Magical Mishaps

Originally posted to Deviantart on September 30th, 2016.

The Kingdom of Okenda was among the largest kingdoms known throughout the land.  Fertile farm lands and mixed weather promised great growing seasons.  Well trained legions of knights made its castle believed to be impenetrable.  King Markus himself also had a very careful ear for his people.  He was quick to solve disputes among his people, and wasted little time in sending knights to fend off goblin attacks.  

 

Markus even had the aid of a talented wizard at his side.  Although he was retired from using his magic in battle now, Alzuus had still made use of his time creating enchants and writing books.  Between the enhanced gear and rigorous training, the Knights of Okenda were believed to be unbeatable.

 

However, there was one person King Markus appeared to be a bit deaf too.  He was notoriously overprotective of his daughter, Princess Maria.

 

The girl spent much of her days up in her room, only able to watch the world from her window.  Maria was given pretty much anything she wanted.  Beautiful clothes, good food, a great view of the kingdom, and quick servants.  

 

Her life was luxurious, but it was all she knew day in and day out.  Only a few different servants were allowed to tend to her, and the guards were not allowed to touch her unless she was in dire need of protection.  It was something that left her bored, but the King had little trust for anyone near her.

 

Even though the Kingdom was in wonderful shape, Maria couldn’t help but wonder that not all was well.  From her window, she could see the training ground where the knights and guards practiced, and their exercises became more frequent.  The only rumors she had ever heard was goblin attacks were getting more common.  

 

This didn’t sit well with the princess.  She watched as one of those brave knights sat down on a log as a maiden brought him a bucket of water to drink from.  They were working hard to protect the royal family, and here she was, barely allowed to even thank them.

 

She turned towards a nearby desk, with a determined look on her face.  Maria had spent a lot of time as the proper polite little princess, but she had a plan.  She was going to do something.  First, she had reached under her desk, and retrieved a simple candle.  Then, she gave a cautious glance towards her door, and opened a drawer.  

 

Maria stuck her hand inside, and opened a secret compartment, retrieving a tome and clutching it to her chest.  It was not easy to get.  Normally, nobody was allowed near Alzuus’ library, and she had snuck in to grab the book.  She felt if she could learn magic, she could use it for the good of her kingdom, and be productive.  At least then, she would have earned the treatment she was given through birthright.

 

Of course, Maria didn’t want to waste a lot of time in a forbidden library knowing she could get in a lot of trouble, so she grabbed the first tome she could get her hands on.  Her haste resulted in her getting book that her maidens would find more helpful, even though she had never once seen a servant use magic.  Alzuus seemed to always be planning for any sort of advancement for the kingdom, but not everything became reality..

 

The spells were simple.  Many of them were for freshening drinks or cleaning fabrics.  Others were for lighting candles and organizing bedding.  At first, Maria wanted to put the book back and find something more heroic, but it was a lot of trouble just to get into that library.  However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t use her magic to lessen the load of taking care of her so the maidens could focus on tending to the knights.  That would be something.

 

Through a lot of reading, she found a spell that conjured fire.  It wasn’t going to ignite hoards of enemies, but it was a start.  For practice, she tried to light the candle she had placed on her desk.  

 

After re-reading the instructions on the spell, Maria stood and took a deep breath, focusing on the candle wic.  Maria held the palm of her hand upwards, and focused hard on the energies that would create light.  She could feel the energy start to flow through her veins, and she directed her palm at the candle.

 

“Yaa!”  She shouted.

 

From the palm of her hand, a tiny, white ember flew forward and hit the wic of the candle.  It ignited into a vibrant flame.  

 

“Yes!”  Maria balled her hands into fists in celebration.  “I did it!  I used magic!”  She got closer to her lit candle, and put her hand near it to feel the radiant warmth of the flame only to find it wasn’t warm at all..  

 

“Weird…”  She mumbled to herself.  Maria watched for a moment, and the candle wax didn’t seem to be melting.  The wic was also not burning down, and yet the flame continued to exist.  She waved her hand near it, and felt nothing.

 

Maria had produced light without heat.

 

She stared at the candle for a moment, before declaring “This… is… USELESS!”  She rolled her eyes and batted the candle to its side, landing near some parchment.  The papers didn’t ignite, but the sudden action snuffed the white flame.  “Ugh, how am I supposed to learn a proper fireball spell when I can’t even make warm fire?  There must be something I’m doing wrong,” she said, shuffling through pages.  “I know it’s a maids spell book but there must be something useful in here.  And why haven’t I seen a maid use this yet?”

 

Maria flipped through the many pages, uncertain of what she did wrong, when she heard a knocking on her door.

 

“Princess Maria?”  came the feminine voice.  It was Iza, one of the many maids that served the royal family.  The door slowly creaked open, as Maria quickly closed the spell book and put it in a drawer and turned around.  

 

“Oh, hello Iza!  What brings you here?”  Maria said, putting on the most polite smile she could.

 

“Just bringing you some water, directly from the Singing River.  Nothing more pure.”  She said with a smile as she presented the pitcher.

 

“The Singing River?”  Maria said in surprise.  “Goodness it takes the Knights a full day to reach that river.  Tell me they were given some of this water too?”

 

Iza shook her head.  “Moving water is no easy task, milady.  Even for the knights.  This purity is only for the royal family.”  The maid then did a bow, and turned her attention to Maria’s bed.  “I shall prepare your bedding for tonight.”  She began to strip the bed of it’s blankets and sheets and prepared to clean them, like they were done every day.

 

“Iza,  you really don’t need to do that.  They are plenty clean enough for me to sleep comfortably.”  Maria said, kicking herself for not folding her blankets herself.  Usually she would try to do it herself, and then convince one of the maidens that it had already been done.  Studying the spell book had taken priority for much of the day.

 

“It is a task we all have to do.  If these blankets are not flawless, King Markus will be very cross with us,” she said.  “Really, it’s a pleasure to serve you milady.  Not every princess is quite as polite as you are.”  A playful giggle followed.

 

Maria rolled her eyes.  She disliked how sheltered she was.  It was wasteful to serve her this much when she did so little.  “You’re not cleaning those blankets in that pure water are you?”

 

Iza smirked.  “Only the best for the princess.”

 

“But that’s so wasteful!”  She protested.  “Look out the window.  Certainly one of our brave knights should be drinking that water instead.  It’s good for them!”

 

“Be that as it may, your father will accept nothing less for you,” Iza said, gathering all of the blankets and bedding.  “I promise I will return before sunset so you may rest comfortably!”  She turned and made her way out the door.

