Marie

  It was a disaster! The princess and her servants were o be found! And no one had seen or heard anything! Had they run away with the prino. Marie could not imagihat, even though Helga was firmly vinced of it. They were sitting together in Helga's room. A single room. A rare luxury at the Academy. Especially for students from the first year!

  "Who knows where they are? Celebrating?" Helga crossed her arms. "The prince, as far as I know, has only nonsense inside his head. Tomorrow, she will be back. She wao skip the tour, didn't she?"

  "That's what she wanted!" Philip was sitting on Helga's yelloet. Her bed was also covered in yellow, with lots of colorful pillows. A yellow garnd hung on the white walls and yelloer stars adorned her wardrobe. "Marie?", he asked. "How are you feeling?"

  "Terrible!" She sat together with Pia and Helga on the yellow bed. Helga snuggled up in her many pillows. "Just terrible. Aren't you worried?"

  "It's too early for that", Pia said. "Let's wait and see! And, there's something to celebrate!"

  "Certainly!" Philip grinned. "We survived the terrible tour!"

  "And Marie has a boyfriend!" Pia giggled. "Marie and August!"

  "Pia!" Marie shook her head. "We were just talking! Nothing more!"

  "But you like him!" Helga threw one of her pillows at her. "So? When will you meet him ? Will you talk to him tomorrow during the break? He looks good! You should go a him. And he didn't seem to be ued!"

  "I don't know!" Marie pressed the pillow to her. "He's older than me... And he looks really good! What if I embarrass myself?"

  "Oh, you won't!" Helga seemed vinced. "He clearly thought you were cute!"

  Philip shook his head. "Are we seriously talking about girl stuff now?"

  "If you don't like girl stuff, then you should look for boys! Then you talk about all the boy stuff!" Helga also threillow at him. "Whatever guys talk about! Spirls? Pranks?"

  Philip threw the pillow back. "Sure, sure! You're just mog!"

  "Pranks?" Marie thought about that for a moment. "Theo and I used to py triy parents... Once we collected leaves and spread them on their bed. We opehe window to make it look like the wind had blowhing in."

  Philip ughed. "And?"

  "It wasn't windy that day." Marie shrugged her shoulders. "We had to everything up and tidy their bed."

  "Oh, dear." Pia shook her head. "I used to try to py August pranks... He always caught me."

  "Really? YOU and pranks?" Philip looked at her in disbelief. "Our model student?"

  "I wasn't very good at it. And at some point it got b. I preferred to learn to py instruments."

  "Instruments?" Now Helga looked at her in i. "Whies? I had some piano lessons as a child."

  "Piano, the flute, and the violin", Pia answered. "Not too many. Only three."

  "Only?" Philip frowned. "I don't py a single one."

  "Because you always ran away from the piano teacher." Helga threillow at him again.

  "It didn't i me! I wao py outside!"

  "Aly eat cookies!" Another of Helga's pillows hit him. Philip caught the pillow and stuck his to at her.

  "Do you think the princess is getting into trouble?", asked Pia. "The tour was mandatory."

  "I don't know... She is a princess. What are the teachers supposed to do?", excimed Helga. "But the queen will not be pleased."

  "Julia said her mother expected her to do well iour. But she lost within seds. Do you think that's why she ran away?", asked Marie.

  "Maybe." Helga chewed on her lower lip. "Or she's just celebrating somewhere with her brother."

  "I hope she'll be baorrow! And then I will scold her. She gave me a huge fright! She has to promise me o do something like that again!" Marie snorted. "Not without taking us with her!"

  "That's a word!" Philip nodded in agreement.

  "This is irresponsible!" Now Pia grabbed a pillow and threw it at the ughing Marie.

  Torsten

  His father was o be found and the queen walked up and down the windows of the ballroom while the servants removed the decorations. Torsten watched her bored. He would remain in the castle until further notiow that his mother had died and the rest of his family had sold their house with all their belongings to pay off debts. Fortunately, his father had weled him to the castle. His room was small and close to the servants' rooms, but that didn't matter. It was more luxurious than anything he had ever had.

