Nadine hadn’t actually been super worried about the picture thing; she just liked scaring Steve to see how he’d react. Besides, she had regular communication with Rachel at home, so she’d know instantly if something bad happened. Well, not instantly, since the letters were weekly, but the point was valid.

Nadine returned to her classroom and retook her seat. “What was that about?” Teresa whispered. “As soon as I showed you that picture, you immediately ran to the bathroom.”

She looked at Teresa, wondering just how much she could say. Teresa Liu was her closest Industrian friend, and she was pretty book smart and was interesting to talk to. “Oh, I thought that girl was someone I knew, so I went to ask,” said Nadine vaguely. “Turns out I was wrong.”

“Where’d you think you knew her from?” Teresa asked.

“Back home,” Nadine responded, taking care not to say too much.

“Oh, that makes sense,” said Teresa. “Where’d you say you were from, again?”

“Northern Canada,” Nadine responded. That was the stock answer she and Steve had come up with in case anyone asked. They were counting on the fact that no one knew enough about Canadian accents to pick up on the fact that her accent wasn’t Canadian, or even of that world. So far, there hadn’t been a problem. Their backup plan was to say she was from a place called Saskatchewan if someone questioned it.

“Oh, so that’s why you were complaining about the lack of snow and cold weather!” Teresa exclaimed. “You’re a northerner, so you’re used to snow.”

“Well, now you know!” said Nadine, not going further into it.

“So, who’d you think she was?” Teresa asked.

“My adoptive sister. She’s pretty private, so I’d hate for people to spread rumors about her.”

“Well, she’s not the one people are spreading rumors about,” Teresa replied, checking her phone under the table. She had one of those bracelets that projected the phone screen on the back of your hand, which Nadine had to admit was pretty cool, although she thought all the technology people had was cool, so that didn’t mean much. “Your friend Steve basically became a celebrity in this school after all that stuff last fall. He was already pretty popular, but now he’s just given people more fuel to gossip about.”

“Yeah, he does that sometimes, where he doesn’t think before he acts. It’s fun to tease him about it.”

“You shouldn’t tease him about it!” Teresa exclaimed, taking care not to raise her voice too high. “It’s what makes him, well, him. He got his reputation for saving people from bullies, and if he’d thought before he acted, he might not have saved someone. It’s his superpower.”

“Superpower? Acting silly is a superpower?”

Teresa turned around and stared her down. “It’s not silly; it’s heroic! The first rule of hero worship is to never tease the hero for being himself! You praise him so he’ll do it again!”

Nadine was quite confused now. “I’m sorry, but what exactly is hero worship?”

Teresa opened her mouth, but she suddenly realized what she’d said and went bright red. “Look, it’s not anything important. It’s just…you’re friends with him, right?”

“Of course. Why do you ask?”

“Well…” she looked at her hands, her face red. “Do you think I could meet him? Not today, but at some point?”

“I think I can do that,” Nadine smiled. Glancing at the board, where the teacher had just written up an announcement, she asked, “What did I miss while I was out?”

“Oh, there’s going to be a Valentine’s Dance,” Teresa said. “There’s going to be two dances: one for middle schoolers and one for high schoolers. It’ll be fun to stand outside the doors and make fun of all the popular girls in their stupid, frilly dresses.”

“Valentine’s…” Nadine thought. It wasn’t a holiday she’d heard of, but from the way Teresa was talking about it, it was common knowledge. Almost immediately, Steve’s transferred knowledge kicked in and she learned what it was. “You don’t wish to attend a romantic dance?” she asked Teresa.

“Nah, I hate social events. Besides, I’m the nerdy Asian girl, so no guys will ask me. Guys our age are immature anyways, so it’s not worth it.”

Nadine, on the other hand, was actually pretty excited. Boys had called her ‘cute’ before, which was probably a good thing, right? Back home, she hated parties and social events because they were boring and packed with adults, but with other people her age, it might actually be fun. The dance itself was in two weeks, though, so there wasn’t any need to think about it too much right now. A lot could happen in two weeks.

