I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who reviewed. I appreciate it more than you can possibly believe.

I'm sorry this chapter took a rather long time. I wrote it, reread it, and hated it, so I rewrote the whole thing. Then I read my rewrite and decided it was even worse than my first draft, so I rewrote it again. I'm still not entirely sure that this is completely up to scratch, but it's much better than my originals. Anyway, read it for yourself and tell me what you think!

Here it is... double digits... chapter ten...

"Let me get this straight," Rose said. "First, you yelled at him."

"Yes," I accepted a thick slice of bread from a woman standing behind the dining hall serving table.

"Then, you tried to push him aside," Rose continued.

"Yes," I slid my plate down the table, taking a bowl of rich, savory smelling soup from the next woman. Nodding my thanks, I rested the bread on top of the bowl.

"Don't do that," Rose moved the bread back to the plate. "It's not proper. Now, after you pushed him, you yelled at him again."

"Yes."

"Then you insulted him?"

"Yes."

"And you did all this to the crown prince of Kyrria."

"Yes."

Rose sighed, collected a spoon and knife from the trays at the end of the table, and turned to the side, waiting for me. "Sometimes, I can't believe you're really my sister."

"We sort of weren't for fourteen years," I replied, piling my own utensils on my plate. "Where do you want to sit?"

Tarmo had instructed us to eat evening meals in the palace dining hall, with all the rest of the young people who studied here. "It'll be an opportunity for you to make the acquaintance of those your own age at the palace," he had explained.

"It's a death wish," I had whispered to Rose, but no amount of persuading on either of our parts could convince him that we were much happier taking meals in his rooms.

"It's the standard procedure," he finally said. "It is required that you go every evening."

I decided to obey before he issued a command.

"Let's go over to the windows," she suggested now, indicating a table in the corner with a window in both of the nearby walls. I nodded, and followed her as we wove our way through the crowd.

"Excuse me," a girl touched my arm just as we got to the table. I barely heard her voice over the chattering of the other students in the room. "I was wondering if I could sit with you. I just got here today."

"No," I said, but Rose elbowed me in the side and said loudly, "Of course you can!" I shot her an annoyed look and she glared back.

"I don't want to be a problem," the girl began.

"We'd love for you to join us," Rose said, smiling. "Please, sit down."

The girl half-smiled and took the spot next to Rose. I took a seat across from them, trying to avoid looking at either one. I wanted to keep to myself- I did not want to make any friends, just to lose them when they discovered the reason I always did what I was told- and that it worked for them, too. I had enough experience with that.

"My name's Riana," the girl said, tucking golden brown bangs behind her ears and attempting another smile directed at me, which I ignored.

"I'm Daria, and this is my sister, Ella," Rose said. "We came yesterday."

I stirred my soup silently.

"I'm fifteen," Riana said, trying to make conversation, I think.

"I just turned fourteen, and Ella will be sixteen soon, so you're just about the same age," Rose answered.

I kicked her under the table. She winced, but kept smiling at Riana.

"I'm studying magic," Riana explained. "I've been in the wizard's library most of today. It's supposed to be the best library in the world, second only to the Queen's. You know that hall with the magically protected rooms, where they train apprentices and do experiments? The library's back near the equipment shelves there. I just found out about my magic recently, and there are so many new things to read."

"Exactly like Ella!" Rose looked amazed. I didn't think it was that exciting- except for the part about the books. The library sounded useful, and I wondered if it had any curse-breaking books. Maybe I could finally figure out how to get rid of mine, with enough private time in the library…

Rose was looking at me expectantly, as though she wanted me to make intelligent conversation. I shrugged, and she turned back to Riana. "I don't have magic, but I'm studying here so I can be with my sister. Maybe we'll all be in some of the same classes."

I tore my bread into miniscule pieces, the perfect size for mice.

"I'm taking a class in foreign tongues taught by the Court Linguist. Maybe you can-" Riana was interrupted as someone slammed into my back, causing the soup in my mouth to go spattering over the table. I think some of it might have hit her but I didn't really care.

"Here she is!" a jubilant voice called from behind me.

"Get off," I snapped, shoving the body leaning on me to the floor. I turned around to see a crowd of three or four boys standing around the table.

