Etiquette lessons were exactly as boring and torturous as they sounded, it turned out.

The instructor was named Lila, a Shadow Fae with dark purple hair and ghostly pale skin. She was fine. A little strict, perhaps, but no one had threatened to go and get a switch from the tree out back yet, so as far as Alice was concerned, things were going well. Missy wasn't with her, having been shooed off early in the lesson, but she was close by. Every now and then, Alice could hear her friend skittering around the back shelves.

She'd never enjoyed school as a child, and she'd been a mediocre student when it came to book learning. In fact, she'd snuck away from the local schoolhouse more often than not, spending her time outdoors, learning from the animals that wanted to speak to her. It took her longer than an average child to learn to read and write, and her mother insisted she was slow, but she could pick out a bear's trail through the woods without a second thought, knew which berries were safe and which were poisonous before any of the other children, and knew how to walk the woods and stay safe... Which was more than some adults could say.

"Thank you for having me," Alice said slowly, careful to articulate her words as clearly as possible, to show as little of her accent as possible. She glanced at Lila, hoping for approval, and she gave a small nod towards her.

"Much better. Remember to put space between your words. Don't let them slide together."

Lila had not taken kindly to the idea of fixinto as a part of Alice's vocabulary, among other things. However, now that they'd made some progress, perhaps it was an opportune moment to ask about her other project.

"Lila," Alice began hesitantly, "do you know of anyone named Florian in the palace?"

"Florian?" Lila paused, frowning. She blinked rapidly, her mouth opening and closing like a fish for a moment, before she finally squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.

"Lila?" Alice put a hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to see what was wrong, but she just couldn't tell. Maybe Ellie could have done something, if she were here, but Alice was resigned to simply waiting.

Only a moment later, Lila took a deep breath and opened her eyes, standing up straight.

"Forgive me, I was seized by a terrible headache," she muttered, blinking. "No, I can't say I know... what was it?"

"Don't worry 'bout it," Alice said, brushing her off.

Lila's eyes narrowed. "Proper pronunciation, please. We will not end our lesson on... whatever that was."

"No need to worry," Alice said through gritted teeth. She was almost positive she looked like someone about to go on a war path.

"Now smile," Lila pressed.

Alice grimaced. Apparently, that was enough to count.

"Excellent. You may go," Lila said with a nod. "I release you from lessons for today."

Alice stood from the study table in the library so quickly that she almost knocked the chair over. Lila glared, but she didn't verbally complain.

The Shadow Court library could possibly be described as peaceful. Stone and crystal walls stretched three stories high, with railings around the upper two floors full of bookshelves. Long, dark, sheer drapes covered high windows, muffling some of the sunlight trying to sneak through. The bookshelves seemed to be made of the same dark wood as the furniture in Alice's bedroom, and they were packed to the brim.

The Shadow Court library could also be described as very, very creepy. In order to find any of the tomes, you had to carry a lantern down the rows between the stacks so you could see the titles. Only one librarian worked in the room, sitting at a desk by the main doors, silent as the shadows playing along the cold stone walls. Somewhere in the darkness, Missy was skittering around, but Alice found chasing the shuffling noises very unpleasant. She didn't have vision suited for darkness like her possum friend, and instead she found herself whispering into corners as she searched for Missy.

There was no response anywhere she looked, and after about fifteen minutes, Alice was getting a little flustered.

"Missy?" she hissed, leaning around the end of the bookshelf. "Where are ya?"

"Are you alright?" A masculine voice echoed through the empty library.

Alice practically jumped out of her skin, yelping as she turned around to see a familiar figure. At first, she thought it was her husband, but it only took a moment for her to realize that it was not.

"Florian!" Alice cried, slumping in relief. "What in the world are ya doin' here?"

"I enjoy reading?" he offered, raising an eyebrow.

He was wearing the same thing Xavier had been, which was a little odd, but perhaps it was something twins did even when they grew older. Either that, or it was just a common way to dress, though... it did seem a little strange that they'd both choose to wear a dark blue shirt with silver embroidery on the same day.

"I found him!" a little voice squeaked in her mind, and a fluffy body suddenly emerged from the shadows beyond the bookshelves.

"Missy!" Alice sighed in relief, holding out her arms so her friend could jump up and perch on her shoulders. At this rate, there would be little possum claw holes in the shoulders of all her dresses, and she couldn't say she minded one bit. "You scared me."

"Sorry, but I was on a mission."

"Oh, you were?" she teased, gently tapping Missy's pink nose. "How did that go?"

"Good. I found him," Missy said proudly.

"It's good to see you," Alice said, smiling as she turned to Florian. "Was startin' to think ya disappeared."

"No need to worry," he said with a shrug, but his words brought back memories of the horrifying etiquette lesson, and Alice frowned without thinking about it.

"What's wrong?" Florian asked, stepping a little closer.

"Nothin'," Alice mumbled. "Just... never mind."

"Maybe... I can cheer you up," Florian said, reaching out towards Alice. He didn't grab for her, but he offered his hand, and after only a moment of hesitation, she accepted.

His touch was like pure sunshine.

There was something about being near Florian that made her less wary of the shadows around her. Even in the Shadow Court, he felt like a bright spot. It was strange how similar he was to Xavier in appearance, considering how incredibly different they were in personality.

