Felicity stretched the string on her bow and held the position for a moment, then let the string snap and the arrow fly.  Felicity grinned as the arrow hit dead center of the target.  She reached behind her and grabbed another arrow from her quiver that was slung across her back.  This was Felicity’s favorite time in the mornings.  After she made her daily trip to the gallery and her classes, she would come to the practice area and shoot for a half hour, and then do the basics of the sword to make sure that she did not forget her skills when she needed it most.  She would not be able to do the basics today.  Felicity made sure that she wore proper riding clothes that morning that Maggie promised to the four winds that were the current fashions in women’s clothing.  With the corset and all of the unnecessary, in Felicity’s opinion, undergarments, there was no imagining that she would even be able to bend at the waist.  Felicity rolled her head to work out the knots in her neck then moved to collect her arrows.  When she reached the target, she found that she was not the only one in the practice field.
“You have excellent aim,” James said as he plucked one of her arrows from the target.  “Who taught you your skills?”
“Edward and Uncle Rainford,” Felicity said, attempting to cover her surprise.  “More Uncle Rainford than Edward.  He was the one to convince mother and father.”
“And why did he want you to learn how to use a bow?  You would surely never go into battle upon the field.”
“No,” Felicity said slowly.  They had finished collecting her arrows and put them in her quiver.  James took her quiver and bow from her and offered his arm to Felicity to escort her to put them away.  “I think that he merely wished to make sure that in case I did need to defend myself, I could.”
“You could not do that with a bow and arrow,” James pointed out sensibly.  “Shall we go to your stables for our ride?”
“Yes,” Felicity said absently.  “My education defending myself was not limited to the bow.”  James glanced at her, and Felicity took that as an assent to continue.  “I was also taught the sword and some basic hand fighting.  I am not very good at those.  I am best at the bow and I use a dagger quite well.  Better than my brother at least.”
“Impressive,” James said.  “Your brother and uncle must be very proud of you.”
“Yes,” Felicity smiled sadly.
James then remembered that Felicity’s uncle had been missing for quite some time.  “Have you heard any new of your uncle?”
“No,” Felicity sighed.  They had reached the stables and Felicity dropped his arm to pat one of the horses in its stall.  “But I hope one day we shall see him again.  Jeremy!  Ready my horse, and please lead Prince James to his horse.”
“Right away princess,” Jeremy smiled a toothy grin.  “Right this way your highness.”  James followed the boy who looked to be about ten to his horses stall.
“Tell me Jeremy.  Why does the princess not attend to her own horse?”  James was surprised that Felicity did not take care of her own horse.  From all that he had seen, he thought that she would insist upon saddling her own horse.
“Because Uncle Fredrick says that I am not allowed to let her,” Jeremy said seriously.  “He says that it is not appropriate to let the princess attend to her horse because she is a lady and she might ruin her dress or shoes.  But sometimes she ignores me and does it anyway.”
“I am sure that you do your best,” James said, allowing a true smile for the child to see.  “You did a splendid job of preparing my horse.”
“Thank you!” Jeremy said with a smile that stretched across his face.  “I shall go and ready the princess’s horse now?”
“Yes, go along.”
James led his horse out of the stall and out of the stable where he found Edward.
“I am sorry, but I will not be able to go with you today on our ride,” Edward said apologetically as James came near him.  “A couple from Baderian are having some legal problems, and I need to stay here to straighten it out.  And, as you probably guessed, Marie is not going to join you.”
“While you are still in the castle?” James chuckled.  “I do believe that she quite determined to win you to her.”
“Not a chance,” Edward said disgustedly.
“Not a chance for what?” Felicity asked as she came out of the stables.
“For you to get out of this riding trip,” Edward said smoothly.  “You look lovely.”  Felicity was wearing a dark brown dress that accented her hair color.  “I have to stay here to wrap up some legalities.  You are going to take James on the tour today.”
“Very well,” Felicity said immediately.  She did not take time to think about the fact that she and Prince James would be riding around the countryside together, without her brother as a buffer between them.  “Edward, your clothes are messy.  Again.”  Felicity straightened Edward’s clothes, her mind racing find a way to avoid the trip alone with James.  “I hope everything goes well in court.  Is it the Baderian couple?  Matthew and Jennifer?”
