She hadn't forgotten, not for a fraction of an instant, what year it was...
The dreaded seventeenth year.
Taze had said not to worry, but she couldn't help but worry!
She hadn't set her eyes on him, and nearly two months had gone by!
In the original life, her relationship with Taze was well-known, so she could pretty much go wherever she wanted in the palace, and it was the same in her past lives, thanks to her relationship with Vitav...
But not this life!
For the first time since she could remember, she couldn't simply wander of wherever she wanted, and as the Palace Mages had no access to the Palace's living quarters...
She couldn't see Taze!
In a desperate move, she had asked Grand Mage Sidian about the 'Crown Prince', but all he said was that the Crown Prince lay ill in the East Wing, and when she pressed for his symptoms, Grand Mage Sidian gravely shook his head.
"There are no symptoms... At least not anymore. But he is constantly asleep, and his body is weak. It's befuddling..." He started, as if realizing too much had been said. "Come now! off to your duties! Don't get ahead of yourself! Even the greatest mages have given up on him!"
This did nothing to reassure Celia, and she dove into studying with a vengeance. But much like Grand Mage Sidian had said, she couldn't find any such illness... At least, not one they didn't already know.
So one afternoon, she went to find Grand Mage Sidian again...
"Mage Scarlett, you're my favourite Palace Mage, but don't push your luck. I will become suspicious if you keep asking after His Highness..."
Celia sighed in resignation. "Grand Mage Sidian, I didn't want to say anything, but the Crown Prince and I are in love with each other."
Almost a full minute passed with Grand Mage Sidian staring at Celia with pity, as if she were addled.
"Hmmmmm. Child, I'm not sure who deceived you, but the Crown Prince has not left the palace since he was eleven... To whom have you been giving you affections?"
Celia held back an urge to laugh at his grave and worried expression, but she reminded herself of what was at stake.
"Grand Mage Sidian, the Crown Prince has been in Elfsworth Academy this past year. He and I are- "
"Nonsense! He doesn't even leave the East Wing!"
"Then I permit you to read my memory. I will project a small piece of my memory, and I will back off if the one in my mind is not the Crown Prince!"
That got Grand Mage Sidian's attention, and his curiosity got the better of him.
With a brief spell, he found himself at Elfsworth's Winter Ball, and he watched the scene unfold from when Vitav arrived, to Taze's arrival, to the first part of their dance...
"How is this possible?!" Grand Mage Sidian cancelled the spell, and found himself back in his study, facing Celia.
It was impossible for her to trick him, which somehow meant...
"Astounding!" He said. "No wonder he's grounded! His majesty must feel betrayed!
"Why is no one talking about this?!"
"The Principal made all students and servants forget with a spell. I'm the only exception, and the teachers won't say anything. But you must believe me..." She stepped forward. "I'd never harm Taze! If we don't act quickly, he might die!"
"Hmmmm. But he seemed so energetic at the ball! We all thought he was fading away in the East wing, and I haven't seen him so lively in years!"
Grand Mage Sidian was suddenly animated, as he hurried to his shelf and took out a journal.
"Back then, the young Prince showed clear symptoms. It was a disease found in the outskirts, which made the bone brittle, and the blood thin. The victims get a high fever, fall into a coma, and then die after a few years."
"Bone Rot Disease!" Celia rightly guessed.
"Exactly! There's no easy cure, but with a great healing mage, it could have been handled."
He was right. The Bone Rot Disease shouldn't be a problem for someone on Grand Mage Sidian's level.
Celia herself had cured the bone rot disease in the original life, and in that life, she wasn't as strong as Grand Mage Sidian.
So why was Taze still ill?
And besides, the bone rot disease was easy to diagnose, but she hadn't sensed a trace of it on Taze...
Her thoughts rolled around as Grand Mage Sidian flipped through the pages, till he got to a page where there were notes and diagrams.
"We tried curing him, but we overlooked something. Prince Tazeus's fairy blood! Fairies are immune to both the disease and the cure, but somehow the Prince's elf half had been infected, and his fairy half was resisting the cure!
"Through the years, he woke up and the symptoms vanished, but he constantly gets a high fever and slips out of consciousness. Eventually, the East Wing was sealed off to all but his personal servants, the King and I...
"But each time I visit, his condition remains the same! So you can understand why I'm surprised to see him so lively in your memories!"
Celia was as confused as Grand Mage Sidian... What exactly was wrong with Taze?! Why was he sickly in the Palace, but so strong in Elfsworth...?
"I can't believe it! There's hope!" Grand Mage Sidian was joyfully saying.
It was clear that Grand Mage Sidian didn't want Taze to die either, and Celia was happy. They could use all the help they could get.
"Grand Mage Sidian, may I ask why you're so hopeful?" She asked, feeling immensely better.
"I will tell you, if you truthfully tell me something first!" He replied, and he seemed suspicious again.
"Grand Mage Sidian, what could you possibly want to know?!" She curiously asked.
"Tell me child. Why were you so afraid of Prince Vitav...?"
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