Chapter 2 – New School, New Friends, New Challenge.

– I –

According to the most reliable of statistics, at any given time one out of every five humans was an Aventis, and one out of every thousand humans was a Familiar. Thus, for a colony like Pharos that was home to a registered population exceeding five million people, that worked out to a million or so Aventis residents, and a mere five thousand odd Familiars.

Applying those ratios to the student demographic numbering in the vicinity of four hundred thousand individuals, calculates to some eighty thousand Aventis students, and four hundred Familiars attending schools throughout Pharos of which thirty-six institutions catered to the Regulars, but only five prestigious academies were dedicated to the Aventis, one situated in each of the asteroid Islands. Because of this, it is easy to understand why these academies occupied such a large footprint within their respective habitats.

Galatea Academy was the third school established for the Aventis. Located in Island Three’s Habitat One, it occupied an entire district block with a surface area of around a square kilometer. At first glance it appeared quite large, yet surprisingly its faculty buildings were rather low at five stories in height, in comparison to the towering megascrapers of the habitat. In terms of student volume, Galatea had the lowest enrollment numbers of all the academies, a mere nine-and-a-half thousand students, half in middle school and the remainder in high school. To put this in perspective, Island One’s Vardant Academy – the oldest of the five institutions – had more than twenty thousand students and the most Familiars in attendance.

However, it was Galatea’s motto of quality over quantity, and it prided itself on its history of competing and often defeating its larger sister academies whether in academics, sports, or the Summer and Winter Remnant Fiestas held between the five Academies during which Familiars battled for the honor of their school and personal gain.

– * –

In hindsight, it proved fortunate for Caprice to have encountered Caelum Desanto as it led to her meeting three of her new classmates in Haruka Amiella, Siobhan St Clair, and Alastair Kell.

Caprice learnt they were all assigned to the same class as her, namely Class W-1A.

She also learnt that the three girls belonged to the Avenir Pride, though only Alastair was a Pureblood Aventis amongst them, having been born with the Symbiote inside her body when it was passed down to her while she was in her mother’s womb. Because of this, Alastair’s compatibility with her Symbiote was nearly a hundred percent, while Haruka and Siobhan had lower compatibility scores in the mid-eighties. This meant that Alastair would get the most benefit from the Avenir strain of the Symbiote. She was a little stronger than the other girls, and would heal faster. However, it did nothing to improve the girl’s personality.

Caprice feared for Desanto’s wellbeing as Alastair listed the things she would do to him in revenge for her ruined underwear, and none of them sounded good.

Speaking of underwear, Caprice was surprised to learn the girl carried another pair with her, leading her to suspect this was not the first time Desanto had sliced through her panties. At the least, she didn’t want to think of another reason as to why Alastair would carry two pairs of panties with her.

Learning that Caprice was a new transfer student, Haruka decided to be supportive and assumed the role of school guide. Though Caprice had attended orientation week a week ago, she accepted Haruka’s help with only a moment’s hesitation as she was indeed new to the place.

First on the agenda were the shoe lockers.

At her school for Regulars, there had been no need to change shoes, but the Aventis academies had a long-standing tradition of having their students change to indoor shoes while on school grounds. This meant having large halls at ground floor for the countless shoe lockers worn by the students. Caprice found her locker with a combination of Haruka’s help and by following the signs at the foot or head of each aisle. After taking them off, she placed her outdoor shoes into the locker, and pulled out of her bag the pair of indoor shoes she had brought with her, having purchased them during orientation week.

Second on the agenda was locating their classroom, and again, Caprice chose to follow Haruka’s lead.

Viewed from above, the high school building resembled a bold letter H. It had an east and west wing, and the cafeteria – resembling a giant donut – bridged the space between them. Classes situated in the two wings were identified as east or west. For example, Caprice’s classroom of 1A was prefixed with a ‘W’ to indicated the west wing. Alastair explained that the east-west allocation of students had led to the formation of a rivalry between the two wings of the school such that east competed with west during sporting festivals and other events.

Arriving at their classroom of West-1A, the girls went to their allocated smart-desks. Caprice was a little disappointed to learn she would be seated away from the girls and at the back of the room. Shrugging it aside, she followed the instructions on her palm-slate given to her during orientation week, and booted up her desk, logged into it, then waited for the operating system’s wizard to set up her profile. There was time to do this because the school assembly wasn’t scheduled to start until ten a.m. that morning, and the room soon filled up with the other students of Class W-1A.

Sitting quietly and alone, she studied the students that walked in and wondered if she was the only Familiar assigned to the class, until a girl with shoulder length auburn hair and a restraining collar stepped into the room. Standing within the doorway, the newcomer eyed the classroom and her classmates with a flat expression that hinted at disdain before walking between desks and students to the back of the room. She arrived at the unoccupied smart-desk to the immediate left of Caprice, and sat down without acknowledging the weak smile Caprice gave her in uncertain greeting.

Having been abandoned by Haruka and her friends – the trio was busy chatting amongst themselves having been conveniently assigned smart-desks close to each other – Caprice gathered her courage and turned to the Familiar girl seated beside her.

“Ah…hello.” She held out her right hand. “I’m Caprice.”

The girl continued working on her smart-desk.

Caprice continued holding out her hand. “You don’t have to ignore me.”

“I’m not ignoring you. I’m busy,” the girl replied.

Withdrawing her hand, Caprice felt her hairs begin to rise on the back of her neck. “Fine. Have it your way.” She turned away and stared glumly at the front of the classroom. Growing more annoyed by the moment, she started to rise from her seat with the intention of walking up to Haruka who was busy introducing herself to the classmates she obviously hadn’t met before.

“Where are you going?” the girl asked.

“To speak to a friend.”

“A friend?” The girl looked up at Caprice who was on her feet by then. “In this place? A school for Aventis?”

Caprice felt as though her heart was being faintly squeezed. “Wh—what do you mean by that?”

“Take a look around,” the girl replied in a flat tone, “and then think about why you and I are at the back of the classroom.”

Caprice stood still, then did as the girl suggested. She looked over at Haruka and her group, the girls surrounded by other girls – Aventis girls – and then watched her male classmates begin to make tentative bonds of friendship with the guys around them, all of them Aventis.

After a while she sat back down, a feeling of emptiness consuming her chest.

The girl had finished setting up her desk, and was busy testing out the learning aid that came with it, a device shaped like a wireless headset and designed to induce brainwaves that would help a student focus on the lecture and thereby improve their ability to learn.

Seeing her do so and feeling it would distract her from the unpleasant sensation continuing to well up in her chest, Caprice decided to do the same, retrieving the headset from the drawer under the smart desk. She removed it from its plastic sleeve, switched it on, and then slipped it over her head. Listening to the device report it was linking to the smart-desk, she waited for it to finish the synchronization process then ran through the testing phase before shutting the headset down and placing it in the charge cradle mounted on the right side of the desk.

Folding her arms across her chest, she sat back in her chair and waited for the announcement to summon the students to the gymnasium for the school assembly, but inwardly she was fighting down the hollow feeling that continued to grow inexorably.

Then she noticed the girl’s hand stretched out to her.

“I’m Maya.” The girl was staring at her intently. “Maya Khayman afil Sora.”

Caprice swallowed and accepted the greeting, shaking the girl’s hand. “I’m Caprice. Ah, Caprice Steiner afil Lanfear.”

The girl’s eyes flickered in recognition. “Steiner. Are you related to the Steiner Family?”

Caprice stiffened and the girl noticed, her eyes widening for a heartbeat.

Ending the handshake, Maya appeared to sigh softly. “It’s okay. You’re not the only incredibly rich girl here at Galatea.”

“Yeah, someone said the same thing to me this morning.” Remembering the Pervert Desanto, Caprice trembled and prayed to the gods that he wasn’t assigned to her class, though the unoccupied smart-desk to her right had not escaped her notice.

Could it be for another Familiar? she wondered after staring at it for a moment.

If it was true, then Maya had made a very clear observation about how the school treated Aventis and Familiars.

She asked Maya, “Do you know of any others like us in the class?”

The girl arched her eyebrows. “Like us? You make it sound as though we’re a rare species.” She glanced away with a frown and muttered, “Well, statistically we are a rare species….” Shaking her head briefly, she then shrugged a shoulder, “If that desk is empty, then it’s probably reserved for one of us.”

Caprice felt herself cringe with worry, but then was surprised to hear Maya remark, “I’m glad I won’t be alone this year.”

Before she could ask what Maya meant, a young man walked into the room with an angry air that very quickly stifled the various conversations taking place, and Caprice’s Awareness-field felt like it was being pressed upon by the anger radiating from the youth.

Then she recognized him and her stomach sank while her heart stumbled in despair.

“Oh no…,” she whispered.

Sitting beside her, Maya sounded as though she was talking to herself. “So it’s true. I’d heard he’d been pushed back a year…the Pervert Desanto….”

At sight of her, Desanto’s expression immediately brightened and he waved happily at her while marching down the aisle of smart-desks to the back of the room.

“Yoh, Double-A!”

Caprice screamed and threw her school bag at him, striking his head and knocking him down.