 

Maria shook her head as she shut it behind Iza.  “Wasting water and doing chores, all that for me.  I’m such a burden by existing.”  Maria shook her head and looked towards the spell book.  “Maybe there’s a way I can lessen all these accommodations needed for me,” she opened the spell book and began to read.

 

Maria looked over the spellbook carefully.  The two particular chores that Iza was focused on were on her mind.  For the moment, it was fortunate that she had a maiden’s spellbook.  If the maidens were more free to tend to the knights instead of her, it would be a victory in Maria’s mind.  A small one, but a direction she wanted to take.  

 

After carefully looking through the pages, Maria had found a spell that she was looking for.

 

She put a finger to the page and stared intently, reading to herself.  “Water purification.  Can take any liquid and turn it into completely pure, clean, revitalizing water.  Larger bodies of water will take more energy.”

 

Maria nodded reading this, and sipped some of the water that Iza had brought.  She glanced at it, swirling it around a little.  The Singing River had the cleanest water known throughout the kingdom.  Likely because it was a little out of the way from the castle and the nearby village.  As such, her glass of water looked very clean.  To practice this spell, she would have to make it a little dirty.

 

It wasn’t difficult to do.  First Maria wiped a little dust off the old tome and brushed it off into the water.  Then she got up from her chair, and tried to sweep up some dirt near her door onto her fingers and brushed it off into the glass.  Before long, the water in the drinking glass was no longer clear.  

 

She nodded with satisfaction, and brought her attention back to her spellbook.  Maria carefully studied the page with the water purification spell, trying to make sure she picked up all the details she could on how to cast it.  If she could create purified water, she could make it not only for herself, but for everyone in the Kingdom!  The Powerful Princess of Purity, cleaner of water.  That seemed like a more desireable title to Maria than merely Princess.  

 

Maria took a few steps back and cleared her mind, and raised a hand.  She let her mind fill and focus on pure thoughts, trying to draw energy from them.  A newfound power began to grow within her, and her heart was racing.  The energy almost seemed to glow, and she directed it at the glass.

 

A bright light emitted from her hands, shining brilliant silver light at the glass, before it died down.  The water in the glass was completely clear purified.  

 

A smile quickly grew on her face.  “I did it!”  She took a few steps forward, and looked closely at the water and took a small sip.  The water was great.  No, better than great.  It was flawless.  If Maria hadn’t known any better, it was more pure than the water from the Singing River!

 

With her confidence growing rapidly, Maria knew that somehow, she had to purify more water in the kingdom.  She just HAD to.  Other people needed to be drinking this.  She would use it on the water the knights and horses were drinking, what the maidens were cleaning with, maybe even what people had to bathe in.

 

Maria was ready to help, but still put a hand to her chin to think.  There were a couple of problems.  She needed to be sneaky about what she was going to do.  The guards near her room normally did not let her walk about unescorted.  On top of that, she couldn’t let herself get caught using magic.  After all, she stole the spell book from Alzuus’ library.

 

“Hmm…” She flipped through some pages of the spellbook, wondering if there was something helpful within it’s pages.  She stopped at one.  “Ah ha, Maiden’s Invisibility… makes the user invisible and mutes all their sound, so there is no disturbance to who they serve.”

 

Maria read the page of the book over and over again, feeling she could pull this off.  However, she took a quick glance at her dress.  She was currently wearing a well crafted dress made from fine fabrics, with a light blue color.  Not exactly a dress she would normally wear when out and about.  The brunette turned to her closet.

 

With a quick bit of sorting and a change of attire, she found a much more simpler dress.  The skirt came just below her knees, while the sleeves puffed up on the shoulders.  It didn’t look elaborate or worthy of a princess, but Maria actually preferred it.  It was easy to put on and move around in.

 

After a quick change of clothes, Maria took a close look at the spellbook.  There were notes that the spell might prove difficult to sustain for a long period of time.  Despite this, Maria thought she should at least attempt it.  She reread how to perform the spell a few more times, and then looked in the mirror.

 

Maria pressed her hands together, and tried to channel more magical energies again, this time trying to focus on blocking her own image from light.  She closed her eyes and waved her hands over herself, feeling power begin to flow from her body.

 

Unlike the other two spells before it, the flow of magic continued, as if she had to constantly channel the power.  Another oddity that happened was that everything felt heavier.  She thought her body overall felt heavier, but her clothes in particular, seemed to weigh more.  Perhaps this was what the book was talking about?

 

However, once Maria glanced at the mirror, it became clear that the spell had worked as planned.  There was nobody standing where she stood.  She was able to see her own hands with no sign of transparency, but they weren’t in the reflection of her mirror.  Maria smiled, and knew that she could pull her plans off.  She walked towards where she had set the book and attempted to pick it up.

 

Something unusual happened though.  A brief glittering enveloped the book when she touched it, and she soon had found it to be incredibly heavy.  Maria placed both her hands on the book in an effort to lift it.  She gritted her teeth and barely got the book off of her bed.  It was HEAVY, and Maria simply couldn’t carry it.  Soon it slipped through her fingers, and fell back onto her bed.

 

Maria panted for a moment, trying to think about what happened.  Then an idea hit her for a simpler experiment.  She walked back over to her desk, closer to her mirror.  There was a feather pen nearby, clearly visible in the mirror while she wasn’t.  The princess kept an eye on the feather, and touched it.  Sure enough, it became invisible in the mirror, and it seemed far heavier than a feather should be.  Not so much that Maria couldn’t lift it, but it was noticeable.

 

She hesitated in thought as she set the feather down.  There was no way she was going to be able to move the book with her.  It was simply too heavy.  She’d have to go without it.  However, she felt confident in her ability to use that water purifying spell without it.  

 

“I just have to do this little by little, and get better at it,” Maria said to herself.  There was a determined look on her face, not that anybody could see it.  The Princess was still going to try and use this magic to help the kingdom.  She’d just start small, and come back to her room.  

 

The Princess nodded to herself, and tugged on her dress.  It felt heavier, like it was made of thick leather.  Probably a cost of the magic keeping it invisible.  She thought about switching to something lighter, but didn’t want to waste a lot of time as she headed towards the door to her room.

 

It opened slowly, as Maria looked around for the guard that usually stood vigilant by her room.  Oddly enough, he was absent.  Maria raised an eyebrow in confusion.  There was ALWAYS at least one guard by her door, whether she wanted one or not.  She wasn’t about to question his absence though.  So she took a breath, and walked forward into the hallways.

 

The hallways leading towards her room were silent.  One could hear a pin drop if they thought to listen for one.  This made Maria’s trip down the hallways of her castle easier.  If she were caught unattended, her father would be very upset with the guards, and this wasn’t their fault at all.  If she were caught using magic, she was certain he would somehow blame them anyway.  

