Kara had prepared so well for her first workday that her mother insisted on checking her vitals in case she'd come down with brain fever. 

Not only had she packed her work satchel the night before—which was frightening enough in itself—but she'd also laid out all her clothes, packed her meal in a neat little basket, and even picked out an interesting adventure book to read during her midday dinner break.

All in advance.

That morning Kara awoke before the first sunrise with the fifth bell. For the first time in her entire life. She'd only waited that long so as not to bother her poor mother, who had spent all evening tending to the Bauers' sick baby.

The poor wizard couldn't sleep for burned bread in a bakery. She kept tossing and turning as though she were pretending to be a ship caught in a storm.

Kara didn't need to begin work before the ninth bell, which would give her plenty of time to get ready and go for a pleasant stroll to the university. That way she could avoid being late thanks to the rotten carriage and all the annoying traffic.

Following the instructions in her mother's handbook, Kara wrapped an intricate braid around her head so that it would look classy while still staying out of the way. It was her first job at the castle, after all. It was important to look...well, regal.

Good thing I have long hair! Or else I'd never get it around my giant head!

A couple of loose tendrils framed her cheeks and softened the look. She pinched her cheeks to keep the sleepless pallor at bay.

Her heart hammered against her ribs as Kara checked her work bag three times over. Quill? Check. Ink? Check. Notebook? Check. Dinner? Check. Comb? Check. Change of dress in case I get all muddy or bloody or any other such nonsense? Check.

After all, Kara didn't know for certain everything her job would entail. Special physical education like self-defense classes? Possibly. After all, she was now part of a spy ring. A legitimate one run by Lord Staufen and the Tower Guard, of course. But a spy ring nonetheless.

Kara exhaled a deep breath and fidgeted with her blue wizard robes and a golden belt that hung low on her hips as per the latest fashion. Or so her mother had insisted.

Come on, you've got this. Make Papa proud!

Speaking of her mother, she waited for Kara in the kitchen near the front door. As though she could read her daughter's thoughts, she held out two elixirs.

I love you, Mom. We don't only look alike. We also think alike.

And they did. Her mother may have been twenty years older, but they had the same waves, dark as a blackbird's wing. The same pale shade of skin like the glimmering twin moons. And the same short yet round physique that seemed more sweet than graceful.

The only difference? Where her mother sported eyes the shade of a blue bellflower, Kara's were so green they looked almost black like tall pines swaying in the forest.

"Kara, dear!" her mother exclaimed. "You look lovely. Just like a princess."

Kara scowled. "Should I change it? 'Princess' seems a bit overkill."

"It's a figure of speech, dear." Her mother waved a dismissive hand with a yawn. "That style is definitely fashionable at the moment with all the female Masters and their daughters."

"Is it?"

"Yes, dear. Don't you notice all the ladies?"

Kara guzzled both flasks, one after the other, and gave her mother an incredulous look. "Mom, seriously! Do I look like I give a flying cowpat about what other girls do?"

All right, maybe we don't always think alike.

Her mother gave a wistful sigh. "Well, I did raise you to think on your own two feet." She muttered the next part under her breath. "But that wasn't exactly what I'd had in mind."

Kara rinsed the glass bottles out in the sink. "Besides, if I were so inclined to care, Hilda would probably burn my hair if she knew it was popular with fashionable ladies."

"Katharina, honestly!"

"Don't worry, Mom. You raised me well," said Kara with a cheeky grin. "In fact, if I weren't working at the castle, I swear I'd simply use my up-do von Kara."

Her mother scrunched her nose in disgust. "What? Sticking a leather hair tie around a ponytail at the base of your neck like some manly peasant?"

Kara nodded. "Yep, pretty much."

Handing her a couple of bronze coins, her mother curled her lip. "Be that as it may, take this. I got a little extra from the Bauers."

"Oh, Mom! I couldn't possibly—"

"Go on. Take it." She caught Kara's gaze. "I mean it. You'll want to socialize with Hilda and the rest of your friends, won't you? It's important to pay for your own drinks."

Kara took the coins and hugged her mother. "Thanks, Mom. I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it, dear," she said as Kara walked out the door. "It's a little gift for your first day at work."

Kara grinned. "You're the best."

"Be careful!"

"I will."

"Work hard!"

"Always."

Her mother waited for a few moments and shouted after her. "Be careful in the forest!"

Kara turned. "Oh?"

"They keep talking about some strange...spirit lurking around," her mother replied. "They found a peasant dead in a tavern who had never been there in his life."

Kara shook her head. "For the love of the Light, Mother! I'm twenty-four. Don't you think I'm a little old for ghost stories?"

"This is the real deal."

"Sure. Except spirits only exist in Teufelwald, and they can't survive in our fierce sunlight."

"I'm just sayin' he had no money." Her mother counted each point on a separate finger. "Never socialized with anyone. And I'd received a summons to help him, only he'd already died before I could get there."

"Maybe he died from socializing." Kara shrugged. "Humans can be pretty irritating."

"This is no laughing matter." The wizard held her arms up in surrender, while her mother crossed hers. "The point is: The peasant had died before he was found at the tavern."

"Probably a prank." Kara curled her lip. "Or maybe he was simply dying for an ale."

