May 12, 1987

Just as King Leirelat promised me, he did return shortly, and this time he brought a little entourage with him, consisting of his friend Councilman Gregory, Head Administrator Michael, the royal "babysitter" Erica, and finally, the guest of honor, Princess Victoria. King Bowser and I greeted the group at the Imperial Airway as they got off their jet. Almost immediately my eyes caught sight of the princess, who was walking in front of her father, his hands on her shoulders. As they made their way over to us, the princess smiled at me, like she already knew who I was. The cutesy light purple dress she wore suited her well, and did a nice job at accenting her bright, pure amethyst eyes. Before her, I had never seen amethyst as a color a sorcerer had before, and it truly was, for lack of better words, breathtaking. The Alterian group stopped in front of King Bowser and I. Leirelat nodded his head in respect to us, and we both returned the gesture. The rest of his group followed their king's example, and even little Victoria bowed her head.

"King Leirelat, welcome back! Instead of today being filled with tedious talks of war, let's just take some time off to relax, hmm?" King Bowser kindly began. There were times when I thought I heard the old voice of my friend return, the Bowser from over ten years ago whom I was good friends with. Unfortunately, the present form of the king had been corrupted somehow, and to this day I'm still trying to figure out exactly what was going on with him. Anyway, the Alterian King smiled at my king's suggestion, then looked down at his daughter.

"See Victoria, we're just going to relax in Dark World for today, nothing big. Now, what do you say to King Bowser and Head Administrator Kamek, sweetie?"

"You have eyes like I do, Kamek!" Victoria began. "I've heard a lot about you, my daddy likes to talk about you a lot." Her voice was cheerful and she smiled widely.

"Oh, he does, does he?" I grinned at Leirelat, who shyly nodded his head. The Alterian King keeps giving me reason after reason to like him!

"And what about me?" King Bowser asked. "Does your daddy ever mention me?"

The princess made a face, then shook her head. "Yup! He said all you and your wife do is make kids!"

At his daughter's outburst, Leirelat turned a bright red, and I had to hold in a laugh. Princess Victoria was a blunt little creature, that was for sure. I swore I could hear the rest of Leirelat's party suck in a breath after she spoke, anxiously awaiting my king's response. Fortunately, King Bowser was the one who bursted out laughing.

"Well my dear, that's not all we do!"

The Alterian group released their breath and joined in the laughter. King Leirelat addressed his daughter. "Now Victoria, you know that's not nice to say."

"But I didn't say it to be mean! He asked me what you said about him, so I told him." The princess pouted, obviously not aware of her offense. I personally didn't see what was so wrong with what she said anyway.

"How about we come inside and I introduce you to everyone? My wife is anxious to see you, Victoria." My king motioned with his hand over to the palace entrance.

"Can I meet him now?" Victoria calmly asked as she looked up at her father. I knew the "he" she was referring to immediately.

"Oh, I'm sure you can." Leirelat answered. He exchanged glances with me to see if it was alright if his daughter finally met with the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness Leirelat, I'd like to take Victoria on a little tour of the castle, while my King introduces your councilmen to the Queen." I suggested. "That is, of course, if it's alright by you."

"As long as I can come along, it's fine." Erica butted in. Despite her young age, the nanny spoke with a strong voice of concern. I figured she must've been around twenty-five years old. I had heard that she was a friend of the Alterian Royal Family and was very good to the princess. Growing up without a mother must be hard, especially for a girl, so I suppose Erica had to have taken over that role a bit for Victoria. No, maybe not like a mother...more like a big sister.

"Of course, it's fine with me." King Leirelat then leaned down to address his daughter. "Just behave, ok? I know you can be a bit mischievous with your powers-"

"I'll behave! I won't set any fires or deep freeze the cat or anything." The princess jokingly exclaimed.

"Well!" My King chuckled. "We don't have any cats, but we do have infants running around. Just make sure not to give them a serious case of frost bite!"

