The next day, he went down to the Arcaneum and found Danielle sitting down at a table, poring over some books. As he approached, she looked up and their eyes met. "Hi, there!" he greeted, and she smiled and replied, "Hello!"

"Whatcha studying?" he asked.

"Oh," she began and let out a sigh. "I've actually been trying to read the school rules and regulations. There are so many of them."

Onmund rolled his eyes and said, "Ugh, tell me about it. They're about as hard to decipher as ancient Nordic histories. Which ones are you having a hard time with?"

Danielle sighed. "All of them. I mean, does this one make any sense to you: 'Only practice spells which are in your particular school of magic.' Weren't we using wards yesterday? That isn't Destruction magic."

Onmund chuckled. "Yeah. That's a ridiculous one, isn't it? Tolfdir told us to practice those, though, so I guess it's all right. It would be tragic if they had to expel the entire School of Destruction for that, wouldn't it?"

Danielle laughed, which to Onmund sounded like the bubbling waters of a stream. "I guess so."

Just then, he thought of something. "You know, I'm not having much luck making sense of those rules either. How about you and I try to read through those together sometime? We could be study partners."

"That would be great," she replied, smiling.

"I'm scheduled for some training with Tolfdir for the rest of the day, but how about you and I get together tomorrow at this same time and we'll try to figure out those rules?"

"Okay!"

"Great. I will see you tomorrow, then!" As Onmund walked out, he felt a surge of confidence within him, and he excelled at training that day. As he left the training hall, a voice called out to him, and he turned around. It was Enthir, the older Bosmer Illusion student whom he had met briefly during the enrollment period. "Quite the skills you got there, kid," he said to him.

"Oh. Thanks," he replied, beaming.

"So what's your plans, Novice?" he asked. "Are you going to continue on with the more advanced arts after you graduate from the School of Destruction?"

"You mean like Illusion or Conjuration? I don't know, maybe."

"Think about it. I think you'd do well. And as a seasoned expert, might I advise that you practice as many skills as possible as soon as you can. Students that are well-rounded do best here."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for instance, I could forge you your very own Storm Atronach that you can fight with. It's not exactly something Tolfdir will show you but that's because he only teaches Destruction spells. But it'll do you some good to learn other spells, as well."

"But isn't that against the rules?" he asked, thinking about what he and Danielle just talked about.

"You're talking about the rule that says you can only practice spells that are specific to your school, right? Take it from a veteran, kid, that one isn't strictly regulated. Even Tolfdir himself admits that rule is ambiguous."

"Really? Hmm…I did get to catch a glimpse at what Arniel's Storm Atronachs can do. They seem pretty powerful!"

"See? You can do the same! For 1000 Gold I can go down into the Midden tonight and forge you one of these atronachs."

Onmund thought for a moment. All he had was a measly 200 Gold. "I-I don't have that much gold."

"Well, it doesn't have be gold, then," he said. "Got anything else? Maybe some scrolls or spellbooks you'd like to get rid of?"

"N-no. Nothing like that." He then tried to picture all of the things that he had brought in his rucksack from home. Suddenly, it hit him. "Hold on. I think I may actually have something!"

"You can bring it tomorrow if you'd like," Enthir said. "There's no hurry."

"No, I've got something you'll like," Onmund insisted. "It's in my room."

"All right. I'll just wait here, then."

Onmund then dashed to his room in the Hall of Attainment and pulled out his rucksack from under his bed. He opened it up and poured the contents onto his bed. In the meager pile of dried, stale pieces of bread, fruits, a couple of books, and a hat, sat the very thing he was looking for. It was an amulet that he had brought from home, originally given to him by his grandfather when he was thirteen years old. It had a silver pendant hanging on a silver chain and encrusted in the center of the pendant was a faded blue sapphire. As he picked it up with his hands, he felt a slight pang in his heart as he thought, My grandfather said that this had been in our family for generations. Should I really be giving this away?

As he hesitated, he remembered his grandfather's words when he first gave the amulet to him. He had said, "Wear this in battle, and it will protect you from harm." Of course, Onmund had never been in a battle- at least, not in the traditional Nordic sense. Frodrig used to take him into ruins to practice his Destruction spells on Draugrs, but that was it. He knew that he would never be in such a battle, now. He had no use for the amulet. As his grandfather's words played over and over in his mind, he sighed and thought, Sorry, Grandpa. This is completely wasted on me. Someone else will have a better use for it. He then turned toward the door and took the amulet with him.

Enthir was very pleased with the item that he got in the trade and happily promised to forge Onmund his Storm Atronach. I'll just keep this to myself, for now. Maybe some time when I'm alone in the training hall, I'll practice with my new atronach. I don't want the other Destruction students or Tolfdir seeing me using Conjuration spells just yet.