XXX

Later that day, after all the classes had let out, Nadine did her usual Friday afternoon routine and headed to pick up Rachel’s weekly letter. The letters were sent through a Portal to Industria, where they were then enchanted to fly to a specified location in the town for Nadine to pick up. At least, Nadine thought it worked that way; Rachel had been kind of vague on the specifics. The location she’d picked was on a stump by the treeline out back of the school, a place Nadine had selected due to its proximity to the school and because it was isolated from the sports facilities. Steve never went with her because that would spread silly rumors around, so she always picked up the letters and met up with him later. Steve had disappeared somewhere once the bell had rung anyways, so she didn’t know where he was at the moment.

All the previous letters had been pretty routine, just talking about how the relations between the Marisian Kingdom and the former Callistian Empire were slowly improving, hampered somewhat by the fact that a small area of the Empire on the Marisian border planned to form its own kingdom. Nadine’s older brother Paul had found work as a city guard rather than regaining his old army post, but Nadine didn’t really know whether that was a good thing or not. He’d been through a lot, and she doubted he would ever fully recover.

The problem right now was that the letter today had little, if any, good news.

Dear Nadine,

A lot has happened since my last letter one week prior. I mentioned then that there was an ongoing sickness in the city, and it has only gotten worse since then. So far it is confined to Robertston alone, but we have made little progress in finding its source or treating it, so it is likely to spread. James of Honila, a member of the Marisian Council, suggested that it may potentially be Industrian in origin, since there were four Industrians within our walls within the last four months. I do not know if this is true, since neither I nor Captain Mark have been affected and we were around them a lot, but it is an interesting idea nonetheless. The Council has approved a mission to send one of the afflicted to an Industrian hospital to see if they have a cure, but not all Marisians approve of this, chief among them being the House of Follis. Edmund Follis and his five sons have long been a thorn in our side, and I fear they may doom the kingdom if they don’t see reason.

There has also been another unfortunate event. As you know, the Container with the Emperor’s spirit was hidden within the Marisian Palace until we can figure out how to either destroy him or find some way to have him stand trial. Rather than put it somewhere public, such as the library or the treasury, I hid it within my own bedroom in a place no one has any reason to go. Two days ago, when I went to check on its location, it was missing. I suspect a servant for the theft, but there is a high chance that the thief has no knowledge of the Container’s contents. So until the empty or full Container is found, the entire city is on high alert. All citizens will be screened at the city and Palace gates to detect if their body has been snatched by a rogue spirit. We’ve never dealt with rogue spirits before, so we have to literally write the procedures as we go.

Nadine, I hope that in Industria, you are doing well there. Your letters to me show you are, and I hope that this will continue. I’m proud of you for being able to be yourself in Industria rather than having to endure stuffy palace life. I also have a request to ask of you. We need to send our sickened citizen to Industria and we need someone to ensure they receive Industrian medical care. So I would like to ask you and Steve’s family if they would be willing to accommodate this request. Whatever their answer, please respond within the day by the usual means.

Finally, if something funny or interesting happens, please inform me of it at once! I’m under quarantine in the Palace and I’m bored out of my mind!

Sincerely,

Rachel L. Hana

Princess of the Kingdom of Marisia

“Wow, she wasn’t kidding,” Nadine thought, skimming through the letter a second time. The part about the House of Follis wasn’t that big of a surprise, though. They owned the largest bank in the city, which they believed gave them the right to meddle in the kingdom’s affairs. They were all incredibly rude and pushy, and the oldest son, Donovan, had attempted to woo Rachel more than once in obvious power grabs for the throne, which usually ended with him running out of the Palace begging for mercy. He was a total slimeball, and Nadine couldn't stand him.

“Hey Steve?” Nadine asked silently, searching for Steve with her mind. One bad thing about Industria is that it was a lot harder to use magic there for some reason, so she always had to put a lot more effort into even the simplest magic to get it to work right.

There was silence for a moment as the connection got Steve’s attention. “What’s up?” he responded, sounding a little frustrated.

“I just picked up the letter, and there’s bad news. Really BAD. Where are you?”

