A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long! A levels are really stressful. Thanks you so much to ksny, Azlira and Laura Scofield for your wonderful reviews, and ksny for sending the message that made my day and made me feel guilty too! So, I really hope you like this chapter, I've been looking forward to it loads, and please send me more of your lovely reviews! Thanks for reading!

"Mellie!" Mellie's only female best friend, Sabina, whispered across their desks. Melody glared at her.

"Shush, he'll hear us!" she hissed in response out of the corner of her mouth, her eyes darting towards Dorrien who, as usual, was taking their healing class. Sabina snorted, rolling her eyes.

"And? He's your stepfather, Mellie, he won't care. I wanted to tell you that I'm having a party for my birthday tonight, in mother's rooms. She's going to sleep in my room in the Novice's Quarters. All the novices are invited" Sabina, like Mellie, had been born in the guild. The only difference was that she hadn't been a scandal – her mother had graduated and been married before she had Sabina. The only thing that made Sabina's birth slightly unusual was that her father had had Sachakan heritage, and it all seemed to have come out in Sabina, who had dark, honey-gold skin and big, almond shaped dark eyes and straight dark hair. She was mischievous and fun-loving, and that was why she and Mellie had always gotten on well.

Melody smiled. A party was just what she needed; she hadn't yet plucked up the courage to begin her assault on Lorkin, and if he was going to be there, a party would be the perfect time to begin.

"That sounds great" she said to Sabina brightly, "What time do you want me there?"

"As soon as you can, I told everyone to grab some food after class and come along, because I'm not providing for them! I – "

"Sabina! Mellie – I mean, Melody – " Dorrien snapped, trying not to sound as though Mellie was his stepdaughter, "Please stop talking. Do either of you have any idea what I just said?"

The two girls looked at each other. Slowly, they both shook their heads.

"I didn't think so. You'll have to copy someone's notes, I expect to see them next lesson" Dorrien caught Melody's eye and for a second, he wanted to laugh at the cheeky glint in her eye, so familiar to the expression he had seen on Aurelia's face so many times before. She grinned fleetingly at him and he returned back to his lecture, shaking his head slowly at her cheek.

"It's good job I'm coming to this party too" Lorkin said as he and Melody walked towards the rooms where Sabina was having her party. They could already hear loud chattering from inside.

"Oh, and why's that?" Melody asked, raising her eyebrows, "So you can sleep with every girl that comes your way?"

"No" retorted Lorkin, looking suddenly irritated, "Why do you always bring that up?"

Melody looked up at him, a little taken aback, but slightly annoyed too, "Because it's disgusting, Lorkin, making all those girls fall in love with you and just using them. It's not right. Look at poor Gladiode. I saw you with her a few weeks ago and now you don't even talk to her. She adores you. It's cruel of you to do that"

Lorkin glared at her, "Since when did you become such a feminist?"

"I'm not, I'm just saying that I think it's mean of you to do that to all those poor girls – "

"Oh, you don't know what you're talking about, Mellie. Leave off" he unhooked his arm from hers and marched away, entering the room just a few moments before she did. She hovered for a minute, glaring at his retreating back, tears of anger and frustration burning her eyes. She was doing a really great job of making him fall in love with her! How could she be so stupid?

Sabina appeared, bright-eyed, and hugged her best friend, "Mellie! I wish you'd got here first, everyone arrived without me being really prepared, but they seem to be enjoying themselves. Do you want some wine?"

Melody had never been allowed wine by her mother and Dorrien, but Tayend had often slipped her the sneaky glass or two whenever she stayed with him and her father, and Dannyl, usually so protective, always turned a blind eye. She took a glass.

"Thanks, Sabina. Go and enjoy yourself, I'll just wander"

"This is your chance with Lorkin" Sabina hissed excitedly, "Go on!"

"We've had a bit of an argument" Melody confessed, "I don't think he's going to want to talk to me"

"Oh" Sabina paused, "Well, then, play him at his own game. Fyno keeps looking at you"

"What, sleep with Larkin's son? Don't be stupid, Bina, I'm not sleeping with anyone just to make Lorkin jealous. That's not playing his game, that's stooping to his level" Melody protested, though her eyes slid slyly towards Fyno. He was handsome...

"You don't have to do anything! Just flirt with him. You're brilliant at that, when you want to be. Trust me" Sabina squeezed Melody's hand and dashed off. Melody hovered for a moment, unsure. She still wasn't keen on the idea; she didn't want to lead Fyno on. But then she spotted Lorkin.

