WSB Academy, Location Unknown, 1977

Ivan Theodore sat alone in the main common room, mindlessly throwing pencils at the wall tapestries trying to hit a particular bird among the embroidered flora and fauna that crowded the millefleur hangings. Were they Flemish or French? Fourteenth or Fifteenth Century?

Anna would know, he thought to himself.

He looked around the grand if threadbare room, with a fire glowing cozily in the large stone hearth and a gilt-framed mirror over the mantelpiece. Comfortable chairs set around on the worn red carpet of the floor. The richly paneled walls were hung with portraits and photographs of stern-looking men and women from bygone days, with the famous stained-glass window at its end. In this large, coffered-ceiling, very stately room, he had stationed himself with a view of the carved mahogany doors that he knew she would have to pass at some point. Once or twice a person approached with the intent to start a conversation, but Ivan's dark presence and ominous glower were enough to ward off those few who dared to come near. With a slight tilt of his head, he could focus his eyes into view and skewer an unlucky victim with the heat of his glare, and so the room was empty of all but himself.

Tossing the last pencil and seeing it securely lodge itself with the others, he turned his attention back to fire in the open hearth. He only made it halfway through Circle Five- the Wrathful and the Sullen, when he was pulled. Medical Drop, they called it, necessary to avoid permanent physical damage to his already fragile spine, but since it wasn't a self-withdrawal, he was assured that it wouldn't impact his career plans. However, deep down, his pride still smarted; as long as his mind was sound, they didn't overly care what condition his body was in.

He took a swallow of his coffee, finally cooled off enough to drink. He glanced at his watch for the thousandth time. He worked to keep his nerves at bay. Where was she? He'd expected her to be done by now. Then came the sound of flying footsteps outside echoing loudly against the stone floors, the sound expanded in the spacious corridor, and the next moment the common room doors were flung open, and in rushed Anna Devane, white-faced and breathless. She looked positively wild. Ivan promptly let go of his saucer and cup plate in his surprise, and they crashed together down into a heap of broken porcelain.

She quickly unzipped and shed her jacket, tossing it unceremoniously aside. Ivan's face blanched, and he gasped audibly at the cuts and bruises that covered her arms. There was dried blood and marks that she couldn't remember getting. Her lips were blue, her face paler than he'd ever seen, and she shivered violently. There was a gash on her forehead, and her hair was matted with blood. And she was beaming like the dawn.

"I did it, Ivan!" She laughed, catching his hands and swinging with him as she danced jubilantly around. Her hands were like blocks of ice. The blue veins stood out against her almost translucent skin.

"I did-" She paused for a moment by the fireplace, she made a face, her brow furrowed, and then spat the blood from her mouth into the roaring flames and then continued her celebration, "I did it! It was marvelous! I did the full ninth circle quartet. All of it!"

"Anna, we n-need to get you to the infirmary-"

"I'm fine. More than fine. It's over. The Arcana is done, and I never have to go through it again! I've never been so relieved in my life. I'm just beaming on the inside," said Anna. "I want to shout a hundred things, and now I can't find words to say them in. I never dreamed of this—yes, I did, just once! I let myself think once, 'What if I should make it all the way through?' And I've done it!"

She was in no state to listen to reason, so he pushed a chair close to the fire and guided her to it. She followed placidly, almost like a child. He grabbed the nearest afghan and threw it around her, and gently pushed her down, so she was seated. He began to rub her hands vigorously and breathe his warm breath on them, trying to get the blood flowing again. And he was amazed by her once more when he should have had faith all along. Ivan was captivated by the bright, animated face that tried through chattering teeth to explain her happiness.

He looked at her bedraggled form with relief for a moment. At least she was in one piece. And he was proud of her. She had done it. She had finished the Arcana up to the Ninth Circle- treachery. The mortification of her flesh and spirit was completed. The Arcana was a test of fortitude, to be sure, but all recruits also understood its duel purpose. It served as a grotesque and macabre warning as well.

"I'm very proud of you, but succumbing to hypothermia now would make the whole experience pointless, wouldn't it? You need to get warm, and you should have that gash looked at..." he fretted. He adjusted the blanket, so it was snug around her shoulders and handed her a cup of tea which rattled on its saucer in her shaking hands. Her teeth chattered as she regaled him with the glory of her triumph.

