"My name's Kieran. Yours?" he asked, directing his question at Leila.
"My na—"
"Mine's Aspen," Aspen interrupted.
Leila glared to shut her up. "My name is Leila. Nice fighting in hand-to-hand combat today," she added.
"Thanks," he grinned. "You too."
"Oh, please!" Leila exclaimed good-naturedly. "I couldn't win against a nine-year-old!"
"Sure you could! All you need is a little practice. Who knows, you could even become as good as me!" he said.
"Oh, I'll never be as good as the Great and Powerful Kieran!"
They finished their lunch and walked out of the mess hall together.
"History of Tortall next, right?" Leila asked.
"Yep. Another day of memorizing all the kings, in chronological order, along with the years they were king *and* their families. Fun, just like the rest of the lessons we have."
Leila grinned. "Well, if you hate them so much, why are you still here?"
"To beat you at hand-to-hand combat of course!" he exclaimed. "That's the only reason I didn't drop out straight away!"
"Oh, I feel so loved!"
"You should," Kieran said seriously. "I spent all morning coming up with it so I could say it to you."
"You must be quite slow-witted to have used up the whole morning on one line!"
"Well, I play the half-wit to people who I don't trust, but I'm actually quite quick."
"So does that mean you don't trust me, or you do?"
"My dear Leila," Kieran cried, clasping her hands in his, "of course I trust you! Would I tell someone I don't trust that I don't trust them? I think not."
"How true, how true," Leila sighed. "Look, here we are."
*****
After History of Tortall, they had Herbal Medicine, and after that, Tracking, etc. Soon it was time for dinner and meditation. Leila and Kieran sat next to each other, hands on their knees.
"Remember, just let the thoughts leave your head and float around you," Buri reminded the trainees.
Soon Leila's mind was empty and all she could see was the small blaze of light that was her soul. She felt a light breeze against her face. The blaze of light grew larger and larger, until it replaced most of the blackness around it. Leila was beginning to get worried. This had never happened to her before, and as far as she knew, it hadn't happened to anyone else either.
Suddenly, a face appeared in the light. It was Kieran, from his sun-kissed blonde hair to his strange brown and yellow eyes.
He looked confused. "Uh, Leila, is that you?"
She heard his voice clearly, but his lips never moved.
"Yeah, it's me," she answered cautiously. "What's happening?"
"I don't know. Let's get out of here."
With that said, they both pulled themselves out of their meditation. They looked at each other, then waited for the session to end.
"All right, trainees," Buri called and clapped her hands, "time for bed. March!"
Leila and Kieran waited until the rest of their peers had filed out of the room. Aspen was last and she would only leave after Leila assured her everything was okay.
The two trainees approached Buri, who was riffling through some papers.
"Buri?" Leila asked.
"Yes, Leila?"
"Um, something strange happened to me and Kieran while we were meditating."
Buri looked up from her papers sharply. "And what *was* this 'something strange'?"
"Well," Kieran said, "I was meditating, and all of a sudden, my soul-blaze got really big. Then Leila's face appeared in it. I think my face appeared in Leila's mind."
Leila nodded in agreement. "Then," she took over, "Kieran talked to me, only his lips didn't move. After that we stopped meditating."
Buri looked puzzled, but after a moment, understanding dawned on her face.