Lydia, the head maid, stood directly behind my shoulder while I ate my breakfast in front of her.

  I had requested of Lord Gavin that I be able to meet the other heads of staff, and he had obliged readily. For the day, Lydia would be attending to me directly, which was fortunate as it would give Erika the opportunity to move more freely.

  "Would you like something to eat as well, Lydia?"

  Lydia shook her head.

  "I will eat from what remains after you are finished, my lady."

  I glanced, exasperated, at the full course meal that had been laid before me. Warm honey, bread, dried fruits, sausages, pies...

  I had barely managed to force myself to eat a bit of the honeyed bread and a single sausage.

  "I believe I'm done, then, Lydia."

  She nodded, and immediately a small flock of uniformed maids picked up the entire meal to remove it from my sight.

  "At least it won't be going to waste."

  "Lady Printemps, who would you like to meet first?"

  "Well, you, Lydia, of course, but shall we speak on the way to meet the head of the knights?"

  "Captain Harpe, then."

  She stepped briskly in front of me to open the door as we exited my bedroom.

  ---

  The whole way to the entrance hall, Lydia responded in a short, professional tone. It was difficult to get her to speak beyond what was absolutely necessary between us.

  The details of how the keep operated were not yet mine to know, but I did manage to learn where the servants' workrooms and quarters were before we were at the threshold to the yard.

  Lydia drew the strings on an absurdly large fur cape she had hung over my shoulders, and we stepped out into the snow.

  The knights, having been warned ahead of time by a runner, performed a set of drills for my benefit in front of their barracks.

  They were motioning stiffly with two handed practice swords, giving labored swings at each other's blades instead of their bodies.

  The snow was cold through my boots, and I let out a loud sigh as we approached.

  "I didn't come all the way out here to see them pretend to practice."

  Captain Harpe met us at the edge of the training area. He was a tall, gruff man, armored in heavy mail and multiple layers of hide and fur.

  "Good Morning, m'lady, I--" he began, but was cut off by a terse cough from Lydia.

  He gave a bit of a grumpy scowl, and remained silent.

  "Good Morning, Captain Harpe. I bid you speak freely."

  "Ahem. Good Morning, m'lady. I, Captain Harpe, am honored to make your acquaintance."

  "I am likewise pleased, Captain Harpe. Please, relax."

  We both stood awkwardly, watching his men run through their drills, and he did not relax.

  "What do noble ladies even talk about with knights... I want to ask them to show me their techniques, but wouldn't they find that odd?"

  After a few moments, Captain Harpe coughed. "So, ah, does my lady find any of them to her liking?"

  I twisted to look up at him.

  "To my... liking?"

  "Ah, many pardons m'lady. I had thought you were out here to select a personal knight."

  "Wait, that really happens outside of books?"

  "Is that a tradition of the Hiems? I admit, the Printemps family has no traditional knighthood."

  Captain Harpe relaxed a bit at that. "It's... common enough. Dangerous things happen around here, it never hurts to have someone sworn to your side. It's usually done for more... personal reasons, though. More often than not."

  With a motion of his hand, the men ceased their stiff work and trudged inside, into warmth.

  "Again, my apologies my lady, I made an unfair assumption. What were you here to see me, about?"

  "Why am I here? Erika! You should have given me a script!"

  "...My lady?"

  "... I had the fortune to see my fiancé, Adrian, participate in a spar with my older brother. I was hoping to see where he learned his art.'

  Captain Harpe's face suddenly became rather stiff.

  "Ah, of course. Lord Hiems did receive lessons here, as part of our order..."

  "May I see? I'm curious to see what it really looks like in action."

  "Of course, my lady."

  Captain Harpe led Lydia and I into the barracks, where I saw a large indoor practice ring off to one side and several packed dormitory rooms to the other. Several men were already warming up for the day, dressed in practice uniforms.

  None of them were in the group of men that had been outside.

  "Here's where we teach the new recruits. Elias, Dimitri. Give our guest a demonstration. First touch, best of three."

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  Two of the young men approached the circle, each of them wielding one of the Hiems style practice blades.

  Without need for any other signal, Elias and Dimitri began circling the center, their stances fluid and their weight pivoting easily from foot to foot.

  Each of them raised their blades, carefully bracing them with point forward to test each other's guards with sharp, fast cuts and thrusts.

  During one of these tests, Dmitri's blade was cast too low, and suddenly, Elias stepped forward and in with conviction before Dmitri could raise his blade back up.

  Unable to block in time, Dmitri instead retreated, but his footing was unsteady and Elias pressed his advantage, tapping Dmitri on the chest.

  Their first bout over, they returned to their starting positions for another go.

  The entire time, I only had one thing on my mind.

  "This controlled fencing has none of the brutality of Adrian's style, but I suppose he wasn't using a two handed blade at that time..."

  "Captain Harpe..."

  "Yes, my lady?"

  "Do you train in shorter blades at all?"

  "Ah, yes. The Hiems' style uses a two handed blade, but we do use a Guldenfel manual for one handed blades."

