We reach the dorms in a very short time. Briareth happily peers inside what is to be our living space for however long the Dwarves stay. Master Siraye gives us the key and then leaves, telling us that as soon as we are done here, we can go to lunch in the north L on the grounds.

Briareth immediately starts poking around. “Which one of these bunks do you think will be ours Faladel?”

“The two that haven’t been slept in.” I respond, peering in the room behind Briareth. Only one bed is messy, and they said that the two other roommates were in the hospital and would probably stay there for weeks, so unless one bed has been left messy for potentially weeks, the two neat ones should be ours. The beds are all made of wood, no intricate designs, I guess they aren’t needed for students. The bedspreads are a soft old blue, Briareth gets onto one and tests it.

“Just as sproingy as I remember!” He reports.

“Briareth.” I sigh. “Don’t touch anything else, okay? This stuff isn’t ours and the person who owns it might not want us touching things. They probably don’t even know that they are getting new roommates.”

“Oh word travels fast in this place Faladel. By now most of the school probably knows that we have arrived, and a small section knows we're here to stay.”

“What!? How?”

“Oh homebrew scrying spells, spying spells, and earwig eavesdroppers.”

“Homebrew? Earwigs? Aren’t earwigs a type of bug? How do you force them to eavesdrop?” I ask skeptically.

“Homebrew stuff gets past the bans, the teachers mainly let it slide, but they will clamp down if they hear a whisper that it invades other students’, or gods forbid the teachers’, privacy. Also yes, Earwig eavesdroppers, I do believe they call that method ‘bugging’.” I snort at that. “No, I’m serious Faladel. Fake bugs with a spell that transmits sound. It actually works really well. It’s probably one of the many ways the HeadMaster knew what we were doing in the ‘swamp’.”

“I actually didn’t think to question that.” I reply, turning to look at the rest of the room. There are three desks, each on the end of one of the beds. Two have action figures near the back, the front holding paper, a quill, and an ink bottle. The third is by the bed with the messed up blankets, it is piled high with books, and has a couple of doodles scattered throughout. The room also holds three wardrobes, each one next to a bed, presumably filled with clothes. There is also a mirror by the door, I guess for combing hair? It might be used for those homebrew scrying spells though.

“Briareth?” I ask.

“Hmm?” he replies.

“Are we done here yet? I’m getting kind of hungry. What is the food like?”

“Oh, we can be done whenever you want. The food’s great, I don’t really know how to explain it though, it’s very, um, varied.”

“Is it a good type of ‘I can’t explain’ or a bad type?” Either way, I probably shouldn’t trust his opinion that much, considering what he did to the fajitas.

“Good. Definitely good.” Briareth grins at me. “Let’s go!”

He leads me out of the dormitories, and out onto the lawn. Students glance at us curiously. We stand out, but that isn’t really our fault. We did spend last night in a swamp.

Whispers follow us, I can’t make them out, but I can guess that they are about us. Maybe Briareth was right about the rumor mill. Maybe some students already know who we are and that we are staying. Most of them are headed into the North L like we are, I suppose that means we’re not as late to lunch as I thought.

When we arrive in the– Lunchroom? Great Hall? Cafeteria? I don’t know what they call this gathering space, but it is huge. Tables fill the space from wall to wall, with a raised platform at one end, and one extra long table there. Well, when we arrive students are milling about. The tables are pretty much packed. Some students at the tables are eating, others appear to be praying over their lunch, lots are giggling and talking to one another, and others are pouring over textbooks. During lunch. Is there a big test coming up?

Some of the students notice us entering, and fall silent, whispering to one another. I stand up a bit straighter. I’ve never liked being under scrutiny, though it happened a lot at home, so I’ve learned how to cope. Present your best self, appear like you belong, and act like it too. That way others will listen to you and respect you. That's how it went at the palace at least. I’m not sure if my tactics work here, and before I can watch enough of the watchers to determine their effectiveness, a voice cuts through the far away shouts and much closer whispers.

