~Jon's POV~

As I hit the ground, I looked up at the suit of armor in horror, praying that it didn't fall and crush me. Instead, it teetered for a second and then turned around, a worried look appearing on the bearded face of the man inside the armor.

"Jon! Are you alright?" Nick asked as he bent down, reaching out a hand to help me up. I laughed and grabbed his hand, letting the strong male pull me up.

"I'm fine. I was actually hoping to run into you, but not exactly like this." I said. He chuckled as I checked my lute, making sure it hadn't been damaged when I fell. "Did you hear about the party from Nihl Dragdan?"

"Yeah," Nick replied, "Captain Frank told all of the knights about it this morning. He gave a long speech on how we were representing all of Nera and how it's important that we treat the visitors as if they were Nerelian royalty." He finished. I nodded.

"Mr. Bailey said something similar, though he made it sound a lot more threatening."

"How so?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, he basically told me not to mess up or bother the guests at all and that if he thinks I'm misbehaving or embarrassing the kingdom he'll make me regret ever being born." I said nonchalantly, fiddling with the tuning strings on my lute through my thick orange gloves.

"Wow, and the others just let him talk to you like that?" Nick asked in surprise.

"I was kind of the only one there." I said nervously. Nick gave me a puzzled expression.

"What, why?"

I avoided his gaze, instead choosing to take extreme interest in his boots. "I may have been a little bit late."

Nick crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow at me. "How late, Jon?"

"About a half hour... or two."

"JON!" Nick shouted, "Of course he's gonna be angry if you show up an hour late to a meeting, what were you doing?"

"I lost track of time! I was practicing my lute in the woods and I got distracted!"

"Is that why you have a twig sticking out of your hair?" He asked. I nodded.

"Yes, and I really wish people would stop commenting on it. Could you get it out?" I said, patting the parts of my green hair that stuck out underneath my hat, trying to find the stick. Nick sighed.

"Sure, just hang on." He reached up and pulled a twig out of my hair then handed it to me. Unsure of what to do with it, I tossed it into a corner. Nick watched me do this with a bored expression on his face, but didn't make a comment.

"Thanks," I said, "so, where are you going? Do you have a secret mission to protect the king?" I asked with a gasp. Nick laughed.

"Hardly anything so exciting. No, I just needed to pick up some potions from the royal mage. Captain Frank wants us to restock our supplies before the party from Nihl Dragdan comes so we look prepared for anything."

"Ooh, could I come with you? I can help carry the potions!" I said eagerly. Nick looked at me skeptically. "I won't drop them this time, I promise!" I said which made Nick smile.

"Well, you're obviously not going to leave me alone no matter what I say, so you might as well help me. Plus, this way I can keep you out of trouble." He said. I pretended to give him an offended look.

"What? Trouble? Me? Never! Good sir, I am deeply hurt that you would even suggest such a thing!" I put a hand to my forehead dramatically. "How could you even think that I, Jonathon Jonathon, royal jester of Nera, would ever be associated with causing trouble!"

Nick chuckled and ruffled my hair, adding to its already messy look and causing my hat to jingle. "Yeah well, maybe I'd have an easier time believing that if I wasn't the one constantly bailing you out of trouble."

"So let me repay you!" I said excitedly, widening my eyes in what I hoped was a pleading look, despite my being extremely cross eyed.

"Alright, fine, just stop doing that with your eyes, you look like you're going to hurt yourself!" Nick said, nudging me.

"Ow, the only thing that hurts is getting elbowed by someone wearing a suit of armor!" I complained.

"Sorry," Nick said, "now come on, the captain is expecting me back soon, so let's hurry." Nick took off down the hall and I followed, chatting happily as we made our way towards the mage's workshop.

* * *

I could hear muffled voices as we approached the dark cherry wood door. I glanced at the strange markings on it, protective spells and anti-hexes, the mage had once told me. They were to keep out any unwanted visoters as well as to protect against other magic users. Nick hesitated at the door and cleared his throat.

"So, should we wait or knock, or...?" He asked. Before he could do anything, I walked forward and twisted the doorknob, opening it a crack. "Jon!" He hissed quietly, "Jon, get back here, you can't just invite yourself in, there are people in there!" I looked back at him and shrugged.

