What they did in the forest

Just outside of Evelyn's senses, a beautiful brunette vampire had watched as Evelyn guided Peggy on how to use her elemental magic from her spot high up in the treetops. Once she saw the girls retreating back to the estate, she quickly left to join her companions at one of the inns they were staying at within the Gauthier Duchy.

"You made it back quickly," Clyde commented as Maxine took her seat at the table in the back corner.

"Well, Evelyn and Peggy wasted no time before they snuck out to the forest just behind the estate and practiced their magic," she commented as she called over one of the servers. "I'll have what they are having," she winked at the petite woman.

"Oh?" Clyde licked his reddened lips.

"It wasn't much, but from what I heard it seems that the older sister, Peggy, doesn't have much experience with elemental magic because the coven's focus veers toward healing magic. However, it seems that Evelyn has enough of an understanding of wind magic that she was able to guide her sister on how to cultivate her wind magic. I have a feeling that Evelyn possesses some powerful skills, but it was hard to judge since she didn't use her magic openly. I am pretty sure that she was using sensory magic to make sure that no one was watching. I just got lucky that she didn't reach expand her radar out to where I was watching," Maxine reported.

"From what I discovered from her maid, Evelyn will probably sneak out tonight to practice on her own," George commented as he adjusted his glasses. "Do you want one of us to head over there to keep watch tonight?"

Clyde swirled the thick red liquid in his glass and then took a long sip. He used his thumb to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips. "Maxine, you should head back out to the forest tonight. I have a feeling that my little bird will give you quite the show tonight," he smirked. "George, has Prince Martin made any moves yet?"

George shook his head, "nothing special. He and the princess checked into their inn and have just spent their time shopping in the various vendors and had their lunch. They ate by themselves, and I didn't see anyone join them at all."

"Very well, I want you to keep watching them. Have you managed to find a way for us to join their little ball?"

"Yes, I have secured four invitations for the ball. Do you want me to contact Sally to join us?" George had thought that Clyde would want a date to accompany him to ward off any advances toward him.

"No, she has her own job to complete," Clyde wickedly smiled. "I have her stationed over in Barton to watch their movements."

"Another thing, I did learn that Count Crawn is hosting a hunt next week after the ball. Also, I heard that Prince Martin and his princess will be in attendance. Do you want me to see about getting us into that as well?"

"Hmm," he hummed deep in thought. He slowly opened his reddened copper-colored eyes. "Yes, do that. I want to keep an eye on him while he is here, and Sally is scouting out in Barton. Find out who all will be in attendance at both events. If Lord Norton will be there, reach out to him. It would be wise for us to be his guests; it should be enough for us to avoid some suspicion from the werewolves. But I'm sure that Duke Gauthier will still have his guard up with both Lord Norton and us in attendance, but he should be able to smooth things over a bit."

"I understand," George nodded. "And what about the Prince? I'm sure that being Lord Norton's guests will not be enough to pacify him."

"You are probably right, but he won't be dumb enough to cause a scene when he knows that our connections are deep, and he will be outnumbered should he make a move here. Also, remember that we are in werewolf territory here, so be smart about it." He warned his companions.

"Understood," Maxine and George replied in unison.

***

"You girls need to be more careful about disappearing while we are here, but we will talk about this later" their father shook his head. "Go, the Duchess has been asking about you for well over an hour now and I wasn't sure how much longer I was going to be able to cover for you ladies."

"Sorry, father," the girls said in unison with their eyes downcast.

Their father sighed, "you should have at least let me know before you wandered off. What if someone had come looking for you only to find you doing God knows what?"

"You mean to tell me that the Duke and Duchess are unaware of our powers?" Evelyn quickly asked; she found this hard to believe. While neither of them ever brought the subject up, she had always assumed that most knew they were witches because their mother Lauren was a very powerful and influential witch; she knew this just from reading her mother's journals.

"No, why would they know? Did you think that any of us have told anyone about you two?"

Evelyn rolled her eyes at his white lie, but she knew from the journals that outside of the coven, not many knew her true nature. Still, she was a little surprised to hear that they had managed to keep their true powers a secret after all that her mother had done for the betterment of the duchy.

"I'm sure that everyone has said the same things: 'It is better to remain quiet, even when using your healing magic.' Haven't you noticed that when you are tending to the ill you are called "healers" and you always travel with at least two other members of your coven and at one trusted member of the clergy? That is to keep you safe and ward off any suspicion." Their father looked from one daughter to the next and sighed, "Well, it's just about time for dinner, please go and get freshened up because both of your dresses have now been soiled."