"Okay, so promise me you won't scream? I really don't want people to think you're getting murdered or something," Bog said. He had shed his coat and shirt and was now in just his undershirt and trousers. Marianne was in her nightgown with a wide-eyed look on her face.

"And…it's because of magic, right? That they can talk?"

"Yes," Bog replied. Marianne chewed on her bottom lip. "Look, I know this is sudden, but Stuff and Thang are valuable assets when it comes to magical research. They practically know the books by heart and will make this whole process much easier," Marianne let out a breath.

"Okay. I'm ready," she said, determination in her eyes. Bog nodded, and went over to the window sill to pick up Stuff and Thang. He held the two critters in his large hands.

"Stuff, Thang, introduce yourselves," he said.

"Hi, Marianne," the two animals said in unison. Marianne's eyes grew even larger, and she covered her mouth, silencing the loud gasp that escaped her lips.

"Told you she would freak out," Stuff said to Thang.

"She didn't scream, though," Thang retorted.

"Bog asked her not to!"

"I think she's handling it quite well,"

"Are you joking? Look at her! She's in shock!"

"You really can talk," Marianne managed to squeak out.

"Indeed we can, Lady Marianne!" Thang said cheerfully. "It's only because of Master Bog's talent that we can communicate like this," Marianne raised an eyebrow at Bog.

" 'Master Bog'?" she asked.

"Only Thang calls me that. Stuff here could care less about titles," Bog explained.

"So don't go around expecting me to call you 'Your Highness' or 'Princess' or any of that mumble-jumble," Stuff said, shaking a wing in dismissal. "To me, you're just Marianne," Marianne chuckled.

"You're my kind of bat, Stuff," Marianne replied.

"And you're an absolute sweetheart, looking out for us little creatures," Stuff looked up at Bog. "But we have a spell to identify, don't we?"

"Indeed," Bog agreed, "We should get started as soon as possible," Bog put the animals down and opened his suitcase, pulling out a thick book.

"Bog, you said when you tried to dispel this curse, it fought back, right?" Griselda asked. With Roland gone she felt it safe to make herself visible and help Bog anyway she could.

"Yes. So this is clearly not simple magic. But if we can narrow it down to a category we can then take preemptive action and keep Marianne safe," Bog replied, skimming through the book. He found the page he was looking for and placed the book down on the floor. Taking out a piece of chalk, Bog began to attempt to draw a large shape into the carpet of their room. It took him a few tries. He gestured Marianne over to him. She followed, and looked down at the drawing. It was a large circle encompassed by a halo of smaller circles. In each of the smaller circles was a triangle.

"So, what's this for?" Marianne asked.

"This will show us what kind of spell is on you. Whether or not it's actually curse and what it's purpose is,"

"Okay, and how does it do that?"

"It will read the magical energies emanating from your body," Marianne sighed.

"I'm going to have to stand in it, aren't I?" she asked.

"Or sit. Which ever is more comfortable," Bog replied. He motioned her into the circle. "Go ahead and sit down. We'll get started in a bit," Marianne frowned, but moved into the circle and sat in the center. Bog flipped through the book again. "Okay. Stuff, Thang, keep your eyes peeled. Whatever this thing is it's powerful so we're bound to get a very strong reaction from it,"

"Aye aye, Master Bog," Thang replied.

"Then get ready," Bog held out his hands, his sorcery talisman glowing fiercely. Purple flames erupted from the circle, shooting up to the ceiling. Marianne let out a yell. The flames encompassed her body, but didn't burn. Instead, they felt cool and light, like the her skin was being tickled by a feather. Yet the comfort of knowing the flames would not hurt her was not enough to stop her fear. This felt too familiar to her dreams. So much fire. Her head suddenly began to sear in pain. She squeezed her eyes shut, holding her head in a vain attempt to fight it off. Visions began to blur past her eyes. She saw the shaky image of the ballroom of the Winterblood Palace, pristine and shimmering. Then, a red figure with dark eyes stepped forward. She watched in horror as lightning filled the ballroom, turning it black and broken. Fire fingered its way along the walls. The red figure from before suddenly appeared, mere inches from her face. It was a man with black hair and a thin mustache. She watched his lips form the word 'curse'. Then, everything went black.

