"Excuse me," Maria said, head bowed in false meekness as she knocked on the small side gate. "Is this the residence of Marquess Mason?"

She could hear the leer on the man's face, hear how his eyes roamed her body. "You here to have a good time, wench?"

"If this is the right place…" Maria said, feeling dishonored by such attention. Only Rafael was allowed to make her feel dishonored with his attention!

"Well, you've come to the right place," the guard said, opening the small side gate. "Cute little thing like you, I think we should check you out before you see the boss…"

Maria looked up and smiled.

Now, why did their faces pale? She hadn't even done anything yet…

Katarina was used to visiting the castle, though it was usually when she was invited by her fiancée or Alan, or when they were holding a party or something.

Selena was less used to visiting the castle, usually only attending when invited. She usually met with her prince at a separate location, when he escorted her to at a party they were both invited to.

Lalatina had never visited the castle at all except during open invitation events and her knighting.

The difference showed.

The carriage came to a halt when they approached the gate. Lalatina looked nervous, as if recalling all the stories of violent ends for people who tried to force their way through the castle gate. Selena was calmer, but was frantically trying to think of what excuse they'd use to get inside without an invitation. La– er, Katarina, however, just pushed the curtains aside with a smile as the Gatekeeper and the Keymaster of gates both came up to the carriage, along with a few guards with crossbows because Sorcier was an old kingdom and surprise magic attacks to bring down the gate were a thing. "Hey Zull! Vince! Good morning! Oh, hey Mack! Polly, nice to see you got promoted! Kat, is that the new crossbow you've been hoping for? Nice! Hi Jenny! Enjoying the day shift?"

Lalatina, Selena and even Larna and Rufus all exchanged confused looks.

"Lady Katarina!" the Gatekeeper said, sounding surprisingly cheerful. Selena had never heard him speak before, and from the looked of her, neither had Lalatina. "Shouldn't you be at the Academy? "

"Heh he… surprise fiancée visit, Zull," Katarina said cheerfully. Wait, she knew the Gatekeeper by name? The Gatekeeper, one of the oldest, toughest knights in Sorcier, said to have guarded the castle's gates for so long there was talk he was becoming part of the stone? One would expect him to sound like some kind of monstrous guard dog, with a deep, growly voice. Why did he sound like a happy puppy? "Can you tell the castle we're coming up?"

"The Third Prince isn't here, Lady Katarina. He's a school too," the Gatekeeper said, but he was smiling as he said it. "Does that man have a knife through his hand?"

"Oh, don't worry, Lady Campbell already healed him and he's surrendered. Larna is keeping him prisoner. And I'm not the fiancée visiting," Katarina said, and Selena was surprised as Katarina put an arm around her shoulders and tugged her into view. "So, could you tell Prince Ian he was a visitor but not who it is exactly? We want it to be a surprise."

"Ah?" the Gatekeeper said, raising an eyebrow at Selena, who flushed. "I see… All right, I'll pass it along. Though why aren't you in school, young lady?"

"Eh, I was sort of… kidnapped?" Katarina said, rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment. Selena noted everyone outside the carriage went rigid in alarm at those words. "But don't worry, M– er, Lady Campbell already rescued me. Right, Lady Campbell?"

There was silence.

"Um, is Lady Campbell still on the back of the carriage?" Katarina asked.

The Gatekeeper made a show of looking at the back. "No, your ladyship," he said.

"Then I guess she already went to be all hero-y and take care of the guy who had me kidnapped," Katarina said thoughtfully. "No wonder she's the heroine! Oh, can you tell Uncle Dan we're coming too? Dad always said if something happened while I was visiting that I should tell Uncle Dan. I think getting kidnapped counts as something?"

"I… shall have the Prime Minister informed, your ladyship," the Gatekeeper said. "And I'll arrange guards for the prisoner."

"Thanks Zull! You're the best!"

The gate opened and their carriage was waved along. Selena looked back. Behind them, the Gatekeeper was giving orders to the guards, while the Keymaster told the bellmen, who operated the bells atop the gate that warned the palace of the nature of the coming carriage, what messages to send. The carriage was soon escorted up to the entrance of the castle by the ringing of bells, many Selena had never heard before.

"I… didn't know you knew the Gatekeeper, Katarina," Selena said.

"Oh, Zully? He's great, isn't he? I've known him ever since I started coming here for parties and stuff," Katarina said. "He's really nice!"

"If… you say so, Katarina…" Selena said, exchanging confused looks with Lady Lalatina, who only shrugged, looking equally confused.

The confusion did not abate when they reached the castle.

"Hey Walter!" Katarina greeted the Head Butler of the castle. Four hulking guards in black armor of elites were with him. "Nice to see you again. How are your great-great-grandkids?"

"Doing well, Lady Katarina. I will tell them you asked after them," the enormous man, who was rumored to be a retired knight and so old it was a wonder how he was keeping body and Dark Soul together, said with a bow. "We have missed your presence. The Second Prince has been informed of your arrival and is expecting you, but per your request was not informed of Lady Berg's presence. The Prime Minister will meet you at his office. Shall we take the prisoner off your hands?"

"No, I have to show him to Uncle Dan." Katarina said cheerfully. "But thanks Walter!"

Selena had never made her way to Prince Ian's rooms like this. Usually it was in nervous silence, with the servant guiding her through the castle's cavernous halls and without saying a word. Katarina not only knew the servant guiding them by name and engaged him in conversation– "Hi Oscar! So you finally made butler? I'm glad for you, you worked so hard at it!"– but also seemed to know most of the servants and guards by name. She greeted them all in passing, and they all seemed to smile as she came by, answering her inquiries happily.

