Effectively under house arrest, Elwin walked the hallway for a bit, but when the pacing did nothing meaningful for his thought processes, he went back to his and Prin’s room to check on him.

Prin was still sleeping like a log, at least this time his face was relaxed, clearly dreaming the previous day had never happened.

Elwin made sure the windows were latched and curtains firmly closed, before filling the water glass on the bedside table with cool water from the pitcher, and tucking the blankets in firmly around Prin. There was no reason to wake him, sleeping was as good a thing to do as any. At the moment.

Elwin went back to Valor’s room, peeking in to make sure he wasn’t disturbing anything, rather than knocking and ensuring it.

Aster was still against the mound of pillows, as pale as paper but with spots of vivid red on each cheek, her eyes were closed. Strands of indecently blood colored hair fanned out around her like it was trying to escape.

Valor had both black cats on his lap and was quietly petting them. His head was inclined toward the curtained windows, as though listening for danger, or contemplating what was going on in the world outside.

Elwin felt for him. His world was one of waiting, being comforted but also trapped by this house. And it was clear that with his personality, it chafed. What could be done for him?

“Hey.” Elwin said softly, not wanting to wake Aster.

“Oh, hey, you’re back again.” Valor said, the angle of his head changing subtly to incline in Elwin’s direction.

Elwin went over to his side of the bed and pulled up a chair. “Can’t sleep either?”

“No. I think I slept too much already.” Valor said. “I feel like I don’t need to lay around in bed anymore but the others – My father, are conspiring to keep me here. This,” He gestured in Aster’s direction. “Is just the latest excuse.”

“Everyone was so worried.” Elwin said.

Valor shrugged.

“I don’t think you realize how devastated everyone would be if something happened to you.” Elwin said. He had a sudden sense of de ja vu, having had similar conversations over the years with Prin.

“I’m bored.” Valor said.

Elwin looked around quickly, his eyes lighting on the corner of a book peeking out from under the side table. “I can’t sleep either. Should I read to you for a bit?”

“Sure.” Valor sat up a little and scooched closer to Aster, less weary of her now that she was peacefully sleeping.

Elwin did not take the invitation, instead retrieving the book and sitting back down in the straight backed wood chair beside the bed.

The book had a black velvet cover worn thin around the edges, and no trace of a title or author name. Elwin turned it over in his hands. “What is this?” he mumbled to himself.

“You tell me.” Valor said, keen ears picking up words not for them.

Elwin opened the cover and saw a diagram of a man held upside down on the center of a rack pins and blades, and weapons of all sorts sticking out of him.

“What the hell? Is this yours?” Elwin wondered. He turned the page to find the title, finally. “Dark Ways and Their Practice.”

Valor sat up straighter. “It is now.”

“You mean you don’t know how this got here?” Elwin asked.

“I could have drug it in from somewhere in the house.” Valor shrugged. “How would I know? You know how I feel about books. Or maybe it has to do with that mess that was in the corner.” He gestured in the vague direction of where a pile of unexpected clutter lay, with an old wooden crate. “I almost tripped over it.”

Elwin narrowed his eyes. “How long has that been there?” He could vaguely remember seeing it before, maybe yesterday but he was busy chasing a fairy at the time.

“Will you read already! I’m ready to learn.” Valor said.

“Shh shh shh.” Elwin looked over at Aster, who hadn’t stirred. He flipped through a couple more pages, filled with diagrams, illustrations, and small print, with handwriting and doodles all over the margins. “It’s not exactly the type of book it’s easy to read aloud . . .”

“Well describe it to me then.” Valor insisted. He settled in against the pillows hugging his cats to his chest like teddy bears.

“Okay.” Elwin wished he had never offered to read, now feeling like he had no choice. This book gave him a bad feeling up and down his spine, like they were the kind of words it was really better not to say out loud, lest you give them power.

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“The title page has a man upside down on a rack, being tortured by every kind of weapon or knife you can think of.” Elwin said.

“O-ooh, those kind of dark ways . . . Please continue.” Valor said.

Prin awoke confused and uncomfortable in his own skin. Where was he? And who was he? The absence of Elwin was conspicuous beside him. His anchor, the one who helped him through these moments and any other difficulties life had to offer.

So, at least he knew he was someone missing an Elwin. Prin used this to try to swim back to himself. Back to the moment at hand. The island, full of pirates and former pirates, and pretty girls, and giant parties that don’t end well, and fairies, and . . . witches that harm young boys in the name of grudges twice removed. Detectives. Dead detectives.

The prince set up straight in bed and rubbed his gritty eyes with his fists. It was dark in the room but he could still see that it was his and Elwin’s room in Captain Thompson’s house. His mouth was sticky and tasted bad. He drank all of the glass of water on his side table.

It was clearly night time, and hadn’t they arrived morning-ish? So he had slept a long time and anything could have happened in the mean time, while he was oblivious.