I grinned to myself. While they were talking nonchalantly about turning animals into ice cubes, I kept thinking that the princess actually could do stuff like that if she wanted to. Then again, so could I...but there was something scary about a sixth tier sorceress misusing her powers!

"Now, if you'll follow me, Erica and Princess Victoria! I believe the Crown Prince must be in the Social Room." I nodded my head towards the castle entrance.

"Ah, Ludwig's playing with Gwendolyn again? I wasn't aware that he was so fond of his little siblings." King Bowser said with a hint of surprise in his voice. "Usually he's always cooped up in his room."

Maybe if you paid more attention to him... I pushed my thoughts aside and forced a smile at the King. "Your Highness, he's always been particularly kind to his sister. Perhaps he's tired of having little brothers?" While my tone was lighthearted, I seriously meant everything I said. I didn't bother waiting for his reaction. "Let's go!"

With that, Victoria, Erica and I began our short journey towards the Family Room. We were quiet as we walked away from the Airway, but as soon as we entered the castle, the princess got very chatty.

"You didn't hear me before, did you?" she asked as she gazed up at me with her amethyst eyes.

I raised an eyebrow, having no clue as to what she meant. "Hear you before? I'm sorry, it must've slipped right by me."

"That's not what she meant." Erica told me.

"When I got off the jet and first looked at you. I said 'hello' and you didn't hear me." Victoria scowled at me, then her expression grew wide. "Oh! You probably can't hear me anyway! I'm sorry!"

I was very puzzled about what she was talking about. "What do you mean? Hear you?" I hated not knowing what was going on while everyone around me did!

"She doesn't mean 'hear' literally, Head Administrator." Erica started. "It's a little trick she can do that we cannot."

As soon as Erica enlightened me I knew what Victoria was talking about. I turned to look down at the Alterian princess, who had been snickering the entire time. "Oh, I know what you mean now! You..." I motioned with my hand to her head, then to mine. "You used telepathy, right?"

"Uh-huh! When I first looked at you and sent the message you didn't respond, so I figured that you couldn't hear me inside your head." Victoria sighed. "No one can anyway, so it's ok if you couldn't."

"Well, I might not be able to, but I know someone who probably could." I stopped in my tracks in front of the large familiar door to the Family Room. "Here we go! He should be in here..." I anxiously opened the door and peeked my head in and called out, "Your Highness! You have a few guests who wish to speak with you!"

The Crown Prince was seated on the floor, along with his brother Lemuel and baby sister. He turned his head around. "Oh, really?" he quipped, a bit surprised.

I nodded my head, then moved away so I could open the door fully. Moving aside, I allowed the princess and her nanny to enter the room first. Upon seeing Victoria, Ludwig instantly got to his feet and walked over to her.

Prince Lemuel's eyes widened and he smiled. "Who's she? She's pretty."

I walked over to the two sorcerers and placed a hand on each one's shoulder. "Crown Prince Ludwig," I formally introduced. "Meet Crown Princess Victoria of Alteria."

There was silence for a moment, until the prince suddenly started laughing, which was quickly followed with giggles from Victoria.

"Yeah, he did!" Ludwig nodded his head and covered his mouth with his hand, trying to fight back laughter.

"Who did?" I asked, once again confused. "Did I miss something?"

"She did it again, Head Administrator, but this time," Erica gazed upon the two children and folded her arms. "This time, the Crown Prince heard her."

"Oh? Ludwig, is that right?" I addressed the prince, who in turn looked up at me and shook his head.

"Go ahead, Ludwig, tell him what I told you." Victoria urged, allowing more giggles to escape from her lips.

"She said that you were so formal when you introduced us, Kamek, and that it sounded kinda funny," the Crown Prince began.

"And then he said that you did sound real formal, but that you're always like that," the princess added, still giggling away.

"Then Victoria said that at least you're not as boring as King Bowser." He smirked at his words, then looked at the Alterian Princess with a full smile on his face.

