Magic

Chapter 19: The Cipher

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

Anna was on the ground, her legs propped up against the grandfather clock and her braids splayed out. Everyone else had left earlier in the morning to get groceries. She and Varian had offered to help, but they told them that it was fine.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

These past few hours hadn't gone by at all. Anna imitated the ticking as her eyes followed the clock's movement. This brings back memories.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock.

The clock chimed a soft, majestic melody that made her want to stay like this forever. It was peaceful, relaxing, nostalgic, and soothing her. She felt like she was taken back to the simpler times as a child, apart from being locked away and separated from her sister.

When the chimes faded, Anna went back to imitating the clock for a few minutes until chittering came into the room and Ruddiger crawled on her stomach, looking down at her with a curious glance.

"Sorry, pal." Anna chuckled. New footsteps neared them. "We're out of apples. I promise that I'll give you one when everyone comes back."

"Ah, there you are, Ruddiger!" Varian's voice exclaimed. Anna turned her head in time to see him approach them. "Hey Anna. What's up?"

"Nothing much." Anna rose from the ground with Ruddiger still on her stomach. "What about you, Varian?"

"I've been working on the map," Varian answered. Ruddiger smiled as Anna petted him. "Dad's going to help me when he gets back."

"How long have you been working on it?"

"Since they left. I got hungry so I'm going to make lunch and then get back to work."

"If you want, I can make us lunch and then I'll help you," Anna offered. Ruddiger raced over to Varian. "I have nothing to do anyway."

"Really? That'd be great! Thanks!"

Anna strolled towards the door. "No problem."

. . . . .

After Anna made lunch, she placed her and Varian's ham sandwiches on one plate and sandwiches for the others on a plate next to a kettle. She held cups against her chest with one arm while she held the plate in the other. She continued down the hall until she reached a door. She struggled to pull the door open but managed just fine despite nearly dropping their lunch.

Varian lifted his mask. "Here! I'll help."

"Nah, it's fine, Varian," Anna said, shutting the door behind her, nearly spilling the drinks.

"Oh, don't sweat it." Varian went around the table, holding on to some kind of weapon. Anna's eyes widened as he came towards a small ball on the ground. "It'll—"

"Watch out for—"

It was too late. As Varian stepped backward, he accidentally pulled something on his weapon, and some blue goo shot out. The goo flew straight toward one of his machines. Once it hit the machine, the goo ricocheted straight toward Anna, but she dunked and it flew toward Ruddiger. Luckily, Ruddiger swung it away with a frying pan and the goo hit one of the windows. Anna winced as she watched the blue cover the entire glass.

Varian chuckled sheepishly at the window. "Wow, I didn't see that coming! At least I know that works now."

Anna placed the sandwiches and cocoas on the table before she helped him up. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good," Varian assured, picking the ball off the ground. "I thought I put this away. Must've fallen down this morning when I was testing the Darianimum Keeper."

"What's that doing in here anyway?"

"I was using it to test the stupimum."

"The what?"

Varian chuckled, holding up his weapon. "Oh, this. It's one of my most recent inventions." He grinned. "You want to see?"

"Please." Anna smiled.

Varian tossed the ball to Ruddiger who then scurried next to them. "With this newest compound, this will stun an opponent for a few minutes. Okay, Ruddiger, on the count of three throw the ball. One. Two. Three!"

Without a word, Ruddiger did what he was told. Anna watched the ball fly up in the air until she heard Varian fire his weapon. The stupimum shot right out and hit the ball, causing it to pause in midair. After a few minutes, the goo faded away and the ball dropped on the ground.

"Woah! That's amazing!" Anna exclaimed. "Did your dad help you with that too?"

Varian's face fell as he lowered his weapon. "Sadly, no. I came up with this shortly after I moved into the Ruby Inn." Ruddiger scurried over towards a shelf and put the ball on it. "Luckily, I showed him, Eugene, Kristoff, Max, and Sven this while they helped put my inventions on the sled. What's weird was that I had déjà vu when I showed them and Eugene even did too."

That must've been when Madame G. turned back time back at the library so Anna could catch the horse trolley on time. So, this was what it felt like to everyone else? Anna still hadn't had a chance to tell him and the others about Madame G. She would tell Varian now but felt like she should wait for everyone else so she could tell them together. They should know about her since she knew Scott and could help them. Speaking of which, she should ask Varian about his process.

"So, Varian, did you learn anything from that book?"

"Oh yes! I think I found something that proves that Demantius and Zhan Tiri created the map!" Varian picked up the Histories and Legends of Bronzadelle and dropped it on the table in front of them while Ruddiger raced for the map. "Now where was it?" he muttered, opening it. He skimmed through the pages until he finally stopped on page two hundred and two. "Aha!"

Anna tilted her head at the page below her. There was a picture of Demantius and Zhan Tiri in her woman form standing next to a young woman with blue eyes and black hair. "The Mysterious Arrival and Meeting of Demantius and Zhan Tiri. Over a thousand years ago, shortly after Countess Estelle founded Bronzadelle, Demantius, and Zhan Tiri came to the country for unknown reasons. A few weeks after Zhan Tiri betrayed Demantius, Estelle unexpectedly suffered from high fever and delirium and passed away. To this day, it is unknown whether Estelle's death was linked to Zhan Tiri and Demantius's feud." Anna looked at Varian. "You think this had something to do with the map and the unidentified object?"

Varian nodded. "It said that Demantius and Zhan Tiri were believed to be allied with Estelle. I believe that they came to her so they could hide this object somewhere in Bronzadelle. She must've helped give them a complete layout of the country so they could create the map. And get this." Again, he skimmed through the pages until he finally laid his finger on two hundred and fifteen. On the top of the page was "Vlad Moonstormer's Mysterious Visit". There were two men in the picture, the first man she could tell was a resident of Bronzadelle by his uniform. The other man must have been Vlad Moonstormer. He was a tall, decent-looking man with a chestnut beard. He wasn't very well built, but he also wasn't very slim or skinny. "Centuries later, Vlad Moonstormer arrived in Bronzadelle and met with Lord Matthew for unknown reasons, similar to Demantius and Zhan Tiri's meeting with Countess Estelle. Shortly after their meeting, Moonstormer left the country and never came back. Over the years, there have been many rumors and theories about the mysterious visits, but the answer has never been discovered."

"That is strange. So, according to this date, Vlad Moonstormer met with Lord Matthew two hundred and five years ago," Anna muttered as Varian sat his cocoa on the table next to the map case. Something on the page caught her eye, causing her to let out a soft gasp. "Varian, look! Around the time Vlad visited Matthew, small Black Rocks sprouted around Matthew's home. Shortly after Vlad left Bronzadelle, the rocks disappeared."

Varian and Anna took a glance at the map case before Ruddiger held it closer to them. Varian rubbed his chin, looking down at the map case. "I have an idea. Anna, could you bring over that device to me?"

Anna went over and grabbed the device that he was talking about. "What's this for?"

"That will print out the results for the tests."

"What test—holy cats!"

Varian put the map case under some kind of large machine. For a minute, Anna stood there gaping at it until she finally went over toward Varian. She sat the device on the table just in time to watch a large blade hover over the map case.

"Varian!"

"Trust me! It'll be fine!"

The blade swooped towards the map case. However, instead of slicing it in half. The map case sent the blade flying straight into a wall.

"Sixty-nine more to go!" Varian said enthusiastically.

For a while, Anna and Varian watched the machine make various attempts to destroy the map case but failed. The map case would destroy everything that the machine would throw at it. The duo watched anxiously as the test numbers deceased. They were eager to see what the test results were.

Eventually, after they watched the machine fail to electrocute the map case, Varian shouted, "Only four more to go!"

The sound of a door opening from above was heard followed by footsteps entering. "Varian! Anna! We're back!"

"Hey, can you guys come up and help us?" Eugene's voice called impatiently. Maximus neighed. "Oh, come on, Max! I'm already carrying two bags of your apples!"

"Uh, just a minute!" Varian shouted.

"Don't take too long!" Kristoff called. "You have no idea how many groceries we got!"

Anna trotted towards the door. "I'll help them. You stay there and wait for the results. We'll come down after we put the groceries away."

Anna took the stairs up to the second floor just in time to see Kristoff and Quirin placing large bags on the table. After greeting them, she took a quick peek inside where there was bread, carrots, and various other foods.

"Where's Varian?" Quirin asked just as Eugene and Maximus entered the room with more bags.

"He's running some tests," Anna answered. Sven put a large bag on the table. "He's almost done. He'll be getting the test results in no time."

"He's testing the Darianimum Keeper again, isn't he?" Kristoff asked just as Maximus put a bag on the table.

"No, the map," Anna answered. "After I help you put away groceries, we're all going down. There's something you guys need to know."

Quirin put the two bags of corn on the table. "I'll help him. When you're finished, come down."

As Quirin made his way downstairs, Anna followed the rest of her group outside towards Kristoff's sled. The cool fall weather caused her to glance up at the bright sky.

As soon as everyone went back in the house, a loud crash from below forced them to drop their groceries.

"Varian!" Quirin yelled from below.

Without hesitation, everyone raced toward Varian's room. Shortly after, another crash occurred, forcing them to run faster. "God, can that kid ever stay out of trouble?" Eugene exclaimed.

Finally, they darted through the open doorway in time to see Quirin helping Varian out of a pile of books strewn all over the floor around him. The bookcase behind them barely had any books left. A long paper that Anna couldn't recognize laid in front of the device.

Quirin wrapped his arms around his son. Afterward, he placed his hands on Varian's shoulders. "Are you alright, Varian?"

"I'm fine, dad," Varian reassured just as Ruddiger leaped into his arms worriedly. Varian patted the raccoon's head assuredly just as he noticed Anna and friends standing at the door. They asked him if he was alright as he put Ruddiger on the ground. "Yeah!" Ruddiger started picking up the books. "Really! I've had worse!"

"What happened?" Anna asked, picking a few books up off the ground when her eyes shot toward the table. Varian's glass had been knocked over and droplets of hot cocoa were dripping on the floor. To her surprise, the map that was spread out hadn't been ruined.

"Oh, the tests were finished and dad and I were just looking over the results when—wait a minute!" Varian darted over to the table. Anna lifted her eyebrows as she watched him examine the map. He pulled his goggles over his eyes. "Ruddiger, is there any hot cocoa left?" The raccoon chittered and raced over to him with the second glass. "That should do it! Thanks, buddy!"

"Hey, goggles!" Eugene exclaimed. "You know we need the map, right? I don't think that it'd be a good idea to—"

"Okay, everyone!" Varian ordered. "Stand back!"

Varian lifted the glass towards the map. As a droplet fell on it, some steam rose from the map and Varian was suddenly thrown across the room. Not too long after, he bounced back up and raced back, gesturing for everyone to follow him.

"Look!" Varian pointed in excitement.

Again, there was no stain. It was like it never happened. Varian laughed in excitement while everyone else stood in awe.

"Okay. . .that was weird," Eugene commented.

Anna tilted her head and laid her index finger on the map. "How is that even possible?" When she caught a glimpse of the map case, she turned to Varian. "What are the results?"

Quirin picked up the long piece of paper off the ground. His eyes widened. "It says that the map case is unbreakable and can protect anything it holds. Nothing can cut through it or break it. According to the results, the map case was made out of Black Rocks."

"What? That's impossible!" Eugene shook his head. "There's no way that the map case is made out of those rocks! You can't sculpt them!"

Quirin didn't seem too surprised. "Actually, you could if the tool is made out of the same material. Remember, Adira? Her sword could easily cut those rocks, it likely would cut through the map case too. Centuries ago, your ancestors used those rocks to create weapons and armor for their warriors. Cases just like this one were made too."

Eugene, Kristoff, Maximus, and Sven stood there in awe with soft mutters in disbelief. Anna and Varian, on the other hand, glanced over toward each other. "Varian, now we know what happened to the rocks around Matthew's home. Vlad made the map case out of them!"

Kristoff arched an eyebrow. "Wait, what does Vlad Moonstormer have to do with this?"

After Anna and Varian explained to them what they'd learned from the book, Varian's eyes widened. "That reminds me, I have some good news to share with you. I thought of telling Anna this when I saw her, but I thought that I should wait until the rest of you get back. I have translated the symbols!"

"Brilliant!" Quirin and Anna exclaimed.

"So, what did you learn?" Kristoff asked.

Varian laid out the map on the table and pointed to the strange writing. "It said before this guide can help you find what you seek, you must go to. . ." Everyone stared down bewilderedly as Varian pointed to some letters. "YMJ ANTOJY RJSFLJWNJ. Once you head there, you'll figure out the next step." 

"Ha, that's swell," Eugene said sarcastically. Maximus neighed at it. "Oh, you're thinking it too, Max. Whoever wrote this map just gave us some useless information!"

"Eugene, I think it might be a clue to something," Kristoff said. "They included it as part of the deciphers; they're trying to tell us something."

"He's right. Look." Varian pointed at the letters. "It's a cipher. Whoever wrote this translation, whether it was Demantius, Zhan Tiri, or Vlad Moonstormer, they were trying to hide something in their translation should anyone have translated the map. I was up all night trying to decode this but came to no results. I don't think the key letter was included. Once I figure out what it is, I can translate this."

Anna looked down at the map again, her braids nearly touching it. "We just have to figure it out somehow. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Maybe once we learn more about the visits of Zhan Tiri, Demantius, and Vlad Moonstormer, we could learn the keyword?" Quirin suggested. "We could even find out how the map got this shield."

"But how do we know for sure that Zhan Tiri and Demantius's visit is connected to this?" Kristoff asked, doing his voice for Sven. "We don't know for sure that they came for the map. The only evidence we have is a tale in that book."

"I don't know, Sven," Kristoff sighed. "What makes it even more difficult is that this all happened hundreds of years ago. Anyone alive back then would have the best information."

"Great, we're at a dead end," Eugene grumbled, throwing his head back.

"Okay, come on, guys, I'm sure not all hope is lost," Varian said. "Maybe we could find someone who had ancestors who were alive during that time? An oral history could have been passed down."

