Caspian was feeling twitchy. It might have had something to do with how everyone was staring at his companion, or it might have been his companion. Either way, Caspian felt like slamming his face against his desk.

"U-um, excuse me, Ms. Erica..." the teacher tried to say, but Erica interrupted him.

"Uh uh uh." Erica wagged her finger back and forth as if she was chiding a young brat. "It's not Ms. Erica. To you, peon, it is Lady Erica or Mistress." Her benevolent smile dripped with condescension. "Do remember to address me properly in the future."

Caspian snorted into his hand, trying to stifle his laughter. Elincia gave him a pout, as if to show how displeased she was by his immaturity, but he really couldn't help it. While he agreed with her that revenge wouldn't solve anything, and he wanted to be a person who she could proudly proclaim was her virtuous Knight, he still didn't like these people. Seeing them brought down a peg was amusing.

I'm sorry, Ele. I truly don't want to like this, but it's just too funny.

Elincia huffed at him as if she could somehow read his mind. Sitting on his other side, Christo cackled like a madman

"Oh, spirits. This lady is a freaking riot." He grinned at Caspian. "I can't believe you never told me about her."

Caspian tried not to smile. He really did, but it was so hard. His lips were twitching of their own volition. "I'm not one to kiss and tell."

"Heh, don't I know it."

"O-oh, yes, of course, Mistress Erica," the old man said, and Caspian began twitching some more when the man blushed underneath Erica's stare. He looked like a young man who'd just had his dream of being harshly scolded by his teacher fulfilled.

Masochists. Every guy over the age of twenty-five is a complete masochist!

Caspian swore to himself right then and there that he would never become a masochist like these people when he grew up. Even if armageddon came and the only way to save the world was for him to become a submissive jerkwad who got off on being degraded, he would refuse and let the world burn. He wouldn't become like these cretinous little drawgers.

Class continued. The instructor was teaching them about the Dwarven Wars. Caspian imagined he was trying to impress Erica with his knowledge, but he could tell it wasn't working. The sorceress nicknamed the Succubus did not look the least bit pleased.

"The first Dwarven War started immediately after the Goblin Wars, in which humanity helped the dwarves destroy the goblins by killing their king. Cecelia el le Blanc, a representative of the Sorceress Council and a powerful sorceress in her own right, had acted as an emissary to the dwarven people. It was our hope that our two races could form a beneficial alliance. But it all ended when Cecelia--"

"Lady Cecelia," Erica interrupted.

"P-pardon?"

"It is not Cecelia, or Cecelia el le Blanc." Unlike last time, where Erica appeared teasing and mischievous as she reprimanded him, this time she looked angry. Her face was marred by a scowl, and her eyes glowered like a vicious animal. "You will address Lady Cecelia with the proper title."

"Y-yes... o-of course," the man stumbled over his words. "M-my apologies, Mistress Erica."

Erica glared some more before, ever so slowly, nodding and leaning back in her seat. Sitting right next to her, Tiffania tugged on Erica's sleeve. "Big Sis Erie, are you okay? You seem angry?"

The tender smile that Erica gave Tiffania seemed out of place after such a violent reaction.

"I'm fine, Tiffa." Erica gently petted Tiffania's head, causing the girl to giggle. "Please continue with your lecture, instructor."

"Um, yes, of course."

The instructor coughed into his hand and continued his lesson. However, Caspian was no longer paying attention to it. Most of his focus was on Erica. She seemed to have calmed down, but he could see the minute twitches in her facial features every time the instructor spoke. Through her expressions, Caspian felt like he could almost get a sense of what she was thinking.

Elincia leaned into his side and whispered in his ear. "You saw it, too, right? I'm not just imagining things?"

"No, you're not," Caspian said, already knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I saw it."

"Do you think Lady Cecelia and Lady Erica might have been friends?" Elincia wondered, still whispering.

Caspian found it hard to believe that Erica could ever have a friend, now or back then, but he also admitted, back when he was acting as Derek's replacement, that Erica was a woman with many faces. Perhaps, just like once upon a time, a young woman had dreamed of starting a family, that same woman also had a friend whom she cherished very much.

Class eventually ended. As the students gathered their belongings, the instructor called out to them. "Before you all leave, I have a message from the headmaster to everyone who entered into the Sorceress's Knight Tournament. As there has been a massive surplus in students who've entered, Saturday morning, at exactly o' six hundred, a series of preliminary battles will be held to determine who will be allowed to enter the tournament proper."