"You exchanged all that just through telepathy?" I questioned. Amazed at the interaction, I gently squeezed Ludwig's shoulder and urged him closer to the princess. "Well, you two just dwarfed my powers considerably!"

"Maybe we could teach you. It's not hard!" Victoria exclaimed as her eyes focused onto my own. Her light purple sorceress eyes were certainly intimidating.

"No, I'm afraid telepathy is a technique which I've never had the ability to muster," I explained to her. "It's something you're born with."

"Well I didn't discover that power until recently," The Crown Prince said. "It wasn't until I started talking to my mom when I realized I had it."

"You talk to your mom, too?" Princess Victoria's features widened in surprise as she gazed at the prince. "Your mom is gone too, right?"

"Yeah," Ludwig muttered. "She died when I was two."

Victoria tilted her head to the side, a sad expression on her face. "I'm sorry, Ludwig. I can relate though."

"How about we all take a seat and talk? It's senseless to be standing here while there are chairs all around." I interrupted the children and motioned over to the two large chairs next to the fireplace. "I'm sure Lemuel would like to know what's going on as well."

"That would be nice," the younger prince interjected, obviously feeling left out.

"Sure, good idea." Erica smiled.

The nanny and I both took our seats on the large velvet covered chairs, while the children sat down next to the fireplace. Baby Gwendolyn immediately plopped down onto Ludwig's lap as soon as he reached the floor, and Victoria positioned herself next to the Crown Prince.

"So," she started. "You too know what I'm talking about?"

"Yeah, I suppose I do. It's pretty weird, I didn't think anyone else knew what I was talking about." he then turned to face me. "Even Kamek was shocked, and he's been my teacher for the past few years."

"It is kinda weird, especially when hearing it for the first time! I thought I was going crazy or something." Victoria paused, and Ludwig nodded his head in agreement. "See, you know what I mean, Ludwig! It's just like talking to them as if they were really here, but they're not. You can hear her voice clearly, right?"

"Very clearly," the Crown Prince answered as he hugged his little sister close. "When I first heard it I thought she was there in the room with me, so I got up and looked around. I felt kinda silly, until she told me that she wasn't physically there. I had no idea who she was at first, because when I was only two when my mother died. Then she explained who she was. I found it hard to believe, and I also thought I was going crazy, until she began telling me things about my dad and Kamek."

Victoria repositioned herself on the floor, stretching her legs out in front of her and clicking her shoes together. "I was scared when I heard my mother's voice again, especially since she had been dead for awhile." She then began to chuckle. "Hey, can you do all sorts of strange stuff too?"

"Strange?" Ludwig questioned, making a face at the princess.

"You know! I mean like walking through walls, moving objects without touching them and stuff like that."

"Oh! In that case, yeah I can-"

"Yes, Victoria, the Crown Prince has developed quite a mischievous habit of entering rooms by walking through doors." I had to butt in, with a grin. "He takes us quite by surprise sometimes."

"Or like the time you spilled my juice, you jerk!" Lemuel yelled as he glared at his big brother. "Or when you kept hiding my favorite book without even touching it, or the time you-"

"That's enough, Lemmy!" Ludwig snapped. He sounded embarrassed, but let out a laugh. "You're making me look bad in front of the princess!"

"That's ok, when I first discovered my powers, I accidentally ended up turning my dad's pet bird into an ice cube!" Victoria chuckled, cupping her hands over her mouth. All of us in the room laughed, and Erica rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but manage to let a smirk develop on her face.

"You did that?" Ludwig asked. "That's pretty funny..." He smiled at the princess, and she returned the gesture. "All I did when I first discovered my powers was give Lemmy a second degree burn on his arm."

"Yeah, it left a mark! Want to see, princess?" the younger prince shot to his knees and crawled over to Victoria, shoving his left arm into her face.

"Oh, it's alright Lemmy, I believe you." she politely acknowledged. She then turned her attention back to the Crown Prince, who seemed like he couldn't keep his sorcerer eyes off of her. "Your home element is fire, right?"

"That's right. What's yours?"

