The next morning Aletta's voice woke up William. Sleepily, he opened his eyes and slowly rolled over until he felt the sun's rays on his skin. He listened to the voices of his friends for a few minutes before he woke up properly and sat up. He realized with surprise that he had been sleeping in Cale's bed. With the will of the Gods, he could not remember how he had ended up here. Last night he had talked with his brother for quite a long time, until at some point Philippa and Ben had returned from their little excursion, politely greeted Crown Prince Edward, and then left them alone. Ben had only casually mentioned that they had been watching some duels of mages, but where and how it had come to that he had not elaborated.

Sluggishly, William straightened up from the soft bed and strode into the adjoining bathroom before realizing that he had slept in Cale's borrowed clothes. Carefully, he removed them and placed them in a basket in the corner of the room. Sullenly, he rubbed water on his face and looked at his reflection. His hair was a mess, his eyes narrowed, and he felt that slowly the first whiskers were beginning to sprout. With a yawn, he went back to the guest room and put on some fresh clothes before noticing a delicious smell of food and followed it into the kitchen.

"Good morning", Ben announced with amusement as William came down the stairs, but William in turn counted the people present, who also greeted him. Cale was standing at the counter, already preparing something that smelled reall good, while Philippa and Ben were already seated at the set table and Aletta was pouring hot water into two cups, presumably for her favorite tea. William's gaze for a few moments remained fixed on Aletta. She was wearing the same dress as last night, but a white fur coat over her shoulders that he was unfamiliar with.

"At what time did you get back yesterday?" inquired William curiously. Aletta, who held a transparent jug in her hand, looked at him in surprise.

"Me? I just got back. I spent the night with my father", she explained to him and motioned William to take a seat as well. The prince's gaze wandered to Cale, who was watching the small fire in front of him with high concentration.

"And you Cale?"

"I didn't pay attention to the time, but it was very late at night", Cale replied without giving his friend a glance. William could only remember that his brother had fallen asleep sitting on the couch and had covered it with a blanket instead of waking him up. It seemed rude to him. But when he realized that his brother was still the crown prince of Sylve, he felt queasy. He therefore decided to lie down in the entryway as well, with the plan that Edward would wake him when he woke up. Presumably, however, Cale had found the two of them when he returned. Though that didn't explain how he had ended up in Cale's bed and where his brother was now.

"You were going to tell us about the arena", Aletta prompted the High-Magician, who seemed to remember the conversation again and looked up.

"Oh yes, that's right. The arena. It's only been around for a few years, don't ask me who came up with the glorious ideas. In any case, it is not an official part of the city. The High-Magicians refuse to recognize the part, but do nothing to dissolve it either. Who knows, maybe they participated once themselves and hid it", Cale explained with a laugh, withdrawing mana from the fire crystal before putting the breakfast on a plate and then placing it in the center of the table. Wordlessly, Aletta handed him one of the cups of tea, which he gratefully accepted and pushed to his seat. William did not know the dish and looked at it silently for a while.

"Stop looking so skeptical and just eat it", Cale urged the man, taking a piece of the soft, roundish, bread-like food. The others did the same, thanking him for the food and biting into it before getting tears in their eyes because it tasted so good. "I honestly haven't read up on it much, but I'm sure Yusuf could help you better on that. Unfortunately, all I know is where to register if you want to participate."

"You want to fight again?", replied William in surprise as he tasted as well.

"Doing nothing is boring in the long run", Philippa interjected, before Ben explained the whole story to him.

"Aletta's father told her to stay in town for now. They're sending some representatives from their village to Altona for support, and Aletta's been asked to keep an eye on what's going on."

"I see. So we're basically jobless right now", William replied, letting his gaze wander to Cale, who seemed visibly unhappy about the situation. Did it bother him that they would stay in town, or why did he show such a reaction? "And they're leaving you here alone?"

"Ah, no. My fiancé is staying here too", Aletta explained, while William was about to finally eat something. At the same moment, however, Cale snorted in surprise and unintentionally slapped his tea on his face, causing William to turn in his direction in irritation. It looked like he had burned himself on the hot tea. "That just reminded me... I still owe you some money."

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"You're engaged?", was Philippa's only call, ignoring the second statement.

"Ah, yes. I hadn't told you that at all. I'm engaged to Miguel Heriog, son of the first chief Heriog."

"Aren't you a little young for that?", William asked quietly, as he caught Cale listening with interest to Aletta's words.

