Lorand’s POV

Aveline leaves half an hour before dinner.  We invite her to stay, but she has to get back to the castle before Morden realizes that she hasn’t been in the library at all.  I’m so glad she found me.  I was so worried about her!

“Lorand, could you help me set the table?” Ruth asks.

“Sure.”  I step away from the window and take a stack of plates.

“Gladys told me someone came over to see you.”

“Oh.”

“Who was it?”

“Aveline.  I mean, Lady Aveline.  She’s a childhood friend.”

Ruth smiles to herself as she arranges the silverware.  I wish I could tell her, but Nellie already knows, and I feel like that’s enough.

“Dinner!” Ruth calls out.

Everyone takes their places at the table.

“I heard a girl was over today,” Lilac says, looking at me and smiling.

“Yeah,” I reply.

“What was her name?”

“Lady Aveline.”

Martha looks up from her soup.  “Is she a friend of yours?”

“Yes.  I’ve known her all my life.”  I’m starting to get tired of all the questions.

“Is she pretty?”

“Yeah, she is.”

“Do you think that she could be more than a friend?” Charlotte asks slyly.

My face turns bright red.

“Stop it!” Millie shouts.  “Can’t you see how embarrassed he is?”

“I was just asking…”

That’s it.  I push myself away from the table and storm upstairs.  I don’t care if they’re all looking at me.  All I want right now is to get away from them and their stupid questions!  I sit down in a corner and let out an aggravated groan.  Don’t they understand how I’m feeling?  The tears are coming, but I’m too angry to cry.  I will not cry.

After a few minutes, someone comes up the stairs.  I’m ready to yell at them to go away, but then I see that it’s Nellie.

“Hey,” she says softly, sitting down on the bed closest to me.

“Hey.”

“I’m sorry about what happened.”

I sigh.

“They were all really sorry.  They didn’t know they were hurting you.”  She pauses, then speaks.  “Do you want me to tell them?”

How would they react if they knew?  Would they be sympathetic toward me, or would they be angry at Morden?  Maybe both.  Either way, it’s better than them teasing me about Aveline.  “Yes.  I think that would be best.”

Nellie smiles gently and goes downstairs.  I wait.

Will they want to talk about it later?  Are they going to just ignore the subject?  Or will they ignore me completely?  No, they wouldn’t ignore me.  I’m the only teenage boy here.

Of course.  I’m the only teenage boy here.  That’s why they don’t understand.  I can’t believe how terrible I was to them when they were just curious.

Nellie comes upstairs again.  “I told them.  Are you ready to come back?”

“I think so.”  I stand up and follow her downstairs.

Everyone is staring at me in complete silence.  I don’t blame them.  I sit back down and start to eat my bread.  It’s gotten a little cold, but that’s okay.

Millie clears her throat.  “So, I saw a bird today.  It was white and brown.  It had red and pink markings on its forehead and chest.”

“It was probably a redpoll,” Lilac says.  “I see them all the time.”

“I hate birds,” Gladys grumbles.

There’s a long silence, and I can’t help but feel like it’s all my fault.  I need to apologize.

“I’m sorry for running off,” I say.

“Don't feel bad,” Charlotte replies.  “We were being insensitive.  We’re the ones who should be sorry.”

“You didn't know.”

“I made an apple pie for dessert,” Martha says.  “Who wants some?”

That cheers everyone up, including me, and even Gladys, surprisingly.  She actually smiles.

“My mother and I used to have this together,” I say as Martha puts some pie on my plate.

“That's sweet,” Ruth says.  “My mother…”

And from then on, actual conversations fill the cottage with happiness.  It's late when we finally go to bed.

“Goodnight, everyone,” I say as I wrap myself up in my quilt.

“Goodnight, Lorand.”

Tomorrow is a busy day.  I have to mop and do laundry, and I agreed to help Millie with the garden.  Lilac, Gladys, and Nellie are going to make a bed for me so I won't have to sleep on the floor.  Charlotte's going to sweep, and Ruth has to dust.  Martha, of course, will be cooking most of the time.  Charlotte had offered to cook instead, but Martha refused because she loves it so much.  So anyway, we all need to sleep.  I close my eyes.

“Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the best ruler of them all?”

The face in the mirror cringes.  “I regret to inform you this, but still King Lorand.”

“Lorand's alive?” King Morden yells.

“Yes, your highness.”

“Where?”  The king is furiously scarlet.

“That I cannot answer.”

The king's fist smashes into the mirror.  Pieces shatter all over the floor as a green mist swirls for a few seconds and then disappears.  Morden struggles to remember the names of Lorand's best friends.  The girl is Harriet, he knows that, but who’s the boy?  Oh!  Dane, who works in the stables.  The king runs to the stables and finds the boy asleep in a pile of straw.

“Dane!”

The gray eyes pop open.  Dane sits up in shock.  “Your majesty!”

Morden’s pale hand grabs his throat.  Dane pries at it, but it's too strong.  “Where is he?”

“Who?” Dane chokes out.

“Lorand!”

“I-I don't know!”

The king drops the boy back onto the pile of straw and goes to Harriet, who's slumped against a wall.  He pulls out a knife and points it at her.  “This is the girl who was supposed to kill him, but let him loose instead.  You have exactly three days, starting tomorrow, to find out where he is and tell me, or else you'll lose her forever.”

Dane looks at Harriet, sleeping peacefully despite all that's happening.  He swallows and makes his decision.  “I won't fail you, your highness.”

“Good.”  King Morden leaves, still holding his knife.