And then they were outside Prince Ian's chambers, and Selena wasn't ready, and–

Katarina cheerfully knocked on the door instead of waiting for the servant to do it– Lalatina looked shocked. The servant looked resigned– and barely waited for someone inside to tell them to come in before pushing the door open. Rufus and his guards stayed behind.

"Lady Claes," Selena's fiancée, the handsomest, finest man in all of Sorcier said in his usual perfect tones. Her eyes met his before he hastily looked away, as he always did, and Selena felt her heart clench, as it always did. "This is a surprise. Should you not be at the Academy?"

"I'm here on a surprise fiancée visit," Katarina said. "Prince Ian, do you love Selena?"

For the first time in her life, Selena saw wonderful prince frown. "I do not think that is any of your business, Lady Claes," he said sternly.

"It's my business as a fellow fiancée," Katarina said. "There are people saying you don't like Selena and that you're tired of her and that you hate her and stuff like that."

The way her prince stood up was abrupt and sudden. "How dare, you Lady Claes?! You come to my own rooms and accuse me of such vileness? My feelings for Selena are as true as my brother's is for you!"

Selena's world stopped.

Katarina gasped. "What? You mean you don't love her and she's just a shield to keep away other women bothering you with marriage proposals?!"

Behind her, Selena distinctly heard at least three people slap their face into their palm in exasperation. She was pretty sure the servant was one of them.

Lalatina looked at the prince, who looked confused and stunned at the sheer nonsensicalness of what had just been said. Looked at Selena. Looked at Katarina. Took a deep breath.

Then she took Katarina by the hand and started dragging her out of the room. "We'll leave you two alone," she said to Selena.

Selena decided that Lalatina Dustiness would be her best friend for the rest of her life.

The door closed and she was alone with her dear prince…

"Good morning Katarina," Uncle Dan said later in the sitting room outside his office. Katarina had never really seen his office before, even though she'd come to the castle lots of times. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"I got kidnapped," Katarina said, "So it's not my fault I'm not at the Academy."

"Ah…" Uncle Dan said. His smooth face was almost as good as Nicol's, although he was normally much more expressive. "I heard how you did not attend the ball last night, but most assumed you'd gotten lost on the way. Your friends left to find you as we were leaving. Kidnapped, you say? By whom?"

"Well, Selena basically. You know, Lady Berg? But it turns out it wasn't her fault because Rufus here was using that secret-secret magic Maria has on her to make her go along with kidnapping me,"

"Secret-secret magic…" Uncle Dan paused, then gestured.

Every knight in the room– some of had been hidden in secret rooms behind bookshelves, which was so cool!– suddenly pointed weapons at Rufus. Swords, spears and axes caught fire, got covered by ice, were surrounded by clouds of rocks, and spinning whirlwinds.

"I already surrendered, you know," Rufus said, looking really cool and fearless.

"Katarina, in future don't just bring someone that you know has… secret-secret magic… into the castle," Uncle Dan said, sounding vaguely like mother and Maria when they were explaining why you shouldn't apologize to commoners, even though it was so rude. "And tell the guards if he has it. Their armors' thickness is such that it makes affecting them difficult, but difficult is not impossible."

"Ah… Sorry Uncle Dan… I messed up…"

"No harm was done… yet. Though I shall have the Castle's Light Magic Wielder examine everyone, just in case," Uncle Dan said. "He had you kidnaped, then?"

"Yes, but it wasn't his fault," Katarina said earnestly. "Some guy named David Mason forced him into it! Did you know there were people in the kingdom who sold foreigners as slaves? That's how Rufus got into the country!"

"Marquess Mason…?" Uncle Dan said, eyes narrowing. "Those are serious accusations, Katarina. Are you sure?"

"Rufus said so, and so does Larna," Katarina said.

"Ah, yes… I was wondering why you were here, 'Larna Smith'," Uncle Dan said. "Acting outside the Ministry again, I see?"

"I was there to protect Katarina," Larna said, sounding pouty. "How was I supposed to know that knight could track her down literally overnight?"

"Really?" Uncle Dan said, looking surprised. "My, Lady Campbell is certainly full of surprises. Where is she now, by the way?"

"I think she went to keep Mason from escaping or something?" Katarina said.

"Did she? I shall be sure to set that paperwork aside for her, then," Uncle Dan said. "Captain, can you please escort the prisoner to the special cells and send a squad down to Marquess Mason's residence."

"Yes, Prime Minister," one of the knights said.

"And someone send to the Academy to tell them we have found their missing student."

"Ugh, I hope the teachers let me retake whatever tests we have today…" Katarina said. "Can we tell them that was all Mason's fault too?"

Uncle Dan, for some reason, laughed.

Maria nodded in satisfaction as she finished tying up David Mason. The man continued to rage impotently, having somehow regained his bravado. Maria shook her head and raised her hand, abyssal darkness coming to it, then paused. The darkness disappeared. Instead she clenched her fist and punched him unconscious.

Nodding at a job well done, Maria made a quick circuit of the manor, double checking on the unconscious and bleeding guards, especially those she had nailed to the floor with their own swords. None seemed likely to escape soon.

Fortunately or unfortunately, there were no prisoners or coerced people in the residence, which was a relief, though she had found a room obviously set up for dark magic. The markings were a bit faded though, and seemed long unused, with the room itself seemingly turned to storage for wines and other spirits.

Nodding to herself, Maria wrote down a note for the knights that would inevitably investigate this place, then stole a horse from the Manor's stable

Here was one other place she had to go.