Marianne opened her eyes and saw the ceiling of their hotel room. She felt a pillow behind her head, which made her assume she was in her bed. She looked around, and saw Bog sitting on the edge of the bed, drumming his fingers together.

"Bog?" she said, her voice weak. Bog looked up, and bolted to Marianne's side. He took her hand, wrapping it in his.

"Marianne, I am so sorry! That was not supposed to happen! Had I known it would've hurt you like that I wouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"Bog, it's okay. No one knew that was going to happen," she replied.

"Do you mind if I ask what exactly did happen?"

"I saw…things. A man in red. The Winterblood Palace burning. The man spoke about a curse…it all happened so fast," She put a hand to her forehead, rubbing it. Her head still hurt pretty bad. "Did you at least identify the spell?"

"Oh, it's a curse alright," Stuff replied, flying onto Bog's shoulder. "And a strong one at that,"

"Apparently this curse is meant to subtly change the luck of those cursed to be more, well, bad," Thang said next, hopping onto Bog's other shoulder.

"That's it? Just some bad luck?" Marianne asked.

"Not quite, Lady Marianne. This curse was intended to kill, but do so in a way that it appeared to be because of unfortunate circumstances,"

"Someone had a serious grudge on you, dearie" Griselda said.

"But why? What have I ever done to anybody!" Marianne exclaimed, "Please tell me you can do something about this, Bog!" Bog ran a hand through his hair.

"I wish I could, Marianne, I really do, but the most we can do is just be on our guard," Tears began to well up in Marianne's eyes. Someone wished her dead, and she didn't even know why! Then there were the visions, clues that hinted to her past but were just out of her reach. She was frustrated, scared, and her head hurt. She pulled her knees to her chest and sobbed. Bog gently put a hand on her back, stroking her. "I'm sorry, Marianne. But I promise that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe," he reassured. Marianne turned her tear-stained face to Bog.

"Thank you, Bog,"She sniffed, and wiped her tears away. Bog nodded. Marianne looked down, unsure if she should ask. Bog noticed this.

"Something wrong?"

"No, it's just…would you…mind laying here with me? I really need to hold something right now," Bog looked at her, surprised. "If you don't feel comfortable, that's fine! I can always-"

"No, no. It's okay. I don't mind," Bog stood up, pulling the blanket of the bed back. Marianne scooted over, giving him room. Stuff and Thang retreated from Bog's shoulders as he slipped in bed beside Marianne. Marianne wrapped her arms around his chest, face buried in his undershirt. Her tears returned. Bog held her tight, allowing her to cry into him. He rubbed her back, doing his best to comfort her. Bog lightly kissed the top of her head, and the two stayed like that until Marianne eventually fell asleep.

When Marianne awoke, it was morning. She sat up, her eyes feeling swollen from crying. Roland had returned from his date and was sitting on the floor beside her bed, reading. He looked up when he saw that she was awake, and moved to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Marianne, are you alright?" He asked, his voice soft. Marianne nodded, and looked around. Bog was asleep in the other bed. She looked back at Roland and opened her mouth to tell him what happened, but he quietly shushed her. "It's okay, Marianne. Bog told me everything," He gently took her hands into his. "I know you're scared, but you're not alone in this. You've got Bog, and you've got me. And I assure you, I won't let anything happen to you. I utterly refuse to let this spell come to fruition!" Marianne laughed, which made Roland smile. He brought her hands to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "You're in good company, my dear. We'll keep you safe,"

"Thank you, Roland. That means a lot to hear," Marianne replied. She stroked his hands with her thumbs and looked down. Roland gave her a quizzical look.

"Something on your mind?" Roland asked.

"If you don't mind me asking, how was your date with Bethany?" Roland let out a laugh.

"Nothing happened that would soil the lady's reputation, I assure you. We simply talked over wine. She's a fascinating woman and a bit of a flirt, but there was nothing serious between us," Marianne sighed with relief, and immediately regretted it. Roland laughed again. "Why, Marianne! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous!" Marianne blushed hard.

"Jealous?! What do I have to be jealous about?!"

"You tell me," Marianne just gulped and looked away, embarrassed. Roland simply smiled, and leaned in to kiss her cheek, which made Marianne gasp. He stood up, gave her a wink, and released her hands. "Now that you're up we should probably wake our sleeping wizard. We're leaving today, so get your things gathered up. We'll head out in a few hours,"

The three ventured out of the hotel, their suitcases and animals in tow. They had a little free time and stopped at a candy store to pick up some sweets. Roland got some sea salt caramels covered in dark chocolate, Marianne some salt water taffy, and Bog chocolate covered strawberries.