"This is Ella, all right," said the brown haired boy I recognized as the prince. "Why don't you come sit with us?"

"No, thanks," I turned back to the table.

One of the larger boys grabbed my shoulder and turned me back around to face them again. "Don't turn your back on his Majesty!" he growled.

"Leave off, Will," the Prince said. "She's a girl."

I yanked my shoulder away from Will's huge hand and turned as far back to my soup as the curse would allow, sitting rather awkwardly sideways in my seat, my eyes watering as I suddenly noticed how much the soup smelled like onions. It might also possibly have been from his strong grip.

"All the same," the Prince continued. "I want to apologize properly for earlier today, about that incident in the magic wing." He held out his left hand. I glanced at it, and then up at him, raising my eyebrows. "Shake it," he commanded.

There was no way to escape a direct order. I fought to keep my hand on the table for a moment, but finally grabbed his hand and shook. At once, lightning hot pain shot up my arm, and my hand jerked away.

"Oh, you should see your face!" the Prince roared, and the boys crowded around him laughed. I felt my fingers still twitching at my side, and as I ran my other hand over my cheek, I felt a burning sensation on the skin.

"Oh, please," Riana suddenly spoke up. "We get that you're powerful and all that, you've had your show, and now you can go back to your table."

The boy gave her a sideways glance. "If I were you, I'd shut up."

"Lucky I'm not you, then," Riana rose in her seat. "Go away."

The boys around the Prince all looked at him, apparently for orders. "You can ignore her," he told them, and turned back to me. "Come here."

"No." It barely came out as more than a whisper. All my strength was concentrated on staying in place, and it took more breath than I had to refuse aloud.

The Prince glowered. "I said, come here."

"I believe the lady said no," said a smooth voice from the side.

The Prince let out an exasperated sigh, his eyes rolling upward. "Peter," he said, his voice low and even, and I could sense him trying to keep his temper in check, "this isn't your business."

"It is my business if you've overstepped your limits," Peter said quietly. "You, girl, go back to your meal. I've got something to settle with Stephen here."

My still aching hand darted for the spoon that had sunk to the bottom of my soup bowl, and I began to scoop the hot liquid into my mouth.

"Stand up," the Prince ordered, and I had half risen before Peter snapped, "Leave her alone, Stephen. You," he half-glanced at me, "sit back down if you want to."

In an instant I was sitting, grinding my teeth at the stupidity of the whole thing. If I didn't have that stupid curse, I would have kicked that boy right where it hurts most…

"That's Prince Stephen," Riana broke into my thoughts as Peter pulled the Prince away. "He's a bit full of himself. I know him- I met him earlier today."

"I didn't ask you to go interfering," I snarled. "I can take care of myself."

Riana blinked, and Rose whispered, "Ella! Please!"

I shoved my food away. "I'm going outside. I'll meet you later, Daria." Standing up, I started to push my way toward the door.

"Ella!" Rose caught my arm. I yanked it away. "Ella, stop. Please. She was trying to help you. She doesn't know, she didn't mean to make you feel bad…"

"I don't care what she knows or means or anything else!" I cried, liquid forming in the corners of my eyes from the onions in the soup. I was not crying; I am fully incapable of bursting into elegant sobs like a lady waiting to be rescued. "I need to be by myself. I'll meet you later."

Rose sighed. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," I grabbed the door and forced it open. "I told you, I will meet you later."

Rose stared at me for a moment, and finally turned back into the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Riana still watching me, her hazel eyes huge.

I didn't remember the passages to the outside of the castle, so I stormed around the corridors, trying random doors and finding an unusually large number of broom closets. In the end, I was able to find the thick wooden door that led to the fields outside. It opened on to the archery range, and I ran over to the tree where we had eaten lunch earlier. Throwing myself down in the grass, I rolled on to my back and stared up at the star-dotted sky, wishing Mother had come with us.

I don't know how long I lay like that, the onion scent still working as tears spilled out of my eyes, down the sides of my face. It seemed like moments, but it was probably actually a few hours later that the tall boy, Peter, from the dining hall sat down next to me.

"Are you all right?" he asked rather roughly. "Prince Stephen didn't hurt you, did he?"