"Mine's water. I can cast some pretty neat sixth tier water spells, but it's kinda hard to since they cause so much...umm," Again she paused, trying to find the right word. It didn't take her long. "Damage."

"Gods, your Highness, I couldn't even imagine what that must've looked like!" I interjected. "And I thought fifth tier spells were nasty enough!"

"Wow Victoria, that must've been some sight." Ludwig added.

"You don't have to call me by my full name," the princess began.

"Then what should I call you?"

"You can call me Tori. My mom used to call me that before...never mind. Now that's what my dad usually calls me when we're home." the princess's voice somewhat sank when she mentioned her mother.

I turned to exchange glances with Erica, who only shook her head at me. I wanted to question the princess about her ability to talk to her mother through her powers, but decided against it. Only if she brought it up would I further question her.

"Sure, Tori," the Crown Prince smiled. "That's cool that your mom gave you a nickname."

"Thanks," Victoria was now playing with the baby princess, who was still plopped down on her brother's lap. "Do you have any nicknames, Ludwig?"

"Umm....besides the ones my step-mother probably calls me behind my back, no, I don't think so."

"Aww, that's not true, your Highness!" I exclaimed. The children looked up at me. Ludwig had quite the surprised expression on his face, probably praying to the gods that I wasn't about to embarrass him. "What does your little sister call you?"

The prince appeared confused for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he broke out into a chuckle.

"What?" Victoria questioned. Her eyes looked at Ludwig, then at the baby, then back up at the prince.

"Go ahead, show our guests your little sister's vocal capabilities!" I joked as I leaned over in my chair to move my face closer to the group on the floor.

"Wendy," Ludwig lightly called. At the mention of her name, the toddler instantly looked up at her big brother. She produced a high-pitched cooing sound, then pointed up at him.

"She's so cute! How old is she?" Victoria inquired, playing with a ruffle off Gwendolyn's dress.

"She's almost two." the Crown Prince quickly answered. "Wendy, who am I?" He then pointed to himself, allowing the princess to get to her feet. She staggered a bit, but Lemmy balanced her by grabbing a hold on her waist.

"Lemmy!" the toddler chuckled, clapping her hands together wildly.

"No, not him!" Ludwig laughed. "Me."

"Fireplace!" she again ignored her brother by directing her attention at the hearth.

Victoria began giggling and playfully nudged Ludwig on the arm. "Are you sure you're her favorite brother?"

"Yeah I am! Wendy, come on," the prince couldn't help but laugh again and tried to recapture the baby's interest. "Wendy, you say it all the time, why won't you do it now?"

"Kamek!" Wendy cried, pointing at me.

"Hello, your little Majesty!" I smiled at the princess, who was now staring at me with her walnut-shaped blue eyes. Her eyes often reminded me of Ludwig's, except they were nowhere near as brilliant. Considering the Crown Prince inherited his eye color from his mother, it made me wonder where Gwendolyn's blue eyes came from, especially since her twin Ignatius also has the same color and eye type, and neither the King nor Queen have blue eyes. I'm not even going to write down my theory on that issue!

"Not him!" Ludwig yelled. He took hold of the toddler's tiny hands and forced her to look at him. "Who am I?"

"Loowee!" She aimed her index finger at her big brother and proceeded to giggle.

"That's right, Wendy!" He exclaimed as he pinched her right cheek. "For some weird reason I'm not Ludwig to her, but Louie."

"Maybe she can't pronounce it?" Victoria suggested.

"See Tori, Wendy calls him Louie, and she calls me Lemmy...but then again, almost everyone does that." Lemuel added.

The baby quietly turned her head towards the Alterian princess, and quizzically gazed at her.

"You're a new face to her, Tori." Ludwig explained. "She's probably wondering where you came from."

"It's ok," Victoria said, pushing a lock of long, raven colored hair over her shoulder. She grinned at the tiny princess, holding her hands out palms-up for the baby to take.

