The sun shone over Avalor and every citizen of the kingdom was out and about, taking care of the day's business. Crown princess Elena stood on her balcony and surveyed her kingdom with an air of satisfaction. Everything was as it should be: the ships were delivering trade goods; the merchants were buying and selling; painters were creating masterpieces; and children were playing in the streets while their parents watched them. It was as if Shuriki's attack had never happened.

Elena sighed gently. She would love nothing more than to stroll down the streets of the town below but she had a meeting with the Grand Council in an hour. As she turned to go back inside her bedroom, an explosion resounded throughout the kingdom. Elena whipped around and saw smoke floating up towards the sky in the distance. Her eyes widened: the smoke was coming from Mateo's house. Meeting or no meeting, she had to go see if her friend was all right.

Looking up at the sky, Elena yelled at the top of her lungs. "Skylar!"

The yellow jaquin appeared from behind one of the towers and landed neatly in front of her.

"You called?" Skylar said cheerfully.

"Skylar, you have to bring me to Mateo's house!" Elena replied. "Something just happened and he might be hurt!"

"You mean that big puff of smoke I saw just now came from Mateo?"

"Yes!"

"Hope on, princesa! We'll be there in a flash!"

Elena climbed onto Skylar's back and they took off. They flew over the town, the princess urging the jaquin to move faster. They soon landed in front of Mateo's house and Elena jumped off Skylar, sprinting for the gate. She wrenched the doors open and saw the smoke rising out of the open doors of Mateo's study. She hurried forward and went down the stairs, fighting her way through the thick cloud.

"Mateo?" Elena cried. "Mateo!"

There was no reply and the smoke was so dense that Elena could see nothing past it. An idea suddenly came to her.

"Skylar! Skylar, can you hear me?" Elena called.

"I can hear you, princesa!" Skylar replied from somewhere outside. "What can I do for you?"

"I need you to flap your wings so we can clear this smoke!"

"You got it!" A strong wind then filled the study after those words, sweeping the smoke out of the door. Elena smiled as the room was aired out and she looked around, gasping at the sight of Mateo lying motionless on the floor, his tamborita and a spell book next to him. Elena rushed towards him and fell to her knees before pulling her friend closer, resting his head in her lap.

"Mateo, Mateo!" Elena exclaimed, gently shaking him. "Oh, please wake up!"

The young wizard stirred and coughed before opening his eyes. The princess let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness…" she said softly, stroking Mateo's hair.

"Elena?" Mateo glanced up at her. "Oh, hey…"

"Are you okay, Mateo? That was quite an explosion."

"You saw that?"

"The whole kingdom did."

"Sorry about that… And to answer your earlier question, I'm okay."

Elena smiled. "I'm glad. What happened?"

"I was trying out a spell from the Codex Maru. As you can see, it didn't go as planned…"

Elena looked around. The whole study had been turned upside down: books had fallen off the shelves, the furniture was overturned, several objects were broken, and the fire had been put out by the explosion's blast. The princess shook her head and smiled fondly at her friend.

"Well, if I ever need to have something demolished, you'll be the one I'll call," she teased.

Mateo smiled sheepishly and Elena felt her heart skip a beat. She brushed a strand of hair away from his eyes and Mateo gazed up at her. Elena's heart started beating faster and her breath caught in her chest as she found herself unable to look away from her friend's eyes. Mateo also seemed incapable of tearing away his gaze and he slowly raised a hand towards her –

"Mateo!"

Elena and Mateo each gave a start and they looked at the door. Naomi came running down the stairs, stumbling a bit as she came to a stop. She looked around the study before her eyes fell on her friends.

"I was on my way to the palace when I heard this big explosion and saw smoke coming from your house! I ran here as fast as I could to make sure you were okay," Naomi said frantically. "I would have gotten here soon if I had a jaquin or –"

She paused, taking in the sight. Mateo's head was still resting in Elena's lap and his hand was frozen in midair, his fingers inches away from where the princess's cheek had been moments ago. Naomi stared at them, one eyebrow raised.

"Did I interrupt something?" she asked.

Elena and Mateo looked at each other and quickly sprang apart. Elena's cheeks were burning as she stared pointedly at the floor, unable to meet her friends' gazes. Mateo was the first to get on his feet and helped Elena onto hers. The princes quietly thanked him and straightened her dress.

"Um, no, you didn't interrupt anything," Mateo said, sounding nervous. "Elena just came to see if I was okay. Like you did."

Elena quickly nodded but Naomi was still watching them closely. Finally, much to the princess's relief, Naomi changed the subject.

"Well, seeing that you're okay, Mateo," she said, "Elena and I should be going. We have a Grand Council meeting to attend."

"The meeting. Right," Elena mumbled. She glanced at Mateo, who rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well… Thanks for checking up on me," he said awkwardly. "I'll just… clean this mess up."

The girls nodded and Elena resisted the urge to lay a hand on the young wizard's arm as she left the study with Naomi. The princess began to make her way towards Skylar, only to stop in her tracks at her friend's next words.

"You and Mateo were looking pretty cosy when I came in," Naomi said, smirking.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Elena replied, trying her hardest to sound casual. "I was just worried that he might have gotten hurt. You saw that explosion he caused: I'm surprised he still has a house!"

"Or that he's still alive. You were so worried that you had to have his head in your lap?"

"He was unconscious when I found him."

"Oh. Well, he still seemed to be in no hurry to get up."

"We're going to be late," Elena said abruptly. "Skylar can take us to the palace."

"I'm not done with you. Not even close," Naomi replied.

"You can keep talking but I'll just end up leaving without you."

"All right, all right. Let's go."

Elena gave a satisfied nod and climbed onto Skylar's back. Naomi followed and together they flew back to the palace.