At the same time, every one of her classmates froze in mid-heartbeat, but Caprice was only faintly aware of it.

As Desanto slowly picked himself up off the floor, her body trembled furiously as she glared with murderous intent down at him.

“I told you not to call me that!” she growled.

Rising slowly, he asked her cautiously, “Then what should I call you?”

“I have a name, you imbecile!” She felt like throwing her desk at him next. “Caprice! My name is Caprice Steiner afil Lanfear! Get it? Repeat after me!”

Desanto was rubbing his nose with one hand, while returning her school bag with the other. “Sure thing, Caprice Steiner afil Lanfear.”

Grabbing the bag out of his hand, she placed it beside her desk, and then realized that everyone in the classroom was staring at her in shock, including Haruka who’d forgotten to close her mouth, though Caprice wondered if that reaction had more to do with Caprice’s sudden outburst than the revelation that she was a Steiner.

Desanto noticed too and threw his classmates a thin, disdainful look. “What? You peons never seen an heiress before?” He waved a hand at Caprice. “You should bow before corporate royalty.”

“GAH!” Caprice lost her what remained of her calm. “I am not royalty!”

He faced her with an annoyed expression. “Instead of denying it you should be proud of it.”

“Huh?” She gaped at him as he walked to empty smart-desk to her right.

“You’re a rich girl. Enjoy it. Revel in it. You should be proud, and not trying to run away from your family name or their wealth.”

Desanto started up his smart-desk, and worked through the log in and profile setup process.

Attempting to ignore her staring classmates, Caprice sat back down. “So you knew who I was?”

“Nope. I had no idea. But your Guardian called my Guardian and then my Guardian called me and gave me an earful.” He was beginning to sound angry again. “All because she was woken up early when she wanted to sleep in.”

“Your Guardian doesn’t sound too responsible,” Maya remarked flatly with her chin resting on an upturned palm, and her elbow on her smart-desk.

“If you tell her that you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt—wait, who are you?” Desanto stared at the girl for a short while. “Oh, you must be the prodigy.”

“Huh?” Maya blinked sharply. “The prodigy?”

He nodded quickly. “Yeah, the Countess mentioned I’d be in class with a prodigy.” He narrowed his eyes at Caprice. “I’m guessing you’re not the prodigy.”

“Do you want to get hit again,” she warned him. “Why are you here anyway? Couldn’t they find any place to hide you, like a detention cell?” She pointed at the lockers behind them. “Why don’t you go hide in one of those.”

Desanto stared at her innocently. “Why do you hate me so much?”

Caprice heard the words but couldn’t fathom them.

He grinned proudly and tapped his chest with a thumb. “After all, I rescued you from those kidnappers this morning. You should be grateful.”

“Grateful?” Caprice wondered if she’d misheard him.

“You were kidnapped?” Maya asked.

“Huh?” Caprice shot her glance. “N—no. I wasn’t kidnapped. It was all a misunderstanding.”

Desanto looked around Caprice at Maya. “Wow, the Countess didn’t mention how pretty you were. I’ll give you an eight point five out of ten.”

Maya’s eyes narrowed into thin slits, and she remarked dryly, “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“What about me?” Caprice muttered, surprised she was even asking.

Desanto regarded her for a long while. “Seven point five.”

“I really will hit you!”

“Fine. Fine. Seven point eight. That’s my final score.”

She struck him with her bag and broke the shoulder strap in the process.

– II –

About fifteen minutes before the appointed time of ten a.m., the announcement came over the public address system instructing all students to assemble in their respective gymnasiums, middle schoolers in one, the high schoolers in the other.

Caprice walked with Maya the distance from the high school’s west wing to the west gymnasium, trying hard not to drag her feet, while Desanto brought up the rear, his gaze sweeping over anything in a skirt including the teachers who accompanied the students, shepherding them like sheep dogs trying to keep a flock numbering in the thousands together.

Now that they were on their feet and walking, Caprice noticed that she and Maya were of equal height, though the girl sported a bigger cup size, most probably a B-cup. Thinking of breasts reminded her of Desanto behind them, and Caprice threw him a reproachful look that he missed because he was entranced by a girl from another class with a pair of long sleek legs stretching out from under a skirt that looked suspiciously short.

Caprice couldn’t hold back the sigh that slipped past her lips. “Can’t I get away from him?” she whined softly and hung her head.

Maya glanced over her shoulder. “He’s not so bad.”

“That’s because he gave you higher score.” Caprice clenched a fist. Seven point eight my ass!

The girl pursed her lips for a moment. “He doesn’t give out high scores lightly. That’s what I’ve heard. And his opinion gains you votes on the Girls of Galatea.”

“The what?” Caprice stared at her dumbfounded.

“Oh, that’s right. You’re new.” Maya glanced up at the overhead sky-field with distant eyes. “It’s a ranking website. Very sexist and chauvinistic. The girls all complain about it, but behind the scenes they’re all working to improve their rankings.” Maya sighed. “What a bunch of hypocrites.”

Caprice cleared her throat. “A ranking website. And the girls are on it?”

Maya nodded faintly. “It’s only for the high-school girls. The middle schoolers are completely excluded. I guess the guys running it must have some morals to avoid including young girls.”

“How do you know they’re guys?”

Maya frowned in thought while biting on a thumbnail. “You have a point. The girls could have set it up to rank themselves amongst their peers, then spread rumors it was done by the boys. That way no one would suspect them.” She glanced at Caprice sidelong. “Good thinking, rich girl.”

Caprice felt her spirits sink. “Please don’t call me that. Because of him, everyone in class knows.”

“Don’t worry. They would have found out regardless,” Maya commented. “But is it true that you’re an heiress?”

Feeling a fleeting queasiness, Caprice replied, “I’m only third in line to the throne.”

“Hmm. Well, you never know. Accidents happen. You could find yourself like Queen Elizabeth the First.” Furrowing her brows, Maya asked, “So you have siblings?”

Caprice bit the inside of her mouth and remained silent though she replied with a nod.

“Oh…,” Maya murmured and asked nothing else.

They walked in silence for a while, but before arriving at the gymnasium’s entrance, Caprice leaned toward Maya and softly asked, “What did you mean by he was pushed back?”

Maya looked faintly startled. “Oh. I heard he was forced to repeat his first year.”

“Why?”

Shaking her head a little, Maya said, “Something happened late last year and he lost a lot of school time. I heard he missed his final exams.”

“Where did you hear this from?”

“Chatter on the forums.” Maya dipped her head at the building in front of them. “We’re here.”

They arrived at the west gymnasium, a building large enough to double as a starship hangar. Caprice guessed it was probably three hundred meters long with enough floor space for basketball courts, volley ball courts, and indoor track and field events all conducted at the same time. There were two stages at the opposite ends of the gym – almost lost in the distance – and one of them had been rigged up with chairs and a podium for the school’s opening assembly. Staring about the interior in awe, she was more shocked to see four or five thousand chairs had been set out on the gym floor. Tugged along by Maya, she joined the rest of her classmates at a seating area designated for Class W-1A by a couple of flags on short stands spaced apart like the safety flags on a beach.

Taking a seat beside Maya, she looked at classmates and noticed the furtive stares they were giving her, and Haruka was no exception. However, it was the curious look she received from the brunette with the snake tongue, Alastair, that unsettled Caprice the most.

“Steiner, relax,” Desanto grumbled as he sat between her and another guy who’d either conveniently or suspiciously left a seat empty between him and Caprice. “She’s harmless.”

Watching him slouch in the chair and pull down his tie like a delinquent, Caprice sneered at him. “Who invited you to join us?”

“The seat was empty. What’s the problem?”

“Go find somewhere else to sit.”

“Then who’s going to protect you?” he asked with annoying sincerity.

Caprice folded her arms. “I don’t need to be protected by a repeat offender.”

Only Desanto’s eyes moved on his face as he focused on her. “What did you call me?”

“A repeat offender.”

“What of it?” he asked bluntly.

“Just wondering,” she replied feeling a little wary of him, a nervous tingle running through her chest.

His attention remained on her for a long while, making her more anxious, until he abruptly looked away and shrugged dismissively. “It couldn’t be helped.”

Though his mood became hard to judge, it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it, and Caprice decided it wasn’t safe for her to pry, so she sat back and faced away from him, catching a glimpse of Haruka looking her way, but choosing not meet the girl’s eyes.

What was I thinking when I thought we might be friends in a school full of Aventis. How stupid of me.

Desanto abruptly muttered, “Just when I thought I’d be free of them, I’m right back with them….”

Caprice stared at him out the corner of her left eye, wondering at the history he shared with Haruka and her friends.

The overhead gym lights dimmed, signaling that the opening assembly for the high school students was about to begin. Indeed, while the gym was gently cast in a soft light, the stage was well lit. Soon a cast of teachers and senior administrators stepped onto the stage, and assumed the seats arranged for them in a long row a short distance behind the podium. Caprice recognized one or two faces from orientation week, but the rest were unknown to her.

