Seth watched Booth talk to the woman in the hair wrap. She was looking damper now than before, but still not drippy.

He started to think about what they would need to do once they had proof. Talk to the authorities? What would they do? Seth thought about how he was shut out of trying to help Saben. That was very likely to happen again, probably more forcefully too.

He didn't think talking to the Circle Tower would be of any use. It would just tip off whoever was sabotaging the Tower.

Should they tell Blaise's parents? Blaise would want to confront the woman. Seth could see that going badly. They might get the breakthrough they needed, or the woman might end up dead.

Whatever they did, they had to be careful about it. Benjamin could probably give Seth some decent advice here. Mau might have some ideas too.

What would happen after that?

Booth came over to Seth. "I asked her if the bracelet on the ground over there was hers. I figured she'd go check."

And she did. She was next to the wall now, looking under a table. The closest person to her was more than twenty feet away. Seth signaled Mau.

White powder fell from the window in a cloud and billowed out as it fell. When it reached the brazier, it exploded.

"What the fuck!" Booth yelled, as both of them ducked and ran.

Seth didn't know what he'd expected, but it wasn't that. Mau had told him that she set up a fire distraction, and he knew she couldn't cast spells, so he thought it would work for what they wanted.

This was overkill. It wasn't like a fireball spell. Instead of a condensed concentration of fire, it was an explosion of flame that burst out wherever the dust was. The dust all burned away in an instant and left behind only ash.

Bubble shields were going up all over, people were running and yelling, and then the Palace Wizards were there.

Seth looked at the mayhem. The braziers had been overturned in the explosion and were lighting the tablecloths on fire. The wyvern ice sculpture had cracked but survived, and there were a few spots of fire in the grass. Most people had stopped running and were looking around now.

The woman in the hairwrap was covered in a thin layer of water. It worked.

"Go get the gulliant, and get it back in its case so it doesn't get contaminated," Seth told Booth. He glanced up at the window, but Mau was nowhere to be seen. Then he felt four little prickles in the familiar link.

Mau needed help.

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I watched as the Princess scanned the room. The second time her eyes looked directly at me and then skimmed right past I realized she couldn't actually see me through all the junk piled between us.

I held perfectly still, hoping my silver leopard camouflage worked on stone window ledges.

She crouched down and looked under furniture and beneath the sheets. "I know I heard a chicken."

There was noise from the hallway, and from outside. "Ugh, I'll deal with you later," she said, and left the room. I heard the door lock.

Heh. I won't be here when you get back!

Careful to avoid being seen from outside, I took a peek into the garden. Yup, absolute mayhem. I love it.

I hopped down from the window and listened at the door. I heard the Princess talking to someone. It didn't take long for them to leave.

I pushed the door. I heard it unlock, but it didn't move. Uh, what?

Mine is the master ring. This door should open. I pushed a little harder. Nope. It ain't budging. Can I pull it? Nope. This time I heard the knob rattling.

I lay flat so I can see under the door. The crack was narrow enough that I couldn't actually see out, but I could see the shadow of chair legs.

The Princess stuck a chair under the knob to block the door. And my amazing, fantastic, magical ring, can't unlock a chair.

I knew I should have done more testing with this thing. I had wondered where the limits were. Locks? Latches? Bars? How much can it actually affect? Does weight matter? Type of lock?

Eh, it's all burnt strudel right now. I can't move the chair, and I can't open the door. I glanced over at the window. Normally I'd just climb out that way, but I kinda generated a shit storm out there, and that wouldn't be safe.

Ah fuck. I poke a paw with my claw to signal Seth I need some help. While I wait, I'll see if there is anything interesting in all this junk. Might as well make my ring copy too. And I'll give that ring as much oomph as I can, so it lasts as long as possible.

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Seth trotted along the hallway. This area was restricted from guests, but there was a servant area connected to it from the floor above. But it was a long way around, and it took several minutes for him to get to where Mau was.

He could feel Mau behind a door blocked with a chair. Moving the chair was easy, but the door was locked, too.

"Mau, I'll be right back with Booth," Seth whispered.

He glanced up and down the hallway before heading back. He noticed a section of the wall that normally didn't have a door was open.

Seth couldn't resist looking in the open wall. He'd had no idea there was a room here. It had always been sealed when he lived here. For it to be open, during a party no less, was baffling to him.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Inside, Princess Lily was staring at a display case. Seth was overcome with a lot of complicated emotions that he couldn't really identify. She had been an important friend. He wasn't supposed to talk to her. He also knew she didn't value him the same way. He approached quietly, too curious to stay away.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the Princess said, her tone inviting. She didn't glance at him but continued to study the display. When Seth stood next to her he realized she could see his reflection on the glass case.

"The regalia of the Flower Empress. I didn't realize her regalia set was here," Seth said.

The regalia were the most powerful magical tools used by the Empress. Within the case was a mannequin wearing a jeweled circlet, a form fitting white coat made with metallic fabric that had embroidered sigils in gold thread, bracers that looked like snakes coiling around its forearms, and plain black boots. Beside it was a sword that niggled at Seth's memory, and a tall crystal staff. There were rings on each hand and a delicate necklace of golden flowers.

"This represents most of it. She was absolutely amazing. Long lasting peace and prosperity, magic innovation, social progress. No ruler before or since has come close to her accomplishments." The princess watched him in the glass. "Too bad she was a demon."