  I hesitated for a moment, considering the forceful beating Adrian had attempted to levy upon William.

  "That's a style that specializes in using the sword with a free hand, yes? Grabbing and wrestling are common?"

  "Ah, yes!"

  Captain Harpe looked delighted at my interest, and happily began to explain how they had incorporated it, and how happy he was to see the kingdom begin spreading a more standardized style among all the houses, even if that wasn't their intent.

  It pained me to interrupt him.

  "So, did Adrian have a separate tutor, then? This doesn't seem to match what I've seen."

  Captain Harpe's face sank once again, and he stiffened back up.

  "Yes... Well... Adrian insisted that he make some modifications of his own..."

  "... Modifications?"

  But Captain Harpe would say no more.

  "Then, how would you assess his skills?"

  The room grew a bit more quiet, and nobody spoke. Several men looked downcast, looking away from their Captain.

  Elias won the second bout, ending the match quickly, and he and Dmitri returned to their places.

  "Well, I wouldn't want to bother you any more on my account. Let us be off, Lydia."

  Captain Harpe quietly muttered his goodbye, his eyes firmly on the floor.

  After we had stepped out, I turned to Lydia.

  "Was there something odd with Adrian's training that I should know?"

  Lydia shook her head. "Not that I could say, my lady."

  "How carefully phrased..."

  ---

  On our way back to the keep, I saw Erika among the group of staff that were bringing the knights their lunch.

  She looked happy, and she was chattering away with one of the knights escorting them to the barracks.

  A hard lump caught in my throat.

  "I wonder which Erika is the real one."

  ---

  Dinner was a hearty stew of hardy vegetables and sausages.

  After setting aside our plates, Erika placed her hands on the table in front of her with forced, rote calm.

  "I have some news about Prince Darius."

  I shifted a bit. "And?"

  "He was kind, like you, and many people here miss him. Darius' name is well regarded, as a gentle and studious boy that treated everyone well."

  I cast her a confused glance, and began to ask why this was relevant, but she held up her hand to stop me.

  "The knights were especially fond of him. While he wasn't particularly interested in wielding the sword, he was still quite talented in it, and he idolized the romance of the personal knight. Not uncommon among children his age."

  "He was thirteen when he first arrived here. A year older than Adrian."

  "He was... well, a mage. I'm not sure of exactly which of the king's children he is, but magic runs strong in the Lombardi family, so a non-seventh mage wouldn't be surprising."

  "What I do know, however, is that his magic was... unique. It's something of a taboo, and so nobody would talk about it openly."

  "But I have a pretty good guess, based on the timeline we've put together. However, I'm not sure you'll like it. Do you want to know, even though it's just a hunch?"

  I lifted up my hands, still perplexed.

  "Why would someone else's magic bother me?"

  Erika carefully studied my face.

  "...Sophie, what do you think would happen if someone's deepest wish was to be someone else?"

  I put my hand to my forehead, rubbing it.

  "I'm not exactly a scholar, Erika, but I suppose it would start changing your body? Much like how my magic heals mine, a strong wish could change a lot. Especially since it starts at the age of seven."

  "But... Diana told me that simple wishes are stronger, and wanting to be a specific person would seem pretty complex to me."

  Erika gave me an intense look, still watching my reaction carefully.

  "Would 'I wish I were born a woman' be simple enough?"

  Suddenly, I felt my heart sink, and a lot of things fell into place at once.

  "A banished prince. Silver rabbits, and the Moonstone room. A taboo magic..."

  "So... what Lord Gavin meant when he said Prince Darius had been sent here to 'straighten him out'..."

  Erika nodded. "Prince Darius' family had noticed that his growth was quite unlike the other princes. He was sent here in an attempt to correct his... wish."

  I gripped my hand so hard that my palm began to bleed.

  "Why would that wish need to be corrected?"

  But I knew. I knew the sorts of things that Beatrice had told me. About how easily people like Char and Darius could become less than human to people like her.

  Erika reached out to put her hand in mine, to stop me from hurting myself.

  "Regardless, I think the timeline fits best if..."

  "If Diana used to be named Darius."

  "And Diana told me... that wishes can change over time."

  "And that magic won't ever completely change what it does but it can change."

  I suddenly became very, very angry, and focused as hard as I could on keeping my magic within me.

  "And it's not a hard jump, from the perspective of magic, to change from being born differently, to not being born at all."

  I pressed my face into my hand, hot tears streaming down my face.

  "It's such a personal wish, Erika. Why couldn't they just leave it be? What harm could her magic possibly have done to anyone?"

  "You and I both know that's not how they think."

  I shuddered, remembering something from long ago.

  "...They couldn't leave it alone because the wrong magic, in the wrong child, was of no use to them."

  I felt, for the first time in my life, that I hated someone.

  I hated Father, and the rest of the Printemps. I hated the Lombardis, both the King and the Queen, and everyone like them.

  I hated the Hiems, for not protecting Diana when she needed them.

  I hated myself for not having been there for her.

  For having naively accepted her kindness, and not understanding her pain, when she was just like me.

  A freak.