The train station was as busy as ever. Walkways were jam packed with people coming and going. The scent of hundreds if not thousands of bodies combined to create a pungent odor that was impossible to ignore.

Caspian stood within this throng of pedestrian traffic. With him was Erica and Cassidy. They stood on either side of him, one completely at ease with all the stares she was receiving, while the other tried not to get knocked to the ground by the people pushing past them.

Derek would have also been there, but even though he'd finally recovered, Erica was making him stay in bed. When Caspian had asked her about it, she just laughed and said something about tiring him out because it was their first time training together again.

"Fu fu fu, don't worry about him, he's just a little tuckered out because we've recently picked up training together again."

Those had been her words, verbatim, after he'd asked her. When Caspian had asked for an elaboration―he'd been curious to know what kind of training they did-she'd gone into a very thorough and detailed explanation about foreplay, which had caused his face to explode with color. She had laughed at him afterward, amused by how embarrassed he'd gotten.

Caspian was sure he would never live down the shame. Erica would undoubtedly make certain he remembered.

"It looks like this is it," Erica said, the same seductive smile she normally wore curling her lips. She cocked her hips at an angle and placed her right hand on the curvature of her hip. The slit of her red dress slid apart, revealing a single stunning leg. "Having you around has been a most amusing experience. I do hope you'll come to my aid again, the next time I request it."

Caspian blinked in response.

"Next time?"

"But of course." Erica's eyes glinted in the light. Caspian didn't shudder like he used to when they first met. He'd grown used to her personality. "I'm sure there will come a time when Derek has fallen ill again, and I'll need some gallant young man to come to my aid. For all his usefulness, Derek has a notoriously low amount of stamina."

"I wonder whose fault that is?" Cassidy muttered lowly.

"Did you say something, maid?"

"N-n―of course not, Mistress!"

"Good. Now where was I? Oh, yes! Derek doesn't have much stamina―"

"You mean he doesn't have much stamina anymore."

"―So it's only a matter of time before he collapses again," she continued as if Cassidy had not interrupted her, though she did toss the maid a glare, causing the young woman to look away and whistle innocently. "I'll need someone to replace him... temporarily, of course."

Erica sauntered up to him, moving so close that her intoxicating scent threatened to overwhelm him. She drew up a hand and placed it on his chest, using her index fingers to draw circles and causing Caspian no small amount of discomfort. He would have moved away, but his body felt oddly petrified. Was this a spell, or just plain fear?

"I do hope you'll say yes when the time comes. Who knows. Perhaps by that point in time, I'll be in need of a new Knight." She leaned her face in so close that Caspian was forced to lean back. "How about it, cutie? Think you'd like the job?"

"Uh... let me sleep on that and get back to you later." Caspian tried for diplomacy. He wouldn't let her know that he had no intention of ever becoming her Knight, but he didn't want to tell an outright lie either. So long as she thought he was considering her offer, she'd never suspect that the only thing Caspian was considering was how best to tell her, "not a chance in hell."

Erica moved back again, allowing Caspian some breathing room. There was a smug, self-satisfied smile on her face. Back when they'd just met, Caspian would have loved nothing more than to wipe that look off. Now that he understood her better, he wished she wouldn't present such a facade to shield herself from the pain she felt.

Then again, am I really any different?

"You do that. And now..." the raven-haired seductress looked back at her maid, who fidgeted nervously behind her with a red-faced expression. "Don't you have something you want to say to Caspie?"

Caspian sighed. Her pet name for him didn't even bother him anymore.

I feel like I've lost something important in all this.

"Ah!" Cassidy gasped. "Y-yes!"

The maid shuffled forward, her hands clasped in front of her, thumbs twiddling with nervous tension. Caspian would have not thought it possible, but the flush staining her cheeks grew in intensity, expanding from her cheeks to the rest of her face and even down her neck, disappearing into her maid outfit. She resembled a tomato.

