The castle that housed the Musain College for Faeries was surrounded on all sides by a forest of pine trees. It was home to all sorts of interesting magical creatures, but we'll get to them later. About five minutes walk through the trees in front of the castle (and across the road that the bus to Magix City travelled along) there was a beautiful lake called Lake Roccaluce. Its banks stretched between the three schools of Magix, and there was a different type of bank for each school. At Musain's bank, there was a beautiful sandy beach. At Corinthe, there was a dam with a walkway on top that made for a lovely viewing point. At Votirlu, however, there was a rather nasty, marshy forest known as the Black Mud Swamp. It was in this swamp that Professor Palladium, a tall, dorkish elf with a stutter, fresh out of teacher training, chose to hold his first field activity. The class was one on Potionology, and Palladium insisted that in order to work with potions, you had to first work with nature.

"So, as I was s-saying, today's exercise will be f-far more hands-on than our p-previous classwork," he was saying, when one of the students, a rather snobbish girl named Amaryl, interrupted him.

"Professor Palladium! A mosquito just bit me!"

"Y-yes, well," Palladium stuttered. "It's just a mosquito, and we are in a swamp."

"But look where it got me!" Amaryl complained. She rolled up her shorts to point at her mid-thigh. Palladium was looking more awkward by the minute.

"Y-yes, well, to p-put it - get straight to the p-p-point," he stammered, "um…"

The class burst into giggles. Cosette's heart went out to the man. "Poor professor," she whispered to Enjolras. "They shouldn't give him such a hard time!"

"I know," Enjolras sighed. "If he was more confident he'd have it easier. Still, they should be more respectful to the guy who is literally teaching us survival skills."

Palladium had finally gathered his thoughts. "A good Faery," he said firmly, "should always listen to the voice of Nature. We cannot survive if we don't listen to what Nature tells us." Cosette noticed his stutter vanished whenever he was speaking about something he was passionate about. "Today's exercise will put your survival skills to the test. You've all been put into groups of five, so you're ready to begin. You have three hours to find your way out of the Black Mud Swamp and to the clearing in Roccaluce forest without using magic. Remember to listen carefully to the voice of Nature, and follow its advice," he instructed, before snapping his fingers and disappearing an a burst of golden sparks.

Left to their own devices, the Faeries split off into their groups. Les Amis were lucky enough to have been put together, and they gathered in a huddle to discuss the game plan. Jehan, knowing the most about nature, was voted leader, and they decided to head down seemingly the only path in the swamp. Unfortunately, the path was a dead end, cut off by a rather murky-looking outlet of Lake Roccaluce. Most people would have looked for another way around; Jehan decided to plunge right into it. They were up to their knees in muddy water, and beckoned their friends to follow with an altogether not-that-reassuring assurance of "Don't worry, our boots are waterproof!"

Enjolras was the last into the water, and he groaned at the feeling of muddy water lapping at his thighs. "Ugh, this is minging! Why couldn't we have found a way around, Jehan?"

Jehan shrugged, and Courfeyrac nodded in agreement. "I'd say this mud puddle is potentially problematic, but that's putting it mildly," he winced as a particularly slimy piece of bogweed brushed past his thigh. "It smells like sulphur."

Éponine's eyes widened. "Bog is definitely not supposed to smell of sulphur! We need to get out of here!" An enormous bubble forming in the water in front of her, bigger than her head, seemed to prove her point. The Amis all dashed for the opposite bank, crouching behind a large rotting log. Cosette picked up a stick and swung it back.

"OK, let's see," she murmured, lobbing the stick directly towards the bubble. It burst, releasing bright yellow gas that smelled worse than a chain-smoker eating an off egg sandwich. Her eyes widened. "Damn. We were lucky, getting out of there when we did."

"A whim is one thing, but that was a pretty big risk, Jehan," Courfeyrac said crossly. "If we'd popped one of those while we were still in that bog, we would have all been toast."

