V.

Hands around my throat, choking me--

"Gah!" I nearly screamed, flinging my arms wildly.

"Hey, hey! Watch out!" Sasarai cried.

I sat up in the unfamiliar bed, taking a moment to get a grip on my surroundings. Oh, yeah...the tournament.

I must have had a nightmare, I realized, and then almost smacked Sasarai a good one. What was he doing so close to my bed anyway?! Had his hands really been on me?

"Awake now?" my companion asked with a sarcastic smile. "It's time for dinner," he informed me.

I felt exhausted, like I hadn't slept in ages. Must have been some dream...

"Just wear whatever makes you comfortable," Sasarai said. "No need to get formal or anything." He headed for the door.

"You're going downstairs already? Am I late?"

"No. I don't eat with the competitors," he explained. "The masters wouldn't even have us rooming together if it weren't necessary to keep watch and save space." He left me to dress alone then, and I tried to decide whether I liked this arrangement or not. It was kind of nice, having this big room to myself all the time, but still a little lonely. I decided that overall it would be better to be in a quiet environment where I could study, instead of a crowded room full of noisy boys. I wasn't used to noise. Goodness only knows how it would affect my practice.

I dressed quickly, just in case Sasarai had been lying, then walked quickly down the stairs. The dining hall was to the right, I recalled. I was actually pretty early. There couldn't have been more than a handful of magicians in the room. One of them, of course, was Meg.

"Luc!" she cried excitedly when she saw me. "Come sit with me!"

At first I was irritated, but then I thought about how crushed she had been when she'd had to hand over her wand. I told myself I was walking towards her out of pity, but realized that I, too, was a bit lonely.

"Wow! Am I glad to see you!" she cried.

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't know anybody else."

I could have said the same.

"That was weird how you disappeared all of a sudden back there. You had me worried."

I gave her a look. "Worried? About what?"

"Making mistakes this early in the game doesn't make you seem all that experienced," she said with a blush. Probably she was remembering her own blunder. I wasn't about to tell her then that I'd run away on purpose.

"Well," I said, trying to smile back at her, "I won't be doing that again; they took my rune."

"You might have gotten away with it if it hadn't been so obvious on your forehead," she said. "You should have kept it in your pocket."

"That wasn't a rune," I said hotly. "Besides, how can you even suggest cheating?"

She blushed harder. "Um...I didn't mean it that way... I just--"

"Hey, Luc!"

We both looked up, and I caught sight of the boy from earlier, the one who'd almost gotten me busted for swapping rooms. Hal, wasn't it?

The boy slinked closer, and I gave him a dark look. He stopped. "Well, how do you like rooming with the priest?" he sneered.

"I like it just fine," I said, my tone as fake as his was.

"That's good. I'm glad it wasn't me. I mean, I would have traded you--you being new and all--but as long as you're stuck with him, you might as well learn to like it, right?"

Hal was with two other boys, and the three of them snickered at Hal's words like he'd said something terribly funny.

I wasn't amused.

"Sasarai's nice!" Meg defended. "He's been cheering me up all day!"

"Who's this, Luc? Your girlfriend?" one of the other boys laughed.

Meg blushed again.

I felt bad for the girl, and I was getting angry.

"Won't be for long," Hal said. The boys with him cracked up. After that, they went away. I just watched them go, rolling my eyes.

"How childish!" I said.

"They're just stupid boys," Meg said, playing with her food.

I looked at her.

"Not that boys are stupid," she said quickly. "Just...those kinds."

What kinds? I had to wonder. The straight kind? I'd had little contact with boys my age. They seemed too immature for my tastes, no matter how attractive. Hal was no exception. I knew by now that if I ever had a relationship with a man--the kind I fantasized about--then I would have to find someone a lot older. I can't stand children. Or men who behave like them.

"...Are you okay? Did I make you mad?"

I hadn't realized I'd been making a face and playing with my own food. "No; you didn't say anything wrong," I told her. "You're absolutely right. Those boys are jerks. Don't listen to them."

She opened her mouth as though to say something, but then closed it for once, another blush creeping to her face.

When we'd finished eating and gone our separate ways, I had to wonder just why she was acting so shy around me all of a sudden.

I went back to my room yawning. Some of the other boys were downstairs to the left, in the rec room, enjoying their last night of freedom and camaraderie. In the morning we'd all be enemies again, competing for the highest honor an apprentice could receive. I wondered if this game was going to get as ugly as I feared. Probably, if Hal and his crew were any indication. I wasn't looking forward to any more run-ins with my peers, but as long as Sasarai kept his distance for the time-being, I was sure I would do well.

When I got back to the room, Sasarai was already there. I couldn't tell whether I was disappointed or relieved. It was, at any rate, good to know that he wouldn't be sneaking up on me in my sleep like that again. I had to wonder if he'd really had his hands around my throat, or if it had just been a dream after all.

Sasarai was sitting on the sofa, reading something. I got closer, and saw that he held a religious book in his lap.

He looked up when he saw me. "How was dinner?" he asked.

"Fine," I said vaguely. I didn't want to get friendly with him, not when he might still be my foe, which was the likely case. He'd always been very sneaky.

"That's good," he said with a yawn.

I yawned in response. I couldn't help it. I swear it's contagious.

"Looks like we're both ready for bed!" he said with a soft laugh.

For once I had to agree. We turned our heads and undressed, and I headed for the bed I'd chosen earlier. It was a bit warm in the room, and I began thinking how nice it would be to sleep next to the breeze and listen to the crickets chirping, but I knew that I couldn't ask to trade now. Besides, I didn't fully trust the man who had once been my boyhood mortal enemy.

I started for my covers, but he stayed me with a hand on my shoulder. "Just one moment," he said softly. "I have something for you."

He turned his back to me, digging through the dresser to uncover something. "What is it?" I asked apprehensively.

"I believe," he said, holding something clenched in his fist, "this belongs to you."

I held out my hand, slowly opening my palm. As he handed me the item, he smiled. His hand lingered just a moment too long. He stepped back and went to his own bed, crawling beneath the covers.

It took me a moment to regain my composure before I, too, climbed into bed. I was the one who turned out the lamp.

I slipped the headpiece Lady Leknaat had given me under my pillow.