"Ah, um, Master C-Caspian, I just wanted to... to, uh, that is I... I... Iwantedtogiveyouthisasathankyou!"

And with that, the young maid pulled something from behind her back, shoved it into Caspian's hand, then sped off down the walkway, shoving people out of her path left and right.

Caspian and Erica both watched as the young maid bolted out of sight. They also watched as multiple people were tossed into the air by said maid as if they weighed less than a feather. For such a young and unassuming girl, Cassidy was awfully strong.

"That was... interesting," Erica said, for lack of having anything else to say. All Caspian could do was nod. "In either case, do be careful on your journey back home now, Caspie. I would hate for such a handsome and interesting young man to be taken from me before I had the chance to sample the goods."

"Uh..." What the heck was he supposed to say to that? "I'll be fine. Unlike you, I don't have any assassins after me."

"Oh, my, is that back talk I hear," Erica sounded positively delighted for reasons Caspian didn't want to know. "You're very lucky that you're not my Knight. I would have... punished you for displaying that sort of insolence toward me."

Caspian had no idea what sort of punishment she would have given him, but considering her personality, he felt like he was better off not knowing.

"Hey, Erica?"

"Yes, Caspie?"

"Do you mind if I asked you for a favor?" Caspian asked, and with that single question, Erica's entire countenance shifted.

"I suppose that would depend on the favor," she murmured, her tone dropping into a seductive purr. "Although, considering how helpful you have been during this most arduous of times, I suppose I can grant one small request for free. Consider this my way of thanking you for all you have done."

Caspian's lips twitched. Derek was right. Erica acted uncaring and arrogant, but she really was a nice person on the inside.

He quickly outlined his request to Erica, who gained a strange look on her face as she listened to him. When he finished, she sighed in resignation.

"You really are like him."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Waving her hand through the air as if warding off a bug, Erica got her groove back. "Very well, I shall do as you've requested, though this is going a bit beyond a simple thank you. When the time comes, I'll expect you to grant me a small favor in return."

"I don't see a problem with that," Caspian said. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome. Now, you should be heading off. Your train leaves in less than five minutes."

"Right."

After saying his goodbye, Caspian boarded the train, which began to move soon after.

He took one last look out the window, watching as Erica disappeared from his sight and his life.

He would not see her again for some time.

***

"Caspian!"

It was only through his superior willpower that Caspian stopped himself from facepalming, as Christo bounded around a corner, running toward him at full speed. His roommate had tears in his eyes and his arms were spread wide, as if to engulf him in an earth-shattering hug of epic proportions.

"I've missed you so much, Caspian! I―doof!"

Christo's full-on sprint was abruptly halted when Caspian raised his left foot and shoved it into the shorter teen's face. The sound of a boot smacking flesh echoed across the hall. Christo's face appeared to cave in due to the force at which he smacked against the leather heel. When he fell backwards, cracking his head on the hard tile, there was a large shoe print on his face.

"Waaa! It hurts! It hurts! That was really mean, Caspian! All I wanted to do was greet you!"

Caspian watched his fellow Knight-in-training roll around on the floor, his face in his hands, crying his eyes out.

He snorted. "There are better ways to go about greeting people, Christo. You should learn them. Now get off the floor. You're making a fool of yourself."

"Righto!" Shooting to his feet, Christo launched himself into a straight backed salute. The large print left by Caspian's boot had disappeared like it had never been there in the first place.

Caspian tried not to pay attention to the other boy, and he merely continued walking toward his destination.

Christo followed him.

"Where are you going?"

"To the headmaster's office. I have to deliver my report."

"Ah, I see, I see," Christo nodded several times. He also ignored the annoyed glare sent his way. That, or he just didn't see it. Caspian could never tell with him. "Speaking of reports, what exactly happened? You were gone for so long-a lot longer than I expected you to be. You've been absent for nearly two whole months! That's a long time, you know?"

"My job ended up being a bit more... involved than I had originally expected it to be."

