Author's Note: Like I promised in chapter two, here is chapter three. No flashbacks here, but there are some sparks starting to fly. And chapter four will have a flashback to start off with.

Chapter Three

I awoke with a start. For a second I thought I was blind, but then I realized it was only a stray piece of fabric from the sleeve of my jacket.

Wait. When did I get a jacket? The last thing I remembered was thinking I'd rest for a moment and try to regenerate my powers. And here I was, fully rested, with a jacket and no memory of how I got it.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," I heard a voice say, and for a moment I indulged in a fantasy where the girls had confessed to their role in the prank, and now Miss F was here to bring me back to Alfea. But as my vision started to clear up, I realized that the figure leaning over me, the one that had said that and had probably given me the jacket, was not Miss F. In fact, while it was a familiar face, it was not exactly one I wanted to see right now, especially blocked up in a dead-end ice cave with rusty magic.

Yet still, I was curious.

"Why did you give me your jacket, Baltor?" I asked.

He laughed. "I went looking for you when you didn't come back with more ice, and I found you here. You looked cold, and I can handle these temperatures, so I gave you my jacket."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but… thank you."

"You're very welcome," he replied. "Now come on. You're not the only one who can do that ice-to-food spell."

Slightly skeptical, but starving nonetheless, and too tired to try and make my own, I got up, making sure to wrap his jacket tightly around my body (it was really cold down here). Then I stood up and followed him, making sure to keep a small ball of dragon fire energy pulsing on my palm, just to make sure that I still had magic left, as well as to keep me warm (the jacket did a good job keeping me from freezing to death, but there was nothing like dragon fire magic).

When I finally got to the place we'd spent most of yesterday at, my mouth dropped to the floor and I lost my grip on the ball of dragon fire energy I was using to keep warm. It dropped onto the floor, melting the huge hunk of ice nearly beneath my feet. "Whoa," was all I could manage to say.

Unlike last night's paltry dinner, which was barely enough nutrition to keep me from fainting out of hunger, this was almost a full-course breakfast buffet, with every single one of my favorite breakfast foods, including ones from Earth and Magix. "How… how did you know?" was all I managed to stutter.

He laughed again. "You're forgetting that we're connected by the dragon fire. While you were sleeping, I read your mind. And as for the spell… well… let's just say I took some notes when I was watching you yesterday."

I was too hungry to do anything else but collapse on the ground, wrap his jacket tighter around me, and start to eat. Although I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I should have checked the food for poisons first, I had a feeling that I could trust Baltor not to have poisoned my food.

As I slowly but surely polished off the last bits of Baltor's ice-turned-food (much better than mine - how), I felt better inside. Warm, full… and comfortable, something I hadn't felt in a long time.

Although I tried hard to clench my jaw, a small yawn escaped my mouth. "I'm tired," was all I managed to offer as an explanation before I laid down on the ground and went to sleep…

Author's Note: Chapter four will come soon, I swear. But since I gave you two chapters rapid-fire, you can be patient for a little while. And since I love reviews, if you review, I'll add to it sooner.