Ellie Sader was at her wit's end.

She wasn't keen on anyone leaving the wards at this moment, but they had no other choice when it came to tracking down Alice. Though Ellie knew better than most that there was no blanket good or evil description for all Others, that fae who rode off with Alice left her with an awful feeling in the pit of her stomach.

At first, rather than anyone leaving their protected area, Ellie had asked the forest spirits if they'd seen anything. There were a few that responded, but all they had was a general direction. It had been almost a week without any progress locating Alice, though, and Ellie thought it was time for a change in course.

At first, they'd tried sending a spellogram, a magical message that should be able to trace its way to its intended recipient. However, that hadn't worked. The message returned right to Kaz, who said there must be wards up preventing outside contact wherever Alice was. Unfortunately, that exhausted the only easy option they had for communication.

Sitting at the kitchen table, pencil in hand and map unfurled in front of her, Ellie marked a dotted line from her home on Howard's Knob up to the last place any spirit had indicated they saw Alice. She could trace them just past the state line, up into Virginia, but not any farther. After that, any trace of them just seemed to vanish.

Ellie was no stranger to magic. Having grown up in a witch community, she knew a laundry list of tricks and traps that any magic user, witch or Other alike, could use to disguise their presence, but the search area was just too broad. Ellie fiddled with her long, silver, braided hair nervously, pouring over the map for the thousandth time.

As she puzzled over possible solutions, a few other members of their community entered the house. Kaz, her partner, and Miriam were first.

Kaz stopped to bend down and place a soft kiss on Ellie's lips, and she managed a small smile for him. She was stressed, but he always helped to keep her as levelheaded as possible, even in terrible situations. They'd met last year while conducting a murder investigation, and had been inseparable ever since.

"How's it going?" Kaz asked, peeking at the map.

"Not good," she groaned.

Kaz took a seat beside her at the table, scooting his chair close to hers so he could put his arm around her. Ellie leaned her head on his shoulder as Harper and Hartley walked through the front door. Rosemary, Ellie's young hellhound companion, sniffed at Harper long enough to say hello before she ran over to Ellie, jumping up on her lap. A little over a year old now, she was getting a bit big to be a lapdog, but Ellie didn't mind.

"Well, looks like we're in... high spirits?" Hartley sighed, shutting the door behind them.

"Okay, folks, this kitchen is officially a war room," Ellie said, sitting up straight and smacking her hands on the table.

"A war room with... lemonade?" Kaz asked, staring at the cups and pitcher on the kitchen counter, where Miriam was serving herself a glass.

"War rooms might get more done if they had more lemonade," Miriam said with a shrug. "It can't hurt."

"Who are we goin' to war with, exactly?" Harper asked, yawning so widely that her fangs showed as she stumbled down the stairs to the living area. Her house hadn't been finished, so she had a bedroom on the second floor of Ellie and Kaz's house. Though it was well past 2PM, she still had on a nightgown with a robe tied over it, sleep mask pushed up to her forehead.

"Slept late, I take it?" Kaz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"On the contrary. It's past my bedtime," she mumbled, making a beeline for the lemonade. "I wouldn't even be up if Granny hadn't enchanted the windows to filter the sun for me. Too bright out here."

"Where is Granny?" Ellie asked, nose wrinkling. "Ain't seen her all morning."

"I think she's stress gardening," Miriam sighed. "Can't say I blame her."

Rosemary whimpered from her place on Ellie's lap. Older hellhounds and Other canines could speak human languages through something like telepathy, but Rosemary was young and still getting used to telepathic speech. Most of her communication still came in barks and sniffs.

"I managed to get a little information on the Shadow Fae," Hartley said. "One of my contacts was familiar with them, and thankfully answered his phone. Arthur can be difficult to reach."

"What did he say?" Kaz asked, taking a seat and wrapping his arm around Ellie's shoulders.

"And did it involve kidnapping brides?" Ellie grumbled.

"He's never heard of anyone named Xavier," he said, sighing. "According to Arthur, the last king he knew of was named Graithen, and his son was named Florian."

"Any chance he decided to abdicate?" Miriam asked.

"There's no way to say for sure, unfortunately," Hartley mumbled. "Florian was apparently known for being a little rowdy, more interested in the outdoors and combat training than politics, but he wasn't a bad candidate for the throne."

"So where is he now, then?" Kaz mused, running a hand through his snowy hair.

"And where did Xavier come from?" Miriam continued. She took a long drink of her lemonade, and then sighed. "All good questions, but somehow I doubt we'll get answers any time soon."

"So you're sayin' we got no choice but to wait?" Ellie asked, resting her head in her hands.

She felt like crying. In the last year, Alice had gone from an absolute nuisance to something like a younger sister, someone she felt responsible for protecting and mentoring. She'd always been a little naïve and girlish, but never quite this reckless. Ellie wasn't one to tell another person how to live their life, but in this case, she wondered if she should have.

