Julia

They met their 'servants' in the main room of the inn. There they waited in an area separated by a kind of fence. For Julia, the sight reminded her of caged animals.  The four werewolves held their ears flat on their heads. Emmie and Marko even bared their teeth almost imperceptibly. The elves' wings flapped in annoyance. Only Leopold winked at Julia in amusement. Julia didn’t understand what he was amused about until she noticed that Mads was full of hickeys.

Julia raised an eyebrow and looked at Levi. The beta wolf watched the staff of the inn skeptically. Julia noticed dark circles under his eyes. He looked tired. They all did.

A short time later, they left the inn to search for rebels in the city. The plan was simple, the grown-ups searched in the pubs, and the 'children' looked around the market. Together with Lea and Shay. If anyone wondered about the large group of servants, they would tell anyone that they were shopping for their rich employers. This was not uncommon in the richer cities. In addition, seeing a big group of bound servants shopping for their master truly wasn’t unheard of.

 Julia grimaced. The plan was Fritz's idea. In itself, the idea was good. Parting ways should save them precious time. Unfortunately, thanks to her appearance, Julia was labeled as a child. They wouldn't let her into any bar. Unless she made herself look older. But she had to conserve her magic. And their large group also caused her stomach aches. Nevertheless, Julia actually wanted to go to the bars. She was curious and she wanted to split the group again or accompany Paul and Fritz. Julia thought that it was almost hopeless to search the market.

How were they supposed to recognize possible rebels there? Who should they address? They had a better chance in a bar. The market was more of a plan B. Traders also heard and saw a lot. But wouldn't they be more interested in selling their goods on a market? If they didn't want to stand out, they'd have to buy things to engage the traders in conversation! And they didn't have much money at their disposal.

"No, we're splitting into two groups!" Paul grumbled immediately when she suggested this. "Stay with the servants. You can protect them best. And we try our luck at real MEN TALKS. With beer and darts! Women are just a nuisance. Protect the servants."

Julia rolled her eyes. Just like Lea. "Good", she agreed. "Then have fun with the manly conversations!" Unfortunately, Julia's brother was right. At least for one thing! They were back in their homeland. Here, their servants weren’t always treated well. So the group split up just as Fritz had suggested.

Josefine insisted on walking hand in hand with Julia. She took advantage of the fact that Julia and Leopold could not risk holding hands here. Leopold was amused by this, and whenever he saw a chance, he teased the dragon in a whisper. Some passers-by were already looking at the bound people in disgust. But since they were accompanied by their owners, they were not bothered. Still, Julia noticed an elderly man spitting on the floor as Mads and Levi walked past him. Julia felt sick.

"My stomach growls!" Levi grumbled softly. He ignored the old man.

"Are you hungry?" Julia looked at him worriedly.

"He is", Mads grumbled. "Either that or there's an untalented orchestra playing in his stomach."

"Didn't you get breakfast?" Julia dodged the branches of a tall bush growing next to a house entrance. The road along which they walked was very wide. Many people walked past them. It smelled like freshly baked bread. Julia sighed and looked at the small half-timbered houses they passed. They were looking for the marketplace. Since they couldn't find it, apparently it wasn't in the center of the city as usual, and Lea now asked some passers-by for directions.

"There was only bland porridge. And Mads refused to eat it! So did Levi", Emmie explained. She looked at her friends. "Fools!"

"The porridge smelled funny..." Levi sighed. "As if the oats were already spoiled... Well... It hasn’t been a good idea to skip breakfast.”

"I don't eat slime!" Mads wrinkled his nose.

"I thought the porridge was delicious..." Marko stuck his tongue out at Mads. He walked next to Finn, making sure no one bumped into his boyfriend.

"You think everything is delicious!" Mads snapped back. "Even SLIME!"

"The porridge was indeed horrible." Peyo grimaced. "But it's better than nothing."

"Exactly!" Emmie, however, growled softly. "No matter how disgusting."

"We had a decent breakfast!" Josefine patted herself on the stomach. "There were all sorts of things! And in the night I killed a deer in the forest." At the mention of a deer, Mad's face turned green, while the stomachs of the other three wolves growled loudly. Levi's stomach growled the loudest.

