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recognize.” She purses her lips.
    “So what does that mean?” I lean forward, looking at the note through the spaces between her fingers. 
    “It means that I do not know if he is friend or foe. You are correct in believing this is an enchantment. Saying these words to the one you love binds you to them. If the rose you gave Princess Roselyn turns red, you two will never be together. You will never have a chance at being with her because this magic will hold you to it.” The worry turns to sadness in her eyes. She frowns and lets go of the paper. 
    “But it says that if the rose turns red, it means our love isn’t true. Our love is real. That I know with all my heart,” I argue, my voice rising. 
    “I do not disagree, Your Highness. You best hope that the magic over you and your princess finds your feelings genuine and worthy. It doesn’t matter now what is truth. If the person who gave you this enchantment wishes for you and Roselyn to remain apart forever, they now have the power to make it happen.” Edda sits a little taller, straightening and clasping her hands before her. She looks at me in a motherly fashion, feeling for my situation. 
    I look to Quin, noticing how silent he has been through the conversation. He bites at his thumbnail, eyeing the paper. 
    I turn back to Edda. “Is there any way to undo this?” I rub the back of my neck before sliding my hands beneath the table and clenching my fists, trying my hardest to hold my emotions in check. 
    “I don’t know, Osric. I am sorry. If Queen Jossa hired that wizard to do this in order to keep you two apart, there is nothing that can be done—to my knowledge. But then again, I don’t have magic. Perhaps you need to speak with someone who does.” She nods, as if unsure what else to do or say. 
    I rest my elbows on the table and put my face in my hands. In hopes of fixing all our issues, everything keeping us apart, I may have just secured them into place. “How can I have been so stupid as to fall into this trap? I sensed he was using magic on me, and yet I stayed anyway. I accepted the flowers. I gave them to Roselyn, and now I may never be with her again.” I mumble into my palms, not really meaning to speak out loud, but needing to think through everything. 
    “Sir, perhaps the best option now is to find the wizard. Ask him, demand answers from him. He would not have done this without reason. He has something to gain from all this,” Quin finally says. 
    “He told me he wanted a favor, that one day he would come to me, and I would answer his plight because of what he did for me.” I look up at Edda, running my fingers through my hair. “Why would he say that if he were working for someone who wishes to keep me and Rose apart?” 
    Edda pats my shoulder. “He could have lied. Or perhaps he is genuinely trying to help. There is no way of knowing unless you speak with him. Quin is right—you need to speak with him in order to find out his real motives.” 
    I nod once toward Edda and turn to Quin. “I will need you to prepare my horse. It looks like I will be returning to Tivor this night after all.”

 

    The sun shines brightly, causing perspiration to build upon my forehead as Madrid and I walk the streets of Tivor on our way to the seamstress. Mother told me that Nadi would come to me, but I was adamant about going to her. If I was going to suffer the task of standing for hours while clothes were made for me, I would spare the poor woman the trouble of bringing her tools to me. Not that I told my mother this. I assured her I could use the fresh air and a good stroll. 
    Nadi lives and works in a cottage barely large enough to fit her whole family. How she works in there is beyond me. As I recall, the last time I visited her, she had a flourishing shop in the market, so to learn that I would be seeing her in her home was quite a shock. As I look at the shambles of her roof and the state of her gardens—filled with weeds and