I set the dolls back with the others, then walk over to where Kathy is sitting in a chair that definitely wasn't here before. I'm nervous again, dealing with a high class adult, but she hasn't said anything even though she knows I'm a peasant. So for now, I just try to keep my cool and listen.

"Are you tired? Would you like to take a nap too?" She asks lightly.

I decide not to point out that sleeping is a really bad idea and answer, "No, I'm fine."

"Really? You were playing for quite some time." She has a small grin as she speaks. I wasn't actively paying attention, so I have to take a moment to check the time. Oh, she's right. It's already after the tenth bell. Kathy goes on. "In that case, sit with me, I'd like to talk." Her tone is light like a suggestion, but I don't really have a choice, do I? What would I say, 'no?' It seems a bit silly when I think of it that way.

So I follow along as she leads me into another room. There are two chairs with a small table between them. The chair is kind of high. I could get into it fine if I jumped, but Irene really didn't like it when I jumped around, so... I glance at Kathy, then a nearby servant of hers. I really hope this is right, Irene didn't exactly cover it, but it's pretty close to when I asked her for help...

"Excuse me, could you help me?" I politely ask the servant, gesturing to the chair.

"Certainly, miss," she answers immediately. She comes over and lifts me up into the chair. I gulp a little. I think I did that right. I try not to show how nervous I am on my face, leaning back into my rail unit habit to keep a nice, neutral expression. Even so, Kathy is watching me with great interest. She doesn't say anything though, like she's just waiting.

I take a moment to check the new room we've moved to. It's rather small, with just a few tall chairs and round tables in it. Walls painted a pale green, with a lot of candles around because this room isn't on the outside of the house and there are no windows for light. There's still plenty of light coming in from the windows in nearby rooms, so none of the candles are actually lit right now.

Even after I look all around, Kathy still hasn't said anything. Just as the silence feels like it's starting to drag on, I find out what she was waiting for. A pair of footsteps separate from all of the other far away footsteps moving through the house. How many servants does Kathy have?

When I hear the servant enter the room, I glance back to find him carrying a round tray with a few glasses and a larger, oddly shaped glass of liquid. Based on the color, it's not water. Some sort of juice then?

The man sets down the two glasses on the table, and I look at mine briefly. It's a sky blue color and mostly opaque, so probably safe to drink. I look back up at Kathy, making sure to remember what Irene taught me. I press my hands together, lowering my head, and thank her for the food. Now to wait for her permission to drink...

Now that I know I'm only supposed to do the lower class gestures that I've actually learned, it's a lot less terrifying trying to do this. In this case, I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to thank her here. Drinks count as food, right? Though, I'm not actually a vulgant and Kathy knows it, so maybe continuing to act like one is disrespectful?

Ok, maybe I'm still pretty freaked out...

"Go ahead," Kathy responds lightly, which immediately calms me down before my thoughts can spiral any further. As long as she acts like I'm doing the right things, I think I can manage. Following her lead, I slowly lift my glass of blue liquid. Even though it doesn't look like it has lele fruit in it, drinking new things always makes me nervous... I bring the glass to my lips and take a small sip. Barely enough to be called a sip. The taste rolls over my tongue, soothing and sweet.

Wow, this drink is... amazing... My eyes close.

Just... wow. Absolutely incredible.

It sends tingles all through my mouth. Like the blood is rushing to my head. Even my mana feels a pleasant buzzing as I swallow- Wait, what?

I only have a moment to prepare, setting the glass down with a wobbly clink before it hits me.

All at once, it feels like my mana has gone insane, shooting around completely out of control. I desperately grab the special fire mana, redirecting it rapidly so it doesn't go shooting out of my body and destroying Kathy's house. My pained grimace and clenched teeth only last an instant before I recover, but Kathy definitely sees it.

"Is something wrong?" she asks, her expression showing mild concern at the brief expression. I only have a moment before I have to answer. In that time, I don't bother with the rest of my mana shooting everywhere. All it does is bounce around excitedly. I have to focus on the special fire because that's the only one that can actually leave my body.

The normal mana does all keep crashing into the fire that's flying all over like a living thing with a will of its own. Like the hobin it's made from is coming back for revenge...

It keeps hitting and bouncing and redirecting, but the living fire actually seems to be destroying, or burning, or maybe eating all of the colorless mana it's blasting through as I keep spinning it around to keep it inside myself.

"No, I've just never had this drink before, what is it?" I try to ask casually. I think it comes out a little strained though. By now, the living fire has burned its way through most of my colorless mana, and even the water I've been holding onto. I think it is eating it, because it's getting stronger as it goes.