"What do you care?" I muttered, keeping my eyes on the stars, hoping he would leave if I didn't make conversation.

"It is part of my job as to inquire into the condition of your health," Peter replied rather stiffly as he leaned against the tree, staring at the sky as well.

"Oh? So you don't actually care, then, you're just paid to say all this."

"No! I never said that," Peter said quickly, almost sharply. Then his voice softened slightly, "The Prince can be something of an idiot sometimes. I'm sorry you had to be the one he decided he wanted to use as his showpiece. I really did want to make sure you were all right."

"Yeah, right, I'm sure," I tried desperately to keep my voice steady despite that it was still cracked from crying, my hand still shaking from whatever the Prince had done with the handshake.

Peter opened his mouth as though to reply, then closed it and was silent for a moment. I wiped the water from my cheeks with my good hand, hoping he hadn't seen. "My name's Peter," he said abruptly. "Formerly of Niraan, but now I'm just Peter."

"That's lovely," I said. "Were you expecting me to burst into tears again, thank you on bended knee, swoon at your feet, and immediately fall deeply and undeniably in love with you?"

Peter blinked. "Um, well… actually, no, I wasn't."

Liar. "Don't go interfering where you aren't wanted," I snapped. "You're no knight in shining armor and I'm no damsel in distress. Please go away."

"I never said you were a damsel in distress," Peter said, talking over my last few words. "It's my job to make sure the prince stays in line. You're not the first to be… well… used by his Majesty. He's got powerful magic, and there's not many who can stand up to it when he knows what he wants. Frankly, I'm surprised you were even able to refuse him to begin with. I'm one of the few who can manage it, which is how I got the job."

"Maybe you should go back to your nursery maid-ing, then." Go away, go away, go away.

Peter shrugged. "Stephen's a little upset right now. I'd rather avoid him for a few more minutes. So, anyway, I was wondering about you. How did you manage to reject him? All in the interest of my job, of course, but who are your parents? Were any of your family members wizards? Do you have brothers and sisters? Could they have powers similar to yours?"

That was dangerous ground. I desperately tried to distract him with the first thing that came to mind. "Oh, that's sweet," I said, rolling my eyes. "I suppose you think you're being all kind and generous, a noble bothering to ask a penniless little wizard girl about her family. For the record, I'm not interested in you, so you're wasting your time." GO AWAY, GO AWAY, GO AWAY.

"I never said… I'm not… I didn't-"

"I don't know if you noticed, but this is a bad time for me right now, so I'd like to be alone, and I have been very… um… subtly hinting for you to leave. If you don't mind?" GO AWAY? Please?

"Oh. I'm sorry to disturb you, miss," Peter stood, bowed, and disappeared into the darkness.

I watched the place where he'd gone for a moment, suddenly realizing how offensive some of the things I'd said might have been, before noticing there was somebody else behind me.

"Who was that?" Rose asked, her voice catching oddly in her throat.

"His name's Peter," I said, rolling on to my stomach. I would have yelled if I wasn't still preoccupied with cringing at everything I recalled saying.

"I didn't mean to interrupt you," Rose said nervously, shifting uneasily from foot to foot.

I looked up at her for the first time. I don't think I'd ever seen her face so flushed, or such a… delirious smile on her face, not even when we were trapped with the ogres. "Um- Rose? Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, oh, yeah, fine," Rose said quickly. "Come on, we should probably get back to Tarmo's rooms."

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Tarmo met us a few minutes later, and took us up to his tower again. After both Rose and I had entered the main room, he turned back to the entrance point. Magic streamed through his fingers and was absorbed into the floor. "That closes off this point to travelers, and lets me know if anyone breaks through the barriers," he explained.

Rose and I glanced at each other. "Could someone break through?" I asked.

"Not likely, but one can never be too certain," Tarmo said lightly. I cursed mentally. I had planned on getting out of the tower tonight, to do a little research in the library Riana had mentioned without anyone else knowing, which meant it had to be at night, and breaking the late night restriction to rooms for under-eighteen-year-olds.

"Well, I'm going to bed," Rose said, looking pointedly at me. I knew she wanted me to go to bed as well, so we could talk, but I pretended not to notice the hint.