Anna's eyes widened. "Actually, there is someone. Madame G." Everyone turned to her with puzzled expressions. "You guys remember that witch that has the cottage that Garret was supposed to have? You know the one that lives in that nice cottage around the block? That's Madame G. Scott was also one of her first apprentices."

"How do you know that her ancestors are associated with Demantius, Zhan Tiri, and Vlad Moonstormer, Anna?" Quirin asked.

Anna told them all about her encounter with Madame G. from the library to her leaving the library except for the time travel part. "That was how I got that book at the library. She gave it to me and said that she'd be willing to help us. Maybe her ancestors knew those three well? Maybe she would know the reasons why Zhan Tiri, Demantius, and Vlad were visiting?"

Maximus neighed. "I agree. I don't know, Anna," Kristoff doubted. "Yes, she had ancestors during that time but—"

"I think it's worth a shot," Varian said, crossing his arms. Kristoff, Maximus, Sven, Eugene, and Qurin turned to him, causing him to shrug. "Well, I don't see any other options. And as Anna said, Scott used to work for her."

"That reminds me," Eugene began, "it's been almost two weeks and we still haven't heard from Scott. Do we even know if he's going to show up?"

Before anyone could answer, a series of knocks pounded on the door above. The group went back up and followed Quirin to the door. He opened the door to a young guard. "How may I help you?"

"Good day, sir," the guard greeted politely. "Captain Alec is training some new guards today and he's wondering if you, Eugene, and Maximus could volunteer to help since you served King Edmund and they're on the guard in Corona."

"We'll be there," Quirin said. He turned to Anna, Kristoff, Varian, and Sven. "You go to Madame G. We'll meet you at Wadworth's where we'll ask about Scott."

. . . . .

Sven led Kristoff, Anna, and Varian on the sled while Quirin and Eugene left on Maximus. The latter group left about ten minutes before the others. Anna sat up front with Kristoff while Varian rode in the back. She smiled as she smelled the sea while they drove towards Madame G.'s cottage.

"You got the map, Varian?" Kristoff asked, looking over at him.

Varian nodded and held it out toward him. "And I brought my keyuiam with me."

"I still don't know if it's a good idea for us to bring the map," Kristoff said, "I mean, what if someone sees it?"

"Well, she has to see it so she could help us," Anna said. She bounced as the sled went over a bump on the road. Varian almost dropped the map, but luckily, he didn't. She gestured to the satchel that sat on her lap. "That's why we have this. After we show her the map and she hopefully gives us answers, we'll put the map in here and never show it to anyone else."

Sven glanced over his shoulder with a doubtful expression. "I'm with Kristoff," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven. "We should've left the map at the cottage. I mean what if something happens to it?"

"It'll be fine," Anna assured. Her eyes widened as Madame G.'s cottage grew larger as they got closer to it and Sven came to a halt. Roses of various colors surround the front yard as ocean sounds echoed up to them. She jumped out of the sled and smiled at the roses. "Oh, they're so pretty. I've never seen so many roses before."

"I hate roses," Kristoff commented, untying Sven from the sled. "They're cliché."

Varian stepped out of the sled. "Do you think she's home at this time, Anna?"

Anna went over to the door with her friends following behind her. "Let's find out."

She knocked a few times on the door and they waited for a bit. Anna knocked one more time and they waited again. Just as it began to look like no one was home, the door opened and a young girl stood before them.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, is your mistress here?" Anna asked. "We need to see her."

"Lilly!" Madame G.'s voice called nearby. "What are you doing? It's time for your lessons."

"You have some visitors, Mistress," Lilly said.

"Well, tell them to come back later!" Madame G. said impatiently. "We are in the—"

Lilly swung back towards Anna. "Are you Princess Anna?" Anna nodded. "It's Princess Anna! She's here with some of her friends!"

"Wait, the Princess?" Madame G.'s voice asked. "Why didn't you say so? You get in the parlor! I'll take it from here!"

Lilly shut the door and footsteps left the area. Not too long after, new footsteps raced over before the door opened again. Madame G. was dressed in a sparkly dark blue outfit with diamonds hanging off the sleeves and her dark curls were in an updo. A long blue rose hairpin lay in the middle of her hair.

"Ah, Your Highness!" Madame G. smiled, clasping her hands together. "It's such a pleasure to see you. I see you picked a nice outfit this time." Before Anna, Kristoff, or Varian could react, Madame G. burst into laughter. "I'm just teasing, darling. You look lovely, almost as fabulous as me."

"Uh. . .thanks," Anna said. "That dress looks great on you."

"Yes, I know." Madame G. smirked. "I look gorgeous in this. But then I'm gorgeous all the time." She again burst into laughter. She lifted her sleeves and gestured to the diamonds. That has to be expensive. "I added these in myself. I didn't even have to use magic to create the diamonds."

"Actually, diamonds don't come from magic," Varian commented, causing Madame G. to shoot an annoyed look at him. "It's composed of a single element, carbon. I should know, I'm all about the science."

"Wow, really? I had no idea," Madame G. commented sarcastically. Varian's face fell. "Oh, I'm such an idiot. Why don't you tell me more? I'm sure that there are countless things that I need to be corrected on."

Varian placed his hand behind his neck and stammered, "No, you see. I wasn't—"

"He was just showing his passion for his science," Anna quickly cut in. "He wasn't thinking that you're stupid or anything. He's very talented with his inventions and alchemy. You should check them out."

"Yeah, I'm the one who's creating a machine that'll bring hot water to Bronzadelle!" Varian said. "I'm sure you've heard about it."

Madame G. still didn't seem impressed. "Yes, I have. So, what's your name?"

"Varian."

"Nice to meet you," Madame G. said sarcastically. She eyed his goggles. "Cute glasses. They could use a bit more—"

"Okay, what's your problem?" Kristoff asked, irritably.

Madame G. turned to him. "Why do you care so much?"

"I want to know why you're acting like this."

"I can act any way I want," Madame G. said. She glanced over to Anna. "Why are these people with you?"

"They're a part of my group," Anna said. "If you're not going to be nice, I think we'll just find someone else who will help us."

Anna, Kristoff, Varian, and Sven were just about to leave when Madame G. quickly grabbed Anna's shoulder. "Oh, my apologies!" The group came to a halt as Madame G. quickly clasped her hands together. "I didn't know that they were with you!" She quickly shook Varian's hand and then Kristoff's. "Hello, handsome. May I ask for your name?"

"Uh. . .Kristoff," Kristoff replied with a stunned expression. "I'm Anna's boyfriend."

Madame G. glanced over to Anna. "You better make sure that he's not like your last one." Before Anna could reply, she giggled and glanced back at Kristoff, gesturing at his clothes. "And next time, I would find something more presentable to wear. You are dating a princess after all."

"My clothes are fine," Kristoff said, hints of impatience showing on his features. "I picked them out in the stables this morning."

Madame G. grimaced. "Yes, I can tell that's where you're from. I suppose you didn't bathe either?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kristoff crossed his arms.

Anna was just about to cut in to defend her boyfriend when Varian nervously chuckled. "Okay, I think we're getting off-topic here! Anna, who don't you tell Madame G. why we're here?"

Madame G. placed her hand on her hip. "Ah, you've found out more about this object, haven't you?"

"Not yet, but Anna said that you'd mentioned having ancestors that knew Demantius, Zhan Tiri, and Vlad Moonstormer," Kristoff answered.

"We also have this," Anna said, gesturing to the map.

Madame G. quickly snatched the map from Varian, leaving him, Kristoff, and Anna stunned. "What's this?"

"It's a map," Anna explained. She looked around for anyone nearby, and when she saw none, she leaned in closer to the witch. "Would it be alright if you let us in so we can show you? We shouldn't be in public with this in the first place."

Madame G. eyed Anna for a few moments before finally sighing. "Alright, but I was just about to have my lesson with my apprentices. If you could just head inside and wait until I send them off, I can help you. It shouldn't take more than an hour."

"Oh, we're sorry. We didn't know that you were in the middle of a lesson," Anna said. "If you want, we can come back later."

"I'm going to be busy for the rest of the day," Madame G. answered. "I'm booked solid."

"Are you busy tomorrow?" Kristoff asked. "I don't think we're—"

"We can wait here," Varian answered. Kristoff turned to him. "What? She said that it'll only be an hour and besides, we don't know how long Dad, Eugene, and Maximus will be. It could take forever. We might as well kill some time."

"I agree," Anna said. She heard a bee buzzing nearby. "Varian's right, Kristoff. We need to find out more about the map before Scott comes. We won't make any progress if we wait until tomorrow or another day."

Kristoff sighed. "Fine. We'll wait here."

"Great!" Madame G. grinned before she opened the door wider for them. "Head on in! I'll lead you to the parlor. Luckily, there are some extra seats for you."

Anna and Varian entered first and their jaws dropped at the circular staircase nearby. Kristoff was just stepping in when Sven followed him. Madame G. jumped when she noticed the reindeer.

"Oh!" Madame G. exclaimed as Sven brayed. He paused, staring at her with a puzzled expression. "What's that?"

"That's Sven." Kristoff laid his arm on Sven's back and gently ushered him inside. "He's my best friend."

"Well, just keep him away from the furniture!" Madame G. said, waving a beckoning hand. "He probably has fleas!"

"Me? Fleas? You're the one who probably has fleas!" Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven.

Madame G. pouted and was just about to retort when Anna stepped in front of her. "Oh, you don't have to worry about Sven. He doesn't have fleas. He's not even messy. I promise you."

"Fine," Madame G. said. Her icy eyes shifted to Kristoff. "Keep an eye on him."

As Anna and her friends followed Madame G. further into the house, she couldn't help but glance around. The walls and even the ceilings were a deep red and the wooden floor beneath them looked like it had been recently built. Just like the outside, everything about this cottage had this cozy and fairytale look and feel. The rooms were clean and well decorated. It made Anna wish that she could curl up on one of the couches, wrapped up in a cozy blanket with a box of chocolates on her lap. At the same time, she felt guilty, knowing that this was originally Garret's until Wadsworth made an error. She hoped that Garret's cottage was just as nice as this one.

"I hope you love this cottage." Madame G. beamed, making sure that her shiny curls were in place. "Wadsworth rented it out at a good price. And not only that, Queen Runa's daughter, Princess Marianne, and King Edgar's son Prince Jonathan spent their honeymoon here. How amazing is that?"

Part of Anna wanted to ask Madame G. if she knew that the cottage had been meant for someone else, but something told her to just let it be. "It's great. I had no idea they came here."

Suddenly, Madame G. came to an abrupt halt, causing Anna and her friends to pause as well. Without warning, Madame G. spun around to a tall mirror on the wall, smirking at it.

"Hello, beautiful," she said. "My, you look lovely today. Especially the curls." Kristoff and Varian shot a bewildered look at each other. "Oh, Princess, would you be a dear and come here, please?"

"Okay," Anna said, doing what she was told.

"Look, dearie," Madame G. said, wrapping her arm around her. "The most beautiful woman in the room standing right in front of this mirror." Right when Anna smiled, Madame G. pointed to herself. "And it happens to be me." Madame G. broke into laughter before Anna, Kristoff, or Varian had a chance to protest. "I'm just teasing, dearie. You're gorgeous too. Please don't take it to heart."

Anna chuckled. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not." She quickly caught Kristoff's expression and she shrugged at him. "My cousin-in-law tells jokes all the time. I'm used to it. Right, Varian?"

"Uh, yeah," Varian chuckled. He glanced around the area. "So, where are we going?"

Madame G. went towards a door on the right. "The parlor. That's where I'm teaching my apprentices."

Kristoff looked around. "No offense, but I don't think a parlor is a place to have your lessons."

Madame G. swung towards him with an annoyed look. "I turned it into a classroom for my apprentices." She turned the knob without looking at the door. "Now come in. We don't have all day."

There were two long tables—one at the front of the room and the other in the middle. The first one was covered by a long red tablecloth that nearly touched the floor. Stew, Tabitha, Phillips, and Lilly sat at the other table where they had their spell books and some other items laid out in front of them.

After shutting the door behind them, Madame G. cleared her throat. "My dear apprentices, I am pleased to announce that we have some guests. Here is Princess Anna of Arendelle along with her friend, boyfriend, and his pet." She gestured to a small round table with some chairs nearby. "Please take your seats." Madame G. clasped her hands as she went over to the first table and flipped through the pages of a large book. "Turn to page five hundred and twenty-one."

The apprentices did what they were told. Madame G. was about to speak again when Phillips said, "We did this yesterday! Mistress, I thought that we weren't going over this lesson until next week?"

Madame G. arched an eyebrow. "No, Phillips, I said that due to certain circumstances, we will go over this lesson and move the mind wipe lesson to next week. Scott should be here by then, so he can help me show you. I can see that you weren't paying attention again."

"I was, miss!" Phillips argued.

"Really? Well, why don't you tell me what potion we made yesterday?" Madame G. crossed her arms. She looked to Stew right when he was about to speak. "And don't give him an answer, Stew."

"Mistress, he came in late yesterday, remember?" Lilly asked. "You might've said it before he came."

"No, I distinctly remember Phillips being here when I told you all, Lilly," Madame G. said. "Even if he wasn't, then he should've been here on time. He wouldn't have missed very important information. Now, what potion did we make yesterday, Phillips?"

"Uh. . .it was when we used some alchemy to make it. I know that the potion is used to create a purple mist."

"That's right, but that's not enough. What were the ingredients?" Madame G. asked. Tabitha had just finished writing something on a small piece of parchment. She was about to hand it over to Phillips when Madame G. snatched it out of her hand and tore it into little pieces. She glared at Tabitha, Lilly, and Stew. "Do not help or tell him." She gestured for Phillips to come up towards the front of the room. "I want you to look at the Princess and her friends and tell them what are the ingredients for the potion."

Anna rose from her seat. "Madame G., I don't think that necessary. I think you're being too hard on him. We're human, we all make mistakes."

"Your Highness, I am training him to become a wizard," Madame G. said. "Daydreaming or being late isn't going to help him. He needs to know these things." Kristoff muttered something about her to Varian and Sven. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

"You said something about me. What was it?"

"No, he was just reminding me not to correct you that it's science and not magic," Varian lied quickly. "I was just about to do that, but he stopped me. Honest."

"Can I sit down now?" Phillips asked.

