I met with my friends in the lab. We had plans to work on more Iron Beaks today.

“So, what was the meeting with the headmaster about?” Helena asked.

“I met the princess.” I answered.

My friends stared at my face. Probably waiting for a sign that I was joking. But I just stared back.

“Wait… You are serious?!?” Helena exclaimed.

“Yes. She was in Erik’s office.” I confirmed.

“Tell us everything!” Cassei said.

I told them about the whole conversation. They all listened intently.

“Wow.” Skadi said. “That is a lot to take in. We are all going to meet the princess…”

“This is amazing! This ball will be great!” Helena cheered.

“Oh no! If mom finds out she will be insufferable. She will give me a list of things I should talk about, or something stupid like that.” Cassie said.

“At least she will be happier with us being your teammates, right?” I said.

“Hm. Hard to say. She will enjoy the prestige but she does not exactly agree with the royals. She wants closer ties to the Ashfields. Then again, who knows?” Cassie mused.

“I guess I am going to have to deal with a lot more politics…” My ears drooped as I came to that realisation. If I was formally introduced to the nobility by the princess…

I felt something lick my left ear. I guess Nyx was trying to cheer me up. Or she was hungry and wondered how my ear tasted. You never knew with cats.

“Oh yeah, I guess we all are going to be dragged deeper into politics.” Helena said. “This will get the attention of all ducal families.”

“But are they even going to be there? Florence is an Ashfield, Leo is a Harold and Archibald is a Winston. Do the other ducal families have someone at the academy?” I wondered.

“Not as a first year, at least.” Helena said.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

“The Barkworths should have no one. I don’t think the Paytons have one either. Coltons? Maybe.” Cassie said.

“Would that stop them from showing up anyway?” Skadi asked.

“Now that is a good question.” Helena said. “If Princess Olivia is here, you could argue they would feel slighted if they are not invited to such an event. And if she wants to introduce Koyuki…”

“Do you think there will be news on the field trip incident?” I wondered.

“Oh. You think they will use this event for more announcements? Maybe.” Helena shrugged. “It would depend on what they have discovered.”

“I could see her mentioning Ilestria. Talk about a common enemy to reduce the infighting of the dukes.” Cassie mused.

Something occurred to me. “Wait! Will announcing me not provoke Ilestria? How will they handle a necromancer with the potential to become an archmage?”

“Don’t they already know anyway?” Skadi wondered.

“Well, if they are behind the attacks, sure.” Helena said. “But that has never been proven. At least as far as we know. It could be that the investigator found new information. Maybe that is why she wants you in the public eye. If Ilestria already knows, let our people know too.”

“It could still provoke an attack. It would be official confirmation and would make it a lot easier to rally their troops.” Cassie said. “What are the odds that she wants to provoke a war?”

“Um. Surely she would not do that, right?” I asked.

Cassie shrugged. “Who knows?”

“I would not go that far.” Helena said. “I would expect Ilestria to try more subtle means first. Like assassins. Maybe we should bring the Iron Beaks to the ball!”

“I don’t think they are good at fighting assassins. It’s not like they are intelligent enough to spot them.” I pointed out.

“It would be cool though. Imagine they are waiting for you to use the bathroom. Then they follow you, blade in hand. They open the door…” Skadi said.

“And all they see is an undead chicken. Boom!” Cassie finished the thought. She even mimicked an explosion with her hands. They both grinned at each other.

“That is not a realistic scenario. Why would an Iron Beak be waiting in the bathroom? And how would I escape the explosion?” I pointed out.

“Details.” Cassie waved off my concerns.

“It would be cool though.” Skadi said.

Helena nodded.

“I think Nyx will be my guardian. And possibly the draugr. We still have not named him.” I said.

“Well, we know his name used to be Frank.” Skadi said.

“Hm. Yeah, we focused really hard on the Iron Beaks.” Helena admitted. “Something cooler than Frank would be nice. Especially if he accompanies us to the ball.”

“I still think we should bring some Iron Beaks.” Cassie said. “Maybe we can put some into the carriage!”

“Would it not look like we are planning something bad? You know, because of the explosives…” I worried.

“Nah. You got a licence for your undead. And there will be a lot of mages who could create far bigger explosions. Remember Irene against the spiders?” Cassie said.

“Maybe I should train my defensive spells some more…” I mused.

“Never a bad idea. But you are getting pretty good at the water shield. Have you experimented with turning it into ice?” Helena asked.

“Yeah. Ice makes it easier to block solid things, like swords. But my main version still uses water.” I said. I was currently washing some chicken bones. But I formed an ice shield above my head. It would be good training. Nyx started licking it.

“I have learned the first water based heal!” Skadi said. “But it’s only good enough for minor scratches…”

“Nice! I am struggling with that one. Can you help me with it?” Helena asked.

“I am sure Nyx wants to help too.” I said.

“How would that work?” Helena asked.

“Well, she can provide the scratches so you have something to heal…”

“Meow!”

Helena looked thoughtful. “Sure.” She took a step away from the chicken bones she had been cleaning. Then she sat down and held out her arm.

Nyx stopped fooling around with the ice shield above my head. Then she jumped to the floor and walked towards Helena and scratched her, slightly. Skadi started explaining the heal and demonstrated it. Nyx watched, ready to help some more.