Prin crept out of the room as though he were sneaking away from himself and went toward Valor’s room, remembering now that’s where everyone was last he saw them. The house was quiet and felt late at night. He suddenly remembered everyone being in that drugged artificial sleep, and only he had seemed immune to it . . . Last night? The night before?

He started to feel the anxiety build up in his chest. What if it was happening again? He didn’t know he could handle any more at the moment. Anymore anything.

The door to Valor’s room was not quite closed, giving Prin a chance to peek inside before entering.

Aster was laying in bed, appearing dead to the world (hopefully just ‘to the world’, anyway), and Elwin was sitting in a chair reading to Valor.

Prin found it to be a pretty scene, and had to choke back tears for a moment. He didn’t feel like he belonged here, disturbing the peace, and hurting everyone he loved.

Yet here he was.

Prin stepped inside but hung in the doorway until Elwin looked up from his book.

Elwin’s eyes grew wide and he squeaked. “Prin!” As though he had been caught doing something he shouldn’t. He tossed the book onto the bed and stood up, opening his arms.

Prin felt the edge of his mouth turn up without his permission, and before he knew it he had moved forward until he was within Elwin’s embrace.

“How are you?” Elwin whispered into his hair.

“Okay.” Prin said without really thinking about it. Over Prin’s shoulder he could see Valor patting the bad beside himself. But the look he had on his face was different than usual, a considering look. Did he know?

Prin glanced at Aster, who hadn’t moved, and it didn’t seem that talking or moving around on their parts was likely to change that. “Is Aster alright?” He could hear the tearful shake in his own voice.

“Sure, of course.” Elwin said.

At the same time Valor said. “Who knows? Oh, but he took plenty of the pain medicine my father brought so I’m sure he’s going to be out for a while. If that’s what you mean. Sit down.”

Prin carefully sat down on the bed. Part of him hoped Valor was right and Aster would be asleep for a while, long enough for himself to come and go unseen.

Valor felt around, touching his knee at first, then his arm, before Prin moved his hand to collide with Valor’s questing fingers.

Valor took the hand and squeezed it. “What happened? Where you trying to kill Aster or . . . maybe it was all a horrible accident?”

When offered such a convenient out, Prin couldn’t take it. “How could someone do that by accident?” he asked.

“You tell me.” Valor said. “Why would you want to hurt Aster? I just want to know why?”

“There is no . . . there is no why.” Prin said. “It doesn’t work like that.” Hot tears began to drip down his cheeks and he could feel Elwin stiffen beside him, about to interfere on his behalf.

What difference did it make anyway?

Before Elwin could say anything, Prin’s other hand hit something on the bed, something kind of fuzzy and he could feel a scream rise in his throat. On edge.

It turned out it was just the book they had been reading, with an unexpected velvet cover. Prin picked it up and took a look. It didn’t take him a second to realize the apprentice witch must have left it behind. And it was clear she took her ideas from this manual of a sorts.

It seemed a lifetime ago, but Prin suddenly realized he had not had time to tell anyone what had happened with the witch. Didn’t they wonder where Mrs. Frances’s mysterious assistant had gone?

“Okay, Valor, I have to tell you about something.” Prin got suddenly happy again, a bubbly feeling in his chest, giddiness. He realized he was unstable at the moment and that was part of it, but at last there was a story with a happy ending to impart. “You know, Mrs. Frances’s assistant? Who’s name no one can seem to remember?”

“Who?” Valor asked.

“Mrs. Frances . . . has an assistant?” Elwin’s face scrunched in that cute concentrating way, and Prin could tell from the looks on their faces that they had no idea who or what he was talking about.

“Her name is Lissabet and I think she has done something to make you all forget about her, but she was here, and she was actually a witch. I’m pretty sure this is her book.” Prin waved the black book in the air, feeling it was proof of everything he was saying. He proceeded to tell Elwin and Valor all about his encounter with the imposter assistant and what she had been doing to Valor, in furtherance of the stale and fading curse. He told the story up to the point of her taking off in the boat, and him threatening her to never return.

Valor’s mouth hung open in astonishment. “Does this mean, I’ll be better? I can go places without the world falling apart around me the whole time?”

“This explains why you were outside in the middle of the night.” Elwin said thoughtfully. “And decided to go see Aster, because you knew she would be up in the wee hours?”

“Yes.” Prin said. “It will be gradual, I think. So don’t go doing anything crazy, and there still may be remnants of the original curse forever. I’m no expert though, we are taking her word for a lot, but it seemed to be true.”

Valor smiled. “I can’t believe this.”

Prin kissed the back of his hand. “You will have to be vigilant though, that she doesn’t return. Or another member of the coven.”

“I don’t understand one thing, though, If the curse wasn’t meant for me who was it meant for?” Valor asked.

Prin had tried to gloss over that part, leaving his father out of it. But Valor was a shrewd kid, and he supposed he suspected more then he let on.

“You’ll have to talk to your father. It’s time.” Elwin said.