He had been cornered by Lepida. Lepida was one of the few female novices that Lorkin hadn't slept with, simply because she made his skin crawl. She made everyone's skin crawl. She had a shrill, high-pitched voice like a toddler and spent hours curling her blonde hair around her fingertips and laughing squawkily. She was just too much, and her over-the-top flirting with Lorkin had been a constant sight over the past few years, always ending in her being turned down. Yet today, it didn't look like Lorkin was planning on turning her down. In fact, it looked kind of like he was flirting back.

Anger bubbled up furiously inside Melody. How could he bear to even talk to Lepida? He would blame it on their argument, of course, saying that he'd only picked Lepida because he knew that she wouldn't be bothered if he ditched her. But Lepida, of all people!

Lorkin saw Melody look over at them and moved closer to Lepida. Melody felt almost as though she might explode. If only she hadn't argued with him! She could have put her plan into action and maybe he'd be leaning close to her like that right at this moment!

Fyno appeared at her side, slightly pink but smiling winningly at her. Sabina must have been right; maybe he did like her. Well, she'd show Lorkin.

Melody and Lorkin spent the next hour flirting like crazy with other people. Their eyes often met across the room as they edged closer to their conquests. In fact, Melody was almost starting to enjoy herself.

Then Lepida put her arms around Lorkin's waist.

Anger flared in Melody again. She looked up at Fyno. He was still talking, but she wasn't listening to a word. She leapt up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.

Fyno, if surprised, did respond eagerly and almost instantly. Melody found herself enjoying that, too. But then she felt a hand on her arm and she was pulled, pretty forcefully, away from Lorkin. He was glaring at Fyno, who looked startled. Fyno was generally shy and had probably never offended anybody in his life.

"Sorry, Fyno, I just need to speak to Melody for a minute" Lorkin said, surprisingly politely, to Fyno. Still holding onto Melody's arm, he pulled her into the room that Sabina often slept in when she wished to stay with her mother. Melody glared at him.

"Oh, so now you want to talk to me? Get off my arm, you're hurting" she jerked her arm out of his grasp and scowled angrily up at him. Lorkin was staring at her, looking more disappointed than angry.

"Why did you do that, Mellie?"he asked, his voice very soft. Melody stared at him, defensive.

"Fyno's nice, that's all. And he seems to like me. And you were with Lepida and I was on my own so I thought...well, I thought, what the hell, I might as well flirt with Fyno"

"That was more than flirting, Mel, you just kissed him" Lorkin replied sternly.

"Well, you looked like you were about to kiss Lepida!"

"What does it matter to you if I was? I know you don't approve, but this is my life, Mellie"

"You were only doing it to make me jealous!" Melody blurted out. She froze. She hadn't meant to say that out loud. Lorkin was frozen too. He hadn't expected her to say that.

"Oh, stop it, Mellie. You're not a child" he said at last, "You might be acting like one, but you are not a child. That's a stupid thing to say"

"Is it?" Melody asked. She was trying to sound seductive, but the tears in her eyes just made her sound pathetic. Lorkin looked pityingly at her, and this made her feel even worse.

"Don't look at me like that" Melody mumbled, hiding behind her hair. Lorkin was right. She was acting stupidly and childishly and selfishly and pathetically and...oh, so many things. And she'd pretty much just told him how she felt about him, and he'd shrugged it aside. Her mother was wrong. He didn't love her after all.

"I think maybe you should go and get some sleep" said Lorkin gently, making her feel even more like a child, "I'm not angry with you, Mellie, honest. I just think that you'll feel better if you have some sleep. How much wine have you had?"

Melody looked up, startled. He thought that she was drunk! She'd only had one glass. But maybe it was better that he thought that. At least then he'd try and forget about what had just happened.

"A lot" she lied, ducking her head again. Lorkin sighed.

"Go on" he said affectionately, "I'll make you excuses to Sabina, I promise"

Mellie smiled feebly at him and dashed away before she could make any more of an idiot of herself. She didn't stop running until she reached her mother's door. It was late. All her siblings would be in bed – so would her mum and Dorrien, probably. But she needed her mum.

She rapped on the door, then called her mother in her mind. Aurelia came to the door almost instantly, wrapping herself in a robe, her hair in a long and messy braid. She clapped her hand to her mouth when she saw Melody's tear-stained face. She hadn't even realised that she'd been crying.

"Mellie! Oh, sweetheart, whatever is the matter?" she drew Melody in gently, "Come in, darling. Come and tell me what's wrong. You can stay here tonight"