Shallan Davar knew she should probably be asleep, but she simply didn't feel tired. She'd regret this in the morning, she was sure, especially when Jasnah had all kinds of new studies for her to be doing. Waking up in the day after she'd stayed up too late was always a horrible experience. But for now, she figured doing some personal studies for a bit would be nice.

She walked through the dark halls of the impromptu palace at the Shattered Plains, cupping the diamond broam in her hand so that its light illuminated her path. It wasn't nearly as lavish as the Conclave, but for a structure built in a war camp, it was much nicer than what she'd been expecting. She and Jasnah stayed in rooms provided by the younger brother, King Elhokar.

Thankfully, there was a small library in the building and some of the writings there contained descriptions of the flora and fauna of the Shattered Plains. During the day, she'd taken to sketching new creatures and plants whenever she got free time and looking them up later in the library's journals to see if other scholars had documented them. While she found records of some, there were many she believed had never been catalogued before. It was an exciting exercise and looking through the journals was a good way to wind down at the end of the day. Perhaps someday another young scholar would be studying her journals to try to fall asleep.

She held the sphere up as she entered the small library rooms. The main room was filled with shelf upon shelf of scrolls, parchments, books, and journals. By now, Shallan knew right where the natural science journals were, and she pulled a new one off the shelf, tucking it under her arm with her sketchbook. Then she headed toward the back of the library. There was a small room with a desk there for studying and at this time of night, she was sure it would be empty.

However, as she pushed open the door, she was surprised to see that the room was occupied. As she opened the door, she could see that an even blue light lit the small room.

"I'm so sorry," Shallan said quickly, moving to shut the door. Then she saw the blue uniform and froze.

Renarin Kholin spun as she entered, eyes wide. She started, for a moment thinking she had walked into the wrong room. Then she looked more closely. Open books and papers were spread across the room's single table, sapphire spheres spread between them to illuminate the pages. Finally she noticed the guilt in his expression, lurking behind his surprise.

"It's..." he stammered, sounding somewhat frantic. "This is not what it looks like!"

She blinked, trying to understand what she was seeing. "Were you… reading?"

She could see thoughts flickering behind his eyes, like he was searching for something to say that wouldn't incriminate him. He opened his mouth a few times, but never managed to get the words out. Finally, he sighed, slumping a bit. "No, technically I wasn't. I don't actually know how to read. But… not for lack of trying."

The immense sadness in his voice made her pause. Slowly, she stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. "What exactly are you doing in here?"

The younger Kholin prince looked so terribly defeated, she couldn't help but feel bad for him. "It was foolish to think that no one would catch me. I just…" He turned back towards the desk. "I couldn't help it. Ever since Aunt Navani came to the Shattered Plains, I haven't been able to stop thinking about the fabrials she makes and how they work. And the answers are here, but just out of reach. There's so much knowledge here, but I can't understand any of it. I thought maybe I could understand them from the diagrams, but I just can't figure it out."

She stepped closer and saw that many of the books contained neat drawings of various fabrials covered with notations. She didn't know much about the art of making fabrials herself, but she knew that Brightness Navani was a renowned artefabrian. One sheet of paper caught her eye though. Off to one side was a single page of common glyphs with their names written in script beside them.

"What is this for?" She asked, gently picking it up with her freehand.

Renarin seemed to shrink even smaller in his chair, and she almost regretted asking. She hadn't thought it possible for him to look more miserable than he had a moment ago. "It… I was…" he sighed, and his voice dropped to an ashamed mumble. "I thought if I could figure out how to read if I could translate the script. I know the names of these glyphs, so I know what the writing says. But I can't even figure that out. I know what the words are supposed to say, but it's all still just lines to me. It's… it's disgraceful, I know. I can't imagine what you think of me."

Shallan didn't know what to say. The young prince looked absolutely wretched, and while the idea of a man learning to read outside the ardentia was shocking to her, she couldn't help but admire his cleverness in trying to go about it. Reading the names of glyphs written out in regular script would be in excellent starting point for someone who only knew glyphs.

