others. He was glad to see that the flower garden he’d continued adding to had somehow survived the wintry blast.
At supper the boys discussed the effect the storm had taken on their classes. “Oh the fairies are just loving this,” Kaelen muttered as he piled food onto his plate. “They’re trying to squeeze a week and a half into one or two days’ work.”
“Well, think about it Kaelen,” George said, “we missed out on a lot of instruction. They have to get us back on track.”
“Do you always take their side?” Kaelen asked.
George rolled his eyes and sighed, “I’m making a point, Kaelen. If you don’t want to face facts that’s fine, but don’t get mad at the rest of us.”
Kaelen scowled but didn’t reply. The rest of the boys ignored this. His attitude after winter break had gotten worse. The boys were trying their best to continue in their friendship, but even Adrian was losing patience.
Later as they finished their meals, George asked Lucian, “Have you heard from home recently?”
Lucian knew what they were all hoping to hear and smiled broadly, “The doctors say that Dad has made a full recovery. He’s still working himself back up to his old strength; the weeks of disuse have weakened his muscles. But he said that by the time I come back for summer, he’ll be good as new.”
Adrian smiled, “That’s great news.”
“You know, I think it’s so great that they wrote your dad’s story,” Jacobi said. “That’s really exciting. I’ve never heard of anything like that happening before.”
“I can’t think of anything,” George added. “But I bet the very first princes didn’t come here.”
“That’s possible,” Lucian admitted. “I don’t know. But I know Dad’s really happy with it. He’s got the book on a special shelf in our library.”
They continued to talk for a while before going to their rooms to study and do homework before bed. Lucian had kept to his promise of trying his very best. While at home, he’d had the opportunity to talk to his dad about everything. “I just got discouraged,” he’d told Lysander. “You were dying and it didn’t seem to matter anymore. And then I almost ruined my chance of ever getting her to like me. It took me a while but I realized that I needed to keep at it, to not lose focus.”
Lysander had smiled weakly. “I wish I’d been there to help you, son. But I’m glad you pulled yourself together. You’re a lot stronger than you think. How are things with Moira? She’s growing lovelier every time I see her.”
The chiming of the clock forced Lucian to refocus his thoughts. He stretched his arms over his head and looked at the page of halffinished homework on his desk. It was no use; he couldn’t finish it with his thoughts straying. He stifled a yawn as he got up from the desk and pushed the chair in. He changed into his pajamas and blew out the candles before crawling under the covers and allowing his mind to continue wandering until sleep silenced his thoughts.
In the morning, Lucian spent another twenty minutes working on the assignment before going to breakfast. Adrian was downstairs already. They chatted until the others arrived, pulling them into the conversation as they came. Afterwards they walked together to the commons. It was too cold to go outside, but none of them wanted to do their homework alone; except Kaelen. He left them and went to his room. “If this is a stage he’s going through, he better grow out of it soon,” George said in frustration.
“I don’t think it’s entirely Kaelen’s fault,” Lucian replied. The others stared at him and he explained, “Look, he started going back to his better-than-everyone attitude after he discovered Esmé. I think all the time he spends with her when she is here and then constantly trying to impress her is bringing out the worst in him. I mean, honestly, Kaelen’s always thought he was better than the rest of us.”
“Yeah, but at least he used to pretend to hide it,” Jacobi pointed out.
“I know, and believe me, I miss the old Kaelen. But, maybe what he needs is a dose of reality.”
“I sure hope it’s soon,” Adrian sighed. “We’re not the only ones losing our patience. If he’s not careful, he’ll find himself on the wrong side of the witches and that’s a dangerous place to be.”
They continued to work on their homework for a while before deciding to go to their own rooms to read their mail. Lucian opened his mailbox and was surprised by an explosion of letters falling from it. “How on earth did Laria manage to get all of that in there?” he asked as he watched his friends have similar reactions with their own mailboxes.
“Magic?” Adrian suggested, picking up a few letters that had fallen on the ground. “I guess the storm put everyone behind.”
