Ildri lit a candle using some of her own ignition potion. She felt a little thrill of excitement at the thought. No more fiddling with flint in the dark for Ildri. Then she went to her workroom and fetched the heavy volume that she had brought back from the library and carried it to her bed. If she could not sleep she might as well do something useful. She flipped past a number of wizard spells until she came to a spell that looked on the surface like something that would mainly be used as a practical joke.

Invisible Ink

Ildri skimmed through a long and boring paragraph on the history of the recipe and read the directions.

6 parts clustered daisy petals (dried or fresh)

6 parts ink

5 tears potionaire

12 parts pure water (to dilute)

1 recipient eyelash (optional)

Simmer clustered daisy petals with ink for thirty-six hours over a low flame adding water periodically to prevent burning. Allow resultant sludge to cool and then add tears. Mix well and wrap magic together tightly while still stirring. Dilute to desired thickness. At this stage anything written with the ink will only be visible only to the author of the document or the potionaire and only until the ink dries after which none shall have the capability to see what has been inscribed.

If one wished to impart the ability to see what has been written with the ink, one must add to the ink (at any time after the ink has been prepared) a single eyelash from the intended recipient or recipients. Anything which has been inscribed before this addition will fade from sight and remain hidden. (Rumours of methods designed to circumvent the factor of invisibility of the ink have not been investigated at this time. The author is of the opinion that few would be capable of managing such intricate counter magic, but the risk is minimal if other precautions are taken upon sensitive documents.)

Ildri flipped to the next page.

Muted Colour

The standard spell for changing the colour of an object was invented as early as the tenth generation of kings and may have been around for many years prior. Dismissed as a spell which is either foolish or simply a beginner level spell for neophytes, many wizards miss important applications and modifications that may be used upon the unlikely spell.

The spell for muted colour is little more than a modifying generalization of the standard colour changing spell. In many ways it is...

The book faded away, and Ildri could not help but notice how bright the colours were all of a sudden, as if someone had been muting the colours for her entire life. The flowers danced in the breeze and the sun beamed down on her with a comfortable warmth.

Ildri smiled to herself. Keziah was there and thankfully not swearing as she sailed through the sky. Ildri figured that the parrot was probably in a good mood as she had actually bothered to leave Ildri's shoulder. Her preferred method of locomotion seemed to be riding on Ildri as if Ildri were a horse, or a carriage.

And then suddenly Ildri had the prickling sensation that she was being watched. She saw movement, through the trees. She walked towards it, clutching a small bottle in her hand. She found herself at the edge of a misty swamp.

And an before an intimidating wolf. It took her only a second to recognize it.

"Ferrel?" she exclaimed.

Ferrel gave her a wolfish grin and ran through the trees, then looked back, as if waiting for her to follow. Ildri followed, surprised at how easily she kept up with her four legged companion, watching where she put her feet on the uneven terrain.

Then Ferrel dodged suddenly and Ildri barrelled into someone.

She jumped backwards. Even though Ferrel's presence had made her hope, she was still surprised to see a man standing there.

"Ildri," he said.

"Ty?"

"Yes."

"You're not hurt," she said, looking at him.

"No. I'm not," he said with a smile.

"Maxine thought you were alive," Ildri told him. "Is this what you really look like, Ty?"

"Yes," he agreed. "Good morning."

"Good morning," squacked Keziah right above Ildri's face.

Ildri rolled over and buried her face in the pillow. "A few more minutes, Keziah," Ildri muttered through the down. It was such a nice dream and reality was such an unpleasant letdown.

"Bloody morning," she agreed in what seemed to be the happiest of moods.

"I think you're always happier when you're making someone miserable. Why is that?" Ildri muttered at the bird. Keziah whistled cheerfully.

"Keziah want food," said the bird as she fluttered off to perch on top of her cage.

"At least I know you mean what you say when you say that."

Ildri dressed as quickly as she could and carried Keziah on her arm into the kitchen.

To her surprise Hanna was sitting in the kitchen in the place where Ildri normally sat, and the loud mouthed maid Rose was there as well. Ildri did her best to look happy to see them, which was easy with Hanna and quite difficult with Rose.

"Pretty lady," Keziah said as she flew over to chef. "Keziah want food."

"You're so intelligent," said chef as she quickly went to get something.

