I genuinely fear my head is going to fall off as Lady Nyoko presents the second finance log I must read. The sheets jammed inside the dull leather cover rival the thousand-page log I finished. This is my life for the next few weeks, perhaps months. Now, there's truly no escape from the palace or my studies.

Except at night, I remind myself. When night comes, I can see Odeia and hopefully get more answers.

"Get started," Lady Nyoko says. "We'll do what we did last time with reading one hour every day."

The finance log bears down on my legs, which I figure is the best way to hold it. Forget training, I'll get muscles dealing with this monstrosity every day for the next few months. That's how long it'll take me to finish reading it. I flip to the table of contents since Lady Nyoko insists I pay attention to every aspect inside the log, from the title page to the final notes. Already, my mind wanders to my plans for tonight. I allow myself to zone out, to inch through lines and lines of tiny, block letters. Lady Nyoko will probably give me another volume to read when I finish, so there's no reason to rush.

Father's handwriting doesn't start until the first entry. Lady Nyoko explained that the king's job is to approve the budget and purchases made, while scribes are the ones who set up the log, curate the list of expenses, and fill in the table of contents. My eyes rove over my father's cursive signature and jotted notes to the date of the first entry.

January 1, 1571.

My resolve vaporizes. No longer can I creep through this log. I have to reach March of 1571, the month my mother died. I can't explain my compulsion, nor can I predict if I'll find anything. But dead end or not, I must collect all the information I can about that time period.

I scan the first page, then move to the next one. My fingers rub the side of the book, itching to skip ahead. I glance at Lady Nyoko who's reclined on the opposite couch, absorbed in a book. Quickly, I look over the page. A few more go by, perhaps I pinch two or three sheets at a time as I flip. Then, I flick through larger sections, eyes switching from entry dates to Lady Nyoko. She doesn't look up from her book. How anyone can slip into concentration mode so easily is beyond me. Though I suppose that's one of the skills she aims to teach me by reading the log.

Finally I reach March, 1571. There are scores of entries per page, so I only glance them over.

New end table: 216 s.

Weekly food expenses: 690 s.

I skip a few sheets ahead.

Weekly food expenses: 534 s.

Uncle Rothbart - new robe: 110 s., The History of D. Foua: 28 s.

Clemaina - makeup: 43 s., scarf: 5 s.

I skim even more pages, reading the lines faster and faster.

Queen Dianne - loose speciality tea: 16 s.

Sigvard - four creampuffs: 3 s. each

Uncle Rothbart - ink: 20s.

King Ivandor - silk bonnet: 76 s., lace parasol: 52 s., marbles: 14 s., three broaches: 50 s. each

A week before the incident, three days before, the day before, the day of, the day after, the days after, the week after.

Weekly food expenses. Satin pillowcases.

Vonimir - new hat: 69 s.

Odeia - three pens: 25 s.

A few more pages, and I'm into a new month. That's the end of it. I flip back, reading over the weekly expenses again and again.

Table, food, robe, makeup, scarf, food, ink, bonnet, broach, pillowcase, hat, pens.

The words play through my mind over and over until they are reduced to mere syllables, letters, sounds. They're all mundane items, nothing of interest or value, except the bonnet, broach, and marbles. I remember those items well, they were all gifts Father gave to us for Queen's day. A week later, Father gave Mother the parasol for her birthday. Just because these items were bought in March doesn't mean anything.

"Aylo?"

My gaze snaps to Lady Nyoko's slack-jawed face.

"How..." She trails off, searching for words. "How did you read so much? It's been less than twenty minutes."

I glance at the chunk of pages I've supposedly read laying on the left side of the binding.

"I was trying that pre-reading technique you taught me," I say quickly. "I thought that it might help me get through reading faster if I skimmed ahead."

Lady Nyoko slowly nods, and her eyes drop to her book. I flip to the beginning of the leger and pick up on page two. Words continue to dance through my head though, and it's impossible to concentrate.

Table, food, robe, makeup, scarf, food, ink, bonnet, broach, pillowcase, hat, pens.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ｡･ ───

Knuckles tag against my door. I spring out of bed, my feet hushed on the floor, and turn the handle. Sigvard and Benno are outside, right on time according to my bedroom clock. They wear black from head to toe, like me. I even tied my hair into a bun using a black ribbon.

"Ready?" I whisper after shutting the door. Neither replies; instead, the three of us rush to the window. I opened it an hour ago, as soon as my maids wished me goodnight. If they knew the window was open, they might return to close it while I'm "sleeping."

I reach out the window first, grabbing hold of the tree branch that stretches to the window ledge. With a secure grasp, I thread one foot out, then the other, so that my legs dangle by the palace's stone facade. I walk my hands along the branch as far as I can reach while remaining on the windowsill, then push off from it, bracing my arms. I swing forward a few times, my weight tugging me downward. But I tighten my fingers around the tree's bark and wait for momentum to slow.

Once I'm still, I inch my way along the branch. My muscles squeeze from the continual pressure. Fire builds in my arms and shoulders, yet I keep walking my hands forward one by one until I reach the tree trunk. My feet plant on the bark first, and I take a moment to catch my breath before climbing onto the trunk.

