A/N: As in all my fics featuring this pairing, Luc and Sasarai are of NO relation.

I.

I frowned at Lady Leknaat, thankful that the magician was blind and couldn't see the look I was giving her. "Lady... You want me to go where?"

"Harmonia," the sorceress said again, calmly sipping her hot tea. "You've been my apprentice for seven long years, Luc. I believe it's time for you to go out into the world and prove what you've accomplished. Think of it as a field trip." The ageless woman laughed cheerily.

I tried to control my emotions, while desperately seeking some excuse not to go. "It's almost time for the Astral Conclusions to be presented again. Don't you need help?"

"Oh, I think I can handle it," the lady smiled. "It won't kill the soldiers to walk, for once." She was referring to the way I had to teleport visitors from the castle using my wind rune, since the castle on Magician's Island was nothing but a spiraling staircase leading to the upper chambers where Leknaat and I, as her apprentice, live and work. All those stories could be tiring to the mortals, so my magic did come in handy for those whose time was too precious to waste climbing a mountain of stairs.

"I mean...don't you need my protection?" I begged. "I'm the one who tests the visitors--to make sure they're who they say they are," I added quickly. Often, I'd sent monsters out to attack curious people who came near the island. And that wasn't always for the protection of the lady so much as for my own amusement. Unfortunately, Lady Leknaat knew that, too.

Leknaat made a wry face. "I think we'll all be fine without you for a couple weeks."

"A couple weeks?!" I cried in astonishment. "Lady--! You're not serious!"

"Absolutely. Honestly, Luc, one should think you'd be glad to get out into the world every now and then." She wasn't giving me a choice, I realized. I had to go, no matter what. "Don't be so disgruntled, Luc," the lady soothed, sensing my tension. "All apprentice magicians are expected to compete in the Magician's Tournament. I think you'll do well."

- LATER -

"But why does it have to be in Harmonia?" I was grumbling to myself now, alone in my room as I packed. I had no desire to return to that land. I had left for good reason, and did not wish to go back in this lifetime, if at all. But this was nothing I could explain to her ladyship. Besides, her reasons were just as founded as mine, if not more so. I was, after all, twenty years of age, a man now, and it was time for me to do some field training. True, any worthy apprentice should be glad to compete in the Magician's Tournament, to not only show off their own skills, but to bring glory to their masters. Lady Leknaat certainly deserved to be known for her talent. I often wondered why she hid away on the lonely Magician's Island, where no boat could breach its treacherous waters, and no one came to visit. Was she happy? She certainly never appeared to be unhappy. She was, and I suppose always will be, simply Lady Leknaat, younger sister to Imperial Court Magician Windy.

Ah! Windy! Now there was a lady to behold. While she entertained royalty, her younger sibling sat alone in a monstrous castle studying the stars. What had led her to this place? Was fate so cruel to one sibling, and so benevolent to another? Was Leknaat not jealous? Of course she wasn't. She was as apathetical to that as anything else; what mattered to her was keeping the fates in balance. I had to admit, it was an immense responsibility. And to take on an apprentice as well? Truly, Lady Leknaat is a great magician.

I kept telling myself these things, to prove to my own self the importance of appearing worthy before the Board of Wizards. Besides, being in possession of a True Rune would help me show my skills to their fullest. And, hopefully, I would bring home some prize to display at my master's castle. Lady Leknaat has an entire room dedicated to her trophies, won when she was still an apprentice to the sorcerer Crowley.

"Luc, have you prepared?"

Lady Leknaat's voice was calling me from the hallway. She had stepped back from my doorway, supposedly in case I was undressed. I didn't see why it should matter; she's blind. But such actions of hers... they often made me wonder.

"Yes, Lady. Please come in."

The sorceress stepped gracefully into the room. Her hood was thrown back, letting her graying raven hair cascade to the floor, and her lips were smiling. She was carrying a small black box with a lock of silver. She held it out for me. "...Lady?"

"It is a gift," she said softly.

I looked up at her eyelids, closed as usual, and was grateful once again that she could not see me, for my own eyes were welling with tears. "...Lady..."

She laughed a little. "Don't be so sentimental, Luc. You'll be back in two weeks and we'll be always as we were, though perhaps a bit more confident--should it be possible." She was joking, of course. I know I'm often very proud and haughty, especially towards guests, should we actually have any to visit. I felt I had good reason, though, and her ladyship only encouraged me by telling me so often how gifted I am. Still, at times she had to also threaten me for using my magic for tricks and teasing the Imperials. Who do they think they are, though? I'm the one with the magic powers. How can physical strength compare?

"Open it," she commanded.

I examined the mysterious lock. There was no place for a key. A test, I realized. Would my rune...? No; that wouldn't work. She was trying to show me that the rune was not my only strength. Part of my magic, at least, would have to come from within. I concentrated my energy, focusing not on the lock itself, as one might expect, but on the box. If I could imagine myself in the box, opening it to escape, I could easily open the lock. By concentrating on the lock, I would only jam it and become trapped within. It was a simple test, but if one was in a hurry and didn't stop to think it through logically, the puzzle would never be solved.

I smiled in triumph as, a moment later, the lid popped open. I ignored the contents, instead craving praise from my master. She did not leave me wanting.

"Excellent!" she said with a wide smile. "Yes, Luc, you will do very well. Take this gift, with my well- wishes."

I looked down then at the box in my hands, and gasped. Inside the chest, on a bed of black velvet, was a glittering headband. The material was sea-green satin, the jewel a large crystal. "Lady...!" I breathed.

She smiled slightly. "Allow me," she said, holding out a palm.

I gave her a look. She was blind, after all. But I did not wish to offend her by refusing after she'd given me such an opulent present. I obeyed without question, gingerly lifting the jeweled headband and placing it in the lady's palm, then turned my back to her.
I watched in the vanity mirror across the room as the enchantress's magical fingers laid the stone upon my forehead, perfectly centered, and clasped it in the back beneath my long brown hair. I raised my fingertips slowly to touch the crystal. "Thank you, Lady," I said very quietly.

"Let this bring you luck," she said in my ear. "And may you return in triumph, my worthy apprentice."