"You go ahead, Rose, there's something I want to ask Tarmo," I said quickly. Rose made a face at me, but bade Tarmo good night and disappeared into our room.

Tarmo was studying my face carefully. "What's going on, Lily?"

"I was worried about Edward," I lied. "Is there any way anyone could break into the tower at night- any other way- and find out who we really are?"

"The windows, I suppose," Tarmo said doubtfully, "but we're pretty high up, so he'd have to have some exceptionally powerful wizards with him, to levitate up this high, and they'd have to be people I know. The windows are bewitched to send me signals if foreign magic touches them."

"Oh, all right," I said, trying not to let my face show my excitement. "Well, good night, Tarmo."

Tarmo was still looking at me in an uncharacteristically shrewd way. "Good night, Lily," he said quietly. "Remember, if you want to talk about anything, I'm ready to listen."

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I waited until I was completely sure both Rose and Tarmo were asleep before getting up again, slipping on my trousers and shirt over my nightdress before creeping into the main room. Rose shifted restlessly as I tiptoed by her, but when I ducked into Tarmo's room, his loud snores fully covered any sound I made.

His room was much smaller than the one I shared with Rose, with only just enough room to walk between his bed, his bureau, and his desk. The furniture matched the deep maple color of the floor and he had a rather unattractive red and deep purple plaid quilt pulled up to his chin.

Since I already knew I couldn't use the magical transport to the grounds, I slid silently across the polished wood floors to the window. My fingers slid lightly over the glass, and with only moonlight to barely see by, I found the catch and released it. Cautiously, waiting for a whole reaction of protective spells to blast me in the face, I cracked the window open.

Nothing happened. I swung the window completely open so it hit the wall, letting in a rush of cool night air. Tarmo snorted in his sleep and rolled over, revealing a red plaid pajama top. I waited for a moment, but he simply continued to snore.

Sitting on the windowsill, I swung first one leg over the edge, and then the other, my feet dangling into the vast space between the window and the ground. I had no idea how to measure how far it was, but it was a much greater distance than the hotel room had been, and Tarmo had been watching me then, ready to help if needed.

"You must never use magic when I am not with you until you're fully trained."

Tarmo's order echoed through my mind. But he was still with me, wasn't he? He was in the same room, less than five steps away. He was asleep and dead to the world, yes, but he was with me.

There are loopholes in every order.

Slowly, I concentrated on only the air around me. Trying to remember how I had felt before, I silently called the air to me.

Nothing happened. I gritted my teeth, closed my eyes, and called again.

I was blasted full in the face by a fresh burst of cold air. My eyes flew open as the same blue and silver streams danced around me. With one last backwards glance at Tarmo's sleeping form, I pushed myself all the way out of the window, settling into the cloud of air. This time, I continued to concentrate on calling more and more airs as I drifted slowly to the ground.

Less than ten feet from the ground, I felt the spell die. The airs were ripped from me and I fell to the ground, my legs crumbling under me as I hit the dirt.

So "with Tarmo" didn't extend all the way to the ground. That was going to present some problems in returning to the rooms, but I figured I would worry about that later.

I scrambled into the shadows behind a shrub, watching as a guard in a navy blue uniform marched by, his boots clunking loudly on the cobblestone path. I didn't think he would do anything if he saw me, but I wasn't about to take any chances.

I was able to find the archery range again without too much trouble and without seeing any other guards, and from there I found the door to the hallway where Tarmo's wizard room had been, and thus, also to the wizard's library. I wasn't sure if I could remember the passages taken, but as I glanced around the corridors, I began to recognize little things- a tapestry here, a statue of a pig there (according to the plaque, a pig saved the life of a Kyrrian king long ago. Someone shot an arrow at the King, but it hit the pig, and not him. Because of this, the pig got a statue in the palace.)

The hall where Tarmo had taken me before was dark, only lit by a few candles in the corners. I cautiously passed door after door, nervous a wizard might open one and see me, but they all remained firmly shut. I wondered if anyone even came here at night.

I found the library door in the back corner just where Riana had described it. There was no lock, but protective magic swirled in colored streams around the door frame. Gently, I turned the handle and the door swung open, almost without any effort from me.