“The very same,” Edward chuckled.  “It simply amazes me that you can recall everyone’s names.  You amaze me.”
“As I always should,” Felicity said as she shot him a saucy grin.  She turned reluctantly to James.  “What do you desire to see most, Prince James?  Most everything in our valley is less than a half day away.  If you wish to see another town, Portmouth would be the closest.  The beach is also an excellent choice.  Or if you wish, we could just merely wander the countryside?”
“The countryside sounds pleasant enough for today,” James decided.
“The country it is,” Felicity said as she easily swung herself into the sidesaddle.  “Are you ready, sir?”
“I am,” James said as he followed in suit.  “Shall we be off?”
“Certainly,” Felicity said as she led the way out of the castle.  Felicity led the way through the streets and out of the city.  James was already impressed by the decorations for the Festival.  The entire city seemed to come alive with the preparations.  Once they were out of the city, James could ride beside Felicity.  A conversation could not be held in the city streets, so James did not even attempt to try.  But he was certainly going to get Felicity to talk to him now.
“Tell me about the Festival,” James said.  He decided that that was one of the safest topics to begin with.  “You said that there was a prize for the best trick of the Festival.”
“Yes,” Felicity said.  “There are many different events that people can enter in, but the main event each year is the best Trickster.  Edward has won every year since has been old enough to enter.”
“What are the rules of this event?” James asked curiously as he gazed at the scenery.
“Simple really.  A person may enter by himself, or with a partner, or you could do both.  Edward always works alone, but occasionally works with a partner.  A prize is given for the best trick done alone and done with a partner.  You must sign up with the Keeper, who is Maggie, and specify whom you will try to trick during the Festival.  You may have help from any of the vendors to set up your trick.  You may only do one trick to the person.  However, ever since I have been born, new rules have been added,” Felicity sighed.
“What do you mean?” James asked as he saw a blush come over her face.
“As you may have noticed, I am rather accident-prone.”
“A little,” James said, hiding a smile.
“A new award was created, just for me when I was eight.  It is not unusual for someone to accidentally walk into someone else’s trap that it was not intended for.  I walk in many people’s traps accidentally.  Every year, I have won the Most Tricks to Accidentally Walk Into.”
James could not help it.  He began to laugh at the thought of an entire new award for Felicity.  Not only that, but her face looked so forlorn at the thought of the award she won most often.  Felicity looked startled at his laughing, but then joined along.
“It is rather funny, as my brother points out every year.  Last year, I did not even make it out of the castle before I walked into a trick.”
“What are the extra rules that they added for your benefit?” James said, still smiling at Felicity.
“You may do a second trick.  The first can be planned for an entire year in advance and can be very elaborate, but the second must thought of that day.  Whoever does their trick the best and with the most class wins.  Maggie is the judge, but she has several people who help her out judging and they compare notes and gauge people’s reactions.”
“It sounds like you and your people have much to look forward to tomorrow.”
“It the highlight of the year,” Felicity agreed.  “We also have dancing contents, archery contests, music contests, eating contests, magic contests, sword contests-”
“I think I get the picture,” James said as he held up a hand to stop the naming of the contests.  “It sounds wonderful.”
“Only a skeleton crew remains at the necessary places to make sure that we are safe, but most of the people come to Darhli for the event.  No one who must be on guard duty is assigned to misses the Festival two years in a row.”  Felicity paused.  “If you wish, you may join any contest that you think would please you.”
“Your valley is surely the strangest that I have been too,” James said.
“How so?” Felicity asked curiously.
“Most people who have high rank do not even know the names of their servants who dress them in the morning, let alone know every person in their own country.  Besides that, most women of the royal family do not even know how the country is being run.  You know how things are going and play an active part in making sure that people are safe.  In addition to this, you participate in the contests and invite me, a guest, to do the same.  You are quite remarkable.”