A handful of students were seated in a separate row off to one side of the stage, perpendicular to the teachers, and Caprice assumed they were members of the Student Council. Two of them wore white blazers, a young man and young woman, identifying them as third year seniors. However, what attracted her attention was a pretty girl with long silver hair…wearing high heels. The girl was searching the assembled students near the back of the gymnasium with her gaze, and for a moment her eyes met those of Caprice. But then her attention shifted to Caprice’s left, and her widened visibly, even at a distance, convincing Caprice that the girl had been looking for Desanto.

Glancing at Desanto, Caprice saw him looking across the sea of seated students toward the second-years, but when she followed his line of sight, she couldn’t tell at whom he was looking, while up on the stage the girl with silver hair had chosen to look elsewhere.

A tall woman with short sandy hair dressed in a smart grey business suit walked calmly across the stage, and then stopped behind the podium. Tapping the microphone once and causing a shrill sound to emanate from the gymnasium’s speakers, the woman waited for the four thousand odd students to settle down and focus on her before beginning the assembly with the words, “Returning students. Advancing students. News students. I, Principal Lavinia Mason Lorian, welcome you all to Galatea Academy.”

Because of the size of the gymnasium, large holovid windows floated overhead displaying the stage up close, focusing on Principal Mason, and affording the first-year students at the back of the gym a view of the action taking place at the opposite end of the building.

Caprice looked up at the nearest rectangular holovid screen centered on the Principal, and wondered who was greeting the middle schoolers on the opposite side of the school. Then she remembered that Galatea had two Vice-Principals, one handling the middle schoolers and the other responsible for the high school students. Then again, was it right for the head of the Academy to be here first?

Taking a deep breath to ease her nerves, Caprice listened to the Principal talk of her hopes for the students, what she expected of them, and what they should set out to achieve. It was the usual spiel that Caprice had heard during the opening ceremonies at her school for Regulars, except for one announcement that sent a ripple of surprise sweeping through the seated students.

“It has been announced by the Primatriarch Council of Pharos, that the Summer and Winter Remnant Fiestas will be held for the first time in six years, and all the Familiars of all Academies are invited to represent themselves and their schools in the competitions.”

Caprice didn’t know what Mason meant by Fiestas, but she could sense the deep surprise and unease that ran through the seated student body, and as Mason’s words registered within their minds, the members of Class W-1A turned to look in the direction of Caprice, Maya, and Desanto conveniently sitting together.

Forgetting to swallow, Caprice choked and coughed to clear her throat, while beside her, Maya folded her arms calmly under a stony expression, and Desanto kicked the chair of the student in front of him and uttered a menacing, “Turn around or I’ll twist your rubber neck.”

Recovering hastily, Caprice smacked the back of his head. “Will you behave?” she hissed at him as he stared at her like a child believing it was falsely accused of stealing from the cookie jar. Then she leaned quickly toward Maya. “What is she talking about? What Remnant Fiestas.”

Maya answered while staring resentfully at Mason’s image in the holovid window. “The inter-Island competitions held between the Aventis Academies. They’re tournaments only for Familiars since Aventis and Regulars can’t wield Remnants.”

Caprice didn’t bother to hide her surprise. “Really? You mean Familiars can actually do that—I mean, they can take part in competitions just for them?”

Maya frowned at her. “Were you born yesterday?”

“No, but I guess I’ve lived a sheltered life,” she admitted.

From the stage, Mason called upon the Familiars within the student body to stand up and be seen. More than a dozen Familiars seated near the front of the assembly, the third-year seniors, rose first and were soon followed by twenty odd second-year students who more than doubled the number of Familiars – a fairly even mix of guys and girls – standing on their feet.

Maya exhaled softly and rose to her feet, folding her hands behind her back, and after hesitating for a moment, Caprice stood up beside her, also at attention. Looking around discreetly, she noticed another twenty Familiars standing amongst the first-year students, and quickly judged a combined total of some fifty to sixty Familiars, all of them wearing restraining collars. However, one Familiar remained seated until Caprice reached down, grabbed onto his right earlobe, and used it to pull a recalcitrant Desanto up to his feet.

Principal Mason spoke into the mike. “My students, please offer a round of applause to your classmates and offer them success in this year’s Remnant Fiestas.”

Caprice didn’t expect anyone to clap, at least none from her class, but to her surprise she was proved wrong, and although it started slowly the applause grew, spreading quickly through the assembled Aventis, and Caprice tried to hide her ambivalent feelings as she watched Haruka, Alastair, and Siobhan clap with a strange expectation and nervousness in their eyes. Feeling self-conscious, Caprice ducked her head and averted her eyes to gaze upon the floor.

What? What is going on?

Up on the stage, Mason and the senior staff also applauded the Familiars on their feet.

Standing beside her, Desanto swore softly. “All this applause, like they’re expecting us to pick up right where the Academy left off.”

Caprice peeked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“The last school to win the Fiestas was Galatea Academy, seven years ago, right before the eight witches decided to suspend the Fiestas indefinitely.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets and then glowered down at his feet.

While Caprice wondered why he’d shut up so suddenly, Maya agreed with him in a flat voice. “That’s true. Galatea was the last Academy to win the Fiestas. They’re going to be expecting us to do the same.”

Once the applause died down, Mason called for the Familiars to be seated and Caprice complied. At first she feared Desanto might make a scene, since he loitered on his feet for a moment or two, but eventually he sank down onto his chair and ignored his surroundings.

As calm descended upon the assembled students, Principal Mason resumed speaking and finished off her speech by wishing all the students a prosperous year, along with a handful of other platitudes that did little to rouse Caprice’s feelings, perhaps because she was preoccupied with the thoughts swirling inside her head.

Handing the reins of the opening ceremony over to the Vice-Principal, a tall, thin man with a stern face, closely cropped hair, and a military bearing, Principal Mason smoothly departed the stage with the aplomb of a veteran actress having delivered her acceptance speech after winning an award.

In all honesty, Caprice did try to pay attention to the Vice-Principal’s subsequent speech, but she was too distracted by Desanto’s mood, the expectations of her classmates, and curiosity over the Summer and Winter Remnant Fiestas. Wondering how she could have been so oblivious and ignorant of them, Caprice was also puzzled as to why Morgan never mentioned the tournaments. Choosing to carefully shelve her questions until later, Caprice made a concerted effort to focus on the Vice-Principal’s droning monologue but his words sailed in one ear and out the other unimpeded.

– III –

At the conclusion of the opening assembly, Caprice, Maya, and Desanto received a message on their palm-slates requesting their presence at the administration building. They were given instructions on how to get to the briefing room, and after departing the gymnasium, Caprice walked with Maya over to the tall, narrow edifice that lay between the high school and middle school buildings.

On the way, she asked Maya about the Fiestas but before the latter could reply, an unknown bespectacled girl wearing her long hair auburn in twin-tails ran up to Maya and hugged her in greeting.

Maya grew very still and stiff as she waited for the overly friendly girl to release her. “Rina, you’re making a scene.”

The girl wearing glasses drew back. “I’m just happy to see you.”

“Yes. Yes. We saw each other last week. Remember?”

“Yes, but now we’re high schoolers. It’s official. This is different from going to the pool together. And we’re in different classes now. Oh, what class are you in? I’m in West 1-B.”

“West 1-A.”

“Oh, we’re neighbors.”

“Yes. Yes. You can let me go now.”

Stepping away from Maya, the girl continued to smile happily until she noticed Caprice regarding her with a critical eye. “Oh. I’m sorry. Who might you be?”

“Shouldn’t you be introducing yourself first?” Maya pointed out by way of asking.

Without missing a beat, the girl held out her right hand to Caprice. “I’m Rina Sayen afil Sora.” With her other hand, she showed Caprice her collar and the pendant hanging below it, that of a falcon with its claws spread. “Maya and I are both Soras.”

Caprice shook the proffered hand. “Caprice Steiner afil Lanfear.”

“Nice to meet you,” Sayen said, then clapped her hands excitedly as she looked at Maya. “Well, what do you think?’

“About what?”

“About the Fiestas. We get to compete and right in time for our high school debut.” Sayen clapped with her fingertips. “Isn’t this wonderful? They’re back. They’re back. My brother would have been so excited. Do you know he missed out on competing? It really sucks that the old bats waited so long to reinstated the Fiestas.”

Maya peered at Sayen. “You’re being obnoxiously happy about this.” She resumed walking toward the towering administration building. “Way too happy.”

Caprice and Sayen caught up with her a few moments later, and Sayen grumbled with fake sourness, “But last year we didn’t get to enter.”

Maya rolled her eyes. “Even if the Fiestas hadn’t been suspended, they don’t allow middle schoolers to compete, you dummy. And it would have been pointless for us. We didn’t have enough training with our Remnants. There was no way we could have qualified for the competition. The seniors were just too strong.”

Rina wagged a finger at her. “Maya, you need to think positively.”

“I prefer to think realistically.”

“But remember what your therapist said—oops!”

Maya came to a sudden stop as Sayen slapped her hands over her mouth.

Caprice watched the brunette with short hair stand deathly still before fixing a glare upon Sayen. “Shut your frekking mouth!”

Maya stormed off then broke into a run, leaving Caprice flummoxed and Sayen contrite, both girls at a standstill on the broad paved path.

Caprice threw Sayen a questioning look. “Was that something I shouldn’t have heard?”