"That's understandable, it's imported from Arla T'ecth, so it's surely more expensive than the lower classes can afford." She says it with a shrug, which is surprisingly nice. It makes it sound like she's specifically trying not to insult me for being poor. "It's called ceeat. If I remember correctly, it's made from blueberries and ethberries."

As she takes her time explaining, I manage to stabilize things, continuously redirecting my mana in a circle so that it forms a ring of rapidly rotating living fire. I think I can maintain this for now, without losing focus on the conversation, though it has pretty much eaten the rest of the mana that was inside me when this started.

"Ceeat," I repeat after her, the strange new word pronounced like 'kee-aht.' There were lots of other unfamiliar words in her explanation, but I just keep them in the back of my mind for now.

I make no motion to drink any more of the ceeat. If this effect increases much further, there's no way I'll be able to keep the fire contained. If had a reasonable way to make more, I'd dump it in my mana well right now. But this fire is literally made of the life of a hobin, so I can't just snuff it out like that.

"It is a very nice drink, don't you think?"

"Y-yes..." I reluctantly agree. It is a really nice drink, it tastes incredible. I would love to drink the rest, if it wouldn't lead to me burning down her house...

I feel like no matter how hard I try to hide it, she can see how uncomfortable I am now, because she doesn't say anything more about it, despite how I'm not touching my glass again, even as she sips at her own.

Then she changes the topic. "You have such pretty hair. I've never seen that color before. Did you get it from your mother?"

I guess children are supposed to look like their parents? Thelia had hair a lot like Kathy's at least. Either way, I carefully shake my head. "I never knew my parents, so I don't know."

"Ahh," she grimaces a little. "It looks very nice, do you do anything special to take care of it? It is pretty long."

"No, I don't do anything special," I explain. "I did wash it with some soap today since I knew I would be coming here." Even if it's embarrassing to admit that to someone as high class as her, I keep a straight face.

"Hmm, interesting... I love the style, especially the small braids and the way it's arranged. Who does your hair?"

"Well, my roommate came up with it, but my friend was the one who put it up today. She did say she tried to make it look better than usual." I blush a little when she keeps praising me like this. Even if the praise is more toward the ones who did the work.

"The style is lovely," she says with a hand to her cheek. "I wonder if it would look good on Thelia. It is rather elaborate and makes you look more mature, so perhaps not... How much longer is your hair when it's all down?"

"Umm..." I touch the hair behind me, hanging to my shoulder blades as usual. "When it's down, about... three times longer? It ends around my knees."

Kathy stares for a few moments. She clearly didn't realize just how long my hair really is, which is probably a good thing. That was the whole point of getting Helen to come up with a style that shortens it so much. "Oh, that is... certainly interesting," she eventually responds. She looks at it appreciatively for a little longer, taking a few sips of her drink. "I doubt that style would work for anyone else then, it is very unique," she says with a slight smile.

After another small sip, she finishes with that topic and moves on. "So, you work with my brother? At your age?"

"Yes," I answer, a bit nervous. I don't add anything to the explanation because I have no idea what her opinion might be. Given the... issues with employing someone my age, most people haven't reacted well.

"Hmm," she purses her lips. "How old are you exactly? You certainly don't act Thelia's age..."

Since I already know how this will go, I say, "I'm very small for my age. I'm seven."

And there's the surprise. "Oh." She thinks for a moment. "That's..." Her hand goes to her cheek, head turning away as she thinks out loud. "Thelia is only four..." She doesn't even need to say the 'and she's already taller' part of her thought. I hide my grimace and just bear it, as always.

Kathy turns back to me. "Oh, don't mind it, dear," she smiles sweetly, like that will fix things somehow. She takes a slow sip of her drink before continuing the conversation. "So, how did you end up working with Eryk? What does he have you doing?"

"Let's see..." I think back on it for a moment, careful not to let my thoughts distract me from not burning her house down. "I met Eryk when I got thrown out of his shop trying to buy metal ingots." She looks a bit confused, so I add, "Because I'm just a peasant and they didn't want me in the shop." I smile despite the pain of remembering it, as I say, "The store clerk wouldn't even take my money."

"Oh my..." she mumbles, a couple fingers tapping at the edge of her glass absently.

"So..." I mentally move onto the next part. "I actually ended up getting brought into Eryk's office, off the street. He said that it was because he heard about what I'd said to a shopkeeper during an earlier visit. I had to tell him something... interesting, just so he would tell me the shop prices." Kathy leans forward on the table, listening intently. "So, he passed on what I said to Eryk and he was interested, and that's why he brought me into his office. From there, we talked about uh... a few things. Actually..."

