Leopold

  He stared at the mountain of undry that he was supposed to hang up to dry. Today he and Marko helped out in the undry. Marko talked to Theo, who was healthy again. The two got along well and Theo just asked him if they wao py cards together after work. Leopold hardly listeo them. He couldn't get the versation with Julia the night before out of his head.

  Or rather, her vision.

  She had seen what was going to happen. He was firmly vihat the vilge she had seen was his home vilge. Would it go up in fmes? When? Why? Was his pn doomed to failure? What if Julia had seen more? If she knew about his pn? Then all would be lost. Luckily, her vision had shown her little and she probably wouldn't see more. At least that's what she said... But why should she lie? This thought calmed him down a little. Of course, this was irely certain. It could as well be that she knew everything in a few hours. Why did she have to be a seer?

  "Leopold?" Marko waved his hand in front of his eyes. “Will you hang something up too? Or are you just staring?"

  He blinked. "What?"

  "You're staring at the undry." Marko poio the undry mountain. "Should Theo and I hang everything on our own?"

  Theo ughed softly. "He must be thinking of his girlfriend!"

  "My what?" He looked at the younger elf fused.

  "Yirlfriend? The princess? Marie told me you were together! That's really brave! After all, she is the princess! Marie said you kissed her behind a pilr! Did you?" Theo looked at him expetly.

  "He has!" Marko wi Theo. "The princess wao keep their retionship secret! Princess and servant? A sdal!"

  "And? What's it like to kiss a princess?" Theo went back to hanging undry.

  "Normal?" Leopold shrugged his shoulders and grabbed a wet kit towel to hang on the clothesline. In the basement of the academy, where the undry and also the teen kit were located, several clotheslines were stretched in a rge hall.

  "Normal?" Theo looked at Marko. "Is he serious?"

  Marko just shrugged.

  "I didn't have a girlfriend before." Leopold smiled. There had been an elf girl he liked. But they were only friends and then she was with someone else.

  "Really?" Theo beamed. "And you? Marko?"

  Marko turned red. "No. Me her. No... Girlfriend. What about you, Theo?"

  Theo shook his head. "Me her. I mean... I like Marie, but... Probably nothing will e of it. She's just perfed I'm just her servant."

  "Did you tell her you liked her? It worked out for Leopold and the princess!" Marko patted him on the shoulder.

  Finn looked at him tritely. "Yes. Four years ago... She called me a good friend. I don't think she uood me. I told her I liked her..."

  "Maybe you should try again?" Marko shook out one of the wet tea towels. "Don't you think so?"

  Theo shook his head.

  Peter

  They tasted the tenth cake. Vanil cream with blueberries on a chocote dough and with plenty of marzipans. Meanwhile, he felt sick. All the cream and buttercream were heavy in his stomad more than ten wines were waiting for him. Babette loved every cake and didn't seem tired of testing them. Oable in front of them were various pieces of cake through which they had tested themselves.

  "I like this o!", she announced. "This cake is it! Our wedding cake! Five-storey! they be decorated with gold? And snowfkes?"

  The pastry chef nodded eagerly. "Of course! May it be one of the other cakes? So that guests have a good choice?"

  "Every cake? The others, of course, are not as a wedding cake. Don't you agree, Peter? They all tasted delicious, didn't they?" Babette ate the piece of chocote blueberry cake.

  "Wouldn't that be too much?", asked Peter, looking at the cakes.

  "No", his father objected. "We expect many guests. A wide sele is more than just adequate. We take all the cakes. And the st one is a big wedding cake with gold and snowfkes."

  Babette's father nodded in agreement. "We have already ordered several smaller tarts. Yuests should be pletely satisfied. Do we want to move on to the wine?"

  Babette's stepmother did not feel well, so she did not attend the test dinner. Peter envied her.

  Babette cheerfully agreed with the king. The feer thanked him ahe von Steinhofs' dining room with a bow.

  Servants nht in various wihat came from a rge winery. Peter would have liked to do without the wiasting. Especially after all the cake. His stomach was already rebelling. In addition, the painter was waiting for them. He was supposed to tinue w on the picture immediately after the wiasting. Peter groaned. Presumably, he would look pletely green in the picture at the end. This was clearly very bad pnning, but no one had listeo his objes.

  They tested themselves through the wines. After each sip, Babette became more talkative and affeate. When they had tasted the st wine, Babette wavered a little and couldn't say a whole word. Peter was slightly dizzy and he held on to the table. His nausea had also bee worse, as he feared.

  Their fathers ordered the wihey liked best, as Babette annouhat they would all 'tehste' equally.

  "Are wii drofing n..ow?" she asked, ughing. "I ... Picture!" She burped and then awkwardly leaned against Peter. The fact that she was bigger than him made the whole thing all the more difficult. Peter swayed under her weight. He wao move away from her, but he was too dizzy. Groaning, he id his head oable, which caused Babette to almost fell from her chair. She giggled.