Sayen stared at the ground for a while. “Please forget what I said.”

After considering it for a few heartbeats, and seeing no benefit to prying into the matter, Caprice nodded once then resumed walking toward the admin building. Since it clearly was a personal issue, Caprice believed it would be up to Maya to decide whether to tell Caprice about it or not. Either way, she didn’t want to be late to the summons issued by the Principal.

Arriving at the ten storey administration building, Caprice followed the instructions on her palm-slate and the group of Familiars ahead of her to an elevator that took her and about a dozen students up to the ninth floor. Exiting the cramped elevator car, she and Sayen walked with the other Familiars down a wide hallway to a spacious room at the southern end of the building. The place had been outfitted for presentations and briefings, so Caprice found herself facing that backs of a dozens of chairs that faced a podium. Behind the podium was a transparent wall made entirely of permaglass, offering a panoramic view of the school grounds, including the sports fields to the south and the towering habitat buildings that lay beyond the Academy’s border.

Caprice looked around for Maya, and located the girl only to notice the seats around her were occupied by the students who’d arrived before Caprice, so she sat down on the nearest empty seat, and Sayen sat beside her like a chastised puppy.

Feeling like Sayen was sucking the life out of the room, Caprice sighed inwardly and chose to distract the girl from her faux pas with Maya. “What are the Fiestas like?”

Sayen looked momentarily confused. “The Fiestas?” She blinked slowly. “Oh, the Fiestas.” Turning to look at the view out the window, the girl said, “They’re competitions—tournaments—held between the five Aventis Academies.”

“I know that much, but what else is there to them?”

“Well, they’re basically battles that take place in specialized arenas—like the kind you see in holovision battle shows except there are no special effects. Familiars face each other with their Remnants. There’s a points system, and the battles end when one competitor or the other is disarmed, knocked unconscious, or pushed outside the combat ring. You’re not allowed to maliciously wound your opponent, but before the Fiestas were cancelled, students used to get injured all the time.” Sayen shivered. “Thinking about it, the Fiestas are rather brutal.”

“And this is what we’re expected to compete in?”

Sayen had lost her earlier enthusiasm and shrugged weakly. “There’s money and prizes and fame…I guess….”

“Fame?”

While looking at Sayen, Caprice realized they’d lost Desanto somewhere along the way. While searching for him amongst the seated students, she happened to twist in her seat to look behind her just as Principal Lavinia Mason Lorian and a tall, slender young woman with short blonde hair walked into the room. Mason’s dark business skirt suit contrasted with her companion’s white business suit, and as Mason took her place behind the podium, the blonde woman assumed a position against the window wall with hands folded behind her back like some sort of executive secretary at the beck and call of a corporate CEO, except this secretary wore a restraining collar just like the Familiar students in the room.

Caprice stared at her dumbfounded until distracted by two students – a boy and girl – who walked across the front of the room, passing behind Mason on their way to taking standing positions on the opposite side of the room away from the young blonde secretary. The male student had discarded his blazer, but wore the white tie befitting the third-year seniors. Something in his manner demonstrated he was accustomed to being in a position of authority. Caprice studied his face until a memory jogged loose and she recognized him as the Student Council President who’d been present during orientation week, though his name eluded her.

The girl accompanying him had also done away with her blazer. The short blue tie she wore marked her as a second-year student. Caprice didn’t remember seeing her during orientation week, but did recall her as the girl with silver hair – the platinum blonde – sitting on the stage during the school’s opening assembly. She was wearing high heels then and she was wearing them now, puzzling Caprice since all students were supposed to wear indoor shoes. Perhaps rank had its privileges?

At sight of Mason at the podium, the soft chatter between the seated Familiars, close to seventy in number, ended quickly as their attention was drawn to the Principal who addressed the students as soon as silence befell the room.

“Thank you for coming,” she began. “And allow me to express my sincere apologies. I placed all of you in a difficult position this morning by calling you out. I’m grateful that you obliged my selfish request.”

A student seated at the front of the briefing area raised her hand, and stood up without an invitation from Mason. The girl was a third-year senior, as identified by the short white tie she wore, and possessed short dark hair. Her manner and bearing were precise, with no wasted movements as she faced Mason.

“Madam Principal, is it true that the Fiestas have been re-instated this year?”

“It is. I received word of it only this morning.”

This sent a ripple of shock and confusion through the students, though Caprice was more confused than anything else because she felt she was coming into the story halfway. She started leaning toward Sayen to ask what the big deal was, but the girl shushed her with a quick wave of her fingers. Miffed, Caprice focused on the exchange between the senior girl and the Principal.

“Do you know why the Primatriarchs changed their minds?” the girl cautiously asked.

“I do not. I have asked my Lorian Primatriarch for more information, but this is a rather impromptu decision on the Council’s part.”

“So what now?” the girl asked.

Mason frowned faintly. “What do you mean, Katia?”

“I want to know what you expect from us now?”

The Principal held her silence for a long while, her eyes on the girl the whole time, before favoring the girl with a nod. “I expect you to train, to compete, and to win.”

The girl dipped her head at Mason. “For the school?”

“For yourselves…and the school.” Mason stepped around the lectern and stood before it. “I want the Aventis of this Academy to look upon you all with respect. With the respect and the admiration that you deserve. That all of you deserve, not just those of you gifted with Remnants.”

“Respect and admiration?” From the opposite side of the seated students, a girl with blue streaks running through her raven hair, cut in with a voice that dripped with sarcasm. Reaching up, she fingered the collar she wore. “Respect and admiration from a race of humans that are afraid of us because we can do things they can’t.”

“That is true. Familiars are special. They always have been,” Mason agreed easily, and that surprised Caprice who had been expecting the Aventis principal to take offence to the girl’s tone.

As the girl with blue streaked hair continued fiddling with her collar, another third year senior stood up and spoke her mind. “Madam Principal, we may be seniors but we’ve never competed in the official tournaments.”

Mason nodded. “I’m certain the Familiars of the other Academies are asking the same question.”

“But we don’t know what to expect from our opponents.”

Mason crossed her arms. “Leave that to my people. We’re already gathering the intel you will need to mount strategies and plans.”

The girl refused to be dissuaded. “Madam Principal, to expect us to win—”

“Is entirely within my estimation,” the woman replied with a confidence that had many frowning in the room, except for Caprice who was busy trying to keep up with the discussion.

Another senior boy sitting at the front said, “The Winter Fiesta is four months away. The Summer Fiesta is nine months away. We have exams this year. We can’t dedicate as much as time as we could last year. It’s not that we don’t want to win. We just we don’t see how we can win.”

Mason nodded. “The seniors at the other Academies are in the same position.”

“Madam Principal, even if that’s true,” a boy in the middle of the room asked, “are any of us here strong enough to face Vardant Academy, or Calista Academy? If we’d known the Fiestas would be back on the calendar this year, we would have trained even harder last year.”

“We might stand a chance against Yurishia Academy,” a girl voiced, “but I heard that San Alus Academy has completely revamped their training facilities, and they’ve hired ex-Sanctum instructors.”

“No, I heard they were from Public Security.”

“Hey, maybe we can get instructors from Pantheon?”

“It doesn’t matter,” the girl on her feet retorted, before turning to stare at Mason with suspicion on her pretty face. “But if they went to those lengths, maybe they knew something we didn’t.”

“It’s possible but unlikely,” Mason stated. “The truth is San Alus had the poorest training facilities to begin with, so that’s why they were upgraded as it was affecting the quality of their Familiars, and they were being overlooked by the Sanctum, Public Security, and Pantheon.”

Caprice pressed her lips together as she twice she heard the name of the largest private military consortium operating in the Hurakan Nebula, and a major employer of highly trained and skilled Familiars. The company offered a variety of services and that included executive security to the rich, the famous, and the very important…such as the Steiner Family.

A young man’s snide voice cut through the room. “Hearing the lot of you bitch and complain is turning my stomach.”

Caprice flinched and haltingly looked over her shoulder toward the door.

Caelum Desanto stood with this arms shoved into his trousers, scowling at the room full of Familiars. “What a bunch of limp dicks and whiny little bitches.” With everyone looking at him, Desanto stepped deeper into the room. “Why don’t you hand in your Remnants and go crawl under your beds. Give your Remnants to Familiars that actually deserve them or have the guts to use them.”

The girl who’d spoken first, Katia, glared at Desanto with hands clenched. “How dare you call us cowards.”

“Then shut up and quit complaining,” Desanto snapped. “You were a lot cooler last year, Senpai. I really looked up to you. A nine out of ten. Now you’re just disappointing. I’m tempted to downgrade you to an eight out of ten.”

“Huh?” the girl gasped and when Caprice looked at her, she noticed the girl swaying on her feet. She also noticed the seated Familiars were expressing varying degrees of contempt at Desanto, though the girl with blue streaks was staring at him with an expression that seemed to say, “Here we go again.”

One large boy – a senior with cropped blonde hair and muscles straining the fabric of his shirt – took it farther. Rising to his feet, he took thundering strides toward the back of room, coming to a stop before Desanto. For several heartbeats, Caprice feared Desanto would be hammered like a nail into the carpet as the walking mountain of meat, muscle, and sinew trembled in anger before him.

