed cards with Marko, leaning on Leopold, who was reading a book. Finn knitted a jacket and snuggled up to the other wolf.

  Julia read some pages of one of her books inside her bed and finally fell asleep with the book in her arms.

  A dragon flying across the sky. A small tent vilge ieppe, in front of a river that runs through the dry grass. Thin trees and bushes. taurs who visit the vilge. A forest b the moors of the vampires. Leopold, sits in one of the tents and smiles at Julia. Peter walkio a young man. The man has the eyes of a lizard. A dragon.

  A vilge in the forest. Fire. The angry face of the queen.

  Leopold

  The potion steamed and hissed softly. A sign that it was almost finished and the herbs were about to unfold their full effect. He smiled. Only a few weeks left.

  Time had passed quickly.

  Marko snored softly and spoke in his sleep. "No, I didn't dig the pit... The biscuit's name is Friedhelm!"

  Leopold grinned. That's what is the wolf dreaming about?

  Finn blinked and then opened his eyes. He rolled up to Leopold and looked at him frowning. His duvet was at the foot of the bed. Finn had slept very restlessly. "What are you doing?", he asked, yawning.

  "Nothing." Leopold quickly put the potion bad put away the clothes in front of it again. "I just ed up my closet." Restlessly, he closed the closet. Had he woken him?

  "In the middle of the night? And what kind of mug was that?"

  "Nothing special. Medie. For elves. For headaches." He hoped that the answer would be enough.

  "You have a headache? I'm sorry!" Finn rolled bader his covers. "Get well soon."

  "Thank you." He breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Don't call me Monika!" Marko waved his arms in his sleep and hit something. "I did ys. I don't like bugs!"

  Leopold ughed softly and crawled under his covers. It was time for him to move on to step two of his pn and for that, he had to go to the city. Since he couldn't seers, this part was a bit more difficult, but he would find a solution.

  And what should he do with the two wolves?

  He had to get them to help him, otherwise, the whole pn could fail. Or was there another solution?

  He wao talk to the elf at the pharmacy, so he needed a reason to drive into town. Maybe he could send a letter to his home vilge? But how?

  The new ws made his project much more difficult, but he did not let that stop him.

  "Why does the princess climb a mountain of cakes... Caution! There's a ship!" Marko rolled to the other side. "... Finn."

  With an amused smile, Leopold fell asleep.