I watched the interaction from my chair, anxious to see how Gwendolyn reacted to the sorceress. Erica had leaned over and tapped me on the shoulder, forcing me to turn my head away from the children.

"Victoria talks often about her little sister and about how much she misses her." she whispered to me, careful not to attract the attention of her princess. "Playing with the baby like this is good for her."

"I agree," I murmured back. "Her and Ludwig seem to be getting along just fine."

At this point, the nanny slanted closer to me and began to motion with her hands, "Can Ludwig talk to his mother too?"

"Indeed he can."

"So that's why you wanted Victoria to visit," she smirked at me, still in a full whisper. "Do you think that he's got the same abilities as her, if you know what I mean?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," I shook my head. "Only time will tell, but he's showing much promise."

I was eager to learn more about the princess though, and needed an opportunity to talk to her some more. "How about we take a seat outside on the castle grounds? It's too nice of a day to spend the entire afternoon in here."

By the time I looked back at the children on the floor, they had started talking amongst themselves. Victoria and Ludwig were chatting quite feverishly with each other, almost ignoring Lemuel and the baby. I was a bit taken back about how quickly the Crown Prince warmed up to our visitor. I've known the boy all his life, and he's not exactly the conversationalist. It wasn't until after I formally began training him that he started opening up to me by sharing his thoughts regarding the King, his step-mother, or anything else that irked him.

As I watched the two sorcerers innocently conversing together, I realized that I wasn't the only one who could really understand the Prince anymore. Although I wasn't sure what they were talking about, I heard the laughing and noticed the smiles on both of their faces. Ludwig certainly doesn't do much of the latter, and seeing him in good spirts made me smile myself. He reminded me so much of myself when I was younger, but I could never tell him that, at least not now.

"Another great idea, Head Administrator," Erica said, breaking up my thoughts. "I'd like to go outside. I heard the gardens here at the castle are beautiful. Alteria really isn't famous for its flora." the nanny smirked.

"Oh, that's not true. Doesn't the ice blue rose only bloom in Alteria?" I questioned. Roses were naturally gorgeous flowers, but there was something about Alteria's rose that again had sent me back into my memories. Monika used to love ice blue roses, and before we were both married, and even sometimes after, I often managed to buy her at least one on special occasions. The last rose I ever remembered giving her was just a few nights before she died. I didn't want to think about that now, and quickly shook the thought off.

"You're right, they only bloom in Alteria," Erica answered as she stood up. "Now let's head outside!"

I managed a smile and shook my head.

"Come on Ludwig, let's show our guests the castle gardens,"

Of course he ignored me.

"Ludwig?" I called.

"Yeah, Kamek?" he questioned, without even looking up. The Alterian princess was spouting off about something which seemed to interest him, and he couldn't seem to tear his attention away from her.

"How about we show our guests around the castle gardens?" I repeated.

"Come on, Victoria. You can continue your conversation outside," Erica said, walking towards the door. "I'd really like to go and get some fresh air."

At that point, I saw the princess lean in closer to Ludwig's ear and whisper, "Geez, she's sure got a fire under her ass, doesn't she?"

I couldn't believe my ears! Clearly neither did the Crown Prince, but he tried his best to hold in a laugh as the royal nanny left the room. Lemuel made no point in concealing his giggling, while his baby sister mimicked him, clapping her small hands together in the process.

"My my, your Highness," I chuckled. "That wasn't very nice."

"Aw, but you don't live with her, Head Administrator Kamek. I mean, she's really nice and all, but lately she's just been constantly hounding me and shi--umm...stuff." Victoria let her amethyst eyes wander the room as she searched for a word to correct her slip. For an eleven year old, she had an interesting vocabulary. "Louie, I'm sure you could relate, with your step-mother and all. Umm...is it okay if I call you 'Louie?'"

"Oh, that's fine. Yeah, I can definitely relate..." the Crown Prince let his words trail off as he shook his head, holding back a grin. "I can definitely relate..."