 

At the same time, they were completely absent.  Maria hadn’t seen one guard on her way through the hallways.  It was as if the castle was completely empty.  There wasn’t even the clacking sound of iron sabatons of a patrolling guard.  

 

All the while, she continued to feel heavier.  She thought nothing of it, but she did wipe a little sweat from her forehead.  Maria looked down, seeing that she didn’t look any different.  Perhaps she was just unused to having to keep a spell constantly in effect?

 

Further and further down the halls, Maria began to feel more aware of the weight of her clothing.  Before it felt like the firm leather a nimble hunter might wear.  Now it bared the weight of of the heavy plated armor normally worn by the guards.  Moving in her dress was becoming difficult, her pace slowed, and she felt her heart pushing itself.

 

After reaching the bottom of the stairs that lead to the knights training ground, Maria had to stop.  She put a hand against the wall and panted heavily.  She could feel her ability to maintain the spell begin to slip.  Maria knew that in general, magic had limits as to how much it could be used.  The user would have to rest at some point.  

 

However, she did begin to realize just how much her dress was slowing her down.  The invisibility spell was making her clothes invisible, but also heavy.  Moving around in it was getting difficult, and it seemed like it would soon be impossible.  Maybe she would be better off without it…

 

That thought sent a shiver up her spine.  The dress was one big piece that covered most of her body.  Besides that, she had her shoes and some well crafted silk underwear.  To be so undressed, so far from her room… that would get her in trouble for sure.

 

Then again, she was invisible, and she hadn’t even seen anyone since Iza left her room.  Up until this point, she had perfectly been able to avoid detection.  Without her magic, it seemed like a crazy idea.  

 

She glanced around to make sure she was alone, and glanced at a nearby iron shield on display.  There was no reflection of her within it.

 

“This is for the Kingdom,” Maria told herself, as she wrapped her fingers around the neck hole of her dress.  It was difficult to move.  The princess tried to tug upward, and then tried to lean forward, getting on her knees.  She was able to slip her head through the top of the dress, and struggled to crawl backwards, pulling her arms through the sleeves.  

 

When Maria crawled backwards out the bottom of her dress, she felt a massive weight lifted off her shoulders.  Her arms wrapped around her chest, as her slightly sweaty form was bared to the hallway by the door.  It was a relief to be free of that weight, though still unnerving to be undressed.

 

Moving was much easier now.  The silk fabric of her underwear still felt heavier than they should be, but not to the point of being heavily plated armor.  Maria let out a sigh of relief.  She wasn’t sure how she’d get her dress back to her room, but that was something she’d have to answer later.

 

The princess pushed the doors to the knights training ground open, and stepped outside.  The cooler air washed over her moistened skin, a feeling that Maria welcomed.

 

As refreshing as the air was, she couldn’t help but wrap her arms around her body.  She felt so exposed outside in her underwear.  So much skin was on display.  Maria wasn’t completely naked, but she certainly wasn’t presented like a princess normally would be.  Her dark, purple silk underwear and a pair of simple shoes were all that was on her.

 

For a moment, she forgot she was invisible, but she was very aware of the side effect of the spell.  With her remaining clothing feeling heavier than it normally would, it made her feel more aware of just how much of her body was on display.  She shivered, wondering what would happen if she was caught like this.  Maria slowly tilted her head upwards to look at the knights training ground.

 

Oddly enough, nobody was there.  It was so strange.  Maria knew she had heard the knights sparring earlier in the day.  She could hear them calling out their drills from her window.  It wasn’t clear what was going on, all Maria could tell was that there were no guards or knights around.  

 

“Where is everybody…” Maria muttered under her breath.  It seemed like she didn’t even need her invisibility spell for how far she made it.  She removed her dress, seemingly for nothing.  

 

Whatever the case was, Maria didn’t want to waste a lot of time.  The barely dressed invisible princess spotted a barrel with a tab labeled “water.”  That was her target.  She cast a glance at the door behind her, seeing a chance to turn back.  However, she wasn’t about to give up a chance to help out her kingdom.  

 

As nervous as she was, she gulped and began to step forward, abandoning the safety of the castle.  She wasn’t sure how long she would be alone in the training ground, but Maria wasn’t about to press her luck further than necessary.  

 

Her remaining clothing began to feel heavier than before.  She was quickly feeling exhausted from simple movement.  Maria’s breathing became more labored, and the muscles of her body were begging for a rest, but she had a goal.

 

Finally, Maria, reached the water barrel, almost stumbling to get behind it.  She panted heavily, wiping a little more sweat off of her forehead.  Maintaining this invisibility spell was a lot of effort, she needed a break from it.  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and tried to focus on bringing her energies back into the light.  

 

It was like a large weight was lifted off her shoulders as the spell ended.  She was visible outside in her underwear, standing behind a barrel.  After a short rest, she’d lift the lid of that barrel, and then use her spell to-

 

“Aye!  Any reports of goblin attacks?”

 

Maria froze.  Was somebody nearby?

 

“No attacks sir, but one of the scouts thinks he saw something in the west!”

 

This couldn’t be good.  Maria was out in the knights training ground, nearly naked.  Somehow she had made it all the way down without being noticed, and now she was hearing people!  She slowly stood up, using the barrel to block the view of her body from the training ground, and looked.

 

Everyone was where they should be.  Knights were training, squires were feeding horses, a knight with more elaborate armor, possibly a captain, was looking at a map.  How did Maria not notice any of this when she went outside?

 

Maria retreated back behind the barrel, feeling increasingly nervous and exposed.  All that was covering her nearly nude body was some silk underwear, clinging with moisture produced by the physical feat of coming down from her room in an increasingly heavy dress.  

 

She could feel her heart racing.  If she was caught, what would happen?  Would the knights and servants see her as some sort of pervert?  How would her father react!?  She shuddered as she wrapped her arms around her chest.  Her knees shook a little as she looked at the ground.

 

Those were all possibilities she needed to avoid.  Somehow, she needed to get back to her dress without being seen.  Being caught in the knights yard was one thing.  Being caught while so undressed was another.  She crept around the barrel of water again and waited for her opportunity, however, it would never come.

 

As her breathing regulated, she started to calm down a little.  Soon she remembered why she came down in the first place; to purify water.  Maria glanced at the barrel, and then towards the knights.  Nobody was looking her way, maybe she could at least cast the spell.  

 

Maria took a deep breath, and carefully lifted the lid of the barrel and pushed it over so she could see the water.  Sunlight was now able to hit the water, and even though she couldn’t see it quite as clearly as she did with the glass from before, but she could still tell that it was far from perfect.