"Of course not!" Madame G. said. "What are the ingredients?" Phillips stood there in silence. "Fine." Madame G. went back over to her table and pulled out a small cauldron with some alchemy ingredients. "Show me."

Phillips looked down at the cauldron. "This isn't necessary, miss."

"Of course, it is!" Madame G. pointed at the ingredients, keeping her eye on the boy. "You said that you paid attention yesterday, prove it."

Phillips picked up a red pipette and poured it into the cauldron. As a red mist came out, Madame G. nodded before she ordered him to proceed. He picked up a blue pipette and poured it in the cauldron, and a blue and red mist came out. After Madame G. ordered him to put the last ingredient in, Phillips stared down at the two remaining pipettes below him. One was a black pipette while the other was yellow.

When Phillips picked up the yellow pipette, he was just about to pour it when Varian jumped up. "Wait, don't touch that! Here, let me help you."

"He should be figuring it out himself!" Madame G. protested. "No one will be helping him."

"Trust me, miss. Back in Old Corona, I worked on a mist potion once and it exploded half our house. My dad had to rebuild our home. I don't think you would want to get on Wadsworth's bad side, especially when he was so generous to you." Varian picked up the black pipette and poured it into the cauldron.

Everyone stood there, impressed as they watched a purple mist billow out of the cauldron. Madame G. even seemed impressed. Varian picked up a vial and filled it with the cauldron's mist. Afterward, he stood in front of the table and threw it on the ground. When the vial broke, the mist came out and covered the entire room. After a few seconds, it faded away.

"This can be used to distract someone," Varian said. "Always make sure to use this in a large area, otherwise it can be harmful."

"Most impressive. That's better than what my apprentices did yesterday." Madame G. grinned. She gestured for Phillips to return to his seat. "You have a real talent. How long have you been working with alchemy, child?"

"Ever since I can remember. My mom was an alchemist too."

"I can see it's in your blood. Now, my apprentices, now that Princess Anna's friend's given us a marvelous show, I expect you to do the same. Get out your ingredients."

Anna and her friends watched Madame G. teach her apprentices the potion for a while, until at last she dismissed them to head into town. As they rose from their seats, Madame G. assigned them to write a three-page front and back essay on the potion due tomorrow, much to their dismay. When her apprentices left, Madame G. gestured for Anna and her friends to head over to her table.

"No offense," Anna began, "but how are they going to get that essay done by tomorrow? That's impossible."

"Anything's possible, dearie," Madame G. said, clearing her table. "Now, what was it that you needed my help with?"

Varian pulled out The Histories and Legends of Bronzadelle and turned to the pages that he and Anna had read earlier. After they told her what they'd learned, Anna asked, "Did your ancestors have any idea why they were visiting? Why they came to Bronzadelle?"

"Ah, I remember that—I've heard that Lord Demantius and Zhan Tiri had started plans to create a special project," Madame G. answered. "They never told my ancestors or their other followers what they were working on so it must've been this unidentified object that Scott's looking for. They went to Bronzadelle in hopes that Countess Estelle would help them, which she agreed to. However, Demantius and Zhan Tiri came to a disagreement on what this object should be used for, and the project was left unfinished. After Zhan Tiri betrayed Demantius, she came back to Bronzadelle and murdered Estelle."

"Whoa, Zhan Tiri really did kill Estelle," Varian said in disbelief.

"She must've used a spell on Estelle to make her sick," Kristoff speculated.

"Oh, no, silly boy," Madame G. said. "She was poisoned by a venomous Chi spider." Anna's eyes widened. Wasn't that the spider that the Baron had used on Lance? She remembered hearing about it from Eugene. "One evening, Zhan Tiri snuck into Estelle's room while she was asleep and released the spider. Once Estelle was bitten, Zhan Tiri escaped and the spider fled before anyone could see it. When Estelle awoke, she suffered from the effects of the bite and passed away."

Anna, Kristoff, Varian, and Sven stood there, taking in everything that Madame G. had told them. This was more than they'd expected. "Oh my god," Anna commented. "Why did she kill her?"

"Estelle agreed with Demantius about the object and Zhan Tiri felt insulted especially since she liked her idea of the destruction proof spell."

"The what?" Anna asked.

"It's a spell that makes something capable of resisting any harm that could come to it," Madame G. answered. "It prevents anything from damage like a bulletproof or knife-proof uniform. For example, if someone cast the spell on your carriage, nothing could destroy it."

"Wait!" Varian said quickly. He laid out the map case on the table in front of Madame G. "Let me show me. You might want to stand back."

After Varian used his keyuiam to open the map, no one fell back this time and Madame G. was amazed at how the map opened and the illuminating effects and images. Varian asked if there was something to drink and Madame G. gave him a glass of water. After Varian poured water toward the map, he was thrown across the room and right into Sven. Everyone raced over to Varian except Madame G. who stood there, looking down at the map with widen eyes.

Once they made sure that Varian was alright, Anna asked, "That's the spell isn't it?"

"Yes, that's exactly how it would work!" Madame G. confirmed. "Zhan Tiri must've used this spell on the map!"

"Technically, I don't think this was magic," Varian said. "It was—"

Madame G. rolled her eyes and examined the map. "Fascinating. I've never seen anything like it before."

"And not just that!" Varian said, picking up the map case. "This is made out of Black Rocks! Vlad Moonstormer made it himself!"

Madame G. snatched the map case and drummed her nails on it. "Yes, I can feel the rocks. Unbreakable. Something Vlad would do—from what I've heard."

"Do you know why Vlad came to Bronzadelle and met with Lord Matthew?" Anna asked.

"Yes, Lord Matthew learned of the unfinished project and invited Vlad and a friend of his," Madame G. explained. "Vlad was a huge fan of Demantius and studied everything about him and Zhan Tiri,so Matthew asked if he could finish the project that Demantius and Zhan Tiri started. Which he did."

"Ha! I knew it!" Varian said. "I knew this object was related to those visits!"

"Was that all that you needed my help with?" Madame G. asked.

"Actually, no," Kristoff said, pointing to the translation.

Varian held it out. "I was able to translate it and then I came up with this cipher. I still haven't cracked this yet. I need the key letter."

"Your ancestors knew Demantius, Zhan Tiri, and Vlad," Anna began, "do you know what key letter they would use?"

After examining the translation for quite some time, Madame G. answered, "This was Vlad's doing, not the other two. Vlad was paranoid when it came to protecting his information. He always went to extreme lengths to make sure that no one got into anything. Whenever he wrote a message, he would always include a cipher to throw anyone off." She laid her finger on the symbols. "Here, he wrote in Demantius's handwriting and then included the cipher."

"What key letter did he use?" Kristoff asked.

"He had a rotating key letter based on the time of day," Madame G. explained. "In his head, he gave hours of the day, their own letter." She pointed at the message. "Like here, when Lord Matthew met him, he likely showed him this so the key letter would be the time of day that he visited with him."

"Did your ancestors know which hours went with which letter?" Varian asked.

Madame G. shook her head. "No, Vlad would never write it down—from what I've heard of course. Vlad's memory was phenomenal but he always forgot that not everyone's memory was as good as his. His friend only knew what some of them were and he even had a hard time remembering. He never told anyone what they were, of course."

"At least that's a start. We just need to figure out what time Vlad visited Lord Matthew," Anna said. "Elsa said that Arendelle always keeps records on subjects' visitations. Surely, Bronzadelle would have record books."

"How about we go to Lord Cryus?" Varian suggested. "I'm sure he'd have a record of Vlad and Matthew's visits."

"We'll go there after we meet Eugene, Quirin, and Maximus at Wadsworth's," Kristoff declared. "Maybe Scott is waiting for us there?"

Anna nodded and turned to Madame G. "Thank you. We appreciate it."

"No problem, dearie." Madame G. grinned. She clasped her hands. "Come back to me when you find out more or if you need more help."

"We will," Anna replied before she followed her friends out of the room.

. . . . .

Wadsworth's place wasn't as crowded as they thought it'd be when Anna and her friends arrived with Sven waiting outside. When they didn't see Eugene, Quirin, or Maximus nearby, they sat down on a couch. Varian clenched the map, staring at the crack in the wall ahead of them. Wadsworth still hadn't fixed it. When we see Ernest, we should ask if he saw anything unusual.

Anna watched an older woman dressed in an elegant outfit open the door for another woman before she left. Kristoff leaned towards her. "While we're waiting, we should ask Wadsworth about Scott."

"Where is he, anyway?" Anna asked, looking around her. A young woman went down the stairs. As she was passing the couch, Anna asked, "Excuse me, have you seen Wadsworth?"

The young lady pointed at the office. "He's going over his contract with someone. I'm sure he'll be out soon."

The young lady left the inn after Anna bid her thanks just as the door opened again. She glanced at the source of the sound, expecting it to be one of her friends or even Scott, but instead, it was Garret.

"Excuse me," he asked. "Is Wadsworth around?"

"He's in the office," Kristoff answered.

Garret sighed in frustration and sat in one of the chairs with his arms crossed. Anna wondered what that was about. The door opened again and a young man came in with a flier. "Is Wadsworth around? I was wondering if I can—"

Garret quickly rose from his seat and marched over towards him. "Oh, what are you doing here now, Archie?"

Archie stood up straight. "That's none of your business, Garret. I was just—"

Garret snatched the flier from him and looked at it. "Ha! I see what you're doing! You're having an event on the same day and time as ours! You really think that you can take away our customers?"

"You really think that you can lower your prices on everything?" Archie asked. He looked over at Varian. "What do you think of this, Varian?"

Varian gulped and nervously stepped back. "Uh, I'm not sure if I should be cutting in. Nice chatting with you guys." He was about to stroll over towards the crack when Quirin and Eugene came in. "Hey, team awesome is back!"

Garret and Archie ran at each other with fists high until they were held back by Quirin, Kristoff, Eugene, and some older man nearby. The office door opened and Wadsworth raced towards the fighting men.

"Hey, that's enough!" he yelled, getting in between them. "Break it up! Break it up! I'm so tired of this! Everyone is!"

Garret and Archie pointed at each other. "But he—"

"So, what?" Wadsworth stretched his arms out to prevent the young men from attacking each other again. "It's no reason to act like animals. Now, if you're not going to handle like adults, I'd suggest that you leave." For a moment, it looked like Archie and Garret were still about to pounce on each other, but instead, they sighed and turned away from each other. "Good. Now, Archie, we'll start with you. What do you need?"

Archie handed his flier to him, adjusting his glasses on his nose. "Yes, Mr. Partridge. Gimmerjoy's Treasures have added our newest accessory, the "Millard's Heart" to our stock. The item will be available to the public on this day. I was wondering if you would let me hang up a flier here."

"I'm sorry, Archie, but I've already told you," Wadsworth started, "Lizabeth does not allow fliers to be hung up. We did that once and it created a mess. We had to take them down ourselves."

"I can take them down," Archie offered. "I'll get rid of them when I don't need them anymore. Besides, I know that you've hung up fliers before."

"That was for my sister's play in Delitpen. And it was around town, not in an inn."

Eugene rolled his eyes. "What a hypocrite."

"Eugene, shut up!" Kristoff hissed.

Garret smirked and commented, causing the men to break into another argument. Again, Wadsworth did everything he could to calm them down. Some residents nearby looked at the commotion for a moment before shaking their heads and minding their business.

"What was that about?" Anna asked.

"Oh, they're always fighting," Varian answered, leaning towards her. "Mrs. Rosebutton told me that Garret and Archie have been rivals since they were kids and it didn't help when they both opened their stores last summer."

"What stores do they own?"

"Archie owns a jewelry store, "Gimmerjoy's Treasures" and Garret and his wife own the boutique "Fancy That."

Footsteps came out of Wadsworth's office. "I just signed this, Mr. Partridge. I went over these two—Princess Anna?"

Anna turned and saw that Lord Graham was standing in the entryway, holding a parchment in one hand and a quill in the other. She'd only met him a few times during her childhood before she and her sister separated, and didn't see him again until her parents' funeral and Elsa's coronation. "Lord Graham, what are you doing here?"

Lord Graham handed over the signed contract to Wadsworth. "I was invited here for the Autuliar Eclipse Celebration. I had no idea that you and your sister were invited too."

"Oh, we weren't invited. Elsa's in Arendelle with my cousin," Anna clarified. "My friends and I came here to help someone."

Eugene went over towards them with an arched eyebrow. "Wait, how do you know each other?"

"I was one of her father's childhood friends," Lord Graham answered. "Three years before his death, King Runeard was having one of his political parties, and my father and I came to represent the Northern Isles. I met Agnarr and we became close friends." He chuckled lightly. "I remember once at a ball, Agnarr and I were hanging out by the stairs and there was this duchess with a large white wig standing beneath us. We accidentally spilled chocolate on her wig, but she didn't notice because the wig was so tall. Lieutenant Mattias had to pull us away before the duchess noticed."

Anna let out a chuckle. "Wow, really?" She'd imagine the look on her father's and Lord Graham's faces. "I wonder if Papa ever told Mama that. I think she would've found it funny."

"We did." Lord Graham nodded. "And she snorted. Your parents both had a great sense of humor."

Anna's eyes dimmed. "I miss them."

"They're still with you, Anna," Quirin said softly. He placed his hand on his chest. "In here."

After Anna softly bade him thanks, Lord Graham said, "He's right. They'll always be by your side."

Anna smiled lightly. She felt tears well up in her eyes and quickly wiped them. "So, you rented a cottage here too?"

"Yes, I'll only be here for a couple of weeks," Lord Graham answered. Wadsworth went back into his office. "I think my cottage is only a few blocks from here."

"Speaking of cottages," Garret began, leaning closer to Wadsworth. "Great cottage that you've picked out for us, Wadsworth! It's a real piece of work!"

Wadsworth sighed, rubbing his eyes. "So, that's why you're here, Garret." Eugene was just about to make a comment when Quirin pointed at the door and he went outside. "Alright, what happened?"

"We have a leaky roof and the floor's creaky!" Garret snapped. "My wife swore that she saw a mouse! And you said that this cottage would almost be as nice as the witch's!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Garret," Wadsworth said. "I had no idea. We'll make it up to you."