“I’m talking with the guys in the parking lot,” Steve replied. “They won’t shut up about that picture from earlier, and I would love a distraction. Is the news really that bad?”

“Yes, it is,” Nadine replied, heading back towards the school. “I’ll be there in about five minutes.”

She quickened her pace after she disconnected, but because she was paying more attention to her conversation than where she was going, she walked right into someone and got knocked down on her butt.

Looking up, she saw one of her classmates looking down at her with a look of concern. “You OK?” the guy asked, offering her a hand.

“Yeah, thanks,” she replied, still dazed as she allowed herself to be pulled up. She recognized the guy, but she couldn’t remember his name. Then his name floated right into her head from Steve’s repertoire of knowledge: Bailey Smith. He was really smart, but never really spoke up in class much. “What are you doing out here?”

“Science class ran over,” he replied, with a bit of a lisp. He turned to walk towards the school, so Nadine joined him since she was heading the same way.

“Anything interesting?”

“We just went into the treeline to look at leaves. We had field guides and tried to look up the different kinds of trees by the leaves and bark. Then the teacher lost track of time.”

“Lame,” Nadine said. They were nearing the parking lot, so they split up and went their separate ways. The guy seemed nice enough, if a little odd.

When she came in view of Steve she saw, to her surprise, Steve talking to a girl. His guy friends were moving away from the two very slowly, clearly hoping to hear something interesting. When Nadine got close enough, she realized it was the girl that had given them a ride when they’d arrived in Industria. What was her name? Clarissa? That sounded close enough. She hadn’t had any interactions with the girl since then, so she had no idea what was going on. She did notice that the girl had taken the purple out of her hair from the last time she’d seen her. Now her hair was its natural color, mouse brown.

“Steve, are you listening?” Clarissa asked. Nadine, feeling cheeky, took cover behind a car to eavesdrop. “We’re having a rehearsal next week for the drama club and I was wondering if that girl staying with you wanted to try out.”

“Huh? Me?” Nadine thought.

“Have you asked her yet?”

“I was going to after school today, but she ran off before I got the chance. Her friends are all out front, and she’s not with them right now, so I was curious if you knew where she was.”

Steve knew full well where she’d gone, but he knew better than to tell Clarissa that. “Beats me,” he replied. “I could text her about it, if you’d like.”

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“Text who?” Nadine asked innocently, making herself known. The two of them both jumped in surprise, which Nadine found hilarious, although she bit her tongue so she wouldn’t laugh. Laughing at someone in public in Industria was considered to be rude.

Clarissa recovered first. “Oh, you’re just the person I was looking for!” Approaching her, she asked, “How would you like to be in our play this year? We’re doing Alice in Wonderland.”

Nadine had no idea what she was talking about, but was flattered at being asked. “I appreciate the offer, but why me? Surely there are more suitable people you could ask.”

“It’s not about suitability right now. I’m just going around and drumming up interest to get people to audition next week. Even if you’re not that interested, it’s open to anybody that wants in, regardless of grade level. Come by and have some fun!” She handed Nadine a flyer from a stack she’d been holding, gave her a wink, and walked away to approach another group of kids.

“She seems nice enough,” Nadine remarked.

“Maybe,” Steve replied. Then he sighed. “Ever since she came back to school, she’s seemed odd to me. I can’t put my finger on why.”

“Past history?” Nadine teased.

He ignored the jab. “Used to, she didn’t care about extracurriculars or high grades or anything. She just liked to chill out with us, and she’d go hunting with her dad on the weekends. She’s really stepping up her game now, and she ditched the goth look.”

“Maybe that hunting accident made her realize that she needed to change her life so she wouldn’t have any more accidents,” Nadine suggested.

Steve considered that. “You might be right, but it doesn’t seem that way to me. Maybe I’ll ask Hannah later to look into it.”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Nadine cautioned him. “You two have history, and you’ll look like a creep if anyone finds out. How about I look into it for you? She already invited me to that audition, so I can get to know her better then.”

Steve pondered this, but didn’t say anything for a moment. “Fine, but nothing crazy. You don’t want to make mad a girl with a gun.”

