"That's it my boy, now throw it at the wall over there. Never mind those bookcases, I wasn't really fond of those ones anyways," encouraged Dim Dim, as Sinbad sent a sizeable ball of lightning sailing towards them. A ball that he had learned to generate across only a few days of practice, bigger and more easily with each turn. It made contact with a resounding crack, as stone crumbled to bits around a smoking, blackened crater the size of a warrior's shield. He really was getting to be quite good at this, he noted with a satisfied smirk. And by Allah, did that power feel good. It sung in his veins and flung forth like an extension of his arm he hadn't known about. This is what it felt like to be Silver. To have power. It was absolutely intoxicating.

"I think we're going to need a bigger classroom, Master Dim Dim," laughed Sinbad, as the remaining bit of bookcase crumbled into a pile of rubble unceremoniously.

Dim Dim smiled. "That you do my boy, that you do. But I fear you are getting to the point where a bigger, sturdier classroom is not all that you need." Sinbad looked at him questioningly. "You need challenge," he continued, "not just from moving targets, but from moving peers, and skilled coaches who will help you grow your power beyond that which I can teach you."

Sinbad hazarded a glance down to the grounds below, where he knew such coaching took place. Today they appeared to be divided into pairs, practicing shooting and blocking/avoiding the powers of their partner. Maeve's signature locks were easy for him to spot, as she hurled a ball of flame as bright as his lightning towards a Nymph, who dispelled of it with a wall of water. Fire and water, pairing her with the only substance that was inimical to her. He wondered absently for a moment how she could win such a fight, before remembering why Dim Dim had drawn his attention here in the first place.

"I want to join them Master Dim Dim, but how? Something tells me that Prince Turok would never allow it." He tried to say the name with less disdain, but he really wasn't very good at it.

"No, Turok would most certainly not be supportive. The less people know about you the better. The less you learn to use your powers, new and dangerous powers outside of his control, the better. The less chance you have to injure yourself publicly and expose the royal family's ruse to all of their subjects, the better. No, Prince Turok would rather see you locked up here in my tower of books where you are secret and safe until the day he no longer needs to keep you around at all."

"Which is why I need to make my move. Why I need to get permission to attend training from someone with even more power than Prince Turok."

Dim Dim smiled. "My sister in law should do nicely. She can be a bit prickly at times, and I wouldn't bet that she trusts you in any sense of the word either, but she can be appealed to with reason."

Sinbad nodded. "So where do you think the best place is for me to get a private audience with her…"

"Private audience? With the Queen?" Dim Dim laughed. "Oh dear boy, that will not happen. In fact, I wouldn't bother to try for any sort of audience with her at all. I don't believe she is particularly fond enough of you to make it part of her schedule at this time."

Sinbad was confused. "But how…"

"Why, there is a perfectly simple and effective way to get your request through to the Queen, and she is currently dipping and diving through the courtyard below, making her Uncle very proud as usual."

"Maeve," said Sinbad with understanding. "You think the Queen will listen to her?"

"Listen, maybe argue with her a bit, but I don't doubt that the end result will be you joining her in the courtyard for training a couple days hence. I'm quite looking forward to it actually… I imagine it will be quite entertaining to watch," he smiled.

So Sinbad asked her the next time they saw each other, which was predictably, later that night. They had taken to seeing each other on most nights, in either his room or in the gardens below. He never went to her… apparently it would result in his immediate and painful death if he were ever discovered, so she was adamant he never do so. Tonight, she appeared before him in yet another of her fine red dresses that she had worn at dinner. Another dinner where he tried not to stare at her loveliness, or really acknowledge her at all, while being simultaneously drowned by Rumina's perfume and prattling. At this rate, his death would come from suffocating upon her well-endowed and well-displayed cleavage while he tried to breathe through a toxic combination of gossip and small talk. Allah help him if he actually had to marry her. He hoped the Scarlet Guard would unleash their plans, with him at the forefront, before any such torture occurred.

"So you want to join me in training hmm?" Maeve teased him, straddling his hips and running her hands through his hair as she liked to do. "I can't promise I can keep you safe. It can't look like I'm paying any extra attention to you," she pouted, before closing her mouth over his.

"Who says I need you to keep me safe, princess?" he replied as they broke apart, resisting the urge to give her a loving nip. It wouldn't do to leave any marks.

"You do realize that Traxis is going to try to kill you the first chance he gets right? And that the other Lords in attendance wouldn't mind one bit. Saves them the effort."

"I'll keep that in mind, while I'm trying not to be distracted by your beauty and skill. A hard enough task for any man, as I discovered while watching you from up in Master Dim Dim's tower."

"You were watching me?" Maeve laughed. "I would call that creepy, but since it's you, I'll allow it."