"Have that witch and her apprentices switch cottages," Garret demanded. "It was supposed to be ours in the first place!"

"How do you know it was originally yours?" Archie commented, not even looking at him.

Garret spun around towards him, his face bright red. "You stay out of this, Archie!"

"Don't even think about it!" Wadsworth snapped, giving both of them a stern look. "Archie, I know some places that will be more than willing to let you hang up fliers. I'll write them down for you. Garret, I'll be taking Lord Graham to his cottage. When I get back, take me to your cottage and I'll see what I can do. You two take a seat, but for the love of God, don't kill each other."

"Oh, Wadsworth." Anna stepped forward towards him before he could spin around to get a parchment. "Have you heard from Scott yet? He should be coming any time now."

Wadsworth shook his head. "I haven't, but when I do, I will let you know." He glanced over to Garret. "I just hope this guy won't try and go to Madame G.'s cottage and demand she hands over the key."

"Speaking of whom," Quirin began, "did Madame G. help you?"

Anna nodded. "She gave us a lot of information." She looked around before she leaned in and told them everything they'd learned. "We should see Lord Cyrus. Does anyone know where he lives?"

"You know I was planning on seeing him sometime today," Lord Graham began. "Wadsworth, how about you go with Garret after you help out Archie? I'll take the Princess and her friends to Lord Cyrus with me."

"That'll work," Wadsworth said. "Are you sure?"

Lord Graham nodded. "It'll be fine."

"Oh, thank you so much, Lord Graham," Anna said. He had always been a good friend to her family. "But you don't have to."

"I know." Lord Graham smiled. "But I must. Especially since you're your father's daughter."

Once they left the inn, Anna and her group reunited with Maximus and Sven. Afterward, they left in their sled with Lord Graham.

. . . . .

As Maximus and Sven led the sled through town, Anna spotted several people putting up decorations. Some people were even signing up for something, and nearby, Anna swore she saw a choir practicing songs. The markets even seem to be preparing for something.

"What's going on?" Anna asked, looking at the excitement around her. "Is this for the Autuliar Eclipse?"

"Yes," Quirin answered. "They've been preparing for it since last night. That was why Captain Alec needed us to help training with the new guards. This will be their first time working security for this celebration."

"You should've seen the looks on their faces," Eugene chuckled. "They were super impressed with my skills. The fact that I used to be a con man helped out. There's no way they could fail now."

Maximus rolled his eyes, whinnying at him.

"I agree, Maximus," Quirin affirmed. "It doesn't matter who impressed them the most. They should feel lucky because we volunteered to help them."

"I didn't mean it like that. I was embracing my talents. Remember, I was Flynn Rider, a legend! I taught them how to think like a thief. How often do you get that?"

Kristoff scoffed. "At least you didn't have to deal with Medusa."

"Yeah. . .I don't think you and Madame G. would like each other, Eugene," Varian said. Their sled came to a halt and some citizens crossed the road in front of them. "You two would've gone at each other like cats and dogs."

Eugene chuckled. "Let me guess, she's like Cassandra."

"Eh. . .not really."

"She did kind of look like her though," Kristoff said. He turned over to Varian. "Don't you think?"

"Okay, guys," Anna said. "Yes, Madame G. did have a strong personality and a different sense of humor, but she did help us." She did agree with Kristoff and Varian that Eugene and Madame G. would not get along. She thought that Elsa wouldn't care for her either. Anna imagined that her sister would be hurt by Madame G.'s jokes. She wasn't sure about Rapunzel though.

The sled turned around the corner in time for the group to see a large banner being hung between two buildings. "I can't believe we'll be here to see the Autuliar Eclipse," Eugene said. "I never thought that I would be back here to see it again. Lance, Stalyan, and I enjoyed it."

"Son, you are lucky to experience it again," Lord Graham said. "Believe it or not, this is my first time in Bronzadelle. I met Lord Cyrus once when he came to the Northern Isles for a diplomatic visit. I've read so much about the Autuliar Eclipse, I'm looking forward to experiencing it in person."

Anna felt a slight gust of wind at the nape of her neck. "So, what is this Autuliar Eclipse?"

"It's like an eclipse except it's no ordinary one," Quirin answered. "This eclipse only occurs in Bronzadelle every ten years and it turns day into night for a whole day." Anna's eyes widened. "Whenever this occurs, Bronzadelle throws a festival to celebrate." He looked over to his son. "Varian, do you know if you're going to sign up for the science exposition?"

"I thought about it," Varian said. "But Lord Cyrus wants me to present my plans about the machines to the public as part of the celebration. I don't know if I'll have time."

"I think you should," Anna chirped. "You'd be great for it! So, when is the Autuliar Eclipse?"

"It'll be in three weeks," Lord Graham answered. "Don't worry, it'll be here before you know it."

Eventually, the sled came to a halt on the outskirts of town in front of a large, three-story mansion secured with a large gate. As the guards opened the gates, Anna could see the area better. Like Rupert and Evelyn's home back in Belliville, there were three acres of land, however, there was no garden nor statues nearby. Instead, there was a pond on the far left, with willow trees leaning over it, while there was a large birdbath fountain on the far right. Anna smiled as she watched the northern cardinal come in and out.

They followed Lord Graham towards large red double doors while Maximus and Sven stayed at the sled. Anna glanced over to the pond where she spotted five swans swimming. At first, she smiled at the mute swans and black swans, then she gave a perplexed expression as she noticed that the last one had orange feathers.

"Okay, am I going crazy, or is that an orange swan?" Anna asked, pointing at the pond.

"Oh, that's a ginger swan, Anna," Varian chuckled. When the ginger swan swam towards them, Anna noticed that its beak was yellow. "Those can only be found in Bronzadelle, and they can even be hard to find here."

Lord Graham smiled at the swans. "Cyrus will be thrilled when he sees those, especially the ginger one."

"Those aren't his pets?" Kristoff asked.

"Oh no, son." Lord Graham laughed before he gently knocked on the door. "Cyrus is a lover of birds, but he would never have the heart to keep them in a cage. He uses his own land as a sanctuary for birds so they can come and go. Sometimes, he names the birds, but that's pretty much it."

"He definitely wouldn't like those two maniacs that turned us into birds," Eugene commented. Footsteps came towards the door. "Rapunzel was lucky that Shorty was turned into one too."

The door opened and instead of a butler greeting them as expected, a slim older man with a white wig tied back in a ponytail stuck his head out in the doorway. "Ah, Lord Graham! I'm so glad you could make it!"

"It's an honor, Lord Cyrus." Lord Graham smiled. "Thank you so much for inviting me to this celebration." He gestured to Anna and her group. "And I brought some friends, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Lord Cyrus said, shaking his hand. "Hello, Varian, Eugene, and Quirin, it's so good to see you again." After he greeted those three, he turned to Anna and Kristoff. "Why, hello. I don't think I've seen you two before."

Anna curtsied to him. "I'm Princess Anna of Arendelle, I'm Queen Elsa's younger sister and Princess Rapunzel's cousin. This is my boyfriend, Kristoff Bjorgman."

Lord Cyrus greeted them. "Pleased to meet you." He opened the door wider. "Why don't you all come in? I'll lead us to the parlor where we'll have some tea. But first! Wipe your feet! My servants went to all the trouble of having this clean and it would be unfair for them to give them more work." Kristoff and Anna gave each other perplexed looks before they did what they were told with their friends. "Thank you. Oh, and don't touch anything! I don't want to risk breaking anything."

Anna and her group followed him through the sumptuous and palatial mansion until Lord Cyrus finally led them into a large room. In the center of the room was a grand table with two large couches against each other on one side and a large green chair on the other side. A large red rug lay on the floor, almost concealing the entire marble floor. A vase sat on a stool near a window.

Once they all took their seats—Anna, Quirin, and Varian on one couch with Eugene, Lord Graham, and Kristoff in the other while Lord Cyrus sat in the chair—a maid came in and poured them all tea before she left.

"Thank you so much for coming out here, Lord Graham," Lord Cyrus said before he slipped his tea. "It means so much that I have a representative from the Northern Isles, especially since that country won't visit Bronzadelle because they support magic."

Lord Graham slipped his tea. "Oh, no need to thank me. I tried to get some others to join me, but they refused."

"That's not a surprise, but at least you came." Lord Cyrus gently sat his tea on the table.

Lord Graham took out a handkerchief and wiped his lips. "A couple of them were still agitated because apparently, a witch pretended someone mind-wiped her and froze the whole courtyard. I haven't heard the whole story, so I don't know what exactly happened or if it's even true. I know some guards searched for the witch in town but never found her. Lieutenant Larson considered putting her on a wanted list in the Northern Isles, but I talked him out of it. No one got hurt or lost their lives, therefore I didn't think that it was worth it. The girl could've just been scared for all I know. I doubt that she's even linked to that disappearance."

Quirin raised his eyebrows. "What disappearance?"

"Lieutenant Larson said that two men, I think he said their names were Ezekiel and Andrew, reported that a friend of theirs, a beggar, disappeared. They claimed that she was following a suspicious woman and was never seen again. Unfortunately, Lieutenant Larson couldn't fill in a missing person report because all they knew about her was that she was looking for her friends. She never even told them her name."

"Well, I hope the girl is okay," Anna commented. She almost spilled her tea but managed to catch it in time.

"I hope so too, Anna," Lord Graham said, his eyes dimming. "The last I heard, Ezekiel and Andrew are still looking for her. Hopefully, they find her."

"Let's keep the poor girl in our prayers," Lord Cyrus said softly. "We'll honor the girl. You, Varian and your machines, and the rest of you coming here to represent your countries for this celebration will be the perfect way to do so. We'll do it for the girl."

"You're right, my lord. We will do everything that we can." Anna placed her tea on the table. "But that's not why we came to you."

Lord Cyrus paused, holding his tea inches from his lips. "Oh? Then why did you come here, Your Highness?"

"You think you could show us some official records?" Kristoff asked. "You know the one with Lord Matthew and Vlad Moonstormer's visit?"

Varian pulled out the map and showed them the translation and the cipher. Afterward, he, Kristoff, and Anna explained what Madame G. had told them. "We just need the time of day that Vlad visited Matthew, so we could get the key letter."

Lord Cyrus placed his tea cup on the table and folded his hands in his lap. "I do have some records from over six hundred years ago, but they are so old that they could turn to dust if not properly cared for, therefore I have them locked away. In fact, my ancestor did have a record of when Demantius and Zhan Tiri visited Countess Estelle, however, it was destroyed in a fire along with many other records. These records are part of my family histories and I don't want to risk any more being ruined."

"Oh, we'll be extremely careful with it," Anna assured. She went to pick up her tea cup, but it slipped from her fingers and fell on the ground, smashing into tiny pieces. "Sorry."

"Yeah, I don't think you should be trusted with something ancient, Anna," Eugene laughed. Anna shot a frown at him. "No offense, but—" He went to pick up a cookie, but his elbow hit the tea kettle, causing it to tip over and spill tea all over the table. He bit his lip when he picked up the kettle, but it slipped from his fingers and smashed into a million pieces on the rug.

Quirin, Anna, Kristoff, and Eugene raced to clean up the mess while Lord Cyrus shook his head at them. Lord Graham began picking up the broken glass off the ground.

"Could you just show the record to us and then put it away?" Quirin asked. Varian took out one of his pipettes and released a drop on the table. The stain disappeared and the table looked like there wasn't a scratch on it. "It's not like we have to take it with us. If anything, we could write it down."

Lord Cyrus touched his chin. "I suppose that could work, but I haven't gotten into that safe for quite some time. How do I know I won't destroy it?"

"I'm sure you'll be fine, Cyrus," Lord Graham assured, placing the broken pieces on a nearby table stand. "If you want, I could take it out for you."

For a moment, Lord Cyrus sat there until he finally rose and said, "Come with me."

. . . . .

Lord Cyrus led them into a grand and newly polished study. He gestured them toward his desk before Anna had a chance to look around the room. Lord Cyrus paused in front of a tall fireplace across from the desk. He pulled down a bird bust on the wall and the fireplace slowly opened. There were rows of old books inside a small room with a ladder. Lord Cyrus climbed on the ladder and skimmed through the books with his finger until he finally pulled one out.

He gently placed the book on the desk and slowly skimmed through the yellow pages with everyone watching. From the dates and the record book's condition, Anna could see that it was from over five hundred years ago.

"There it is!" Lord Cyrus exclaimed. Anna looked back down at the page where Lord Cyrus had laid his finger.

Vlad Moonstormer, July 15th, 3:00 pm.

"Well, at least we have the time," Anna said. "We just have to figure out the letter Vlad used for 3:00 pm."

After Lord Cyrus shut the fireplace behind him, Quirin asked, "My lord, do you have any more information about Vlad's visit with Lord Matthew?"

"I'm sorry, I don't." Lord Cyrus shook his head solemnly. "However, I know that Vlad Moonstormer was very good friends with Chief Sakda of Heart. I know that he came here once five years after Vlad's visit."

"Anna, Kristoff," Varian muttered, leaning towards them. "That must be the friend that Madame G. was talking about." He looked to Lord Cyrus. "What do you know about his visit?"

"All I heard was that he asked this strange question," Lord Cyrus remarked. "It was "Would you risk bad luck to find the truth?" No one knew why he asked that. Maybe it had something to do with taking chances. I don't know."

"Yeah, that is weird," Anna commented. "I'm sure we'll find something."

After Anna and her group thanked Lord Cyrus, they left his home and went back into town.

. . . . .

Two, maybe three hours had passed since they'd dropped off Lord Graham at the inn. Quirin had just finished cleaning the dishes from dinner since Eugene and Max had gotten into an argument with each other over whose turn it was to clean them, and now they were all seated in the living room.

"Okay, so Vlad gives each hour of their day their own letter," Eugene repeated, pacing in front of a window with a view of the setting sun. "And we know that he saw Lord Matthew at 3:00 pm. Did this Madame G. give you any clue as to how that could help us?" Anna, Kristoff, Varian, and Sven shook their heads. "Well, that's just great! What a great help she was!"

"She still gave us some information, Eugene," Anna reminded. Ruddiger was just about to snatch an apple from Maximus when the horse frowned at him. "If it hadn't been for her, we wouldn't've known that he used the time of day."

