Crystal was in her room, unpacking. She pulled out a blue cotton dress that her grandmother got her. After packing her clothes away, she changed into the dress and tied her hair in a low ponytail with a blue ribbon. She put on a pair of sensible beige ballet flats. She put on some subtle eyeshadow and some red lipstick. The fairly vivid red looked good with her complexion. She hoped her appearance would be good enough for her to be at the party. She then heard a door knock.

It was Farkas, who was in his usual wear.

"Hey, Crystal..." Farkas said to her.

"Hi, Farkas..." Crystal responded.

"You look really nice..." Farkas said.

The compliment elicited a bit of a blush from the young woman.

"Thank you..." Crystal responded. "You look really handsome as well..."

Farkas blushed as well, chuckling softly. He gently wraps his arm around her.

"Shall we go...?" Farkas asked her.

"S-sure..." Crystal stammered a bit.

They left to go to the Jorvasskr House dorm, which was modestly big. It appeared pretty busy, causing a feeling of unease in Crystal. Farkas held her close to keep her safe as they entered. They were greeted by a drunk Torvar.

"Hhheeeeeeeyyyyyy...!" Torvar said, his drunken state apparent by the flushed face. "Heeeere come the l-lovebirdsh...! Wooo...!"

"Uhhhh..." Farkas droned a bit, raised an eyebrow. "Okay... I'll get you something to drink."

Farkas then walked towards a keg, which was filled with Marsh'merrow Cola.

"Crystal!" Ria said as she tackled Crystal with a hug. "It's awesome of you to come... You look very pretty..."

"Oh, thanks..." Crystal said, smiling a bit. "You guys look great as well..."

"Aww, thanks!" Ria said, grinning happily.

"Hi, Vilkas..." Crystal greeted him.

Vilkas merely grunted while glaring at her a bit.

Betrid glared at the group, especially at Crystal upon seeing her in party dress. Betrid was wearing a rather revealing white party dress, moreso than Crystal's, with a slightly low neckline and no back. The sight of Crystal caused thorns of envy to bloom within Betrid.

"Well now..." Betrid said with a sneer. "Seems you've arrived as well... Enjoy the party... While you can..."

Behind Betrid's back, Njada flipped the bird with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Looks like Farkas is back with your drink, Crystal..." Ria said with a happy grin on her face.

"Hey, Crystal..." Farkas said, happy to see her, and gave her a cup of Marsh'Merrow Cola. "Got you some soda..."

"Oh, thank you..." Crystal said as she carefully took the cup from Farkas' hand.

Crystal took a sip of Marsh'Merrow Cola and loved the sweet taste of it. She looked at Farkas and smiled. Torvar stumbled after chugging a keg of mead and vomited on Betrid's dress, eliciting a scream of disgust. Njada busted out in an obnoxious laughter and snapped a picture of Betrid on her iPhone. Crystal on the other hand, showed concern for the woman.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry..." Crystal apologised as she tried to clean the vomit from Betrid's dress. "I have a spare one in my bag I'll let you have to replace it..."

"I don't want your lowly rags...!" Betrid sneered before she stormed out.

"It's not your fault, Crystal..." Aela said. "Betrid's too proud to admit she needs help..."

Crystal somewhat nodded in agreement. For now, she just wanted to enjoy the company of her new friends. She ended up bumping into an Altmer student by mistake.

"Oh, sorry...!" Crystal apologised.

"Oh, no harm done..." The Altmer student responded.

He was wearing an all black suit with a gold-coloured necktie and a porkpie hat. He was bald except for a small pale blond beard and vivid emerald eyes.

"Apologies, miss, I've momentarily forgotten my manners..." He apologised. "I'm Ondolemar, one of the school praefects from Thalmor House... What about yourself, miss?"

"Crystal..." Crystal replied. "Crystal Secret-Fire..."

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Secret-Fire..." Ondolemar greeted her with a handshake.

Farkas approached Crystal upon hearing some slow-dance music. It was "Is This Love?" by Whitesnake.

"Hey..." Farkas said, a bit nervous. "Do you... uhh... w-want to dance...?"

"Oh..." Crystal responded in surprise. "Y-yes... That would be nice..."

Farkas then held out his hand for her, which she gently clasped. He then took her to the middle of the floor and slowly danced with her. Crystal blushed as she looked into his eyes. They were very handsome, and kindly. She then felt Farkas gently pull her closer, where she felt his heartbeat pick up quickly. He seemed to enjoy her company very well.

Crystal then felt Farkas do something she never expected him to do. He gently lifted her chin and lightly brushed his lips with hers. She instinctively reciprocated with a kiss, feeling a rush of dopamine nulling out the aches within her. Unfortunately, Betrid caught sight of it upon returning in a more extravagant dress. She felt the fires of wrath and envy burn within her.

Crystal gently broke the kiss, her face flushed. Farkas gave a bit of a smile as he looked at her.

"So... Do you have a boyfriend...?" Farkas asked, blushing.

"N-no..." Crystal replied.

"Why not...?" Farkas asked her.

"Because..." Crystal began her explanation. "Not very many people were interested in me... Some that were only took interest because they thought I had some political advantage..."

"Well, that's not right..." Farkas remarked as he looked into her eyes, "I like you... You're beautiful and kind... And from what I can tell from your books, pretty smart too... Just a question, what degree are you working for?"

"P-politics..." Crystal replied.

"Doesn't seem like the right program for you, to be honest, except for being a rights activist..." Farkas said.

"Thank you..." Crystal said with relief. "I didn't even want any part of politics, besides civil rights, because I've seen what it's done to people... I want to get involved in something that improves people's lives... I want to go into science... Or maybe teaching..."

"That's always a good idea..." Farkas said as he grinned. "You're meant for more than politics anyways..."

Crystal smiled as she heard that. She was glad that someone validated her voice and desires.

"So, if you don't like politics, why are you in the politics degree program?" Farkas asked.

"My father..." Crystal replied. "He told me that in order to take my grandmother's place, I would have to get a politics degree... And threatened to cut me off if I chose otherwise."

"That's not fair..." Farkas said, feeling sympathy for her situation. "What's your mom got to say about it...?"

Crystal went silent for a moment, a saddened expression.

"Dead..." Crystal replied. She said, "She's dead..."

"Oh..." Farkas said, feeling sad himself. "I'm not gonna pry into it unless you want me to..."

"Thank you... for listening..." Crystal said.

"Brains may not be my strong suit, but that's what I do..." Farkas said to her as he winked.

Crystal finally had some friends at the university... And unfortunately a mortal enemy as well...