Isra was unable to sleep that night with the events from a couple of hours ago haunting her. Silani's words were echoing in her head, keeping her awake all night. A dozen questions were swirling around her mind, most of all what was the reason behind those words.

Silani could have been just warning her away. Isra knew continuing with her own investigation could lead to a dangerous outcome, but she disregarded the obvious danger due to the anger that fuelled her actions, pushing her further. On the other hand Silani could also have been ordered to do so, to dissuade Isra from any further research, her words serving as a warning coming from those who violated her friend in the first place. But who could be behind that order? And that was the chilling thought that kept Isra awake all night, fighting the need to get up and do something.

- o . O . o -

Cullen was already waiting for her by the door of her dormitory the next day. Isra quickly discovered she felt a lot more comfortable with Raja, than with him. The knowledge that he supposedly liked her, made her feel awkwardly self-conscious. Suddenly she was aware of every step she took, of how she took it, with her legs developing a mind of their own, leading her to trip on the hem of her robes more than a couple of times.

Isra had never had an admirer, and the feeling that came from it caused her to behave almost as if she was the one with the crush on him. What made things worse was the fact that he was a bit older than her, which gave him a certain exotic air, only enchanted by the fact that he was far from being ugly, a Templar and apparently possessed a similar talent for stuttering and blushing incessantly.

Nonetheless, he managed to keep up a professional façade today far better than she did. He didn't say a word from the moment she had stepped out onto the hallway, only nodding slightly in greeting, keeping his eyes focused on a spot somewhere above her head. That pretty much summed up their interaction through the greater part of the morning as she attended her classes. He quietly followed her, preoccupied with looking everywhere else except at her, but she still felt as if she was walking around naked.

The fact that every single apprentice she had met since waking up was also staring at her, only made things worse. It appeared that by now, everyone in the tower was aware or has heard about the incident. The Templar bodyguard following her about only served to heighten her new status as an infamous social pariah. Now, everywhere she went people moved away, as if she had the blight, busy avoiding her and gawking at them at the same time.

It was a nightmare.

"Isra!"

She breathed a sigh of relief as she turned around towards the source of the call. Mica was running towards her, concern clearly written on his face.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he hugged her, ignoring the numerous people staring at them. Isra closed her eyes, hugging him back. It was the exact thing she needed for comfort right now. His arms offered her a short reprieve from the feeling of being overexposed.

"When I heard what happened… I…"

Isra didn't say anything, only kept hugging him back. He was her lifeline at the moment, and she was reluctant to let it go.

"Are you alright?"

He pushed her away enough to see her face and she nodded quickly, providing him a brief attempt at a brave smile. She was shaken from the whole experience and the sleepless night was taking a toll on her nerves, deflating her anger. At the moment she was just exhausted, emotionally drained from all the stress.

His attention was almost immediately being drawn to something behind her, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. She didn't need to turn around to look back, to know exactly what he was looking at.

"My bodyguard." She quietly mouthed towards Mica.

His surprise was quickly replaced by a mixture of amusement and disbelief. "Right." Mica commented quietly, nodding his head slowly. "Of course. Him."

Isra laughed out loud. The whole situation was surreal to her, almost to the point of being absurd. She shook her head, still laughing but feeling better with each second. She needed the laughter, her body needed it and it helped to diffuse the situation, relieve her stressed out mind.

"I know, right?" Isra said in a conspiratorial whisper, her laughter was dying down slowly. "Him. And he kind of saved me yesterday. To top it all off." She added quietly, looking back at the Templar. She had relieved that yesterday's fight numerous times already and each time, she heard his voice calling to her to get down, running towards her, slamming her pursuer back on the wall. Everything he did or said in that moment was impressive and she'd lie if she didn't admit that her knees went a little soft with each recollection of the memory.

Right now he was trying his best to give Mica and her a bit of privacy, observing their surroundings and probably looking for any potential threats. His face was set in grim determination that almost looked to be hiding his own turmoil. She offered him a slight smile as his gaze turned in their direction for a few seconds, causing him to look away quickly.

"I can't believe it. You're sweet on him." Mica's voice brought her back from her musings.

"What? No?" Isra tried to object quickly, but even to her own ears those objections sounded false.

It was Mica's turn to laugh out loud in amusement. "Oh this is rich."

"Don't be daft! No." This time she managed to say it with a more conviction than before, and he quieted down, silly grin still plastered on his face.

"Of course not." He whispered with a conspiratorial wink.

Isra punched him in the arm. "Sarcastic bastard. I said NO."