"It's unlocked." I said simply.

Pushing the door open, I stepped into the workshop, though it was more like I was stepping into a different world. Piles of books and scrolls were stacked haphazardly around the room, some towering higher than me, while a few sat open on a table, bookmarks poking out at random intervals like a strange decoration. The air had an odd smell that was difficult to place, a mixture of smoke, moss, and cinnamon I think, which someone combined to form a quite pleasing aroma. The windows were open, casting light onto the many tables, each covered with an assortment of objects. More books and scrolls littered the table tops, along with, potions, notes, herbs, spices, as well as other ingredients that I didn't recognize, and small metal contraptions that held fires. Potion bottles hissed and fizzed and a strange green substance was leaking out onto the floor in one corner, but all of this was normal for the mage's workshop. My attention was drawn to the center of the room where three familiar figures crowded around a rather neat table, two of them standing and one sitting. This table held a single book, an ink pot and quill, some loose parchment, and several potion bottles.

"Allright, next question," the shorter of the two standing said in a female voice, "which of these potions would you use to counter the effects of ingesting althreal poison?" She asked, facing away from the table with a book in her hands.

"Ugh, althreal poison?" The seated person asked in an English accent. He groaned, holding his head in his hands while resting his elbows on the table. I felt Nick approach behind me, but I continued to watch in silence. The others hadn't noticed us yet. "That's the... blue one, right?" The seated figure asked. He sat up and ran a hand through his black and blue hair nervously, displacing the silver crown on his head.

"Thirty seconds, hurry up, you're dying." The female warned calmly, focusing on an hourglass nearby. The young prince glanced helplessly at his companion who stood slightly behind him to his left. He gave the taller male a pleading look underneath his thick-rimmed circular glasses. Unlike the first boy, this one's hair was a much brighter shade of blue, neon almost, and it was brushed back neatly. In fact, everything about him was neat, his neon blue tie, his black vest and his simple blue shirt. Not the clothes or royalty, but definitely not commoners clothes either. He held himself with dignity, clasping his gloved hands behind his back.

Without saying anything the tall male glanced pointedly at one of the potions on the table, a light pink liquid bubbled peacefully inside the corked bottle. Following his gaze, the other male quickly reached for the bottle.

"Uh, this one, the-the light pink one!" He exclaimed, addressing the female and holding the bottle up.

"Aaaaaand, you're dead!" The female announced, turning away from the hourglass. The tall male sighed quietly, while the other male shot up out of his seat.

"What?! But that was right, wasn't it?" He shouted at the girl in front of him.

"It was," she responded, unintimidated by his frustrated outburst, "but my guess is you wouldn't have known that without Dawn here, right?" She asked accusingly. The boy opened his mouth to argue then looked at Dawn and closed it. He sat back down with a dramatic sigh and grumbled quietly to himself. The girl gave a satisfied nod. "That's what I thought."

Nick pulled on my sleeve gently, trying to get me to step back outside, but I ignored his tug, choosing instead to watch the scene in front of me play out. The black and blue haired boy, Prince Uni, picked up the quill and skillfully started guiding it over a piece of parchment.

"This is ridiculous," he muttered, "how could you have possibly seen that Dawn helped me, you weren't even looking at us!"

The red-headed girl laughed. "Maaaaagic!" She said, wiggling her fingers at Uni. He looked at her, unamused and crossed his arms.

"Fine, but what's wrong with Dawn helping me? I'm obviously rubbish at this and as my head advisor, Dawn will always be with me. He's supposed to help with this sort of thing, right?" He asked. The red-headed female sighed and picked something up out of a jar. She held it briefly under her nose, smelling it before crushing it between her fingers and adding it to a small metal pot which she placed over a fire.

"The point of your lessons is to make sure you'll be ready when it's your time to rule. Your father wants you educated in a bit of everything, not to the point of mastery, but so you have an understanding of how the world works and how your people live." Uni still looked unconvinced so she continued. "I know it seems tedious, but it's necessary. What if another mage threatened to curse the townspeople or someone tried to poison you when Dawn wasn't there? You need to be ready."

