When I finally pushed my way through the dense crowd, I found Amelia and Leon conversing with several other apprentices. My teeth ground together as Leon's hand brushed her arm, leaning in close to say something over the din of the ballroom.

After a second, I pushed down my scowl, remembering Julian's admonishment and that I should be beyond such petty reactions, and approached the group. Amelia and Leon both turned to me as I cam within earshot.

"There you are! I was worried you'd left me without saying anything," Amelia said, laughing softly as she leaned in close, brushing my arm with her hand.

I ignored the sensation and shook my head before replying, "I would never. But I did want to ask you something."

Amelia raised an eyebrow, the hint of a grin crossing her face, but she said nothing.

Taking a deep breath and wondering if I was making a mistake, I bowed my head and held out one hand before saying, "Would you like to dance?"

I managed it without much of a stammer, and as I looked up, Leon looked surprised, but Amelia's grin had blossomed into a smile as she nodded.

As we walked onto the dance floor, Amelia leaned in and whispered, "Took you long enough."

I chuckled before replying, "Better late than never, I suppose."

We found an open spot near the center of the dance floor, where the slowest dancers gathered, and I placed my hand onto her back, ignoring the pounding of my heart in my chest. It escaped my notice before, but now that we stood only a few inches apart, I was hyperaware of her body heat. A pleasant smell hung around her that I assumed was perfume, and I noted I was only a few inches shorter than her, heels and all.

If the Founders had become gods as our legends claimed, maybe they looked down with a chuckle at me. I had met my counterpart from the future, watched him carved oceans asunder, and dancing with a young woman had me nervous? Idiotic.

The music began to swell, and I let out a breath as the song became recognizable. More importantly, it involved a simple dance that was easy enough to remember. Still, I let Amelia lead us while trying to maintain an idea of where I put my feet. It seemed poor manners to trod all over her toes.

"You can dance?" Amelia said, raising an eyebrow as we moved in time with the music.

"Passably. My mentor had me learn years ago on the improbable chance that it would come in handy. Truthfully, I did not believe him, but I am glad to be wrong." I added at the end with a smile.

Amelia smiled back before wincing as my foot stepped on her toes.

"Sweet sentiment, but you might need more practice. You've got two left feet."

I chuckled, responding, "Like I said, it has been a few years, and I was never diligent about those lessons. Hopefully, that is not too big an issue."

"Hmm, I think I can find it in my heart if you agree to practice. I would rather you not stomp on my feet the next time we attend one of these events together."

I moved her to one side, her words sinking in a half-second later.

"There will be a next time?"

She shot me a grin, ignoring my question as she leaned in a bit closer. We danced in comfortable silence as the tension gradually left me. In the end, we managed to get through the dance with only two more missteps under my belt.

After it ended, Amelia looked at me for several seconds until I remembered my manners.

"Thank you for the dance," I said, smiling and inclining my head before offering my arm to her. Amelia returned my grin before looping her arm through my own, and I led us back over Leon's group, trying to ignore the warmth of her hand through my shirt.

As we approached, I saw that Leon was now speaking to a beautiful dark-haired woman, another apprentice, if I had to guess. She looked a few years older and was taller than even Leon, which seemed beneficial in helping her look down her nose at the rest of us.

I immediately felt a twinge of distaste for the woman but schooled my features into something resembling neutrality.

"-of course, I wanted to dance with you, but you seemed to be busy with your friends. I did not want to interrupt your conversation." Leon said, looking at me with apparent desperation. Despite my annoyance at him, I had no choice but to help him.

"Will you excuse me for a minute?" I asked Amelia, and when she nodded, I walked up to Leon and bowed my head low, saying, "My lord, may I speak to you? In private, preferably."

"Ah, yes, of course, Vayne! Anything for my loyal advisor. Please, follow me." Leon answered, laying it on thick as he picked up my meaning.

He led me up to the third floor and out onto one of the balconies overlooking the city. Two other apprentices stood a few dozen feet away, empty wine glasses on the railing as their hands wandered. Leon glanced at them, raising an eye at their behavior, and both returned to the main room, faces bright red as they muttered apologies.