“Briareth Herbalar! Is that really you?! What are you doing here?!” An Elf at one of the not quite nearby tables stands up and waves to catch our attention. Briareth looks at him, a slightly relieved expression on his face and calls back.

“Folas Danala, right back at you! Shouldn’t you have graduated simply ages ago?”

“Woulda, shoulda, coulda.” Folas responds, “But really man, why are you back? Something gone wrong and they made you go back into training?”

“No no, nothing like that. We got cornered into coming here by a Dwarf patrol.”

Folas would obviously like to ask more questions, but Briareth beats him to it. “Got any spare seats near you?”

“Yeah, you and your friend can sit here after you grab some food from the buffet tables.” Briareth grins.

“Excellent, be right back!” He grabs my arm and pulls me through a crowd of students to a set of tables each one piled high with food. “Faladel this is the buffet!” Briareth calls over the ambient chatter. “A table for breakfast, one for lunch, one for dinner, and my personal favorite, the table of deserts! You can take from any table, though the breakfast, supper, and dessert tables will be less well stocked because it is currently lunch.” I watch as a student grabs the last donut from the breakfast table, the plate of crumbs disappears, but another plate full of donuts appears in its place. “Amazing isn’t it?” Briareth comments seeing me staring at the newly appeared plate. “I have no clue how the cooks do it, or where the kitchens are even located, but the stuff that comes out of them are wonderful. Want to grab some?”

I shake off my astonishment, I’ve seen magic used before of course, but used this casually to replace empty plates with full ones? That is new to me. Normally magic at the castle isn’t used for simple things, only for stuff that can’t be done without it. Briareth leads me to the lunch table and I grab a plate and pile it high with salad, add a couple croutons, and some ranch dressing. Briareth shows me where to find the forks, the cups, the water, and where to put my dirty dishes when I’m done. Then he grabs all his food, a much wider variety from all of the tables, and we go back to Folas.

The spots that we were going to take are still open, and Briareth sits himself down in one of them. I sit next to Briareth, two seats away from Folas.

“So Folas,” Briareth begins, “Why are you still in school?” He takes a big bite of a donut, and I start on my salad. The croutons are very good. Very flavorful and crunchy.

“Well, my parents died-”

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” Briareth is quite startled by the abrupt proclamation.

“Condolences on your loss.” I add, feeling that that is the best thing to say. I barely know Folas, so I’d feel really uncomfortable going any less formal.

Folas smiles sadly. “I’m okay now, but they both died rather suddenly, a Dwarven raid. It took quite a while to get my affairs in order, and so here I am. I had to leave at the beginning of my second year here, and HeadMaster Haulding was nice enough to let me back in after everything got all sorted out.”

“Is Vakallyn here too?” Briareth asks curiously, and then at my questioning glance, elaborates, “she’s Folas’s twin sister.”

“Yes, she really helped figure out all of our parent’s finances, HeadMaster Haulding let her back in as well. She’s making up a test right now, she was sick last week and missed it.”

“Will we see her in classes?” Briareth presses.

“You get to take classes?” Folas grins, delighted. “Excellent! Maybe you can sit in on a couple of mine! Most of my tablemates are idiots, when I have any.”

“That’s what I was hoping for. Will we see her there? I want to say hi.”

“Still got that crush on her, aye?” Briareth vehemently protests, but Folas just laughs in response. “Don’t worry, I never told her. If you stick with me you’ll see her, we share a few classes. Anyways, Briareth, back to more immediate things, you never introduced me to your silent friend here.”

“Oops, I kinda forgot that didn’t I?” Folas, meet Faladel. I met him while I was on my latest mission.”

“Where did you go?” Folas asks. I answer for Briareth, as he had just taken another giant bite of his donut, and wouldn’t be able to answer till he finished.

