For Sameth, his new duty as Wallmaker was a blessing and a curse. His love for tinkering with odd bits, his hobby of invention, had become his profession.
That's not to say the work was easy- he spent weeks attempting to rediscover the techniques of his predecessors, leafing through dusty tomes and studying the intricate structures of centuries-old spells. It was exhausting, both mentally and physically, and he often found himself on the verge of giving up. He would have already done so, if it wasn't for Nick.

Nicholas Sayre, contrary to his best friend's current dilemma, was greatly enjoying his resurrection, newly-baptised with the Charter within reach at last. Almost immediately after he had regained some of his strength, he'd attempted to shatter a pebble to study the journey of force and collision and identify its source. Instead, he set his hair on fire and knocked himself unconscious. Once he'd recovered from that, Sameth decided to take it upon himself to tutor his best friend in Charter Magic. It would be a breeze compared to slogging through volumes of barely useful history written in an archaic dialect. More importantly, he hoped it would help to clear his mind and look at his work afresh; something he sorely needed after hours spent frustrating over some quandary or another.

However, the beginning- getting Nick to properly access the Charter- turned out to be a tricky business itself. He was an eager and bright student for sure, but his scientific curiosity and sheer stubbornness made the process more difficult than it should have been.

"First, I want you to close your eyes," Sameth said, standing opposite Nick in his study room. That command was followed easily enough.

"Now, reach for the Charter. Envision the marks, feel their pull and immerse yourself in them. You can feel the warmth, I'm sure-"

"About the Charter," Nick interrupted, eyes open again. "Where does it come from? What is its source? Magical symbols are all very well, but they must have a beginning!"

So Sameth gave him a brief history of the Charter, the binding of Free Magic. Nick had done some of his own research before and after the Orannis affair, and interrupted to ask questions about channeling energy and a Charter mage's ability to enter the Charter. At first, Sameth was amused by the barrage of questions, but soon tired of the increasingly tedious questions. Finally, keen to end the inquisition, he simply gripped Nicholas's head and touched their Charter marks together. He could have simply touched his hand to Nick's forehead and triggered it, but Mark-to-Mark contact had a greater effect, and he was hoping Nick would just shut up.

He felt the warmth flare up as the Marks made contact, and sighed as he was immersed in the eternal flow of the Charter, its solidity and strength washing over him. Although Sam's eyes were closed, he knew Nick felt the same, heard his sharp intake of breath and felt the slow exhale against his lips. It was both soothing and exhilarating to enter the flow of the Charter so completely.

"The Charter is eternal, Nick," he murmured. "It has no beginning and no end. It is not something to be created or destroyed, but merely returns to the eternal current. It is the essence of the world and its inhabitants, and we are blessed to be able to use it."

Sameth opened his eyes to find Nick watching him, their faces far too close. He pulled back hastily, but Nick still stared at him.

He had to cut their lesson short and leave- he had an appointment with the caretaker of one of the Wallmakers' monuments.

After a few days spent studying and familiarising himself with beginner Charter Marks, Sameth made Nick call up fire on the sandy beaches of Belisaere. As an element, it had one of the easiest Marks to call up, but Nicholas, wary after his first attempt at calling upon the Charter, was having doubts. Sameth reached into the Charter and set fire to a tuft of grass to show him how simple it was.

Unfortunately, he had not anticipated Nicholas's interest in the spontaneous combustion- a grievous and rather idiotic error on his part. Once Nick had cautiously experimented and lit his own fire, he quickly became fascinated with the process, trying to study the chain reaction that lead to the object going up in flames. Sameth had to douse the bonfire Nicholas managed to create even whilst surrounded by sand. But by the end of their time together, Nicholas was able to create a small ball of Charter flames. He shot fireballs into the sea and wiggled his eyebrows at Sameth, who snorted, conjured three, and promptly began juggling them. The look on his friend's face was comical.

Their lessons continued like this. Sameth awaited his sessions with Nicholas with building excitement, happy to escape his work and princely duties. Ellimere hounded him regarding the endless tasks, events and petty issues that came with learning to run a kingdom, issues Sameth wasn't the least bit interested in knowing. Every opportunity he could, he used Nicholas as an excuse to get away, and they'd spend the hours alternately working and laughing at Nicholas's spectacular failures. For Sameth, their time together was turning into the stuff of dreams.

Bittersweet dreams, because even as he wished for more time with his best friend, he found himself constantly putting distance between them. He knew, deep down, that something had drastically changed for him, but he still held a desperate hope that this change would revert to the original, that he would be able to regain that old friendship. The alternative...was unthinkable.