Kristoff sighed, shaking his head. "Well, it's going to be hard finding out what the key letter is, since Vlad never wrote it down.

"Wait, what about Chief Sakda?" Varian suggested. "Lord Cyrus said that he came to Bronzadelle five years after Vlad did and Madame G. said that he had a hard time remembering them. Maybe he wrote something down?"

"Wouldn't that be in Kumandra?" Kristoff asked, doing his voice for Sven.

Quirin rubbed his chin with furrowed brows. "Not necessarily. If Sakda was good friends with Vlad, he likely knew what the key letter was. He could've left a hint somewhere."

"You know, now that I think of it, when Lance, Stalyan, and I came here," Eugene recalled, "we heard that there were a lot of artifacts here. Sakda could've left something behind."

Maximus neighed. "I'm with Max. I think that's possible too." Anna nodded. "Maybe tomorrow, we could go into town and ask around? I'm sure someone would know."

There came a few knocks on the door and everyone turned to look. Anna followed Quirin out of the room while her friends stayed behind.

Quirin opened the door to a short, plump messenger standing in front of them. "How may I help you?"

"I meant to deliver this this morning, but there was a delay." The messenger held out a letter to them. "I originally went to the Partridge Inn and Cottage Rentals, but Mrs. Partridge told me where this cottage was, so I came here. I am sorry for the delay."

"It's fine," Anna said, gently taking the letter from him. "I understand."

After the messenger wished them a good day, they shut the door behind them. Anna turned over the letter and a small gasp came out.

"Quirin, it's from Scott!"

Quirin looked down at the letter. "He might be here in Bronzadelle. Let's get back to the others."

Once Quirin and Anna went back to the living room, Anna held out the letter to them and told them that it was from Scott. She then tore the envelope open and gently took out the letter.

Princess Anna and friends,

Again, I do apologize for the delay. Some things needed to get taken care of. However, the good news is that I will be arriving in Bronzadelle shortly. By the time you get this letter, I would be halfway through Lacedrillelle. Meet me at the Swordfish Paradise at four o'clock. Hopefully, you figured out the map.

Sincerely,

Scott Longton.

After Anna put down the letter, she exclaimed, "He'll be here tomorrow! I'm sure we'll find out what the key letter is."

"I'm surprised he kept his word about being here in a fortnight," Eugene commented. "I was expecting him to blow us off."

"We'll meet up at the restaurant for dinner after we search the city," Quirin declared. "If we don't find the key letter by then, we'll look again after we meet up with Scott."

Everyone agreed and they went to their rooms to turn in for the night.

. . . . .

When morning came, they left later than planned because Anna overslept. Over breakfast, they decided that they would split into pairs and after they met up with Scott, they would change teams if they still didn't have the key letter. Anna went with Eugene, Varian, and Ruddiger while Kristoff, Quirin, Maximus, and Sven went in another direction of the town.

As they explored more of the city, they asked for anything about Chief Sakda to no avail. The Bronzadellians were setting up decorations on the buildings and even setting up stalls for people to sign up. At one point, when they went into a bakery, they saw that the baker was making elegant cupcakes and even an eleven-tier buttercream strawberry cake with orange frosting.

Anna and Varian turned their heads just in time to see Eugene leave the Cobbler's Toe. "Any luck?"

"No. He didn't even have any idea what I was talking about at first," Eugene commented. "What about you?" Anna and Varian shook their heads. Ruddiger peeked out of Varian's satchel, chittering.

"The undertaker said that one of his ancestors was alive during that time," Varian began, "but they never met Lord Matthew nor Chief Sakda."

Eugene looked at his watch. "We still have some time to kill before we have to go to Swordfish Paradise. Where haven't we looked?"

"We could go to that art gallery," Anna suggested. "I remember seeing it on the way there. It's only a block away."

"It's worth a shot." Varian nodded. "Let's go."

The sound of horses trotting neared, causing Anna to wonder if they'd somehow met up with Maximus. However, when she, Eugene, and Varian turned, they saw a young man atop a thoroughbred that was coming to a halt.

"Princess Anna, Varian," the young man said. "Ernest wants to see you at the inn. He said that it's important."

It must be about the crack.

"You two go," Eugene declared. "I'll go to the art gallery and then I'll meet you guys at the inn. It's not that far."

Anna and Varian climbed on to the horse while Eugene went in another direction. Anna had no time to look back as the horse trotted further on the path.

. . . . .

Ernest was sitting in his chair, looking over his newspaper when Anna and Varian came in. Shutting the door behind them caused him to look up and fold his newspapers.

"Ah, Anna, Varian," he said, rising from his seat. He laid the folded newspaper on a nearby table and went over to the crack, gesturing for them to follow. "I'm glad that you could make it."

"Did you see anything?" Anna asked, stepping over a toy that a child had dropped.

Ernest nodded as Varian bent down towards the crack. "Last night, I was about to turn in with a book when I realized I'd left my reading glasses down here. When I came down to get them, I noticed that there was light shining through the crack, like it was an opening from another room. Then, I thought that I saw a purple beam flash before it went away and the light went back to normal. Then I swore I thought that I heard something behind it. I waited a few minutes, but nothing happened. As I went up the stairs, I heard footsteps. I peeked down and saw that someone had moved a bookcase in front of the crack. When I came down this morning, the bookcase was back to where it was."

Anna furrowed her brows. "Do you know who moved the bookshelf?"

"I'm afraid not, Princess," said Ernest. "But I know that there has to be a reason why they did it."

"Guys, look!" Varian pointed.

Varian pressed his fingers against the crack and gestured for Anna to do the same. When her fingers touched the crack, she felt a small opening between the walls, causing her to let out a small gasp. "I think there might be another room or something behind this."

Ernest rubbed his fingers against the crack before he rose. "It seems like it."

Footsteps came out of the office. "Varian, Princess Anna?" Anna and Varian turned where Wadsworth stood in the opening of his office with a married couple. "What are you two doing?"

Some of the residents nearby turned to the scene. Anna wondered if they could even see the crack from where they were.

"We were just looking at the crack," Varian answered, rising from his knees.

Wadsworth stepped towards them. "I told you; we will have it taken care of. This isn't going to become an obsession, now is it?"

"No, Wadsworth, you don't understand." Varian pointed at the crack. "You can't ignore this. Come over and—"

"It'll be fine, Varian!" Wadsworth snapped. That caused Varian to stand there, his eyes widened and his face white as a ghost. "Sorry, I didn't mean for it to come out that way, but I mean what I said. Quit worrying about the crack."

Anna quickly strolled over to him. "Wadsworth, you should listen to Varian. Come look and see what he's talking about."

"I'm not going to say it again," Wadsworth said firmly. "Leave the crack alone. There's nothing to be worried about."

"Wadsworth, I think you should listen to them," Ernest said, gesturing at the wall. "There's something behind this crack."

Wadsworth gave Ernest a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Ernest, I'm sure that everything is alright. Once we get it fixed, you'll see that there was nothing to worry about." He turned to Anna and Varian with a stern frown. "I appreciate your concern, but I don't want you obsessing over it. Maybe you should focus on finding this key letter instead. That will keep your mind off the crack."

"Wadsworth, we—"

"Apples!" a man's voice, probably a merchant, called just outside. "Fresh apples!"

Without warning, Ruddiger leaped out of Varian's satchel and darted towards an opened window. Varian and Anna raced towards the door, calling Ruddiger's name just as a woman's scream was heard. Anna and Varian left the inn and spotted Madame G. on the ground with Ruddiger on her chest, nervously smiling at her.

"Get this beast off of me!" Madame G. demanded.

Varian gently lifted Ruddiger off her. "Oh, I'm sorry. Ruddiger didn't mean it. Right, buddy? You didn't mean to knock over this nice lady, right?"

Anna held out her hand towards Madame G. and she took it. After Anna pulled her up, Madame G. brushed the dirt off her dress and made sure that her hair was in place. "I'm surprised to see you here, Madame G. We didn't expect you."

"Nor did I." Madame G. stood up straight. "Life's full of surprises, isn't it? Now, what are you two dearies doing? Did Lord Cyrus not help you with Vlad's visit?"

"Actually, he did and that's why we're here," Anna said before she explained to her what they were doing. "And we're going to meet up with Scott soon."

"Scott's here?" Madame G. exclaimed. "You saw him?"

"Not exactly, but he sent us this." Varian showed Scott's letter to her. "We're meeting him at the Swordfish Paradise at four."

"Hey, maybe you can come with us," Anna suggested. "We're helping each other out, you know Scott, and we're acquainted with him. Your apprentices can come too."

A carriage rode past them as Madame G. ruffled her curls. "I would love to, sweetie, but unfortunately, I'm booked for the rest of the afternoon and I have no clue where my apprentices went. I appreciate the kind invite though, Your Highness."

"No problem. And you can just call me Anna. I don't mind."

"As you wish, Anna." Madame G. smiled at her reflection in a nearby window before she turned to Anna and Varian. "I should get going. I don't want to be far behind on my schedule. Tell Scott that I would like to see him."

After Anna and Varian nodded, they watched Madame G. stroll forward on the road until she spotted a stall selling the most glamorous perfumes and looked at them. The door opened and Ernest went over to them.

"I'm sorry about that," he offered sincerely. "I have no idea why my son-in-law was acting that way. It isn't like him.

"I'm sorry, what isn't like Wadsworth?" Eugene asked, right when he approached them. Varian, Anna, and Ernest explained to him what happened in the inn. "What a surprise! I bet he's hiding something!"

"Eugene!" Anna hissed. "I'm sure he's just worried."

"Yeah, he's worried that he'll get caught!" Eugene commented. "Tell me, Anna, who acts like that when they're not hiding anything? Tell me one person who does that!"

Ernest stepped forward towards him. "Son, I've known Wadsworth ever since Lizabeth met him. He's a good man. He would never harm anyone. I confess he has been acting strange lately. My daughter too. Still, it isn't like them to be hiding something."

Varian rubbed his chin. "There's definitely something behind that crack. We've got to find out what it is. If we could get a knife. . ."

"Well, I doubt Wadsworth is going to let us break through the wall," Anna said, watching Madame G. be given a free sample of perfume. "Especially with how he acted back there." The vendor commented on Madame G.'s beauty and she flashed a flirtatious smile, winking at him. "Do you think that we could sneak in at night?"

"I wouldn't," Ernest said. Madame G. picked a bottle of perfume and dropped gold pieces into the vendor's palm. After they wished each other a good day, Madame G. disappeared around the corner. "You could get caught and arrested. It's not worth it. Plus, Wadsworth would probably have you banned from—"

"Eugene?" Varian cut in. Anna and Ernest turned to Eugene who was staring in the same direction Madame G had been. His eyes were squinted and his eyebrows were lowered. "You okay?"

"I thought I saw. . ." Eugene abruptly shook his head. "Nah, it's nothing. My mind must be playing tricks on me."

Anna glanced in the direction where he was looking in. What did he think he saw? Someone he knew? Was someone up to something?

Ernest glanced down at his watch. "I would head to the Swordfish Paradise now. Your friends and Scott might be waiting there."

"What are we going to do about the crack?" Varian asked.

"I think our best bet would be to come back when no one's at the inn," Ernest said. He rubbed his chin. "Hmmm. . .I'll see if I can find out when they won't be here. I'll let you know right away."

After Ernest headed inside, Varian, Eugene, Anna, and Ruddiger left. Anna was tempted to ask Eugene what he thought he saw but never got her words out.

. . . . .

Anna, Eugene, Varian, and Ruddiger turned the corner just in time to see Kristoff and Quirin dismounting from Maximus and Sven in front of a small wooden building. As they came closer, Anna saw that there was a sign hanging from the building that said 'SWORDFISH'S PARADISE' with a drawing of a ship underneath the words. However, there was a sign that said that animals were forbidden, therefore Maximus, Sven, and Ruddiger had to wait outside.

When they stepped inside, Anna saw that the walls were decorated with trophies and paintings. Though she'd been to a few taverns before, she thought that this was one of the best-decorated places she'd ever seen.

"Welcome," an affable voice said. Anna glanced over to see that the owner was coming over to them with an amiable smile. "How many?"

"Six," Kristoff answered. "One will be meeting us here soon."

The owner led the group to a rounded table next to a window. Anna scooted over to the window with Varian and Kristoff coming after her while Quirin and Eugene sat across from them, leaving an empty seat at the end. Above the window was a small painting of a duck and her ducklings, reminding her of Arendelle. Rapunzel would love this painting. She reached out to touch it, but the owner politely asked her not to.

The owner asked, "Is anyone else joining your party other than the one?"

"No, it's just us," Eugene answered.

"Okay, good." The owner nodded, passing out menus. "Thanks for letting us know the full size of your party." His eyes shot over to another table in annoyance. "Patrons that don't have a hard time fitting."

The group followed his gaze. There were about thirteen large, muscular men seated around a small table that was meant for six people. The chairs were scrunched together and the men were crowded, holding their drinks and plates.

As soon as the owner left, Quirin asked, "Did you find anything?"

Anna, Eugene, and Varian shook their heads. "Did you?"

"Not the key letter," Kristoff began, "but we still might be getting close. We were at the library, the one where you got that book, Anna, and we asked the librarian if he knew anything about Sakda. He didn't, but he knows someone who does. Her name's Jillian."

Anna's eyes widened. "Jillian! I know who that is! She's Madame G.'s friend! She works at the Mirror Shop!"

After taking a quick peek out the window, Varian turned his gaze towards Anna. "You met her?"

"No, but I saw her once," Anna answered, laying her hands on the menu. "So, what does she know about Sakda?"

"He left behind a mirror," Quirin answered. The owner berated someone for spilling their drink. "Jillian won it at an auction last fall and has displayed it in her mirror shop ever since. Maybe Sakda left something behind on it?"

"Looks like we know where to go next. We just have to wait for Scott."

After they gave the owner their orders, they waited for Scott to show up. Whenever the door opened, they would expect it to be Scott only to see someone else. It was a matter of time before their food arrived, but still no sign of Scott.

"Are you sure your friend will be arriving soon?" the owner asked, putting down the meals in front of them.

