Cheryl and Violet had gotten off the grid. No matter how hard Lux looked for them, they were nowhere to be found.

They were discussing their next move in the middle of the bustling capital; Lux had connections everywhere in the woods, so hiding in a city was their best chance.

“Alright... I want you to go talk to Tristan. Don't tell him the truth. This case has Lux written all over it and I don't want her to realise what's going on. Don't force him and be subtle.”, Cheryl explained.

“Let me get this straight; you want me to infiltrate Alastor's palace, one of the most well guarded places in both kingdoms, pretend to be a servant and get close to your s--”, Violet repeated.

“Yeah, we've already said this a hundred times! Can you do it?”, Cheryl asked.

Violet shrugged. “I thought you had a challenge for me... I have to say I'm a little disappointed.”

“It isn't as easy as it sounds. Alastor Cornel is sneaky, and he may not have done a good job raising Caroline and Tristan, but he's certainly taught them a thing or two about not trusting people. Believe me, I grew up with him.”, Cheryl sighed.

“Now, that's better. I didn't leave that boring witch-village to go on equally boring quests. I want some action!”, her apprentice beamed.

“Don't let all that get in your head. Be careful.”

“I will, I promise. When should I go?”

“As soon as possible. I've got some more checking up to go before I take off to do my part, but you are free to go earlier.”, the red-headed witch shrugged.

“Alright! I'll go get my stuff.”, Violet smiled and snapped her fingers, dissolving into pink dust.

Cheryl shook her head. Violet was smart and powerful, but she rushed things a lot. She got excited easily, and when that happened it was hard to keep her from trouble.

Despite looking brave and all that, though, Violet was actually pretty afraid of almost everything (to some extend).

Heights? No thanks, I prefer having my feet on the ground. Tight spaces? I'd rather be able breathe, thank you very much. Darkness? Don't even go there.

Lux? Keep her away from me, or I'll make sure she is strung up somewhere high. In a really small cage. With no light. That's a promise.

Her biggest fear, though, was the thought of her mother never waking up again. She did have Cheryl, but that's what she thought about Cecilia too, and look where that got her. Cecilia had been like a mother to her, much like Cheryl, and she had betrayed them.

Cheryl had gotten a pretty good beating and a really bad haircut. Well, her hair was still awesome but she was considered a disgrace in their community, so... not cool.

Violet appeared in her room and packed the important stuff. She snapped her fingers again, trying on her outfits without wasting any time. After she decided she was good to go, she snapped her fingers again and walked to the palace, which wasn't that far from their inn. She didn't want to suspiciously appear out of nowhere in front of the gates.

She introduced herself as Violetta Blue (not a good undercover name, if you ask me) and requested to be added to the cleaning staff. When the guard disregarded her, she took care of it the easy way; magic.

This was another flaw of hers; using magic too much. She was too dependent on it. Cheryl kept trying to persuade her to not use it as much as she did, but she just wouldn't listen.

All Cheryl could do when Violet refused to take her advise, was hope that this extreme dependence on magic wouldn't be her downfall.

She roamed the corridors for hours in order to find Tristan's room, but she just couldn't navigate the castle. It was enormous and confusing as a labyrinth.

Can you guess what she did to find the room? If you guessed that she used magic, you were absolutely right.

*~°~*

Caroline had been trying to get Faith's attention for two days. Faith had been trying to avoid Caroline during the same time period.

It was still a little too hard for her to face Caroline so soon after their "breakup".

Was it even a breakup? They hadn't made that clear.

The fact that Caroline needed help in sneaking her sister outside the palace and pretty much orchestrating her entire escape, but not runing away with Faith, only made the latter madder.

She loved Caroline; she really did, which was why this whole problem existed in the first place.

The exact same conflict thundered in Caroline's head ever since her father announced the finding of her suitor.

The only good thing that had happened these days, was the fact that Alastor still hadn't realised who helped Crystal. He was rarely seen around those days, as he was obsessed with tracking her and bringing her back to the palace.