“Thank you,” Felicity blushed.  “You are very kind.  But here I am, talking on and on.  Would you tell me a little about your customs?  Your country is much older than mine is.  Your customs must be fascinating.”
“We have many old traditions,” James said, pleased that Felicity wanted to hear him talk about what he enjoyed.  “My favorite time of year would be-”
“Prince James!”
Felicity and James turned their horses around to see Marie and Jerome trotting up to meet them.  The two of them looked at each other in shock and horror.
“Suddenly, the day looks a little bit bleaker,” James said stiffly.
Felicity could feel that when he had laughed, that a barrier had been broken between them.  Now that Marie was with them, the barrier was going back up.  Felicity did not blame him.  Felicity sighed and adjusted her skirt as they waited for Marie to catch up with them.
“Good morning,” Felicity said cordially.  “I did not think that you were going to join us today.  What changed your mind, Duchess?”
“Your brother was dealing with some peasant problems, and I decided to see if I could find you,” Marie said airily.
Felicity caught Jerome’s eye and winced.  His frustration was apparent, and Felicity knew it must have taken all of his will to be polite to the Duchess.
“What a pretty countryside,” Marie said disdainfully.  “Do you not have any shops here that have Madam Georgiana’s clothes?”
“No,” Felicity said, unsure of who this “madam” was.  “I thought we were riding today to enjoy the scenery.”
“Do you wish me to return to the castle, princess?” Jerome said as he grinned at Felicity.
“No, that will not be necessary,” Felicity said smoothly.  “Ride beside me please.  I would like to know how the preparations for Festival are coming.”
“Well,” Marie said in horror as Felicity and Jerome rode ahead of James and Marie.  “Actually talking to a common worker as an equal!  She is the most unconventional royal I have ever seen in my life.”
“At least she has the confidence to do so,” James said smoothly.  He nudged his horse forward to catch up to Felicity and Jerome.  Marie, after a moment, rode beside on the right side of James where Felicity rode on his left.  “What preparations need to go to decorating the city?”
“Not as many as you may think,” Jerome answered.  Jerome opened his mouth to explain more, when Felicity saw a horse in the distance, running as fast as it could with a young rider barely keeping on the horse’s back.
“It’s Jordan!” Felicity said worriedly.  “I wonder what is wrong.”
“Princess!” the child screamed.  “The house is on fire!  Our house is on fire!”
“Jerome, go back to the city and get some help.  We are going right now to help Jordan,” Felicity ordered.  Without waiting to see if her orders were being followed through, Felicity grabbed the young boy, put him in front of her, and quickly urged her horse to a gallop.  James and Marie quickly followed her.  It was not very far to the house, and it was quickly going up in smoke.  The family was trying to put it out by themselves, but to no avail.  Felicity stopped her horse quickly, and got off of her horse almost at a jump and ran to help Jordan’s mother at the well.  Jordan’s mother was a sickly woman, and she was having trouble lifting the bucket out of the well.  Felicity quickly took the bucket from her and ran to the house.
“Marie!  Help Jenny draw water from the well!”
“I cannot help!” Marie cried, clearly frightened.
“If you do not help, then they will not have any where to live and they cannot grow their crops.  Everyone in Laulao helps when there is trouble.  Not even royals are exempt from this!  Now help!”
Felicity made sure that Marie got off her horse and was running to help Jenny before she ran to the house and threw her bucket of water on it.  Felicity, through her focus, noticed that Marie was helping fill the buckets of water, but it wasn’t enough.  She found a blanket and soaked it in water and began to beat the flames out on the side of the house.  She noticed that James was right next her, doing the same thing.  On the other side of her, Felicity saw a young boy that she had never seen before.  She did not take time to place him, but turned to James to ask him a question.  As Felicity turned to look at him, she stopped in horror when she saw what was behind him.
“The barn!” Felicity screamed.  The sparks from the fire had somehow gotten to the barn, and the fire was just beginning to burn.  “I’ll get the animals,” Felicity told James as she ran to the barn.  Felicity pulled open the doors and began to let the horses out of their stalls.  Before she could get to the cow, James had gotten there first.
“What are you doing?” she asked as she moved on to get the pigs out of the pen, who were squealing in horror.
