The First Expedition

When Amie awoke the next morning, she found Jacques had already gone. She was hoping he would be more willing to talk after some rest. Amie knew better than to push about Dr. Sybil, but she was at least hoping to find out what happened underground. She wanted to know how they escaped, how he saved her. She wanted to than him.

Amie waited all day for someone to visit, but neither Jacques nor Julia came to check on her. She wasn't surprised about Julia. Amie felt remorse for acting so violently in her altered state and was hoping to apologize to Julia for her behavior, but she understood if Julia wanted to keep her distance for a while. All she could do was hope Julia would forgive her in time.

The sun began to set, and Amie knew Jacques would not be visiting. Perhaps the inappropriateness of his actions finally hit him, but it was more likely he was grieving in isolation. Amie remembered Jacques telling her Dr. Sybil was the one constantly healing him from Prince Felix's antics. She grew concerned Jacques was in danger, but hoped he was already thinking of how to defend himself against Prince Felix.

Amie spent the evening thinking of different scenarios about what Jacques could be doing instead of checking in on her, but ultimately decided it was pointless to guess and asking him next time they see each other would probably cause her embarrassment. She was already starting to grow embarrassed with herself for how much time she was putting in thinking about him.

Night arrived and Amie's bedtime approached, but she wasn't tired. Her head wound had mostly healed from rest and she was able to heal it the rest of the way with her basic healing spell. Knowing nobody was coming to visit, Amie decided she was going to sneak out of her room. She wanted to explore the maze leading to the palace.

Amie went down the stairs and turned left just as they had done to go towards the palace, but after that she could not remember the way. Instead, she chose to to explore all the nooks and crannies of the secret hallways. She decided she was going to explore from the top down, thinking there would be less to explore upstairs than downstairs.

Apparently, Jacques had the same idea when he first discovered the secret corridors as well. Amie climbed several sets of stairs to reach the top of the palace, only to find a secret room Jacques had been utilizing as a hangout spot. She wondered if he was really a year older than her or ten years younger, as the place was set up like a child's fortress. Blankets were draped over old chairs with more blankets underneath to make a canopy bed. There were pillows scattered around an old coffee table that he was likely using as chairs instead of the actual chairs he had been using for his fort.

A full size table was in the corner of the room with books and papers strewn all over it. Amie went to investigate and discovered all sorts of plant magic papers written in Jacques' handwriting. He was probably trying to recreate long lost spells before he gained access to the library in the underground palace.

Amie wondered what happened to the library once they left. Did the puzzle get reset? Was the palace teaming with agitated mist still? Had everything gone back to normal after they left? Amie also wondered if Jacques was able to take any of the books with him. She wanted to test something after discovering she wasn't supposed to see the other types of mist already.

Rummaging through Jacques' old notes, she found nothing helpful. Amie decided to leave his secret hideout and continue exploring the palace. She made her way through all of the corridors attached to palace rooms and noted every secret window. Amie found Julia in the kitchen in the south side of the palace, working alone. Amie wanted to shout to her and show her the cool new places she found, but realized it was probably for the best to allow Julia some time to herself after Amie's recent antics.

Amie continued on and found King Javert talking to Prince Felix in the banquet hall. King Javert was asking Prince Felix about Amie's health, "How is she not dead?"

Prince Felix responded, "I don't know, but Jacques said her servant was tending to her just yesterday."

King Javert grew suspicious, "You don't suppose that servant girl is a witch too, do you?"

Prince Felix shook his head, "There's nothing to suggest that. All the servants of the South Tower were moved to the West Hall within hours of our arrival home, so she couldn't have helped the wretch heal. Nobody saw anyone enter or leave the South Tower either."

King Javert thought for a moment, "Do you think Adeline is perhaps a witch?"

Prince Felix answered, "I'm not sure. She's been injured before and recovered at a normal rate... Nobody has reported her for witchcraft either."

King Javert grumbled, "What are we missing then? Perhaps she has allies in the palace."

Prince Felix scoffed, "I doubt that! Those South Tower servants love gossip so much, she would be ratted out in a heartbeat if she even had a hint of a thought of something dubious!"

King Javert responded, "Hmm... Well, I suppose you're right. How are things going with Prince Peter? I wish this headache-inducing nightmare will be over soon!"

Prince Felix updated his father on Amie's last chance at a match, "Things are going quite well with him. The new trade deal has proven to be beneficial to our people. It has quelled the murmurings of rebellion and word has gotten around that Prince Peter has an interest in Adeline. He was told she was recovering from an illness and we are prepared to embark to Navarre in two weeks' time.

"Finally!" King Javert exclaimed, "Some good news for once! I was worried we wouldn't be able to get rid of this curse!"

Amie exhaled a sigh of relief after hearing the end of the conversation. For a moment she was afraid she would meet the same fate as Dr. Sybil. It seemed she was safe, at least for the time being.

Amie continued her journey through the corridors, exploring everything the above-ground palace had to offer. Jacques was nowhere to be found, but Amie wasn't too concerned about not seeing him. She figured he was probably in the palace gardens where he could process his grief.

Through her adventuring, Amie found a few interesting places, but nothing she was looking for. There was an old treasure chest at the end of what looked like the oldest tunnel in the system, but Amie was still scarred from her trip with Jacques to try to open it. She found a few more rooms with forgotten wine barrels in them and even a room with forgotten maps of long extinct kingdoms.

Amie wanted to find a way to study magic without practicing it, but there was no sight of any gateways into magical knowledge in the corridors above ground. She was hoping to find a way to learn the rules of it all before trying to do any major spells. If there was a way to prevent another incident like a few days prior, Amie wanted to know. Unfortunately, her first attempt at exploration ended with no answers.

Amie thought the maps were at least interesting and decided to bring a few of them to study back to her room. Once she was back in her room, she tucked the maps under her bed and began planning for the next day. She intended to rest during the daytime and if nobody came to check on her again, she would embark on another trip in the evening to satisfy her curiosity about a corridor she hadn't yet explored.