 

One more look at the knights, and they weren’t paying attention to her direction.  Maria took a deep breath, and began to clear her mind.  She felt she could draw out the energies, but it was a little more difficult than befo-

 

“AAAOOOGH!!”  

 

She jumped.  It sounded like one of the knights screaming!

 

“Ay!  Are you alright?”

 

“Me ankle!  Agh I fell a bad way!”  He groaned.

 

“Step aside!”  The captain said, running towards the fallen knight.

 

Maria looked in concern for the knight, however, as she noticed everyone else on the training ground scrambling to the fallen knight, she was given the best chance she could to cast her spell.

 

So, she turned her focus to the water again.  Maria focused on it, trying to clear her mind.  She began to feel the power flow through her, though she found it more difficult to stand while using the spell.  Finally, she focused her power on the barrel of water, and it briefly glowed.  When the glow faded, perfectly clear water was now in the barrel.

 

She sighed with relief, and put the lid back in it’s place, before falling down to her knees.  Maria felt so much more tired after doing that than the first time she used that spell.  Maybe it was because it was used on more water?  Then again, she did feel tired after using the invisibility spell.

 

Her tension rose again, when she heard the clanking of metal boots approaching the barrel.  The barely dressed girl moved her hands to cover herself as best she could, and got as low as possible to be out of site.  She really hoped she wasn’t going to be found.

 

“It’s just a twist.  You’ll have to stay off your leg for a bit.”

 

“But Cap’n, I wanna help protect the kingdom!”  Protested the knight.

 

“Ya no good to us if you’re hurt.  Get some water in ya, and go rest in the barracks,” said the captain before walking off.

 

Maria held herself tight.  If any of the knights bother to look behind the barrel, she would be in serious trouble.  All she could do was hold still, and hope she wouldn’t be seen.  At the very least, the efforts of her water spell would go towards an injured knight.

 

“Lousy ankle,” the injured knight.  “Letting me down in the middle of just training…”  he reached for a mug that was by the barrel, and lifted the lid.  He dipped his mug in the barrel, and took a sip of the water.  He raised an eyebrow.  “Aye, it’s a bit clean.  Like the Singing River!”  He took another gulp.

 

As worried as she was, Maria cracked a smile.  If nothing else, her water purifying spell had worked as she planned.  And the water she worked so hard to clean was going to a knight that needed it no less.  

 

The knight set his mug down, and lifted his leg.  “That’s funny, me leg doesn’t feel sore anymore…”  He stood up, and bent his leg.  “In fact it feels great… I feel great!”

 

Maria wanted to turn her head and see what was going on, but couldn’t risk exposing herself.  She didn’t remember reading that the water had healing properties.  Could it be doing something she wasn’t aware of?

 

Before she could think of something further, she heard another knight shouting.  “Goblins have been spotted approaching from the west!”

 

As the many knights rallied, the once injured one stood up.  He quickly stretched his legs, and had a determined look on his face.  “Aye!  If those good for nothing goblins wanna attack the royal family, they’ll have to go through ME first!”  He drew his sword and began to run off.

 

Maria poked her head out from behind the barrel to find the rejuvenated knight, not only eager for battle, but seemed to show more vigor than the other knights.  He charged on with a rallying war cry and was soon out of the gate.

 

“I guess it worked,” Maria said silently, watching the legion of knights clear the training ground.  It was now less populated, but there were still various maids and squires about.  She had done the spell once and clearly had done some good with it, but Maria was absolutely exhausted.  The princess needed to get back to her room and rest before doing any more magic.

 

Before she got up, she tried to use the invisibility spell again.  She took a deep breath and tried to focus on energies that would block her from sight.  They almost began to channel… but soon stopped.  Maria let out a deep exhale, and had to put her hands on the edge of the barrel to stop from falling.

 

The spell didn’t work.  The nearly nude princess was still visible, and her magic had failed her.  People would be able to see her, and they would also see just how little clothing she had on.  Maria hesitated, glancing at the barrel of the water she purified.  

 

A quick drink might help.  It seemed to draw out the fighting spirit of the knight from before.  No… the knights were in combat.  If things didn’t go well with their battle, they would need every drop of it they could get.  

 

As the tired princess stood up and looked towards the door back to the castle, she prepared to make a move.  That was when she saw the door open, and a woman stepped out.  Maria recognized her too, it was Iza, holding Maria’s dress in hand.  She looked very irritated.  

 

“Who was doing the princesses laundry today?”  She said, marching towards the maidens.  “This is her favorite dress!  She will not be pleased to know it was on the ground!”

 

Maria watched Iza making her way towards the maidens.  There were two reasons she did not like what she was seeing.  One of the maidens was going to get in a lot of trouble for something Maria did.  Second, that was her dress, the one she wasn’t wearing, and the one she needed for a easy trip back to her room.

 

This was a problem.  Maria couldn’t let herself get seen like this.  She took another look at the barrel of water.  The princess remembered she wanted every drop possible to go to a knight that needed it.  However, she began to think that if she wasn’t able to get out of this mess unseen, she might not get a chance to purify more water in the future.  

 

The barely dressed princess stood up and opened the lid of the barrel to see the shimmering water.  It looked so inviting, Maria didn’t even bother with a mug.  She scooped her hand into the water, bringing a palmful to her mouth.  

 

As she drank, some water splashed about, droplets sliding down her exposed skin.  They glided down and met her silk bra, getting absorbed into the fabric.  Another handful of water, and more splashed down, rolling down her stomach, down to the lower half of her underwear.  

 

It was a bit shameful.  Maria looked like a peasant drinking water this way.  However, she couldn’t lie, the water was more than refreshing, it revitalizing.  She could feel more energetic with each scoop of water she sipped out of her palm.

 

“Aye, that was incredible out there!  I never seen you fight like that before, and we all thought you got hurt!”  said an approaching male voice.

 

“I don’t know what happened.  I was right over here, drinking a bit of water like the Cap’n said, and suddenly I felt like I could take on a hundred men!”  said a familiar voice.

 

Maria’s eyes widened.  Those knights were back already!?  She ducked behind the barrel again.  Her heart was racing, but she didn’t feel as tired anymore.  She had to disappear, and quick!

 

As the Knights approached, Maria closed her eyes and tried to focus on the energies to make her disappear as quickly as she could.  She started to feel the energy move through her body, and soon became more aware of the weight of her underwear.  Was the spell working?  All Maria could do was wait.

 

She waited… and waited… and waited… but the knights had went silent.  Slowly, Maria looked up in confusion, but didn’t see the knights.  Or anyone on the training ground for that matter.

 

“Where did… what?”  Maria looked confused, talking out loud.  She was completely baffled.  What happened?  Where did everyone go?  