I found the interaction between the two very refreshing. I was curious to see Ludwig interact with other children his age, especially a female, and his reaction was very surprising. Honestly, I figured that the boy would've given the princess a look of disinterest or pay little attention to her, but he's proven me wrong. What especially caught my attention was how eager Victoria was to talk to him. She certainly didn't hold back her feelings, which was something I hoped Ludwig could learn from her. In a way, she reminded me of Monika a bit.

We quickly left the Social Room and met Erica, then made our way to the castle gardens. The two sorcerers walked ahead of the nanny and I, chattering away, while I kept my eyes locked on the pair. Erica was silent, but from what I could tell from her gestures and body language, she seemed rather tired. Now that's something I could relate to. Over the past few months I hadn't been able to get much sleep. Either King Bowser keeps me up late at night with him in the Planning Room, or my dreams continue to haunt me every time I close my eyes. Never mind about that, I really don't want to go off on a tangent.

Luckily, the walk from the Social Room to the gardens was a short one and I felt instantly elated as I stepped outside. The May mid-afternoon sun was shining high and brilliantly in the sky, as it was a rare day in Dark World. Usually, clouds constantly hung over the horizon, no matter how clear it may have seemed outside, but today things were different. Erica shared the same reaction as me, and quickly stepped out into the garden, leaving us behind. I must admit, I was never a lover of plants and flowers, and on one occasion I've even managed to kill a cactus that was sent over to me from the Kingdom of Sands. Despite my love/hate relationship with flora, the garden had become a nice place for Ludwig and I to practice his sorcery. For the most part, it was quiet, had a large amount of space, and no one ever bothered us there.

"Why don't you two take a seat?" I suggested to the children. "Maybe we could go over to the pond. Victoria might want to see it."

"I like water!" the princess clasped her hands together in an almost devilish way. If I hadn't known that she was teasing, I would've actually been frightened.

"Sure. Want to see it, Tori?" Ludwig asked as he motioned his head over to the pond's direction. "It's kinda nice, if you're into that sorta thing."

"Yeah, let's go!" she chirped, a smile forming across her lips.

I nodded in approval, and we made our way over to the small body of water, which was located in the dead center of the garden. The pond had been artificially installed by King Bowser's father, as a gift to his Queen, my King's mother. Our present Queen, Adora, really hasn't made any use of it, as she's too busy creating babies to care much for such trivial things. I noticed Erica had already reached the pond and was seated on a bench overlooking the water. The children broke away from me and positioned themselves at the pond's edge.

"Gods, it's so nice here," Erica muttered. I wasn't sure exactly who she was talking to, but I shook my head in agreement. "The weather's still harsh in Alteria, even though it's mid-May."

"Well, that's Alteria for you!" I chuckled. There was some space left on the bench which Erica was perched upon, so I took a seat and gazed out into the garden. Indeed, it was beautiful, and perhaps not so trivial after all. Ludwig and Victoria were, as far as I could tell, sitting in silence. "They're awfully quiet." I murmured to Erica.

"No," she smirked. "They're still talking."

"They're still talking?"

"They just don't want us to hear what they're gabbing about."

"Oh, you mean they're using telepathy again?"

"That's right."

"What do you think they're talking about?"

"I'm not sure, but Victoria has taken a liking to your Prince," Erica turned to face me. "I haven't seen her this chatty since the god's remember when. I must apologize for her blunt behavior though. I've tried working on cleaning up that mouth of hers, but she manages to sound more and more like a Blazaa airship captain every day!"

"It's quite alright! From what I've heard, she hasn't had much adult female influence around her, so that could explain it. It doesn't make her any more unladylike." I then took notice of the Crown Princess herself. She was plopped down on the ground, next to Ludwig, again with her legs stretched out before her. The toes of her patten-leather shoes clicked togther, and I couldn't help but notice the scuff marks they bore. To my amusement, the dress she was wearing shifted a bit when she first sat down, revealing a pair of freshly skinned knees. ...My, she's a little tomboy...