“Did you really think that I would let you go in here alone?” he asked incredulously.  “What would your brother do if I let you in here alone?”
“Arg,” Felicity groaned as she herded the last of the pigs out of the barn.
“The kittens, princess!” Felicity heard a little voice say.
Without even thinking, Felicity went back into the barn too quickly for James to stop her.  Felicity knew where the kittens and the mother would be—in the loft.  She had heard Jordan speak of them many times before.  She quickly scaled the ladder and found the kittens.  Noticing she still had the wet blanket in her hand, she quickly made a sling and placed the three kittens and the cat in the sling without too much trouble.  She began to climb down the ladder when strong hand grabbed her waist and carried her out of the barn.
“What did you think you were doing!” James thundered at Felicity as he set her down away from the barn.  The fire was being put out much more quickly than the house, which was beyond repair, but no one was hurt and all of the animals were safe.
“Saving the kittens,” Felicity said seriously.  “Here you go Jordan.  All of them are safe and sound.”
“Thank you princess!” Jordan cried as he grabbed the kittens from the blanket.  “I don’t know what we would have done if you and, and—” He stopped, unsure of how to address Prince James.
“Prince James,” Felicity whispered.
“Prince James were not there!”
“But we were, sweetheart.  And you shall come and stay with me tonight.  And after the Festival, we’ll have a house raising for you and your mother and father.  How does that sound?”
“Can I have cake with dinner?”
“As much as your mother lets you,” Felicity said.  “Now, I see the healer here, and I want you to go see him and make sure all of the smoke is out of your lungs.  Ok?”
“Ok!”  Jordan said as he hugged Felicity fiercely and ran to the healer.
“What did you think you were doing?” James repeated the question as though they had not been interrupted as Felicity straightened.  “If you had gotten hurt, what would I have told your brother?”
“That I was helping?”  Felicity did not understand why Prince James was so concerned.  “Prince James, this is not the first time I have helped put out a fire.  Edward knows this.  He would not have been mad at you.”  Felicity would have gone on, but she began to cough very hard from all of the smoke she inhaled.  James put his arms around her and held her up and she coughed.  A man that James assumed that was Jordan’s father came up.
“Princess, you need to see the healer.”
“No, your wife needs to see him first,” Felicity managed to choke out.  “She needs it more than I do.  I know how sickly she has been since she birthed Jordan.”
“I am an excellent healer.  I shall take care of her,” James said firmly to the man.  The man looked at him gratefully.
“Thank you, good sir.  It is good to know that there is someone making sure that our princess does not kill herself.”
“Benjamin,” Felicity sputtered, embarrassed by his loyalty.
“After you heal her, I would like you to introduce the boy who alerted us in the fields that the house was on fire.”  Benjamin walked away to check his on his wife.
“I like him,” James chuckled.  “Now, hold still.”  Felicity stubbornly held still as he felt his hand on her back, rubbing in a circular motion.  Felicity could feel him healing her, but that is not what made her still.  His hands on her back sent peculiar emotions through her that she had never knew existed.  She was not quite sure whether she enjoyed them or not.  “Finished.”
“Thank you,” Felicity said as she moved from James’s touch.  “Edward said that you were a great wizard.  You healed me very quickly.  I am quite impressed.”  Felicity was surprised to see him blush a little.
“I am not that great.  I had the honor of meeting your uncle when I was five years old.  He is truly a great wizard.  He inspired me to go to the Wizard Academy.”
“I am so glad that he helped to inspire you,” Felicity smiled sincerely.  “He would be so pleased that he helped you discover and refine your talent.”  James inclined his head in thanks, and Felicity gestured to him that it would be fine if he walked with her to where the others were gathered.  “How did the fire get started?”
“We do not know, princess,” Benjamin said.  “The boy will not tell us.  He seems scared to say anything.”  Felicity looked to where Benjamin was looking, and saw Jordan trying to talk to a boy who looked to be about nine or ten.  The child looked like he was ready to run at a moment’s notice.  Before Felicity went over to the child, she turned to Benjamin.