The next day, when Onmund was scheduled to meet with Danielle in the Arcaneum, he went down the steps into the library with anticipation. When he entered the large dim room full of books, immediately he heard some voices. As he drew closer to the table where he knew Danielle would be, the voices grew louder and more intelligible.

"There's really nothing wrong about what we're doing," a male voice was speaking. "It's just that the rules aren't very specific about what's not allowed. But I assure you, you won't get in trouble."

"That's okay. I'm not interested." Immediately, Onmund recognized this as Danielle's voice.

What in the world are they talking about? he wondered and came closer to her table. He then saw her, sitting at the same table, and she was surrounded by four other students. They were older, and they were all standing around her.

"Why not? Afraid to experiment on your first days?" one of the students chided. "It's not like the elders will care."

"Please. I just want to be left alone, that's all," Danielle's firm voice rang out.

The four older students broke into sardonic laughter, and one of them said sarcastically, "Oh, come on. You don't have to be such a straight-edge."

Onmund immediately became incensed. How dare they assault her? He emerged from where he was hidden and boldly demanded, "Hey! Leave her alone!"

Danielle and the four elves suddenly looked up at him in surprise. The elves then burst into laughter. "Oh, look! Another straight-edge comes to the rescue!"

Onmund nearly gasped as he recognized one of the elves as Enthir. Enthir seemed not to acknowledge him and laughed with the others. He mustered up some confidence and spoke, "D-don't you guys have better things to do…than to harass other students…while they're trying to study? Let her be!"

"Or else what?" It was now Enthir who spoke up.

"Or else I'll…I'll…" he was at a loss for words.

Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from nearby, "Hey! What's going on over here?"

Just then, Urag gro-Shub, the ornery Orc keeper of the Arcaneum, appeared and gave them all very stern looks. "Don't you fellas know the rules? This is a library, not a mead hall. People are trying to study in here. Out! All of you!"

Without a word, Onmund and the four elves obeyed and went their separate ways, but not before Onmund shot a menacing glare at them. As he sauntered out, he overheard Urag say to Danielle, "Sorry about that. They won't be bothering you anymore."

He opened the door and began climbing up the steps out of the Arcaneum. When he had nearly ascended the entire staircase, he heard someone call out behind him, "Onmund!"

He turned around and was surprised to see Danielle standing below him. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before uttering, "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked.

"For defending me," she said.

Her words sent a reverberation of warmth into his heart and he felt his face grow warm. He fidgeted with his hood and said as nonchalantly as possible, "Oh…it was nothing."

"Well, thank you, anyway."

He smiled and said, "You're welcome."

"Will you come back tomorrow to study with me?"

Oh, yeah. I forgot that's what I came here for, he remembered. "Yes. If Urag hasn't banned me."

"He will forget," she assured.

"Okay. I will see you tomorrow, then."

She smiled and he watched as she descended back down the steps and then he continued on up.

The next day came, and Onmund went down to the Arcaneum to meet with Danielle. He brought his books with him, as well as the College of Winterhold Rules and Regulations. Relieved to see that she was alone and not being disturbed by those older students this time, he joined her at the table.

"Hi!" she exclaimed, giving him a look of surprise. At first, he wondered why she looked at him that way but then her next words made him realize why. "I almost didn't recognize you without your hood on!"

Onmund chuckled, running a hand through his thick brown hair. "I guess I do wear it most of the time. Even indoors."

Danielle gave him an amused smile and for the thousandth time, Onmund couldn't get over how pretty her smile was. The girl's just pretty! he thought. As she turned toward her book, she lifted her hand to tuck some rogue tendrils behind her ear, and all Onmund could think was, Endearing. Her voice was gentle and soothing, and as they studied and discussed the literature at hand, he thought that no one else's voice could make those wretched College rules and regulations sound so good.

"So if you don't mind me asking, what did those four elves want yesterday?" Onmund asked her after they had read through a large chunk of the rules. "They sounded like troublemakers."

"Oh, they were up to no good all right," she replied, shaking her head. "They wanted to teach me necromancy…on a human!"

"What?! You're kidding…"

"They had heard about what had happened in Saarthal the other day, about those Draugrs coming back to life, and they…they wanted to use me to experiment with their magic on them."

"That's terrible! They are up to no good." And Enthir is involved with that? Just great…

"Yeah. They kept telling me, 'You have to learn all types of magic, to be a well-rounded student' and such. Can you believe that?"

Onmund reddened as the very same words from Enthir yesterday echoed in his mind. "I can't believe that…" he sputtered. "You, uh, responded well to their chiding." I, on the other hand, was duped.

"Well, they still wouldn't leave me alone. That's why I'm glad you came in and did what you did." She smiled warmly at him and he felt like shattering into a hundred pieces. If only you knew what I have already done… "So, um, did you see the visitor that arrived at the College today?" he asked, changing the subject.