Rose looked less than impressed by the bird's presence. "Should you have that thing in the kitchen?" she asked in scandalized tones.

Chef scratched the bird. "It's fine. She never goes into everything."

"Pretty lady," agreed Keziah. She glanced over at Hanna. "Pretty lady," she repeated.

Then she flew and perched on the counter right in front of Rose. "Bloody mess."

"Well, I never," Rose gasped with more indignation than should have been possible.

Ildri grabbed the bird before she could try to bite Rose. "No, Keziah!"

Keziah was unfazed. "No bloody no bloody no bloody."

"That creature is a menace!" Rose said. "Good day, Missus Allendale," she snapped and she walked briskly from the room.

"Keziah, do you have to make my life so difficult? And you are not to put dirty things in your mouth."

Hanna giggled from where she was sitting. "I thought it was quite funny."

"Pretty lady," agreed Keziah.

"Rose does get too big for her britches. But Ildri's right. You mustn't make Ildri's life any harder than it already is."

Keziah flew over to the food that chef had set out for her and started eating, apparently no longer interested in the human conversation.

"You may as well tell her what you told me," chef prompted Hanna.

Hanna perked up and Ildri was certain she knew what it was going to be about. There was only one thing that put that particular expression in Hanna's eyes.

"They caught a spy today!"

"Oh, that's nice—what?" Ildri said.

Hanna seemed to nearly be bouncing off her chair with delight, perhaps at being the one to impart the news. "Lord Wildwood returned with an enemy soldier or a spy or something. They've been questioning him, but they don't know anything about him. Not his name, not anything."

Ildri nodded her head. "I guess it really will come to fighting then."

"Of course it will," Hanna agreed, almost sounding excited at the prospect.

"People will die, though," Ildri said, wondering what the other woman could possibly be thinking. "War will be awful."

"We'll be safe here," Hanna said with complete confidence.

"I hope you're right." Ildri missed when she had that same confidence.

"Never mind that. Did I tell you yet about the new soldier who I met? He was brought in with the last set of recruits. He's three years older than me, and he is so handsome! He told me that he liked my bracelet! Thanks for getting it for me."

"You're welcome. But what about Charles? I thought you and him were—"

Hanna shook her head. "It was a nice dream. He's noble and he's fairly handsome too, in a cute way, but it never would have worked though. Commoners like you and I just don't end up happily ever after with rich and handsome nobles. We both know that," Hanna said.

"Yeah, we do," Ildri agreed, feeling disheartened. Not that it mattered because she would never see Ty again either way.

"A nice handsome soldier is well within my reach, though. Don't get me wrong, Charles is a nice man and he sure gave me some fantastic jewellery, it'll be enough to keep my family fed for a very long time and Charles told me to go ahead and use them when we broke it off, but we figured out that we just weren't in love with each other, so what was the point of trying when we could both find more suitable people to wed?"

Ildri nodded, "I guess that makes sense."

"And with all the potentials of battles there has never been a time where there were more eligible men working at Wildwood! The time is ripe to find true love, Ildri!"

"Yeah," Ildri agreed, feeling very foreign in her own skin.

Hanna glanced out the window. "But look at the time, I have so much to do today and so little time to do it. Thanks again for the bracelet, I'll talk to you later Ildri."

"I'm glad you're happy," Ildri said, really meaning it yet envying it at the same time.

Once Hanna was gone chef cleared her throat. "So, if I didn't know any better I would say that the two of you swapped bodies. She sounds just like you used to before you were abducted, and you don't sound like you any longer. You once told me that you weren't mourning Saul, so what is it? Did something terrible happen to you when you were taken?"

Ildri shook her head. "No, nothing terrible. Well, nearly, but I was rescued from even that. I guess that I just understand more about the dangers that are out there, and what Scelus might do if they take over. They aren't good men, at least not the ones I encountered. And the person who saved me was captured, and I don't even know if he's alive anymore."

Chef hugged Ildri. "Ah girl, I wish I could have protected you forever. I agree that war is a terrible thing, and I worry about you and my husband and my children and everyone else. But I just trust that Lord Wildwood will do his best to see us safe, and then I leave it in greater hands than my own."

Chef gently pushed Ildri over to the chair she generally sat in. "Now let me feed you, you'll feel better."

Ildri ate quietly, the wistful mood of her dream still in the back of her mind.