Jules woke up at the sound of footsteps travelling around the room. Rolled into a ball beneath two blankets, he stuck his head out like a turtle emerging from its shell and swept his sleepy eyes across the chamber.

A maid stood by the table, her back facing him, but then she must have felt his eyes on her because she spun around, startled. It was the young woman who had confronted him in the infirmary; now she grimaced, slammed the tray with food against the tabletop and left wordlessly.

"Damn it," Jules kicked the blankets away.

There were only one plate and one mug on the tray; Ravin's cloak was gone and his reila didn't lean against the wall where the hunter usually left it. Jules was dejected but not surprised to be left behind. He groaned as the memories of the night floated to the surface of his mind - how could he have been so stupid to fall for the mara's trick? His face burnt with embarrassment - harder than the rune had burned his skin last night - as he wished he at least hadn't ended up crying on his master's shoulder.

As he sat up, he spotted a piece of paper resting on his bedside table. A short note from Ravin read that the hunter had gone to deposit the necklace in a safe location and that Jules was free until dinner.

"Jules?" Rosalie's voice sounded in his mind. "May I come in?"

"Wait a moment!" he jumped out of the bed, then realised he was already dressed as he'd never changed into his nightclothes in the first place. He pinched the material of his tunic, gave it a sniff and took it off, searching for one of his new ones. Once he pulled it on, he ran to open the door but found nobody waiting there. "Rosalie?"

"Here," she materialized right behind him. She burst into giggles when he spun around. Her face was lovely when she laughed - and Jules imagined her like this, alive and blushing, her body shaking with laughter and the golden hair swirling around her.

"Why are you staring at me?" she gave him a suspicious look as she calmed down.

"I'm not staring at you!" he responded a bit too quickly. "So... How are you today?"

"Better than you, I believe," she sat by the table, motioning at him to take the free chair. "I'm sorry I arrived before you've eaten your breakfast, but I wanted to check on you. Last night was bad - I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't hear me. But then I found your master speaking with my father, and told him to go and wake you up -"

"He didn't tell me that," Jules looked at the steaming porridge that awaited him on the tray. Would it be mean if he ate in a ghost's presence?

"Oh, please, help yourself," Rosalie smiled graciously. "I didn't mean to disturb your meal, but there's a favour I'd like to ask."

The boy downed a bite of porridge. "What can I do for you?"

"Ghosts are supposed to appear to people, move objects and make noise, don't we?" she smoothed the fabric of her white dress, a habit that now was useless. "I want to do that. To be able to warn my family, to say proper goodbyes. I want you to teach me."

Determination shone in her dead eyes, and the boy nearly choked on his porridge. Coughing, he reached for the mug and took a big gulp of warm milk.

"I really wish I could help you, Rosalie," he wiped his lips clean. "But I think you'll need another ghost to teach you that. Are there no other ghosts in the castle?"

"There's one or two, but they're always asleep," the girl's face blurred for a second as she assumed a discouraged expression. "Can't we go somewhere else? There's a hut in the forest that's said to be haunted. People say there was an old logger living there, and he used to chop to pieces whoever he met in the forest."

"He might be not the best choice, then," Jules ate the last bite of porridge and pushed the tray away. "But we could try the local cemetery. There are usually ghosts at cemeteries, and they tend to be bored, so maybe one of them agrees to help you, just for fun? But can you leave the castle? Most ghosts are tied to the place where they died, or to their graves."

"I've never tried to leave," she admitted, disappointment sounding in her voice.

"You know what?" Jules played with the spoon, the sad look of Rosalie's face making him feel slightly uneasy. "Some ghosts are bound to objects they were attached to when alive. We could do that. I'll take your doll, and maybe you'll be able to follow me then."

"Brilliant idea!" an excited smile lit Rosalie's face. "There's something better than the doll, though."

They went to her chamber together - the girl playing a spy and guiding him on a rote of empty corridors. She'd warn him of the passing servants, just in time he could duck into a nook or behind a corner and remain unseen. He didn't have to avoid the castle workers as long as nobody saw him on the Arver's floor - but seeing the excitement in Rosalie's eyes he couldn't help but play along.

He ran into her bedroom and closed the door softly, his heart rummaging against his ribs. When had he had so much fun the last time? Rosalie hovered in the air beside him, laughing softly, and he caught himself imagining all the things they would do if they met when she'd been alive.

"It's in the casket," she pointed at the chest of drawers standing by her bed. He opened the carved box to find a gold gemmy pendant. "It's the most valuable thing I've ever head. It's been passed from mothers to daughters for generations in my family."