Mica was still laughing, as he rubbed his arm in a dramatic attempt to pretend he was fatally wounded. "All right, all right hold on to your undergarments. There is no need for violence."

Isra sent him, what she hoped would be, a scolding look that would manage to impress even the Knight-Commander, promising him tremendous bodily harm if he added any other commentary in regards to her definitely non-existent crush. She only wished she could convince herself of its lack of existence.

"Meet me for lunch later?" Mica quickly changed the subject.

"You know I can't. Today I have another practice meeting with enchanter Hayes." Isra sighed tiredly. Just thinking about it managed to rob her of any remains of energy that still lingered in her body.

"Well, how about after?"

"Sure." Isra nodded quickly. She could definitely use some friendly company after all of this. There were still some things she needed to process, and there was no other person she would rather discuss it through, than Mica.

"Good. See you then." He quickly gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead, accompanied with a warm smile and a hug. It definitely had the effect of restoring a little of her depleted energy and she smiled gratefully.

"See you."

Isra took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. This will be a long day. Even so, she felt better equipped for dealing with it, than she did a just couple of moments ago. And this time, even her legs started to behave normally again as she started down the hallway towards her next lesson, without tripping once.

- o . O . o -

Enchanter Hayes was already waiting for her in the empty classroom they usually used for practice, but he was not alone. With him was another tall, young, dark haired man, Isra had already seen about in the tower before.

"There you are." Hayes offered her a warm smile smiled as he noticed her hesitate at the door. "Come. Isra, I'd like to introduce you to Karl. Karl this is Isra. She is the apprentice I've been talking about."

Karl smiled politely, nodding in greeting.

"You've been talking about me? Nothing bad I hope." Isra made a vain attempt at a jest. She knew how bad she was at performing certain spells, but she hoped against hope that her inability was not as notorious as her incident the day before. She got tired of hearing about it. One would think that if you plan to gossip, you'd at least do it in a quieter way, so that the object of your rumour would not hear you when they'd walk by. It seemed this was a lesson none of the Circle's residents had ever learned, as Isra found out during the day. Apparently living in a closed off community in a Tower meant that any kind of privacy was completely none-existent. Isra had hoped that her suspicions regarding the rampart gossip permeating the Tower were a bit exaggerated, but it turned out they were overly optimistic to begin with.

"No, nothing too bad. Karl is here to help us with your mastery of entropic spells. I had hoped that a change in the subject matter to one closer to destruction, would serve as a nice change. And that his own expertise of the subject could help you work around your…difficulties." Hayes answered with his charming smile. At least he didn't mention anything about the incident, Isra thought. Well, yet.

"I intend to try at least." Karl added with his own smile.

"That sounds…optimistic." Isra commented dejectedly.

Hayes laughed in response. "Indeed. But have a little faith little one. You're not a hopeless case."

Isra sighed slumping herself into a nearby chair. "I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss my level of hopelessness. It could surprise you with how low it can go."

"And I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the professional opinion of your tutors." Hayes added, dropping a stack of books on the table in front of her.

"I thought that we could…" Karl stopped in mid-sentence as Cullen entered through the door, draft causing them to slam behind him.

"Em…s-sorry." Cullen whispered quickly, rubbing his neck in embarrassment.

"Oh that's my..." Isra cursed inwardly. It was going so well, no mention of the incident whatsoever, and then her clumsy "guard" just drew attention to it.

"Yes. We know." Hayes interrupted her. "Just keep out of the way, boy."

Isra breathed a sigh of relief. There was no need for additional explanations and Enchanter Hayes clearly had no intention of bringing it up again. It happened only a day ago, but Isra found that she was sick and tired of her newfound celebrity status. The inane questions and looks of sympathy were starting to drive her crazy already.

"Y-yes. Of course." Cullen placed himself next to the door, looking apologetically. Isra almost felt sorry for him. She forgot how harsh Hayes could be and that 'boy', had been laced with a special level of acerbity.

"Good. Let's start then." Hayes added with a slight nod toward Karl who sent an encouraging smile towards Isra.

- o . O . o -

At the end of the session Isra felt closer to dropping down and a little less pessimistic about her own abilities. Karl had a way of explaining the process of performing certain spells that Isra actually understood which in the end resulted in her having an easier time with them.

"I think this concludes our lesson for today." Karl said with a tired, but still warm smile.

"Excellent work." Hayes added with a wide grin. "I believe we could move on to more demanding spells in just a couple of weeks."

