The mirror refused to co-operate.

Prince Elias of Velar stood before it for the third time in that morning, back painfully straight, chin lifted just so, as the servants fussed around him like anxious pigeons. Someone pinned a gemstone brooch to his collar. Someone else powdered the bridge of his nose. A third person adjusted the fall of his ceremonial cape and muttered "Don't slouch, Your Highness, You will wrinkle the enchantments." He smiled at his reflection. It looked like a man about to be executed.

"Again", murmured his tutor Master, Avert pacing behind him with hands -clasped severity that could have frightened a ghost. "Your smile should inspire loyalty, not pity."

Elias obeyed. Lips up, eyes Soft, posture royal.

"That one," Avert said." Hold it. Breathe. Do not blink." Elias held it. And held it. His cheeks began to tremble. The mirror image looked increasingly deranged - a politely terrified young man in too much gold.

Finally, he exhaled." Perhaps," he said carefully," we might accept that the kingdom shall have to be inspired by....my inner qualities?"

"Your inner qualities,"said Avert,"Are anxiety and apology."

There was no argument there. Avert gestured to the hourglass on the mantel." Ten minutes, Highness. The court awaits. Today you call forth your guardian. You cannot afford to look like you need protection from the audience."

Yes, Master Avert."

As the attendants filed out,Elias caught his own gaze in the mirror again. For a moment, the room seemed too bright - gold banners, marble walls, everything shining but cold. He wished he could breathe.

He remembered dimly, the stories he used to love as a child - about heroes who went on adventure,who didn't have to worry about sitting properly or making the right expression for the nobles. He'd once imagined having friend like that - someone who'd pull him out of his own head .

The memory stirred,faint and far away.Then it was gona ,like a candle snuffed before it could take.

Avert cleared his throat,"Your Highness?"

"Just thinking."

"Don't.It spoils the expression."

Elias forced the smile again.

When the bells of the High Hall tolled, the sound vibrated through the palace stone like the hum of a spell begin wound too tight. Elias followed Avert through the corridor lined with portraits of ancestors - stern faces down as if judging whether he deserved to join them.

As the end of the hall,the great doors waited, carved with the royal sigil of the phoneix - and the circle of summoning where his life was about to change.

He hesitated.

"Master Avert," he murmured. This guardian I'm meant to Summon - "

"Yes, Sire?"

" It... it will be someone of my bloodline, yes? A noble spirit?"

"In theory." Avert's tone made "theory" sound like a warning.

" The spell calls forth the reflection of the king's truest nature."

Elias palms dampened. "Ah . How encouraging."

Avert frowned. "You doubts yourself."

"Frequently."

"Don't."

Elias smiled again,the same brittle smile as before "I'll try".

He stepped forward toward the massive doors.

They swang open to a war of applause and light.

And the prince who practiced smiling walked into his coronation - praying that the spell wouldn't reveal how badly he wished to be Someone else.

The last echo of applause faded into the high vaults of the Great Hall.

Elias stood on a dais of white marble, the weight of the kingdom pressing invisibly on his shoulders. Every noble in Velar . seemed to be watching --rows upon rows of jeweled collars and powered faces, all staring with egar solemnity .The air was perfumed and heavy with incense.

At the far end of the hall, the royal mage-- chorus hummed softly, the opening notes of the summoning rite vibrating like distant thunder. The banners of his ancestors hung above him -- kings and queens whose portraits glowed faintly with enchantment, as if the spirit inside were waiting to judge him.

Master Avert stood beside the summoning circle etched in silver on the marble floor. He lifted his staff and spoke with booming reverence:

"Let the Heir of Velar step forward.

Let the guardian of his soul awaken."

The murmuring of the crowed ceased.

Elias descended the steps slowly. His ceremonial cape trailed behind him like a tide of sunlight. Every click of his boot echoed like a heartbeat.

He reached the circle. The sigils shimmered. His throat felt impossibly dry.

Avert handed him the scroll. "Repeat precisely. Don't deviate. Words shape the spirit."

Elias nodded, eyes scanning the runes. He recognized the old tongue -- the recited by every monarch for centuries. But as he read, something tugged at him -- a quiet rebellion rising from somewhere he couldn't name.

His fingers trembled slightly as he lifted his hand over the circle.

The air began to stir.

He spoke:

"By blood and by name, Summon forth

The guardian of my line.

Let my courage take form. Let my duty be given strength Let--"

His voice wavered. The sigil pulsed brighter, responding to his emotion rather than his diction.

Let the protector of Velar awaken --"

A sudden thought broke through his concentration. What if I don't want a protector?

It wasn't a defiant thought -- more wistful, lonely.