Caroline didn't understand where this newfound obsession had come from. She figured that her father needed real hobbies, but she wouldn't be the one to tell him that. She wanted to avoid yet another outburst.

The weird thing about Faith, because that was her greatest worry, was that she was nowhere to be found that day. Andy hadn't seen her. Margaret had been too busy to notice she was missing and Tristan was roaming the castle, so she couldn't really ask him.

None of the other servants had seen her either and that worried Caroline even more. She eventually had to go to the throne room, where she would be meeting with her potential suitor.

She sat on her miniature throne (because her father was actually a drama queen in disguise and wanted her to look like an adult and a serious possessor of the kingdom's throne).

The Duke and his son walked in.

“Duke Crowsen, it is a pleasure to have you here today.”, Alastor greeted him. “This is my daughter Caroline.”, he introduced her.

“Your majesty, the pleasure is all mine.”, the Duke bowed, lying quite obviously. Caroline suppressed a sigh. She'd seen this before; people always tried to seem pleased to meet Alastor, despite him being a pain in the neck.

“You must be Edgar.”, Alastor smiled at the duke's son. He was tall, buff and had long (for a guy) dirty blond hair. His eyes were blue and Caroline found him boring and unimpressive.

“Indeed I am.”, Edgar tried to say heroically. Caroline raised her eyebrow.

“I don't like where this is going.”, she muttered under her breath.

“Princess Caroline, soon to be queen of my dreams!”, Edgar exclaimed. Even Alastor cringed at this. The princess tried not to burst out laughing.

“Maybe we should leave them alone to get to know each other.”, the Duke smiled nervously. Alastor glared at him, but didn't want to disrespect his guest, so he nodded and left the throne room with him.

“Oh, you beautiful--”, Edgar started again.

“You can drop the act now. They can't hear you.”, she cringed.

“What act?”, he frowned. “I am not acting.”

“You are. You can't really be this cringey and dramatic.”, Caroline said I with a deadpan expression.

“But--”

“Look, Edgar. You seem like a good guy.”, she lied. She didn't like him at all. Probably because he was the reason why she had to break up with Faith. “But I don't like you. I don't want to marry you.”

“Oh, thank God... I don't want to marry you either.”, Edgar sighed.

“You don't?”, she eyed him suspiciously. She still didn't trust him.

“Hell no! I don't even like girls!”, he whispered.

“Wait, really?”, she looked at him in disbelief.

“Yeah... My father keeps trying to set me up with rich girls or girls of the high class, but it never works out. Not even as a fake "relationship". We never get to that part.”, he sighed.

“I guess I shouldn't have been so quick to judge you...”, she apologised.

“Don't worry about it.”, he waved it off.

“I've got an idea.”, Caroline smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes. One of the things she had gotten from her dad. “So here's the plan...”

*~°~*

Tristan stifled a scream when he walked into his room and found a girl he'd never seen before lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling.

“I wondered when you'd come...”, she sighed.

“Who are you and what are you doing on my bed?”, he asked her.

“I'm Violetta Blue! I'm new around here.”, she explained, sitting up.

“Obviously!”, motioning at her in exasperation.

“Oh, come on! You have a comfortable bed. I couldn't resist.”, she giggled.

“You're scaring me.”

“I get that a lot.”, she shrugged.

“What are you doing here?”, he eyed her suspiciously. She had abnormally long hair and was pretty beautiful, which made him want to be even more cautious around her.

She flashed him a dazzling smile. “I was cleaning up and got tired.”

“You're a witch, aren't you?”, he narrowed his eyes at her.

“You're not only cuter than I thought, you're also smarter than you let on! I like that.”

“What do you want? My dad's told me not to trust your kind. I bet that Violetta Blue isn't even your real name.”

Violetta scowled. “Your dad's a hypocrite. And no, Violetta Blue isn't my real name. I'm incognito.”

Tristan raised an eyebrow. “You're not doing a really good job in being incognito.”

