New arrivals are always so suspicious.

That was the thought running through the head of the mighty sorceress, Nerris the Cute, as she viewed a woman entering Sleepy Peak. The woman wore the clothes of a common person. She had long, dark brown hair and tanned skin. She had few possessions, save for a single bag that she carried on her back.

You don't move to Sleepy Peak without wanting to hide. Whether it be yourself or something else.

"Hello," the woman greeted Nerris with a smile. "I'm Rosemary. And you are?"

"Nerris the Cute." Nerris narrowed her eyes.

"Oh, are you a sorceress?"

"Indeed I am. But you know better than to tell."

"Of course I do. I'm moving here, aren't I?"

Nobody moves here without a reason.

"I'd suggest you find somewhere to live, fast. Otherwise, you'll lose everything."

"Do you know of a place?"

"Sorry, I don't. Good luck."

Nerris turned and headed into the Grumpy Butterfly, where Harrison was performing card tricks for a gullible patron. She couldn't help but smile. To her knowledge, he was the only other magically-gifted person in Sleepy Peak. Most of the others had been 'purged' from society and were hiding in the woods. Many of those poor souls lost their minds. Nerris had heard of one who made a house of candy, only to turn to cannibalism and attempt to eat a pair of siblings.

That poor woman…

"That was my card!" the man gasped. "You're amazing! How do you do it?!"

"Trade secret," Harrison replied, flicking the card and making it disappear. "That'll be five coins, please."

The man grumbled but handed over the money, which Harrison quickly pocketed. Nerris slid into the seat across from him as the man left. Before she could do anything, Rosemary entered the pub and sat down at a table in a corner. Ered took a drink order from her and left.

"Well, hello there," stated a man to the newcomer, leaning on the table.

"Who's that?" Harrison asked Nerris.

"Rosemary. She's new in town."

"New?" Preston repeated. "Then we must welcome her. All are welcome in Sleepy Peak!"

Rosemary looked up as Preston approached her. She'd ignored the flirty patron in favor of looking at a paper she had.

"Welcome to Sleepy Peak," Preston told her. "I'm Preston."

"I'm Rosemary."

"Well, Rosemary, where are you from?"

"Lilac."

"Lilac's rich," Nurf pointed out in annoyance. "Even the peasants are rich in Lilac."

"Nurf is right," Preston agreed. "Lilac is rich in tradition and riches. Surely, you'd be more comfortable there?"

"Not right now." Rosemary shook her head. "It's been over a month. I'm surprised you haven't heard." Everyone leaned in, intrigued.

"Heard vhat?" Dolph whispered, looking extremely nervous.

"The princess of Lilac was kidnapped… on her wedding day. The entire kingdom is in an uproar over it. Nobody got a good look at the kidnapper, and a week after the wedding, Princess Nicolette's dress and crown were sent back."

"Oh my God!" Preston gasped. "That poor girl! The greatest day of her life overshadowed by tragedy."

"Queen Candy is offering ten thousand coins to whoever can find the kidnapper. Twenty thousand if you find the princess, too. She's desperate to have her precious daughter back."

"I could buy my own theater with that money!"

"Or escape those who want to extinguish magic!" Harrison added.

"Maybe I could find my own place and do what I want," Ered wondered aloud. Everyone began talking about how they were going to be the ones to find the princess and her kidnapper.

Only Nerris remained silent. Nobody else noticed the smile on Rosemary's face, a smile that said there was more to her being here than simply escaping a kingdom in chaos. Nerris knew Max had come from there barely a month earlier, and he hadn't mentioned it at all. He would've. He was one of the few sources of outside news the city-bound people of Sleepy Peak had. And now Rosemary was dropping this bomb? Suddenly, it all made sense in the young woman's head and she narrowed her eyes at the newcomer in revulsion.

So that's why you're here. You know he'll come through eventually, so you're just waiting him out. And turning us all against each other? Clever. Clever girl. But you won't get me. I see right through your little illusion.

"Ah, the kingdom of Flora!" David sighed as Nikki stepped out of the wagon. "Such a beautiful place."

"Yeah, beautiful," Max muttered. "How soon can we leave?"

"Now, Max, you know we have to spend a few days here, as usual."

"Have you forgotten that Flora is an ally to Lilac? I'm risking my ass here, and you know it."

"Oh." David's face fell. "That's right. I'm sorry!"

"Nah, it's fine. I'll just stay in the camp the entire time we're here."

"I'm with Max," Nikki agreed. "The princess of Flora—Sasha—hates me. She'd turn me over to Lilac in a heartbeat, and Max, too."