“Shut the Hell up, Perv. You couldn’t keep your girl for a week and you’re calling us limp dicks.”

Desanto held up a finger. “Actually, it was a month. Then we broke up by mutual consent.”

“Bullshit. Everybody knows she dumped you.”

Desanto assumed a bored appearance. “At least I got to date the most beautiful girl in the whole academy. What’s your claim to fame?”

“A girl like that is totally wasted on you. She probably took one look at that pinky between your legs and almost died of laughter.”

“So says the one-inch man.”

“Don’t call me one-inch man! I’m a one-punch man!”

Desanto shook his head. “As cool as that sounds—not likely.”

The menacing boy folded arms across his broad chest. “In that case, drop your pants and show us how much of a man you are.”

Desanto’s mouth fell open, but then he shrugged. “Fine, I will. Just make sure to keep your back to senpai when it’s your turn.”

“Huh?”

“You have a crush on senpai, don’t you?”

The mountain of meat and muscle froze into a rigid mass, eyes almost popping out of his head.

Desanto smirked. “You wouldn’t want her seeing yours and almost dying of laughter.”

The large boy grew pale then red with anger and began drawing back an arm. “Why you—”

Desanto shrugged nonchalantly and began unbuckling his belt, ignoring the imminent threat to his life towering before him. “Well then. Open sesame.”

At sight of him preparing to drop his trousers, Caprice felt something snap inside her. “Arrggh—you have no shame!” she howled, and stood up in a blur of motion.

Desanto stopped moving and stared at her. “Double-A? I didn’t see you sitting there—”

Caprice picked up her chair and flung it at Desanto, surprising everyone including the behemoth rearing back to pound Desanto across the room. But the chair stopped inches short of hitting him, and floated in mid-air for a long moment before it dropped to the ground on its legs, and Caprice realized he’d caught it with a Hecaton-field, yet he showed no signs of discomfort as his restraining collar undoubtedly punished him for the infraction. However, he was staring at her through narrowed eyes.

“Double-A, you seriously need to control your temper.”

Caprice pointed an accusing finger at him as she struggled not to hyperventilate. “If you drop your pants, I’ll kick you.”

Desanto regarded her for a heartbeat before shrugging and buckling up his belt. Then he grinned up at the larger boy looming over him like a landslide waiting to happen. “I’ll be seeing you in the arenas after class. You and me. When I’m finished with you, you will be a one-inch man.”

“I’m going to pound you into the rock walls and turn you into a mosaic,” his opponent retorted and tried to push Desanto away, but the latter held his ground and pushed him back instead, sending the large student stumbling back a few steps much to his surprise.

Desanto smirked again. “Don’t underestimate me.”

“Gentlemen,” Mason spoke loudly from the lectern. “I see detention on the cards for both of you. And as for you, young lady, please refrain from throwing school property around unless you’re willing to pay for the damages.”

Caprice froze. She may be the daughter of an absurdly rich family, but her allowance was a paltry amount. In haste, she bowed her head in apology. “Yes ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am. Won’t happen again, ma’am.” She had to hurriedly retrieve her chair, squeeze by the seated students, and then place the chair back on the ground. After sitting down, she ducked her head in shame, cursing Desanto for flipping her switches and pushing her buttons.

Mason addressed Desanto coolly. “It’s nice of you to join us, Mister Desanto.”

“I apologize, Madam Principal. I had a personal errand to run.”

“I see. A personal errand, was it? And that makes it fine to be late to an important briefing? Perhaps detention on the first day of school is indeed in order.”

At the front of the room, the girl, Katia, was nodding vehemently. “Madam Principal, I implore you. Give him a week’s detention.”

“Katia, please sit down,” Mason told her.

“Y—yes, ma’am.”

Caprice peeked over her shoulder to look at Desanto as he stepped closer to the back row of chairs.

“I only came to say two things, and then I’ll leave, Madam Principal.”

“You’ll leave?” Mason sounded annoyed. “And what would that be, Mister Desanto?”

He focused his attention on the students both sitting and standing. “We’re Familiars. Most Regulars look up to us, but Aventis are afraid of us and they exploit us. Why? Because we can do what they can’t. We can use the Remnants. And we can kick ass. So they put these collars around our necks to keep us under control, and that way they can sleep comfortably at night.”

Caprice was shocked to hear him speak that way of the Aventis considering that Principal Mason and the Student Council members were in the room.

Desanto shook his head unhappily. “You want us to make you proud? Well, I’ll tell you that this isn’t just about the school. This is about us Familiars getting a chance to shine properly. And I’m planning to shine so bright at those Fiestas that I’m going to leave the Aventis blind, and I’m going to make them sleepless with envy. I’m going to put my name on the winner’s trophy…just like my sister did seven years ago. And like she did, I’m going to win both the Winter and Summer Remnant Fiestas.”

Caprice watched him tap his chest without the slightest hesitation, again not minding that there were Aventis in the room, including the Principal of the Academy.

“But I want more. I want to compete in the Four Seasons Fiestas. And I want a shot at the Grand Fiesta.”

Desanto’s declaration triggered ripples of commotion amongst the seated Familiars, and once more the girl with dark hair, Katia, rose to her feet. Looking aghast at Desanto, she struggled to find her voice. “The Four Seasons Fiestas? Are you serious?”

Desanto’s shoulders drooped. “Senpai, you’re really disappointing me.”

“What?” she exclaimed, recovering in an instant.

Desanto swept his gaze over the students, briefly stopping on Caprice before moving on.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but we only get to shine in the Remnant Fiestas. And for six years they took that away from us. Now they’re giving them back, but it’s like their throwing crumbs at us, expecting us to be happy with their charity when out there in the fourteen worlds of the Aventis Territories, Familiars like us compete in the Four Seasons Fiestas. That’s four tournaments a year, and the winners and runners up get to fight it out at the Grand Fiesta.” He paused for a long moment, before asking, “And what do we get? Two lousy tournaments a year. What a joke. Except the joke’s on us.”

The faint bobbing of heads caught Caprice’s eye, and she saw that many of the seated students were agreeing with him.

Emboldened, Desanto planted his hands on his hips, and threw Mason a hard look. “Why won’t the Primatriarchs agree to the Four Seasons Fiestas here on Pharos?”

Caprice turned her head to watch the Principal return Desanto’s blunt stare with a thoughtful gaze.

“Would you compete four times a year, when many of you are reluctant to participate in a mere two tournaments?”

Caprice glimpsed Desanto nod, and quickly watched him out of the corner of her eye.

“I would. Definitely,” he replied without hesitation. “And I want to compete in the Grand Fiesta. I want to face those Familiars from the planet colonies. For too long the Familiars of Pharos have been treated like third rate members of the brethren. It’s like they’ve forgotten that we exist simply because we’re inside the dust cloud of the Nebula. Out of sight. Out of mind. I think it’s time for a change. And I think it’s time Pharos stepped up to the plate. It’s time the Primatriarchs gave us all the opportunity to compete on an interstellar platform. You talk about putting the school on the map. I’m talking about putting Pharos on the map.”

Mason pursed her lips and behind her, standing with her back to the permaglass window wall, the blonde Familiar wore a conflicted expression that she was unsuccessfully trying to hide, while a deep murmur ran through the students, and Caprice felt something change in the emotions filling the room, some of which were projected by Awareness-fields emanating from the Remnants possessed by a handful of Familiars with weak control over them. They weren’t angry at him anymore. They were agreeing with him.

Desanto pressed on. “I don’t know why, but my sister was proud to be a student here. I guess things were different back then for her, and for Familiars in general here in Pharos. The Aventis didn’t look at us the way they do now. Thing have changed since then, but I know that she wanted to leave her mark before she graduated, and she did. So I’m going to do the same. I’m going to do it so that she can be proud of me, and so that I can look back on my time here without regret. But two tournaments a year isn’t the way it should be. We should be competing the same as everyone else. We should be competing in the Four Seasons Fiestas.”

He looked as though he wanted to say more, but then he reconsidered with a shake of his head, and shrugged his shoulders.

Without turning around, a fair haired boy from up front asked, “So you’re going to win both Fiestas?”

Desanto blinked and focused on the seated student. “That’s right, Number One. I’d win all four of them if I got the chance.”

Caprice frowned, and looked at the male student who remained seated with his back to Desanto. Why is he calling him Number One?

A moment later the boy up front half turned in his seat, and threw an arm over its backrest as he grinned at Desanto, and Caprice felt her heart skip and stumble.

Wow…a hottie….

The boy, Number One, grinned like the wolf before the sheep at the impertinent Desanto. “That’s not going to happen, Pervert. Not while I’m around.”

“I beat you once before, Number One.” Desanto sounded like he was smiling, and when Caprice glanced at him, she saw the eagerness on his face. “I’ll beat you again.”

“Things have changed since then.”

“No, they haven’t. I’m still better than you. And when I beat you back then, my ranking was higher than yours.”

The boy stood up and faced the back of the room, his eyes on Desanto. “I’m number one now.”

“That’s because I wasn’t around to keep you in your place…below me.”