“Benjamin, you are going to need some extra help around here.  How about if I pay for your lumber for your new house, and then you take Thomas, and orphan.  He has a natural talent with plants and will be able to help where Jenny and Jordan cannot.  Also, until your new house is finished, you will stay with me at the castle.  Do we have a bargain?”
“You are too generous princess,” Jenny said as she took her husband’s arm.
“Actually, I am not.  The lumber yard owes me a favor,” Felicity said with a wink.  “Now, I am going to talk to our guest.”  She walked away with a skip in her step.
“Does she always do that?” James asked the couple.
“Yes,” Jenny said.  “I do not believe for a moment that the lumber yard owes her a favor.  She is too good for us.  Our princess and prince is surely the kindest princess on the Continent.”  She leaned on her husband a little, exhausted from her exertion of lifting heavy buckets out of the well.
“I believe I would have to agree with you,” James said as he focused on Felicity’s conversation with the boy.
“Hello,” Felicity said softly to the boy as she knelt so she was eye level with him.  “Thank you for giving warning to Jordan.  That was very brave of you.”
“My mother said that I should always help others,” the boys murmured.
“Why will you not look at me?” Felicity asked kindly.  “You are among friends here.  You are under my protection.  You are safe with me.”
“Mother told me I was not to look at anyone in the eyes, because it is dangerous,” the boy said.  “She was taken away from me by some mean men.  She told me that if that ever happened, that I needed to go to Laulao to find Princess Felicity or Prince Edward.”
“Well, you are in luck,” Felicity chuckled.  “I am Princess Felicity.”
“Really?”  The boy looked up into Felicity’s eyes, and Felicity immediately understood why his mother told him to not look anyone in the eyes.  She was vaguely aware of an audible gasp behind her.  His eyes were unmistakable.  They were Uncle Rainford’s eyes.  The green of his eyes were the same brilliance.  There was no other marking on his face that told Felicity that this was Uncle Rainford’s child other than his eyes.  “Why are you staring at me?” the boy asked worriedly.  “Did I do something wrong?”
“No sweetie.  You did nothing wrong at all.  Your mother was a very wise woman,” Felicity said with a smile.  “And your name?”
“Christopher,” he said shyly.
“Welcome to Laulao, Christopher,” Felicity said kindly.  “I am so glad that you are here.  I would be honored if you would stay with my brother and me.  Will you except?”
Christopher hesitated a moment.  “Could I have a blanket?”
Felicity bit back a cry of surprise.  What was his life like for the past months in must have taken to get to Laulao?  “Along with a bed, pillow, new clothes, and the biggest dinner you have ever seen,” Felicity said with a smile.  “So how about it?”
“Ok,” Christopher smiled.  Felicity went to take his hand to lead him to her horse, but he pulled away.  Felicity sat back on her heels and held out her hands.
“Did you hurt yourself?”  Christopher nodded.  “Show me?”  He held out his hand and Felicity looked at his hand in compassion.  They were burned from trying to put out the fire.  Felicity took his small hands into hers and began to heal his burns.  Felicity had always found that it was easier to heal people in they were related to her.  The healing process was as easy to heal Christopher like it was to heal her brother.  It further cemented in Felicity’s mind that Christopher was her uncle’s son.
“There you go Christopher.  All better,” Felicity smiled.  She was thoroughly exhausted by now after helping put out the fire, saving the animals, and healing Christopher.  “Now, my friend Jerome is going to take you to his horse and take you to the castle.  He is going to take you the back way so that no one else but us will know you are here.  That will keep you safe.  Is that ok?”
“Thank you, princess,” Christopher said, tears in his eyes.  “Mother said that you would help me find my father.  Will you help?”
“With all the power that I have,” Felicity said sincerely.  “Jerome?”
“Here,” he said quickly.  “Hello little man.  Have you ever ridden a horse before?”
“No.”
“Well today is your lucky day.”  Jerome put the boy completely at easy and had him talking up a storm by the time they reached the horse.  Felicity stood up unsteadily, and was surprised that once again, James was there to steady her.
