A couple of days after they arrive back at the castle the Mid winter festival starts. Selena is very nervous but she learns that she is only handing food to the older pages she is happy again. When it comes time to exchange present Selena gives money to everyone, for she had no time to go shopping this year. Everyone else gives her little things like sweets and Yuvonne gives her a flower hair pin. When January comes around the schedules change and after the snow falls, again, the pages work indoors on swords. Selena is okay at the sword but when she asks to borrow one of the older pages sword she can't control it, she can barely lift it. Selena decides to work on swords after homework every night. As she starts to get more control her friends help her with little hints. Eventually by the end of January, she can control the sword like any of the other first year pages. Around the second week of February, Selena realizes that since the brawls at the beginning of December, James and his buddies hadn't bothered her. Selena thinks it was good luck or a sign that the Gods may be happy with what she is doing until she realizes James was watching her. At classes he is always watching what she is doing. By the next week, Monday, she thinks that he is planning something, and her instincts tell her to watch herself. When she mentions at supper to Yuvonne that she is going to the woman's bath James quietly turns to Hazar and Vaughn, whispers something watching her out of the corner of his eye. Tain advises her to watch herself, glancing at James and his friends. The others add their own remarks but Selena brushes them off.
"I'll be fine" She replies to all their remarks "I'll bring my dagger okay" She cleans up and heads back to her room. After she grabs her bathing stuff and her dagger, she heads off. She doesn't notice anyone following her so she relaxes. When she gets to the baths she puts everything in her reach and gets in. After she is finished washing and looking for a maid with her towel she remembers that she hadn't seen any maids when she entered either. She hears someone walking toward the door to the baths and she hopes that it is a maid, or other ladies. She settles down in the water and watches the door. When the door opens she sees Hazar walk in
"What are you doing in here?" Selena asks angrily moving toward her stuff. Hazar just smiles at her and gets to her stuff first, taking her dagger and pushing her clothes into the water.
"Put them on, I don't think anyone would want to see your ugly body" He says watching her. Selena glares at him and turns. She lifts her hand out of the water and tries to perform a summoning spell. Suddenly she hears a splash and before she turns Hazar has the dagger against her neck and he has pulled her hand under the water holding it to her side.
"I really didn't want to get wet" he says "But now that I had to you get to come naked" He starts walking backward to the steps, keeping the knife against her throat. As he reaches the steps he goes to turn. Selena grabs his head with her free hand and uses his momentum from turning to throw him over her shoulder. He slams his back into the steps hard and slides down them under the water. Selena grabs her dagger, checking to see if he is unconscious as she pulls his head above the water. She dives under the water for her clothes and puts them on with her back to the door and Hazar. When she is fully dressed again she hits Hazar on the head again and hurries out of the bath. As she steps out of the room a hand moves into her view and whips around her neck. She grabs the persons arm and flips them over her shoulder. As she takes a step forward to see who it is she hears a noise from behind her and when she turns the boy she had flipped over her shoulder slams into her side. She makes a move to slice at the boys arm but before she does he is knocked off her by the another boy and they start rolling along the floor, totally engaged in their fight. She sits up and looks down the corridor as she hears more footsteps and sees Yuvonne with Nathaniel, Edmond ,Clarc, and Hale. When the two boys are pulled apart by the new arrivals she sees that it is Tain and Vaughn. She kicks Vaughn in the stomach before she speaks
"Don't say a word, just grab Hazar" She jerks her finger toward the bathing room "And get, or I will talk to my Lord, Honor or not" Vaughn complies and hurries to carry Hazar away. When they are gone she turns to the others
"And where did you come from?" She teases
"What no thanks?" Clarc teases back. They all smile at Selena in a sly way before Yuvonne takes her hand.
"You need to change don't you" Yuvonne says looking at Selena's clothes. Selena laughs and smiles
"Of course" She responds before they all head off down the hall.