"Well," Erica said, standing up from her seat. Holding her hand, Tiffania also stood up. "This has been a rather enlightening experience. Now, I believe I am going to pay the headmaster a visit. I would so love to speak with him about the quality of your education. Derek, come!"

"Yes, My Lady Erica!"

Caspian, Elincia, Christo, and pretty much the entire student body, watched as Erica left. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Caspian noticed that most of his peers were staring at her swaying backside. He shook his head.

Hormones...

"So, what do you guys think this preliminary round is going to be like?" asked Christo as they wandered down the hall.

"Don't know," Caspian said. Elincia slid her hand into his, and he gently clasped it as they walked down the hall. "I suppose we'll find out this Saturday."

"You mean you don't even have a clue?"

"Of course not. Why would I?"

"I don't know. I figured since you and the headmaster are so tight, you might know something."

"You're an idiot," Caspian said.

Christo pouted. "That was mean."

Caspian rolled his eyes while Elincia giggled. Still, he wondered the same thing as Christo. Would the preliminaries be just that, a series of matches where the winner went on and the loser was disqualified? That seemed like it would take way too long.

Maybe he plans on doing something else?

Caspian knew better than to try and figure out what that old man was thinking. He would have been better off trying to figure out Erica's thought process, and that was an impossible task if he'd ever heard of one.

After parting ways with Christo, Elincia and Caspian wandered to the library.

The library was a fairly large place—certainly not large enough to compare with the library in Dorehan Tower, Erica's not-so-humble abode, but it was large enough that Caspian still hadn't read all of the books there.

He and Elincia strolled through the aisles before discovering a book that looked interesting. It was a book detailing the history of the Draconians, a race of human/dragon hybrids that vanished a thousand years before Sylvia was born. Book in hand, they moved to the back of the library, where a series of chairs, couches, and tables were situated.

"Hey, Caspian?" Elincia asked as she sat next to him, holding half the book as they read together.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember when we were kids?" She smiled, softly, tenderly. It was a smile of fond remembrance. "You'd never be caught dead in the library back then."

Caspian smiled, too, though he felt only sadness at remembering this part of his past. "Times change, I guess. Since no one at school likes me, I would often be bullied. Few people ever come to the library. I suppose you could say the library became my sanctuary, and since I was here, well, I figured it would be a waste not to start reading."

"I'm sorry," Elincia whispered. "You would have never had to suffer if I hadn't made that promise to you."

"Idiot," Caspian said, gently rapping Elincia on the head. "Don't you dare go regretting something like that. Even if you hadn't made me that promise, I would have still come here. There's no way I would ever let anyone else become your knight."

Wiping at the mysterious moisture gathering in her eyes, Elincia graced him with the widest of smiles. "Thank you, Caspian."

"You're welcome," he said, and then he frowned. "And you're not one to talk, Ms. I'd Rather Climb a Tree Than Sit Around and Learn About Magic."

"Ah-ha ha!" Elincia's embarrassed laugh was quite lyrical, like the gentle tinkling of wind chimes stirring on an ocean breeze. "I suppose I have no room to incriminate you. Although once you left for the academy, studying magic and learning history became my sanctuary," she admitted, her eyes glimmering with an unusual sadness. Caspian felt his chest tighten.

"Were you lonely?" he asked.

"It was hard not to be." She frowned. "I never really saw Lady Sylvia that much, and while her maids were nice, they always acted so impersonally. You were my only friend. When you left, I was pretty much me on my own. I wasn't even allowed outside of the estate after that because of the... incident with the kidnappers, so I couldn't even go exploring."

I guess my life wasn't the only one that sucked.

Much like Caspian, it seemed as if Elincia had been isolated. Except where Caspian had been bullied and treated like garbage by his peers, Elincia had been locked up in a gilded cage. He didn't know which one was worse, but suspected that, should he ever be forced to make a choice, he would choose the bullying. At least then he could fight back. It was impossible to fight imprisonment.

As they continued to read, Elincia scooted a little closer. Caspian didn't say anything, but he did place a hand over hers. Together, they continued to read.

The sound of old paper crinkling as it was flipped sounded out inside of the library.