"Every student has a private room, and they felt the need to do that here? No tact." he muttered, shaking his head before turning to me and smiling, "Thank you for the help, Vayne. As you might've gathered, my date was...unhappy with me tonight. Cyllia took it as an insult when I asked Amelia to dance and felt no need to keep that private. She also conveniently ignored that I asked her several times, but..."

He trailed off, shaking his head again and sighing as he leaned against the railing.

"I gathered as much. The annoyance, I mean. Forgive me for prying, but why come with Cyllia if you dislike her so much?" I asked, not bothering to hide my curiosity.

Leon was attractive, charismatic, and the son of a wealthy duke. That was not enough to win every person's heart, but he was more than capable of going with someone less unpleasant.

He did not respond for a moment, rubbing at the marble railing before saying, "Cyllia's mother is a duchess and an old friend of my father's. The two of them have been discussing an...arrangement between us. Tonight was to see how well we got along and if we could spend a night together without coming to blows."

"Marriage?" I guessed, and he nodded with a frown. I pursed my lips before continuing, "And I take it she is not a good choice?"

Snorting, Leon looked at me and replied, "I've met wild beasts with better manners. She's smart and talented, but she's also rude, condescending, and selfish. Unfortunately, on paper, she's a good fit, so I might have to deal with this for a while longer."

I almost laughed at the notion that Leon, the famous and sociable noble, had a problem like this. Still, I felt some sense of responsibility to help however possible. Despite my lingering annoyance at him, I was his friend, even if I could not explain how that had happened.

"Can you not just turn her down? Or find a more suitable partner?"

Sighing, Leon did not answer for a full minute staring out onto the cityscape before turning towards me.

"Maybe, but life doesn't always give you a choice. I can turn down this one, but what about the next? The Estton name has to continue, and that means I need to marry and have children. My father was lucky and loves my mother, but that sort of fortune is rare." he finally said, his eyes unfocused and his tone quiet.

"What about Sophia?"

Leon shook his head, "As the firstborn, it falls to me, even if I'm only a few minutes older. And besides that, Sophia is...no, it's not fair to thrust this onto her."

I had no answer for that and simply nodded, shifting my feet as the silence returned, even longer this time. After some time, Leon blinked, forcing a smile onto his face that did not reach his eyes.

"Enough of that, though. I owe you an apology, Vayne. My night was unpleasant, and well, common sense failed me in my frustrations. It was improper to take away your date so abruptly. Please, forgive me." Leon said, bowing his head low.

Although I could not pretend to love his casual ease at flirting with Amelia, he had done nothing wrong. At banquets such as these, it was common to dance with more than one person, as it was little more than social interactions. Beyond that, there was no one to blame but myself for not asking her sooner.

"No need, sir. You did nothing warranting an apology, and we are just friends. With everything your family has done for me, I could never imagine holding such a grudge against you." I answered, bowing my head before letting a smile come onto my face, "And truth be told, it gave me the push to ask her myself."

"All is forgiven, sir. Your family has done more for me than I can ever repay, and I could never imagine holding a grudge against you. And if I might be honest, it gave me the push to ask her myself." I answered, a genuine smile coming to my face by the end.

Leon laughed, nodding once and slapping my shoulder with one hand before gesturing back to the doorway.

"Best get back in there and get her back onto the dance floor then. The night is still young, after all!"

We returned to the main room, finding Amelia still with the group of apprentices. She had a polite smile on her face, but I noted that she stood as far away from Cyllia as possible. Thankfully, as soon as we came within reach, Leon led his still-scowling date onto the dance floor, giving us an easy escape.

"I don't envy your lordling. I swear, I was this close to freezing that woman solid and leaving her to melt for the next few days." Amelia murmured, surprising me with the heat in her tone.

I hid my smile, shrugging and replying, "I cannot comment. Would you like to take a walk and maybe get a drink or something to eat?"

She nodded, saying, "Gladly. Lead the way."