"Are you sure I should take it?" he hesitated. She nodded brightly, with encouragement. He took the pendant and slid it into his pocket with an uneasy feeling - if anyone would walk in there now and caught him... But he didn't steal it, now did he? "Let's sneak out of here and find a nice ghost to teach you, shall we?"

Several minutes later Jules walked through the castle's gate, doing his best not to look suspicious as the guardsmen followed him with their eyes. He had stopped at his and Ravin's bedroom to grab his cloak and bow, as hunters never went unarmed, but decided to leave his reila. Now, despite the sun rays warming his skin, he pulled the hood over his head.

"Are you alright?" he gave Rosalie a side-way glance.

The girl swam through the air by his side, slightly nervous, her misty body trembling in the wind. She gave him an unsure smile.

"I think I'm good," her eyes travelled over the street, stopping for a while on the ragdolls and shutters pressed against the windows. "I've never seen Stone Town like this. Is it because of Melissa?"

Jules lowered his head as a group of men neared them from the other side of the street. He stepped aside to let them pass.

"People believe this land to be cursed," he whispered under his breath. "And they aren't very happy about having me and my master around."

"I wish I were alive and could tell them you're my friend," Rosalie scowled at a woman who dragged her child away from the window at the sight of Jules passing by. "But still, we can have some fun together. I heard your master talking to the healeress, he said he was worried if you could make friends here."

"He did?" Jules sighed with relief as he recognised the road leading out of the town. Soon, they would escape the ragdolls' dead glares.

Rosalie gave a nod.

"He seemed scary at first, but now I think he pretends to be scary because he's hurt," the girl said casually and stopped when they passed by the last buildings, reaching a crossing. "The cemetery is this way," she pointed her finger at the road going east. "Maybe you should have taken a horse. I'm not sure how far is it."

"What did you mean by Ravin being hurt?" Jules took off the cloak. He turned his face toward the sun. "He's been always like that."

"I don't know, it's just what his Aura seems to me," Rosalie shrugged. She looked around and disappeared for a second. "Somebody's coming. A rider."

Jules turned around, and she pointed her misty finger toward a groove that grew from the meadow separating two fields of corn. He frowned, spotting a movement between the bushes. Then, a bay horse emerged from the green, carrying a figure clothed in brown and black.

"Oh, it's Jerry Lenster!" Rosalie ran her fingers through her silky, golden hair. "Don't worry about him, he's a noble person. My mother always speaks very highly of him, even if our families have never been friends."

The boy gave a sharp nod, watching the rider nearing them through the meadow. The distance between them shortened, and Jerry Lenster regarded Jules with a curious expression.

He must have been in his late teen years, slightly older than Arthur, Jules realised. He sat in the saddle upright and dignified, holding a crossbow on his lap and steering the horse with his legs. His black hair matched the dark tunic he wore and stuck from his head in all direction, mussed by the wind.

"Hello," he halted his horse before Jules and dismounted to offer him a hand to shake. Jules took it warily, suspicious of the older boy's wide grin. "You must be the new hunter's apprentice, I take it? I hoped to meet you one day," he petted his steed's neck, as the animal nudged Jules with its muzzle. "Forgive my horse's manners. And mine, as I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Jerry Lenster, the eldest son of Brian Lenster."

"He's charming, now isn't he?" Rosalie mused.

"I'm Jules," he gave the ghost girl a glance, surprised by his own discontent at her remark. Did she know that Jerry well? Or was in love with him, maybe?

"I know, people are talking," Jerry unstrung the crossbow and attached it to his saddle. "There's a rumour that you speak to ghosts... Is that true?"

"Well, all hunters do," Jules responded cautiously. "Why are you asking?"

"Because my family's house is haunted," the young Lenster gave him a sheepish smile. "And when I heard that there are hunters in Arvene, I started wondering if you could help."

"Isn't that perfect!" Rosalie waved in the air, excitement blurring her features. "A ghost just when we need one! And from a noble family too!"

"What do you mean?" Jules asked, not sure which of them he was addressing.

"My grandmother," Jerry answered first. "She died five years ago but her soul hasn't found peace yet."

"Let's go and meet her!"

"My master has been recently busy, but I'm free today," Jules agreed, earning a bright smile from Rosalie. His heart skipped a beat at the look of her beaming. "I can take a look if you want."

"Great. Let's go, then," Jerry mounted his horse. Once seated, he extended his hand to Jules. "I'll give you a lift if you don't mind. It'll save you an hour of walking."