"At least we had beds." Benjamin crossed his arms. He and Chloe watched as Lea chatted with an elderly man. Shay stood behind Lea. The man ignored the elf and pointed in the direction from which they had come.

"We've probably passed the market!" Leopold announced. "Shit."

Lea confirmed this a few seconds later. They had missed the marketplace by two streets.

"Let's go!" Benjamin grimaced as Levi's belly orchestra sang a crooked ballad. "And we have to feed the wolf!!"

"Feed me!" Levi immediately put an arm over Benjamin's shoulders until Shay scolded him. No bound servant behaved like that. Grumbling, Levi withdrew his arm.

So the group went back quite a bit. On the way, Julia saw a group of fairies flying out of one of the many windows, cheering and giggling. They carried a heavy bag together. An old lady ran to the window and leaned out angrily. "My sugar! You beasts!" she screamed after the fairies. Julia grinned.

"Princess?" she suddenly heard a trembling voice. Confused, she and Lea turned around. On the opposite side of the street stood an old lady with gray hair. She walked with a cane and looked at Julia in shock. “That can't be!" whispered Julia incredulously. She knew the old lady, even though she seemed to have aged by many years. Sophie.

Stunned, Julia realized that she had forgotten to change her appearance. But at that moment, she didn't care. She let go of Josefine and ran to her former nanny. "Sophie!!"

"Julia!" Trembling, the old woman embraced Julia. Julia buried her face in Sophie's shoulder and inhaled the familiar smell. Sophie smelled like home. Julia never wanted to let go.

"I've missed you!" she cried.

"How can that be!" Sophie stroked Julia's back. "They say you're dead. And... You haven't gotten older. And... The elf is said to have kidnapped you. And..."

"Hello, Sophie!" Leopold greeted sheepishly. Marko slapped him on the shoulder, laughing. The two had followed Julia.

"I'm fine. We're all fine!" said Julia quietly.

The rest of the group now rushed to them as well. Only Finn walked slowly. With Peyo by his side. The elf shielded him from other passers-by, who could quickly become a threat to the weak Finn.  Lea introduced Sophie to the teenagers that the former Nanny had never met. She ignored the confused looks of passers-by. "So many servants... And so young..." Sophie shook her head as she hugged Julia. "The world is cruel. And who is this adorable girl?" She looked at Josefine, who had not yet been introduced to her. The dragon girl blinked. She was often mistaken for a boy by strangers.

"That's Fienchen. My... Dearest and best friend!" Julia answered. She preferred to skip the part about the dangerous dragon. "Leo and I are together now."

"Oh." Sophie nodded. "I'm not surprised. Then he didn't kidnap you?"

"Yes. He did!", Marko was happy to help. "The idiot thought it was an awesome idea."

"Marko!" Finn scolded quietly.

"I'm a fool, yes!" replied Leopold. Then he looked contritely at Sophie. "It's complicated. Forgive me. I didn't want to hurt anyone. I was... desperate and stupid."

Sophie nodded. She wiped a tear from her face. With her other hand, she stroked Julia's head. Although Sophie had never been particularly tall, she was certainly taller than Julia. Even if only by a few centimeters. They looked like grandmother and granddaughter.  "When aren't things complicated? It's been so long. Let's forget about it. I've gotten old since I don't have to chase after a cheeky princess anymore. I'm not interested in old trifles. That would simply steal my precious lifetime. What are you doing here?"

"We're looking for something," Lea explained nervously. We were on our way to the market."

Sophie smiled. "I've heard rumors. About Princess Lea and Prince Fritz being part of the rebellion and are therefore wanted... And I heard of an army in the elven forests. I think I can help you. I'll skip the ridiculous secret words about the panties, okay?" She winked at them.

Julia stared at her nanny in amazement. "Sophie!"

"Yes, child. I'll take you to them."

"Since when?"

"Two years." Sophie nodded in satisfaction. "I've watched the cruelty of our world long enough. Watched it inactively. But now I'm old and have nothing left to lose. Come. Follow me."

Sophie led them to an old half-timbered house in a secluded, dark alley. A residential building in the slums of the city. The house, like all the other houses in this alley, was slightly dilapidated. The walls smelled of mold and moss. There, Sophie knocked on a black-painted door.