Lark was pulling her hair back into a messy bun when the clock read 1:30 a.m. She was dressed in a black t-shirt, black cargo pants, and hiking boots. Her trusty backpack waited by the door.

She creeped to the hallway door of her sitting room, held her breath, and strained to hear what was on the other side of the door. She couldn’t hear any breathing or heartbeats, which probably meant the guards were still stationed at the end of the hallway. Good. If she was quiet, no one should be any wiser about her exit.

Lark went back to her room, thankful Snowy was still sleeping soundly on the bed. She grabbed her backpack, adjusted it to make sure it was balanced, and then carefully opened her bedroom window. Peeking her head out, Lark searched all around, making sure no one was in sight.

With a deep breath, she climbed over the sill. As she clutched at the ridge with her body hanging slack outside, she took a second to steady her nerves. When she glanced up, she did a double take and nearly let go of the windowsill in shock.

There were two moons in the sky!

Joshua had said something about that, but there had been so many other facts and problems to deal with, Lark had forgotten. Between studies and tests, she was usually exhausted each evening. This was her first time seeing the night sky for several weeks.

Making a mental note to start studying Evren’s astronomy, she tried to bring her mind back to the business at hand. But she couldn’t help sneaking the occasional peek up as she carefully maneuvered to the side of the window.

Looking down, she inhaled sharply.

When did three stories look so high?

She steeled her nerves, then let go. She let herself fall two and a half floors before kicking herself off from the wall. Adrenaline gave extra strength to the push, and she ended up flying a good fifteen yards from the wall before landing on soft grass. She checked herself, moving all her major joints to make sure nothing was broken. Far from broken, there wasn’t even a sprain.

After a quick look around to make sure she was still alone, Lark couldn’t help a little giggle.

I can’t believe I just did that! I kind of wish I could tell someone.

She tried to get her bearings as she brought the tablet out of her backpack and studied the map. She hadn’t had a chance to explore the grounds yet, but she was on the back side of the palace, next to the food garden. If she kept the house to her left, she should hit the orchards, then eventually the stables.

She set off, trying not to look like a suspicious loiterer, but soon gave up on that idea. Attempting to keep the giveaway light of the tablet to a minimum, she only turned it on occasionally to make sure she was going the right way. Lark jogged for several minutes before large shadows loomed ahead, which turned into the orchard behind the east wing.

Finally leaving the palace behind, she quietly made her way to the back of the stables. The murmur of a swiftly flowing river came to her long before the bright moonlight reflected itself in the water running behind the stable. She gave herself a moment to enjoy the serene surroundings before consulting the tablet once more.

“It should be here.” She looked around but didn’t see anything different. Then again, the particles probably weren’t going to be glowing, floating orbs.

She brought her wrist up, placing her thumb on the tiger’s head. The holographic menu came up, and she immediately scrolled to an option that had caught her eye when Joshua first showed her the bracelet: Time Travel.

Time for some experimenting.

A new list of options popped up when she touched the floating words. After some deliberation, she set the location for right where she was, and the time to three weeks earlier. That way, she wouldn’t be crossing her own timeline.

Some stealthy questioning had revealed this area would be free of patrols for the next few hours.

I really hope I did this right.

She cringed a little as she pressed “Activate,” praying that nothing would blow up. Especially her.

No explosions. Instead, an error message came up on the menu: Not enough particles at destination to make connection.

“Now what?” Lark huffed. “How am I supposed to know when there were enough particles?”

Determined to not go back empty-handed, she finally decided to risk crossing her own timeline. But the error message kept coming up for two weeks prior, then one week, then three days. Almost ready to give up, she changed the destination to an hour and a half before her current time. The area should still be clear of patrols.

This time when she selected “Activate,” she felt a tingling in the air and a soft glow appeared before her, just at the water’s edge. She watched in fascination as the muddy liquidesque splotch stretched and flowed, growing until it was a smaller version of the one she had seen on Earth. She waited about thirty seconds, but while the edges ebbed and flowed like before, it didn’t grow any larger.

She would just barely fit through this one.

I wonder if I did something wrong? Oh well. I should still be fine. This won’t be a very long trip.

After putting the tablet back in her backpack, she debated about bringing everything with her. She wasn’t sure what to expect, so maybe it would be good to have the tablet and her emergency supplies on hand. Then again, it was less than two hours in the past, and it wasn’t quite the same as last time, so she wasn’t sure what would be allowed through the portal.

“Just me this time around.”

She set her backpack on the ground, nervously touched her dog tags, and then jumped straight into the portal. A flash of white light, a momentary shock of cold, and she was out the other side...straight into the river.

There wasn’t a strong current, but the river was deep in this area, so she found herself completely submerged. Barely resisting the urge to suck in a mouthful of water due to surprise and the cold, she broke the surface and scrambled to the bank. She glared at the portal, still splotched right at the river’s edge.

Note to self: Next time, carefully walk through the portal, don’t just jump in blindly.

“Did it even work?” Lark searched the area for her backpack.

It turned out to be helpful leaving a marker in the future. After a fruitless search, and noticing the different locations of the two moons, she felt confident she had made a successful trip into the past.

There was a little niggling pain behind her eyes, but nothing too serious or distracting.

Not sure how long portals stayed, she decided to go back. This was enough for the first test. She cautiously stepped through the portal this time, ending up on the riverbank rather than in the water. She smiled smugly to herself as she brought up the menu from her bracelet again and deactivated the portal.

A dark figure stepped from the shadows cast by the stable. “Where did you end up?”

Lark couldn’t help a tiny shriek as she jumped backward. She had just enough time to see her hands covered in the blue electric lightning before she crashed into the river. Again.