Meanwhile, at Votirlu…

The coven known as Patron-Minette, made up of Babet, Claquesous and Gueulemer, stalked into the room shared by Gueulemer and Babet. Gueulemer's frizzy purple hair was even more on-end than usual. "Ugh," he groaned, flinging himself down on his bed. "I can't stand Professor Zarathustra. She always forces me to make an effort."

Claquesous meanwhile had stormed over to Gueulemer's wardrobe and was thumping on the door. "Larbin! You useless smelly ogre! Come out now!" She swung open the door, revealing the group's ogre lackey, and put her hand to her nose at the smell. "Ugh, why do you smell worse than usual?" she groaned.

The ogre shrugged. "Probably shouldn't have eaten those beans. Sorry, Highness."

"Never mind the beans," Gueulemer scowled. "We've gotta find you a hiding place with better ventilation."

"You've got to be more careful, Larbin," Claquesous agreed. "Nobody can know that you're here."

"School regulations are clear when it comes to beasts, animals, or other pets," Babet said. He glared at the little grey duckling that followed the ogre out of the wardrobe, quacking happily at the sight of Babet. Babet ignored it as best he could. "As I was saying, we've got to be more careful. We screwed up the back-to-school assignment, and we broke another rule today by making ourselves invisible to skip Viridium's lecture."

"But we're Witches, aren't we?" Gueulemer said in frustration. "We're supposed to break rules."

Babet rolled his eyes and turned to the ogre. "Now, what was so important that you had to call my mobile phone in the middle of the day?" he snapped.

"Sorry, Highness, but I had an urgent message," the ogre groaned. "I was down in the tunnels near Corinthe College and I overheard them talking."

"And?" Claquesous snapped. "Get to the point!"

"And I heard that the Wizards were bringing my hunting troll to Magix City today to be turned over to the police!" Larbin continued. "And then it will be sent to the Septumium Prison!"

"That hunting troll was useless anyway," Babet shrugged. "It didn't even manage to overpower two level one Faeries!"

Gueulemer had seen the problem quicker than Babet had. "Trolls are pretty stupid. They have no willpower to protect against mind-reading or manipulation spells. That troll will spill the beans on us quicker than you can blink, and we'll be in serious trouble."

Babet began pacing. "Alright. So we take advantage of the numbskulls flying the transportation ship and we get rid of the troll. Forever."

As the Amis were squelching through the bog and Patron-Minette were making their plan, a scarlet airship from Corinthe College sped over Roccaluce forest. It had a flat bottom and a curved top, with a wide windshield made of thick glass. At the back was a prison cell with bars made of blue fire, and it was in this cell that the troll was being kept. It lurked at the back, occasionally grunting at the four Wizards running the ship.

The Wizards were, of course, Grantaire, Bahorel, Prince Marius and Combeferre. They had captured the troll, and Headmaster Lamarque had now tasked them with transporting it to Magix City to await trial. Grantaire, who was in charge of making sure the bars held strong, scrunched up his face when they neared the Black Mud Swamp. "Hey, Prince Marius?" he said tentatively to the Prince, who was controlling the ship's speed. "Is it just me, or do you feel like something is about to happen?"

Marius glanced up. "Something fun or something really bad?"

"I dunno…" Grantaire murmured. "Just… something."

"Relax, Grantaire, I have complete control of this aircraft," Bahorel insisted. "I wasn't named Captain of the pilot club at Corinthe for nothing."

Suddenly the entire ship stalled in mid-air, throwing Combeferre out of his seat. Bahorel's eyes widened. "What that hell, ship?" he yelped.

"What was that?" Grantaire shrieked. His chair was spinning around and he was starting to look a little seasick.

Marius, who had excellent reflexes, caught himself as he too was flung from his chair. "It came from outside," he said, only panicking a little. "Something's trying to attack the ship."

"The hell?" Bahorel snapped. "The sensors aren't picking up anything."