“Everyone, gather around please.”  Felicity was immensely grateful that it was only Benjamin, Jenny, Jordan, Healer Harrison, Marie, and Prince James that were here.
“Princess,” Jenny said as she reached for Felicity’s hands.  “Did my eyes deceive me, or were those Duke Rainford’s eyes?”
“They certainly looked like it, didn’t they,” Felicity answered with a shaky laugh.  “I do not want any of you to say anything about it to anyone.  I know how all of you like to gossip, but I want to make sure that he is Uncle Rainford’s son before I announce anything.”
“Understood,” Benjamin said seriously.
“Harrison, I want you to get a wagon and salvage anything you can out of the house and get them to the castle, along with the animals as soon as possible.”
“Right away,” Harrison said.  They began to move to do as she said quickly.
“What is wrong?” Marie nearly shrieked.
“Marie,” James said sternly.  “At the castle, I shall explain, but not now.  And Felicity, you are much too exhausted to ride by yourself.  You shall ride with me.  This is a command, so do not even try to get out of it.”  Felicity was too shocked by the discovery of Christopher to argue, and she complacently went to James horse and allowed him to set her in front of the saddle.  Felicity barely registered the fact that Marie was still shrilly demanded that James tell her was going on.
Edward?
Yes?
We are having a couple guests tonight.
Really.  Who?
Benjamin and his family.  Their house burnt down.  The barn was saved, but they do not have a place to sleep right now.  Luckily, Prince James, Duchess Marie, and I were nearby enough to help out.
Marie helped?  That is amazing.  I am assuming we are paying for the lumber and giving an orphan away.
Mhm.  Thomas.
Edward paused, testing Felicity’s mind.  Something else happened.  It was a statement, not a question.
There was a boy, whom I have never seen before.  Felicity hesitated.  Edward, he has Uncle Rainford’s eyes.
Felicity had the sense that Edward had dropped something, because the connection was suddenly dropped as Felicity saw a vague scene of Edward spilling coffee on him.  She weakly chuckled at his reaction.  She felt James chuckle as well, and she turned to him in surprise.
Your shields were down, and I could not help overhearing you.
Looks like I need more practice.  Felicity scowled darkly at him.
Actually, you just need to practice keeping your shields up while you are physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausted.  Up until this moment, I could not read anything at all.
Well that is encouraging.
James?  Are you inside my sister’s head?
Only until recently.  She is quite exhausted from this afternoon.
I do not like being treated as if I cannot hear what you are saying about me.
I am sorry I cut off our connection Felicity.  To hear that this boy has Uncle Rainford’s eyes is, well, shocking.  I am assuming that you will explain everything when you get to the castle?
The boy is going in the back way.  Felicity glared at James when he answered for her.  You might want to meet him for yourself.  I will take care of your sister.
Thank you, James.  I shall see you when you return.  Felicity felt her brother withdraw from her mind.  She then turned to James again.
Do I not get any say in this, Prince James?
None whatsoever, princess.
“Well, at least I know where I stand,” Felicity muttered.
“Are you even listening?” Marie asked.
“Of course, Marie,” James said evenly.  “And as I told you before, I will tell you once we get to the castle.  Now be quiet.  We are arriving at the gates.”
The transformation of Marie was amazing to Felicity.  She was suddenly all sweetness and sugar to the guards.
Pretend you are asleep.
What?
Your eyes give away too much.  Pretend you are asleep and no one will ask why you are riding on my horse and what is wrong.  I shall just say that you were tired from helping to put out a fire.
I suppose you are right.  Here I go.
And with that, Felicity leaned against James and went to sleep immediately.  James looked down at her in shock.  He tentatively felt with his powers to see what exactly Felicity had done to make herself fall asleep so quickly.  He chuckled when he figured out that she had purposefully put herself in a sleeping spell.  He held her a little tighter and explained to everyone he passed that she was tired from helping to put out a fire, and that the family would be staying at the castle tonight.  When he saw his soldiers, James made a special point to go and see if they were doing well.  They were enjoying the city, and were honored to share the houses of such fine people.
