Drama class was, in reality, the soul of the Academy. It determined your place on the social scale. The teachers, too, were hardly oblivious, playing favorites in hopes of pleasing the students' rich parents and thus gaining donations, which equaled higher pay. The lead roles were reserved for a cycle of six to ten students, and anyone not within that group who achieved the role was the victim of a smear campaign so vicious that he or she would buckle under the pressure within days and resign. Few objected to this pattern, because those on top of the ladder didn't want it to change, and those at the bottom were stamped out so quickly that they quickly gave up and conformed.

So when Miri tried out for the part of Meaghan, considered the third most important female in the entire play, she became the catalyst of a series of events that would eventually leave everyone upside down and breathless.

She was wrong: a few did have the guts to try out for the part of a whore. However, the teachers knew that casting someone's precious baby in such a demeaning role would spark a protest. They were taking a risk as it was, performing this play at all. Miri, whose parents were relatively poor and powerless, was the easy way out. She, as the best choice, was Meaghan.

The students were outraged. That Miri had more lines than even Cerci was inexcusable.

Legolas knew all this. He had never really taken much interest in Cerci's machinations.
Once, she had tried to seduce him, but he had heard rumors of her past and opted out. He had made it clear that she was not to cross him, or he would run an exposé. She had spilled one too many beans and trusted him a tad too much initially, and Legolas had a reasonable amount of power over her. But he knew it wasn't enough to stop Cerci's inevitable attack on Miri. And he had no trump card.

He wasn't sure why he cared so much. He had spoken to Miri twice since their original lunch conversation, and had again enjoyed her company. She was like his male friends, bold and – surprisingly, happily – intelligent. Perhaps best of all, she wasn't coy. She didn't play mind games or vamp up the charm; she acted like herself.

He had tried out for three parts – and was assigned to be Brett, the second most important male (next to Jack, played by Akiniel). Brett just so happened to be the man using Meaghan's services in the play – so Legolas was playing opposite Miri. He wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or not; it would all depend on what the rumors were.

It occurred to him that that was an extremely self-centered thought.

Sarashe and Kelna were often eager participants in the rumor mill. Knowing this, Cerci usually saw to it that they were among the first to hear news, in hopes that it would circulate quickly. Not knowing that they had become fast friends to Miri, she had a friend named Oravia approach them with the obligatory snippets of cruelty aimed at intimidating Miri out of her role.

They laughed. When Oravia returned with this news, Cerci debated whether she should ruin their reputations too, but decided that it would be too conspicuous. She ignored them and let the talk continue. Slower, maybe, but effective nonetheless.

The only thing that jibed was that Legolas seemed to be on Miri's side. He was oblivious to the fact that he was the most respected male in school, and the most influential. He was a wild card. And he was leaning in the wrong direction.

She decided she would have a chat with him.

On the days with no classes, Legolas made it his habit to ride his gelding in the morning after breakfast. It cost extra to board the horse, but his father hadn't flinched. His name was Hith, which meant mist, referring to the grey color of his coat. He was Legolas's best listener.

Cerci also boarded a gelding, which she had never bothered to name. That day, when Legolas left, she waited until he was out of earshot before she mounted her horse and followed him.

After a good half-hour ride, mostly at a trot, he stopped by a stream to rest for a bit and let his horse take a drink. This was where Cerci caught up with him. He didn't seem all that surprised to see her.

After several moments though, he wouldn't talk, so Cerci decided to cut to the chase. "Miri is out of line."

"So I heard."

She walked up to him and stared at him in the face. "Why are you on her side? Why are you so determined to help her disturb the order of things?" she demanded. "She is nothing. When you leave here, she can't be your friend, you know what people would think. You know what people are saying now, Legolas. Do you want that to haunt you all your life?"

He thought for a long moment, staring out into the trees on the other side of the stream. "But what if the system's screwed up? What if the order of things, as you put it, shouldn't be that way?"

"It's worked until now-"

"But now it's changed." He turned and looked at her. "It's changed, and you don't want it to, and you're trying to fight her, but you can't."

Her eyes flashed. "Watch me."

He laughed, then sighed. "You are used to controlling everything," he said. "You are strong willed and you know how to play on people's fears and desires. But she is new to you, Cerci, and you cannot guess what will break her, because she is not a noblewoman, she is common, and she does not fear what everyone else here fears. She is strong in ways that others are not, and you don't know where she is weak."

"What are you saying?"

He shrugged. "I'm saying you can't beat her. She won't give in."

"We'll see," she said, suddenly indifferent. He knew that meant she was trying very hard not to show that he had unsettled her. Good, he thought. Chew on that for awhile.