“Into Dwarven territory.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a Dwarf?!” Folas looks at me askance, I laugh at his ridiculousness, I don’t look anything like a Dwarf, and he knows that.

“No, I was just a prisoner of war.” I say, grinning.

“I thought Dwarves don’t take prisoners?” He asks, confused.

“They don’t.” Briareth breaks in, “Unless you're the son of a king, like Faladel Mithrandir here.”

“You just had to go and make a big deal of it Briareth.” I comment to him as Folas gapes.

“But-But aren’t you supposed to be dead?” He eventually stutters out.

“Messed up paperwork I guess.” I respond. “Someone thought they should make an exception for me, and the paperwork got lost in transition, so I was stuck in a prison for over twenty years.”

“Then I found him” Briareth cuts in again, “and realized who he was, so I rescued him. I think I should get a medal for going A and B the C of D.”

“A and B the what now?” I ask, confused.

“Above and Beyond the Call of Duty.” Folas explains grinning, “It’s an old term Master Cellica used when we had her. What was your assignment, Briareth? Why were you in Dwarven Territory in the first place if not to rescue someone?

“Well, I was supposed to blow up one of their main supply mines. I did that of course. I can tell you more later, perhaps at the dinner hour?”

“Dinner hour?” I say.

“Oh, it's all schedules Faladel.” Briareth explains gesturing grandly with his fork. “You have morning study time till 9, when the Breakfast Hour starts. That is the hour where you eat breakfast before classes. Then you have classes starting at 10 am sharp, and going till 1 pm. You get seven minutes to travel between classrooms because the campus is so big. Then you get the Lunch Hour from 1 till 2, afternoon classes from 2 till 6, Dinner from 6 to 7, and free time after that till eleven thirty, at which point everyone needs to be in their dorm rooms with lights out. You can be up and about as early as 5 am, but I wouldn’t suggest that, unless you want to do some birdwatching or something.”

“How long is a class?” I ask.

“Depends on the day,” Briareth replies, “Some days we double up, so you have twice the class time, but only half the classes. Most days though, classes are around 50 minutes long. Some classes can only be taught on certain days though, and when you have one of those it really messes up your schedule. Speaking of which, what does your schedule look like Folas?”

“I took Gym, Math I, Grammar, Natural magic, and Magical history, along with Techie magic my first year, so I’ve got Techie magic II, Math II, Honors Illusions, Advanced Honors Runes, Magical Diction, Magic in the Modern World, Magical Art, and Tactics. Not in that order.”

“So which classes do you have after this?” I press, curious.

“Techie magic II, Magical Art, Illusions, and Tactics, which they changed the schedule so that we have it everyday.” Folas answers immediately.

“Is Tactics as much of a bore as we always heard?” Briareth wonders, grinning.

“More,” Folas groans. “Master Siraye just reads out of the textbook.”

“Oh so that’s what he teaches, we met him on our way in. I wondered who he took over for.” Briareth says contemplatively, “What happened to Master Jassin?”

“Apparently he went to work on the front lines advising generals. I sometimes wonder if they are as bored with him as we were?” Briareth laughs in response. I grin, then spot a flaw.

“Wait, how were you bored with him if you didn’t have any classes with him?”

“We automatically became bored whenever he was nearby, it was like he had an aura of boringness surrounding him.” Answers Briareth. I look from one to the other, their identical grins begging me to challenge their story.

“You two are so alike.” I say, shaking my head.

“Do you need glasses Faladel?” Folas asks. “We don’t look similar at all.”

“Not your appearance, your personality, your souls, whatever makes you you. You must have noticed at least something of the sort. You smile the same, glance at each other in tune, find the same things funny, even your tastes in food are the same!” I point at their plates, which still have some foods left uneaten, it's the same foods on both their plates. Case in point.

“I mean I guess. I always thought we had a lot in common.” Folas says. “It makes sense that our personalities are similar too.”