What if I just want someone who understands me?

The words slipped unbidden from his tongue:

" Let my heart be known to its truest companion."

Avert's head snapped up. " Your Highness --?"

But it was too late.

The circle blazed white. The scroll disintegrated in Elias hand. The air snapped with heart and color--gold, violet and something too bright to name. Elias stumbled back as the sound of thunder rolled through the hall.

The sigil spun, faster and faster. Then twisted, melting into symbols he didn't recognize.

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

The floor cracked.

Avert shouted something -- lost in the roar --

and the circle exploded outward in a rush of light and smoke.

Elias threw an arm over his face. The light seared through his eyelids. And then, as suddenly as it began, the chaos stopped.

Silence.

The smoke cleared. And at the center of the scorched marble floor barefoot, hair sticking up in impossible directions stood a man.

He blinked at the assembled nobles. Then at Elias. Then grinned.

" Well," the stranger said cheerfully.

Took you long enough to call."

Elias froze.

That voice -- he knew that voice.

It couldn't be.

The stranger tilted his head, smirk widening.

" You look taller. And vastly more miserable.

Miss me, princeling?"

The hall erupted in pandemonium.

The smoke clung to the ceiling beams like a living thing.

Elias coughed once, twice , trying to blink through the haze .The world shimmered around him -- banners in tatters , nobles shrieking behind jeweled fans ,Master Avert sputtering half an incarnation and forgetting the other half.

At the center of the devastation stood the figure. Barefoot shirt half unbuttoned. A grin that looked far too pleased with itself for someone who had just exploded into existence.

He stretched his arms lazily, like someone walking from a nap.

"Whew", he said. "Thought you would never get the spell right."

The entire court stared in horrified silence.

Avert found his voice first. " What - what is that?"

"Rude" , said the stranger. " I'm standing right here."

Elias's heartbeat tripped. He knew that voice.

He knew it -- the lilit, the teasing cadence, the familiar edge that made every word sound like a dare. But that was impossible.

He took a hesitant step forward. "....Kip?"

The man's grin widened, sharp and bright.

"Finally!" I was starting to think I'd have to send myself a formal invitation.

A noblewoman is fainted.

" Contain it", bellowed Avert ." Guards! Circle the summoning floor --"

The guards hesitated -- uncertain whether the barefoot intruder was a spirit, a man or some combination of both. Kip sighed , rolled his eyes and with an almost casual gesture , flicked his fingers.

The floor rippled like water .

Avert stumbled backward as the marble under his boots briefly turned in to polished cr. One guard slip and collided into another.A herald's scroll brust into flames shaped suspiciously like a laughing face.

"Oops", said Kip "Sorry .Bit rusty."

"Rusty"? Avert sputtered. "That's forbidden dreamcraft!"

"Dreamcraft," Kip repeated thoughtfully. Nice to see you all still giving fancy names to children's imagination.

"Guards!"

More chaos erupted --robes,shouts, glittering wards flashing like lightning.Through it all Kip stood perfectly at ease hand in his pockets, watching with mild amusement.His gaze flicked back to Elias.

"You look awful , by the way,he said conversationally. "Too much starch in your soul.I could smell it from the ether."

Elias could only gap. "You're not -- You can't be real. I made you up."

Kip grinned wider." And yet, here I am. Which make you what? A genius? Or irresponsible?"

"You're --" Elias faltered. "You're supposed to be gone."

"Yeah," Kip said softly. "That's what happens when people forget me."The word landed like a stone in a still pond -- small,but imposible to ignore. Then, as if realising the tension had gone too quiet, Kip clapped his hand together.

"Well, this has been delightful, he said brightly."But, Unless you want to watch me get dissected by Baldy M staff over there --" he nodded at Avert, who turned a disturbing shade of purple -- " we should probably leave."

"Leave?" Elias repeated,still dazed.

" Exit,flee, run dramatically into the sunset .

You pick the verb."

"I--I can't just --"

"You can and you will. Because Unless I'm mistaken --" Kip paused,cocked his head toward the ceiling and sniffed,"-- they're about to activate the binding wards."

From above, glowing runes flared to life, forming a tightening lattice of light.

Avert shouted, "Seal the creature! it's corrupting the ritual field ."

"Charming", said Kip Your people skills haven't improved. He turn back to Elias,and for the first time, his grin softened. " Come on, princeling . Trust me.

"Elias hesitated only a heartbeat longer -- then stepped forward.

The marble under their feet flicked , becoming briefly translucent ,and the two of them vanished in a burst of gold and violet light -- leaving behind a hall full of panicked nobles,one furious Archmage ,and the faint sound of laughter echoing through the smoke.