  "Maybe we should ge the date." The baron hiccuped and almost fell over. He held on to the king just in time, who was also wavering.

  Babette, who was lieing half oer, shook her head. "Nooo! I... Me... Is it greeet. I want my lettle Shwooting Star!! Main H... Horsie!" She giggled.

  "If you insist! My.... daughter!" The baron sounded a little uain. He ughed lightly, though not as bad as his daughter, and hooked himself up with the king. Friedrich just grinned.

  "Yes!" Babette threw up her arms and ended up pung Peter in the face, who had slowly straightened.

  "That's a bad idea!", he protested, rubbing his cheek. "Ouch."

  But Babette got her way. No matter how stupid it was.

  Of course, the whole thing ended with a desperate painter. Peter had vomited, right o the painting, and Babette inning nonsensical ideas on her horse until she fell. Fortunately, her fall was caught by a few bales of straw that were set up as a decoration. Shooting Star was startled and ran off, while Babette y ughing on the floor and cried "Run my Hor... sie!". Both her fathers had started dang waltzes at some point aually fell into a hay mountaier tried to sit on one of the pumpkins. He was terribly dizzy, but the pumpkin was a very bad seat. Eventually, he slipped and fell over.

  They, therefore, decided to tihe painting the day. The painter seemed relieved and hurried aeter's father didn't look too good either. The Baron, oher hand, had fallen asleep in the hay.

  Peter, who was now leaning against the stable, watched as servants tried to catch Shooting Star. Being drunk clearly hadn't improved the event.

  The day, they were all struggling with a terrible hangover. Peter had a headache and the sun hurt his eyes as he tried to hold still for the painting of horror. Babette also hung on her horse rather than sitting on it.

  Their fathers had withdrawn. The baron robably asleep aer's father had hurried away with a green face.

  Instead, Babette's stepmother watched the progress and seemed more than amused.

  Ohing was certain: no one would fet these two days too quickly.

  When the painter was ready for the day, Peter wrote a letter to Julia to tell her about the unspeakably horrible cake and wiasting and the events that followed. He progressed very slowly, as his head was still buzzing. Having a hangover was clearly not a pleasant experience.

  Julia

  "We need ne." Sophie groaned. "Good soap! The soap we have now is ruining my skin!" She rubbed her hands. "I think I'll go to the city tomorrow and buy a new one or maybe two. I also need new wool."

  " I apany you?", asked Leopold.

  "You want to go to town?" Julia leaned against him and stroked his hand, lost in thought.

  "Yes." He smiled. "I would like to apany Sophie. You don't mind, do you?"

  "No, I don't. If Sophie doesn't mind?" She looked at the old servant.

  "Oh. Someone who helps me carry my stuff is very wele! You are wele to apany me, my boy." Sophie petted his hair.

  They sat on the sofa in the living room. Leopold had put a warm b over himself and Julia. It was cold in the apartment. The voiarko and Finn could be heard from the boys' room. They ughed at something. Julia smiled and closed her eyes. She was tired. The day had been exhausting. They had a new feng instrurs. Drüse. She was a tall dy with fiery red hair and dark, almost bck eyes. She had introduced herself as very friendly at first, but she quickly turned out to be extremely strict. Mrs. Drüse expected perfe and discipline from her students. She had overrun the lesson because the achievements of her students, especially Julia's, were not enough for her. She did not let the lessons end until she was reasonably satisfied with the progress of the css. Apart from the performance of Julia... Her eacher had personally taken care of the princess and practiced relentlessly with her. But Julia proved to be resistant to learning and, as Julia already koo clumsy. Mrs. Drüse remained relentless and iron. Now, after the ordeal of a feng lesson, Julia's muscles hurt.

  She toyed with the idea of skipping feng lessons from now on. Julia did not like Mrs. Drüse, who had set her mind on turning the hopelessly ued princess into a proper fencer.

  Julia wao do without that.

  But something else had struck her. The looks of the other students. There was whispering behind her back. It wasn't just her cssmates who whispered. ‘The princess and her servant.’ The news quickly made rounds and everyone had an opinion about it. Why had Leo kissed her publicly? Why had she allowed it?

  Because she liked it. She could hardly bme him and he had already apologized. With a mischievous grin that had made Julia ugh.

  For Julia's cssmates, the new rumor seemed to be a wele distra. They still mourheir deceased cssmate. In addition to Julia's retionship, the private life of the caretaker of the academy was also of great i. The man, although he was the caretaker, was hard to be found. Some suspected he had corpses in the basement. Some also cimed he was a vampire. Which he wasn't, as Julia knew from Sophie. After all, she talked to him often.

  Marie was quieter than usual. She had received another letter from her parents. Her sister’s dition was getting worse. Julia was worried. Marie had tried to take time off from css to go home for a few days, but she hadn't been given permission. Now she waited restlessly for the letter from her parents.