Some days later, Nicholas called Sameth to his rooms for an undisclosed reason. Eager to escape his duties, and curious as to why his friend had been so secretive with the summons, Sameth made his way to the chambers and followed Nicholas into the bedroom. The sudden closing of the door behind him made him jump. He saw Nicholas turn away from him, before the room was plunged into darkness.

Sameth's heart drummed in his ears as he stared into the blackness. "Nick? What are you doing?"

A small, warm glow emanated from where Nick had stood, silhouetting him against the greater darkness. He turned, and it was shining out of his cupped hands. The light grew stronger, illuminating Nicholas's grin as tiny Charter marks pulsed in his hand.

Sameth moved closer, until he was looking down into Nicholas's hands. Dozens of Charter marks swarmed there, glowing golden, throwing the shadows of the two boys against the wall.

"You mastered the illumination marks, then." Sameth didn't know why, but the words came out in a whisper. Something about this accomplishment, small though it was, called for hushed reverence. There was nothing particularly special about the marks Nicholas held- they were ordinary Charter marks of illumination, small, their light weak compared to what a practised Charter mage or even those present in the ceiling above could produce. But with Nicholas cradling them so carefully, so proud of his achievement, it felt like he was cupping the stars in his hands.

Maybe it was the way they made him look. The light bathed Nicholas's face in a soft, gentle light, Charter marks reflecting in his blue eyes and giving him an otherworldly appearance. Sameth would have been disconcerted if it wasn't for the blonde hair that fell before Nick's eyes when it was starting to become too much, messy and charming as ever. He remembered threatening to chop those locks off in school once.

He wouldn't dream of actually ever doing so; they suited Nicholas too well. Absent-minded, unkempt, all over the place, beloved Nicholas.

Sameth took a hasty step back and banged his heel into a desk leg, falling to the floor with a pain-filled grunt. Nicholas startled and extinguished the marks, plunging them once again into darkness.

"Sameth? You okay?" His outstretched leg was kicked with unintentional force. "Sorry."

Sameth hurried to stand, but neither boy could see in the dark, and he was halfway up before Nicholas, reaching down to help him, accidentally pushed him back down. Sameth grabbed onto his arms in a reflexive attempt to stay upright but only succeeded in pulling them both down. Nicholas sprawled on top of him, leaving him winded and flat on his back.

"I didn't think that through," Nick said, laughing. His voice was right next to Sameth's ear- he could feel warm puffs of air with each exhalation, shivering at the contact against sensitive skin. Which served only to turn his attention to the fact that Nicholas's body was pressed full-length against him. He could feel every curve and muscle as though they were his own- he could even perceive Nicholas's heartbeat, his own soaring in guilty pleasure. He wished the moment would last forever. Sameth was pinned down, trapped, overpowered by Nicholas...and loving it.

Too much. He shoved Nicholas to the side and sprang to his feet. Turning around blindly, he hastened to reactivate the Charter lights in the ceiling.

"I have to go now." Sameth struggled to control his voice, keeping his back to Nicholas. Trying to hide his reaction to the chance error, the simple mistake, and the glorious moments that had followed.

He strode towards the door. "Ellimere's forcing me to have dinner with some friend of hers again."

"Sam, is everything alright?"

Sameth paused and turned a fraction. "Everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

Nicholas was on his feet, a look of genuine concern on his face. Nothing else, no reaction to what had just occurred.

"You seem to be rather distant of late. I know you have a lot on your plate, what with the Wallmaker business and your duties as prince, but you seem...reserved. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Sameth gritted out. "Nothing is wrong." He turned back to the door.

"You do know you can talk to me, Sam. You're my best friend."

Best friend. Best friend. Those words mocked Sameth even as they were used sincerely. He scowled fiercely and finally faced Nicholas, all pleasure forgotten. "Everything is fine. Please stop pestering me now- it's bad enough having to teach you without all the bloody queries! You would be reserved too if somebody constantly badgered you with stupid questions."

The bewildered expression on Nick's face infuriated him. How do you not know? How can you not see? His friend was ignorant, clueless about what being near him did to Sam. How he hated himself for constantly returning to him, but never for long, because as soon as he saw Nick, everything else was forgotten. What made him so blind?

But Sameth already knew.

Because Nicholas loved her.

In the grip of cold rage and dying hope, Sameth turned away. "Find someone else to teach you. I don't want to see your face."

The echo of the slamming door followed him as he fled.