“Speaking of Miss Winter… Christopher, may I ask you something that might be a bit cheeky, considering that we just met?”

“Er, sure?”

There was a small pause, and the only sound was of Daniel’s bolts flying across the hall. So far he hadn’t made a direct hit yet.

Osburt said, “Why are you doing this?”

Chris watched as Daniel loaded the crossbow again.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the battle for the Crown. Why?”

The bolt flew right into the center this time and Daniel whistled with satisfaction.

“Because I have to,” answered Chris. “I took the Jakkovost and I am bound to the obligation. Besides, it might… it might improve things.”

“Is that really it?”

“What d’you mean?”

Osburt lowered his voice. “Is it not because of Miss Winter?”

Chris’ face turned crimson and he pinned his eyes at Daniel, lest he looked at Winter again.

“I don’t… know what you mean.”

“Every time she speaks, your eyes light up. It’s not difficult to notice.”

Chris decided not to answer this time. Osburt was quiet for a few moments before speaking up again:

“Let me put it this way: one of Ian’s biggest stunts was getting into a drink off with this girl. You see, the initial idea was for a magic duel, but everyone told him he was sure to lose if he did that, so they all decided on drinking.”

That jogged something in Chris’s memory. “Wait, I heard about that. It was in the paper a few years ago, right?”

Osburt laughed. “Yes, someone from the tavern sang to the Hunters and he got arrested. Dad hit the roof and Ian wasn’t allowed off campus without a Hunt escort for the next semester.”

Chris hadn’t found the arrest surprising when he’d read the article for the first time, and he didn’t find it surprising now: Witches under the age of thirty weren’t allowed to drink hard alcohol - and most of them couldn’t handle it to begin with. On the other hand,Steven Belwhite surprised him. Chris was forming his suspicions about the man’s disciplinary methods, but… that much?

“Anyway, did you know that the whole thing happened because the girl had her eye on his… uh… how you say this in English? Romantic friend?”

The way Osburt went on like it was no big deal made Chris uneasy. He was beginning to see why Ian avoided talking about his family altogether.

Instead of voicing his thoughts, Chris said, “I can believe that.”

“Indeed, he can be a real pain about those things. Not that I’m one to talk,” Osburt continued, “when I was younger, I climbed up on some roof to retrieve a scarf that belonged to my current wife, fell off and broke my arm. What I’m saying is, people do stupid things to impress the person they have their eye on, and although I have never heard of anyone fighting a queen for that, I’m sure that someone, somewhere has done it anyway. I will ask you again: is this not because of Miss Winter?”

Chris shifted uncomfortably. “Well, okay, it’s true that she’s the reason I’m doing this, but it’s not because I want to, uh… impress her. I don’t really care if she feels about me… that way. I’m not trying to achieve that. I don’t know if I can, anyway.”

“You would be indifferent to the possibility?”

“Not indifferent, just…” Chris rested his chin on his hands clutching the sword, “I can’t make assumptions about her feelings for me like that. For now or the future. I mean, people assume too many things about her to begin with. Contrary to what Ian may be saying, I just want to fix the mess I caused in September.”

“Is Ian’s opinion worrying you? Don’t you mind him. He’s just… what’s the word… an obnoxious brat. Besides, I know that Ian does tend to over dramatize. He takes everything way too seriously.”

Chris decided not to answer. His uneasiness from before returned, and he couldn’t help but feel bad for Ian; there was something repugnant in the way Osburt talked about him. He’d heard siblings often bickered, but this seemed a bit too heartless.

“It’s a good thing you’re doing this for the right reasons,” said Osburt. “You should always be honest to yourself. Shall we go again?” He stood up.

Chris took a breath and nodded.

“Just one more and then I’m wiped.” And he’d have to take his binder off, he added to himself.

“It’s really too bad that you have to leave tomorrow,” said Osburt, heading for the center of the room again. “If I had more than a day to train you…”

Never looking up from the pistol parts, Winter informed them loudly that Chris was to be trained on the road, too, during breaks, so it wasn’t like he’d go unprepared. Not expecting her to have heard their conversation, Chris felt his stomach clench.

His stay at the mansion was turning out to be quite fun, he concluded bitterly.