“Yes, I know; I was there when you and Rachel were arguing,” Nadine grinned.

“Haha,” said Steve sarcastically. Changing the conversation, he asked, “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask, is she actually part of your family? Did you adopt her?”

“Yes, of course. Mother adopted her soon after the Queen’s death. We’re adoptive sisters. Did you really not know that before?”

“Well, you two have different last names, so I thought…”

Nadine giggled. “Oh, that? Since she’s of divine blood, she kept her surname to distinguish herself as next in line for the throne. That’s why even though she’s in our family, my father was never crowned king. He doesn’t have any legal standing for the throne.”

Steve was staring at her with a look of surprise. “Did you just say ‘divine blood?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Why is that?”

“Queen Rebecca herself was a demigoddess. Half god, half mortal. In her case, half Human. As Rachel is her daughter, she shares her divine blood. It was a huge scandal after the Queen died, because everyone had been told that Rachel was just a baby the Queen had rescued at some point. In accordance with our laws of succession, since the Queen had passed without any biological heirs, my family would become the new Royal Family since Mother had promised to take Rachel in. Then, right during the arguing, when the Council was deliberating on whether to allow my family to become royalty, there was a sign.”

“A sign? A sign of what?”

“A sign of the hand of the goddess, Miriama. During Queen Rebecca’s coronation, a symbol appeared on her brow, a golden reindeer, shining brightly. As the reindeer is a sacred animal, this proved her divine right to ascend the throne. Years later, during the argument, the symbol appeared again, on Rachel’s brow. This proved her birthright so Rachel was dubbed Princess. On her sixteenth birthday, the upcoming one, she will become our new Queen. We have a reindeer on the Marisian coat of arms because the royal family has divine lineage.”

Steve looked distant for a moment. “So your goddess’s name is Miriama?”

Nadine was shocked. “You didn’t know that either? You spent time in the Palace and you never picked that up? After all the time we’ve spent talking? Where do you think I go Saturday mornings?”

“I sleep in Saturdays. Where do you go?”

“Back home I’d attend our holy service in the chapel, but here I simply hole up in a closet and recite the Holy Decree. It’s all I can do when I’m the only worshiper here.”

Steve glanced around to see if anyone was listening, but no one was. "So, where do you want to go today?"

"Pizza!" she said happily. As she couldn't go out with her friends on Friday nights because she had to pick up Rachel's letter, she generally went with Steve somewhere. Today she wanted pizza.

"Pizza again?" he asked, looking dejected.

"What's the problem? I like it."

They got on a school bus headed to the town center, taking seats quietly. They weren't technically supposed to be on that bus, so they kept their heads down to not be spotted.

Nadine was the first one out when the bus stopped at their stop. The pizza place was right around the corner and, unlike chain pizza places, was family owned and therefore still staffed by people, so the pizzas had that extra human touch to them, which Nadine very much preferred.

It was still a little early for dinner, but that didn't stop Nadine. "An extra-large cheese pizza and a large cup to get a drink, please," she told the girl at the counter.

"Anything else?" the girl asked, sounding bored.

"Yeah, I'll have a personal pepperoni with bacon and a soda," Steve said. The girl suddenly became much more interested in the transaction, which was not surprising. Steve always drew the attention of women, which made a lot of other guys jealous, although Steve himself didn't like that this happened.

Steve paid for their order and the two got their drinks and sat down in a booth to wait. "You'd better eat that pizza, otherwise I'm making you pay me back."

"You know I will!" she said, making them both laugh. She didn't know exactly why it was, but Nadine could eat just about anything with no problem, and she could eat a lot of food in one sitting without getting sick or gaining weight. Steve had discovered this the hard way during her first week when they'd gone to a buffet and she'd put away over twelve plates of food before the restaurant kicked them out for demolishing their stock of crab legs. Since then, Steve had semi-regularly taken her out to eat to test her limits, and it was a running joke that she had a black hole for a stomach, especially since she was tall and skinny despite her eating habits.