Slowly but surely, James and Marie made their way to the castle.  When they reached the steps, James smoothly swung off of his horse and held Felicity in his arms at the same time.  He spoke a string of words, and Felicity awoke with a start.
“Well that was fast.”  Felicity looked at him, then at his arms.  “Could you put me down?  We do not want to make Marie more jealous than she already is.”
“Right.”  James chuckled as he gently put Felicity on the ground.  “Let us go and find your guest.”
“Excellent idea.”  Felicity quickly moved herself out of his arms and made her way up the stairs and hurried into the castle.
“Finally,” Edward said as he found Felicity.  He gave her a hug.  “Those are Uncle Rainford’s eyes, I swear they are.  I’ve given him Uncle Rainford’s apartments, and put Deborah in charge of him.  She will not let anyone in, and she will protect him with her life.  Plus, she is one of the few Laulaons who do not gossip.  How she did not pick up on that habit I do not think anyone will ever know.”
“Good,” Felicity said.  “Deborah was who I was going to put in charge of him anyway.  Bring Maggie over as well.  The orphans will be fine by themselves.  Anna has often been put in charge of them.  Now, I am going to change out of these sooty clothes and take a quick bath.  The Festival is not until tomorrow night, and I think that it would be prudent to just let Christopher eat lunch and sleep for today.  He has much to think over.”
“You have so much more restraint than I do,” Edward sighed.  “I am ready to ask him questions to know how he got here at this very moment.”
“He looks to be only ten, which would put him at the correct age for Uncle Rainford’s extended stay in Candora, in Candor.  We need to ask him if he lived there,” Felicity said.  “And even if he does not live in Candor, who knows how long he has been traveling to get here?  Weeks?  Months?  Apparently, his mother told him to never show anyone his eyes, and that when he got to Laulao to look for Princess Felicity and Prince Edward.”
“Now I really want to ask him,” Edward moaned.  When he caught the look of horror on his sister’s face, he hugged her tightly.  “Do not worry.  I will not disturb him, other than to go and play with him later.  He asked if we could.”
“Good,” Felicity sighed.  “I will see you at dinner.”
“Will someone now explain to me the significance of that boy’s eyes?” Marie shrieked.
“I will explain to her,” James sighed as he took Marie’s arm and led her away.
“This will be a long evening,” Edward moaned.  “I shall come with you.”  Edward and James took Marie to the music room, which was the second most private room in the entire castle.  They would not be disturbed there, Edward assured them.
“I would think the opposite would be true,” Marie said stiffly.
“Not after Felicity,” Edward chuckled.  “This room, and the library, is Felicity’s sanctuaries.  She excels in all things musical and when we were young, this is the place where she hid the most.  Now, when the servants see the doors closed, they know not to disturb this room and to not listen if someone is talking.”
“Why do we not go to the library?” James asked curiously.
“You are not allowed to talk in a library,” Edward replied.  “Here.”  They had arrived at the music room.  It was a large room with many different kinds of instruments.  The newly invented clavichord was there, along with lutes, guitars, harps, flutes, trumpets, and ever kind of instrument ever conceived.  There were four large windows that let in plenty of light, and there was a great space in the middle that was large enough for dancing.
“It is quaint,” Marie said as she gave it a quick glance.  “Now, someone explain to me what is going on with that child.”
“As you know, my uncle has been missing for sometime,” Edward explained.  “In our family tree, every generation or so, someone is born with the eyes that Christopher has.  As far as I have traveled, I have never seen anyone else with those eyes.  It is a trait that is specific to my family.  If this is my uncle’s son, we may be able to find him now.”
“That is all?” Marie asked.  “Then why keep it secret?”
“My sister and I believed him to be kidnapped.  We do not want the same to happen to Christopher,” Edward said, trying to reign in his impatience.  “Have I answered your questions, madam?”  Edward certainly hoped he had.
“I would like to apologize for my behavior,” Marie said sweetly.  “I will respond better in the future.”  She curtseyed deeply, then left the room.
“She has more moods changes than a child of thirteen,” Edward said with a shake of his head.  “How do you handle her so well?”
“Easy.  I ignore her.”