"You students need to get into your chambers!" the high voice of the groundskeeper rand through the halls, "It's past the time you should have been in bed!"

"But sir," protested Paige, "I can't find my way back to-"

"NO more excuses! Get to bed, NOW!" he screamed and walked down the hallway, routinely peering back at her. With a sigh, she slipped into Jaymor's room, pretending it was her own. They had gone their separate ways when they'd entered, but Paige had gotten hopelessly lost in the various corridors and ended up back in the hallway she'd beaten the drunk boy up in. Trying to find her way back, the hall patroller caught her and she had no choice but to pretend like she knew where she was. "Jay," she whispered into the darkness, "Jaymor, it's Paige. JAY!" her last whisper was harsh and rather loud. "What the-?" she heard a voice coming from the bathroom, then the door to the bathroom opened and Jaymor stepped out, lighting up the darkened room enough to see Paige; and for Paige to see him.

"Augh! Sorry, sorry!" she apologized hurriedly and looked away quickly from Jaymor's naked form. "Paige, what the hell? Hold on." he said, and Paige heard the rustling of a towel being quickly drawn about him. Crouching against the wall, face hidden in her hands, Paige suggested, "You might want to light some lanterns."

"Oh, yeah," was the reply, and there was the sound of a match being lit, "You can look now." Paige got up, hands falling away from her face. Jaymor had lit the oil lamps in his room, which was almost as bare as hers, she noticed. He did have a small armory of weapons lined up against one wall, but that was about it, and aside from the books and quills scattered all over the desk, she wouldn't think anyone lived there. Her eyes turned to Jaymor, his dark hair, even more in his eyes than ever, was dripping wet, as was the rest of him. The towel was wrapped around his lower half like a skirt, leaving his upper body bare. He was well-muscled, probably from practicing with his weapons, but had a lanky build. "Um, why are you here?" he asked, breaking her train of thought.

"I got lost, the hall patroller yelled at me and I couldn't get back to my rooms, and I knew you were in here, so I. . .pretended it was my room and, well, here I am." A scratching at the door reminded her to let Milo in "Oh, sorry boy!" she murmured an apology to her dog, then shut the door again. "You're really tall," Paige told Jaymor, breaking the silence.

"Well yeah, so I'm told."

"I'm really not doing well on my first day here," she said, sinking to the floor and putting her head in her hands, "I've gotten lost twice, beat up a boy I don't even know, and now I can't find my cursed ROOM!" Groaning to herself, she missed Jaymor's soft reply.

"What?" she asked.

Clearing his throat, he said louder, "You could stay here tonight. There's no sense in wandering about the halls when neither of us know where to go." Paige was surprised that this shy boy would offer to share his room with her the first day they'd met, she felt flattered. "That would be great! Thanks! Um, do our clothes need to be fresh for the inspection?" she asked.

"Well yes, that is a problem, but you haven't worn those clothes for long and, frankly, you really need some instructions on how to wear them. I'll lend you one of my robes for the night, and you can wear your clothes again tomorrow." Blushing slightly, Paige went to Jaymor's closet and helped herself to one of his large bathrobes. "You can go back to your bath now," she told Jaymor, "I'll set up the cot myself.

After Jaymor had gone back into the bathroom, Paige undressed and laid her clothes out in a row, so that they wouldn't wrinkle. Then she put on the robe. It was made of a wonderful silken fabric that felt like water over her skin. She had never worn something so beautiful-feeling. She bound the silk rope around her waist and got out the extra cot that every room had. She stole a pillow from Jaymor's bed and a spare blanket from the closet, then got some water from the wash-basin for Milo to drink. Suddenly, the door to the bathroom opened, and Jaymor poked his head around the edge, "Paige," he asked, "Could you get me a robe please?" Laughing to herself, Paige took a robe from the closet and passed it to her friend behind the door. Soon he came out of the bathroom, wearing a duplicate of the robe Paige was wearing. "These are WONDERFUL robes you have!" Paige exclaimed, "They're so light!" She noticed Jaymor wasn't responding, seemingly lost in his thoughts. "Hello? Are you alright? JAY!" That seemed to snap him out of it. "I'm sorry, I'm just. . .really tired." He said, turning pink. "Well, in that case, we should go to sleep," replied Paige, crawling into the cot.

"What are you afraid of?" she asked, suddenly wanting to know. "Well," he replied, "I'm afraid of sorcerers, the ones that use their power for weird powerful magic, and I'm afraid of girls." Paige snorted at this. "You're not afraid of me! At least not anymore."

"Well, I know you now. I'm afraid of talking to girls I don't know. What are you afraid of?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Well, let's see," Paige said, "I'm afraid of being cooped up for life, I'm afraid of rapists, and I'm afraid of earthquakes."

"Oh," said Jaymor. Paige suddenly had an idea. "On one of the breaks," she told him, "I'm going to take you into the city, and I'm going to drag you around to every pretty girl we see and make you say hi. Then you can get over your fear." Paige looked up to see Jaymor vigorously shaking his head. "We'll see," she told him sneakily, "G'night! And thanks."

Jaymor grunted in reply, and so passed their first night in the royal palace.