"Yeah, I don't like wearing these kinds of clothes," Victoria's voice suddenly interjected. "I destroyed these shoes in less than a week."

"That's funny, I was just thinking that-" She cut me off before I could continue my sentence.

"I know." Her reply was nonchalant as she shot the prince a glance.

"You...know? How'd you know what I was thinking?" I questioned. Perhaps this small sorceress was even more powerful than I thought. Maybe I really should've been frightened.

"She just knew," Ludwig said.

"You mean you read my mind?"

"Exactly." she replied.

"Victoria!" Erica butted in. "What did I tell you about misusing your powers?"

"Aw shit, Erica! Louie dared me to do it!" Victoria whined. She stared at her nanny with a rather annoyed scowl on her face. "I didn't mean any harm!"

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I asked if she could actually do it, so she proved it to me." the Crown Prince explained.

I paid no attention to the bickering that was going on before me, as I was taken back by the fact that Victoria could not only communicate through telepathy, but she could also read my mind. I wasn't sure if Ludwig could do the same. Even if he could, it was a power he might've wanted to remain hidden.

"No, it's incredible!" I exclaimed. "Mind reading isn't a quality common in sorcerers. Victoria, can you do it at whim?"

"I'm still working on that."

Erica sighed at the princess and rolled her eyes. "Sometimes she just doesn't listen."

"Hey Louie," Victoria started. "Want to see something neat?"

"Okay sure!" Ludwig smiled.

"Victoria," Erica warily called. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing big!"

"Don't you cause any damage!"

"I won't!"

"You better not! We're not at home, so you have to be more careful here."

"It's fine, my lady. Let her show us a small sample of what she can do." I said. Naturally I was very curious to see the sorceress at work, but what I really wanted to watch was her calling upon the spirit of her mother. I had promised Leirelat that I wouldn't irritate his daughter by demanding a magic show, but still I was inquisitive. Perhaps with time she'll show me.

"Here, watch." The Princess leaned over the pond slightly and placed her hands palms down, over the water, just barely touching it. "Here's a neat little trick I learned in the bathtub."

The remaining three of us all leaned over in anticipation and watched her. The girl had gotten silent, and I assumed she must've been casting a spell already. Just as I was thinking to myself, I noticed that the princess' hands began to glow a soft blue. Almost instantly, the light color began to shine more radiantly, turning into a darker shade of blue, and mere seconds later, I saw that the water below her hands had begun to freeze over at a rapid rate. Gradually, the spell had cast its magic all over the whole pond, causing it entirely to turn into a sheet of ice. The spell itself was only second tier magic, and either Ludwig or I could have easily done the same thing, but it was fascinating to watch nonetheless. Then again, there was no way she could have showed us a sixth tier spell without causing mass destruction, so opting to turn our pond into an ice rink was a wonderful, yet modest, display of power. The Crown Prince was in awe as he watched the princess pull her hands away from the once unfrozen water. He promptly reached out with his fist and knocked his knuckles against the ice.

"It's frozen through," he stated, looking up at her.

"Yeah it is. I hope I didn't kill any fish." she grimaced as her eyes grew wide.

"Very nice, Your Highness. Your teacher has trained you well." I praised.

"I suppose so. I had this old guy, Drazimand....Drazelmaind....Drazelwhatever training me for a while, but that was before I started summoning my mom. Once I did that, he couldn't teach me anything anymore, so I've basically learned a lot on my own."

"Hey Tori, I have a great book about sorcery if you're interested." Ludwig suggested. "I got it a while back when I went into the Capital with Kamek. It's all about magic, and it gives some nice insight on meditation and other training methods."

"Sure, that would be nice!"

"Yes," I smiled. "Ludwig's become an avid learner himself. Sometimes I think that he doesn't need me anymore."

"Kamek, that's not true." he smirked.

"Hmm...Victoria, I think it's time to find your father. We should be heading back home soon." Erica looked at her watch, then up at me. "Head Administrator, do you know where he'd happen to be?"

"Probably with my King in the Planning Room."