The branch I was on sways as Sigvard starts along it. It's a shame we can only leave one by one, but we can't risk the wood breaking under our combined weight. Benno pokes his head out the window for an instant. Though I can't see where his eyes land, his face angles in my direction before disappearing inside, probably surveying when he can leave. I start the two-story climb to the ground to move out of Sigvard and Benno's way.

Once we're all on the base of the tree, we sneak behind the bushes clustered throughout the courtyard. Two my left, tall, iron torches illuminate the stone pathway that guards patrol. A path forges through the darkness to a tree by the palace walls. I dart forward, ducking behind bushes while being careful to not rustle their leaves.

I glance around when I reach the tree, ensuring that no guard looks in my direction as I scramble up it. A matrix of leaves and boughs conceal me, and I easily maneuver to right above the stone wall. I crouch there on a branch for a second, scanning the other side of the wall. Two guards stand at the gate several yards away. Every so often, their heads sweep up and down the dirt road. We can't drop into the road, it's too close to them and the firelight flickering nearby.

My gaze drifts up the road to a place that bushes and shadows line the wall. If we can only reach there, we can travel up the road, cross it, then backtrack through the trees without being seen. The only question is whether we can escape the guards' view now going along the stone wall.

I sense movement behind me. Benno appears on a neighboring branch with a wave. I flick my head toward the bushes, and he nods. On hands and knees, I crawl along the cool stone as quickly as I can until I'm above the bushes. I grab hold of the wall, lowering my legs into the overgrowth. My feet hover above the ground even at a full extension from my hands. Bracing myself, I release the stone and land in a crouch, hidden in the bushes. Luckily, the only noise is a slight rustle that can easily be taken for the wind if overheard. But we're far enough away from the guards that I suspect they won't hear anyway.

Benno and Sigvard appear beside me a moment later, and the three of us hurry up the road cloaked in darkness and greenery. The guards soon become two distant specks. That's when we cross the road, heading into the trees across from the palace. My heart doesn't stop pounding until we're long past it.

"I can't believe we just did that," Sigvard pants after several minutes of running.

"Me too," I whisper. A rush of adrenaline flows through my veins, not from fear, but from elation. Fine, maybe I'm a little on edge, too. It's good to stay guard, helps ensure you don't get caught.

Fatigue sets in all too quickly. Perhaps it's a lack of sleep; perhaps I'm not used to running long distances. Still, I push myself to keep up with Benno and Sigvard. I feel better when I hear their grunts and ragged breathing beside me. At least I'm not the only one exerting energy.

The forest takes on a familiar tinge after a while. We slow together, as if an invisible force wraps a rope around the three of us and slowly pulls it tighter and tighter until we stop.

"This is where we went hunting," Sigvard says. "Lead the way from here."

I suddenly realize that I don't know where the castle is. Boundless trees soar overhead, identical in their inability to mark the way to Odeia. If only I had paid more attention to where I was going, we wouldn't be in this mess. Then again, wasn't it my lack of attention that allowed me to find Odeia in the first place?

Sigvard frowns at my hesitation. "You do know where it is, right?" Worry laces his voice, along with a hint of anger.

"Of course," I say. "It's this way." I stalk toward the right, back where we came from, while wandering further from the forest's edge. This was the general I took last time. We should find it eventually...at least that's my hope.

We weave our way deeper into the shadows. I feel every passing second in the pit of my stomach. Each crackle of leaves and crunching twig sends another concerned wave through me. Another step means we're a little more lost than before.

The footsteps behind me stop.

"You don't know where you're going, do you?" Sigvard's voice is ice compared to the cool night air.

"We'll find it," I say. My foot lifts to continue, but a hand grasps my arm, holding me back. I whirl around to see Sigvard. The anger twisted on his face glows in the moon's milky beams.

"Aylo, we're lost," he hisses.

I wrench my arm free. "We'll find it."

Sigvard throws his head back, and a mirthless laugh escapes into the treetops. "Aylo, do you know what's going to happen if they wake up tomorrow and find us gone?"

"I don't know," I say softly.

"Neither do I. And frankly, I don't want to find out. Let's go back now. At least then we may have a chance of avoiding that confrontation."

My back crumples into itself. I stare at the dirt, knowing he's right. Why does he have to be right?

I lift my head to face Sigvard. "Fine." That one word stole the rest of my energy. I feel like I'll collapse at any moment, falling into a deep, despairing sleep.

A string of notes lilts by. Now I grab Sigvard's arm.

"Did you hear that?" I ask.

Another chord surrounds us like a puff of air. I dart in the music's direction, not waiting for Sigvard. Minutes later, a high-pitched trill verifies that I'm going the right way. Noise crackles behind, and I know that Sigvard and Benno are following.

Soft notes tingle again, like chimes in the wind. The trees part as I pass under the arbor and into the palace courtyard. I follow the stone mosaic underfoot to the lake. Moonbeams spotlight Odeia in the center of the shining blue waters.

Two shadows loom on the ground, sliding closer. "Wha—" Sigvard's voice carries over my shoulder.

"Told you we'd find it." I think I may glow as brightly as the air around us.