He guided her through the shelves, barely missing hitting the corners of them with his crystalline stag antlers. Alice had to jog to keep up, but she felt a smile come to her face even as she gasped for breath. After three more turns, he slid to a stop in front of one of the backmost bookshelves, hand hovering over the spines of the books for a moment before he pulled a green one from the shelf.

"Try this," he said, handing it to Alice.

It was heavier than she expected, and she nearly dropped it, but steadied herself quickly. The title was written on the cover in flaking, gilded letters: Tales of the Woods.

"Is this... a kid's book?" Alice asked as she opened the book, looking down the table od contents. It did, in fact, look to be some kind of fairy tale book, though she didn't recognize the names of any of the stories.

"If you think fairy tales are only for children, you might want to look at them again," Florian said gently. Somehow he managed to make his point without ruffling Alice's feathers, which she had to give him credit for.

"Well, let's find a place to read, then," Alice said, tucking the book under her arm.

Florian and Alice sat on the floor at the very back of the library, shoulder to shoulder with their backs resting against the wall. Missy had moved from her usual perch on Alice's shoulder to sit by Florian instead, and the prince absentmindedly pet her scruffy fur as they thumbed through the fairy tale book.

They'd managed to find a spot near one of the high windows, tucking aside the dark, sheer curtain enough to let a ray of light come through. It was much easier to see the text when they weren't squinting through the shadows, and Alice wondered momentarily if all the Shadow Court members had the same nocturnal vision that Missy did.

Since Alice couldn't read the old fae language, they'd transitioned from flipping through the book together to Florian reading aloud, whispering old Shadow Court tales into her ear, and some from outside the Shadow Court, too. It was interested how some of them seemed to parallel human fairy tales. The symbolism was different, but many of the moral lessons seemed to be the same.

A wave of sleepiness washed over her, and Alice had the urge to lean her head against Florian's shoulder. He made her feel safe, though she'd only known him a short time.

Was this how it was supposed to feel when you were falling for someone, she wondered? Was this the kind of head rush she wanted, the kind that didn't make her want to scream and fight back, but fall into his arms?

"The seer cut her arm, allowing three drops of blood to fall into the silver cup, and told the man to drink."

That made her wake up.

"Blood vows?" Alice asked, leaning forward and suddenly very awake. "Is this... real?"

"It's a storybook, but the concept is real, yes," Florian said. "It says that the first of three vows leaves a mark on the skin, making sure the man never forgot his promise to the seer, or the consequences if it was not fulfilled."

"What happens in the end?" she asked, looking back and forth from the indecipherable text to Florian's face.

"It... she... The man breaks his promise," Florian said, stumbling. "So she takes her revenge by using the vow to transfer all his remaining years to herself."

Shit.

Alice's chest went tight, her heart rate quickening. Beside Florian, Missy made a distressed squeaking noise and scrambled back over to her usual shoulder perch. Xavier said their wedding vows would tie them together... but those were very different than the promise in the fairy tale. The protagonist failed to fulfill his promise, so there were consequences. The only promise they'd made was...

To each other?

Alice glanced at Florian nervously. What would happen, she wondered, if her tiny, niggling infatuation became any stronger? What would happen if she failed Xavier in that way?

She didn't want to think about it. There were too many other things to worry about at the moment, too many layers to this awful situation, and she had no one to blame but herself.

"The beginning of the blood vow leaves a mark..." she murmured, hugging her knees to her chest. "I thought he said that mark was because we're mirrors."

"Alice..." Florian said softly. "I..." but he trailed off helplessly.

"What?"

"If... If you ever want to leave here," he said slowly, keeping his voice low, "I will help you. I cannot break the blood vows, but I can get you away from the Shadow Court."

"Can you leave?"

"I'm afraid not." Florian shook his head sadly. "It would be a little pointless for me to do so."

"Then I guess you're stuck with me a little longer," she muttered, closing the book in her lap. "I think you're the closest thing to a friend I've got here, and I'm not leavin' ya high and dry and... forgotten."

Florian opened his mouth, but he promptly shut it again, gaze fixed on the floor. He wanted to say something. It was easy enough to see that in his eyes. He just... couldn't for some reason. Not wouldn't, but couldn't.

"Why doesn't anybody remember you?" Alice asked softly, reaching for his hand and twining their fingers together. He didn't pull away, but he didn't immediately speak, either.

"I... wish I could tell you more," Florian sighed. "The best I can do is point you in the right direction."

"You can tell me about blood vows... but not about you?" Alice raised an eyebrow, leaning in a little closer.

"I have a... specific set of restrictions," he muttered.

"What—"

"Alice," Florian said, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I have to go now, but remember what I said to you before. If you want to leave, I'll help you."

"Why are you runnin' off—" she tried again, but Florian just stood up, already starting to walk away from the spot they'd been sitting for the last hour or more. Everything had been fine only a moment earlier, but now there was a sudden sense of urgency in his tone, a sense of panic in his gaze.

"The magical history section is that way," Florian said, pointing. "Put them back right where you found them when you're finished, though."

"Why? And how am I supposed to read those?"

It was a fair question, but apparently not one he had time to answer.

"It... would be best to be discreet," he mumbled. "I have to go, though. I'll see you soon."

Florian practically ran from the room, disappearing around the corner with all haste. A moment later, she heard the doors to the library close in the distance, signaling his exit.

That settled it.

Firstly: Florian was real. She hadn't been imagining it, and it wasn't a trick of the light.

Secondly: something was very, very wrong.