“I know... This is my first real "assignment" and I can't mess it up...”, she frowned.

He felt the urge to help her out, but heard his fathers voice in his head. Witches are not to be trusted. They're deceiving and manipulative. If you believe their sob stories, you only give them what they want.

But Violetta seemed to be honest. He wanted to trust her. Besides, he's father also kept saying that "emotions are a weakness" and he was obviously wrong about that.

“What's your assignment?”, he asked the witch.

“Oh, I can't tell you. Not yet, at least.”, her face turned serious. “But I can tell you my real name if you promise to not tell anyone.”

“Alright, then. I promise.”

“My real name is Violet Lou.”, she smiled.

Tristan facepalmed. “You're really bad at going incognito.”

“I thought we already cleared that up.”, she rolled her eyes.

“I haven't introduced myself.”, he shrugged.

“You don't have to. Everyone knows who you are, Tristan Cornel.”, she smirked. “Do I have to bow or something?”, she added awkwardly.

“Please don't.”, he shook his head.

“What will you do if I do?”, she raised an eyebrow.

“I'll rat you out.”, he smirked.

Her face fell. “Using blackmail... How original. You know, I regret trusting you.”

That hurt him a little. “Oh, I didn't mean it like that!”, he frowned. “It was a joke.”

“Jokes that hurt others aren't good jokes.”, she furrowed her eyebrows.

“I'm sorry.”

“Apology accepted, but only this time.”, she smiled, going back to being her upbeat self.

“Thank you. I won't make the same mistake again.”, he smiled back. “I just noticed something...”

“What is it?”

“You're still on my bed.”

“You're such an idiot!”, she giggled, but didn't get up. It wasn't really that funny; the way he said it was what made it seem like it.

“You haven't seen anything yet.”, he laughed. “Alright, I've got an idea.”

“Should I be worried?”, she furrowed her eyebrows.

He ignored that statement. “How about I give you a tour of the palace? Not to brag--”

“When people say that, they're usually about to brag.”, she interrupted.

“--but I know the palace better than anyone.”

“You must have had lots of free time.”, she rolled her eyes.

“The point is, I could give you a tour so you don't get lost as easy and get you out of my bed.”

Violet seemed to be considering it. “I really like your bed.”, she thought out loud. “But you're pretty cute, so alright. Lead the way, Cornel.”, she smirked. Tristan blushed and led her out to the corridor.

Things were going pretty well, until they passed by the throne room.

“I can't believe you would say such a thing!”, Caroline yelled at someone. Violet gave Tristan a confused glance.

Tristan stopped walking abruptly; Caroline never yelled. He rushed in the room and found his sister arguing with some guy he had never met before. Their father was nowhere to be seen.

“Well, it's my opinion, so I might as well say it!”, the other guy shouted back.

“Your opinion states that people living outside the palace walls do not deserve your attention! If that's what you're think, then I'm not sure you know the definition of being a king!”, Caroline fired back. That's when it hit Tristan; that guy was his sister's suitor.

“What's going on in here?”, he interrupted them.

“That's exactly what I was about to ask! Caroline, what kind of behavior is this?”, Alastor and some other dude appeared out of nowhere. “I'm deeply sorry about the way my daughter has been acting... Her sister has gone missing again and she's really stressed these days.”

“Don't worry about it, your highness. My son was probably quite disrespectful towards your daughter to infuriate her so much.”, the Duke said sincerely, glaring at his son. “Edgar! How dare you mistreat princess Caroline? You should be polite towards your, not so possible anymore, future wife!”

Edgar looked away from his father in shame. “I'm sorry father, but it appears that Caroline and I don't see eye-to-eye in many important matters.”

The Duke sighed. “Get your stuff. We're going home.”, he told his son. “I'm sorry for the disturbance, your highness.”, he apologised to the king and turned to leave.

“Oh, I'm sure it was just a minor inconvenience and not a disturbance... maybe we can discuss this further sometime soon?”, Alastor asked him.