  Fritz and Pau had left an ho. Just like Lea and Cleo. Princess Annemarie would stay a few more days. "Here you are!" Said princess approached him with sliding steps and a fine smile. Her blonde hair en, and she wore a thin, light blue dress with fluttering sleeves. "I was looking for you Torsten. A letter arrived. From my mother. You might be ied to hear about it."

  "A letter?"

  "Yes. Regarding our wedding. My parents want to hold it as soon as possible. They also wrote a letter to Queen Agathe, but she probably hasn't read it yet."

  "And what does as soon as possible mean?"

  "In about a week. I will therefore leave tomorrow and you should apany me. Queen Agathe and King Friedrich will certainly agree. The royal family needs a successful wedding to overshadow this sdal." She smiled mischievously. "Right?"

  "At least it was amusing!" Torsten looked at the queen, who now marched past them angrily.

  "However. What do you think about it? In a week?"

  "I agree. A week should be fine. And I'll be happy to apany you tomorrow."

  "Wonderful! Let's discuss it right over dihe Queen will certainly be pleased with this opportunity. After all, this attempt at a wedding is likely to be THE gossip at the moment. Presumably, the neers will tell you about it tomorrow. There was someone from the press there, wasn't there?"

  "Maybe? I wasn't involved in the pnning." Torsten leaned against the wall. "What's it like in the snd?"

  "Not as bright as here, which is much more pleasant. This light is horrible! And it's creener. Natural! You will like your new home."

  "And I'm sure to be accepted? Among the nobles? It sounded like marriages between vampires and humans were unon."

  "Hm..." Annemarie pyed with one of her strands of hair. "Unusual, yes. It does not happen very often. But you will be part of the royal family! No one will dare to speak ill of our e! Even if there may be skeptics. I wouldn't rule that out. heless. Successful years await us!"

  "Successful? You're thinking of the throne?"

  "I always think of the throne!"

  Torsten took arand of her hair between his fingers and kissed it. "That's one of the things I like the most about you, my dear! We are two of the same kind!"

  Annemarie smiled at him.

  When they appeared for dinner a little ter, it was visible that the queen had read the letter in the meantime. She looked at them expetly.

  The table was richly filled. There was a roast, with lots of vegetables, dumplings, and various sauces. For Annemarie, there was a gss filled with a red liquid. Blood.

  "Torsten?" The queen looked at him with stern, raised eyes. "You will leave tomorrow!"

  "What?" The king looked at her in fusion. Obviously, he knew nothing about the letter. "You're sending him away? Why?"

  "A letter came. Queen Franka and King Heinrich wish a speedy marriage of their daughter and ... Your... Son. In a week. At the weekend. If they leave tomorrow, the two will be able to arrive in the snd early."

  "So fast?" Friedrich looked more than just taken by surprise. "So soon after... Peter..."

  He was met with a warning look. "All the better!", hissed his wife. "Torsten?" Now she looked at him. "I've already instructed servants to pack your things!"

  "Thank you!" He gave her his most polite smile. "I appreciate that."

  "How wonderful!" Annemarie reached for his hand. "This is wonderful news! Of course, I didn't expeything else. After all, my parents also sent me a letter." She looked at the queen. "Of course, we t on you ing?"

  "Certainly!" The queen did not look pleased. "Well... Do you know where you and Torsten will live? Still in the castle?"

  This also ied Torsten. He hadn't thought about that yet. Where would they live? In the castle? Or in ae? Where?

  Annemarie frowned. "Hm... Well, we will have our own rooms in the castle. Naturally. But I got a small property for my eighteenth birthday. We retreat there at any time. So everything is settled."

  "I'm surprised that your parents anize a wedding so quickly," Friedritervened. "It took us months. And all the invitations!"

  "The most important nobility lives around the castle." Annemarie sipped her blood. "So the invitations are certainly not a problem. But I'm gd you're worried. My parents have been pnning my wedding practically sihe day I was born. Only the details were missing." She looked at Torsten. "Sort of."

  He grinned. He didn’t care, the wedding could be small and b. That was not important to him. No. All he cared about ower. He had an uneasy feeling. That this had bee Babette's undoing... She did not give the impression that she had been in love. But he pushed the thought aside. After all, he had better prospects!