Summer palace

The summer residence emerged long before the carriages reached it, its pale stone turrets rising above the distant trees and rows of tall windows catching the afternoon light.

Calling it a summer residence almost felt inadequate. Though smaller than the royal palace, there was little about it that seemed less magnificent.

The estate was renowned as one of the most beautiful places in Etheria. The residence itself, along with vast stretches of the surrounding land, had been granted to Duke Harold Longbottom by the king.

His marriage to Lady Zeena, a princess of the Kingdom of Raglan, had only strengthened the Longbottom family's influence. Their only son, Rowland, now stood next in line to succeed the king.

Green oaks, fields of blooming flowers, and streams spilling into distant waterfalls surrounded the estate, making the entire region seem designed for summer.

Sybill had been leaning so far out of the carriage window that Elena already had one hand wrapped around the back of her cloak.

"Silvi, look. The vines are the climbing the whole building."

She lifted Silvi toward the window for a better view, apparently forgetting that half her own body was already outside.

Elena pulled her back into the carriage.

"People are watching, Sybill."

Sybill remained inside for approximately a minute before Elena found her leaning out again.

"Oh my. The beautiful gardens are the most full of flowers, but no Lulu blossoms," Sybill complained.

Before anyone could stop her, she pointed her wand toward the grounds.

Blue Lulu blossoms erupted across the flower beds by the thousands, spreading in rippling waves along the road as though summer itself were chasing the carriage.

A little girl walking beside one of the gardeners stopped in astonishment. Then she squealed and began hopping excitedly alongside the flower beds, trying to follow the blossoms as they appeared one after another.

Sybill noticed her.

For a moment, she forgot about the mansion entirely. A smile spread across her face as she watched the child leap among the newly blooming flowers.

The little girl stared back. With thousands of blue blossoms surrounding the carriage and Sybill's black hair lifting freely in the summer breeze, she looked less like an eccentric traveller and more like one of the goddesses from the old stories.

Elena, Rowland, and Sammy watched in quiet awe.

Even the strongest mages might have managed to conjure a bouquet or two. This was an unheard-of display of sheer magical prowess.

Silvi watched Sybill rather than the flowers.

Her sister's heart had finally begun to warm to the world around her after ages of isolation.

How old was Sybill now?

Silvi wasn't entirely sure.

Fifteen, perhaps.

Maybe eighteen.

Keeping track of time inside the Domain had become nearly impossible.

Two centuries had passed outside. That much Silvi knew.

But the years within the Domain had slipped by in strange, uneven fragments.

How much time had truly passed for her and Sybill remained a conundrum.

Perhaps it was Elena's vivacious personality, Sammy's brotherly care, or simply the excitement of having a new mission, but something in her sister had begun to change.

Sybill's connection to people had always been tenuous.

Her connection to calamities, however, had always been remarkably strong.

She had emerged from the Domain to save villages, avert disasters, and answer catastrophes before disappearing again almost as swiftly as she had arrived.

Perhaps, in her own peculiar way, Sybill's mind had always remained tethered to the world she had escaped from.

Yet watching Sybill smile because an ordinary little girl was happy, Silvi wondered if perhaps her sister had never severed that connection as completely as either of them had believed.

Elena finally dragged Sybill away from the window again.

"Now listen to me. Lady Zeena notices everything. And I mean everything. Nothing gets past that woman."

Elena lowered her voice.

"She is meticulous, observant, cunning, and exceedingly difficult to deceive."

Silvi's button eyes turned toward her.

"Really?"

"Really."

Silvi's gaze slowly shifted toward Sybill.

"Then the only matter concerning me is how we intend to control her in Lady Zeena's presence."

Sybill looked behind herself.

"Who?"

"You."

Elena caught Sybill by both shoulders.

"At dinner, you watch me. Whatever I do, you do. If I use the fork, you use the fork. If I use the knife, you use the knife. If I stop eating, you stop eating."

Sybill listened with the grave concentration of someone receiving instructions before battle.

"If you don't know what to do, don't improvise. Look at me and copy me exactly."

"I will do the copying."

Silvi nodded approvingly. It was, at least in theory, a remarkably simple plan.

The carriage suddenly rolled to a halt.

Lord and Lady Longbottom stood waiting to welcome them.

Lady Zeena Longbottom stood beside her husband, tall and slender, with pale skin, immaculately arranged black hair, and sharp brown eyes that seemed to inspect everything they touched. There was something rigid about her posture, as though disorder itself were a personal insult.

Duke Harold Longbottom presented an almost comical contrast beside his wife. He was shorter, somewhat plump, and carried an easy smile beneath a pair of genial eyes.

Where Zeena appeared perpetually prepared to discover someone's mistake, Harold looked as though nothing in the world could offend him.

That pleasant manner had served him well at court. Diplomacy was widely considered Harold Longbottom's greatest talent, and even those who disliked the duke rarely left a conversation with him feeling openly insulted.

Lady Zeena immediately pulled her son into a tight embrace, kissing him on each cheek and leaving Rowland visibly flustered.

Then she looked toward the others.

One thoroughly unimpressed glance swept across the entire group.

"Welcome to the summer house," she said halfheartedly. "As if we needed more guests."

Her eyes settled on Elena.

"And you only left a few days ago. What brings you back, dear?"

"Your exuberant personality, Lady Zeena. And your hospitality, obviously."

Elena smiled sweetly.

"Also, don't forget—I am a princess, and my father is still your king."

For the briefest moment, Zeena's immaculate composure slipped. Her mouth tightened, and her posture stiffened as she was reminded of a fact she often chose to forget—that Elena was still the king's daughter and outranked her regardless of her own marriage into power.

"Now, now, Lady Elena. You know how my Zeena gets. She was only joking," Harold said.

"Welcome, all of you."

His attention shifted toward Sybill.

"You must be the new teacher Rowland told us about in his letters. You have rather interesting teaching methods."

He bowed.

"Thanks for having me."

Sybill bowed perfectly in return.

Zeena threw Elena another look, then examined Sybill from head to toe before leaving with one hand firmly wrapped around Rowland's arm.

A butler was instructed to take their luggage to their lodgings.

Sybill leaned forward with renewed excitement. She brought Silvi out of her purse so she could see the grounds properly, and Silvi's button eyes reflected the same excitement.

White marble paths stretched between green lawns and colourful flower beds, while flowering vines climbed the pillars and gazebos. 

Small fountains and clear streams ran beneath little stone bridges, with the pale residence towering over it all from the centre of the estate.

Sybill and Elena were to share a room, while Sammy was sent to the servants' quarters.

"We will be the building the Domain like this. Silvi, look and keep the remembering. If I am writing, you won't be able to do the reading anyway."

Silvi rattled in anger.

"Doll hands, remember, Sibi? Don't torment me."

Elena's attention, however, was fixed on someone else.