Domain

Sybill appeared inside her Domain with a crack and a flash.

Her long black hair fluttered around her shoulders as the last traces of magic vanished behind her. Large lavender eyes blinked as she took in the familiar landscape.

Her Domain was vast.

And mostly empty.

Pale earth stretched towards a distant horizon beneath an open sky, broken here and there by stubborn patches of green grass. A few fruit-bearing trees stood near a modest cottage, their branches heavy with apples and pears, while an unusually well-maintained vegetable garden occupied a patch of fertile soil beside it.

Not far away, several Bulbous cows grazed lazily.

Their enormous rounded bodies made them look almost comically overfed, with naturally pink hides covered in irregular white spots.

They were an ordinary sight to Sybill.

Outside the Domain, they had been extinct for generations.

Near the cottage, a handful of blue flowers had recently begun blooming across what had once been completely barren ground.

They had appeared shortly after Sammy—or, more accurately, Prince Edward Simon Savant—had wandered into the Domain that, for centuries, had been occupied by only two souls.

Sybill looked towards the cottage.

A blond-haired boy was already standing outside waiting for her.

Sammy had just turned fifteen when he entered the Domain.

He was still fifteen now.

Two years had passed in the outside world, yet only a tiny fraction of that time had touched him here.

His blond hair was slightly dishevelled from repeatedly running his hands through it, and his bright blue eyes were fixed accusingly on Sybill.

"What took you so long?"

Sybill blinked.

A magnificent porcelain doll perched nearby.

Silvi's smooth pale face was framed by dark curled hair. Three painted lashes decorated each side of her black button eyes, little red dots coloured her cheeks, and an elegant blue dress covered her tiny porcelain body.

Her button eyes narrowed.

"It took her two minutes."

"Yeah, but you said she'd go and reappear after a few seconds."

Silvi turned her body towards him with a soft thud.

"I don't get to decide that."

Sammy opened his mouth.

"Nobody gets to decide that," Silvi added.

Sammy stared at her.

Then at Sybill.

Then back at Silvi.

"I was waiting."

"For two minutes."

"It felt longer."

Silvi's eyes narrowed even further.

Sammy immediately reconsidered his tone.

"Sorry, Sibi. I was just anxious. Waiting is hard."

Sybill appeared completely unbothered by the exchange.

"I have come with the greatest of the news, Sister. Sammy."
Her eyes widened with excitement.

"I have done the espionage."

"You need to tone down the eyes, my love," Silvi reminded her.
Sybill blinked.

Then she walked straight towards Sammy.

And kept walking.

Sammy leaned backwards.

Sybill stopped only when there was barely any space left between them.

She grabbed his face between both hands.

"Grab the stuff you need. We will be the leaving now. And Silvi, you will teach me the human, so you are the coming."

Sammy's cheeks squashed between her palms.

Silvi stared at them.

"You're too close, Sibi. This announcement would have been better made from farther away."

Sybill released Sammy's face.

She glanced at the old rusty wall clock.

"We leave in the two minutes."

"Two minutes—"

Sammy opened his mouth to protest.

Silvi's black button eyes slowly narrowed into a death stare.

Sammy looked at the tiny porcelain doll.

Then apparently remembered that her inability to walk normally had never prevented her from launching her entire body at his head.

He closed his mouth.

"Two minutes is perfect."

He hurried towards his belongings.

Sybill immediately began packing as well.

She haphazardly stuffed whatever she thought she might need into a tiny sack, barely looking at what went inside.

Then she carefully tucked Silvi securely into her cloak.

"The preparation is going the extremely well."

Silvi sighed.

---
Inside a busy, dingy but quaint tavern near Etheria's Castle, a highly classified intelligence meeting was taking place.

At least, that was how the three of them viewed it.

All the passersby could hear was:

"Chus chus chus. Squeak squeak. Chirp chirp."

The voice-distortion magic was doing its job.

Sybill's interview to teach the current Crown Prince would take place at the castle the following morning.

For now, Sybill and Sammy sat across from each other at a scratched wooden table tucked into one corner of the tavern, while Silvi sat between them.

Around them, mugs struck tables, chairs scraped against the floor, travellers shouted over one another, and the smell of roasted meat and ale drifted through the crowded room.

None of them paid much attention.

This was espionage.

Silvi hopped lightly towards the centre of the table.

Both Sybill and Sammy leaned closer.

"Our infiltration mission is clear," Silvi said in a hushed voice. "Sammy, you are our errand boy and helper."

Sammy frowned.

"Errand boy?"

Silvi ignored him.

"He resembles the King far too much. As I have already told you, change your eye colour and your nose."

She turned towards Sybill.

"And you, Sibi, only repeat what I whisper to you. When you have an issue, look at Sammy with normal eyes. Do not stare or scrunch up your face as if you are holding your breath. It upsets people."

"Upsets the people," Sybill repeated, nodding seriously.

"Activate the whispering-earring magic so you can hear me clearly. And change your eye colour. That Grandmaster already worships you, from what I gathered from your notes."

Sybill touched one of the earrings.

She turned her wrist and flicked her wand.

Her naturally lavender eyes shifted beneath the spell, becoming blue.

Silvi studied her.

"Better."

Sybill opened them wider.
"Worse."

Sybill relaxed them again.

"We enter the castle tomorrow," Silvi continued. "Sibi, change some stones into gold. We'll need transportation."

Sybill nodded.

"The horsed house."

Sammy looked at her.

"Carriage. It's called a carriage."

Sybill stared at him.

"Yes, that."

Silvi settled herself comfortably on the table.

"Let's eat and rest now. Morning will bring a mystery that needs solving: who wanted Sammy dead, where his mother is, and what exactly happened to the King?"