"Yeah, well, not even black holes last forever. You be sure and warn me if you feel ready to pop."

"I'm not a balloon!" she replied, giggling.

"One of these days I'm going to take you to an eating contest, just to see if you can handle it."

"Oh, I can handle it!" she said excitedly. "I'm not picky! I'll eat anything you throw at me!" That was true, too; she could eat a lot of things most people would turn their noses up at. They’d gone to a sushi restaurant and she’d been the only one of the two of them willing to eat the octopus balls.

"I still can't believe you ate half the Thanksgiving turkey in one sitting!" Steve said, shaking his head from the memory.

Nadine didn't like being reminded of that. "Your dad said you were going to 'stow away' the leftovers, and I thought he meant salting it like at home, which would’ve totally killed the taste. I didn't know he meant the freezer!"

Steve laughed. "Well, we know that now. You should've seen the look on Dad's face when he went to put away the turkey and there were only bones left. I've never seen him so shocked!"

Nadine still felt bad about it, and she had offered to pay them back, but they had declined. "You have to admit that turkey was good, though."

"Yeah, Dad is good at cooking meat. Mom is good at cooking everything but meat, since she doesn't eat it, so it balances out. By the way, all joking aside, where do you put all those calories? They don't go anywhere, well, obvious."

He made a gesture indicating he was talking about her non-existent bust. As this was a sensitive subject for her, she was highly offended. "I use it for magic, you jerk!" she retorted angrily. "You need more energy to use magic here, so I have to eat more to keep up with my training!"

Steve still looked disbelieving, but Nadine didn't really care. The crack about her bust had been a low blow, and she was itching for payback. She had a few ideas, but none she could pull off in a public restaurant.

Nadine didn't want to speak to him anymore at the moment, so she gave him Rachel's letter to read to kill time. He read it through a few times, trying to take everything in, and was still reading it when the waitress showed up with their food.

"That was fast," Steve remarked, taking his pizza.

"It's a slow day," the waitress said, which was true, but from the way she was looking at him Nadine wondered if maybe their food had been fast-tracked.

"Well, thank you very much," said Steve, smiling at her. The girl went pink, and turned away so he wouldn't see as she put Nadine's pizza on the metal rack on the table.

"Ooh, looks good!" she said happily.

"Be sure and call me for a box when she's done," the waitress told Steve.

"Thank you, but she won't need one," he said, making her jaw drop. She left the table, but stayed by the counter to see if he was right.

Nadine took a slice of pizza, glanced at the waitress, and started eating. “Time to prove myself,” she thought.

She was naturally a pretty fast eater, a result of her sneaking food from the kitchen as a child and having to avoid being seen, and she’d scarf it down no matter what it was. “Slow down before you choke!” Steve exclaimed, looking alarmed at her eating speed.

“You know that anti-choking maneuver, right?” she asked between mouthfuls.

“The Heimlich? Of course; we have first aid training in the Scouts.”

“Then what are you worried about?”

He didn’t say anything else, so she decided to show everyone up. The waitress was still watching them, so she called her over and asked “Do you think I could take on your house calzone challenge?”

The house calzone challenge was something she’d noticed upon her first visit to the shop, and there was even a hall of fame on the wall featuring pictures of people who had completed it. It was an extra large calzone stuffed to the brim with all the toppings on the menu, with the normal pizza sauce replaced with a pizza/chili pepper combo sauce usually reserved for spicy barbecue chicken pizzas. As a lover of spicy food, and with Steve’s recent comment about her entering a food competition, the time seemed right for her to try her hand.

Both the waitress and Steve looked shocked. “That calzone is seventy dollars if you can’t eat it all!” Steve exclaimed, aghast.

“You doubt my ability to eat?” Nadine retorted. Unlike most of her other friends and family, Steve usually supported her in whatever she wanted to do, so she was surprised by the amount of resistance.

The waitress called the manager over and explained what she wanted. “You want to try the challenge?” he asked in surprise.

“I like challenges,” she replied simply.

“And you can afford it if you can’t finish it?” he asked. Steve facepalmed, which Nadine ignored.