 

The princess stood up, looking around to see a completely vacant training ground.  She leaned over the barrel, and couldn’t see her own reflection.  This at least meant, that her spell was working.  With only a couple of close calls, she decided she needed to head back to her room.

 

However, on her trip down, maintaining the spell was becoming exhausting.  What if she couldn’t maintain it on her way back to her room?  There was no way for her to tell if the path for a return trip was as vacant as it was on the way down.  If she was forced to drop the spell, she could end up being very undressed in front of the royal guards.

 

Maria shivered at the thought.  She was doing this to help them, but her reputation would be at risk.  Somehow, she needed to get her dress back.  Maria began to move in the direction of where she last saw Iza, soundlessly moving across the knights training ground.

 

Her silk underwear was the only thing on her body.  Just knowing this was making her heart race.  The cloth felt heavier than it should be, and neither the top or bottom felt secure on her body.  It was if they could slip off due to their own weight at any moment.  She wrapped her arms around her undergarments, as if it kept them in place better.

 

Soon Maria was in the area where maids had to do laundry.  Like the knights training ground from before, it was vacant.  This was so confusing.  How did everyone disappear so quickly?

 

Whatever the case, the undressed Princess began looking around for her dress.  It had to be somewhere, she saw Iza carrying it in here.  There were a few spots meant for washing and scrubbing, others meant for small knitting repairs.  Then a clothesline for drying.  

 

Nearby there was a basket for clothes meant to be washed.  Her dress was most likely in there!  She walked up to it, and began lifting up different linens, finding them very heavy.  The invisibility spell seemed to make everything heavy.  Maria gritted her teeth and struggled with a blanket.  It was like it was made of iron, it was not going to budge easily.

 

She sighed, glancing around, seeing that she was alone in the room.  If she dropped this invisibility spell, everything would feel like it was at its normal weight, and she could more easily search for her dress.  Maria took one more glance around the room, feeling her face warm up.  It was risky, but it had to be done.

 

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and focused on becoming visible again.  The weight of her underwear had felt normal again, which caused her to sigh with relief.  Maria looked around one more time, and noticed a nearby stool was tipped over when it wasn’t before.

 

“Hmm?”  Maria raised an eyebrow quizzically.

 

“G-guards!  A ghost!”  shrieked a woman in the distance.

 

“A ghost?  What is she…?”  Maria thought for a moment, and then soon realized, that girl probably thought she was the ghost!  She felt exhausted from the spell, so she had no choice but to hide.  The princess looked around quickly, and ducked down to crawl underneath a table.

 

The table was low to the ground, and Maria wasn’t sure if she could fit underneath, but she had to try!  She tried to crawl underneath it, finding the space under the table to be a tight squeeze.  She was able to get her shoulders underneath the table, but felt a snag pulling tightly at her chest.  

 

Being partially under the table wasn’t going to cut it.  There was no time to be careful either, she could hear the clacking of metal boots approaching!  Maria pushed forward, desperate to get out of sight.  She heard a sudden tearing noise, and then tight pull on her chest stopped, allowing her to suddenly jerk forward.

 

“Oh no!”  Maria whispered under her breath.  She crawled forward until she was out of sight, her face glowing bright red.  Something was clearly wrong with her top, she knew because her breasts were now free, and had to be covered by her arms.  The undressed princess held herself tightly, as she heard the knight approaching.

 

“Where are ye, ghost?  Show yourself!”  Barked the knight.  There were a few serious steps forward.  “Are ye sure you saw one?”

 

“Y-yes!”  Replied the maiden’s voice.  “I was over here, washing some linens, when I saw some of the blankets moving by themselves!”

 

Maria kept a hand over her mouth to silence her breathing.  This confirmed what she thought.  That maiden thought she was a ghost!  She wanted to turn invisible again, but couldn’t concentrate enough to cast the spell.  The princess had no choice but to wait this out.

 

“Hmm…”  The knight look around.  “I don’t know how to track a ghost.  But perhaps Alzuus might be able to help.”

 

Maria’s eyes widened.  The wizard!?

 

“Oh would you?  Please, I just can’t work knowing there could be a spirit about!”  the maiden pleaded.

 

“I will speak to him, but be forewarned.  If he finds nothing, you might be in a bit of trouble,” the Knight replied.

 

The two walked out of the room, as Maria thought things over.  There was no ghost to find, but Alzuus was the most talented wizard in the kingdom!  What if he was able to track the use of magic?  All she knew for she was that she didn’t want to stick around to find out.

 

She crawled backwards, out from under the table, and was now able to inspect her top.  Sure enough, the back had torn clean.  There was no way it would be able to stay up on it’s own, and she didn’t know her way around the sewing materials enough to fix it.

 

Maria hesitated, knowing she didn’t have a lot of time.  She cautiously looked around, and found the basket meant for damaged fabrics and set her top in the pile.  Then she wrapped her arms around her breasts, wondering what to do.  Her dress was nowhere to be found, she was surely going to draw suspicion if she borrowed some clothing.

 

The only thing she could do was trust her magic a little longer.  She ran the risk of being caught by Alzuus.  But he would be the only person in her way, if she was invisible.  If that happened, she might be able to talk the wizard into keeping a secret.  He’s kept many over his life, this wouldn’t be a big deal.

 

So, in her worried state, she took another breath and focused on being invisible.  The power coursed through her, though not as vigorously as it usually did.  It was as if the spell was more taxing on her body than before.  She looked at a nearby mirror to make sure she was invisible, and her jaw dropped.

 

Maria didn’t see herself, but what she did see was more alarming.  There was now a floating pair of underwear where she should be standing, with a pair of shoes beneath them.  The spell felt more difficult to maintain, and it didn’t seem to be working as well as it did before.  She wanted to get away without causing any disturbances, and there was no way a floating pair of underwear wasn’t going to do that.

 

This left only one solution, and Maria was not happy thinking about it.  Her heart was racing.  Being out of her room was one thing.  Being out of her room in her underwear was another.  But this was a whole new level of trouble.

 

Maria took a cautious look around as she slid her shoes off her feet.  She had to make sure she was alone.  She didn’t want to do this at all, but there wasn’t much choice.

 

Her fingers gripped the sides of her underwear, and she slowly pulled down.  

 

‘I can’t believe this is happening.’  She thought with a worried blush on her face.  ‘All I wanted to do was help the kingdom.  Now I’m… I’m getting naked!  I can’t keep what cover I have left or else people will see me.’  

 

Lower and lower her final article of clothing went, until the undergarment was down her thighs, at her knees, and finally at her ankles.  She shivered as she stepped out of her panties.  That was the last step.  She was completely naked now, with the only thing hiding her modesty was a questionable invisibility spell.  