"I could have stopped her," she mumbled, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. Kaz placed a warm, reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We all could have. Maybe we should have," he admitted. "It's her life, though. If she wanted to go, holding her back would have just made things worse."

"She's always been stubborn," Ellie groused. "Probably would have just gone anyways if we told her not to."

"At least she knows she can come back," Miriam said gently. "We didn't kick her out. She knows."

Ellie wasn't convinced, but it was the only bright spot they had right now, and there weren't many other options besides grabbing onto it with both hands.

"I hope she does," she finally said. "God, I hope so."

On the fifth day in the Shadow Court, Alice was finally starting to get bored.

She probably shouldn't have been bored. She certainly wouldn't have been bored if she had been allowed to do much more than go to the library or the place gardens, constantly escorted by Xavier. If he couldn't be around, someone would supervise her in those areas until he returned, or she could spend time in their shared bedroom.

Alone.

It was awful.

Growing up with five older sisters meant that there was always noise in the Little house. There was always cooking, always someone walking around upstairs, always someone looking for the hairbrush or the sewing scissors. Even after moving to Howard's Knob, it was normal to wake up to the sounds of Granny cooking, Ellie making herbal brews, or Kaz stomping around. She was used to that. She wasn't used to this kind of silence. It unnerved her.

She supposed someone like Hartley could manage in this place just fine. Anyone content to bury themselves in books probably wouldn't mind being confined to three spaces. Alice, on the other hand, was not much of a reader. She preferred to be outside, learning from animals and the land rather than books.

The thought briefly crossed her mind that this was a fundamental personality difference between herself and Hartley, but she pushed that thought to the side. She was married now, and married to...

Well...

Alice tried to conjure up an image of Xavier in her mind, but she found that every time she tried, it wasn't really Xavier. It was, instead, Xavier how she wanted him to be. He was softer, smiled more, looked at her more like...

Florian, she realized.

Cheeks going red despite the fact that she and Missy were alone in the bedroom, Alice stared at the dark floorboards in front of her, thoughts wandering towards the prince once more. She sat in the chair in front of the large wooden desk, having spent most of the morning staring out the window, noting the both mundane and infrequent comings and goings of castle staff.

She hadn't seen Florian in the last two days, despite checking the garden multiple times, and she'd been too shy to ask Xavier about him. Though it was a little odd they hadn't been introduced right away, Alice didn't mind so much. Xavier probably had an explanation for that... as he always did.

Was it terrible that she felt she knew more about Florian in those twenty minutes they spent together than she knew about Xavier across several days?

Alice snapped out of her thoughts as the door opened. Missy huffed from her position on Alice's lap, clearly in no mood to move. Xavier entered the room only a moment later, a small smile on his face that still didn't quite seem to reach his eyes.

"Hello, treasure," he said quietly, crossing the room to place a kiss on her forehead. "How have you been?"

"Okay," Alice lied, forcing a smile. She didn't want him to think she was unhappy. It might just be an excuse to get rid of her, and she did not want to end up tossed out into the mountains alone, especially not knowing where she was.

"I have a treat for you tomorrow," he said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. Missy perked up a little at that, pink nose twitching.

"Really?" Alice's spirits lifted just a little at that. He'd been thinking of her!

"You'll begin etiquette, speech, and diplomacy lessons tomorrow morning in the library," Xavier said. "I've found a tutor."

Alice's spirits immediately dropped again.

"... Oh," she said carefully. Xavier chuckled, reaching over to take her hand in his chilly, larger one.

"I know it isn't the most thrilling, but it will certainly help your transition into life as a queen," he said gently, reaching up with his free hand to brush a bright red curl out of her face.

"Okay," Alice conceded. "Yeah. I mean, yes. It should help."

Xavier smiled at that. "I apologize that I can't teach you myself, but I find that my days have been much busier of late."

"It's alright. I can guess you and your brother have a lot to do," Alice said, shrugging it off.

Xavier, on the other hand, froze in place. He blinked owlishly, a strange expression for him, and there was a long, awkward pause before he finally spoke.

"Brother...?" Xavier asked, brow furrowing as he pulled his hands away. "I have no brother."

Alice blinked.

For a moment, she entirely second guessed herself. Maybe she'd dreamed up that meeting in the garden. Maybe she just remembered it wrong. Maybe it was Xavier there the whole time.

"But... he was... he looked just like you," she said, shaking her head.

"Alice, my treasure, are you certain you didn't imagine it? Or dream it? The stress of acclimating to a new home can take its toll on the mind, especially in a place with so much wild magic afoot."

That was true. There was enough magic running rampant around the Shadow Court that it could have been anything, even a trick of the light. He seemed so real, though. And she knew she hadn't imagined the animals reacting to his presence.

... Right?

"I... Maybe," she mumbled. "I thought I talked to him."

"There is no one like that in this palace, I can promise you. Perhaps we need to make sure you're drinking enough water if you're wandering the grounds all day. The heat could be getting to you."