The next few hours passed in a blur as Amelia and I made our way around the room. We talked with dozens of people, many of them evidently friendly with Amelia, eaten what felt like our weight in food, and, against my better judgment, had several more glasses of wine. Any time between this was spent on the dance floor, struggling to remember my half-forgotten lessons.

Sophia had skipped the banquet, but I spotted Simon standing beside an older, balding, doppelganger of himself, his father, I assumed. The two of us spent some time discussing the finer points of enchanting as Amelia pulled Simon away. Apparently, he had helped create her gift for me, and in exchange, Amelia offered to introduce him to several of her friends.

By the end of it all, we walked back to Amelia's room with feet dragging along the ground. Frequent training aside, hours of dancing had left me more than ready to rest and be alone. Crowds were exhausting.

"I like this," Amelia murmured as we walked.

"Like what?"

"You when you loosen up a bit," she said, and I raised an eyebrow at her words. She smiled before continuing, "Usually, you are all serious and focused with this big frown on your face, but when you let loose, you're more fun. Think I'll call it 'relaxed Vayne.'"

Shaking my head, I chuckled, replying, "I think I will take that as a compliment. Unfortunately, I doubt 'relaxed Vayne' will make another appearance for a while."

"Fine by me. I'm guessing you'll spend all of your time until the start of the semester training?"

"And hunting." I responded, considering my dwindling funds, "I need more gold, and that is the most consistent way to get it."

"Hunting? Really? With magic, I'm hoping. You've gotten better, but your spear techniques still need a mountain of work. If that's all that's between you and a beast, you should season yourself now. There's nothing worse than a bland meal."

I did not miss the way her eyes lingered on me as she glanced over or how her fingers tightened on my arm. As we reached her floor, we stopped, and I met her gaze with an encouraging smile.

"I will be fine, Amelia. I promise to be careful. Surprisingly enough, I would rather not end up as some beast's meal."

She rolled her eyes, but her smile returned, and we continued on our way, tension slipping from her posture. When we reached her door, Amelia brushed a strand of hair that had fallen loose over her ear.

"Thank you for tonight, Vayne. I had a lot of fun," she said, stepping in closer and wrapping her arms around my neck, and burying her face into my shoulder.

I froze. How long had it been since I had anything resembling a hug? Years, at least. Girem was not cruel, but that was a bit too familial for the man.

After a few seconds, I wrapped my arms around her waist, trying and failing to relax my posture. We stood like that for several seconds until she pulled back and looked up at me, still wrapped around my neck as my hands rested on her hips.

My heartbeat thundered in my ears, and I saw Amelia's lips part slightly as she leaned in closer. The distance between us had shrunk to just a few inches, and my instincts screamed to close that narrow gap. After a moment, I let out a shaky breath and pulled back, loosening my grip on her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, a hurt looking coming to her eyes.

I blinked, turning my eyes down before looking back up at her. She deserved eye contact and a straight answer, or at least as close to one as I could manage.

"I...this is all very new to me. I have never gone to a banquet, and certainly not with someone else. And this is leaving me a bit...unsure how to proceed."

That was not entirely a lie, but it was not the extent of it. If we did become involved and it ended poorly, I could lose a friend. Worse, in all likelihood, any relationships I did pursue were likely doomed. We were in different social classes, and I knew that might eventually grow problematic. Was it fair to drag her into that, knowing that it likely doomed?

None of those thoughts helped the twinge in my chest as Amelia frowned, looking at the floor as she nodded a few times before looking back up to me.

"I understand," she said finally, her smile partly returning as she continued, "We can work on that too. I can be patient, you know."

Amelia stepped backward, opening her door but paused as she stepped through, looking back over her shoulder and meeting my eyes again.

"For future reference, that was when you are supposed to kiss the girl. Goodnight, Vayne," she said with a wicked grin before closing her door and leaving me alone in the hallway.

I blinked hard several times, a mixture of emotions flooding into my brain before I rubbed my eyes and turned, walking away and back towards my room. Logically, I could not help but feel that progressing anywhere beyond friendship was a mistake. It opened up all sorts of complications, and the smart move would be to keep her at arm's length.

But all the reasons in the world did not make it any easier to accept.