I finally remember the next part of that day. "That's right, that was the first time we met." I gesture to her to know I'm actually talking about her.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"That first day that I met Eryk, I asked about glass, and he brought me to the glassblower. You were working at the front of the shop at the time."

"That's..." She leans on a hand, looking away as her brow furrows in thought. "I... might remember the day you're referring to," she says slowly. "That was the day Eryk came in dragging a dirt- Uh, I mean, that was you that day?"

I can't help but smile again at her slip. "Yes, that was me." I shrug since she already knows. "I'm a peasant," I admit, "I live at the orphanage. I have five roommates and got in trouble for trying to wash the floor so it wasn't so dirty. There... really isn't much opportunity for me to keep myself clean."

Even with half of my attention on controlling my mana, I idly wonder, why I'm telling her all of this? Because she seems so... unconcerned with my class? Because she was so nasty the one time I walked through her shop and now she's acting so nice to me? Is it spite, or... something else? Do I just not want her getting the wrong idea about me? I'm not really sure...

Leaving those thoughts, I continue my story. "After a couple more discussions, Eryk offered me a job as a third party contractor, since he obviously can't hire me directly." Kathy just nods to that, continuing with her drink. "So now I'm helping him out with a project he needed help with at the refinery."

"A project? What kind?" she asks about the vague description.

I shrug. "It's a trade secret, I'm not allowed to talk about it."

Kathy blinks rapidly, totally shocked. "He's having you work with trade secrets? Why?"

"Well... Because I have some specific skills that he needed for the project he was working on." That's the best answer I can give. I remember answering my roommates similarly when they asked.

"That's hard to believe, but I suppose if he hired you, he had his reasons..." Kathy sits silently, thinking for a little while, idly sipping her nearly empty drink. "So, do you have any goals? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

Not dying. "Learning. As part of my contract, I'm getting an education. I just started learning to read and write." I keep talking, but it isn't making it feel like any less of a lie.

"Ahh, that is quite nice. I've been thinking of starting Thelia's instruction soon." Kathy nods to herself a few times, like she's just thinking out loud. She takes one more sip, finishing her drink off. Then she sends another glance at mine, still sitting untouched. I try not to let my guilt or regret show. She doesn't address it. "It appears that we have a little time before Eryk comes to pick you up. Is there anything you would like to do?"

"I'm not really sure, what is there to do?" I ask.

"Mm, we could play cards?" she suggests.

"Ok," I agree immediately. I have no idea what that is.

Kathy looks off to a nearby servant, standing as she waits for orders. "Quen, get us a set of children's cards please." I notice that this one has kind of reddish hair and freckles, which are a bit unique, before she leaves to follow Kathy's instructions. She returns soon after with a pile of wooden things. They look a lot like the ones I saw on the floor in the other room. I wonder if they're the same ones off the floor, or different ones?

When Quen sets them on the table, Kathy gestures toward our glasses. The servant hesitates for a moment when she sees mine is still completely full, before taking the glasses away.

"Have you ever played with cards before?" Kathy asks, and I shake my head. "Alright, then I'll teach you the most simple game there is. It's called War." I have to stop myself from wincing at the name. Does it really have to be called that? "So here are the cards, she slides one across the table toward me. It's a piece of wood, but cut extremely thin, with the number four written in the middle. Just below, there are four small, simplified drawings that look like daggers.

"That is the four of swords," Kathy explains. So swords, not daggers, I guess. I hesitantly pick up the card, like I'm going to break it. But I'm surprised by its weight, it actually feels really sturdy in my hand. It's not very large, so I can hold it easily. She did say they were children's cards.

It's mostly square, just a little taller than it is wide. "A deck contains forty eight cards, divided into four suits." I'm not familiar with a 'suit', but she goes on to explain them, sliding over a card of each as she speaks. "There are swords, grains, coins, and hearts."

I look over each of the cards she puts in front of me. Swords that look like daggers. Grains seem to be drawn mostly as a vertical line with some curving lines coming off as it rises. I'm not familiar with the shape or the word, but I just keep it in mind for now. Coins just look like circular coins, and hearts look like a very simplified drawing of a heart, round out toward the sides, curving down to a point at the bottom and a little indent at the top. Beside the 'suit' which appears to just refer to what type of picture goes with the number, all of the cards have numbers, in no particular pattern. Five, nine, eight, and two are written on these cards.

