Marko

 

It had started to rain. Marko sat inside the kitchen and looked out of the window. Sophie had asked him to cut garlic into small pieces. But he hadn't started yet. Too much was going through his head.

Across from him sat Finn peeling potatoes. Finn sat cross-legged on the kitchen chair and seemed deep in thought as he peeled one potato after another and then placed it in a bowl of water. Sophie cut onions into small pieces. Every now and then she wiped a tear from her face with a kitchen towel and scolded the onions that made her cry unintentionally. He didn't know where Leopold was. Cleaning something somewhere?

Sophie cleared her throat. "Marko? Where are you with your thoughts?"

"Nowhere and everywhere."

"Then please come back here with your thoughts. The food doesn't cook itself."

"Unfortunately." Marko devoted himself to the garlic and began to cut it into small pieces. "When is the princess coming back?" The princess had shorter lessons on some days than on others and Marko was not sure whether today was a long or a short day.

"In about an hour." Sophie smiled. "By then, we should have the food ready. I'm sure she's hungry."

Marko was also hungry. Very hungry. But he still had to wait. As servants, they always ate after the princess. Sophie insisted.

The days flew by. He has been here for over a week now. On the night of the full moon, he had laid on his bed as a wolf and looked longingly out of the window. He missed the freedom of the mountains. He had not dared to ask if he was allowed to roam the grounds at night. The answer would surely have been 'no', wouldn't it? Sophie would never have allowed him to do that and he did not dare to ask the princess directly. She was kind, but his life depended on her being well-disposed toward him. He didn't want to ask for the wrong thing.

On the night of the full moon, Finn had also looked out of the window. He had sat down with his blanket on the wide windowsill of their room... And so Marko had not only looked at the moon but also at the weak wolf. In the moonlight, his light hair looked silver just like the moon.

 Leopold had slept the night on the sofa in the princess's living room... Obviously, Marko had scared him a bit...

The work at the academy was exhausting. Not necessarily because of the tasks assigned to him mainly by Sophie, no: the employees were a problem. Especially the gardeners.

Every afternoon Sophie would go over to the office of the caretaker of the academy and discuss with him what work had to be done after he and Leopold had finished their work for the princess and every afternoon Marko hoped that he did not have to help the gardeners.

The verbal attacks of the gardeners made him angry... And sad. Should he tell the princess about it? Would that change anything?

So far he had kept silent about it and Leopold had not said a word either.

The gardeners gave them terrible names and cursed them when there were no students within earshot. In front of the students, they held back a little more. Presumably to look professional.

As far as he had noticed, the tone in the laundry was rough too, even if no one was insulted there. Yesterday Sophie had let him and Leopold help out there, as some employees were ill and help was needed. He had met a werewolf named Theo, who complained of tiredness and back pain and envied Marko and Leopold for their lunch break.

Every day at noon he ate together with Finn, Leopold, and Sophie. After that, they rested a bit. The other servants had less than half an hour to themselves after lunch. He had learned from Theo that they had about twenty minutes to eat, after which work continued.

Since Theo was only fourteen, he was assigned less heavy work, and yet he was tired.

He was aware that as a servant of the princess he worked less than the other 'servants brought along'. Julia insisted that they had breaks and gave them the evenings off, while other servants often did not have this luxury. They carried out the tasks at the academy, the prerequisite for the fact that servants could be brought along, and sometimes had to do tasks for their 'owners' in the evening. He had been lucky.

"The post office was completely overrun. I had to stand in a long line! A letter has arrived for the princess." Leopold came into the kitchen yawning. "And I took the curtains to the laundry beforehand. Is there anything else to do?"

"You thought of the curtains? Wonderful. I had already forgotten about them. I cook a stew for the princess. You can chop vegetables," Sophie pointed to a few carrots and peppers. "Please put the letter on Julia's desk. She should come back soon."

"As you wish." Leopold took the letter away and then came back. He took a cutting board and a knife and sat down next to Finn, who immediately nervously moved a little to the side. Leopold did not seem to notice.

"From whom is the letter?" Marko was curious.

"From her brother," Leopold replied after asking Sophie how he should separate the carrot.

"In thin slices, please," she replied.

"Do you know what's in it? In the letter?" What do princes and princesses talk about? Gold? Diamonds? Laws? The weather?  Marko had finished cutting the garlic and supported himself with his hands. They smelled of garlic. He wrinkled his nose.

"What?" Leopold laughed softly. "Of course not. I would have to open the letter for that."

"That's true..." Marko heard the door to her hallway being opened. Was the princess already back?

"You're way too curious, Marko." Sophie smiled. "As servants, it is our job to stay in the background. The private life of the princess is none of your business, even if you see a lot of it. But you'll learn that."

