Waking as the third bell tolled, Gregory got up and dressed, feeling energized and ready for the day. When he stepped out of his room, he was surprised that Yukiko was not there. Knocking lightly on her door, he heard her stir inside. “Yuki, it’s third bell.”
There was a scrambling sound from inside before the door slid open an inch, revealing Yukiko’s disheveled hair and one bright eye. “Sorry, Greg. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Gregory blinked and forcefully pulled his gaze back to her face, his cheeks red, “Um, yeah… um… I’ll be downstairs.”
“I’ll hurry,” Yukiko said again as the door slid shut.
Gregory stood there for a long moment, the image of Yukiko in a thin silk shift seared into his mind. Her pale skin reflected the low light in the hall, clearly revealing more of her figure than Gregory had seen until that moment. Gregory exhaled deeply and made his way to the stairs, wondering if her skin felt as silky as he thought it did.
Exiting the dormitory, he took a seat on the bench and tried to center his mind, but the image of Yukiko in her nightgown would not let him. Gregory groaned in frustration, gripping his knees painfully hard.
“There is a place for that kind of thing, Novice. You can always use the one around back,” Dia’s voice came from a few feet away.
Gregory jumped up from the bench, his face turning bright red. “No, I wasn’t! That—”
Dia laughed lightly as she lit her long pipe. “Relax, I’m aware. I was just making a joke. You seem rather on edge this morning… and without your companion. Did something happen?”
“No,” Gregory said quickly, “nothing,” he added with a pause.
“Then she is merely delayed. No reason to be upset. Unless she’s going to join a clan that you aren’t invited to?”
“No, she hasn’t decided on a clan yet.”
“I figured as much. She comes from a shrewd family, and she would be foolish to decide on a clan before all options are on the table, even if two of the five great clans have already approached her.”
“Are you part of a clan, Keeper?” Gregory asked.
Dia paused, eyeing him before shaking her head. “I’m merely a keeper. I have no clan affiliation. No keeper can be part of a clan, as it would bias us.”
“Ah, right,” Gregory said.
“You should take the time to study the clans before you decide on one. Most novices don’t and the rest are already spoken for, like your friends Nick and Hayworth.”
“Hayworth isn’t a friend, but he has thankfully left me alone except for some comments during conditioning. Nick is a… friend…” Gregory trailed off as he said it, the word not sitting right on his tongue.
“An ally, perhaps?” Dia asked, blowing a smoke ring.
“An ally, certainly,” Gregory agreed, the words not fighting him that time.
“Five months until the tournament… much will change between now and the day after,” Dia said idly. “The day after the tournament, novices may formally accept the invitation of a clan and leave the dormitory. Until that day, you’re all here together to build friendships and convince others to join the clan you might be backed by.”
“Have the other novices been getting invitations like Yukiko?”
“A little less than half have received at least a single scroll, but that will change in the next two months. None will be as sought after as much as your friend, except maybe you. No ties to any clan and a mystery magic that still has Master Damon in a tizzy? Many are biding their time since they won’t want to invite you if your magic is underwhelming.”
“Don’t want to buy a pig in a poke?” Gregory asked with a snort.
“They rather the cat was out of the bag, first,” Dia smiled. “I haven’t heard that idiom in years. Many novices don’t realize that they are doing exactly that with the clans.”
Gregory frowned, but before he could say more, Yukiko came rushing out of the door. “Greg, I’m sorry—!”
“Woah, calm down, Yuki,” Gregory cut her off. “It’s okay, let’s get walking. Did you bring your comb with you?”
Yukiko was flushed and nodded, “I did.”
“Brush as we walk?” Gregory asked, stepping toward the path.
“Have a good day,” Dia said as she went and took a seat on the bench.
Yukiko bowed to Dia and pulled her comb from her bag, working to get her hair manageable. “Thank you, Keeper. You as well.”
“Thank you for the conversation, Keeper,” Gregory said, bowing to her.
~*~*~
Yukiko was not complaining, but Gregory could tell she was upset. “Yuki, you okay?”
“Yes… no… maybe,” Yukiko sighed as she jerked at a knot.
“I’m not going to press, but if you want to talk about it, I’m here.”
Exhaling deeply, Yukiko calmed more as she continued untangling her hair. “Thank you, Greg. It was just the girl-talk last night, and I didn’t realize how late it was getting until the last bell tolled.”
Gregory noticed the dark circles under her eyes and nodded, “Okay. Don’t worry if you nod off at some point. I’ll wake you.”
Yukiko snorted, “I figured you would. How was your time with the guys?”
“We played a different game of cards, and I did horribly to start with. I started getting the hang of it before I left.”
“Have a good time, then?”
Gregory considered the question for longer than he should have needed to. “Not enough to want to do it every week. Would have been more productive to study with you.”
“Oh? I thought maybe you’d be able to get things off your chest that you couldn’t with me.”
“Can’t think of anything I wouldn’t tell you that I would them.”
Yukiko’s smile slipped a little, “Oh. I see. Maybe they were wrong, then.”
“They were wrong?”
Blushing, Yukiko put her comb away and pulled out a hair clip to gather her long, flowing hair together. “You know, I’ve never had many friends, so last night was different for me. Someone said that when guys get together, they talk about women… in a certain way.”
Gregory coughed and looked away from her, his ears starting to burn. “It happens,” he admitted.
“Did anyone say anything about me?”
“Did anyone say anything about me?” Gregory countered.
Yukiko looked away, “Fair. I’m sorry.”
“No worries, let’s eat,” Gregory said as they reached the mess.