They were high in the mountains, even higher than Alice was used to. It wasn't hot, and the heat wasn't getting to her, even in the height of summer. If anything, the constant chill was driving her insane.

Maybe that's why she'd imagined someone with such a warm presence...

But, obviously, asking about Florian was going absolutely nowhere.

"What's a mirror?" Alice asked suddenly, changing the subject.

"As... as in a looking glass? One that you use while dressing every morning?" Xavier raised an eyebrow, gesturing towards the large reflective panel on the wall by the wardrobe.

Alice huffed, shaking her head. She was starting to wonder if he really, genuinely thought she was stupid, and had to force herself to stomp out the angry fire rising in her chest.

"One'a the guests said somethin' about a mirror soul. Back at the wedding?"

"Ah, I see," he said, nodding. "I thought you were aware."

She was not. Obviously.

... And, in theory, he should have known that from the wedding, when she expressed confusion in front of one of the courtiers. Had he forgotten?

"You and I have a special bond, Alice," Xavier said slowly. As he spoke, he turned his arm over to show the looping, ornate scar pattern that matched the one on her forearm. "These marks are a reflection of our souls on our skin. It's a rarity to find someone with a mark matching yours— a rarity to have a mark at all. We are unique. Lucky."

"I... thought it was just a scar," she mumbled, glancing down at her forearm.

"It's far more than that. It's an indication that you and I were made for each other. We fit perfectly together, on every imaginable level of compatibility."

She looked back and forth between their scar-like marks, searching for any differences, but she couldn't find any. They were exactly the same, down to the smallest detail. Something didn't sit right in the back of Alice's mind, though. Something felt a little strange, a little off. If they were already destined to be together, a perfect match in every way, then why...

"Why the blood vows?" she asked, looking straight into his ghostly eyes. "If we're already matched or fated or mirrored, why do we need those?"

"The blood vows double our power, treasure. They give us a special bond that goes beyond our verbal promises and down to our very minds, our bones, our souls," he crooned, running his fingers gently through her hair.

"So it's for power," Alice said distastefully, trying not to frown.

"It's for deepening our connection," Xavier countered, bending to kiss her lips. "We can talk through all the elements of it later, but it will allow us to have an understanding on a soul-deep level that isn't possible through any other combination of bonds. Mirrors and blood bonded together."

"... Okay," she whispered, nodding.

"We'll need to complete the blood vows soon, though," Xavier said, standing. He pulled her up from the chair and drew her towards him, pressing their bodies together. Missy jumped off her lap in the process, moving to settle on the bed instead.

"I— is there a time limit?" Alice stuttered. She wasn't quite sure what to do with her hands, so she wound up placing them on Xavier's shoulders, looking up into his eyes.

"Well, no," he admitted, "but is it very wrong for me to want to hold my wife?"

Something in her chest jumped at that, at the smirk on his face as he spoke. Heat rushed to her cheeks and a wave of lightheadedness washed over her as Xavier bent his head, moving in for a kiss. Even though she still felt a little conflicted over the strange progression of events since arriving at the Shadow Court, Alice didn't have it in her to deny him the kiss.

He made her feel wanted, and that had been her greatest desire for a long, long time.

But as Xavier's lips met hers, as she felt the strange wash of heat and cold run through her, Alice wondered if it was still her desire. She wondered what she would do once that desire was fulfilled. Was having Xavier enough? Was his cold touch the thing that made her heart race?

Was he really the person she wanted to spend her forever with?

"I'll see you later, treasure," Xavier murmured as he broke the kiss. Only a moment later, he was on his way out the door, leaving Alice alone with Missy once more.

"Do you think he knows I can understand everything he says and does?" Missy asked.

"Probably not." Alice sighed, sitting down on the bed beside her friend. "I think he assumes you're stupid... like me," she muttered bitterly.

Missy hissed angrily.

"You are not!" she snapped. "Neither am I."

"Thanks," Alice said, a small laugh escaping her.

She flopped over on the bed and curled up into a little ball. Missy paced in circles around the mattress as the silence seemed to grow more and more stifling around them.

There was something wrong. It had only been a few days, but it was getting harder and harder to deny it. Alice wanted love. She wanted this for herself, a life away from people who made her feel worthless and small...

But the more she thought about it, the more she realized she felt more worthless here than she ever had in the witch village. And for the last year, when she'd moved away to Howard's Knob... no one had ever made her feel worthless once. She'd simply wanted more than she had, and she let that blind her to so many of the good things.

What she wouldn't do for Granny's cooking... but now she didn't know of a way to get back. Instead, for the first time, she'd have to deal with her problems all by herself.

"Missy," Alice whispered. "Am I crazy? Am I seeing things that ain't there?"

"No, not crazy," the possum squeaked. "I think he's hiding something, though."

"... What do we do?" she asked, hugging Missy close. The possum nuzzled her cheek comfortingly, thinking for a long moment.

"We gotta find Florian again," she finally said. "And then... we go from there."