 

Her arms moved to cover her intimates, forgetting that she was still invisible.  The nude princess had fallen to her knees and closed her eyes tight.  ‘How did this happen…’  She shook her head, “I’ve got to move,” she said to herself.  

 

Maria picked up her panties and tossed them in a basket for clothes meant to be washed, then hid her shoes under a nearby table.  Now completely nude, she had to make her way back to her bedroom.

 

If Maria looked over her own body, she could see herself as clear as day.  She looked to a nearby mirror, which confirmed the spell was still in effect.  She shivered, but knew that if she waited too long, she might not be able to maintain the spell.  Just keeping it going was physically exhausting.

 

On shaky legs, she began to walk forward, stepping out of the maiden’s laundry area, and back onto the knights training ground.  Much to her alarm, she was able to see the knights gathered around the barrel of water she enchanted.  It seemed the enhanced water was a hit, reinvigorating the knights.  

 

Maria wanted some for herself, but didn’t dare approach the barrel.  She didn’t dare risk drawing attention to herself.  So instead, she moved towards the doorway back to the castle.  Slow, careful steps were made towards it.

 

A couple of knights were standing nearby having an idle conversation.  The naked princess hesitated, but upon looking at the shining armor they were wearing, she couldn’t see her own reflection.  

 

That didn’t stop her heart from pounding, but she still began to slowly move past them.

 

‘I’m completely naked… the knights are right there… I can barely hold this spell… I’ve got to make it… I can’t let them see me.’  Maria thought, feeling a bead of sweat roll down her face as she walked past them.  She listened, hoping their attention wouldn’t turn her way.

 

“So I say to the bandit, ‘Give them people back their food, or I’ll rearrange ya chompers with me gauntlet!”  said one knight, punching the air for effect.

 

Maria’s eyes widened, as she had to duck backwards.  The Knight wouldn’t have hit her, though she did nearly walk into his arm.  If anything broke her concentration…

 

“Ay, and then what happened?”  replied another knight.

 

“Ah, that’s when he made this scratch on me armor,” he said, turning around, to show where a scratch was.  

 

‘Just keep moving… they don’t know you’re here,’ Maria tried to tell herself as she approached the door.  Getting back inside was only going to be half her journey.  She still had to get all the way back up into her room.

 

Finally, Maria was at the door to get back into the castle.  She sighed, thinking that once inside, she might drop the spell to rest.  That was when the door to the castle opened on it’s own.  

 

There stood a man in long robes, a hood covering most of the details of his face.  It was the wizard, Alzuus.

 

“I have heard word of a specter,” he said in a calm tone before looking up.  

 

Maria froze, her eyes widening.  He was looking in her direction, and he seemed to be raising an eyebrow.  

 

“Please don’t see me… please…” Maria begged under her breath.

 

“This had better be true, as you are interrupting my library work.”  He said, in Maria’s direction.

 

“Right this way, Sir!”  Said one knight.  

 

Alzuus walked past, as Maria slipped through the doorway, her eyes never leaving the wizard until she was out of view.  

 

Maria let out a big sigh of relief as she leaned against the cool stone wall.  “That was too close…”  She said out loud.  A wizard as good as Alzuus could probably just sense magic in use.  And the fact that he mentioned library work while looking directly at her was a bad sign.

 

“Ay, did you hear something?”

 

“Sounded like it came from by the door.”  

 

Maria’s eyes widened.  More guards, and no obvious hiding spot in the walkway.  She pressed herself against the wall, one arm over her breasts, and the other over her midriff, extending her hand between her legs.  All the naked girl could do, was hope her invisibility spell held out.

 

The two guards approached, looking around the door, their eyes not settling on anything in particular.  

 

“Could have swore I heard something…”

 

“Aye, maybe you’ve had too much ale.”

 

“Maybe I haven’t had ENOUGH ale?  Ho ho!”  

 

“Ah, stay off the stuff.  Yer on duty!”  

 

The knights turned away, and Maria saw a new reason to be nervous.  In the reflections on the back of their armor, stood a faint, transparent, and very naked girl.

 

She was becoming visible.

 

“Oh no,” she fought off a shiver.  The rejuvenating buzz that came from her enchanted water had faded.  Little by little, the naked girl was becoming opaque.  

 

Eventually, the feeling of the spell being in effect had faded away entirely.  Maria looked to a steel shield on the wall, and her reflection confirmed her fears.  The coverage offered by her magic was gone.

 

Maria quickly glanced around to confirm she was still alone.  She couldn’t make the trip to her room this way.  If she was caught…. she shook her head.  No!  She had to try and use the invisibility spell again.

 

She closed her eyes and tried to focus again, but the magic wasn’t flowing anymore.  It was as if she had no energy left to tap into.  Maria focused as much as she could, but alas, her abilities were depleted.

 

This had left her with only one option.  Sneak back to her room the hard way.  Somehow she was going to have to get by all of the guards.  She hadn’t seen many on her way down, but things could have changed by then.

 

Without a single thread clinging to her completely naked body, Maria began to step forward, arms wrapped around her breasts, and legs angled inwards.  It was a little chilly in the hallways as she walked across the cool cobblestone.  

 

Maria stayed in a low stance, and had to slow down.  In her rush to move quickly, she had caught up with the patrolling knights.  She knew they would turn around and follow their footsteps back eventually.  If they turned now, they would see her, completely naked.

 

With that in mind, Maria saw a few nearby barrels, with a small space between them and the wall.  She lowered herself down to her knees and crawled behind the barrels, and waited for the knights.

 

It was a good thing that she had chose to do that, because the knights had halted their patrol, and waited for several nerve wracking moments.  Maria wanted to keep moving, but she had no choice but to wait.

 

Maria heart was racing like never before as she waited.  She felt exposed, vulnerable, and a bit helpless.  She also felt a little dumb for getting herself into this mess, even if it was helping the kingdom.

 

“Aye, so did ya have any of that water at the training grounds?”  said one knight.

 

“Nay, heard one of the knights drank it after getting hurt and was good as new.”

 

“A real miracle, ain’t it?”  

 

All Maria could do was hold her position and cling to her body tightly.  “Just keep moving,” she whispered under her breath.

 

“Ah, I don’t trust it.  I think a witch may have cursed the water.”

 

“What kind of curse makes water fix you up after a nasty fall?  And what if there’s such a thing as a good witch?  Alzuus is a good wizard.”

 

Both knights turned and started to walk away.  “That may be true, but we don’t know how that water got that way.”