There was a crackle of bright green magic, and suddenly the sensors were all flashing, spinning and beeping like mad. Bahorel tried to regain control of the ship, but to no avail, and for it a little while it became very hard to tell which way was really the North.

Down in the swamp, Cosette noticed the bright red ship spiralling towards the trees. "Look!" she cried, pointing up at it.

Enjolras' eyes widened. "That's a ship from Corinthe!" he yelled. "We have to go help them!"

The Amis dashed through the bog until they reached the crashed aircraft. The four Wizards were dismounting hurriedly, looking more than a little motion-sick, but generally unharmed.

"Are you guys OK?" Jehan asked.

Bahorel scowled. "Oh yeah, we're having a total ball here. Nothing better than unexpectedly blasted out of the sky."

"None of us are hurt," Grantaire assured them. He turned to check the collateral damage and groaned loudly. "Aah, crap." There was an enormous smoking hole on the side of the ship, and several abnormally large footprints leading away from it into the tree-marsh. "The troll got loose!"

"A troll?!" Courfeyrac's eyes widened. "You were transporting a troll and you let it escape?!"

"Hey, we didn't let it escape!" Bahorel snapped. "There was an accident. We lost altitude and-"

"Must have been a mechanical failure," Combeferre agreed.

Bahorel nodded. "Anyhow, there's nothing to worry about. It's handcuffed."

Marius pulled a large pair of handcuffs out of the marsh. "Not anymore, it isn't."

Bahorel muttered a word unsuitable for polite conversation, and Grantaire laughed awkwardly and turned to the Faeries. "So, what are you guys doing out here?"

"We're in the middle of a Potionology exercise," Cosette explained, but Bahorel interrupted her.

"Then get back to your assignment and leave this to us, Twinkletoes. This is none of your business."

"What Bahorel means," Marius interrupted sharply, "is that maybe it would be best for you to just keep working while we try to recapture the troll."

Bahorel glared at him. "I don't need your editorial comments, your Highness."

"And we don't need you telling us what to do!" Enjolras snapped. His cheeks were burning bright red in anger.

"Whatever," Bahorel rolled his eyes. "Come on you guys. Let's go." He stumped back to the ship, and his fellow Wizards followed him, shrugging apologetically.

Enjolras turned back to the Amis. "What say you we capture that troll before they do?" he suggested, grinning wickedly.

Jehan shook their head. "I don't think that's such a good idea. We should get back to the class exercise."

"Seriously Jehan," Enjolras said. "Cosette and I have tangled with that troll before. Marius and the others could be in serious trouble.

Jehan sighed. "OK, if you all agree, then I guess we could help them."

"One thing's for sure," Courfeyrac spoke up. "Something strange is going on here. Have you seen the hole in the fuselage? It's perfectly circular. The aircraft didn't malfunction, it was hit by magic. Someone helped that troll escape."

"In that case," Jehan made their mind up, "we don't have much choice, do we?"

Courfeyrac smiled, and went to join Combeferre, who was examining the ship's engine. "The impact knocked out the stabiliser," he surmised. "Would take a pretty powerful blast to break through the ship's side, though."

Meanwhile, Marius was showing the other Faeries the handcuffs. "It's a psychic lock," he explained. "You need to be able to use controlled non-verbal magic to unlock it."

"The troll definitely had help then," Éponine said. "Trolls have no magical power. They're big dumb cavedwellers who live off the land." Everyone looked at her in surprise that she knew so much about trolls, and she shrugged awkwardly. "My dad's kind of a dark creature expert."

Cosette was examining the troll's footprints with narrowed eyes. "Have you guys seen these?" she asked. "Check out the depth."

Enjolras bent down next to her. "Huh. Feet the size of ocean-liners, but the footprints are getting shallower and shallower."

Jehan fit one of their own feet into one of the lightest footprints, right before the trail vanished entirely. Their foot sunk down into the muck. "This makes no sense. The ground is still soft here, the footprints should be consistently deep."