"Then shall we go?"

"Of course, my lady, if you'd like. Come on, children."

The sorcerers shot each other a quick glance, then stood up. Victoria cutely smoothed out her dress, muttering something about her " damn shoes" the entire time. Ludwig took one last look at the frozen pond and grinned. Slyly. Somehow, I could see him trying something similar in the near future, like freezing over Queen Adora's morning cup of tea or Prince Lemuel's bubble bath.

It didn't take us long to locate the two kings, as they were exactly where I had predicted them to be. After a short conversation and a rather long good-bye, the Crown Prince and I escorted the Alterian entourage back to the Imperial Airway.

"It was an honor having you here, your Majesty." I bowed my head in reverence to King Leirelat, who returned the gesture.

"Kamek, it's always a pleasure to come here and see you." Leirelat had his hands on his daughter's shoulders again as he spoke. "And I'm sure Victoria enjoyed her stay as well. Didn't you, sweetie?"

"Of course I did!" the princess exclaimed. "Louie, I'd really like to see you again. There's so much I want to talk to you about."

"Same here," Ludwig answered. I couldn't help but notice the smile now evident across his face as she talked to him. "It's nice to finally chat with someone who knows exactly what I'm talking about and doesn't think I'm crazy."

"I understand. Hey..." Victoria broke away from her father's hold and walked up to the Crown Prince. She started to converse with him in almost a whisper, but I was close enough to hear what she was saying. "I'm going to try talking to you...you know...in your mind. If you can hear my voice, try answering me back. I'm not sure how this telepathy thing works, but maybe we we'll be able to hear each other."

He wordlessly nodded back, but I had a feeling words were "exchanged" anyway. Victoria broke out into a grin and nodded her head. Telepathy must be an awesome power to possess!

"Bye, Louie." She waved her hand at him as she returned back into her father's arms.

"I'll see you later, Princess."

After another long series of good-bye's, the party disembarked on their private jet. Ludwig and I watched the plane slowly ascend into the sky, then eventually gain altitude. When it was completely covered by clouds, the Crown Prince turned around and began to head back towards the castle.

"What did you think of her?" I asked, circling around to see him.

"She was nice." he simply said. The boy had stopped in his tracks and began to dig his right heel into the ground.

"And?"

"She's very interesting. I really liked talking to her."

"Did you ask her about the conversations you've been having with your mother?"

"Just a bit. We really didn't have a chance to talk about that, because her nanny was constantly watching us. We did manage to say some things through our minds though."

"Like what?"

"Just stuff. I'm going to go check up on Wendy. I'll see you later, Kamek." Ludwig didn't even bother to wait for my reply and entered the castle. I suppose I was being nosey without realizing it, so I decided not to pursue the dialogue any further.

I had a very nice afternoon with the Alterian king and his daughter. I do hope to see them again really soon, as I'm sure Ludwig thinks the same. He seems to click with the princess on a level that I can't even reach him at, and I'm anxious to see how their relationship develops. She could definitely teach him a thing or two, especially in regards to telepathy and hearing the voices of the dead. As I said before, Victoria had reminded me of Monika, but only slightly. It caused me to think back again about my past, which I'm still having trouble coming to grips with. There are times when I think about Monika nonstop, about what I should have done instead of what I actually did do. If turning back the clock was a power that sorcerer's had, I would've used it to my advantage in a heartbeat, yet one of the only things I can muse about now is how she's interacting with her son. I hope she is as proud of him as I am.

Whew, I finally got this chapter done! I'm sorry it's taken me so long...like...all summer. :::smacks self in face::: Writer's block is to blame, as well as me being totally lazy, but at least it's finally done! The next chapter should be up sometime this month, as college has been kicking my arse royally in regards to work. Oh, I have my own website, which contains this story and a Legend of Zelda parody. The site is: www.cutesyvideogamessuck.homestead.com Thanks to everyone who's been reading this story and commenting, because I like hearing what you have to say! Keep the reviews coming! Until the next!