The room was… huge. Book shelves lined every wall from floor to ceiling, and every shelf was packed to overflowing with books. (A/N: If you've seen the Ella Enchanted movie, remember that enormous room where she's going through records or something like that? Like that, only a little shorter and much wider.) The two tables in the center of the room were piled three feet high with books, and books were left open on the chairs and sofas scattered throughout the room. Books were even piled around the fireplace, which was protected by a blue, shimmering magic that let light and heat through but not sparks. The whole place was lit cozily by lamps and candles and looked very comfortable.

"Hello?" I called softly. "Is anybody there?"

At first I was sure the flickering light must have been making me see things, but then the largest book with worn leather covers on the big center table flew up to me and opened itself.

Welcome to the library appeared on the page letter by letter, lingering for only a moment before melting away into the paper, only to be replaced by another message. Is this your first visit here?

"Um…" I said hesitantly, feeling rather stupid talking to a book, "well, uh, yes."

Then we hope you find it suitable to your needs. Do you come in search of a specific title?

"No, not exactly- I mean, I don't know any names. But I want to find out about curses, and how to break them. Can you- well, do you know where I would look?"

But of course. We have many titles pertaining to this subject. A Study of Curses and Jinxes by Sir Jonas of Pimm. Curses and their Counterparts by Sir Louis of Pasteur. Reverse the Curse by Sir-

I suspect the book would have gone on listing titles all night if I hadn't spoken. "Will you please show me where those are, and I'll start with them?"

Of course, miss. If you so desire to borrow them to take with you, you need only sign your name to me and return it in one week.

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary." I didn't want to leave any indication I'd been in the library, and signing my name in a book would be more than a little obvious.

The book flipped several of its pages forward until it reached a map of the room I was in. A dark blue X appeared on a chair in the far corner, and underneath the map I read, The X marks the location of the books you requested. Please remember that the library is for everyone to share; be careful with the books. We close from two o'clock to four o'clock every morning for clean up.

"Thank you," I said, making my way over to the corner. The lines in the book were absorbed back into its pages, and the book closed itself and dropped back on to the table.

Right where the map had shown, the three books lay stacked on top of each other. I shifted the remaining books to the floor and perched on the edge of the chair, opened the first volume, A Study of Curses and Jinxes, on my lap, and began to read.

Chapter One: Identify an Affliction

The terms 'curse' and 'jinx' are sometimes used interchangeably; however, one must note the clear differences between the two. First of all, a curse may last for an entire lifetime, while a jinx usually does not remain for longer than a few days and thus casting and breaking each one differs tremendously…

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The seemingly endless lines of print were just beginning to blur in my tired eyes when the book snapped itself shut in my hands and fell to the floor. The lights began to dim and the fireplace looked close to burning out. I guessed these to be signs of the library closing for its daily two-hour cleaning, and I made my way toward the door.

Thank you for coming! Please return again.

The book that appeared to be the librarian flew up in front of me again, spelling out good-byes on its slightly cracked pages. I nodded and smiled vaguely before ducking out the door and quickly closing it behind me. I was lucky nobody had come in while I was reading- I hoped I would stay as lucky getting back to the rooms.

It was then that I remembered that I had no way to get back into the rooms.

I used a phrase I'd heard one of the sentries use earlier that day and tried to remember everything Tarmo had explained earlier. The entrance point was closed off, and I was too far away from Tarmo to use magic to levitate myself back up to the rooms. Still, maybe if I could climb up part way, then I could use magic to finish the job.

It was better than standing around in the wizard hallway, anyway. I started briskly back toward the tower, feeling considerably more cheerful. Even if I couldn't get back into the rooms, I could make up some excuse for being out on the grounds, and I was satisfied with a night of reading in the library. At least one of those books was sure to describe how to break my curse, and when I found it, life would pretty much be all sunshine. I could finally tell Edward exactly what I thought of him. I could give that stupid prince a taste of his own medicine. I could find Mother and-

I was so absorbed in my happy fantasies that I didn't notice the people standing outside until I almost walked into them. I probably would have if I hadn't heard them speaking quietly around the side of the palace, and as it was, I barely dived behind the bushes in time before they turned the corner and continued their trek around the castle. I stayed crouched behind the brushes, certain every moment they would hear my pounding heart or my slightly panting breath.