"Either the troll was on some sort of ultrasonic weight-loss scheme, or the person who busted it out levitated it out of the swamp," Éponine said.

Jehan grinned. "Back into the swamp, then?"

The Amis groaned and followed them into the bog, leaving the Wizards to fix their ship. "Let's tread carefully, though," Cosette warned. "We don't know how much sulphur there is under this part of the bog, let alone what kind of animals."

"This is one seriously creepy bog," Éponine shuddered. "The silence is deafening."

"The silence is a good thing though," Cosette pointed out. "It will make it easier for us to find the troll."

"We need to listen to the voice of Nature," Jehan agreed, and Courfeyrac rolled his eyes.

"Not that again. I hear literally nothing." The group paused in silence, before Courfeyrac huffed and blew his curly hair out of his face. "So, did Mother Nature give you any suggestions or player tips?" he said sarcastically.

Cosette smiled serenely and pointed to a hole in the undergrowth on the other side of the marsh. "How about trying over there?" she suggested. "It's not a very big hole, but it's a start. I just feel like it's the right way."

Jehan nodded in agreement. "I feel it too. It's the right path."

Cosette took the lead this time, wading through the murky water until she reached the undergrowth, and crawled through the hole. It led to a kind of tunnel, with thorny walls and a mossy floor.

The Wizards had been tracking the troll their own way, Combeferre listening to changes in the wind and Marius picking up vibrations in the water. Unfortunately, they weren't as in tune with Nature as the Faeries were, and they wound up tangled up in some rather thorny vines. Bahorel tried to tear through them, and in return one smacked him hard around the head with a crack like a whip, recoiling as though preparing to hit him again. "Hey!" he yelled in shock. "These branches are alive!"

"That's impossible, Rel," Combeferre insisted. "No form of animal life could survive here." A vine was curling around the leg of his glasses, attempting to pull them off, and he batted it away in irritation.

"And why not?" Marius yelped. The curly-haired prince was dangling upside down from a vine that had wrapped around his ankles.

"There's nothing - hey, quit it! - for animals to eat here!" Combeferre insisted. He was swatting at the vine, which seemed determined to steal his glasses.

"What about carnivorous plants?" Grantaire pointed out, his voice muffled. The vines were wrapping tightly around his face.

"Good point," Combeferre muttered, before shrieking, "HELP!" as vines began twisting around his chest like ropes.

As the Amis neared the part of the bog the Wizards were trapped in, Jehan put their fingers to their lips. "Sssshhhh," they whispered. "I recognise these plants. They're called Tacerecarne Vescuntur, and they hate noise."

Unfortunately, Enjolras hadn't heard the warning, and when he slipped over in the muck he shouted "FUCK!" extremely loudly.

The plants did not appreciate this, and shot several thorny vines out, wrapping around his ankles and dangling him upside down. He shrieked in terror, and Cosette clamped her hand over his mouth. "Ssshhh, Enj. Don't move," she whispered. The plants, finding it to be suitably quiet once again, retracted their vines, dropping Enjolras back into the bog. He shuddered at the feeling of slimy plants moving over his skin, before getting to his feet and following his friends.

Suddenly, a loud shout of "HELP!" caught the Amis' attention. It was followed by another voice, which said, "Stop yelling, Ferre, I can't think straight!"

"Yeah, that's always been a bit of a problem for you, right, Prince Marius?" someone else joked.

"Is now really the time to be making gay jokes?" the second voice snapped, and the Amis realised it was the Wizards they'd left by the ship.

Jehan led the Amis into the thicket, where they were bound by more Tacerecarne Vescuntur vines. "Hey guys," Jehan whispered. "Need a little help?"

"No, we're fine," Bahorel said sarcastically. "Please just continue standing there whispering. Wouldn't want to upset the digestive process of these plants." The vines holding him tightened around his diaphragm, and he wheezed loudly.