Her mother cast her a disparaging glare that was hopefully half in jest. "Seriously, make sure you go there with Hilda. Just to be safe."

"Right, well...I'll keep that in mind."

"All right, all right! Have fun!"

Light above! You'd think an intelligent woman would know better than to spread neighborhood gossip.

***

Kara had expected to meet all her friends in the foyer of the West Wing. Though the wizard had arrived fifteen whole minutes early, she was all alone. The assistant had even left a sign saying, Back in 20. Please wait here, Most Honored Guest.

Without a frame of reference, that proved to be less than helpful.

She ran her hands up and down her upper arms. That's weird. Where's Hilda? Or all the others for that matter? Am I in the right place? She checked the summons. Yes, I am. So what gives?

Overlooked by the previous Lord and Ladies of Minningen dating back well over a century, Kara waited for the assistant to return. They all stared down their noses at her. It seemed as though they were wondering why on Paxus a woman of common blood would dare to stand among them.

It didn't matter that paintings didn't, couldn't, and would never, ever move. It still felt that way. Maybe because an empty pit in her stomach churned like a bucket of worms. It was the same eerie sensation as that time she'd lost her way in the forest.

Hilda had always stood beside her from the time Kara could talk. Not to mention the dwarf's entourage of friends. They'd always taken the brunt of all the socializing, small talk, and the thousand-and-one other things Kara sucked at when it came to dealing with people.

Especially with Beanstalk there.

Get over it! You're an adult. You're smart. You're early for once in your life. And you can handle yourself.

Finally, the assistant returned. It was an elderly gnome who held his head so high, Kara wondered how he didn't have a permanent crick in his neck. 

Maybe he did.

"Excuse me, but I'm here for the Adventurer's Guild?" said Kara.

"Ahhh, His Most Esteemed Honor told me about you, ma'am." He gave her one of those fake royal smiles that made her want to smack him. The richest baritone fell from his lips, one she never expected from a gnome. Rich and velvety. Even though it was also annoyingly posh. "You are the late one, I presume?"

"I was early." Kara jutted her chin. "Fifteen minutes early, actually."

He chuckled. "If you insist. Carry on."

"Are the others there?"

"Others?"

"Well, yes." Kara gave a nervous chuckle. "You know, the fighters and rogues—"

"Oh, they started training over an hour ago." The gnome cleared his throat. "You will not be working with them."

"But I start at nine."

"Quite so." He gazed at me from over the top of his glasses. "And they start at eight."

Kara's heart sank. "What about the two sorcerers...and the clerics?"

He shook his head. "The sorcerers will be practicing spells in their own wing, and..." He looked around surreptitiously and lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. "The clerics are simply a formality to keep the Council calm. Required ethics check and all. They will not really be...doing...anything."

Well, that's reassuring. The ethics committee is simply a 'formality'.

Perfect! Just perfect.

"All right, fine. What about the other wizard?" asked Kara, her hands growing clammy.

The gnome checked his roster. "They are doing specialist classified research in the laboratory."

Translation: They're building weapons. On their own, of course.

Ergo: not with me.

"So...it's just me. Alone. With the Tower guard I've pissed off during my exam." Kara readjusted her belt. "Wonderful. That's great news. Really fabulous, ya know?"

The assistant slowly raised his incredulous gaze to meet hers. "You shall address His Most Esteemed Honor as 'Sir' at all times. And you must never refer to him by name."

"Oh, why is that?"

"No one knows it."

"Then how could I—?" Kara sighed. "You know what, never mind. It doesn't even matter because I'm going to get fired before I start."

"Wonderful," came his deadpan response. She half-expected him to add, So pleased to hear it, possibly with or without him being serious.

Maybe this is one of the weird spirits Mom was talking about.

Or is he always like that?

"Can you tell me where His Most Esteemed Royal Honor's office is, please?" asked Kara with no small amount of sarcasm.

"That would be His Most Esteemed Honor." He paused for effect. "Ma'am."

Oh, honestly! Who gives a flying fart?

Just tell me where I can find Beanstalk. Preferably also find me a room I can hide in so I don't have to face His High Exaltedness, The Great Pole-Up-His-Butt all on my own.

Kara smiled a little too sweetly. "Right...that."

He gave Kara a floor plan and circled the office in red, which was probably for the best since the castle was a damned labyrinth of twists and turns. And she'd never been in the West Wing before. This was the domain of royalty, professors, and honored guests.

Not the place for recent graduates who hadn't even earned a Master title yet.

"Thanks...uh...to you, Oh Mighty Gnome, and blessed be your illustrious title!"

He looked at her as though she'd grown three heads, two horns, and a tail.

Screw it. I don't even care anymore.

One day alone with His Most Mighty Pedantic Stickler-ness and you'll be out on your backside before a peasant can say, 'You ain't royalty'.

The gnome peeked up over the edge of the window once more. "Oh, and one more thing, ma'am."

Kara tilted her neck to ease the growing tension. Oh, boy! I can't wait to hear this.

"You're five minutes late," said the gnome. "And His Most Esteemed Honor does not take too kindly to tardiness."

Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

___

Word count: 1,968
Total word count: 12,740/20,000