Anna glanced over her shoulder. "Any minute now."

The owner was just about to leave when a gust of wind came through a window. "Walter, I told you not to open that window!"

Walter shut the window by him. "I didn't do it!"

"Oh really? It sure looks like it."

The owner shook his head, rolling his eyes before he went to greet a new group. Kristoff leaned in towards Anna and said, "I hate to break it to you, Anna, but it doesn't look like Scott will show up. We've been here for thirty minutes and we still haven't seen him."

"He probably set us up," Eugene muttered.

"Be patient," Quirin said before he slipped his drink. "He might be running a bit late."

"Yeah, maybe he got lost somewhere," Anna suggested. She nearly spilled her drink on Varian's food but caught it in time.

Eugene turned to her in annoyance. "He can fly, Anna! How can you get lost flying?"

"You can—"

Varian quickly shushed them and pointed towards the bar. "Guys! Look!"

They turned to where a man placed his drink on the bar. Not even a second later, the drink sped toward the edge of the bar and drove right toward the ground. The drink smashed into tiny pieces and beer spread out on the floor.

"Really?! You broke another glass?" the owner scolded. "You can forget about a refill, mister!"

The man jumped from his seat and towards the owner. "Sir, it wasn't me! My glass just fell off!"

"Sure, it did," the owner scoffed. "Now, I can tell you've had too much. Perhaps it's time for you to go home. I'll have a carriage come and pick you up."

Varian tapped on Anna's shoulder and pointed toward the spilled beer. She held her breath when footprints tracked through the puddle of beer. "Scott. He's here."

Suddenly, two large men rose from their seats and darted toward each other with appalling curses. The owner ordered them to take it outside, but they ignored him. The men pulled their arms back and aimed punches toward each other. However, their fists didn't connect and instead paused in midair. They tried to pull their arms closer but failed, like something was holding them back.

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk." Scott came into view between the men with his hands holding their fists back. The men raised their eyebrows at him. "Don't you gentlemen know that it's impolite to fight?" He released their fists and backed away. "It's not worth losing your teeth over something petty."

"It's Scott!" Anna exclaimed.

"About time," Eugene and Kristoff commented.

Scott's eyes shot toward the spilled drink. "Oh, dear. How clumsy of me. I was the one who spilled his drink, sir. I'll pay for it." Scott delved into his pocket for a coin and tossed it in the air. The owner caught it before it could hit the ground. "However, I do agree that you should send him home. He's looking under the weather. And I was the one who opened the window, sir. My apologies." He glanced around the building. "My, what a splendid place! I can tell that you have impeccable taste, sir. I'd never seen a tavern so clean and well decorated."

The owner stood there in disbelief before he said, "Thank you kindly. That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said about my tavern. Is there anything that you need? Would you like a table?"

Scott twiddled his finger. "I am looking for a fine young lady and her friends, have you seen them? I'd told them to meet me here."

Anna rose from her seat and waved her hand. "We're over here, Scott."

Scott spun around and a smile formed as he clasped his hands. "Ah, Princess Anna. I'm glad that you all made it." He took a seat next to Quirin. "And I see that you've made new friends."

As Anna introduced Quirin and Varian to Scott, the owner bent down toward Scott. "Would you like a menu, sir?"

"I am not hungry, but I appreciate it." Scott smiled, folding his hands on the table.

"Would you like anything to drink at least?"

"Just one glass of water." Scott flipped a large coin and the owner caught it. "I don't condone drinking and flying."

The owner nodded and went in another direction. "You figured out the hint that I gave you back in Belliville I hope?"

"Yes, Scott," Anna answered. "And we got that book that you asked for."

"Ah, perfect! I knew that you could do it!" Scott exclaimed. The owner sat his glass right next to him. "So, did you get the map?"

Anna looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before she leaned in towards him, nodding. "We were involved in an incident in Pazatrille over it. So we shouldn't talk about it in public."

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Scott shrugged. He raised his arm into the air. "Let me take care of that."

After Scott moved his arm down in a zig-zag motion, everyone except for their group suddenly froze. Kristoff rose from his seat and went over to the owner. He waved in front of him a few times, but nothing happened.

"He's like a statue." Kristoff looked to the others nearby. "All of them."

"Hey, what did you do?" Eugene asked. "Did you—"

"I just performed a counter freeze," Scott explained. "They are frozen in time, unable to see nor hear anything for as long as I like. I can freeze certain people as I please or everyone all at once.

Kristoff went back to their table. "Is anyone outside frozen?"

"Only the ones near the area outside, just to be safe. I have to be careful, though, because if I don't know who's there, they won't be frozen. My mistress taught me that when I was one of her apprentices."

"Madame G.?" Quirin asked.

After a slow blink, Scott answered, "Yes. How did you know?"

"Some of us met her," Varian said. "She's here in Bronzadelle. She said that she wants to see you."

"I'll go to her," Scott declared. He took a tiny sip. "But first, show me the map. You have it with you, don't you?"

Anna sat the map in front of him. Scott looked down at it in amazement.

"There it is! I can't believe you got it!" Scott then frowned. "There wasn't a key with it, was there?" Scott sighed. "We're going to have to find the key."

"Oh, that won't be necessary." Varian grinned, pulling out a pipette of keyuiam from his belt. "With the help of alchemy, we can get this open. Uh, you might want to stand back."

Quirin rose from his seat. "I would listen to him."

They all left the table and stepped away from the map. After Varian used his keyuiam and the images played, they went back to their seats. Scott was the last to take his seat, for he was so stunned and amazed by Varian's alchemy and the map's effects.

"You are a genius!" Scott exclaimed. He wrapped his arm around Varian's shoulder and pulled him closer. "You should be proud that your magic came in handy."

"Uh, actually I said that it was alchemy," Varian corrected. "I don't work with magic. I'm more into science."

"I tend to disagree, but I won't argue with you on the subject." Scott released the boy and glanced down at the map. After Varian and Anna told him about what they'd learned from the book and Madame G., Scott pressed his fingers on the map. "So, Lord Demantius, Zhan Tiri, and Vlad Moonstormer really were involved in this? My brother will be so thrilled when I tell him."

"How is he anyway?" Anna asked. She glanced down at her meal. She didn't care for it. "Your brother."

"He's doing alright," Scott answered. He peered down at the translation on the map. "Have any of you had this translated?"

"Varian did," Quirin said, as Varian laid out a parchment with the translation. "He has most of it translated?"

Scott nearly spat his drink out. "Most of it?"

Varian pointed to Vlad's cipher and explained to him what they'd learned. "We just need the key letter and then I'll have this translated. We're heading to the mirror shop afterward because a mirror from Sakda's is there."

Scott patted Varian on the shoulder. "Well done. And we're going there next, right?"

"Yes, we'll go there after we finish our dinner," Kristoff answered.

"Wonderful!" Scott said. "I knew that you could do it."

Anna nodded. "We're one step closer to helping your brother."

After Varian put the map away, Scott moved his arm in a zig-zag motion like before, except this time it was reversed and everyone went back to their business like nothing happened.

. . . . .

After they finished their meals, Scott led Anna and her group through the city. Anna noticed that more decoctions were being put up, and more people were signing up for events.

"I wonder if Lance would bring Keira and Catalina here?" Eugene wondered as they passed two people painting a door. "He talked about the eclipse to the girls a lot."

Varian turned to Eugene. "How are they doing anyway? Are they still in Corona?"

"They're doing great. Lance has started teaching the girls how to cook," Eugene answered. "They went on a trip to Pincosta. Lance wanted to show Keira and Catalina their world-famous pecan pie."

"That's great. When did they leave?"

"They left the day before Rapunzel, Max, Pascal, and I left for Arendelle."

Scott stood proudly. "Well, there it is."

In front of them stood a tall, somewhat small blue, stone building with long blue, red, and green beads hanging in the opened doorway and windows. Above the doorway was a sign that said 'MIRROR SHOP'.

A young woman came through the beads, carrying a small box. She carefully stepped down the steps and strolled past Anna and her group, muttering something about getting home before she broke her mirror.

"Have you ever been here before, Varian?" Quirin asked.

Varian shook his head as they went up the steps. "I've gone past it a couple of times."

"Lance got kicked out of there before we were pardoned," Eugene said. "He tried to steal one of the hand mirrors. I couldn't blame him. This place has really nice mirrors."

"Let me guess," Kristoff chuckled. "You couldn't stop looking at your reflection?"

As Eugene and Kristoff continued their conversation, Anna slowly stepped through the doorway, feeling the beads brush over her, and gaping at countless reflections around her. Mirrors of various sizes and colors were placed all over the wall and scattered around the floor. As Anna's group followed behind her, she tilted her head at a skinny mirror. I look like a stick. Anna stuck her tongue out and giggled. Behind her, she could see Eugene admiring his looks in front of a wall mirror.

"I bet Medusa would love this place," Kristoff commented. "She'd look at herself all day."

Sven stood up straight, doing one of Madame G.'s poses. "I'm Madame G.," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven, bringing laughter to Anna and Varian. "All I care about is my beauty."

"Wow, this Madame G. sounds like something," Eugene laughed. "Looking forward to meeting her. At least it's not Calliope."

"Ah, the keeper of the spire?" Scott asked. "I met her three years ago. She kept correcting me on how I said spire. I nearly lost my patience a few times."

Varian raised his eyebrow. "Wait, who's Calliope?"

While Eugene told Varian and Kristoff about Calliope, Quirin went over toward Anna. "Keep an eye out for Jillian. She should be here somewhere."

"Did the librarian tell you what time she—"

"Careful!" a voice shouted.

Anna and Quirin spun around in time to see Jillian attempting to catch a tall mirror before it hit the ground. However, the mirror paused in midair and Scott slowly motioned his hand to the mirror's previous place. The mirror gently sat on the wall next to a painting of Bronzadelle underneath the setting sun.

"Oh, I do apologize, madame." Scott smiled, clasping his hands. Jillian and Maximus shot him a frown. "I tend to be a bit clumsy at times, but luckily I saved myself several years of bad luck."

Jillian crossed her bejeweled arms. "I can see that. If not, your bad luck would've started with paying for the damage, and I can assure you that it wouldn't have been cheap."

Eugene burst into sarcastic laughter, shaking his head. "Oh, come on! You don't really believe in that damn superstition stuff, do you? That's nonsense! You're both being ridiculous!"

"I was only trying to lighten the situation with a joke." Scott frowned. "And she was trying to warn me to be more cautious. Unless—are you superstitious?"

"Of course not," Jillian scoffed. "Unlike a lot of folks around here."

"That's why I asked."

Anna and Kristoff shot each other a perplexed expression while Maximus shook his head and Sven rolled his eyes. Varian was about to comment on it when Quirin stopped him.

"Anyway, how may I help you?" Jillian asked, adjusting a mirror nearby. "Was there anything that you had in mind?"

"We heard that you'd won Chief Sakda's mirror from an auction," Quirin began. "We were told that you kept it here for display."

Jillian smirked, pondering over her nails. "You got that right. It was the first time that I'd ever won something from an auction. The day before the auction, my boss told me that he wanted to have a mirror that belonged to a historical person displayed here. I heard of the auction so I traveled to Lacedrillelle and saw the mirror there. My bidding topped five other women for it and I won it. My boss was so impressed that he gave me a raise and a bonus." She held out her hands, showing off her enormous shiny ruby rings. "I was finally able to get these from Gimmerjoy's Treasures. They cost a fortune."

"Could you show the mirror to us?" Anna asked. Light glinted off the rings as Jillian lowered her hands. "It's very important that we see it. After all, it's not every day you see a princess come in here."

After a moment of silence, Jillian shrugged. "I don't see why not. Follow me."

They saw countless more mirrors as Jillian led them further through the shop. Anna was amazed by the unique designs and extremely high quality that they all had. She'd never seen anything like it.

"They're all beautiful. I've never seen so many mirrors before. Well, I have seen mirrors before and lots of mirrors, but never this many in the same place."

"You think this is a lot, Princess?" Jillian asked. "You would think differently if you were ever stuck in a mirror house, especially if you have no patience." She turned round the corner. "There it is."

Anna's eyes widened when she saw that in the middle of two circular wall mirrors was a brown shelf where a small green case laid. Jillian gently handed the case to Anna. When Anna slowly opened the case, she saw that there was a hand mirror tucked inside. She gently picked it up, looking down at her reflection. For as old as it was, it looked good. Anna gently turned it to the back where it had the design of a dragon surrounded by the five symbols of Kumandra.

"It's beautiful," Anna whispered. She gently placed the mirror back in the case and closed it as she turned to Jillian. "Thank you. And don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens to it. We'll return it to you first thing in the morning."

Jillian put her hands on the case and gently but firmly took it out of Anna's hands. "Why would I lend this to you, your highness?"

Anna batted her eyelashes in bewilderment. "Wait, what? You said that we could look at it."

"You asked if I could show it to you and I did." Jillian sat the case back on the shelf. "You never said anything about taking it home."

"Alright, can we borrow it?" Anna asked politely. "As I said, we'll bring it back to you tomorrow."

"No. You have no idea how expensive this was. I was this close to losing it in the bidding, I'm not going to give it away now."

"If you want, we could bring it back to you tonight once we're finished with it."

"Do you see that clock?" Jillian pointed forward. The group turned towards a small clock with designs of a birds hanging on the wall. The pendulum swung back and forth, sending a ticking sound through the room. When the big and little hands reached the six, a small hole opened and a cuckoo bird came out. After it made its hollow call, the bird went back into the hole. "We're closed now. I'll show you all out."

"Miss, you don't understand. We need that mirror," Quirin said.

"We'll be careful with it," Varian assured. "We promise."

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh, come on!" Eugene said. "What harm would it be to let us have it?"

"Who's the owner?" Kristoff asked. "We'll have a word with him."

"Go ahead, but he won't let you," Jillian said idly. "He was the one who decided that the mirror stays here. I even asked if I could borrow it once and he wouldn't let me."

Anna stepped closer. "Please, just let us borrow it. Nothing will happen to it."

Jillian shook her head. "Don't ask me again. Now, for the last time, follow me out the door. We're closing."