"Keep your voice down, you dummy," Éponine scolded him. She didn't sound as mad as Cosette had been expecting, though. "They're agitated by sound!"

Jehan was whispering to the plants. It didn't sound entirely like English; in fact it didn't sound like any language at all. They were making soft rustling noises at the plants, which obediently untrussed the Wizards and pulled their vines back down under the mud.

The four Wizards, who had been struggling to breath by this point, relievedly gulped in air. Jehan led the way back out of the swamp, the Wizards following this time, but Éponine grabbed Cosette's wrist and pulled her back. "Cosette," she whispered excitedly, "is it just me, or is Bahorel's whole bad boy rebel thing really hot?"

Cosette blinked in surprise. "Literally just you, Ponine," she replied, raising her eyebrows. Éponine shrugged, and they followed the rest of the group back out of the thicket.

When they rejoined the group, Grantaire into step beside Cosette. "Hey!" he whispered happily.

"Hey!" Cosette smiled back. Enjolras nudged her.

"You can speak normally now, we're away from the carnivorous plants," he laughed, before addressing the whole group. "I think we should all team up and look for the troll together," he suggested, and Jehan nodded in agreement.

"I'm cool with that if you guys are."

Bahorel scowled. "I'm not teaming up with Faeries."

"You're on your own then, buddy," Marius laughed. "And if you find the troll, just give us a shout."

Bahorel's scowl deepened, but he agreed to team up. They'd reached a part of the swamp where the water was deeper, but it had little mossy stepping stones across it. Marius was the first to jump onto one, followed by Combeferre. Unfortunately, Combeferre lost his footing and fell on his arse in the marsh. The Faeries burst out laughing, but Bahorel rolled his eyes. "Great. First we have to team up with the Faeries, and now we've got Clumsy Combeferre too."

Marius was helping Combeferre to his feet, and Grantaire glared at Bahorel. "Jeez, Bahorel, would it kill you to be a little nicer?"

"Don't tell me what to do, Grantaire," Bahorel snapped. "You're just Prince Marius' yes-man. Why don't you go polish his boots or something?"

"Seriously, man, stop being a dick," Marius said.

"Or what?"

"Or you're off the team," Marius snapped. "Is that clear?"

Bahorel looked like he was about to argue, but suddenly he deflated. "Alright, let's just go find that troll."

Marius helped Combeferre find his footing, and the rest of the group each jumped onto their own stepping stone. Enjolras wobbled a little. "Is it just me, or are these clumps of turf moving?" he asked nervously.

"I was thinking the same thing," Cosette added. She thought she could feel the turf moving with the flow of the water.

"You can all stop thinking," Courfeyrac said worriedly, "because these clumps of turf are moving for real." They all looked up, and realised that the bank was much further away than it had been a minute ago. Grantaire, who was the tallest, stood on his tiptoes to try and see further down the river. His eyes widened in worry.

"There's a whirlpool at the bottom of this run. We've gotta get out of here, now!"

They all started leaping for the bank. Enjolras nearly lost his balance, but Marius caught him. They made eye contact, and a dark pink blush started creeping up Enjolras' neck. "Hi, uh, Prince Marius."

"Careful you don't fall in the water," Marius teased him. He leapt to the bank and offered Enjolras a hand. By this point nearly everyone was on the bank except Bahorel. He tried to make it in a single bound, but mistimed it and fell into the water. Courfeyrac dived for his hands.

"Hang on, Bahorel," he shouted, pulling as best he could.

"Don't let go of me!" Bahorel yelled. For the first time he looked a little scared. "I don't wanna be whirlpool chow!"

Courfeyrac strained, but he lost his footing, and Combferre grabbed him by the ankles before he fell in. "Someone help me!" Combeferre yelled. "I can't keep this up forever!"

Grantaire and Cosette each grabbed one of Combeferre's legs, and together they pulled the three boys safely back to dry land. They collapsed onto the (thankfully solid) bank. Bahorel was the first to get up.