"Yes, I agree that I'm too young for a marriage. My parents disagree, unfortunately", the healer confessed, which silenced everyone present at the table.

"Where is Miguel now?", inquired Cale after a few moments of silence, while he dried his face and carefully took a sip of tea. Even if he didn't say it openly, it struck William that he was clearly thinking more on the subject than he was showing, which astonished William. Hadn't it been Cale who had known all along that Aletta was engaged?

"I don't know, probably with my father?"

"Are you...", William lifted cautiously before pausing for a moment to consider his words carefully. "Did you run away this morning?"

Surprised, three pairs of eyes looked at him while Aletta pouted at her food.

"Maybe", she finally admitted, ending an oppressive silence before Cale had to start laughing. A moment later, Philippa joined in, too, and eventually the whole table giggled.

"Guess we'll have to protect you for a while. We don't know what makes this fiancé tick", Philippa gave in with a laugh, causing Aletta's eyes to grow wide. A smile also broke out on her face before she agreed to the statement in an officious manner. The five of them laughed for a few minutes longer before finally eating breakfast together. They talked for a while about Miguel Heriog, though it was mostly Cale who asked some questions of the healer.

After they finished, they cleaned up the kitchen while Aletta went to her room to freshen up. Just as she was coming back down the stairs, Cale suddenly paused in his movement.

"We're going to have a visitor", he announced almost threateningly, making Aletta abruptly nervous.

"Please don't tell me it's my father."

"I don't think so", Cale admitted, as he stepped out of the kitchen and headed toward the front door. His four guests unobtrusively hurried after him, watching the situation from a distance. Even before there was a knock at the door, the High-Magician opened it and looked into the surprised face of Edward, who was caught in mid-motion.

"Ed?", uttered William in astonishment, which made his companions wince in horror. Three soldiers had accompanied him to the room and a young female mage also stood beside them. For a moment, the men didn't seem to realize why William was greeting the crown prince so disrespectfully, until they realized who had appeared behind the door.

"Good morning, the visit came a little sooner than I expected", Cale replied politely, opening his door wider with the intention of letting the crown prince enter. The intention behind it was also recognized by Edward, so he thanked him and entered the room. His companions greeted Cale politely and followed him, but remained standing on the sidelines, silent, as if they were not present at all.

"Morning. As a matter of fact, I'm not here for the books. I had stolen from you unintentionally yesterday and I'm just returning my stolen goods", Edward reported, turning a bit to the side. One of the soldiers stepped forward and wordlessly handed Cale his coat. Politely, Cale thanked the soldier and Edward before remarking with amusement that he hadn't even noticed.

"Are you leaving today?", reported William nervously, stepping up beside Cale, in his shadow stood Ben, silently surveying the proceedings.

"No, father and I are leaving tomorrow", Edward quietly volunteered, as if the fact did not particularly please him. William was about to remark something else, but paused. Noticing the reaction, Cale briefly pondered whether to say anything in response, but Crown Prince Edward had seen it as well. "Why do you ask?"

William hesitantly looked around nervously at the girls behind him, who were silently listening to what was going on, and then at Cale. Invitingly, Cale raised his hand and indicated to him to voice his question, because that was the main reason why he had deliberately forgotten his coat yesterday. But William remained silent. He didn't want to bother his brother; after all, he probably had to be pretty busy than to spare time for him.

"I just wanted to inquire", William finally admitted, looking down at the floor, which caused Cale to sigh loudly. Surprised, those present turned to look at Cale, who just shook his head, disappointed in William's backtracking. Why was he even bothering if his efforts were just going out the window? Was it so hard for William to ask a simple question of his brother?

"Please excuse me", Cale politely spoke up. "What Prince William really wanted to ask is if you would have the time and inclination to walk around town with us today."

"Cale!", uttered William quietly, puzzled, but the magician did not respond to his exclamation. Hesitantly, therefore, William looked at his brother, who seemed a little embarrassed.

"I'd love to, but Father said I'm not allowed to move around town without personal protection and a mage", Edward replied, rubbing his arm regretfully. He, too, would like to spend a little more time with his brother, but he didn't dare force himself on him. King Leonhardt had therefore literally told him to bring the coat back personally so that he could talk to William.

While everyone had a depressed look on their faces, Ben was the only one who didn't really understand the situation. He stepped up to Cale's side without comment and raised his hand as if presenting a valuable product.

"Personal security and a mage", Ben merely gave the word, which is why Cale turned to the tall swordsman in surprise and, after several moments of silence, had to start laughing.