“That might be why we get along so well.” Briareth says. “Thank goodness, I thought you were going insane for a moment there Faladel, or blind, or something even weirder.”

“What’s weirder than being insane?” Folas asks.

“Not being insane?” Briareth suggests, they both cackle. Then Folas stands up suddenly.

“I’m going to go ask my Masters if you guys can sit in on their classes. Do you know if you both will have to do assignments?”

“I guess we would, the short term ones at least, the long term ones, probably not. Why?” Briareth responds.

“I’ve heard Master Gennixia might be assigning some long term assignments through the rumor mill. It came from a trusted source, and it’s supposed to be a huge paper.” Folas makes a face. “You two are lucky to skip it.”

Briareth and I chatter as Folas goes to ask permission, well, more like Briareth chatters as I ask questions to figure out what I’m going to be doing in classes. I’m really interested in the illusions class Folas had mentioned. Being able to turn a forest into an apparent swamp appeals to me for some reason. I tell him about my lack of magical ability, and he shrugs it off.

“They probably won’t have you be doing any magic, we’re only visiting after all.”

Eventually Folas returns successfully, having hunted down and secured permission from every single one of his teachers. No easy feat.

“I had to throw around the name Mithrandir to get some of them to agree, hope you don’t mind Prince.”

“Not at all,” I lie, smiling. I know sometimes it is necessary to use my last name, but really? This wasn’t one of those times. I’m sure, if he had taken time to think about it, he could have made them agree some other way. Briareth must have sensed my lie, because he sends me a questioning look. A bell rings though, and he’s distracted as suddenly what must be hundreds of students rise from their tables and go to put their plates up.

“What was that?” I call out to Briareth over the hubbub of chatter and moving feet.

“Five minute bell! Come on, we need to put our plates up and get to class.” Briareth calls back.

We push through the crowds of students, Folas in front, Briareth following him and me trying to keep track of Briareth in the crowds. I’m not used to being in close proximity to so many people and feel smushed. I manage to keep track of Briareth though, and everything clears up as we get outside and all the students break up into their separate friend groups. Folas, Briareth and I get back together, and Folas leads us to his next class. Technology and Inventory Magics with Master Gennixia. When we arrive, the door is open, and inside there is a nicely naturally lit room with nine square tables, and a large desk in the front near a chalkboard.

Folas leads us to one of the tables in the middle. Each table has four seats, two on either side. Folas sits next to me and Briareth across from him. Folas catches Briareth up on news at the school as the classroom begins to fill with students. I feel many stares on us and try to ignore them. I guess new students don’t often arrive in the middle of the school year. Eventually the teacher comes in, a strict looking blond female elf with a monocle. Her hair is pulled into a tight ponytail, she wears long black robes, and is clutching a tiny potted plant. I watch as she puts it down on the desk, and claps her hands twice. All the students fall silent, as somewhere another bell rings.

Class begins and Master Gennixia wastes no time in beginning the day's tasks. She picks up her potted plant, which is now vibrating softly.

“Does anyone know what this is?” she calls. Then in front of our eyes all the plant’s buds bend to one side. “Stop that!” She says to the plant, and swats gently at the buds, fruitlessly trying to make them go back upright. But they only bend down again, and suddenly we can hear a voice coming from them.

“Testing, testing, one two three, Gennixia can you hear me? Well even if you can, you can’t respond can you? I’m bringing my class over now!” The transmission finishes, and one student raises his hand.

“Yes, Tarron? What is it?”

“It's a Receiver Begonia isn’t it Master Gennixia?”

“Yes, but I’m afraid that is now quite obvious to everyone. I told Cellica to give me around ten minutes to brief you all before calling in. As you all can probably guess, we will be covering natural and magical hybrids today, and Master Cellica’s class of first years will be joining us in our experimentation. We’ll be working with them for a week, and then digress into group studies, each focusing on a certain hybrid.” One girl’s hand shoots up.

“Yes Lyra?”

“Can we choose our partners?”