"You sure you got all the guards?" the largest man spoke in rough Kyrrian, his slightly long hair and accent hinting an Ophidian lineage; he held his 's' sounds slightly longer than the other letters, almost sounding like a hiss, and his voice seemed to ooze around the words. Ophidia bordered Kyrria to the south; it made sense that he might live there, but be visiting the Kyrrian capital.

"I can hold them for about fifteen minutes," the smallest figure wore a large cloak over his entire body, obscuring everything about him except his height. His voice was low and raspy, the voice of a boy whose tone was just deepening from a boy to a man. It was hard to tell, but I thought he must be Kyrrian by birth.

"I don't like it," the third man spoke with the same Ophidian accent as the tall man, but his hair was longer and black and he had a long, thin scar across his cheek. "How do you know he won't turn on us?"

"He knows what will happen if he even considers betraying us," the largest one growled back.

"May I remind you that you only have fifteen minutes?" the cloaked boy spoke again. "The King's chambers are heavily guarded, both magically and physically, and the Queen's even more so."

"We're not going to try for them tonight," the dark-haired scar man said scornfully. "It's a fool's errand to try to destroy the top of the pyramid without chipping away at the bottom first. Once the bottom crumbles, the top will follow."

"What were you going to do, then?" the boy snapped.

"We need only to smuggle in a few of our loyal spies, and begin to wear down the Prince Stephen's resistance to magic. Protective spells can only last so long without renewal," he smiled, though it appeared to be more out of a cruel pleasure than real happiness. "That is where you come in."

The boy bowed his head slightly, all trace of mockery gone. "You can trust that I do my job well."

"Enough," the large man had clearly mastered the trick of yelling without raising his voice. "The fewer times the plans are repeated, the lower the chance of someone overhearing." He glanced around, as though expecting eavesdroppers to suddenly start falling out of the trees. His eyes lingered uncomfortably long on the bushes I remained hidden behind, and I started to inch backward towards the wizards' hall again.

I had barely crept more than a few steps back when I set my foot down on a stick. The crack of breaking wood almost seemed like a gunshot through the absolute silence of the night.

Instantly, I was blasted with a jet of red light, and I felt my body freeze in place. It was though my muscles had seized up and simply refused to move anymore. I felt like I had completely lost control of myself, even more so than I already did, and I resisted the urge to scream in absolute frustration. Stupid, I cursed myself. Stupid not to leave the minute you saw them, stupid to step on that stick, stupid, stupid, stupid

The red tightened on my body, lifting me into an upright position. "Who are you?" the largest man growled. "What are you doing here?"

I remained stubbornly silent, glaring up at him.

"Answer the questions!" the scar man's voice had lost its cruel Ophidian drawl, and was now snappish with tension.

Fortunately for me, he left 'truthfully' out of the command. "My name's Ella," I croaked. "I couldn't get back into my room, and I was afraid of getting into trouble for being out so late." The red color of the light faded slightly, and I saw the hooded figure sending the pulsing red streams of magic out of his palms.

"Kill her," the largest man said dismissively.

"Sir, do you really think that is wise? Someone will notice her disappearance and question it. We want to remain unnoticed for a few more months yet."

"Killing is so messy," the boy added. "And she's a girl. A pretty girl, too. I don't think I can hold the guards and kill her at the same time, anyway."

"That doesn't matter," the largest man fingered a knife in his belt.

"Wench, how much did you hear?" the scar man demanded.

"Nothing," I had a hard time forming words with my completely dry mouth. "I was trying to find my way back, and I wasn't really paying attention."

"She's telling the truth," the boy mumbled. "Maybe we should just let her go."

"You don't make the decisions around here," the others said at the same time.

"I was only suggesting…"

"Shut your mouth," the large man with the knife pointed it threateningly at the boy. "I don't believe anyone will miss you."

The scar man was still looking at me. "Don't tell anyone what you saw and heard here today. Don't speak of it, don't write about it, and don't do anything about it. If you do, we just might change our minds about the whole disappearance thing."