Caprice didn’t know whether to laugh in disbelief or to throw another chair at him for being so arrogant. She was tempted to do the latter and pay the consequences later. But then the moment for making a decision slipped away as most of the seated girls stood up and faced Caelum Desanto with scorn on their faces.

“Who the Hell do you think you are?” a pretty brunette with a pert chest demanded.

“How dare you talk to him that way.”

“You’re going to put, Klaus in his place.”

“Don’t make us laugh.”

“He’s number one for a reason.”

“Because he’s the best!”

“That’s right. He’s number one on the Boys of Galatea website.”

The girls fell silent and then turned to look at one girl in particular sporting twin-tails. The girl noticed the attention on her, but then hurriedly pointed at Desanto with a trembling finger. “And you’re—you’re—you’re just number one hundred!”

The handsome fair haired boy, Klaus, had trouble hiding his embarrassment as he sighed heavily and shook his head weakly. “Seriously, I’m number one?”

“Of course you are!” the girls cried out as they whirled and faced him.

Caprice experienced a surreal moment as sat on the chair watching them.

Is this really happening?

The girl with twin-tails spoke in a rush. “I have your poster on my dorm room!”

“Does he really need to know that?” another girl questioned.

“Well, I have his calendar,” said a tall slender girl with her long braided auburn hair.

“And I have that magazine spread you did last month!”

“I have all the magazine you’ve ever been in,” a buxom redhead announced passionately.

Caprice watched Klaus duck his head lower and lower as the girls showered him with examples of their adoration, and wondered if he was a teenage male model.

“I have his one eighth scale figure,” someone said, and the girls stopped talking in a heartbeat, before looking at Katia at the front of the room. The girl started to tremble as she fidgeted madly under the weight of their combined attention. “Well…I…someone made a limited edition figure…and auctioned it…so I…I bought it.”

The girl with twin-tails pointed at Katia. “You—you—you were the one who outbid me!”

“Well. I guess. It was a limited edition figure.”

“Arrrrgh.” Twin-tails grabbed her head before pointing at Katia this time. “I challenge you to a duel. The victor wins that figure.”

“What?” Katia looked shocked then her expression hardened. “I will do no such thing!”

“Fine. Then we’ll duel to see who partners with Klaus for the Winter Fiesta.”

Again conversation stopped as the girls thought it through.

“Agreed,” Katia declared. “We’ll decide who partners with Klaus by victory.”

“And the winner gets that limited edition figure!”

“No way. That’s mine. I won it fair and square.”

Caprice leaned toward Sayen who was sitting quietly with a dreamy look on her face. “What’s this about partnering for the Winter Fiesta?” She had to shake the girl to get her attention. “Hey, are you with me?”

Rina Sayen faced Caprice. “Aren’t you going to compete?”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to compete.” Sayen stood up and raised her hand as she cried out to the front of the room. “Me too. I want to duel as well.”

Caprice stared in disbelief at her acquaintance bouncing up and down on her heels.

“Wait a minute! Hold up!” Desanto called out loudly. “Does that mean none of you want to partner with me?”

A girl with frizzy dark hair turned to face Desanto and folded her arms across her chest. “You’re a repeat offender and still a first year. You’re not even ranked. Why would we want to partner with you?”

Desanto looked flummoxed but to his credit he recovered his composure in a heartbeat, a testament to his overwhelming self-confidence. Again, Caprice didn’t know whether to applaud him or hit him as she watched him hold up a finger. “Actually, I was ranked but I’ve kind of fallen off the page since then.”

“Exactly,” the girl carried on. “All of us having been training and dueling even during the summer break. And now we’re going to show the fruits of our labor.” She pumped a fist into the air. “We’re going to compete for Klaus!”

Desanto groaned. “You make it sound like you’re competing for a date with him.”

The girl blushed hotly before planting her hands on her hips. “Klaus is Number One. He’s been training hard. So of course we want to partner with him. What have you been doing?”

Desanto replied drolly, “Enjoying easy street.”

Laughter rumbled from the large muscular student who’d threatened Desanto earlier. “And you’re going to win the Fiestas? I’d run naked through the school grounds if that happened.”

“Just make sure you don’t do it in front of Senpai,” Desanto advised him.

The behemoth trembled as he held himself back. “Besides, to qualify for the Fiestas you have to possess a top ten ranking, and you’re not even listed anymore.”

Desanto looked at him and smiled evilly. “I’m going to rise to the top, and I’m starting with you.”

“What did you say?” the boy stomped up to him again.

“I’m saying that I’m going to qualify for the Fiestas, and I’m going through you first. Starting today.”

The large boy grinned like an ogre. “Oh, bring it on, little man.”

Desanto grinned back. “I can hardly wait, you oversized stepping stone.”

From the front of the room, loud clapping could be heard before Mason issued a sharp call for order. “Mr. Desanto, Mr. Le Grange, step away from each other now.”

It took a moment or two, but both male students retreated a short step from each other, however they continued to grin and glare at each other.

Mason clapped again. “Ladies. Ladies. Control yourselves. Sit down. All of you!”

It took a few seconds for the girls to sit down, leaving a thoroughly embarrassed Klaus standing like a wilted flower. “…they made a figure of me….”

Mason addressed him. “Mr. Brandei, please be seated.”

The tall handsome boy sat down in his chair, oblivious to the scornful looks his male companions were fixing upon him.

Mason cleared her throat loudly. “The competition for who will partner with Mr. Klaus Brandei afil Avenir will be conducted under official guidelines and overseen by the school Instructors. There will be no unsanctioned dueling on school grounds or in the training facilities. Is that clear, ladies?” The girls nodded slowly, and Mason turned to the attractive young woman with blonde hair standing at the window wall. “Nicola, will you see to it?”

“As you wish, Madam Principal.”

Caprice bit her lower lip as she looked at the blonde woman, but her attention slipped and fell on the two students from the Student Council who’d remained quiet the entire time. The platinum blonde wearing high heels elegantly stepped forward toward Mason.

“Madam Principal, may I make a suggestion?”

“Yes, Miss Alucard?”

“I fear that at this rate, Caelum Desanto will be unlikely to compete in the Winter Fiesta.”

From behind Caprice, Desanto sounded like he was choking. “Huh? What do you mean by that?”

The platinum blonde regarded him sidelong. “Well, you need a partner, and I doubt anyone would want to partner with you.”

Desanto made another choking sound but said nothing.

Mason nodded faintly. “I see. Mr. Desanto’s reputation precedes him in the female community. And the boys hate him too.”

The silver haired beauty nodded gently. “Precisely, Madam Principal. So I believe we should offer the girls an extra incentive as they compete for the honor of partnering with Mr. Brandei in the Winter Fiesta.”

“And that would be?”

“The girl with the lowest rank has to partner with Caelum Desanto afil Lanfear.”

As expected, the room burst into uproar as the girls immediately protested against the platinum blonde’s suggestion.

Mason held up her hands. “Quiet down. Quiet down. I said quiet down!” She had to wait a short while before calm returned to the room, but the girls were muttering heatedly amongst themselves. Mason then faced the platinum blonde. “Alucard, we’ll discuss this later.”

The beautiful girl bowed politely to the woman. “As you wish, Madam Principal.”

“I’ll partner with him.”

The lone female voice that spoke out from the seated students grabbed everyone’s attention.

“I’ll partner with him,” Maya Khayman announced without inflexion. The girls surrounding her looked dismayed, but Maya pressed on. “In fact, I’ll duel for him if I have to.”

“Are you nuts?” the girl to Maya’s left asked.

“You’re just a first year,” the girl on her right pointed out.

“That doesn’t matter,” Maya declared. “I want to win, and I believe partnering with the Pervert is the best move.”

“Why?” most of the girls questioned.

“Because I believe he can do it,” Maya stated flatly.

Klaus Brandei had half turned in his chair to look back at Maya, without a trace of his embarrassment from moments ago. “You don’t think I can win?”

Maya met his gaze with an expressionless stare. “If the Pervert believes he can win, then I believe he can. So in answer to your question…no, not while he’s around.”

“That’s big talk coming from a first year,” he remarked.

“Not everyone is suckered in by your good looks,” she replied with a weary tone.

A hint of embarrassment flickered across his face. “My—my good looks….”

Maya shrugged a shoulder. “And the Pervert’s more my type.”

Klaus swallowed in discomfit. “I see. May I ask your name?”

“Maya Khayman afil Sora.”

Klaus’s eyes widened a tiny fraction. “So you’re the Prodigy….”

Maya nodded faintly. “So they say….”

Watching the two locking stares, Caprice felt something uncomfortable bloom in her chest. Without realizing it, she’d raised her hand and said, “I’ll duel with you.”

This seemed to genuinely surprise the Familiars, and that included Maya who turned in her seat to look at Caprice with eyes that widened slightly.

Swallowing hard, Caprice lowered her hand.

“Yoh, Steiner.”

Hearing Desanto address her, Caprice held her breath and didn’t reply but she did look over her shoulder at him.

“Go take a look at the name on the trophies from seven years ago.”

Caprice was taken aback by his serious yet quiet tone. “Wh—what? Why?”