“You will be working with your table groups.”

“Damn.” Lyra mutters, then notices the boy to her left looking slightly offended. “Sorry.”

Raising her eyebrows, Master Gennixia turns to look at the rest of us. “Anyone else? Ah, what is it, Folas?”

“Do we have to limit ourselves to hybrids currently in production? My friend’s older brother is working on an interesting hybrid for his senior thesis, and I could get really easy information on it.”

“No you don’t have to limit yourselves. You can go out of the conventional hybrids, but you can’t just take your friend’s brother's hybrid and write a paper on it. That's plagiarism on your friend’s brother's senior thesis.”

“Not if I publish first.” Folas mutters, Briareth stifles a laugh, and Master Gennixia shoots our table a glare. I don’t think she likes us, which might have to do with the plot for intellectual robbery that she just foiled.

Master Gennixia goes on with the asking questions about the basics of hybrids, and where they are used. It is a really interesting topic, apparently I missed a lot of innovations in the twenty years that I’ve been imprisoned. I’m distracted however, when I see faces at the doorway. They look rather nervous, and I hear a timid knocking sound. Master Gennixia seemingly doesn’t hear the knocking and continues talking. I can’t get back into the lecture though, and so watch as the students disappear from the doorway and suddenly a new face pops up. It has white hair bundled up in a wispy bun, and a happy-go-lucky grin, and these huge bug eyes. I flinch in surprise. Folas looks at me curiously, then turns to see what I’m looking at, but the face is gone. Then comes the same voice that we heard over the Begonia, although a lot less tinny.

“Gennixia!” Master Gennixia stops talking and sighs softly. The voice continues, “We’re here! Apparently my students knocked, but weren't sure they should interrupt your class.” Master Gennixia moves to open the door and a very short, elderly looking, elfin woman, comes inside. Her eyes aren’t enlarged, like I first thought, they are actually just made to look that way by a strange pair of goggles.

“Great to see you Cellica.” Says Master Gennixia, trying hard not to look like she had just sighed. “Bring in your students, they can sit where there is space.”

“Excellent, thank you Gennixia. These would be your second years, yes? Is that Briareth and Folas I see? Aren’t they supposed to have graduated by now?” She waves toward our table. The two troublemakers in question wave back gleefully. The first years piling in behind Master Cellica stare at the classroom and my temporary classmates, who stare right back.

“Yes, these are my second years. Folas and Briareth are in here as well, but Briareth will only be staying here for a limited time.”

“You’ll be glad to see him go!” Chuckles Master Cellica. “When those two are together they get up to no good. I know I was certainly glad to see them gone!” Briareth pulls a pouty face in her direction and she waves him off. “Who is the face I see next to them though? I haven’t seen him before, and I never forget a face. All the first years have to have a class with me, so who is he?”

“I’ll tell you later Cellica. Right now we should start having your class get seated and taking notes.”

“That’s probably a good idea.” Cellica concurs, ushering the rest of her class inside.

“Right!” Master Gennixa calls to the combined class, many of whom were whispering to each other. They all fall silent. “You first-years, find a seat. If you run out, sit on the floor. Everyone else, take out your notes, we have a lot to cover today.” As the room fills with the sounds of students sitting themselves down and breaking out their notes, I ask Folas if he has a spare quill and a piece of parchment.

“Why?” He mutters. “It’s not like you're staying for long.”

“Why not? I might be staying for ages.” I counter, he shrugs, and passes over the requested items. I grin and get down to work.

Master Gennixia restarts her lecture for the first years, summarizing what we have already discussed. “As we all know a Magical Hybrid is a natural plant or piece of a plant that is imbued with an enchantment giving it mystical properties. Each combination of plant and enchantment is unique. If you substitute one ingredient for another in an enchantment, even if the substitution would normally work just fine, it will have different results when combined with a plant.” I smile as I scribble down the information, pausing only to blot the notes with some sand.