Joshua watched an impressive display of blue lightning cover the water around Larkspur before it dissipated. He then waited with outstretched hand to help the sputtering princess back onto dry land.

“Maybe we should practice more control over your abilities before another time slip attempt?” Joshua quipped.

She stood in front of him, dripping wet, guilt and embarrassment warring for prominence on her face. “Why...how…?”

“Your highness.” Joshua was slightly admonishing. “You’re not very good at hiding your intentions. I’ve known why you wanted to learn about time travel from the beginning.”

Larkspur opened her mouth, then snapped it closed again. “Why did you tell me about it, then?” she finally asked.

“Why, indeed?” Joshua mused.

“You don’t even know why you’re helping me?”

“I wanted to see what you would do. I want to know where my future queen’s loyalties lie.”

She hesitated. “I wasn’t trying to run away, I promise. I just...I want…” She took a deep breath, looked resolute, and stated in a strong voice, “I’m going to save my brothers!”

“What do you plan to do if you can save them? Where will they go?”

Larkspur looked confused. “I thought they would be able to stay with me. Why couldn’t they?”

“I don’t see why they couldn’t,” Joshua assured her. “I just thought maybe you were planning on staying in the past with them, or going somewhere else safe, and perhaps less complicated.”

She furrowed her brow. “I guess I could’ve. Why didn’t I think of that?”

Joshua actually laughed out loud. The princess sounded as if that wasn’t still a legitimate option for her. This is what he wanted to know. Her brothers meant the world to her–of course she would take this golden opportunity to save them. He would do the same for Conan or his father. But now he knew she wasn’t about to abandon them here once she got what she wanted.

This was a leader he could be willing to follow.

When he finally stopped laughing and looked at her, Joshua found her staring at him, mouth agape.

“Y-you laughed.”

“I’m not incapable of the action.” Joshua wondered if he should feel insulted.

“R-right,” she stammered. “It’s just that, you barely even smile, let alone laugh.”

Joshua had to concede that point. “We don’t know yet if the past can actually be changed, but I’ll do everything in my power to help you save the princes.”

“Why?” Larkspur asked suspiciously.

“Because if I were in your shoes, I would do everything in my power to save my family. And I can help you do it as safely as possible.”

She tensed. “What about Avi? Are you going to tell him about what I’m doing?”

Joshua hesitated. He now had a choice to make. Where would his own loyalties lie? “No,” he finally answered. “I...I’m not sure I trust King Avi fully at the moment.”

“What?” Her eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Joshua felt she deserved to know his suspicions. “I think he’s hiding something where you are concerned. I don’t know what yet, but I will help you find out.”

“You don’t trust Avi. Do you trust me?”

“I want to.”

Silence stretched between them before Larkspur softly said, “Thank you.”

Joshua smiled gently at her. “Of course, your highness.”

Her eyes got a little sad.

“Is everything all right?” Joshua asked.

“I want to trust you, too,” Larkspur said. “And while, as a princess, I greatly appreciate your skills, I’d really like to have your help as a friend.”

Joshua thought for a moment.

He never used to be jealous–all right, not often–of his brother’s ability to make friends. He was close with his family, and work brought him all the fun he needed. But having watched Conan, Larkspur, and Shamira grow closer in front of his eyes, he was beginning to feel...lonely. Having a friend sounded...appealing.

Joshua smiled warmly at her. “As a friend, then. Lark.”

It was nearly 4:00 in the morning by the time Lark and Josh snuck back to the house. She had decided to call him the nickname Conan and Harold used. So far, he hadn’t protested. They now stood three stories below Lark’s bedroom window.

The second floor was where King Avi and his late wife had their rooms. And the Cynbels each had a private apartment on the first floor. They of course had family properties across the kingdom, but after Josh and Conan’s mother and sister died in an accident nearly seven years ago, the three remaining male members could most often be found at the palace grounds.

“King Avi’s rooms face the front, and this is my bedroom.” Josh quietly opened the window in front of them. “You should be safe to jump up. Although,” he scolded, “you should tell me whenever you plan on going out this way again. There are security cameras and sensors set up along the palace perimeters.”

Lark glanced around, her heart beating faster.

“I figured you might try something tonight,” Joshua said. “I set the sensors so that they only alerted me and put the cameras on a loop. Once we’re back in our rooms, I’ll need to set them right again.”

She wasn’t sure how to feel about her actions being seen through so easily. When she turned to look at him, Josh was yawning.

“Josh, maybe we should start lessons an hour or two later than usual so we can both get some sleep?”

“Good idea. We can make tomorrow a more relaxed day. We can use your study if you think that would be more comfortable.”

“I think that would be really nice.” She nodded enthusiastically. “Can we talk about time travel and what you’re thinking about Avi?”

He seemed to hesitate a moment before agreeing. “That would probably be wise. The sooner we understand what’s going on, the better. I’ll wait to go in until I know you’ve made it safely.” He looked up toward her room.

“You’re sure no one is in that room?” She pointed to the second-floor window.

He nodded. “You can use it, no problem.”

“Okay.”

Lark backed up a little bit, ran forward, then jumped. She easily caught the second floor’s windowsill. Hanging there for a second, she looked down at Josh and gave him a thumbs up. From there, she sprang to her own window, which was still slightly open, and clambered into her room. She poked her head back out and waved to Josh. He disappeared inside, and Lark closed her window.

Snowy had apparently gotten up at some point because the bowl of wet food Lark had left out for her was now empty. But she was now peacefully slumbering again, sprawled in the middle of the bed. Lark quickly got ready for bed, slipped under the covers, and fell into a dreamless sleep.