“I shall expect your letter.”, the Duke nodded and left with Edgar.

After Alastor was sure they were out of earshot, he turned to his kids.

“Tristan, get out! I need to have a talk with Carol.”, he barked.

Caroline paled. “Father, please--”, she tried to defend.

“Shut up!”, he yelled and slapped her with the back of his hand across the face so hard, that she fell to the ground. Tristan was furious; Alastor had been verbally abusive to both kids for years, but he had never hit Caroline before. At least no time that Tristan knew of.

“Leave her alone!”, Tristan yelled at his dad. Alastor turned around furiously and glared at him. “This is exactly why Crystal left! You only care about yourself, and other people's opinions don't matter! Caroline has been giving you great advice on how to rule better for years, and you've always shut her down and ignored her! Do you even want her to be a good queen, or are you setting her up to fail just so you can seem better?”, he snapped.

Alastor looked like he was about to attack him, when a servant appeared at the door and cleared his throat.

“Your highness, there's someone here to see you.”

“Tell them to wait.”, the king growled.

“She said it's important. It's Lux, sir.”, the servant said nervously.

“Well, I'll be damned. She remembered that people exist outside her little village?”, Alastor's scowl turned into a smirk. He turned to glare at his kids. “Both of you, to your rooms. No dinner for you two tonight.”, he told them and left in a rush.

Tristan ran next to Caroline, who was still on the floor; too shocked and afraid to even dare get up. Her cheek had started to bruise and there was a deep cut caused by their father's ring a little under her right eye.

“Are you okay?”, he asked her.

She shook her head. “Edgar wasn't even a terrible person... It was all set up because he didn't want to marry me either.”, she frowned. Her brother helped her up.

“Don't worry about it... He'll be fine. Come on... Let's go patch that up.”

As they walked up the corridor, they stumbled upon Violet, who hadn't moved an inch from where Tristan left her.

“What happened? Is she okay?”, she asked worriedly.

“Who is she?”, Caroline eyed her suspiciously.

“That's Violet. She's new here. It's a long story.”, Tristan sighed. Violet opened her mouth to protest about something, but he interrupted her. “And no, I'm not calling you by your incognito name, it's stupid.”, he rolled his eyes.

Violet crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. “We had a deal.”

“You can trust her.”, he motioned his head towards Caroline. Caroline stared at them for a moment and then nodded.

“Fine, but don't got talking about me to others. Especially if you don't use my incognito name.”

“What's your incognito name?”, Caroline asked her.

“Violetta Blue.”, Violet perked up.

“Her real name is Violet Lou.”, Tristan rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, I can see why you think it's stupid...”, she admitted to her brother. “Why are you incognito anyway? What are you doing here?”

“What do you two not get about "incognito"? I can't tell you! It's a secret.”, Violet whispered.

“I feel like we're saying "incognito" too much.”, Tristan furrowed his eyebrows.

They walked into Caroline's room.

“You said I could trust her, right?”, Violet turned to Tristan, who nodded in reply. She scooted over to his sister and put her hand near her bleeding cheek. “Let me see that...”, she muttered.

“What is she doing?”, Caroline asked frantically.

“Let her do her thing.”, Tristan told her reassuringly.

A pink light appeared faintly on Violet's palm and then the scar was gone.

“You- you're a--”, Caroline stammered.

“Yes, I am. Please don't say it out loud.”, Violet sighed.

They were all interrupted by a knock on the door. Caroline answered it and found another servant standing outside.

“This is addressed for you, miss.”, the servant gave her a sad look and handed her an envelope.

“Oh. Thank you.”, she frowned. The servant bowed lightly and left.

She shut the door behind her and looked who the envelope was from. The moment she saw the name and handwriting, she knew something was wrong.

Caroline felt a weight on her chest. She was afraid of the contents of the letter.

“I need some time alone.”, she told Tristan and Violet. They gave her worried glances, then walked outside.

“Who is it from?”, Tristan asked before exiting the room.

“It's from Faith.”