"I think emotional scarring is more effective," the boy spoke up again. "I can spell everyone so they believe they despise her."

"Nothing better than good old-fashioned torture," the biggest man kept his knife handy, "to her… and her family… and her friends."

"You make things far too complicated," the darker-haired scar man complained. "If you just keep the plans to the point…"

They deliberated for a good thirty more seconds over a suitable punishment. It would have been funny if I wasn't trapped in the boy's spell, listening to every word, worried that one of them would finally convince the others and they would start putting the threats into effect.

Suddenly, the boy made a gasping noise and I fell to the ground as the red light was sucked back into his hands. "The guards… only five more minutes," he rasped. "Spells… can't hold them…"

If I had my magic, I would have blasted them all backwards into the moat. Instead, I had to settle for running for my life, completely ignoring whatever the group chose to do. As long as they weren't chasing after me with that knife, I wasn't too bothered by their actions.

I ran all the way back to the point where I had dropped from the tower before, where I collapsed on the ground, my breath coming in strangled gasps. I was rather surprised that I hadn't met anyone, guards or otherwise, after crossing nearly the entire palace grounds, but I was more concerned with making it back into the tower.

After a few moments, I was breathing normally again, and once again faced the seemingly insurmountable task of making it back into Tarmo's rooms. However, now I had a time limit; I did not want those men to find me still outside. I ran my hand over the tower wall. The stone was almost perfectly smooth, the cracks filled in perfectly, with no flaw to use as a foot or hand rest for climbing.

"Ella? What are you doing here?"

I whirled around to see Peter staring at me from about five feet away. "What does it look like I'm doing?" I snapped, and instantly regretted it. My goal wasn't to make everyone hate me; I just wanted to be left alone, ignored. I'd already been rude enough to Peter for one day.

"Well, actually, I wasn't entirely sure…"

"I'm eating chocolate cake, getting a suntan, and playing poker, all at the same time of course," I spoke over him. "Isn't it obvious? And what are you doing here, anyway?"

Peter stared at me for a few moments, as though he couldn't understand what I'd said, and then his mouth broke into a small grin. "Today must be your first day here."

"Why, whatever makes you say that?" I glanced around, looking for some sort of tool I could use to pull myself up the wall.

"You managed to sneak out of your rooms, but you can't get back into them," Peter's grin got slightly wider. "Would you like some help?"

"Not from self-satisfied people like you and the prince," I mumbled, but before I could give him a more polite response, he was already starting to levitate me, a blue column of air quickly growing underneath my feet. Glaring at him, I summoned my own swirls of air, and now that I was close enough to Tarmo, the curse allowed them to gather around me and lift me up to his still open window.

I lifted one leg over the window frame and sat straddling the wall as I glanced back down at him. The height seemed even more immense than before, but surprisingly, I found I rather liked the feeling of being so high up. The wind swept through my sweaty hair and cooled my neck and it just felt so… free.

Peter waved at me from the grounds below. "Why didn't you do that before? You've got that spell mastered," he called.

"If you're hoping compliments are going to win you any prizes, you're sadly mistaken," I called back, trying to get the rest of me into Tarmo's rooms without falling. I stumbled slightly, and I got the distinct feeling Peter was laughing at me, which only annoyed me more as I clumsily shut the window behind me, latching the glass securely before looking at Tarmo. He was as soundly asleep as ever, though I think he must have rolled over again, as I didn't remember him facing the window before. His snores were as audible as ever, and I crossed the room almost silently, carefully closing his bedroom door behind me.

I crept back to my room, and being careful to avoid the creaky plank in the floor, opened the bedroom door. To my surprise, a lamp was burning away on the desk, and Rose was lying perfectly awake on her bed, reading a book.

"Hello," she said, closing the leather-bound tome and setting it on the desk next to her. "Care to explain where you've been for the past three hours?"

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Thank you SO SO much again to everyone who reviewed. It feels so nice to think my work is read by other people who actually take the time to let me know what they think.

So, what do you think of this chapter? Did it live up to your much-appreciated praise? Please let me know!!!

Randomness: The reason Lily's character changed a bit was because she's finally getting out in the world. She'd pretty much been shut in her house all her life and for the first time she's actually getting to see the sky, so to speak.