“You’ll understand,” he replied. With a surprisingly deep bow to Mason, Desanto spoke in an equally surprising and respectful tone. “Madam Principal, by your leave.”

Mason regarded him thinly for a while, before exhaling loudly and waving him out. “Very well, you may leave. This will go quicker if you’re not around.”

Katia half rose from her chair and faced the Principal in a fluster. “But Madam Principal—!”

“It’s fine, Katia. It’s fine. I have a lot on my plate as it is. It’s better this way.”

“Tsk.”

Clicking her tongue in frustration, the girl sat back down while Desanto bowed once more and then smoothly stepped out of the room, leaving Caprice confused, and the other students with complicated feelings, though Katia quite clearly resented what she perceived as preferential treatment for someone whom she believed was undeserving.

Then Le Grange, the large boy who’d challenged Desanto, spoke up and announced in a deep voice, “Like Hell am I going to allow that bastard to win. It’ll be my name on that trophy, and then I’m going to shove it down his throat.” He clenched his large hands, and rumbled. “I’ll do it for me, and for Katia.” Turning to the front of the room, he pointed at the silently fuming girl. “Senpai, don’t you dare duel for anyone else because you have to partner with me!”

“Huh?” the girl exclaimed. “What are you an idiot?”

Caprice looked at the closed door, while the room broke into commotion as the Familiars began to argue amongst themselves. When she turned around, she felt someone was looking at her and soon noticed there were a few people regarding her with mixed looks.

The handsome fair haired Klaus Brandei was eyeing Caprice with interest over his left shoulder.

Maya Khayman was staring at her with an unreadable expression that almost made her shiver.

The platinum blonde, Simone Alucard, was regarded Caprice with a faint smirk on her lips.

And the Student Council President stood with a faintly troubled appearance that he quickly cleared away when Caprice met his eyes.

But what unsettled her the most was the eyes of the blonde woman who served as Mason’s aide. They appeared to look deep into Caprice, into the pain she had spent a long time chaining away from her heart.

Caprice tore her attention away from them, and looked down at her hands folded over her lap, clasping the tightly to stop them from trembling.

Sitting beside her, Rina nudged her shoulder. “Are you going to do it?”

“Huh? Do what?”

“Are you really going to duel Maya?”

Grateful for the distraction, Caprice mulled her answer over, but now that she thought about it, why had she made that declaration? What was that unpleasant feeling that had welled up in her chest? Regardless, she’d said it to a roomful of people. Taking it back now was going to be difficult.

“Yeah…I guess so….” She abruptly laughed nervously. “I guess I have no choice.”

Rina inhaled deeply and then sighed. “Well, I guess it will be good for Maya as well….”

Caprice frowned at her, but before she could ask Sayen what she meant, Mason clapped loudly and once again demanded the students settle down.

Caprice decided to save her question for later, and straightened in her chair to pay attention to the proceedings before her. However, the more she listened to her fellow students and Familiars argue back and forth, the more her feelings sank as she heard them express their unwillingness to sit back and do nothing that would allow Desanto – however unlikely it may be – to stand victorious at the Fiestas. Thus, little by little, the mood in the room changed and plans were drawn up to defeat Caelum Desanto in the arenas of battle, and have someone else’s name written on the winner’s trophy this year.

What disenchanted Caprice the most was the fact that neither Mason or the Student Council, appeared particularly opposed to the idea, probably because this way, the goal of defeating Caelum Desanto had unified the Familiars of Galatea Academy under one banner.

– IV –

Because it was the opening day of school, classes weren’t expected to start until after lunch, giving the students the morning to settle into the Academy. This meant that Caprice had time to walk to the school shop and purchase a new school bag or at the least get the broken shoulder strap replaced. She would need to collect her school bag from the classroom. However, before doing so she decided to follow Desanto’s suggestion and look up the other winner of the Fiestas seven years ago, since by his admission she already knew one of the winners was his sister.

There was no denying Desanto’s sister must have been a very strong Familiar for her to have won even one of the Fiestas. Caprice found herself growing steadily curious over what kind of person the girl was, though she hoped that Desanto’s sister wasn’t a pervert. But she was also curious about the girl’s Remnant, and whether she had unlocked it by the time she fought in the Fiestas.

Remnants were handed down from Familiar to Familiar by their affiliated Pride. When a Familiar retired from their service to the Pride, the Remnant was handed back to them. Once un-bonded with its Meister, the device reverted to its locked state, and so the next Familiar to receive it would have to unlock it all over again. However, with the passing of time and hands, it was rumored that Remnants became stronger. So a Familiar possessing a Remnant active since the War of Supremacy was likely to be stronger than the same type of Remnant that had only recently been discovered out in the Hurakan Nebula. In short, it was Remnants with the oldest history that were the most sought after.

In a way, it was similar to how mythological Vampires grew stronger with the ages, such that older Vampires could overwhelm the younger ones.

After the briefing, Rina Sayen and Maya had shared a heart-to-heart moment that Caprice felt she had no part in. She had excused herself before becoming a third wheel, and used the school’s map application installed on her palm-slate to travel to the trophy room located on the ground floor of the administration building where she could expect to find the Academy’s winnings on display. There were quite a few students wandering about the large room. Though there was abundant space yet to be filled in the display cabinets, there were already a lot trophies sitting on the shelves behind the glass windows. The clear majority belonged to competitions the Aventis had taken part in, and Caprice noticed most of the room was dedicated to their achievements. She remembered Desanto’s words about the Fiestas being the only time that Familiars were allowed to shine, and she felt an unpleasant hollow feeling creep along her back – an emptiness that grew gradually worse the longer she looked around the room.

Along one wall that could be considered the back of the room, a large display cabinet stood separated from the rest. In a way, it reminded Caprice of how her desk was at the back of the classroom, noticeably away from the Aventis students. Stepping closer to the display, she counted fourteen trophies, and four of those commemorated first place at the Fiestas. Caprice read the engraved names on the winner’s trophy for the Winter Remnant Fiesta from seven years ago.

Celica Desanto afil Lanfear.

Karina Valerian afil Lanfear.

She read the last name over and over, disbelief and confusion filling the emptiness within her, then she looked at the two trophies from that year’s Summer Remnant Fiesta.

First place: Celica Desanto afil Lanfear.

Second place: Karina Valerian afil Lanfear.

Caprice stared at the trophies, her mind swirling with unanswered questions. Why? Why didn’t she tell me? And why didn’t Morgan tell me either. She took a step away from the glass wall cabinet. Why didn’t mother tell me?

“So this is where you were,” a girl’s flat voice sounded from behind Caprice.

Caprice’s Awareness-field that emanated from her Remnant’s bracelet that she wore under her right sleeve tingled faintly and she registered the girls’ presence as though she had eyes on the back of her head. Maya and Sayen stopped beside her to peer at the trophies in the display cabinet.

“You’re looking happier,” Caprice opined, and Maya nodded.

“I got my pound of flesh. In this case, a three-course meal.” She swept her gaze over the cabinet and the wall. “So we get one little space at the back of the room. No surprising.” Maya turned her attention to the trophies. “The first Fiestas took place twenty-five years ago. Galatea had a pretty good track record during that time. I guess there would have been more trophies if the Fiestas hadn’t been cancelled for six consecutive years.” She sighed unhappily. “It’s pretty easy to know why that happened.”

“What do you mean?”

Maya glanced at Caprice. “I mean Crimson Crescent.”

Caprice’s eyes widened as the proverbial penny dropped.

Just as the Cataclysm was a term synonymous with the destructive explosion in trans-space that destroyed dozens of stars and planets, Crimson Crescent was synonymous with terrorism.

Six years ago, the group detonated a bomb in an interstellar superfreighter that had just docked in Island One’s Harbor Sphere. The explosion killed thousands and injured thousands more. Since then, the group had been actively recruiting Familiars to their cause, though surprisingly no one knew what was their motive, whether it was simple terrorism, a revolution, or outright war with the Aventis. One thing that was certain was that Crimson Crescent had its base of operations deep within the Hurakan Nebula, and since the nebula was well over a hundred lightyears wide and deep, and difficult to traverse using trans-space, finding their hideout had proven impossible for the authorities. It wasn’t just the Pharos Enforcer Division Fleet hunting them, but the greater Aventis government from the nearby star systems as well.

Caprice looked at the trophies.

Seven years ago was the last time the Fiestas were held until now. They were suspended because of Crimson Crescent blowing up a chunk of the Harbor Sphere, and spreading terror through Pharos.

Maya dipped her head at the trophies in the wall mounted cabinet. “It’s because of Crimson Crescent that people are even more afraid of us, and of what we can do.”

Caprice voiced her thoughts aloud. “Then I wonder why the Primatriarch Council decided to lift the ban on the competitions?”

Maya raised her chin. “I’m guessing the Primatriarchs decided it was time to show the Aventis and Regulars of Pharos that not all Familiars are like those of Crimson Crescent. Maybe they want to assure people that Familiars are on their side.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I just don’t know….” After shaking herself free of whatever was chaining her feelings, Maya pointed at the trophies. “So we can guess that Celica Desanto is Pervert Desanto’s sister, but what did he mean by telling you to read the winners’ names?”