~*~*~
Rafiq greeted them with a smile when they stepped into the archive after their breakfast. “Morning to you both. We have books ready for you.”
“Can I get a book that describes each clan?” Gregory asked. “I need information before the tournament.”
Rafiq nodded, “I can arrange that, if you’ll give me a few minutes.”
“Two books, please,” Yukiko said. “We can read and compare notes,” she told Gregory.
“Makes sense.”
“I shall have them brought to you shortly.”
“Thank you,” they said together.
A man with yellow, square-pupiled eyes brought them two books a few minutes later. Bowing to them, he withdrew without speaking. They dove into the material, eager to find out more than they had known before.
The clans have been around for generations, three of them founded just after the First Eurtik War; The Eternal Flame, Han Merchant Exchange, and Aether’s Guard. While the Aether’s Guard clan has been all but forgotten, the other two have built themselves into part of the five great clans of the empire.
The five great clans are made up of…
~*~*~
Gregory frowned when the fifth bell chimed. Closing the book, he looked up and saw Yukiko blinking slowly as she closed her book. “You okay, Yuki?”
“Tired and annoyed at this book,” Yukiko replied. “It reads more like a recruiting guide than anything useful.”
“Mine was more about the history of the five great clans,” Gregory added. “Let’s get going; don’t want to skip class.”
“Right,” Yukiko yawned, covering her mouth with a hand. “Let’s go.”
“Books to your liking?” Rafiq grinned.
“I almost feel like you’re having a joke at our expense,” Gregory said.
“I’ll have different books for your next study session,” Rafiq’s smile grew wider.
“Something based more in fact and less to sell the clans to us, please,” Yukiko requested.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Rafiq chuckled. “Have a good day in class.”
~*~*~
Yukiko started to nod off three times in economics, getting nudged awake each time by Gregory. Magus Marcia noticed, and sent a withering glare Yukiko’s way.
When they got back to the archive, Rafiq had different books waiting for them. Gregory dug into his, but after a few minutes a soft snore made him look up. Yukiko was passed out beside her book, her face blank as she slept. Looking around, he did not see anyone nearby, so he sat there for a minute just watching her sleep before sighing and going back to his book.
When the ninth bell rang, Yukiko jerked awake, looking around wildly for a moment.
“Have a good nap?” Gregory asked, looking up from the book.
“I… you could have woken me,” Yukiko pouted.
“You needed the sleep,” Gregory replied evenly, meeting her cyan eyes. “I was looking after my partner. No one came near, so no one knows you slept.” Yukiko looked slightly mollified until Gregory added, “Until you began to snore.”
Her cheeks flushed and a look of horror spread across her face. When Gregory began to snort, trying to hide his laughter, she glared at him. “You made that up.”
“Only a little. Your snoring was very soft, and I almost didn’t hear it.”
Yukiko pouted again, “That was mean.”
“Friends poke at each other with harmless jokes, Yuki. Do you think I’d make that joke to Nick, Jason, or Michelle?”
Lips twitching, Yukiko was conflicted about whether she should frown or smile at him. “I guess not.”
“I wouldn’t. I’d only make that joke to Gunnar, El, or Ria, and now, you.”
She did smile then, “Okay. I accept it as a joke.”
“We have a little under an hour before we have to make it to aether introduction. Did you want to start that book, or take a leisurely walk that way and not have to worry about hurrying?”
Yukiko glanced at the book in front of her— which was still on the first page— and sighed. “I think it would be best to walk.”
“I’ll tell you about what I’ve read so far,” Gregory said as he shut his book and got to his feet. “I’m not fond of the idea of joining the Iron Hand… this book is not flattering to them.”
As they were leaving, Rafiq gave them a nod, “Better books?”
“Much,” Gregory said. “I appreciate it.”
“You are welcome. I wish you both a good day.”
“Good day,” they replied as they left the archive.
Stepping out into the sunlight, Yukiko sighed and stretched a little. “I do feel better for having napped. Thank you for watching over me, Greg.”
“You’d have done the same for me. Let’s go this way today. We have time and I want to see if it connects around.”
“Oh look, it’s the fringer,” a snide voice snickered. “What were you doing in the archive, fringer? I’m sure the books in there are well beyond you.”
Gregory looked back to see Hayworth and his friends coming toward them. “Hayseed? I would have thought you’d be in aether studies.”
Hayworth’s nostrils flared at being called “Hayseed,” but he did not respond to it, just sneering at Gregory instead. “I have had private tutors for that for the last three years. That class is for dullards and fringers.”
“What brings you to the archive?” Yukiko asked in a neutral tone, though Gregory noticed her hands were clenched.
“I’ve had a request to see some more advanced scrolls and have come to check on them,” Hayworth told Yukiko civilly. “You really shouldn’t stand too close to him. He’s from the fringe, likely infested with all manner of vermin.”
“I find him to be cleaner and better mannered than some others here,” Yukiko said with a smile. “Have a good day.”
Gregory turned with her, walking away from the shocked Hayworth. Once they had put some distance between them, Gregory snorted, “I thought his eyes were going to pop out of his head.”
“He was being a prig,” Yukiko grunted. “Self-important assholes deserve to be reminded that people don’t like them.”
“Father’s guards teach you that word?”
“If Father knew half of what they taught me, he’d either be horrified or proud.”
“Hayworth is going to be one of those that will cause us trouble later,” Gregory said as they crossed a foot bridge.
“That’s a given, considering his attitude toward you.”
“Thanks for having my back.”
“As you had mine earlier.”