She thought for a long while, trying to figure out what to do. She thought about going to tell someone, but who would she tell? The son of a highprince was much higher ranked than she was, and if she was being honest, she could understand how he felt. She remembered her own immense thirst for knowledge when she was younger, and she'd had the opportunity to read and write and study. While men could be read to by women, scholarship was not a masculine art, and was hardly encouraged. She'd often wondered if men outside the ardentia even became curious about these things. It was almost… refreshing to find out that there was a man not so different from herself.

She finally spoke, her voice quiet. "I… I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."

Renarin looked up sharply, shock crossing his face. "You won't?"

She shook her head, still looking at the paper. "I mean, I'm a scholar. I can't really blame you for being curious. Even if you aren't female."

Renarin's whole posture relaxed as he sighed in relief. "I can't believe it! You would really do that for me?"

"Actually," Shallan said, drawing the word out as she considered her next words. "I was just thinking: if you're trying to figure out how to read on your own… Well, you're probably not going to get very far without help. So, what if I were to give you some assistance?" She could hardly believe she was suggesting this, but she knew all too well what it was like not to have access to the information she wanted. Not to mention, she had something even more drastic in mind.

Renarin's mouth dropped open. "Are you… Are you saying you would teach me how to read?"

Before she could second-guess herself, she nodded. "If you can keep it a secret, I'll help you."

He stared at her, wonder and disbelief written across his face. "I… I don't even know what to say. This is so… Thank you, so much. You're… Shallan, right? Cousin Jasnah's ward?"

Shallan nodded. The look of joy on the prince's face made all of her worries about this plan seem to disappear. "I would like something in exchange though, if it's not too much to ask."

"Anything!" Renarin said quickly. "At this point, I'd consider giving you my Shardplate if I thought I could get away with it!"

Shallan laughed nervously. "Nothing so extravagant as that." She paused, not wanting to continue. Two sides of her mind were at war with one another. The more rational part of her brain was shocked that she was considering this. What do you think you're doing, even considering this? What would your brothers think if they knew what you were considering?

But the other, more curious side of her was stronger. The tiny voice that said: When are you ever going to get a chance like this again? You know he'll say yes, and even if he doesn't, he can't judge you for asking. Not after what he's already asked of you.

Renarin cocked his head to the side, wondering why she had paused. There was something endearingly innocent about the gesture. "Brightness Shallan? What is it that you want?"

She bit her lip. Just ask! "In return for helping you learn one of the feminine arts, well… it seems only fair that you teach me one of the masculine arts!" The words came out in a rush, and she felt herself blushing at the impropriety of the statement. Renarin blinked, but didn't look terribly shocked.

She looked down at her feet, continuingata more normal talking speed. "I would like to learn how to use a sword."

Renarin gave a small, understanding nod. Then he looked down. "I'm not certain I would be the best teacher for that. I'm not really a very good swordsman."

"Yes, but you've been trained, haven't you?" Shallan said, encouraged by the fact that he hadn't shot her down immediately. "And honestly, I know very little about fabrials and engineering, so beyond the basics of reading and writing, I don't think I would be much help to you."

He paused, considering this. "I have been trained, yes. I know the stances and forms, though I'm not very good at them. If that's your request, then it would be my honor to teach you what I know."

Shallan smiled, not quite able to believe that he'd agreed. "This way, we'll both have secrets, because we're helping each other. You don't have to worry that I'll tell anyone that you're learning to read, because if I did, you could tell them that I'm learning sword stances. No one will know!"

And more importantly, she thought, I'll finally know how to use this cursed thing I carry. If I'm forced to bear it, then I might as well learn how to defend myself using it, at least.

Renarin thought about that for a moment, then met her eyes again, his face splitting in a grin. "I believe I can manage that, Brightness Shallan."

She found herself smiling back. There was something about his "Please," she said. "We're co-conspirators now. You can simply call me Shallan."

"I think I can manage that, Shallan," he said, extending a hand to shake. "It is only fitting then that I return the favor. Call me Renarin, please. We have a deal then?"

She shook his hand firmly. His hands were strong, but softer than she'd expected. "We have a deal, Renarin," she said.

They shook and the deal was sealed. I've either just made the best or worst decision of my life, Shallan thought. And Almighty preserve me, but I have no idea which. And from the look on Renarin's face, he seemed to be thinking the same thing. She wasn't sure whether that was reassuring or terrifying.

A strange mix of both, she finally decided.