Uni scoffed. "Yes, but what's the chance of any of that happening? My father never lets me go anywhere alone, there are always guards around, and even if it wasn't his job, I'm certain Dawn would never leave my side at any time." The prince stated. He glanced at Dawn, hoping for him to back him up, but the tall boy continued to stand in stoney silence, though if you looked hard enough you could just make out a small smile appear on the impassive boys face. Uni sighed. "I know you're just following orders, Lady Ashlie, and I'm sorry for complaining." He slumped down in his seat and groaned, holding his head in his hands. "Ugh, I'm going to be a dreadful king, aren't I?"

"Of course not!" I shouted suddenly, causing Nick to jump at my side. "You're going to be one of the best kings Nera's ever had!" Ashlie turned to face me, a look of surprise quickly turning into one of amusement. Uni jumped a bit, briefly struggling as he almost fell out of his chair, and straightened in his seat. After catching his balance he lifted his head towards me, while Dawn tensed and stepped in front of him protectively. Upon seeing me, he immediately relaxed. The three of them stared at me in silence. I heard Nick drop to one knee in a rushed bow beside me.

"Your highness." he said, his head lowered. He glanced pointedly at me and I rolled my eyes slightly. I was about to explain to him that we didn't need to bow to our friends just because of our inferior statuses, but before I could Nick had reached up and grabbed my sleeve, dragging me down. I caught myself before I could fall and glared at him. Unfortunately, his eyes were pointed at the floor so all I could do was huff in annoyance before lowering myself into a little bow. I was supposed to keep my eyes down, but I couldn't help looking up at the others.

"Oh, um, you may rise." Uni said, looking flustered. I jumped up while Nick rose more elegantly.

"Lady Ashlie, Lord Dawn." he said, nodding respectfully at each in turn.

"Hey guys!" I said, waving. Nick elbowed me gently.

"Jon, remember your manners." he whispered. This caused Ashlie to laugh.

"Hello Jon, hello Sir Nicholas." She said, purposefully exaggerating his title and the curtsey she gave him. Nick gave her an unamused look while I beamed at her. She returned our looks with one of her own, sticking her tongue out at us. Dawn was more refined and simply smiled, nodding his head at each of us.

"Uh, guys, when it's just the four of us, you don't all have to act so formally." Uni said, rubbing the back of his neck. His face was now tinted the same light pink as the potion bottle.

"I keep trying to tell Nick that, but he's always so focused on his whole 'chiveroulous gentleman knight' thing." I said.

"Because it's my duty." Nick said, glaring at me.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to be so serious and proper all the time." I responded. Nick sighed.

"Jon, that's exactly what it means."

"Oh." I said blankly. I looked around, trying to find a way to fight his logic, but I had nothing.

"Anyway," Nick said after a second, "we didn't come her just to disturb your lesson Prince Uni, Captain Frank actually sent me to pick up some supplies for the troops."

"And I'm helping!" I added, beaming at my friends.

"Yes. And Jon's helping." Nick said, struggling to keep the smile off his face. "We just need some potions and healing salves from Ashlie. May we borrow her for a moment?"

"Absolutely!" Uni said eagerly. "Er- I mean of course. Anything to give me a little break from this bloody nightmare of a lesson- no offence Ashlie." He said hurriedly, glancing at the witch.

"None taken, but just for that you can use your 'little break' to study some more. Maybe then I won't have to explain to the king why his son failed my teachings and died of althereal poison." Ashlie smirked and winked playfully at the shocked prince before turning to Nick. "I've already prepared the materials Captain Frank asked for, they're in one of my storage rooms, just give me a second to grab them. She said, walking off to another door with strange runes on it. Nick followed her.

"Here, let me help." He called. I watched them, wondering whether I should go in and help, but quickly decided that two people was probably enough to grab the potions. I turned towards the table where Uni was drawing on some parchment while Dawn stood, skimming over the big book that I guessed Uni was supposed to be reading. Dawn glanced up and smiled at me as I walked over. Uni was oblivious to us as he seemed completely focused on what he was doing so I turned to Dawn first.

"What're you looking at Dawn?" I asked, trying to peer at the book in his arms. He smiled and handed it to me.

