The next day passed surprisingly quickly as we prepared what we needed to be sure no one could harm Reginald and his family. The third day, on the other hand, passed in sudden spurts and impossibly slow seconds. Just as it reached the time when I figured we had disappeared, Alvis showed up.

“He’s coming,” he warned, but there was a cruel smile on his face.

“Are you certain?” Reginald asked.

“I am. As soon as he discovers he cannot access the Pavilion, his only hope is to steal your artifact while he still has a chance,” Alvis replied, “Time has not passed for him so he will have no idea that we have been preparing for him.”

Even though this was the first time that Reginald had seen Alvis, he accepted his presence without batting an eye. Now that I had met Yuki, they did have a similar feel to them. It was something I felt like I should have noticed right away. Then again, no one would expect the first prince of Beraud’s butler to be the founding headmaster.

Osmond showed up then, breaking my train of thoughts. He saw Alois and I but played it off remarkably.

“Reginald, it seems there was a misstep in the Pavilion. I should not have let them use it,” he said, his voice full of urgency, “They started talking to someone who wasn’t there and vanished just after flying into a rage and attacking me. I think we both know they would never act like that. I suspect a rather thorough curse.”

“You wish me to check?” Reginald asked.

“Please,” Osmond said, “I try not to pick favorites but those two have made a special place for themselves and I don’t want to lose them.”

“Interesting,” Alvis broke in, smiling at Osmond as if he were some sort of a mildly amusing clown, “So that is the story you decided on. Perhaps not the most believable but easy to fake and once you plant your evidence nothing they claim about your plans would hold up. However, you made one vital mistake.”

“Reginald, is this man an acquaintance of yours?” Osmond asked.

“My apologies,” Reginald said and gestured to Alvis, “This is Alvis, the Founding Headmaster of Tethia. I have personally confirmed it with the Founding Head Magician.”

“An absolute horror to meet you,” Alvis told Osmond, “I am sure you must have realized this by now, but no one can hide something that happens in my Pavilion from me. I also have plenty of evidence, and I had plenty of time to present it. I know about you consorting with Gaia, and I know about your little escape route. I took my time to make sure none of the neighboring countries would accept you.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“The magic you collected has also been released,” Queen Levina announced as she stepped in with several of the shadow guards in her wake, “I do not appreciate you using one of my secret rooms for something so vulgar as treason.”

“It was an interrogation room. Vulgar things were meant to be done there,” Osmond growled, clearly realizing that there was no point to pretend any longer, “As for treason, I only took magic from the Pavilion, as was my right as Headmaster.”

“Only?” Alvis asked, “Oh my, then you are in trouble. I am starting to wonder if you didn’t know.”

“Know what?”

“You see, I don’t like rats touching what is precious to me so I set up a few traps here and there,” Alvis explained, “One of those traps just happened to be that those who killed in the Pavilion would be permanently banned and lose everything they gained there. Everything. They. Gained. There. Surely you have an inkling of what that means?”

Osmond paled. “You must be out of your mind! I will die!”

“You spent that much time there, did you?” Alvis mused, “Don’t worry. It will not happen instantly. I would say you have at least a week before it takes full effect. Of course, I can stop it, but you should give me a very good reason to do so. Do you have one, traitor?”

I felt chills from the cold look Alvis was giving Osmond. For a moment I almost believed that my life was the one being threatened, not his.

Osmond’s mind was racing at a fast pace as he tried to think of anything he could possibly offer to someone as ancient as the Founding headmaster. “I have nothing I can offer you,” he mumbled at last. He looked defeated as the last drop of hope seeped out of him.

“Oh? The right answer? I am surprised,” Alvis said, “I will give you one more chance, but it is up to you to take it. The Pavilion can take your memories instead of your life, but I cannot guarantee there will be anything left when it is done.”

Osmond grimaced slightly but remained silent.

“Here are your two options. You can choose to be executed. You will have a nice quick death before your life is drained away. You can also choose to forget everything. However, if you do you will have neither knowledge nor magic to help you, and you will not be able to go much of anywhere until people start to forget your folly. If I am giving you a second chance, I don’t want someone to end it instantly. What do you choose?” Alvis asked.

Osmond closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “I choose death,” he replied, strength back in his voice, “I would rather die than live such an empty and hopeless life. It never occurred to me that there would be such consequences for spilling blood in the Pavilion but I should have known. The perfect crystal surface of that water was not something that should be tainted by something as dirty as blood.”

Queen Levina gestured for the guards to collect Osmond, but as they started to take him away he glanced back at Alois.

“I really did like you and think of you as my most prized pupil,” he told him, “You will make a fine headmaster, better than any of the others. Never doubt that.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you,” Alois growled.

Osmond gave a wry smile. “I suppose not.” Then he was led away.

“That settles that,” Reginald sighed, “Hopefully the aftermath won’t be too much of a headache. Alvis, could I ask you to step in as Headmaster until we find a replacement?”

“Of course,” Alvis replied.

I felt a moment of relief that things were over before I remembered something. “Alvis, can I call the others and return to the Pavilion?” I asked, “There is something I need to do there.”

“Of course,” Alvis told me, “You will likely be very busy soon and you should certainly warn the others.”

“Thank you,” I said with a relieved smile and headed for the door.