"Come on guys, we've got a troll to catch," he said coldly. "We've lost too much time already."

The group headed along what seemed to be a path, when a sudden, piercing shriek hit their ears. Bahorel grinned. "Looks like we've found him!" He and the other Wizards dashed towards the scream.

Cosette's eyes widened. "That's Amaryl!" She dashed after the Wizards. As much as she disliked her snobbish classmate, she didn't want to see her eaten by a troll.

Amaryl and two of her friends were cornered against a rockface, and the troll was approaching them slowly. Marius nodded slightly and turned to the Faeries and Wizards. "OK, first we need someone to distract the troll. Then Grantaire and Combeferre will grab him, and Bahorel and I will slip the handcuffs onto him. That OK with y'all?" When no one complained, he nodded more firmly. "Alright, let's do it!"

Cosette charged up to the troll. "Hey, you big bully!" she yelled. "Remember me?"

The troll beat its fists against its chest and roared at her. "Come get me, gros cul!" she yelled, and dashed for the bushes as the troll ran at her. Launching themselves at its ankles, Grantaire and Combeferre grabbed a leg each, tripping the troll over. Bahorel and Marius leapt for the hands, and Marius seemingly attempted to arm-wrestle it.

"What are you waiting for, Rel?" he bit out. "Cuff him!"

"Easier said than - ugh - done!" Bahorel groaned. The troll had grabbed his head, and in one deft movement, kicked itself free of Grantaire and Combeferre before flinging Marius and Bahorel back into the bushes. It beat its chest in rage and stormed off into the forest.

"Great, we lost him again," Grantaire groaned. "This day has been a complete disaster." Combeferre had somehow gotten tangled in the handcuffs in all the kerfuffle, and Grantaire helped him free.

Amaryl glared at the Wizards. "Nice job, idiots," she snapped, before turning tail and leading her friends into the woods in the opposite direction of the troll. Marius scrambled free of the bushes and pulled a twig out of his ebony curls.

"That's the thanks we get," he laughed ruefully.

The troll had reached a part of the forest where the trees were too densely crowded to let in any sunlight. It bounded between trunks, smelling and feeling its way along. Suddenly it picked up a sort of perfumey smell that smelled familiar, and changed course to find it.

Grantaire was sitting on a log, running his fingers through his messy red hair. Cosette sat down next to him and smiled. "You know, even though you didn't catch the troll, that was awfully brave of you back there," she said softly.

Grantaire laughed awkwardly. "Nah, it wasn't. It was pretty reckless."

Cosette shook her head. "Yes it was! You saved those ungrateful Faeries from being eaten by the troll!"

Grantaire shrugged. "They weren't far off the mark though. We're not really Wizards, we're a bunch of rookies. And tackling the troll like that was a rookie mistake. The only thing we do really well together is argue."

Cosette sighed and glanced over at Bahorel, who was arguing fiercely with Marius again. "Don't blame me, Prince Marius!" he snapped. "I'm not the one who handcuffed Ferre!"

"You had the handcuffs," Marius pointed out.

"So it was all my fault? Because I'm not the one who came up with that stupid plan -"

"Alright, you guys, that's enough!" Combeferre snapped. "If we want to catch the troll, we need to work as a team!"

Marius sighed and nodded. "You're right, Ferre. We need to work together." He turned and offered Bahorel a handshake. "Shall we try again? And put a raincheck on the argument?"

Bahorel took it with a smile. "I'm down with that."

Combeferre looked relieved, but he suddenly made eye contact with Courfeyrac, and his cheeks turned the same shade of pink as Jehan's turtleneck. Grantaire got up and went over to join his friends.

"Rel and I have called a truce," Marius announced.

"I would have preferred everlasting peace, but I can live with that," Grantaire laughed.

In the darkest, muddiest part of the swamp, Patron-Minette stood in wait. They'd been there for nearly an hour, and Gueulemer was starting to get frustrated. "I knew it," he was growling. "I knew it."