"A couple of weeks?" Isra didn't bother to hide her own disbelief. The improvement from a couple of weeks ago was more than obvious and she couldn't help but feel a bit better about her own magical abilities, but she still felt that such a prognosis leaned on the overly optimistic/completely fictional side.

"It is quite feasible. However I'll need you to do some reading in the meantime. Consider this your homework until the next week." Karl added as he placed a book in her hands.

Isra turned the book in her hands. Entropy 101: A quick guide for dimwits to the world of crippling thy enemies. "I'm confused. You're both trying so valiantly to convince me of something, while the title clearly states otherwise."

"I admit, the title does sound a little contradictorily in regards to what we just said. But I assure you it's meant to be ironic." Karl explained, with a reassuring smile. "We, entropic mages have a very…particular and not so subtle sense of humour. As I'm sure you'll find out over the next few weeks. Do not let it dissuade you."

"Right. As you say." Isra said, clearly unconvinced. Even so, Karl left a good impression on her. Throughout the lesson he was warm and kind, if a little too polite. He was only a couple of years older than her, but he had the tendency to behave closer to someone in his 40s.

"You'll see what I mean as you read through it." Karl answered with a wink.

Isra nodded. "I sure hope so. See you next week then?"

Karl nodded in reply. "Most definitely."

"Oh and Isra. Before you go…" Hayes chimed in, just as she was about to leave. "…try to avoid playing tag with fully armed Templars next time. It never ends particularly well."

Isra felt herself blushing from the embarrassment, but she still managed to send him a highly annoyed look. "You don't say." And here she was just about to proclaim victory of the day, for avoiding talking about the incident from the day before.

- o . O . o . -

The sleepless night was slowly catching up to Isra as she ambled back to her dormitory. She still had some time left until she would have to meet up with Mica, so she decided to go for a quick nap. It was better than hugging passing walls, trying to keep herself upright.

Her bodyguard seemed tense, and was looking at her in a funny way, but she was too far gone to care about anything else, but sleep.

"I…I'm just…need sleep." Isra barely managed to get the words out when they arrived in front of the door to her dormitory. She never knew that talking could be such a chore.

Cullen nodded. "I…I'll have to… Raja will take over. After you…wake up."

Isra was torn between relief and disappointment at this news. She had embarrassed herself enough for one day, first tripping over her robes, her weird outburst when she met Mica and then letting Cullen discover just how terrible she really was at magic. Even so the fleeting disappointment she felt at his leaving surprised her. Apparently she liked him enough to miss him. A little.

"Oh...well. Thank you." Isra smiled, feeling silly and awkward at the same time. Why in the world was she thanking him for leaving?

He nodded again, offering her a smile of his own. "I…em. You're welcome. Sweet dreams."

Isra giggled softly, before she could stop herself. She quickly focused at her feet, being unable to look into his eyes as memories of her dream about him started to creep up in her head. She felt her blush starting to intensify, as she heard him clear his throat.

"I. Er. I should go."

Isra nodded, still focused on her feet, as she quickly turned and nearly ran through the door of her dormitory. It had to be hormones, Isra thought bitterly as she tried to still her racing heart. She threw herself on her bed and quietly screamed into her pillow. Why on earth was her own mind working against her? He wasn't even that pretty.

- o . O . o -

A delicious smell woke her up.

"Welcome back."

"Mica!"

"Me! I figured you'd be hungry." He was slowly waving a still warm muffin in front of her nose.

"Oh. My love." Isra didn't need any additional persuasion to wake up. She quickly grabbed the muffin away from him and stuffed it in her mouth, moaning in pleasure.

"I figured you didn't mean me." Mica commented grinning self-satisfactory as he slowly sat down on the bed next to her. Clearly he was feeling proud of himself in this very moment. "When you're finished… consuming your love, I have another batch right here. And a couple of other items that fall into the real, more healthy food category."

Isra opened her eyes slowly, still munching on her muffin. "Healthy food? Bah. Give me the sugar! Gimme, gimme, gimme…"

"Here. You big baby." Mica was laughing with amusement by this point, as he handed her another muffin.

Isra smiled through another mouthful. "I love you too."

"And glad I am to hear it. It hurts a man's ego, when he is outshined by the muffins."

"Your ego could stand a few blows."

"True."

"So to what do I owe this pleasure?" Isra slowly lifted herself up, grabbing another muffin.

"Oh you know. You've got assaulted, became the most famous person in the tower AND managed to snag a bodyguard. A very specific one." Mica paused just enough to take a bite from a muffin he managed to save for himself. "I was kind of hoping, I'd bribe you with good food to get you to talk."

