There was a loud creak as the door to the most recent home of the Ravenwoods opened under Maxs’ key. “Mum will probably be in the kitchen” Max mused as he shut the door behind him and his sister, Elsie suspected that he was probably figuring out what he would be packing in a suitcase for the travel to their new mystery location, a strategy that Max commonly adopted when moving. 

For Elsie, the method was more “what can I find in my room that isn't dirty and will it fit in my suitcase?”; either way, she didn't feel in the mood to face her fate just yet. “Do you want mom to tell you where we're going, or do you just want me to let you know after dinner?” Elsie asked as she shucked off her jacket and shoes and proceeded towards the kitchen. Max followed suit.

“I’ve had the moving talk too many times, besides I'm not that hungry. I think that I'm just gonna start the packing pro-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!”

Elsie looked back to find her brother gone, replaced by a mass of fur and drool. The only evidence of his presence was the muffled screams coming from somewhere under the beast. “ALBERT!!!!!!! GET. OFF. OF ME!!!!” The st. Bernard simply continued to rest on his master, pleased by the enthusiastic response that always occurred when he tackled Max like this. 

“Max, Elsie, you home?!” A voice called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, mom!” Elsie called, making her way towards the voice. Max after struggling for a moment to free himself from under Albert got up and headed in the opposite direction towards his room the happy dog following close behind. Elsie watched him for a minute, concerned. Before heading into the kitchen, only to be greeted by a blast of steam and flavors.

In the center of the chaos stood Lilliana Ravenwood, phone held up by her shoulder and a bowl tucked under one hand, its contents being mercilessly whisked by the woman clearly frustrated by whatever conversation was taking place on the phone. “Margaret! I don’t care what the deed states! The land which Ewing Oil is trying to drill on is protected by the National Parks Service Act.” A retort on the other end of the line and she was whisking faster. 

Elsie sat down at the table, pulling out a small sketchbook from her back pocket. It would be a few minutes before her mother would have time to give Elsie her full and undivided attention. 

“You know what Margret?! When you can stop making BS defenses for your client then we can talk settlement, but if you dare think for a second that I won't DESTROY you in court, YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING!!!!” With that, Mrs. Ravenwood ended the call, slamming the phone and bowl onto the countertop, making Elsie jump. At the noise, Lilliana turned towards the kitchen table, her previously hard eyes softening at her little girl's red hair and cheerful smile, a stark contrast to the dark brown hair and an exasperated look she had to offer.

“So? Who were you yelling at today mom?”

“Just some lawyer defending an oil company who wants to drill in a national park. I'm sorry honey. I would have said hi sooner but I've been on this call since two this afternoon.”

Elsie just smiled wider. “It’s fine mom. You work hard, I'm not gonna blame you for that.”

A smile poked through Lilliana Ravenwood’s exhaustion. She didn't deserve this understanding of a daughter. “Thank you, dear. So, how was school? Excited to be on break?” she asked, as she turned back to her cooking.  

“Umm, yeah. About that” Lilly interjected as a smell of cream and potatoes permeated the thick air. “Mom. I don’t think I really need to ask this, but why is there a moving sign outside” Lilliana stopped her cooking for a minute, turning back to face her daughter. The exasperated expression returned as she geared up to deliver a speech she had memorized all too well.

“Honey.” Lilliana sighed. “I know that this is hard, and I know that your father and I promised that we would try and stop moving around, but I have some good news. Your father has been promoted!”

Elise gave off a smile. Robert Ravenwood was a hard-working man, and well respected in the Navy. Of course, Elsie was proud of him, but it didn't take away from the fact that this promotion was definitely the culprit of the move. “So, where are we moving then?” Elsie asked. She hoped that the disdain in her voice was masked by her attempt at curiosity. Her mother's look said otherwise. 

“Well, your father’s rank promotion-as far as he said-has him working at a naval base in Virginia. But I do have more good news. Dad said that this is the last time we would need to move.”

“Didn’t you say that last time? When we moved here?” Elsie asked. By now her disappointment was evident. Lilliana turned back to her cooking. She knew that it was never easy when they had to move, her daughter especially, but sometimes-

“Life is life El.”, Lilliana said. “I get that it’s hard, but you have been a part of this family for nine years, you know what to expect.” She started to ladle out her creation into a small bowl for herself and her daughter. Lilliana was a caring person, but she knew when to get to the point of a discussion. She pushed the warm bowl of soup into her daughter's hands.

As soon as the spoon entered her mouth, Elsie’s disappointment melted away. “Mmmmm Mom, this is amazing!” Lilliana smiled at her daughter's enthusiasm, planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you hon.” she gushed before kneeling to meet the 14-year-olds eye. “I know that we promise again and again that wherever we go is our forever home, but this time I am for certain. This is a one-way trip.”

Elsie looked up, a small glimmer of hope in her eyes. “Really?”

“Even if I have to tie your father to a chair” Elsie chuckled. “I love you, dear. Thank you for being so brave.” Lilliana kissed the top of her daughter's forehead before standing back up to take care of the kitchen. “We’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow to set up the new house, so you know what to do, just pack what you think you'll need for the next week. I put some boxes in your room so you can get started on packing. 

Elsie stood, beginning to make her way out of the kitchen. “Thanks, mom I’ll get on that,” she said, snagging an apple for max on the way out. 