"Would you chill, Mer?" Babet snapped. "Everything is under control."

"But what if it's lost?" Claquesous pointed out. Babet shook his head.

"Impossible. When a troll picks up a scent, he never loses it. Spray more perfume, Claq."

Claquesous obligingly spritzed more of her perfume onto herself, and they continued to wait.

They didn't have to wait much longer. The troll, drawn to the scent of Claquesous' perfume, had come straight to them. Babet grinned triumphantly. "Well, well. Look who's here."

Gueulemer grinned too. "We gave you freedom and you did as we asked, but now you must enter oblivion."

"Goodbye, troll," Babet hissed. "May our secret vanish with you." He and his cousins formed a ring around the troll, and raised their hands. There was a brief flash of green light, and the troll was gone, never to be seen again.

Babet breathed out. "Mission accomplished. Let's go back to Votirlu." Another flash, and they'd been transported back to the dormitory in Votirlu castle. Their secret was safe for now.

Cosette led the group down the same path the troll had taken, only about half an hour later. She paused for a second, and Grantaire asked, "What do you hear now?"

Cosette shook her head. "It's not a sound, it's a feeling."

"It's like a sort of navigation system in your heart," Jehan added.

"So you're sure this is the right path?" Marius asked, and Courfeyrac smiled.

"Relax. I've learned that when it comes to the voice of Nature, Cosette and Jehan can't be beat."

Cosette led them through the swamp for another five minutes, before she stopped, her face scrunching up in confusion. "We've reached the end of the road."

"But there's no one here," Marius pointed out.

"I don't know what happened," Cosette looked seriously confused. "The feeling's gone."

Enjolras meanwhile was squinting through the trees. "There's some serious negative energy in this part of the swamp."

"I feel it too," Courfeyrac murmured. "I think someone cast a spell here… I think they made the troll disappear."

Éponine nodded. "That would make sense. They helped it escape so that they could make it disappear."

"But who would do something like that?" Grantaire asked.

Cosette closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She pursed her lips in thought. "Is it just me, or does this place smell kinda familiar?" she asked.

Jehan nodded. "Last time I smelled this was in the alleyway with Patron-Minette!"

"I could smell it when I fought them at the gala," Cosette added. "But what does Patron-Minette have to do with this?"

It was dark by the time they made it back to the repaired ship. The Wizards were nice enough to drop the Amis off at the meeting point in Roccaluce Forest. As they climbed down the walkway to the ground, Éponine glanced over her shoulder at Bahorel, but Grantaire was the only one to call over to the group. "If it's OK with you guys, we'll say goodbye here," he smiled. The Amis nodded and waved, and the walkway folded back up to the ship as it took off. The Faeries turned to their classmates and relieved looking professor.

Palladium smiled at them. "I w-watched you during t-today's exercise, and even though you c-came in last, I'm really p-p-pleased with all of you! You've shown courage, generosity, and excellent decision making capabilities, so in the light of the outcome of this exercise, I would like to say that it was just a test run."

Amaryl looked furious. "No fair!" she snapped. "We did all that for nothing?"

"I wouldn't say nothing, Amaryl," Palladium said firmly. "Some of you learned a lot today." He smiled at the Amis, who all grinned back.

At Corinthe College, Marius, Grantaire, Bahorel and Combeferre watched as their ship was levitated into the mechanical bay to be properly fixed. Marius turned to his friends and sighed. "Today's mission was a complete failure."

"It's true," Combeferre agreed with a sigh. "We lost the troll."

"But," Marius continued, "it was a great experience anyway."

Combeferre nodded. "You're right, Prince Marius! For the first time today, I actually felt like I was part of a team."

"I agree," Grantaire smiled. "We became a real team today."

"We did," Marius smiled. "Although, I have one request. Could you guys please stop calling me 'Prince'? It makes me feel old."

All four boys burst out laughing.

NOTES: Thanks for reading! Hope you're enjoying it!