Now with their bags of treats, the three made their way to the docks, where their ship was waiting. It was a large luxury liner with several tall, thin smoke pipes coming out from the decks. They headed up the ramp that led from the docks to the ship's deck, along with a large crowd of fellow passengers.

After pushing through the crowd, Bog, Marianne, and Roland headed towards the back of the ship and down into the second level. Their room was near the center of the ship, not far from the bathing rooms. They stepped inside. The walls were painted a hospital white, and the wooden floor was stained and worn. A bunk bed sat in the corner of the room, it's blankets coarse and green. A small washroom hooked off the right wall, and a tiny desk and chair sat below the port window. The three looked at each other.

"So…" Marianne started, "Who's sleeping where?"

"I'll take the floor," Bog offered, setting his things down.

"Bog, that can't be comfortable," Marianne stated.

"It's not going to be, but the trip won't be that long. I think I can handle it,"

"Let's at least see if we can get you a blanket or something,"

"I'll see if I can persuade the staff to give us a set. I'm sure they have some to spare," Roland said. Marianne walked over to the bunk bed and gave it a shake. It seemed sturdy enough.

"So, Roland, do want top or bottom?" she asked.

"Do you get that question a lot, Roland?" Bog snorted. Roland shot him a glare.

"More than you, I'm sure," Roland snapped back.

"Boys, be nice," Marianne sighed.

"I'll take the top bunk, Your Highness. Make it easier for you to get in and out of bed,"

"Sounds good," With that, Marianne set her stuff down, and dug out the journal Bog gave her. She flopped on the bottom bed and began writing away.

"I'm glad to see that journal's been helping," Bog said with a smile.

"It has been," Marianne replied, "Though right now I'm just writing down that vision I saw back at the hotel," She stopped writing, a thought surfacing. "Hey, guys? How did the Edelweiss family die?"

"Didn't they die in the fire?" Bog asked.

"Most people assume that, but what actually happened was a little more…executed," Roland explained.

"What do you mean?" Marianne asked.

"The story goes that right before the fire, each member of the royal family, minus the two youngest daughters, were each shot in the back of the head. Then the fire started when their bodies were burned,"

"But why? Why did they kill them?"

"Winterblood fell on hard times back then," Bog said. "People were getting frustrated and angry and needed to blame someone. So they turned on the royal family,"

"That and fear of the Edelweiss curse probably didn't help," Roland added. "Edelweiss curse?" Marianne asked.

"The Edelweiss family had a royal enchanter by the name of Revek. He was caught working with dark magics, and was promptly stripped of his title and his assets. He showed up the night of Princess Dawn's and Prince Sunny's engagement party and proclaimed the family cursed. It scared a lot of people. So, when Winterblood started to go to Hell, the people blamed the royal family, or in some cases, their curse. They went after Revek as well,"

"They ended up killing him," Bog said.

"Well, people assume he died," Roland stated. "His house was burned down, yes, but no body was ever found. You'd think they'd find his skeleton at least, but no. Nothing. I personally think he used his magic to escape," No, Revek was definitely dead, Bog thought to himself, but didn't say anything. He didn't think Roland and Marianne needed to know about Master Kaiser and his efforts to reverse his master's curse. That was Bog's mission and his mission only. Marianne stared down at her journal. Her eyes were wide.

"Marianne?" Bog asked, "Are you alright?"

"I…" She swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. She fiddled with her necklace. "Wh-what if…that's the curse that's on me? Bog, the curse is meant to kill though circumstance, right? Think about it! Our train crash! What are the odds of that happening?! That…that would make me a-"

"An Edelweiss," Roland finished for her, "And a princess," Marianne brought her hands to her face.

"Then, why don't I remember anything? Why can't I remember anything?!"

"Maybe the shock of the events triggered something and your memories just blacked out?" Roland suggested, "I don't know, Marianne, but one thing I do know is that you are Princess Dawn's sister. Your family is out there. And we're bringing you home," He reached out and grasped her hand. Marianne took it and let out a breath.

"I need some air," She stood up and headed out of the room. Her? A princess? She had to know. She had to get to Summerfaire.