And allow it she did. Welcomed it, Sinbad knew, so long as no one caught on. No one could know about them and what they did behind closed doors or thick trees when the palace had gone to sleep. Being with her was becoming a need, an addiction that he was helpless to fight. They both knew they danced upon a most dangerous flame, one that was not in Maeve's control, but burned too beautifully to ignore. So they were careful, always careful, lest they, or the people they loved, paid the price of their union.

A few days later, Sinbad received a rather welcome message in his morning tea service. Though the letter was from Prince Turok, it was the contents that he found agreeable.

There has been a change to your schedule. Your lessons will now occur after lunch, to allow for you to participate in morning training. Meet on the training grounds at 9am sharp.

-Prince Turok

Sinbad smiled to himself, picturing the thoughts that must have been running through the other man's mind as he penned that letter. He would take his victory in stride however. He didn't doubt Prince Turok's ability to hold a grudge until the most painful moment possible to retaliate, and the one he held against him so far was beyond personal. Besides, there was still the matter of him navigating training, and doing so without exposing his blood to be seen by all the noble Silvers in attendance. Given the risk, he was surprised Maeve was able to convince the Queen to allow him to participate at all. Then again, she was an especially incredible and surprising woman, so if anyone could manage it, it would be her.

After a quick breakfast, he exited the dining room to find his usual shadow, Vonn, waiting for him. "I hear you're beginning training today," he said, with an amused look upon his face.

Sinbad balked. "Yes, but why you think that's funny I don't know."

Vonn laughed. "It's not that you're funny or anything. It's just that training itself can be…entertaining. Especially for a first timer. Consider today like your real initiation into the world of the Silvers. Getting your powers to do what you want them to is never as easy as it looks."

Right, thought Sinbad, grateful for Dim Dim's work with him for the past week. At least he could summon his lightning and make it do some rudimentary things. And his aim was not the worst… right? Several piles of rubble that used to be bookcases would agree.

"Now don't worry," assured Vonn. "In case something goes wrong and you get hit, or burned, or nearly drowned somehow, there is a healer standing by at all times. No one is ever too worse for wear after a session despite what you may think. After all, accidents happen!"

Right, except in his case, accidents meant death in no uncertain terms. So his number one activity for the day, right along with Maeve's, was to prevent such unfortunate incidents from occurring.

They arrived at the training grounds, to be greeted with the apprising stares of about thirty Lords and Ladies, all stopping their conversations or warm ups to study the main subject of courtly gossip since the day of Prince's Trial. While they occasionally saw Sinbad at lunch and dinner functions, his absence from training had been duly noted, and now their curiosity was peaked. Did he truly possess the power of lightning, and where would he summon it from? All were eager to find out.

"Graduated from Master Dim Dim's school of nonsense already?" snarked the most unwelcome voice Sinbad could think of at the moment. "Did you finally Master the art of writing your name, or has that particular skill still alluded you?" Traxis jumped down from what looked like a bench with weighted pipes all around it so that he could better sneer at him. Sinbad was about to offer a cutting retort, when he noted the sheer amount of razer sharp blades hanging from the other man's waist. Training would be off to deadly start indeed if their verbal sparing got out of hand, so instead he turned away and sought out a much lovelier target.

Maeve was never hard to find with her tall, lean frame and eye-catching red locks. Here where the sun caught bits of her hair and turned them to liquid fire, dressed like a female warrior, all in black like the uniforms of training demanded, he found her beauty enough to take his breath away. How anyone could stand to be near her and not be completely in love with her, was unfathomable to him.

Sinbad left a respectful distance between them, but ensured they were alone before asking how she managed to get the Queen to agree to him being there. Maeve smiled smugly. "I told her it looked suspicious that you weren't participating. That I heard some of the other nobles discussing you. They said it didn't make sense that a young and strong man like yourself who'd been denied his power all his life wouldn't be keen to showcase it. Almost as though we were hiding something. Plus, I told her it would be wise to train your ability and keep it under control, lest it spark up at an unpredictable and dangerous moment again."

Sinbad laughed, and had to admire her silver tongue. "Why my lady, I had heard tales of your beauty, but never of your negotiating skills. Remind me to enlist you the next time I find myself in dire need of defending. Your tongue is as sharp as your sword."

Maeve laughed too. "I would agree with you, except I keep my blade pretty damn near perfect so we'll call it a draw. Now go sit somewhere else so no one finds it suspicious that we're together for too long."

Sinbad obeyed grudgingly, looking sinfully forward to their nightly encounter. As he traversed the room looking for a place to fit in somewhere, he couldn't help but stop to wonder at the abilities he saw on display around him. Of course, Traxis was flinging his ultra sharp weapons into the dead centre of various target boards without moving a muscle, but there were other interesting skills as well. A young man he knew to be one of Traxis' cronies, bent the light around himself until he disappeared altogether… a shadow. Another man close by created a whirlwind between his hands, loosing it to spin like a top in the air. Sonya, the heir to the Abbassad family of Silks, (Dim Dim's lessons had really started to pay off), traded blows almost lazily with Andros Eagrie, an Eye. Silks were brutally skilled and fast with their reflexes, so she should have been able to best him, but Eyes could see into the near future, so he anticipated each of her attacks in turn.