Lucian nodded and picked up his mail. He walked into his room and grabbed a few pieces of paper from his desk to write replies on before flopping on his bed with the stack of mail. Rusty looked up from his own bed and woofed softly. “Yeah, you can come up,” Lucian said, patting the bed next to him. Rusty jumped onto the bed and circled around for a while before lying down again. Lucian scratched behind Rusty’s ears as he read one of the letters from Moira.
Dear Lucian,
I’m sure because of the storm this isn’t going to reach you for a while. But, I wanted to write anyway.
Over winter break, I promised to tell you everything you need to complete your quest. I don’t know how much any of this will actually help, but I’ve decided to start answering some of your questions.
Your first question was what I like to do. I’ve always enjoyed the arts, especially sewing. I design my own clothes often. In fact, if you remember the gown I was wearing the day of our winter meeting; that was one of my creations.
I enjoy spending time outdoors. The shell that you gave me was perfect and I have it on my bedside table. It’s still as colorful as the day you gave it to me. There’s something special about that, but I haven’t quite placed in my mind why.
Well, there’s your first answer. If you continue to ask questions, I’ll continue to answer. Nana told me over break that every relationship starts with trust and knowing about the other. So, I suppose I should take her advice. She was quite smitten with you, you know. She even threatened to steal you away from me.
Enjoy your classes and I’ll see you in the spring.
Your Friend,
Moira
Lucian smiled and opened the other letter. This one was shorter, a note saying she hoped he was warm and safe and that she’d hear from him soon. He was disappointed that there wasn’t more to it, but smiled anyway and read the rest of his mail before beginning a letter to Moira.
As March began, winter retreated. The fields of snow melted away; revealing young, tender shoots of green grass. The breezes were still chilled by winter’s frost, but the boys could sense spring around the corner. Sunshine began filtering through the buds of spring leaves on trees and bushes. Daffodils and spring tulips were blooming in the gardens Russett looked after. As they walked to their outdoor classes they could hear the sounds of birds chirping in the trees and animals were beginning to come out of their winter nests.
The world around them wasn’t the only thing changing. In spell breaking, many of the boys had noticed that Althea seemed to be aging, a streak of gray showing in her ebony hair. There were also frequent mishaps in spell breaking, some of them more dangerous than others. The Tuesday before the spring visit with the princesses, Althea didn’t show up at all. Instead, they found her neat handwriting on the board detailing their assignment and her old black cat, Horus, sitting on the desk, his tail twitching. Even with Althea gone, the boys knew it would be best not to disobey her orders.
The rest of the day continued normally until Calista rose to make an announcement. “For the next two days, you will not be allowed out of the castle. This is for your own safety as the witches go through the Change. Althea informed me this morning that Maeve has passed; the beginning of this process for them. Classes have been cancelled so that we can ensure that everyone stays safely within the castle while they pass through t
his ordeal. This is not something to be taken lightly. Their magic is outside their control and the fate of anyone foolish enough to go out will not be pleasant. When you finish your supper, you will go to your dormitories.”
A curious gleam lit Kaelen’s eyes, “We should watch from our windows.”
“Are you nuts?” Jacobi asked. “Don’t you remember what Althea told us in class about the Change? Their magic is transferred and the elements combine until separating into the new carriers. It’s a form of magic so potent and ancient that the witches themselves are in danger of being lost to it.”
“All the more reason to watch. Or are you chicken?”
“Kaelen, Jacobi’s right,” Lucian insisted. “There’s no telling what may happen even from something as seemingly innocent as watching from a window.”
Kaelen scowled, “How’d I end up friends with a bunch of babies?”
The others looked hurt and something in George snapped. “Well, if you hate our company that much, we’ll leave.”
Lucian hung back long enough to say, “Friends don’t treat each other that way, Kaelen. When the old you comes back, the one we’re friends with, let us know.” He then followed the others.
Late that night, Kaelen was pacing his room while the rest of the castle slept. The fairies had put some kind of enchantment on the curtains and they wouldn’t budge. He had to know what