"So they worked me over first, stress positions and moderate physical contact, you know, trying to break me down a bit—nothing I couldn't handle. And then the real test began. The first canto was Traitors to their Kindred. I was submerged up to my ears in freezing water in an isolation tank. I was anchored in place, and only my nose was out of the water; you know how I hate swimming, so I had to work hard to relax."

He let her talk while he continued his work to warm her. It was like her to be neglectful of her own health and wellness in pursuit of her goals. He pulled the shoes from her and rubbed her feet as he did her hands, then stopped only to remove his own shoes so he could cover her feet with his own socks. Her excitement had her twisting herself about in her chair, making his task difficult.

"The second was Traitors to their Country, they took me out of the tank, and I was put in a straight jacket and left on a marble slab, then the lights went out, and I could hear what I think were rats? Or maybe mice? I'm not sure. But I screamed until I was hoarse to keep them away, but it did little good. I got cut and bit plenty. Next, they pinned my eyes open. I didn't even have the comfort of crying; I never realized how cleansing a cry can be until it was denied to me. I mean, overall, they were very, very clever in how they set these trials up."

"Clever? That's one word for it," he muttered under his breath, "Another word is sadistic. Now stop wiggling." he said more sternly than he meant. But she had given him a fright, and he hadn't quite forgiven her for it yet.

Anna either didn't hear him, or she chose to ignore him and continued on, but she did obligingly comply with his request to still her feet. She looked at him with mischief in her eyes as she pointed her toes elegantly and placed them in his hands while hardly pausing for a breath.

"The last was Traitors to their Lords. I was restrained and placed in a freezing soundproof room. That was the most difficult. I lost all concept of time. I couldn't have told you if I had been on that slab for hours or days. I could feel my mind slipping, so I tried to recite poetry or sing, but I could barely recite without pausing to re-think what I was saying. I knew I had to stay awake, but it was getting so hard. My eyes were heavy, my body numb with cold. All I wanted to do was sleep, but that would be giving up. I fought to stay conscious, to survive, but it was almost a losing battle. But then, I was able to find some sort of peace. I know that sounds strange, but a body can get used to anything, even to being hanged, as the Irish say."

"Let's pray hanging isn't in your future. Or mine."

"The rush of it all, Ivan...I can't explain it! It makes me feel so alive. Sometimes I grew tired, sometimes I felt discouraged, sometimes nothing seemed worth the struggle for it, but now? Now the future begins for real. The Arcana results won't be out for a week. How will we wait? I wish I was dead, or it was next Sunday.

"Live long enough, and both those wishes will come true," he said dryly.

She made a face at him, and he couldn't help but give a half-smile in return even though he was trying his hardest to stay stern. But her enthusiasm was infectious, and even though dark thoughts flowed through him as he thought about what he would like to do to those who caused her bodily harm, he really was damn proud of her fortitude. His heart throbbed dangerously at the sight of her. It wanted to push him into saying something tender when he knew better.

"We need to celebrate!" She exclaimed, brimming with mirth and frivolity that was positively overflowing. "We need champagne!"

"You need a hot bath, a good meal, and at least eight hours of sleep," he advised

She met his frowning gaze unshirkingly, with that merry smile lurking in her eyes. "I'll take the first two, but there is no possible way that I could sleep right now. Let's go to the Rose & Crown tonight! Please, please, please!" she entreated, setting down her saucer and grabbing his hands and squeezing them tightly in hers. He knew she was trying to charm him, and she knew it was working.

"Alright!" he laughed with a little vibrant note of exasperation in the laughter and threw his hands up in defeat. "I'll give you an hour to make yourself presentable because I'm not going anywhere with you looking like this."

"Understood," she placed her fingers to her forehead and saluted with mock seriousness.

"Let's get you upstairs then," he said, shaking his head with a low chuckle.

"Lead the way, good sir!" she replied and gave a graceful curtsey.

Down the hallway they went with Anna falling slightly behind in order to adjust the two pairs of socks that were bunching at her ankles. She stopped and leaned against the mahogany wainscoting that lined the gallery walls. A soft creak nearby startled her upright. She had not even deduced its source when a large hand clamped over her mouth, and she was yanked backward into a space where she was certain there had been a wall moments before. She watched, wide-eyed, as a panel shut itself before her, closing off all view of the hall save for a few small peepholes. She was briefly aware of a cloying sweet aroma in her nostrils.

Then she was swallowed by darkness.