"Oh. That." Isra let herself fall back on her bed. "Long story. I hope you've brought something to drink…" He produced a bottle of mead, before she could finish her sentence. "Where do you get this stuff?"

"Some things are never meant to be known, young one. Best you come to terms with that fact."

"But. How did you manage to sneak all this stuff in here?" Isra quickly took a sip from the produced bottle. He was truly spoiling her.

"You know. For a person living in robes all of her life, you lack any substantial knowledge of their many uses. It's rather sad."

Isra laughed as she got up, to bring over a pitcher of water. It was still too early in the day to be walking around drunk, especially if one was an apprentice. They weren't supposed to drink. So the water could serve as a useful diluter of the smell and the effects of the alcohol. Luckily the dormitory was relatively empty, with only a few apprentices hanging about the tables on the other side of the room, so their unorthodox behaviour went by pretty much unnoticed. "You've got that right. But I'm not really all that interested in what else you hide under there."

Now it was his turn to laugh as he accepted the water pitcher, pouring himself a glass. "Not in mine perhaps. But what about that Templar, eh?" He said with a cheeky grin, before taking a sip.

Isra had to perform a serious restraining mental exercise on herself to stop herself from turning her own glass of water over his head. "You…" She settled for growling as she sat down on her bed, throwing daggers through her eyes.

"Aw. That hit a nerve. You like him, don't you!?"

"Not another word. I'm warning you."

Mica laughed so hard, he nearly fell out of the bed he was sitting on. "Oh that's rich. Fine, fine I'll stop!" He immediately added as he noticed her reaching for the pitcher.

Isra let her arm fall down, trying to hide her blush by taking another sip from the mead.

"Oh. What's that?" Mica noticed the book Karl had given her. It fell down during all the commotion. "Entropy. For dimwits? At least you know how to pick up literature appropriate to your own level."

"Do you want me to try out a hex on you?" Isra said, sending him her best threatening look.

Mica lifted his arms in the air, fighting another fit of laughter. "Mercy, oh most intelligent and capable one."

"You really are suicidal today, aren't you?" Isra fought her own smile, hiding it, by taking another sip.

"What can I say? I like to live on the edge. What's that?" A small piece of parchment fell out on the floor as Mica opened the book. "Silani can't help you. I can. Dimwit."

"What?" Isra immediately jumped from her bed, trying to take the parchment from Mica, but he already snatched it from her reach.

"What is this? What about Silani? Who has written this message?"

"Good questions! I don't know. Gimme that!" Isra tried once more, but again he was too fast for her. She settled for seizing the book, opening it. "Wha…" The book had a false cover. She quickly unwrapped it, discovering a drawing of a huge cat standing victoriously over a Templar who looked suspiciously like her pursuer from the day before. A barely legible scribble was written underneath. "Ser Ponuce-a-lot...?"

Mica sat down next to her, yanking the book from her hands.

"Hey!" Isra was sick and tired of him taking things away from her. Especially when the messages were clearly meant for her.

"Ser Pounce-a-lot will prevail. Where did you get this book?" He showed her the front page inside the book.

"Entropy 101: A quick guide for nitwits to the world of crippling thy enemies. Well the original title doesn't sound much different. Or better." Isra bitterly commented.

"No. Who is Karl?" He showed her the book again, this time pointing to the scrawl underneath the title on the inside of the book.

"Owned by Karl Mallory? Karl is my new instructor for the entropy spells. He gave me the book as part of my homework."

"Did he now?" Mica commented dryly, one eyebrow raised.

Isra knew there was no way of going around it now. Mica knew too much already and Karl clearly knew more about what was going on than he let on. Perhaps even Hayes was involved with this somehow or he was the one arranging the whole thing. With her new Templar bodyguards Isra had no way of continuing her investigation without attracting notice, so her only option now, was to seek outside help. As it turned out, she might not need to do the seeking out part as the help she needed seemed to found her first.

Before she could be certain however, she still needed to figure a few things out. Like for example if Karl was truly behind this message, if this message was real and not a trap of some sort and who in Maker's name drew that ridiculous looking cat standing over the Templar chasing her around the day before. But first, she needed to go over the events of the day before with Mica. Perhaps he can help her make sense of all that was going on. If nothing else, she needed someone else to know the truth, if only as a safeguard. If something happened to her, he would need to continue with the investigation. They were both too deep now to just let the events run their course.

Isra sighed reaching out for the bottle of mead. "Fine. I'll tell you everything."