"It's one of Ashlie's alchemy books." He explained, gesturing at the pages. "She gave this one to Uni to study from, though I'm afraid it's not helping very much." Uni turned and glared at him and Dawn smiled back apologetically. I flipped to a random page that contained neat sketches of potions and herbs as well as a few more shapes that looked like the ones Ashlie had on her door, but most of these had been scratched out or covered with ink. The rest of the page was filled with handwritten notes and little doodles. I tried deciphering the notes, but they were as foreign to me as the magic symbols.

"What's this?" I asked, pointing to one of the blotted out symbols.

"Those are runes, they're basically symbols that hold power. People with magic, like Ashlie use them to convey messages or cast a powerful spell. Ashlie crossed them out when she gave the book to Uni, since he wouldn't be able to read them anyway. I don't know much about runes, but I'm sure Ashlie would be happy to tell you more." He said kindly. I nodded.

"What about this?" I asked, pointing to the handwritten notes.

"Those are Uni's notes. They're instructions that Ashlie translated for him, or tips she thought would be useful." He explained. "Do you want to look at them?" I shook my head and handed the book back to him.

"Nah, I can't read."

Dawn looked at me with a quizzical expression but didn't question my lack of literacy. He flipped back to the page he had been reading and continued right where he left off. I sighed. I wanted to ask him questions about Nihl Dragdan, but he seemed to be enjoying a little time to himself. Dawn was one of the few people in the castle who never got annoyed by my endless amounts of questions so he was one of my go-to people when I didn't know something. Unfortunately, being the head advisor to the future king he was almost always busy. I decided I shouldn't bother him.

I turned to Uni and looked over his shoulder.

"Hey, that's really good!" I said.

"Thanks." He responded, casually, not taking his eyes off of his work. He was currently drawing a very detailed map of parts of Ilnya. I recognized the Nerelian Kingdom and the Hout Forest that ran along Neras outskirts as well as many other landmarks. Prince Uni was adding some finishing details to another kingdom nearby Nera. I pointed to it, careful not to smudge the ink.

"Is that Nihl Dragdan?" I asked. Uni glance up at me briefly and nodded.

"Yeah, my dad wanted me to learn about Nihl before they come so I can make a good impression on them."

I nodded. "That seems smart."

"The trouble is," Uni continued, "I'm rubbish at this. I can't remember all the names of their royalty and which of their traditions conflict with ours and what special rules I'm supposed to follow to be respectful. I thought maybe drawing would help me remember, but I got carried away and ended up just wasting time." Uni put set down his quill and stared at the picture with a thoughtful expression.

"That doesn't seem like a waste of time to me, it's beautiful!"

Uni smiled. "Thanks Jon, I'm glad you think so." I smiled back at him. I can probably ask Uni about Nihl, he is the prince after all, he's bound to know more than anyone!

"Hey Uni-"

"Alright, that should be everything." Ashlie announced as she re-entered the room carrying a wooden box full of vials and flasks. Nick followed her, carrying a similar box. "Tell the captain that I put in some extra salves, just in case." Ashlie said, putting her box down on a table.

"Thank you Lady Ashlie, I really appreciate it." Nick said, smiling at her. The red headed witch smiled, amusement dancing in her teal eyes.

"You're welcome, just promise me you'll try to relax on the formalities, we've been friends for years."

Nick laughed. "I'll try." He promised. He looked over at me and gestured with his head to the box Ashlie had set down. "How about giving me a hand Jon? You better make good on your promise not to drop them."

I smiled and bounded over to him, carefully picking up the box and adjusting it in my grip. "I will, don't worry."

"Are you sure you've got it," Ashlie asked, holding in a laugh, "you can barely see over the box."

I nodded and headed to the door, careful not to knock into any tables. "I'm sure, besides who needs to see anyway?"

"Most people Jon, it's a very useful skill." She replied as she opened the door for me.

"Well, I guess I'm just better than most people." I said casually.

"Just make sure you don't drop it. I don't want to even think about what might happen if everything gets mixed together." Nick worried.

"You worry too much, everything will be fine." I said. Once back in the hallway, I turned to face the open door. "Bye Dawn, bye Uni! Good luck with the lesson!" I called. I winked at Ashlie as she closed the door. "And bye Atlie, thanks for the boxes of dangerous stuff!"