Sinbad couldn't help but feel discouraged at the sheer level of power displayed in just this arena, given his new status of figurehead of the Scarlet Guard, but he had to put such defeatist thoughts to rest. He had already committed to going down fighting with his friends and family, so it was best to stay positive at this point and worry about the details as they came.

The instructor entered silently, tiny and unassuming but formidable in his power. "Lines," he commanded quietly, and rather than being seen or heard, he was felt deep down into Sinbad's marrow. Silence. The ability to completely blot out one's power without moving so much as a muscle. All around him he watched abilities be silenced: Traxis's knives fell down suddenly, the whirlwind stopped, the shadow man appeared back into the light. Silently and quickly the Silvers moved together, Sinbad joining a line seamlessly. This was a man who brokered no argument, from anyone. He had the ability that these men and women feared more than any; the ability to make them Without.

"Laps," he ordered gruffly, hardly sparing Sinbad a glance. Good, he thought, relieved a bit. It was nice not to be the focus of attention for once. And to be assigned a task that required no ability other than doing what he had done happily since being a Red child. It was something he could do easily, something he could even enjoy. He sped past several others to the front of the line, circling the courtyard at a comfortable pace. That is, until a section of retaining wall swung out suddenly and sent him flying into a face plant

His hands stung, but it was his pride that truly hurt, as he sat up and watched as other runners passed. Traxis of course gave him the smuggest grin he had seen in his life, while Maeve slowed to offer him a hand up. "Welcome to training," she stated matter of factly, as he looked around. All across the courtyard, pieces of wall moved to create barriers for the runners, which they took in stride, moving over and under each obstacle as it appeared before them. He couldn't help but notice a Telky standing next to the instructor, directing the bits of wall with his hands. Sinbad swore he could see him smirking.

Fighting back the urge to tell the Telky exactly where to go, Sinbad took Maeve's hand and lifted himself up and back into the fold. Dipping and dodging targets was also something he was rather good at… he had plenty of experience fighting with sword and dagger defending his cargo in various ports, some more sketchy than others. Be it thieves, pirates or a retaining wall, they stood no chance against the formidable Captain Sinbad. And as the instructor commanded them to finish, he couldn't help but feel satisfied that Traxis was far more out of breath than he.

"Time for target practice," the instructor muttered, nodding at his Telky assistant who rose a large round disk into the air before them. "You, Lord Idris," he commanded suddenly at Sinbad. "I am instructor Arven, and I am curious, as I'm sure we are all, about your rather unique ability. You will be first."

Sinbad nodded and readied himself to summon his power. Remember what Dim Dim taught you, he reminded himself, breathing deeply, feeling the electricity thrum into his fingers. Faster than he was prepared for, the target flew into the air high above them, and while he still felt his power beginning to build into a throwable form, it came back down and hit the ground before him. Fuck, another embarrassment today he cursed, as Traxis' laughs grated upon his eardrums. Dim Dim was right about him needing greater challenges, the safety of his book strewn classroom was not a reflection of what the real world demanded.

"Are you ready this time?" instructor Arven jibbed, amused along with the rest of the class. The Telky looked quite pleased with himself, having bested him twice in one session. It was time that all changed, admonished Sinbad, feeling his powers come to life, fueled by his frustration. As the target rocketed up into the air again at a breakneck pace, Sinbad unleashed a blinding arc of lightning after it, managing to clip the target on the side as it passed. The Telky may be fast, but the speed of lightning was faster. He breathed a sigh of relief, as the smoking disk returned to the ground in front of him.

Maeve and a few of the other participants clapped… certainly not Traxis and his cronies, who looked almost insulted at his victory. Instructor Arven looked Sinbad in the eyes for several moments, before calling, "Next!" clearly above such a thing as giving compliments. He could keep them, for all it mattered to Sinbad. He had incontrovertible proof that he had hit the target, on only his second try, which would have to be good enough for him today. He was sure that as he practiced summoning his powers more and more often, they would soon be ready and at his fingertips at a moment's notice. Given his iron resolve, that much was a certainty.

Intructor Arven ran the class ragged across the next couple of hours, forcing everyone through round after round of exercises designed to fine tune their abilities. Sinbad fell slightly behind in most of them, but he knew such hurdles were temporary. And that wasn't his pride speaking, but rather, his determination. He excelled at everything in his life, and he would be damned if he didn't excel at being a Silver and beating them at their own game. He was a red prince, right underneath their noses, learning to be better than them. And when it came time for him to stand up and show the world who he really was, he intended to be ready.