"What else will Marko learn?" Julia stood in the kitchen doorway, looking tired. Her school bag hung open over her shoulder.

"Not wanting to read your letters," Leopold told her with a cautious smile on his face as if he wasn't sure whether he should tell her or not. "A letter has come for you. From your brother. It's on your desk."

"Oh." The princess put her bag aside. "Thank you." Then she hurried away.

"She must have been expecting the letter," Finn spoke up quietly. As always, he didn't look at anyone. Marko regretted it. It was hardly possible to talk to him. Finn always dodged.

A few moments later the princess returned and sat down with them at the table. "Can I help?" she asked.

 She often asked if she could help. Sophie always answered the same. "No, thank you. Rest. You've had a long day. This is our job, not a princess's job." Also today the princess got this answer and yet she did not tire of asking.

"Sure? I don't mind."

"Sure. The boys and I have everything under control!"

Marko's stomach growled. Surprised, he looked at the equally surprised girl. "Oh. Excuse me," he murmured. Is a growling stomach considered bad behavior?

"Are you hungry?" Julia smiled.

"Yes," he replied. "Breakfast and lunch were a little longer ago."

"Then you should eat something. Do we still have fruit, Sophie?" Julia looked at the old servant.

Sophie nodded. "There are still a few tangerines there."

"Do you like tangerines, Marko?" Again surprised, he watched as the princess stood up, took the fruit bowl from the dining room, in which two tangerines lay, and held it out to him.

"Yes, thank you." He grabbed a tangerine and watched Finn look at the other tangerine with interest. The princess also noticed this and handed the last tangerine to the other wolf.

"We need a fruit bowl for you all, Sophie. So that there are no growling stomachs," the princess decided as she placed the fruit bowl on the sink. "You should always have food on hand. And please, don't wait until I've eaten. Why don't we just have lunch and dinner together?"

"That wouldn't be right," the old lady objected.

We also have lunch when you're still in class...

"I don't care." She thought for a moment. "While we're at it. Tomorrow is Saturday. Take the morning off and sleep in. Sunday mornings too. You need a break. I could have lunch in the dining room with the other students, then you don't have to worry about lunch."

"Oh. No! No!" Sophie looked shocked. "That wouldn't be appropriate. When the princess eats in a simple dining room. But I like to sleep in."

Julia smiled. She smiled a lot. "Good. Then we'll do that on the weekends from now on. You sleep in. And please, eat with me and take fruit in between when you are hungry. Whether it should be allowed or not. Do you like the work here?"

What should Marko answer to this? The truth?

"The gardeners called Marko a pooch. And worse. They also threatened us," Leopold replied, taking the decision away from him.

Finn looked up startled. The younger wolf had turned pale. Marko felt the need to protect him. He wouldn't let the gardeners near him...

"Insulted?" The princess also looked frightened. "I'll complain about it on Monday. They have no right to insult you. Sophie?" The princess looked shocked at the old lady. "I don't want them to continue helping out in the garden. Not if it is impossible to deal with them."

 

Julia

 

Julia was horrified. Their servants had been insulted. It was terrible.

Just as terrible as her first lessons in magic.

After dinner, which she had eaten together with her servants, she let herself fall tired on her bed.

The lesson in magic was boring. So far, there had only been theory. It was about developing a feeling for one's own limits and about the three different talents and how they were used. Healers worked mainly in hospitals, or as military doctors. Occasionally, they also worked in research. Witches and wizards who could use manipulative magic worked in research, the military, and other professions... There were particularly many opportunities here. Strictly speaking, all witches and wizards were free to choose their profession, but depending on their magical talent, certain professions were more attractive than others.

For seers, there were no suitable occupational fields tailored to their talent, as the gift was difficult to control. Experienced seers could intentionally see in a certain direction, but they did not influence what they saw. Some could only see in one direction: the past, the present, or the future. It was possible to head for a certain point in time, but what seers saw exactly they did not influence.

Her teacher had focused on the possible work in the hospital, the military, and in politics. As an example, she had taken the current uprisings in the territory of the elves, which were only controlled by soldiers.

Julia didn't like it at all.

She really did not like it.

If there are riots, it means that something is wrong. More soldiers can't be the solution, can they?

She thought of the three servants whose lives now depended on her. For the rest of her life.

These binding spells should be banned. This form of servitude should be banned! And why all this? Because there was once a war for the fertile land by the sea, for mineral resources? A nonsensical war that we witches and wizards have won? None of this can be right... But what can I do? Nothing.

She was just a sixteen-year-old girl who happened to be a princess. And a seer.

I will protect the three. This is something I can do.