Anna sighed, knowing that she wasn't going to change her mind. She shot an apologetic glance to Scott before she and her group followed Jillian through the shop again. When they reached the door, Anna glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened when Eugene was just catching up to them. Before she could speak, Eugene placed his finger in front of his lips.

Jillian turned towards Anna and her group, locking the door behind her. "Thank you for coming. If you wish to purchase a mirror tomorrow, the shop opens at ten o'clock."

Eugene's mouth formed a large smile, much to the surprise of the group. "That'll be good to know. Thank you so much. I'm sure we'll be back. I would love a new mirror to practice my smolder." He adjusted his satchel on his shoulder. "But right now, we have to get back to our cottage. We could use the rest."

As Jillian turned in another direction, Eugene quickly gestured for Anna and their group to follow him back to the cottage.

. . . . .

Scott complimented the cottage as Varian shut the door behind them. Anna took a peek outside the window, where the setting sun lit the clouds over the city.

"We're sorry, Scott," Anna said, her eyes dimming. "I wish she would have lent us the mirror."

"So now what?" Kristoff asked.

The group had no time to answer before Eugene sprinted into the hallway. "Guys, get to the living room."

"What's wrong with you?" Kristoff asked, furrowing his brows. "You've been acting funny since we left the shop."

"I'll show you, just get in the living room!"

Without a word, everyone did what they were told. Eugene looked out several windows as everyone sat down. When he was finished, he laid his satchel down on the table. He reached into it and everyone gasped as he held out the mirror case to them.

"What?! Why would you do that?!" Anna gasped. "Do you know how much trouble we could get into?"

"She didn't give us much of a choice, now did she?" Eugene commented. Maximus whinnied at him, shaking his head. "I don't like it either, Max, but what else could we do? We have to solve the cipher and she won't hand it over to us."

"Eugene, your pardon could be revoked for this!" Varian said. Sven frowned. "Heck, we all could get arrested!"

"I'm sorry, goggles, but this is a risk that we have to take."

Kristoff sighed, shaking his head. "Oh, great. We'll all get locked up. I'm looking forward to Jillian finding the mirror missing and sending the guards here."

"I'll bring it back tonight after we finish looking at it. It'll be back before anyone even knows it's gone."

"Do you know if you can even get back in there?" Quirin asked. "The shop is locked."

"I can pick the lock. I'm a pro at it."

Anna crossed her arms. "I still think this is a big mistake."

"No, it's perfect," Scott said. This alarmed everyone except for Eugene. "You did the right thing, Eugene."

"I'm sorry, why would you say that?" Kristoff asked. Ruddiger tried to get into Varian's satchel in hopes of more apples, but Varian handed one to both him and Maximus in hopes of preventing them from fighting. "Are you not aware that Eugene was wanted here?"

Scott bent down to him. "Sometimes, you have to take risks to find the truth, even if it could get you in trouble. From the look in her eyes, I could tell that Jillian wouldn't give us the mirror regardless. If it wasn't displayed in that shop, she would have it for herself. Without that mirror, we would be at a dead end."

Varian sighed, running his gloved fingers through his shaggy hair. "I hate to say this, but I agree with Scott and Eugene. You'd heard what Madame G. said: Vlad never wrote anything down. This is all we have."

Anna understood where Scott, Eugene, and now even Varian were coming from, but still she felt like they could've handled this differently. "Alright. I don't think we have much of a choice now."

Quirin sighed. "That's right, Anna. It's done. Eugene, are you sure that you can get that back in the shop?"

"Absolutely." Eugene nodded. "And if by some chance, I get caught, I'll take the blame."

"Fine." Kristoff rose from his seat. "Let's just look in the mirror and see what we can find. The quicker we get this done the better."

Anna followed him, Quirin, Maximus, and Sven to the mirror case. "What should we be looking for?"

"I would look in the mirror case," Varian said, coming back with a quill and some parchment. "He might've left behind something."

Anna slowly lifted the lid and looked down at her reflection again. She gently handed the mirror to Scott and looked inside the lid while Quirin, Eugene, and Kristoff checked inside the mirror case. She examined the lid a few times before she sighed. "I don't see anything. What about you?"

Kristoff, Eugene, and Quirin shook their heads. "Nothing."

"I don't believe it," Varian said. "I can't see Sakda leaving something behind with no clue. We've got to be missing something."

"We better have," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven. Scott shot him a bewildered look. "Otherwise, Eugene would've stolen the mirror for nothing."

Scott gently sat the mirror on the table, garnering a look from Eugene. "I don't want to risk bad luck by continuing to handle it."

"Breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck," Anna muttered. Her eyes widened in realization when she could hear Lord Cyrus' words in her head.

"What do you know about his visit?"

"All I heard was that he asked this strange question. It was "Would you risk bad luck to find the truth?""

Of course, she should've known. "Guys, wait. Would you risk bad luck to find the truth?"

Kristoff furrowed his brows, looking at the mirror. "Wait a minute."

Eugene had the same expression. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" After Kristoff nodded, Eugene said, "Stand back everyone."

Without warning, Eugene and Kristoff slammed the mirror on the table. Everyone could hear the smashing sound of the mirror breaking into a million pieces. As Kristoff and Eugene lifted the mirror, the glass shards fell onto the table.

"Guys, look!" Eugene exclaimed. He and Kristoff turned the mirror to them. "Sakda left behind something after all."

When Anna and the rest of her group looked at the inside of the mirror, they either dropped their jaws or gasped. There were large written letters where the glass used to be.

3:00 pm: V

"Sakda wasn't asking a question, he was trying to give a hint," Kristoff said. "He used the Bronzadellian's superstition to cover up his tracks."

"He must've sent the mirror here for anyone who would try to find this object," Quirin speculated. "He knew that someone would eventually look for it."

"Oh, Sakda, you're a genius!" Varian exclaimed. "Guys! It's V!"

Without another word, Varian raced over to the table and wrote the entire alphabet on the top of the parchment. Everyone else hovered over him until he told them not to. After he underlined the "v", he wrote an "a" underneath it and wrote the rest of the alphabet under the letters. Once he was done, he wrote the cipher from the map in the middle of the parchment. As he laid his finger on the first y in the cipher, he strolled through the second alphabet until he reached the letter. He then went back to the cipher and wrote a t above the y. He repeated this method until he was finally finished.

As Varian wrote the last letter, he laughed in excitement. "Guys! We got it!" He pointed at the plain text right above the cipher. "Look!"

The Violet Menagerie.

Anna and her group cheered and hugged each other. They had solved the cipher against all odds. Anna couldn't be more proud of her team, with Varian and his decoding skills, and Kristoff and Eugene with their cleverness.

However, the only one in the room that didn't join in their celebration was Scott. Instead, he stood there with a smile, nodding his head in approval. "Not bad. I doubt Baron Rupert would even come up with something like this. Well done."

Anna placed the parchment in her satchel. "Okay, guys. It looks like we know where our next stop is." Maximus neighed and pointed at the mirror. "Oh, yeah. That. We'll have to return it."

"Not to mention that Kristoff and Eugene broke it," Kristoff said, doing his voice for Sven. "We're going to have to fix it too."

Scott scoffed. "Ah, that should be no problem." He waved his hand and restored all the mirror pieces to where they belonged just like he'd done with the dishware and glassware at Rupert's dinner party. The mirror looked like nothing happened to it. "See? Nothing to fret over. If you want, I can return this to the shop myself."

"Good idea," Anna said. "Kristoff, Eugene, would you be alright with going with him as lookouts?"

Kristoff and Eugene exchanged glances and shrugged. "Fine with us," Eugene said.

"What about the Menagerie?" Varian asked. "Does anyone even know if it's still open?"

"The rest of us will go to the Menagerie," Quirin declared. "If it's open, we'll go inside. If not, we'll get hours and come back whenever it opens. We'll meet you back here. Be careful."

They were just about to leave when Ruddiger volunteered to stay behind to watch the map, which Eugene had just hid in another room. After Varian agreed, the group split off towards their destinations.

. . . . .

Lamp posts turned on as Anna, Quirin, Varian, and Maximus strolled further down the street. There were fewer people out; the majority of them had either turned in for the night or gone to a tavern or pub. Once Anna saw a mother yelling at her sons for trying to sneak out. Everything was starting to close for the night. There were some guards on patrol nearby, staying alert for anything that might happen.

Anna leaned in towards Quirin and whispered, "Do you think they'll be able to put the mirror back?"

"Let's hope," Quirin answered. They watched a barber lock a door behind him and leave. "As long as nothing goes askew."

"Oh, they should be fine, Anna," Varian commented. They turned a corner in time to see three men enter a tavern, laughing about something. "It won't take them long. They'll be in and out before you know it." A vendor placed a 'closed' sign on a stall for apples. "Good thing you guys bought a lot of apples, Dad. We won't have to worry about Max and Ruddiger fighting over them."

"Are you sure it's a good idea for Ruiddger to stay behind with the map, Varian?"

"I think he can do it. I'm not worried about him."

As Varian and Quirin continued their conversation, the street they were on became familiar to Annar. They should be getting close to the Violet Menagerie now. Anna wondered what could be inside this menagerie that was so important. Was it an animal? Something else?

Maximus's neigh cut off her thoughts as well as Quirin and Varian's conversation, giving them pause. Before they could ask what he'd seen, they realized that they didn't need to because they saw a large sign on the door.

'CLOSED'.

As Anna spotted the sign on the door, Varian strolled up to it. "What does it say?" she asked.

"The Violet Menagerie is opened from nine am to four pm during regular hours," Varian answered.

Maximus pointed Quirin towards Archie who was just hanging up a flier. "Excuse me? Do you know where the owner of this place is?"

"Oh, Paulo Lorenzini's out of town," Archie answered. "He left last night to go to Cradleford for a funeral."

"Do you know when he'll be back?"

Archie shook his head. "I don't, but I know someone who might. After you left with Lord Graham, Wadsworth had just finished writing down places for me to hang up the fliers when Mr. Lorenzini came in. I heard them talking to when I left. If I were you, I would go ask Wadsworth."

Anna turned to Maximus. "Max, you go to Eugene, Kristoff, Scott, and Sven and tell them to meet us there."

Maximus neighed and trotted towards the direction of the Mirror Shop. After Quirin gave Archie his thanks, he, Anna, and Varian made their way toward the inn while Archie went to a new place to hang up his flier.

. . . . .

As they entered the inn, Anna was surprised to see that some of the citizens were staring at a commotion nearby. She wondered what that was until she heard the voices of Madame G. and Garret complaining to someone about something.

"Calm down," Lizabeth said calmly. "Wadsworth will be out shortly."

Quirin, Anna, and Varian turned to see that towards the office, Lizabeth was addressing Madame G. and Garret, trying to calm them down. They went towards them.

Madame G. was the first to notice them. "Ah, Anna. What brings you here, little dove?"

"We're looking for Wadsworth," Anna answered. The office door was closed. He must be in here with someone. Madame G. and Garret shot each other an intense glare. Anna had no idea what happened, but she wanted to keep the peace between them. "But you two can see him first."

Garret was just about to open his mouth when Madame G. did first. "Thank you, dearie. That's very generous of you." She pinched Anna's cheek. "It's always rewarding when someone helps out, isn't it? Now, did Scott show up?"

"Yes." Anna nodded, rubbing her cheek. "He's with the rest of my group. They should be here shortly."

"Ah, marvelous!" Madame G. clasped her hands together. "You figured out the cipher I hope?"

"That's why we need to see Wadsworth," Quirin answered.

Madame G. finally noticed Quirin. "I don't think I've seen you before. What is your name?"

"Oh, this is my father, Quirin," Varian said. "Dad, this is Madame G."

The office door opened and Wadsworth left the room with an older man. After he wished the older man a good day, he sighed and went over to them.

"Wadsworth, they've been arguing since they got here," Lizabeth said. "You have to take care of this."

Wadsworth rubbed his forehead. "I will, Lizzie. Can you show Mr. Peterson to his room?"

Lizabeth nodded and ushered Mr. Peterson upstairs towards a suitcase and five large boxes. When they were out of sight, the complaints of Madame G. and Garret quickly intermingled with each other causing Wadsworth to sigh again. Varian glanced over his shoulder at the crack and it made Anna do the same. They were just about to examine it again when Quirin shook his head at them.

"Alright!" Wadsworth yelled, startling everyone nearby. "Sorry. Now, what are you two quarreling about?"

"Wadsworth, she—"

"Oh, Wadsworth, I do apologize for this disturbance," Madame G. interrupted, shoving Garret out of the way. "I was just strolling in the town when I came across his little boutique. I was looking at the dresses when a rather handsome lawyer started a conversation with me. When I told him about this lovely cottage that you lent me, this scoundrel demanded that I lend my cottage over to him."

"Oh, God," Wadsworth sighed. "I should've known."

"Wadsworth" Garret yelled. "You knew that that cottage was mine and you gave it to her!"

"I told you, I forgot," Wadsworth said. "Now, Garret, I am sorry about your cottage, but I am not going to make her hand over her key to you."

Madame G. smirked at Garret. "See? I told you, dearie. Now quit acting like I'm the bad guy and run along now."

"Oh, you did nothing wrong?" Garret fumed. "You just threatened to sue me and my wife! Wadsworth, she—"

"That was only because he wouldn't stop pestering me about the cottage," Madame G. interrupted. "That was before I came—"

Garret's face turned red. "Hey lady, do me a favor. Shut up! I'm talking here! Wadsworth—"

Madame G.'s eyes grew big as she fisted her hips. "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

"Did you not hear me, grandma?"

"What?!" Madame G. growled. Her lips tightened as she gave him a hostile glare. Anna and Varian stepped back, hoping that they wouldn't get on her bad side. Maybe it was best if they came back later. "Oh, you're going to be sorry about this." Her fingers reached for his cravat, but instead, her shoulders rolled back. "One day, when we're alone together."

"Is that necessary, miss?" Wadsworth asked.

"Oh, come on, Wadsworth!" a man nearby laughed before he belched. Anna saw that it was the same man who had been sent home from the Swordfish Paradise. "She's just trying to get him to come home with her."

Madame G. turned to him with a look of disgust. "You must be joking. I would have to be out of my mind to want to take him home."

"Thank God, because I'm married," Garret muttered.