"You mean that Thalmor agent?" she asked. "I think his name was Ancano or something."

"Yeah," he said. "Mirabelle and the others don't seem to be happy at all about his being here."

"Have you talked to him?"

"No. He claims to be here simply as an advisor but I know that no one really believes that. I've been trying to avoid him, honestly."

"Yes, he doesn't seem all that trustworthy."

In addition to the discussions about mundane school stuff, they also talked a little about their personal lives. Onmund told her a little bit about the challenges of being a Nord and having a passion for magic and he learned that Danielle was actually an Expert in Restoration magic. Up until she had arrived in Skyrim, she was studying to become a priestess. But she had begun to find such a life to be boring, which was why she had come to the College to learn something else- namely Destruction magic.

"I already know basic Flames," she explained. "But I would like to expand that skill."

"I'm hoping to become a jack of all trades," he said. "I want to master shock spells, but I also want to be good with fire and frost, as well."

When it came close to time to turn in for the night, they closed their books and put away their things. They walked back to the Hall of Attainment together, chatting away, and parted ways once inside. Now alone in his room, Onmund took off his boots and robes and put on his nightshift. He blew out his candle and then climbed into his bed, and then his thoughts began to wander. At first, he thought of Danielle and her smiling at him, and it gave him such a good feeling, albeit also one of shame for having been weaker than she was in his dealings with Enthir. She was incredibly smart and funny, and she found it hard to imagine her as a fire mage, going around setting things on fire and destroying things, and thought that she would've been well-suited as a healer. But he knew that wasn't what she truly wanted to do and he respected that very much. He was also very glad that she was in his class with him.

He then thought of his family. He wondered if they were thinking of him and if they even missed him. His father was a hard-working woodsman in the little village that he grew up in, working from dawn until dusk, sometimes venturing as far as the Druadach Mountains to the west to get the best wood for the village lumber supply. But because of this, Onmund hardly saw him, much less spent a lot of time with him. He used to be a nomadic hunter, but when he started his family and settled down in the village, he left that life for good. His mother was a farmer's daughter and a farmer, herself, also working from dawn until dusk tending the village communal farm. They were too poor to own a farm of their own, but were able to take a share of the communal farm's crops and survive on that. Onmund was the only child they had. They probably would've had more, but for most of his childhood, it took all of his parents' energy just to ensure his survival. He was not born healthy and was pretty much sickly for the majority of his young days until about the time when he turned seven. It didn't help that his family was poor and didn't have enough to eat and couldn't afford basic medicines and doctors. Thus, he spent most of his days indoors and sometimes confined to the bed, and he passed those days reading and nurturing his growing curiosity for the magical arts. He remembered his mother baking him apple pies to put a smile on his face, and they tasted so good. He had to admit, she knew how to make him feel better when he was sick or got hurt, and he missed the way she used to sing to him at night. He tried to put those thoughts out of his head now, because he realized that for the first time since he arrived here at the College, he was actually feeling the beginnings of homesickness. He didn't think that would ever happen. He rolled over in his bed and closed his eyes, and fell asleep trying to repeat the stories that Tolfdir had told him that day.

Onmund woke up and suddenly found himself in an open field. He recognized the Druadach Mountains to the west, and the sun was setting behind them. Completely disoriented, he looked all around him, trying to figure out what was going on. Just then, he saw his grandfather running towards him with a frightened expression on his face. "Onmund! Onmund!" he shouted.

"Grandpa!" he yelled and ran up to meet him. He felt as if he were a teenager again. "What's wrong?"

"There's an army of Forsworn bandits coming this way!" he cried. "Quick! Put on the amulet I gave you and be ready to fight!"

Onmund reached into his pocket to find the amulet that his grandfather had given him, and just then, his heart sank as he realized that he didn't have the amulet anymore.

"What's the matter?" his grandfather questioned worriedly. "Where's the amulet I gave you?"

"I…I don't have it anymore, g-grandpa," he stammered. "I-I…I gave it away…"

"Gave it away!" he shrieked. Before he could say anymore, a swarm of bandits came thundering onto the field like a stampede of horses, and Onmund opened his mouth to scream as they overtook his grandpa, but no sound came out.

"Nnnguh!" Onmund felt like he was choking and sprang into an upright position from his bed, cold sweat dampening his forehead. His heart was pounding as he stared wide-eyed into the darkness, save for the blue glow of the energy beam in the middle of the Hall of Attainment. What a nightmare…he thought wildly. Why did I even dream such a thing? He lay back down on his bed and sighed. I miss grandpa, he suddenly realized. He also realized another matter. I never should've given away grandpa's amulet to Enthir, he knew. Powerful atronachs or not, I have made a big mistake. He covered his face in his hands in shame. I need to get it back from him. He hasn't shown me my Storm Atronach, yet, so I may still have a chance to back out of our deal. There's just no question about it. I have to try!