"And I'm avoiding Tabii," Neil added, shaking a little.

"Well, if you three are so sure, then stay here," Gwen sighed. "I've got to go buy more writing supplies. Stay out of trouble and keep an eye on Lizzie."

"Yes, ma'am," Neil replied.

"Good."

The adults all left. The teenagers and Lizzie looked at each other, having no idea what to do now. Neil shrugged and walked off into the woods, presumably to try and find some herbs so he could continue his life-long quest. Nikki took a deep breath and smiled at Lizzie.

"What do you want to do, Lizzie?" she asked.

"I wanna play a game!"

"What kind of game?"

"A fun game! Do you know any?"

"I didn't really play games when I was younger. My mom wouldn't let me. She said they weren't for princesses."

"That's so mean! Your mommy is mean!"

"Yes, she is."

"First she wants you to marry that stinky prince, and now she won't let you play games?! She's the meanest mommy in the world!" Lizzie puffed out her cheeks to show her displeasure and Max laughed.

"I wouldn't say that, Lizard. My mom was pretty bad."

"But Mommy is a great mommy!"

"Not Gwen. My mother. My birth mom."

"What'd she do?"

"She gave me away to the child dealers when I was about your age. So did my dad."

"Oh…" Lizzie looked thoughtful. "You both have mean mommies."

Nikki started giggling.

"Okay, Lizzie. Your pick. What game do you want to play?"

"Hide and Seek! You guys go hide and I'll count!"

"Lizard, you don't know how to count."

"Then you're it! Nikki and I will go hide! Bye!"

Lizzie ran into the woods and Nikki ran after her. The princess could hear Max starting to count and started looking for a place to hide. She looked up to see Lizzie sitting on a tree branch. The little girl had evidently scaled the tree quickly and was going to drop down on Max when he came to look for them. Nikki had to give her points for originality.

"Hurry!" Lizzie whispered. She scooched so that she was concealed by the leaves and branches. Nikki giggled and ran deeper into the woods, but not so deep that she wouldn't be able to get to Lizzie if something bad happened. She decided to take a 'leaf' out of Lizzie's book and climbed up and onto a limb.

It would do for a hiding spot for now.

"Lizzie! Nikki!"

Max chuckled as he looked for the two girls. Lizzie was good at hiding. He never had any clue where his sister would choose to conceal herself. And Nikki was completely unpredictable.

"Lizard Bomb!"

Suddenly, he felt something land on him. A pair of tiny hands covered his eyes as someone situated themselves on his back.

"Oh, no!" he gasped. "Tiny hands! My one weakness! No!"

A familiar giggle filled the air.

"You know, I win now."

"Nuh-uh! You haven't found Nikki!" Max reached back and grabbed his sister, who squealed and laughed as he situated her so she was on his hip instead of his back.

"What do you say? Help me find her?"

"Yeah!" Lizzie fidgeted until Max let her down, then ran off into the wood.

"Watch yourself!" he warned. He continued on into the trees, but there was no sign of the green-haired princess.

Damn, she's good.

A crack split the air above him. He looked up to see Nikki clinging to a branch that was breaking out of fear. His eyes widened as he realized that she was at least thirty feet off the ground. That kind of fall could seriously fuck her up. Lizzie knew better than to go that high.

"Nikki, let go!" he urged in a panic.

"I can't!" She was trembling as the branch broke a bit more.

"It's just like the day we met! Let go and I'll catch you!"

"I'm scared!"

"You have to trust me! Just do it!"

"I… I trust you!"

She loosened her grip and slipped from the limb, falling quickly. Max leapt to catch her and mostly succeeded. However, she landed on top of him rather than in his arms.

"I'm alive!" she cheered, sitting on his back.

"Yeah, and I'm dead," Max croaked. She gasped and got up.

"I'm so sorry!"

"Not your fault. I told you to jump."

"Thanks for catching me… again."

"Is falling off stuff a habit of yours?"

"Well, based off the two times it's happened, I'd say only when you're there to catch me."

Max stared at her, a blush forming across his face that matched the one on hers. Before either of them did anything else, a final crack rang out above them. He glanced upwards and quickly tackled her out of the way as the branch came crashing down. He landed on top of her, the dust settling around them. Max opened his eyes to see her below him, staring up in surprise.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Fine."

They stared at each other for a moment longer, then started to close the already-small gap between them. His lips brushed hers, ever so slightly, to the point where he could feel her breath on his face. He closed his eyes…

"What are you doing?"

Max jerked his head up to see Neil standing there with Lizzie. He got off of Nikki and helped her to her feet, both of them still blushing furiously. Lizzie covered her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Max likes Nikki!" she giggled, looking up at Neil. "He was trying to kiss her!"