 

When their voices faded away, Maria let out a sigh of relief.  Her need for stealth was giving cause for mistrust.  Something for her to deal with later.  For now she needed to focus on getting back to her room.  With the hallways clear, she was free to begin moving again.

 

Out from behind the barrel and forward, the naked princess made her way through the castle slowly, being sure not to run head on into another guard.  She stayed close the walls, trying to think about how she would get passed the ones directly by her door.  

 

Then, she felt something brush her shoulder.  She nearly jumped, but stopped herself when she realized it was just a curtain.  Maria slowly exhaled, her hands shaking from nervousness.  That was when an idea hit her.  She could cover up with the curtain and claim it’s a dress.  If anyone questioned it, she would try to laugh it off and say she also thought the tailor was a bit weird.

 

Maria didn’t want to lie, as she rather liked the dresses that tailor normally made.  However, now was the time to protect her modesty.  She pushed the curtain aside and climbed up the window ledge so she could remove the curtain.

 

“Oooh!”  Maria gasped and shivered.  She had leaned against the window, and the window was a bit co- THE WINDOW!?  Her head snapped and she looked outside, seeing the knights training grounds below.  If any of them looked up they would see her!  

 

Not wanting to waste any time, Maria began more frantically trying to remove the curtain.  A few hooks were undone, and it was almost free.  But then she heard a sound that gave cause for worry.  

 

Boots on stone.  More patrols.

 

Now risking being seen from two different directions, Maria tried to get the curtain back up properly.  She was less likely to be seen, or worse, recognized from below, so she would just have to hide behind the curtain.

 

The naked girl tried her hardest to properly hook the curtain back in place, but another click noise came, and the curtain felt heavier.  Not because her magic started working, but because it was no longer held up from above.

 

“No!”  She whispered under her breath.  Maria tried to fix it, but she was just too panicked.  Her heart was racing, and her hands were shaking both from nervousness and muscle fatigue.  That curtain was all that was going to keep her from being seen by those knights, and they were getting closer.

 

Her wit was just quick enough to come up with her hiding plan.  She held the curtain up as high as she could, and stood still.  If they didn’t suspect her, they wouldn’t look for her.

 

There Maria stood, completely naked due to her efforts to help the kingdom, and was one curtain away from discovery.  She bit her lip to stay silent, wanting to use her invisibility spell again, but she couldn’t focus, nor did she feel able to cast it.  She was trapped.

 

The two knights grew closer.

 

“Aye, so what do you think of the King’s new trade agreement with the southern kingdom?”

 

“Don’t know why he thought we needed it, I think Marcus is too kind to strangers.”

 

Maria held her breath, trying not to focus on their conversation.  Instead her heart was racing, and her face almost glowed with blush.  Her knees nearly buckled together, feeling like she was about to fall apart.  

 

‘I can’t hold it… they’re gonna see… they’re gonna see…’

 

Finally, her arms gave out, and the curtain fell from her hands and piled onto the floor.  She nearly shrieked and wrapped her arms around her chest and crossed her legs.  Maria was completely naked and exposed, with no clothes or magic to protect her modesty.

 

Yet, there was no surprised gasp.  Maria opened her eyes and looked around, hearing the sound of boots on stone growing distant.  The knights were leaving.

 

Maria let out a sigh of relief, and sat down on the window ledge, just to breath for a moment.  

 

“Thank god, I can still get out of this…”  She said.  The naked girl didn’t waste a lot of time catching her breath, so she stood up, bent down and picked up the curtain.

 

It wasn’t clothing, but it was cover.  Her plan was to tell anyone that questioned her “dress” was that the tailor was experimenting.  It had to work, because she really needed it to work.

 

She tightly wound the curtain around her body like it was a towel.  Most of her body was adequately covered, leaving her figure to the imagination.  However, her shoulders were still bare, and there was no way it was going to stay on without her holding it.  The material was smooth, and easily slid against itself.  Tying an appropriate knot would take too much time.

 

Her cover was as good as it was going to get.  She began moving down the hallways again, heading for the hallway near the stairs that lead to her room.  

 

Maria still felt nervous.  Slower, more careful steps were needed to ensure she didn’t trip on the curtain.  It was a disastrous thought, and not one Maria wanted to keep her focus on.  Still, she was very much aware that a poorly spaced footstep could reveal her.  

 

As she made her way down the hall, Maria approached a turn.  Even though she was covered, she wanted to keep interactions to a minimum.  So she looked around a corner to make sure nobody was around.  There she saw a couple of maidens cleaning the floor.

 

‘Great,’ she thought.  Maria let out a sigh, and decided to just keep her cool.  If they questioned her, she’d just put on a mean face and tell them to return to their work.  It wasn’t a normal thing for her to do, but the day had already been far from normal.

 

Maria held the curtain around herself, and began to walk forward.  Each second felt as if the curtain could leave her fully exposed at any moment.  She tried to avoid making eye contact as she passed by.

 

“Hey,” said a complaining voice.  “I worked hard on getting this spot clean and your dress is getting all over it!”

 

The princess nearly jumped, feeling her heart race in shock.  “Oh goodness, my apologies, I-” she shook her head.  She needed to be assertive!  “I am very busy today, I have little time for this!”  She said with more conviction in her voice.

 

“Well that is no excuse to be rude, Miss!”  The other maiden stood up, looking a bit fierce.  She made direct eye contact with Maria, and soon her eyes widened and she backed off.  “P-p-princess Maria!?  Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry, we didn’t recognize you!”

 

“I’m so sorry!  W-walk where you please!”  The other girl said.

 

Maria quickly felt bad.  Were these maidens afraid of her?  She didn’t necessarily like that.  The princess wanted to make things a little easier for them, but wanted to get back to her room as soon as possible.

 

“I didn’t mean to lash out, you two do a fine job,” Maria said, trying to soften her voice.  A little appreciation went a long way.

 

“Thank you, princess,” the two did a polite bow.  

 

One of them hesitated, and then spoke.  “Um, Princess, if you don’t mind me asking, what are you wearing?  Is that a new dress?”

 

This was cause for worry.  Her unusual “outfit” had been noticed, and if they looked at it for too long, they might realize it’s not an outfit at all.  It was time to deploy her excuse.

 

“O-oh, this?  It is a bit unusual, I agree.  The tailor was being a bit of an artist.  You know how she can be.”  Maria said with a pleasant blush and a fake giggle.

 

“If turning heads was her goal, she succeeded.”  Said one of the maids.  “It really clings to your figure.”

 

Maria looked down and saw what they meant.  The curtain did little to hide the shape of her breasts, and almost seemed to cling tightly to her abdomen.  Her hips and outer thighs were also plainly obvious.  