Elsie made her way towards her room weaving through boxes as she went. Apparently, her mother had already gotten a head start with packing the major belongings. Not that there was much to pack. They were a naturally minimalistic family, and the constant moving ensured that they never owned anything more than what would be easily packed in a two to three-day timespan. 

Elsie stopped at one of the larger open boxes that were crowding the hallway, her eye-catching on a photo that had been gently placed on top of a pile of blankets. It was a photo of her adoption day when she had been officially brought into the Ravenwood family. She smiled at the little girl, in the photo, red hair a stark contrast to the darker browns of her parents and brother. Nevertheless, she considered them the only family she had ever had. 

Elsie continued to stare at the portrait a moment longer before her brother's agitated voice dragged her from the memory. She made her way over to Max's door, cracking it ever so slightly to see what had her brother so worked up. Max’s room was by far the most appointed in the house. Bookshelves lined two of the three walls, the fourth being taken up by a massive desk which was kept impeccably clean. The rest of the room was a mess of papers and books. The only other clear space was a small bed tucked away in the corner, where a certain st. Bernard, currently laid, drooling onto a pillow. Max was currently pacing around, packing books into boxes, as he spoke in hushed but harsh tones into his phone. Clearly, the resemblance between him and his mother didn't stop at their looks.

“Look I don't know what you were getting worked up about. It was a week. I know it’s short notice but I'm not comfortable with long distance.” A moment of silence passed as the voice on the other end of the line spoke. Whatever was said resulted in Max slamming a set of leather-bound books into a box before returning to the conversation. 

“Look, if you want to act like that then fine, but we can't be a thing anymore. I don’t… I don’t even know if it's what I want.” There was silence once more, as the mystery voice said their piece. It was clear that they had gotten the last word when Max tossed the phone on his bed and continued to wordlessly pack. Elsie knocked on the door, alerting Max to her presence.

“Hey Maxie,” she said as she walked in the door, “everything ok?” Max looked up from loading another box, a nonchalant look plastered on his face, any evidence of an argument gone from his features.

“Yeah, I’m good El. Just packing up.” Elsie just smiled, tossing him the apple she had grabbed for him, before continuing to head towards her room.

“Ok, well try to eat something tonight, mom says we're not leaving till after tomorrow, so pace yourself.”

“I’ll be fine. Where are we headed anyway?” Elsie had made it to her bedroom door and turned back towards Max. He had abandoned his packing and was now leaning on the doorframe, waiting for his sister's response.

“Virginia apparently. But mom says this time it’s different. This time this is it.” Max scoffed. 

“Ok El, whatever you say.” He let out a yawn, his arms stretching behind his back. “It's getting late, and I'm tired. I think I'm just gonna turn in.”

“You do that Max. Good night” Elsie said, cloning her door, relieved to be alone after everything that had happened. She made her way to the small desk she had set up, turning on the light and slumping into a chair. Compared to Max's room, Elsie’s was barer, a desk and computer taking up most of the space, along with a bed and a small easel pushed off to the side, a half-drawn portrait of Albert the subject of the canvas. 

For a moment Elsie just sat, replaying the events of the past hour that felt more like a day, before turning on her computer and opening her sketching app, the page immediately opening to her latest drawing, a rough sketch of a woman. 

Slowly, she began to draw, adding details to the face, as she used this too familiar outlet to vent the stress that she knew came with moving. A line here, an eye there, working until she was satisfied with the regal face that now stared back at her. Elsie glanced over at the clock, eyes widening in surprise when she noticed that it was past midnight. With that, Elsie turned off her monitor, changing into pajamas and crawling into bed, too exhausted to think of anything other than sleep.

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Night had fallen over the greater area of Washington D.C. with many people having already retired for the evening, ready to return to work the next day, in the bustling city center or on the multiple military bases that circulated the area. As the city slept, a small violet orb made its way over the buildings before coming to rest in the middle of a dark alleyway. For a moment the orb hovered in the alley before bursting into a flash of light, depositing its passengers on the dingey pavement. 

Henrick stood up, brushing the grime from his cloak, looking around, making sure that wherever they were, they would not be bothered. A loud crash prompted him to whip around, the small dagger he had brought with him poised to strike. His potential victim was more preoccupied with the trash can he had just fallen on top of.

“Aron, for the love of god’s, could you not make so much noise?!”

“Oh, gee YOUR HIGHNESS. I'm so sorry that we just traveled to another world, and I wasn't able to pinpoint the exact location, where I’d land. You know what?!  Next time I'll just message ahead of time, make sure we land in a hay pile or something!”    

“Would you stop! I didn't mean it like that, I'm just stressed ok?” Henrick took a deep breath, letting it out with a shake. It was taking a lot to remain calm, with so many things at risk. 

Aron jumped off of the trash cans, landing nimbly next to his friend. “It’s fine, Henrick, we're both stressed. But we need to focus. We came here on a mission, and it needs to succeed.”

“Pray to the gods it does,” Henrick said, pulling out a small silver disk from a bag on his shoulder. Tapping twice, the center of the disk popped off, hovering a few feet off the ground ready to receive the princes' orders. “Search and track any signs of residual or suppressed magic please.”   

        
The small disk remained stationary for a moment, Henrick and Aron’s heartbeat growing faster with every passing second. Finally, it gave a small chirp, speeding around the corner and out of sight.

Aron let out a sigh of relief. “Well, it looks like we're on the right track.” He looked to Henrick. “I await your orders, my prince.”

Henrick gave a determined smile. “It’s what we said we’d do for five years, my friend. Time to find a princess.