"Yep," Neil affirmed, giving Max and Nikki a smirk. "I'd say you're right."

"Yay!" Lizzie jumped up and down excitedly.

"Let's leave them alone for now and head back to the campsite, okay?"

"Okay." Lizzie smiled and followed Neil back towards where they'd started. Max looked awkwardly at Nikki and then stared at the ground.

"Sorry. That was… that wasn't intentional." He scratched the back of his head.

"No, it's fine. Fine…" She was refusing to look him in the eye.

"We… probably would've kissed if Neil hadn't shown up."

"True."

"Well, then… we'd better head back, yeah?"

"Yeah. Yeah."

They walked back towards the campsite, side by side. Max ever-so-smoothly slipped his hand into hers. She smiled and gave it a squeeze.

Neil kept a careful grip on Lizzie's hand as they walked back to where the wagons were. He'd spotted Max and Nikki together first, and he'd noticed the position they were in. He also knew that they had feelings for each other and had been about to take Lizzie in the other direction in order to give them privacy. However, the little girl had spotted her brother and Nikki and quickly asked the question that interrupted them.

"Why did we have to leave them alone?" Lizzie asked.

"Because sometimes, when people like each other, they need to be alone for a little while."

"Like when Mommy and Daddy go off by themselves?"

"Yes."

"So that means that Max and Nikki love each other and that they're going to get married and Nikki will really be my sister!"

"Maybe. Max isn't going to admit it, though."

"Nikki is pretty, and he loves her! Why won't he admit it?!"

"Because I hate to say it, but your brother doesn't seem good with emotions." Lizzie looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled.

"What if we get Nikki to admit it first?"

"You're pretty smart for a toddler."

"And you're pretty cool for a nerd."

"Who said I was a nerd?"

"Nikki. And Max. And Jaspar, Mommy, and Campbell."

"Jeez, thanks for the compliments…"

"Nikki also said you're an alchemist, whatever that is."

"It means I make tonics and potions for people and my goal is to find the Elixir of Life."

"Why?"

"Because if I find it, I'll be famous for making somebody immortal."

"And everyone they care about?"

"Um… maybe?"

"Why?"

"So I can become famous."

"Aw. Cool. Can I help?"

"Maybe."

"Omigod, is that Neil?!"

Neil froze at the familiar voice. Lizzie tugged on his hand and tried to pull him back into motion, but then she turned to see a girl with blonde hair enter the clearing they were in. She had a smile as she looked at Neil.

"It's been so long! You look great!"

"Tabii, what are you doing out here?"

"I was looking for something Sasha lost when we came back from Nikki's failed wedding. What about you? Shouldn't you be in Lilac right now?"

"He's with my family," Lizzie spoke up. Tabii looked down.

"Who the f—" Neil put a finger to her lips.

"Language. This is Lizzie. I'm staying with her family for a little while."

Tabii gave the little girl a look as if assessing her worth.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get her back home."

"Oh, no problem! Come into the kingdom and see us sometime! Sasha's actually considered the most eligible princess now."

"Wait, who was it before?"

"Nikki. But, since she's been kidnapped by a mysterious stranger, that's Sasha's title now." She looked over Neil's shoulder. "Oh. My. God."

"What?"

"T-that's Nikki!" Neil and Lizzie turned to see Max and Nikki holding hands and standing there.

"Hey, Tabii!" Nikki laughed nervously. "How are you?"

"Good. How did you escape?"

"Escape what?"

"Your kidnapper."

"You mean him?" She pointed at Max.

"I'm going back to the campsite," Lizzie announced, running off.

"Goddammit, Nikki," Max sighed.

"Why are you still with your kidnapper?" Tabii inquired.

"He didn't kidnap me," Nikki replied. "I ran off and happened to run into him. Neil got dragged along."

"Who are you, exactly?" Max asked Tabii.

"I'm Tabii, one of Princess Sasha's handmaidens. And you are?"

"Max."

"Well, Max, there's a price on your head. I could turn you in right now and get ten thousand coins. Twenty thousand if Nikki's with you."

"My mom's offering that much?!" Nikki gasped.

"Don't worry. Sasha said that none of us should respond to the reward because with you gone, she's considered the most beautiful princess in the five kingdoms."

"Thanks, Tabii."

"It's no problem." She flirtatiously stroked Neil's face. "I'd better get back to the castle now. See you, handsome!"

She walked away and Max gave Neil a smirk.

"Not a word. I'm going back to camp before David and Gwen get back. Feel free to make out as much as you want while I'm gone."