"Get up to your room and get to bed," Wadsworth ordered, pointing at the stairs. "You need to sober up." Another man nearby went over to the drunk man and ushered him towards the stairs. "And as for you two, I don't appreciate you coming in here and starting a war in front of my other tenants. Garret, this whole cottage thing has got to stop and miss, threatening him was uncalled for. If you two don't sort this out, I will revoke both of your contracts and you'll have to go somewhere else."

Madame G. delved into her pocket. "You know, that's a good idea, Wadsworth. We'll solve this right now. Do you mind if we go into your office for a tiny bit?"

"Uh. . .sure."

"Ah, wonderful!" Madame G. wrapped her arm around Garret and ushered him towards the office. "Now, dearie, I believe that we got off to a bad start. I think we should. . ."

As soon as she pulled her locket out of her pocket, Madame G. shut the door behind her. Wadsworth rubbed his temples, sighing. Anna looked at the office door, hoping that they could agree on something.

"I should've stepped in."

"It's the best that you didn't, Anna," Quirin said, narrowing his eyes at the office door.

The door opening caused Anna, Quirin, Varian, and Wadsworth to turn in time to see Kristoff, Eugene, and Scott coming in. Anna was tempted to ask them about the mirror but knew that this wouldn't be the best place to ask. However, Scott waved his arm and, except for Anna's group, everyone around him became subject to his counter freeze.

"Did you get the mirror back?" Varian asked.

Eugene nodded. "We almost got caught, though."

"What do you mean?" Anna asked.

"After Eugene got inside the shop," Kristoff began, "he accidentally knocked something inside and it alerted two guards. If Scott hadn't distracted them, we would've been caught."

"Gosh," Anna commented. "Thank goodness, you didn't get caught. Did anyone else see you?"

After Kristoff looked out the window, he said, "I saw Phillips and Lilly at one point when Eugene was inside, but I don't think they knew what was going on."

Scott waved his hand in the opposite direction and everyone snapped out of his counter freeze. Anna thought that she heard Maximus and Sven neigh and bray about something.

"Ah, I see that you found your friend." Wadsworth smiled. "That must be why you're here. Would you like me to rent him a room or is he staying at your cottage?"

"That is very kind of you, but I would have to reject those offers," Scott answered. "No offense. This is a nice place and her cottage is lovely, but I already found my own place to stay."

"Did you guys ask him about Lorenzini yet?" Eugene asked.

Maximus must've told them what happened at the Violet Menagerie. "We're getting there," Anna said. "Hey, Wadsworth, we're looking for Paulo Lorenzini. We have to get into the Violet Menagerie, but it's closed."

"We ran into Archie and he told us that you spoke with him before he left," Quirin began, "do you know when he'll be back?"

"Yes, I did speak with him," Wadsworth confirmed. "He'll be in Cradleford for three weeks. Then he'll open the Violet Menagerie on the Autuliar Eclipse."

Kristoff and Eugene sighed, shaking their heads. As frustrated as Anna was that they would have to wait that long, she still felt sympathy for Lorenzini since he had left for a funeral.

"Then we'll wait until Lorenzini gets back," Varian declared. "Would you be okay with that, Scott?"

"I understand. I'm sure it'll be alright."

A large thud caused them to look at the stairs where Mr. Peterson was struggling to carry one of many boxes. Wadsworth stepped forward and asked, "Are you alright, Mr. Peterson?"

Mr. Peterson nodded, almost losing his grip on the box. "I'll be fine. I can get these up on my own."

Anna couldn't help but gape at the boxes. Those things looked heavy! "How did you get all of these here in the first place?"

"My friend and his brothers helped me," Mr. Peterson answered. "They were supposed to help me take them upstairs, but while I was waiting for Mr. Partridge, my friend's sister-in-law came in and said that there was a small family emergency, so they had to leave. I told them that they could go and I could bring these boxes up on my own."

"I'll help you," Kristoff declared, coming over to him.

Eugene followed him. "Me too."

"Varian and I will help too," Quirin said.

"Are you sure?" Mr. Peterson asked. "You don't have to."

"We know, but we want to." Varian smiled.

Wadsworth nodded. "That'd be great. I appreciate it."

After Kristoff and Eugene grabbed a box, they followed Mr. Peterson up the stairs. Quirin and Varian were just about to head over toward the remaining boxes when the office door opened.

"I'm glad that we were able to talk about this." Madame G. smiled. Her locket dangled from her hand, causing Quirin to furrow his brows. "I'm sure that we won't get into a disagreement like that again, especially since I did nothing wrong."

"Again, I apologize for pestering you about the cottage," Garret said. "We'll figure something out. And to make up for our little fight, my wife and I will give you a discount on supplies at our boutique."

"Lovely." Madame G. grinned. Quirin gestured to Varian to bring a box up. "I'm looking forward to it. Tell her I said hello."

"Wait, that's it?" Wadsworth asked. "You both worked it out."

Garret nodded. "And I'm sorry that I kept complaining to you about the cottage." He looked down at his watch. "Well, I better get back to my wife."

When Garret left, Wadsworth turned to Madame G. "So how did you work it out?"

"Oh, we just talked it though, dearie," Madame G. laughed. "It was a piece of cake."

Quirin stepped towards her. "Excuse me, why do you have that out?"

"Oh, this?" Madame G. asked, gesturing to her locket. "Why, I was just showing it to him. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Quirin ignored her question. "Why did you show it to him?"

"It's one of my most prized possessions," Madame G. answered. Wadsworth shut his office door behind him. "Would you like to see the inside?"

"No, I should help my son," Quirin said, going over towards the stairs.

After Madame G. put her locket away, she noticed Scott. "Scott, it's about time you arrived. I had no idea that you were coming."

"I didn't know that you were here either," Scott said.

Madame G. looked around before she nodded her head towards the door. "Outside. Both of you."

When they stepped outside, Anna was alarmed that Maximus and Sven were gone. Where had they gone?

"Scott, why weren't you here right away?" Madame G. asked. "This sweet girl said that she and her friends were expecting you when they arrived, but you didn't show up."

"Oh, something came up," Scott explained. "But it's been taken care of. Not that it matters now."

Madame G. crossed her arms. "Anna, you saw Wadsworth, didn't you?" Anna nodded. "Alright, so what did the cipher say?"

"It was the Violet Menagerie," Anna answered before she told her about what Wadsworth had said. "So, now we have to wait until Lorenzini gets back." She suddenly recalled something. "Hey, you went in there."

"Yes. . .how do you know that?"

"I saw you going in there on our way to our cottage. What kind of stuff is in there?"

"Oh, a large variety of the most extraordinary and rare animals you have ever seen. Paulo had just added a new addition to it."

"Wait, you know Lorenzini?"

"Yes. I only met him a couple of times," Madame G. answered. "Oceanus Pearl, Hector Turner, and Willard Duke introduced me to him in Peckville six years ago." She bent down towards Anna. "Let me tell you a little secret, my dear. Since you said that Paulo will open the Menagerie on the Autuliar Eclipse, it'll be open from one pm to eight pm. He also told me it would die down after six-thirty pm so I would recommend going there around that time.

Anna said, "We'll do that. Thank you."

"My pleasure." Madame G. grinned before she turned to Scott. "Come see me after you get to your place." After Scott nodded, Madame G. noticed a mirror nearby and examined her looks. "You and I need to talk."

Anna turned to Scott in time to see the back of Eugene's head in a window. From what she could see, he and Kristoff were talking to someone about something. "Are you sure you don't want to stay at our place?"

"I appreciate it, but I'm sure."

Madame G. sighed in relief. "Ah, I'm not aging, thank goodness." When she turned away from the mirror, her eyes narrowed when she looked at the window. "Wait, there's something familiar about him," she muttered.

Madame G. slowly strolled towards the door, still looking at the window. She was just about to pull the door when someone raced through the area.

Anna turned and saw that a breathless Tabitha had just reached them. "Mistress! You have to get back to our cottage!"

"What is it?"

"It's Stew!"

Madame G. stepped away from the window. "What about him?"

"He just went back to our cottage. He told me to come get you!"

"Then bring me to him."

Anna and Scott watched as Tabitha led Madame G. further down the road until they turned and disappeared from sight. Hopefully, Stew was alright. The door behind them opened and Varian and Quirin were the first ones out.

"Well, Madame G. just gave us the hours for the Violet Menagerie," Anna said before she told them what Madame G. had said to her. "So, we'll have to get there at that time. We can remember that in three weeks."

"Those three weeks will go by fast," Scott commented. "It'll be here before we know it. I still can't believe Madame G. is here too."

"Speaking of Madame G.," Quirin began, "do you know what she uses her locket for, Scott?"

Scott pressed his finger on his lip. After a moment, he replied, "She didn't have one when I was under her, but knowing her it's probably just a new accessory."

Quirin's brows lowered. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Dad, are you okay?" Varian asked.

Quirin placed his hands on Anna and Varian's shoulders, looking them in the eyes. "I'm not sure if we should trust Madame G. I would be careful around her if I were you."

"Oh, Madame G.'s not bad," Scott scoffed. "Yes, she does have a bit of an attitude and thinks she's the world, but there's no reason why you shouldn't trust her. She knows a lot."

"That doesn't mean we should trust her," Quirin commented. "I think there was something wrong with her locket. She might've done something to Garret."

"Don't be ridiculous," Scott laughed. "She's always showing off her things. Knowing her, she probably bored him to death as she talked and that was what made him decide to leave her alone about the cottage."

Quirin frowned. "Let's hope you're right, Scott. But I mean what I said: be careful around her."

Anna didn't want to make the same mistake she had with Hans, but Madame G. seemed so honest so far. Yes, she did have an attitude, like Scott said, but she couldn't imagine that she would deceive her in any way.

Scott stepped backward. "Well, I better get to my place before it gets cold out." His feet lifted off the ground as he levitated toward the sky. "You're doing great so far. Good luck!"

Eugene and Kristoff left the inn while Anna, Quirin, and Varian were waving to Scott as he flew away from them. The group watched him grow smaller the higher he flew before he finally floated to the south. I wonder what it would be like to fly.

Frantic neighing and braying suddenly sounded, causing them to turn in time to see Maximus and Sven trotting over to them. Anna held her breath as Ruddiger peeked from behind Maximus's head.

"Guys, what have you been?" Eugene asked. "Why did you leave?"

Ruddiger leaped off of Maximus before any more questions could be asked. He held the map close against his chest as he raced over towards Varian.

"Ruddiger, are you okay?" Varian asked. Ruddiger chittered and held out the map towards him. "Uh. . .why are you and the map not at the cottage?"

Ruddiger chittered and pointed while Maximus and Sven nodded their heads towards where they came from with neighing and braying.

Anna held her breath. "What happened?"

. . . . .

When Anna and her friends returned to their cottage, the front door was wide open and one of the windows on the third floor had a hole about Ruddiger's size. Not even the cool temperature and lovely scenery of the night could distract them from the scene.

"What the hell?" Kristoff exclaimed.

The group suddenly raced inside their cottage and was left speechless. Drawers and cabinets were wide open. Pillows were thrown off the couches and chairs. Doors were wide open and the carpet was tossed over.

Anna shook her head at the horror. "No way."

"Search the place!" Eugene demanded. "Now!"

Everyone scattered off into different areas of the house. Anna looked under the beds, opened doors, and checked behind the curtains in various rooms she went in and could hear her friends doing the same. Still nothing. At one point, she and Kristoff found each other in the same room, looking for someone to no avail.

At last, everyone went back to the living room. Anna was the last to get there. "Anyone find anything?" Her friends either shook their heads or replied with a "no". "Me neither. Did anything get stolen?"

Again, everyone confirmed that didn't happen either. "No one even touched my alchemy," Varian answered. "Or my inventions."

"I want to know who broke in here!" Kristoff yelled. "And how whoever did it knew that we were gone!"

"Kristoff, calm down," Anna soothed.

Varian bent down towards Ruddiger. "Ruddiger, what happened?" After his friend chittered, Varian placed his gloved hand on his mouth. "Really?" Ruddiger nodded. "At least you're okay."

"Okay, so what exactly happened?" Eugene asked, throwing his arms in the air.

Varian rose, looking at the group with a grave expression. "Someone broke into the house. Ruddiger couldn't get out right away, so he hid for a bit. When he finally left to find a way out, someone grabbed him and tried to take the map from him, but Ruddiger defended himself and jumped out the window. He went into town to try to find us and Maximus and Sven came to him."

That must've been why Maximus and Sven left the inn. They heard Ruddiger crying out and went to him. Still, it didn't take away the harsh reality that just happened.

"Oh my god," Anna whispered. "Someone broke in and tried to take the map. This isn't good. Someone knows we have it."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Eugene exclaimed. "How could someone find out that we have the map? Wadsworth opened his mouth to someone didn't he?"

"Eugene, for God's sake!" Kristoff yelled. "Enough with the whole Wadsworth thing! It wasn't him!"

"Oh really? How do you know, Kristoff?" Eugene asked. Maximus neighed at him. "Max, you know he's part of the reason why our pirate heist failed! If he was hiding something back at the inn, then it's likely that he said something to someone."

"Wait, what was he hiding?" Kristoff asked, doing his voice for Sven.

"Oh, it's that crack," Anna said. "We'll explain it later."

"We should be lucky that Ruddiger stayed behind!" Kristoff said. "If he hadn't, we would've lost the map again!"

"You're worried about the map?!" Varian yelled. "Ruddiger could've gotten hurt!"

"Son, calm down," Quirin said.

"How can I be calm, Dad?" Varian asked. "Someone came in and attacked Ruddiger! I don't want to think about what would've happened if he hadn't escaped!"

The group burst into a violent argument until the enormous neigh and bray of Maximus and Sven forced everyone into silence. The horse and reindeer's stern frowns were enough to calm them down.

"We're sorry, guys," Anna said solemnly. "You're right." She sighed and turned to the group. "So, what do we do now?"

"If someone broke in here once, then they'll do it again," Eugene said.

"Are you sure about that?" Quirin asked.

"Definitely," Eugene answered. "We have three weeks until the eclipse. Until then, we'll be extra careful and keep an eye out in case someone tries to break in again. I'm sure they'll show up."