 

Her eye’s widened.  “E-excuse me!”  Maria said, holding the curtain to herself and continuing on.  She could feel her face hot with blush, wondering how much they saw.  All she could do was hope that they just thought the tailor was crazy.  

 

“Uh, Princess!”  said one of the maids.  “You might want to take that back to the tailor!  It’s showing your…”

 

She stopped and turned her head, and realized that the curtain had come a little unwrapped, exposing her backside.  Then she looked at the two shocked maids, both with hands over their mouths, baring blushes of their own.

 

“Ah!”  Maria squeaked and continued to move, turning a corner.  She had just shown a lot of her back, but she wasn’t sure just how much they saw.  The barely covered Princess adjusted the curtain, wrapping it around herself again, making sure that her whole body was covered, and continued on.

 

The steps leading to her room were nearby, she was nearly safe after all her trouble.  Maria started walking up the stairs, as quickly as she could, her blush glowing bright.

 

They had nearly seen her naked.  At the very least, they might suspect this was the tailors fault.  There was no time to think about that now though.  Safety and privacy were at the top of these stairs.

 

Maria began to quickly run, with one arm holding the front of the curtain up slightly.  Just enough so she was still well covered, but she needed to be able to quickly move up the stairs.  One arm was assigned the task of holding the curtain to her body, and it was a difficult hold to maintain.  

 

Still, she wouldn’t have to maintain it for long.  Atop of the stairs, she could see the vigilant guard by her door.  He looked at Maria in growing confusion, but he still stepped aside for Maria to reach her door.

 

A few more steps and she was nearly-

 

“Ah!”  Maria’s foot slipped, catching onto some of the curtain.  She was barely able to put her hands out fast enough to catch herself, thankfully preventing injury.  However, nothing remained to hold the curtain in place, as she felt it gently glide off of her body.

 

“P-princess Maria!”  The guard quickly moved towards her, reaching down to help her stand up, but stopping short, as if he was unsure of what to do.  He couldn’t recall the princess ever leaving, and here she was, not only outside of her room, but completely naked.  “A-are you alright?”

 

“Yes, I’m fine,” Maria said, slowly standing up, thankful she was unharmed.

 

“Um… Princess,” the guard tried to look away.  “Your dress is…”

 

“Hmm?  What about my dress?”  She reached down to adjust the fabric of her makeshift dress, when her fingers found no fabric.  Soon, realization began to sink in that her cover had left her body, leaving her completely exposed to this guard.

 

“Ahhh!”  Maria squealed, moving her hands to cover herself and she took off for her door for the final stretch.  Her face had turned crimson as she pushed the door open, turned around and slammed it shut.

 

Finally in her room, she exhaled, holding her door to keep it shut.  

 

The guard’s voice could be heard.  “Would you like your dress back milady?”

 

“I want to rest!  No visitors!”  Maria shouted back.

 

“Understood!”  Came the reply.

 

Finally, Maria sighed with relief, thankful the ordeal was over.  She slowly turned and took a few steps to collapse on her bed.  The princess fell face first into the soft silky comfort of her bed and blankets.  It seemed Iza had returned and had made her bed.  Her bed felt heavenly after everything she went though.  As if the fabrics were bending to sooth her joints somehow.

 

She was just about to lay her head down, when a familiar voice cleared it’s throat.  Maria’s eyes shot open, and saw Iza standing in the back of her room.

 

“I-Iza!”  Maria bolted up and wrapped her arms around her naked form.  She frantically looked around, and grabbed a pillow and held it to her body.  “W-what are you doing in here?”

 

Iza giggled.  “My usual maiden duties.  I had to finish in here.  What were you doing outside of your room without a stitch of clothing?”

 

Maria gulped, feeling her cheeks burning hot.  The pillow she was holding covered her, but it was plainly obvious she was naked.  She had to remember her excuse.  “The… the tailor wanted me to try a new dress, it… it didn’t hold.”

 

“Hmm…”  Iza had a sly look to her face, and took a few steps towards her desk.  “Are you sure there was no reading material involved?”  She gestured towards the spellbook.  “I had to move this to make your bed.  I took a glance at it.”

Maria could feel her blood go cold.  “I-Iza… that’s not what you think.  I wanted to do something helpful for the kingdom, so I tried learning a few spells!”

 

“It’s a bit ambitious of you to try using magic like that with so little practice,” Iza noted.  “I mean, some of those have a real stamina drain to them.”

 

The naked girl held her pillow close to her.  “Iza, please don’t tell on me!  I was able to purify water really well!  It was better than clean!”

 

“Relax,” Iza said with a smile, slowly approaching the naked princess.  “I’m not going to tell on you.  But Alzuus will probably notice a book is missing from his library.  You have no idea just how observant he is.  I’ve brought him tea more than a few times.”

 

“You think he’ll notice?”  Maria said.

 

“I don’t know if he knows yet, but you shouldn’t keep one of his books for long.”  Iza said.  She stood up and looked outside.  “Speaking of him, it’s about time I bring him his tea.  If you like we can go meet him and you can give his book back.”

 

Maria hesitated.  “Thanks… but I think I need some rest first.”

 

Iza nodded.  “Okay, I understand.  I’ll leave you to it then,” she approached the door.  “By the way, I did try one spell.  I hope your bed is exceptionally comfortable.”  She slowly opened the door and stepped out of the room.

 

Now alone, Maria could hear Iza’s voice.  “The princess is exhausted.  She is not to be disturbed for any reason, understand?”

 

“Yes Milady.”  said the guard’s voice.

 

After that, nothing but silence.  Maria sighed with relief. Now she was truly alone.  She set the pillow back in it’s place.  The princess wanted to at least throw on a nightgown, but sheer exhaustion had a hold on her.  Instead, she lifted her blankets and laid down underneath them.  Her rest would be short, then she would get dressed.

 

There was something interesting going on in her bed.  The mattress seemed softer, and bent it’s contours to accommodate her shape.  The blankets sat above her body like a soft cloud that she could cling to.  

 

Simply being naked made laying down in bed feel unusual.  Smooth and silky soft textures were touching her in places normally covered by some form of clothing.  Being unused to this made her shift positions a few times, first from one side, then to the other.  

 

Maria wasn’t quite sure, but she could have sworn the blanket was wrapping itself around her body.  It wasn’t trapping her, but more like gently squeezing her in different areas, like on her calf muscles and her shoulders.  It was more like a massage, and a rather soothing one, especially after all the running around she had done.

 

Clearly some magic had been used to enhance her bed and blankets.  Not that Maria was going to complain, as this had felt heavenly.  Eventually, she let out a yawn, and succumbed to sleep.  Anything she needed to tend to would have to wait.