It was three A.M. and the palace was currently sleeping, as anyone would be at such a time. However, there were two tiny beings currently awake and they were fairly mad. How dare their parents refuse them snack! They had been so good too, Eadlyn had only "re-designed" two of her mothers dresses and a grand total of three royal documents meant to be sent to France in the morning had been scribbled on by Ahren, in a desperate fit to reach 'Milla'. Of course, no one knew about their latest escapade, which involved ripping several pages of books from the library whilst trying to find a way to declare Strawberry, the family pet, as the official cat of Illéa.

And so we join our heroes plotting against 'The Meanies'. This began when Eadlyn, having been taken to her room in a fit ('You can't do this to meeee. I'm the princess!'), eventually cried herself to sleep. She was now awake though, dreams of ice-cream running through her mind.

"Ahren, you up?"

"No." Grumbled Ahren from underneath his covers. He just couldn't understand, how could his parents get in the way of true love?

"Silly, I can hear you! Come on, I have a plan!" Eadlyn was quite sure this plan was foolproof, having run scenarios through her head for the last ten or so minutes.

"A plan for what?"

"Snacks of course! Let's go, before someone wakes up."

"But Eadlyn, what if we get caught?"

"We won't. Now hush and follow me if you want ice-creamy goodness!" Having spoken this, Eadlyn proceeded to open their door and walk into the hallway. Our poor princess hadn't counted on the fact the palace would be dark, but she wasn't scared-she was Eadlyn Schreave, the most powerful kid in Illéa! Like she would let something so childish as a fear of the dark get in the way of her and her snack!

"Hey Eady wait up, I found a flashlight!" And like a duckling, Ahren was on her tail. He was much more prepared for a cross-palace trip in the dark, having done so before when Princess Camilla was visiting.

Across the palace they went, careful to avoid the guards on-duty. Down the stairs, around this corner-or was it that one? Their home, generally light and cheerful, seemed like an entirely different place at night.

"A-Ahren, how close is the kitchen again?"

Ahren pointed his flashlight at the end of the hallway. "I think it's through that door."

It wasn't. So up and down the hallway they went, trying every door until finally...

"It won't open!"

"What do you mean it won't open? Of course it will! It's a door, that's what doors do."

"If it's so easy then you do it!"

"Fine, I will." Eadlyn pushed her hardest, but it wasn't enough to open the heavy door.

The two were about to give up. They were tired, grumpy, and hungry for ice-cream. However, a thought struck them.

"Hey, what if we do it together? On three...One...Two...Three!" With a big push the two managed to crack the door just enough to get through. However, with one obstacle conquered they soon found another one: their light source was gone!

"Why'd you have to drop the flashlight?"

"It wasn't my fault that dumb door closed before I could grab it..."

Stumbling around, the two soon found a light switch. Now they could see what room they were in... Was it really? It was! They had finally done it, they were in the kitchen! Rushing to the freezer, our heroes managed to find the holy grail: an entire box of ice-cream sandwiches! By the time they were done stuffing their faces, most of the kitchen was littered with wrappers. At one point, they'd even managed to find some syrup and sprinkles to top off the frozen goodness.

The next morning the cooks found them sleeping on the floor, the remainder of their treat covering their faces. After being put back in their one beds, the two woke up late the next morning, never knowing they had been followed the entire time by a guard who had gotten pictures of the entire thing. After all, kids will be kids, and who was he to stop the two from their quest? He was only charged with watching them and as long as they were safe and in sight, he was doing his job. Besides, he'd been looking for the perfect present for a certain kings birthday and this was definitely it. He'd even managed to sneak a picture after the two had fallen asleep. Yes, this was going to be the best present ever...right after he talked to a set of parents about just why their kids had been found in the kitchen and not in bed...

Well, there you have it, Hushedhands' (very late) birthday present. Merry (late) birthday to one of my all-time favorite authors and if you haven't read 'The Laws of Inheritance' yet, go do so!

Considering I haven't actually read The Heir yet, I hope it's decently OK and that the characters don't act too OOC... Anyway, I hope you have a totally awesome day and thank you for reading!