"Ok," I say with a small nod once I've examined them for a bit.

"Cards are numbered from one, up to twelve. Ten, eleven, and twelve are considered different than the lower cards." She slides three more in front of me. "These are the count, king, and ace." Unlike the rest of the cards, they have pictures painted on them. The count she points out looks like a man holding some sort of unfamiliar tool in his hand, with bright blue clothes painted on him. For the king, it's an older man with a beard and a sword. Both cards have what I'm assuming is the name written at the top of the card, with their number just below. I can at least recognize the 'C' and 'i' in the two words written on the cards.

Lastly is the ace, which I can actually read. Ace, the first word I ever learned to read. I smile a little at the coincidence. It has a twelve written just below, but the picture is just a very large circle. Or rather, an oval since it's taller than it is wide. It actually kind of looks like a zero. Looking back across the three, they do still have small images of which suit they are in the corners around their picture.

"These three are different because the count and king are called 'face' cards, since they depict people. Some also refer to them as 'court' cards since the count and king are part of the royal court."

I... don't understand what most of that was supposed to mean. It would help a lot if I knew what 'count' actually meant. I remember people have mentioned that the king is the ruler of our country, so would that make count... some sort of noble? I'm really hesitant to derail Kathy's explanation with more of my questions that always seem to be common knowledge to everyone else, so I'll just work on that assumption for now.

"The ace is different because it can count for either zero or twelve, depending on how it's used and what game you play." I glance back down at the card. I guess that was a zero after all... I wonder why it can be either?

Thinking back, Claire taught me that 'ace' means the topmost, or best of something. That explains why it's the highest number, but why can it also be a zero? Maybe sometimes the lowest number is the best for something?

"Ok, I think I understand now," I say, letting those thoughts sit aside. I can't let myself get too distracted with them, not while holding a conversation and keeping my raging mana under control at the same time.

"Good, then let's get to the game. Kathy gathers up the cards once more. She takes some time to switch all of the cards around in the stack, pulling some out and slipping them back in, all in different positions. As she works, she explains that she is shuffling. It makes it so that all of the cards are in an unknown, random order. Once she finishes, she begins passing out the cards, one to me, one to her, back and forth, as she explains.

"War is played with each player taking half of the deck." She holds up the stack briefly so I know that's what she means by 'deck.' "You keep your deck face down, so all the numbers are down toward the table, and we can't see any of them." I slowly nod along with her instructions as she continues. The way I have to gather my cards, form one pile for my deck, and move onto how the game is played.

We each take our top card and place it out. Then we compare the numbers on the cards, and whoever has the higher number takes both cards. For the very first round, she has a four and I have a two, so she takes both. It's... actually pretty simple. It doesn't take any thinking or anything, it's basically just luck of what card you happen to have next. We keep going, each collecting some of the cards and stacking them in a second pile, which we will make our new deck as soon as we completely exhaust our first, apparently.

There are a handful of complications thrown in. After a few rounds back and forth, we both end up throwing out fives. I stop as she explains. "When both players have the same value card, you flip your next three cards as well." She shows me, flipping three more cards off of her deck. "The third card determines the winner of the round. So I flip my next three cards, coming up with another five. I look at hers, a count. "So I win this round, and take all of the flipped cards," she explains. Oh wow, that's pretty impressive. Instead of getting one new card at the end of the round, she gets four.

It doesn't take long to realize that the better the card is that you wind up taking when you win a round, the more of those higher value cards you'll have later. Well, once we've gone through our first decks anyway. We continue on with the simple game, until I get an ace. She only puts out a one, which is unfortunate, I could have gotten a much better card from my ace.

"In war, an ace is worth zero, so the one wins this round," Kathy explains, reaching for the cards.

"Wait, what?" I ask, totally confused by that. I thought aces were supposed to be the best card.

She doesn't seem to understand my confusion though, and says, "Ace is either zero or twelve, whichever is worse. In war, that's zero."

I shake my head a little. "I'm sorry, I thought 'ace' meant something was the best, so why is an ace in cards the worst?" I ask.

"That..." she stops briefly and purses her lips. "That is a very good point." Her brow furrows as she looks down at the card on the table. I guess she never considered that before. She picks the card up, continuing to stare while she says, "I believe playing cards originally came from Shonamakase, perhaps they think of it differently?"

"Hmm..." I wonder why they would think something like that. With the brief discussion over, we continue playing. It seems that she has covered all of the rules now, because the game proceeds in near silence, nothing but the light scrape of the wooden cards over the polished surface of the table between us.