“Believe me, paying for it won’t be an issue,” she said sincerely.

“Then we’ll have that ready for you in about twenty minutes,” he replied.

“I’ll go find an ATM,” Steve sighed, getting up. “And a barf bag,” he added. Nadine shot him a filthy look, which he ignored.

Despite his lack of support for her this time, she was glad she was alone with Steve at the moment, because she would've been too self-conscious to try it if anyone else was around. Unlike her family, Steve supported her in everything she did, even the crazier things like this. Since he somehow wasn’t supporting her this time, she was now very determined to prove him wrong. She wondered what exactly was up with him. Maybe his interaction with that girl earlier put him in a sour mood or something.

By the time Steve returned, they only had to wait a few more minutes for the calzone. As it wasn’t busy and the calzone didn’t use any special ingredients, the only reason it was taking longer was the amount of food inside.

“Enjoy your meal,” the manager told her, putting the calzone in front of her. It wasn’t physically larger than the largest calzone they served, and she knew the challenge was getting through the hot sauce.

“Buon appetito?” Steve asked. “Is that Italian for ‘bon appétit?”

Nadine didn’t care; she just wanted to eat. She cut the calzone open and she could basically feel the spiciness radiating out from it. Her mouth watered from anticipation. She wasn’t hungry, but then again she wasn’t ever hungry. She wondered if there really was a black hole in her stomach for excess food, and if it put food back in her stomach whenever it emptied.

Steve chatted with his friends online while Nadine started on the calzone. The dough tasted fine, but the interior left a lot to be desired. "I thought you said this was hot?" she demanded angrily. It seemed spicy, but one taste had left her disappointed.

The manager ran over looking surprised. "I watched them put the hot sauce in. Do you mind?"

Nadine gave him the go ahead, so he used a spare fork to try some of it. Steve did so as well. Their reaction was immediate. Steve coughed and chugged his drink while the manager looked like he was on fire and had to run to the bathroom. "Oh come on, it's not even hot!" she complained, appalled at their behavior. She tried another bite and, sure enough, it wasn't that hot. She was sure they were mocking her, and she didn’t like it.

Steve took a minute to catch his breath. "Believe me, as someone who likes spicy food, that is hot."

"You're crazy," she muttered, going back to her food. Steve helped her eat it, but each bite was accompanied by a large gulp of water. He made several trips to the fountain to refill his drink, always getting water rather than soda.

Her jaw muscles were getting tired from chewing, but she refused to give up. It was with great satisfaction when she finished it to a look of shock on everyone's face. She polished off her drink, stood up, and stretched. "Thank you for the free food," she thanked the manager politely, who looked flabbergasted. The waitress came out with a camera and snapped her picture, then handed her a T-shirt featuring the restaurant's logo and slogan. It was too big for her, but then again the challenge was meant for overweight men or families, not twelve year old girls.

It might not have been the most noble thing to get an achievement for, but at least it was something, and she'd done it on her own merits, regardless of all the mocking. As an apology for his behavior, Steve offered her the paper bag he’d bought to put the shirt in, which she accepted.

Steve went to call a taxi, but an incoming message changed his mood. "Change in plans; we have to go to the hospital. Grandma and Grandpa got attacked.”

As his paternal grandparents lived out of town, she assumed he was talking about the two that lived there, Ava’s parents. “Not Abdul and Fatima!” Nadine exclaimed in horror.

“Yeah, the cops think it was a hate crime. Those two are pacifists, so they didn’t have bats or guns or anything to defend themselves with. Plus, they were both praying at the time and weren’t listening for intruders.”

That sucked. Nadine had met Abdul and Fatima Harmon only once before, and they had been really nice and hospitable. “Well, at least tell me they’re OK,” she said worriedly.

“They both got beat up pretty bad, and their house got robbed, but they’re doing mostly all right, I think. Once they realized what was going on, they barricaded themselves in a cupboard and called the police. Still, the fact it happened in broad daylight is pretty shocking. I’m really worried about them.”

“If only we’d been there…” Nadine muttered under her breath, clenching her fists.