"Oh... care to share?"

"No."

"What? Come on! Just tell me a little bit about what happened. Please?"

"Yeah, that's not happening."

"Not even a small glimpse?"

"Not even."

"What about a sneak preview?"

"I don't even know what that is!"

"Okay, okay. Then, how about a live-action rendition. Oh! I know! You could put on a play!"

"No! No plays!"

"Why not? It would be fun!"

"It would most certainly not be fun! Now leave me alone! I have to get to the headmaster's office!"

"I'll come with you!"

"I said no!"

As Caspian ran away from Christo, a strange feeling of nostalgia passed over him. He had, dare he say it, kind of missed this. It disturbed him. He'd grown so used to Christo's antics that he had actually become fond of this buffoon.

Not that I'll ever let him know that, Caspian thought as he ran. The last thing I need is for this idiot to get a big head.

***

The headmaster's office looked the same as it always did. Two months could not change that. Despite this, Caspian could not help but think there was something different about it—if not about the room itself, then about the man standing in front of him. While Headmaster Strettelo looked the same as he always did, the middle-aged military man appeared to be holding something back.

He didn't say anything, though, and Caspian had no intention of finding out what the old man was hiding. All he was in there for was to deliver his report. Then he was going to bed. Everything that had happened, the accumulative events of the past two months, had really taken its toll. He wanted nothing more than to rest and recover.

"I see," Headmaster Statello mumbled under his breath. He absently stroked his small, bushy mustache, an expression of deep contemplation on his face as he stared out the window, which overlooked one of the academy courtyards. "This is troubling news. There have always been the occasional report about elves becoming bandits or mercenaries, but we rarely ever catch wind of them. The last time a group of elves attacked humans was around two decades ago."

That must have been when Derek made his first kill...

"While it hasn't been confirmed yet, Erica and Derek think those two elves were working for someone," Caspian opined.

"And do you agree with that assessment?"

Thinking about the question, Caspian eventually nodded. "Yes. When you think about it, it only makes sense. No one in their right mind would go after a Sorceress for no reason-unless they had a death wish. Those elves didn't strike me as the suicidal type. They were also well-prepared. The first attempt on the train probably would have succeeded had I not been there. I don't think they were counting on someone from the academy being on the same train as Erica Angelo."

"Hmm." The headmaster emitted a gruff grunt. "You're probably correct." Headmaster Strettelo turned around. Now facing the room, he looked at Caspian with his sharp eyes. "Thank you for delivering your report. You did an excellent job. Go and get some rest."

"You got it, old man."

Fifteen minutes after leaving the headmaster's office, Caspian entered his bedroom and threw himself on the bed.

He rolled over to lay on his back, looking up at the ceiling. These past two months had been quite the adventure, and they had given him a taste of what it meant to be a Sorceress's Knight. He didn't know if he would ever get used to killing, but despite that, he was more determined than ever to become the best Sorceress's Knight in the world.

I need to become stronger...

Caspian raised a hand above his head.

I will become stronger...

The small glow from the Spirit Crystals in the ceiling created beams of luminescence between his fingers. Light and shadow played against his face.

I will become the strongest Knight ever...

Leather squeaked as he clenched his hand into a fist.

I will surpass all those who came before me...

He imagined the sword he normally gripped in that hand. Strong. Unbending. Unbreakable.

And I will prove to everyone that your decision to send me here was not a mistake...

He would become unbreakable, like a sword.

Watch me, Sylvia, I will make you proud of me...

He let his hand fall to the bed and closed his eyes. He was tired; the sandman was calling him. However, one last thought penetrated his mind before he succumbed to exhaustion-

Wait for me, Ele...

-the image of a young girl with silvery blond hair, blue eyes and long, pointed ears filled his heart with an unknown warmth.

... I will keep my promise to you.

Caspian fell asleep, dreaming of the day he would become a Knight, and finally keep the promise that he had made to his dearest and most important friend.