"She was. It wasn't prosperous for everyone, and peace was a matter of opinion. I'm sure the Empire's conquests would disagree."

"Sad how that worked out."

Of all the people for the Princess to become a fan of, this one was unexpected. "Her regalia is beautiful. It's amazing that the whole set is here in Rosia."

The Princess hummed in disagreement.

Seth glanced at her in surprise. "Are there more pieces of the regalia?"

"Not really. All the best pieces are here except the black cape. Too bad they are all fakes."

"Fakes?" Seth glanced around the hidden vault. There were many more weapons and items in here, and it looked like a fortune in magic. Was everything fake?

"I'm not sure about the rest of that, but the regalia is fake. I don't know if my parents know. It's possible these were replaced decades or even centuries ago."

Seth wondered how she knew. "They look like the real ones I've seen in books."

"There's no point in making fakes that look fake, silly." Princess Lily smirked at him.

"I know that. I guess what I'm trying to ask is how can you tell they're fake?"

The Princess stepped to the side of the glass case and did something behind it. A moment later the front plate of glass turned translucent blue. Princess Lily then reached through the glass and pulled a ring off the mannequin's finger.

"Woah," Seth said. He automatically reached to touch the blue glass.

Princess Lily's hand shot up and grabbed his wrist. "Nope, don't touch. The security on the case is still there. I only turned it off for me."

"Oh, sorry." Seth pulled his hand back. "I'd never seen that before."

Princess Lily nodded and held up the ring. It was reddish gold and looked like a circle of flame. "Do you know what this is?"

"The Empress could shape and manipulate fire, and bestow fire based powers to people nearby." It occurred to Seth that the powers granted worked a lot like talents. The Empress had the ability to grant temporary fire talents with this ring.

"That's right. This whole city was built to counter that power. The blue thatch that doesn't burn, and greystone buildings that wick away heat. To this day people don't build with wood here."

"Of course not. We get wyverns every year that would burn the place down."

Princess Lily blinked. "That's right," she said and looked down at the ring. Seth didn't know why that would surprise her.

"Here," she said abruptly, and tossed the ring at him. Seth fumbled a little bit, but caught it. "Go on, try to use it."

Seth had no idea how to use the ring. The Princess surely knew that. So instead he cast Detect Mana on it. It contained no magic power.

"Did you just cast a spell on it?" Princess Lily demanded. She looked him up and down. Dressed as a servant, he supposed she would be surprised at his ability to cast.

"Yes, and you're right. It has no power at all."

"Of course I'm right. Who taught you to use a mana vault at your age? Don't you know how dangerous that can be? If you were going to develop a talent, you'd stunt it."

"I have a talent, it already manifested."

"No you don't. That's not possible. You're too young." Princess Lily stepped closer, peering at him as though she was trying to see inside him.

"I do have a talent. It's a wind talent, see?" Seth summoned a tiny amount of wind.

"That's not how that works. You can't rush talents."

Why was she acting so weird about this? "Well, I do have a talent. I'm a student in Rosia Magic Academy, and I even have a familiar."

"Huh. How old are you?"

"You know how old I am Lily. My birthday is the day after yours," Seth said, and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, Your Highness," he corrected himself.

She wasn't offended, not that he expected her to be. "We know each other," she stated.

"We were friends," Seth said. "It was a couple of years ago, but I'm surprised you've forgotten me." She was different from how she was. Louder, more forceful. Growing up definitely made her more confident. Two years was a long time to a kid, so maybe it wasn't weird she'd forgotten. She must meet so many people as a princess.

Princess Lily gave him a sly smile. "And how much do you remember about me? If we were such good friends, you'd know where I hide my diary."

"Which one? The one you hide under your mattress for your mother to find, or the one you hide behind the loose stone in the mantle?"

She looked startled, then smiled happily at him. "That's right! We were friends!" She clapped her hands and looked him over. "Since we're friends, you can tell me what you did to activate your talent so young. Was it a ritual? An artifact? Could I do it?"

Seth glanced at the ring he was still holding. "I didn't do anything. I don't know why I have it early. The professors at school weren't all that surprised by it."

"Hmm. I suppose if they think you're just an outlier…" The princess tapped her lips. "I'm going to put together a private guard. I'm looking for talented and dedicated people. As my friend and a magical prodigy, would you be interested? I would be delighted to have you on board."

Live in the Palace again? Seth would love to! Be friends again? Also yes! But Seth had commitments, including a major one to Saben. "Would this be before or after I finish school?"

"I want only the best people. I have no use for dropouts."

"Then yes, after I finish school, I would definitely be interested."

"Excellent! I've tapped a few other people already. I'll send you an invite when I want everyone to gather. This is going to be fantastic."

A sound by the door made them both turn.

The foreign woman stood there, looking caught out. "Um, excuse me. I'm looking for a washroom or somewhere I can get changed," she said.

The Princess scowled at her.

"I can take you," Seth volunteered. He handed the ring back to the Princess. "If that's okay."

"Of course. You should introduce yourselves," the Princess said to them.

"I am Lady Hellena, Your Highness," the woman said and curtsied.

"I'm Seth, and I'll show you the way, Lady Hellena."

Princess Lily smiled happily at Seth as she escorted him out of the hidden vault. "Thank you, Seth." She nodded to the other woman. "Lady Hellena."

Lady Hellena was peering past the Princess when the vault door was shut in her face.