~ The Magic Tower ~

Etrix's office was smaller than Winter anticipated. After a tedious walk up several sets of stairs, the pair arrived at a cramped room. The dusty room was lined with shelves of books and a single window allowed for a little bit of light. Other than this, his furniture consisted of a single desk covered with several stacks of papers, a wooden chair for him to sit and a small couch.

"Your Highness," The head of the tower spoke wearily. "There are far more adequate rooms in which we can receive you in."

Winter raised her hand like she was shooing a fly. "No need. I'm here to see Etrix as a friend, not as the Princess."

The mage furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. After hesitating, he bit his lip and shook his head. The Royal family never visited the tower, but occasionally they did have nobles frequent them. Due to this, they had arranged a drawing room suitable for welcoming important guests.

"If it is Her Highness' wish, then I shall accept it." He said after some time, hoping the King wouldn't find out about her antics. "Etrix has been summoned, so he shall be up shortly."

Winter thanked him for his guidance before he left the room. Her legs ached from the long walk up the tower stairs. She sighed, stretching her legs out across the worn down couch.

"Is this really the tower?" She asked Ezekiel, who was peering out the small window.

Despite its scary appearance from the outside, the inside of the tower consisted of only stairs and several wooden doors as they ascended. The mage had explained that the first ten floors were where the mages slept, ate and dined. The floors higher than that were all offices, workshops or alchemy labs.

"I guess so," Ezekiel replied with a clear frown. "I thought it would be more..."

"Glorious? Fancy? Scary?"

Ezekiel nodded. "The knights always talk about this place. There's a legend that the tower stretches as far down as it does up. I think below the first floor are the dungeons."

Winter remembered reading about the tower as Illia. There were in fact dungeons below the first floor, but it was impossible to get to them. Security was already insanely tight within the tower. There were several mages and knights guarding the tower's entrance. Furthermore, the Empire's most skilled mages resided within these stone walls.

Winter laughed, inwardly comparing her magic skills to that of the mages in the tower. All she could do was freeze things when she got mad, heal people and create weak barriers. She would have to work a thousand times harder if she wanted to reach Etrix's level.

The wooden door creaked open.

"I was wondering why it smelt like metal," Etrix said as he entered the cramped room, taking a seat behind his desk. "Did you come here because you missed my face?"

"Metal?" Winter asked, watching him begin to sort through the piles of paper.

"Never mind that, what brings you here?"

Winter adjusted her position on the uncomfortable couch. "I want to know how the investigation's going."

"If you want to know if we found any leads, then no we haven't. We've been walking in circles since we started searching."

Winter clicked her tongue. "Have you started looking into noble families?"

"What?" Etrix asked, eyes lingering on the content of a paper. "Why would we do that?"

"Well most guests at my party were nobles. It would only make sense if you started investigating the people who attended."

You need to investigate the Marquis, she inwardly thought. She knew the Marquis had something to do with it.

Ezekiel shook his head. "The King has been trying to keep this whole thing quiet. If we were to investigate noble families it would cause panic. It would also look bad if we began to suspect powerful families with no solid proof."

"For once I agree with your knight," Etrix sighed, leaning back in his chair. "This is a lot more complicated than you think, Winter."

Winter clenched her teeth. She had to find solid proof that linked Catrina to the usage of black magic.

"I need two things from you," She told Etrix. "Two favours."

Etrix tossed the paper in his hand aside and met her gaze. "What do you need?"

Winter knew she could trust Etrix. After all, he had been by her side for as long as she could remember and always protected her.

She hesitated, unsure of how to word her requests. "First, I need to know if I can somehow use the Shadow Unit without anyone knowing. If not the Shadow Unit, then is there a way I can contact a guild somehow?"

Etrix, taken aback from her request, tilted his head in confusion. He shot a glance at Ezekiel, who scratched his nape nervously. Did she find out about the Shadow Unit through him?

"The Shadow Unit works directly under the King," He told her in almost a whisper. "If you need someone to do something for you, why not ask His Majesty?"

Winter paused, mind running wild with thoughts. There was no way her father would believe her if she told him this was all in a novel. He would also do anything and everything he could to ensure she stayed out of any kind of situation requiring her to use the Shadow Unit.

"I can't," She replied after some time. "Could you go to an information or an assassin's guild next time you leave the Palace grounds?"

Etrix sighed again, studying her expression in order to figure out what she was thinking. "I'll only do it if you tell me why."

"I have reason to believe the Laurentes are linked to the usage of black magic. I don't have any solid proof, so I need someone to investigate their estate in secret."

"Reason?"

Winter shook her head. "Look, I can't explain it fully. I just need you to trust what I'm saying. I'm almost certain, okay?"

Etrix thought deeply about what she said. It was true that the Laurentes were acting rather odd at the banquet, but that was nothing more than a noble's thirst to gain favour. Nevertheless, Winter was extremely clever. Furthermore, her magic was odd and worked in ways even he didn't understand. Maybe she had sensed something that he didn't.

"Fine," He told her after thinking for some time. "It's going to cost you though. How will you get the money without raising suspicion?"

Winter made eye contact with Ezekiel. Ezekiel nodded in response, before setting down a large bag on Etrix's desk. Etrix flicked an eyebrow up at them before opening it and rummaging through its contents. It was filled to the brim with expensive necklaces and jewels that Lysander had gifted Winter.

"You can sell these at a pawn shop," Winter said, pointing to the overflowing bag. "That should be more than enough."

"So what else did you need?"

Winter sucked in a breath, thinking hard about what she was about to ask him. Asking Etrix to go to a guild was one thing, but asking him to buy something from the Black Market was akin to committing a huge crime.

She sighed, massaging her temples that now pounded with a harsh migraine. "I want to buy something from the Black Market."

Both Etrix and Ezekiel remained silent.

"Absolutely not," Ezekiel said first. "That's crossing a line."

"You can't," Etrix added. "That place will eat you up. It's a place littered with black magic and criminals. The King would kill you."

"If you don't die already from going there," Ezekiel said, frowning. "If the Empire's only Princess shows up at the Black Market, do you think they'll let you go freely?"

Winter sighed. She was stuck.

~***~

When Winter returned to her room, there was a small envelope laid out on her bedsheets. She slowly picked the envelope up, scanning her room for the presence of a person. Esme was ordered to burn all the letters addressed to her, so how did this get here?

She sighed, flinging herself onto the soft mattress. Should she open it? Ezekiel was right outside her door, so if anything happened to her he would notice right away. Aiden was also supposed to return from his training to have breakfast with her soon.

She turned the envelope over in her hands, studying the wax seal. It didn't look familiar. If anything, it looked messy as if it had been rushed. She sighed, tearing it open.

[I'll take you to the Black Market tonight. Wait until your brother falls asleep and your maid retires, then meet me on your balcony. Bring a cloak. ~ H. A]

She let out a shaky laugh upon seeing the familiar handwriting and the inked initials. Prince Henrik De Aurosilio. Somehow, he knew exactly where she wanted to go. Just how long has he been following her?

She read the letter a couple more times before bringing it to a burning candle. She watched as the corner of the paper went up in flames. The red fire ate away at the paper, reducing its contents to a mere nothingness. Soon after, all that was left as evidence was a pile of ashes in her small palm.

Then, she headed to her wardrobe to find a suitable cloak.