Caprice hesitated before giving Maya a shrug of her own, and put on a confused smile. “I have no idea. Maybe he was just jerking me around because I threw a chair at him.” On impulse, and wanting to get off the topic of the past Fiesta winners, Caprice threw both girls questioning looks. “By the way, does anyone know what ranking Desanto had before he ‘dropped off the pages’?”

“You mean before he was absent from school?” Maya asked.

Caprice nodded.

Maya started to say, “Oh, back then he was ranked—”

“Sixth.” Rina Sayen tapped Caprice on the shoulder. “I looked it up because I was curious too.” She held out her palm-slate for the two other girls to see. “Apparently, he was ranked sixth.”

Caprice asked, “Sixth amongst the first-years?”

“No, sixth amongst all the Familiars at Galatea.” Rina sounded almost regretful. “And there were more Familiars at the school last year than this year.”

Caprice looked down at the rankings chart from late last year. “Caelum Desanto afil Lanfear. Ranked sixth. Remnant: Kaiser’s Blessing.”

“Yeah, he really was strong,” Maya murmured. “Impressive for a first-year.”

Caprice read another name on the table. “Katia Alexis Asakura afil Raynar. Ranked Third. Remnant: Eris.”

Maya snorted. “One of pretty boy’s fangirls.”

Caprice noticed the girl’s irritation but chose to ignore it. “Is that her ranking from back then?”

“That was back then,” Rina replied and then pointed at a number on the screen. “That’s her current ranking. It hasn’t changed. She’s still ranked third.”

Caprice felt oddly strange knowing there was a girl stronger than Desanto. But then she realized she hadn’t seen Desanto in action, except for the frightening skill he demonstrated with the Gram and Hecato-fields in the morning. “So if she fought the Pervert then she would probably win.”

Sayen nodded. “According to this, yes.”

Maya stretched her arms high over her head and arched her back. “I remember she was the top ranked girl last year even though she was a first year. I always wanted to fight her, but middle-schoolers aren’t allowed to spar or duel with high school Familiars.” She grinned faintly to herself. “But I get to duel against her this year. Looking forward to that.” Abruptly she stiffened before lowering her arms and facing Caprice. “By the way, are you really going to duel with me for the right partner with Desanto?”

Caprice froze for a heartbeat but then broke into a troubled frown. “I…I’m not sure….”

“Then what made you say that you would?” Maya asked her in an even tone that came across as curious rather than challenging.

Caprice struggled for an answer. “I guess…because you…kind of annoyed me….”

Maya’s eyebrows twitched before smiling crookedly. “I did? How did I do that?”

“Well…because you had the courage to say something…to against the flow…and I didn’t.”

“Oh?” Maya seemed to relax imperceptibly. “I didn’t like the way the girls were treating him.”

Sayen muttered, “But he’s the Pervert.”

“So what?” Maya wrinkled her nose. “That’s just crap the girls made up when the Princess started showing an interest in him. They couldn’t stand the notion that their precious Princess would actually like someone like him.”

“The Princess?” Caprice asked.

Maya rolled her shoulders. “That’s what they called. Princess Prissila Ventiss Avenir. She was a second year. That makes her a senior this year. Anyway, the girls had this stupid agreement that the Princess would remain untouchable and pure. When she and Desanto started dancing around each other they lit the flames of war. After that, they started bullying him and spreading rumors, but he just ignored them and eventually they started dating. But it last long.”

“Why?” Caprice asked. “Were her boobs not big enough for him?”

Maya arched her eyebrows at Caprice. “Are you kidding? That girl was a ten out of ten. I think he was actually scared of being near her, but he couldn’t help himself either.”

Caprice noticed she was making a sour face and hurriedly stopped. “Well, that’s a surprise.”

Rina Sayen leaned forward, though she was pressing her palm-slate to her chest. “So he really didn’t sneak into the girls’ changerooms?”

“I doubt it,” Maya replied with a shrug.

“Then what about those rumors that he stole the girls’ underwear when they were in gym class?”

Maya sighed at Sayen. “Don’t you think the Academy would have suspended him if that was true.”

“Ah…I guess….” Sayen may have said so but she didn’t look convinced, and a moment later she asked, “So you like him?”

Maya’s eyebrows twitched again. “Huh?”

“Do you like the Pervert?” Sayen asked her.

Maya turned away with an embarrassed look on her face, and gazed at the trophies behind the glass doors. “No. It’s not like that. I just don’t think they’re being fair on him.”

“Who?” Caprice asked, butting in slightly.

Maya gave her an annoyed yet also sheepish glance. “I told you. The girls. Who else?”

Caprice stared at Maya, and wondered if the girl was being honest with herself, before quickly concluding that she wasn’t. It was fair to say that Maya’s feeling for Desanto had been cultivated over time, and it was obvious that she’d had been watching him from afar, a distance made greater by the fact that until recently she had been a middle schooler and Desanto had been attending high school. But now she was in high school, and as good fortune would have it, she was assigned to the same class he was. Now that distance was practically zero.

When she thought about it like this, the unpleasant feeling returned to Caprice’s chest. She couldn’t put it into words, but she could say it left her with a bitter taste in her mouth. When someone’s stomach rumbled, Caprice was ashamed to realize it was hers, and relieved because it broke the mood.

Glancing at her wrist watch, Caprice saw that it was close to midday. “I think I need some lunch,” she admitted, and walked away from the display cabinet. Then she remembered she needed to purchase another school bag or see if the strap could be fixed.

Walking from the admin building back to their classroom, the trio noticed numerous students entering the giant white donut shaped cafeteria that stood between the east and west wings of the high school building, and Caprice wondered aloud if they’d find a table. Though the cafeteria was enormous, and stood nine floors high, there were more than four thousand high school students in attendance so it was likely to be packed with students looking for a meal, especially since they were not allowed out of the school grounds once classes commenced, so it was either the cafeteria or the vending machines if they wanted to get something to eat.

Realizing this, Maya and Rina decided to go ahead and secure a table, and quickly exchanged palm-slate numbers with Caprice before the two girls parted ways with her and headed into the cafeteria, while Caprice returned to classroom West-1A.

As she walked alone, Caprice felt uneasy as she wondered how much Desanto knew about her.

Was it possible they had met when they were younger?

Had he met Karina because of his elder sister, Celica?

Biting her lower lip for a long moment, Caprice noticed she’d arrived at the classroom, and cautiously slid the front door open. In a way she was relieved to find it unoccupied, and walked to the back of the classroom to her smart-desk where she’d left her school bag on the seat. Picking it up, she was surprised by what she saw.

A second school bag rested on the chair, wrapped in plastic.

Staring at it with wide eyes, Caprice realized that this was the personal matter Desanto had spoken off and the reason he was late to the briefing.

Though she did faintly regret hitting him with her school bag, it was his fault for making her mad. As such, buying her a new bag was the least he could do for her.

Nonetheless she sighed contently as she unwrapped the school bag, and then transferred the contents of her old bag into it. Then she placed the damaged bag into the small locker she’d been allocated at the back of the classroom, spun the dial on the lock, before heading out of the classroom to meet Maya and Sayen for lunch at the cafeteria, messaging them that she was on her way.

– V –

At lunch, Revlina Laurentine locked down her terminal knowing it wouldn’t stop the diagnostic program she was running as part of the quality assurance work her team had been assigned to complete by the end of the week. She had turned down the offer from her female coworkers to each lunch together at some restaurant downtown in District Six, not far from the Steiner Corporation building, citing she had an errand to run.

Though true, she wasn’t about to reveal its nature to the girls in her software department, though the coy delivery of her excuse had them wondering if she was meeting a lunchtime date.

That part wasn’t true.

Although it was a hassle, Revlina retrieved a change of clothes from a gym bag she kept in a subway locker. In a toilet stall, she slipped out of her business suit and into casual wear consisting of a dark blouse, denim jacket, black trousers, and swapped her low heels for a pair of comfortable, well-worn sneakers. There was also a second palm-slate in the bag and as expected it was out of charge so Revlina attached the portable charger she brought with her. Putting her work clothes and her other palm-slate in the bag, she put her baseball cap inside a jacket pocket, then exited the women’s toilets. After returned the gym bag to a different locker, she swiped the palm-slate over the turnstile scanner, and then entered the subway platform.

Traveling by subway rather than the overhead mag-lev, Revlina arrived at District Sixteen located at the far east of Habitat One. Slipping on the baseball cap, she climbed the stairs leading out of the subway station, and walked east a couple of blocks, before arriving at an area known as Chi-Town, a place reminiscent of the old China Towns found long ago on distant Earth, before the vast migration into space.

The shops here were small and crowded on either side of a narrow plaza. Strange dragon-like creatures adorned the signs and windows, and weird characters with lots of strokes that Revlina knew nothing about spelled their names in a language she didn’t understand. But there was one shop she recognized, and she entered it after casually glancing around to see if she was being followed, though undoubtedly the security cameras in this area would have recorded her stepping off the street sidewalk and onto the plaza crowded with workers from nearby businesses eating a variety of steaming noodles they dipped in a sweet and sour sauce.

Wrinkling her nose at the smell of food in the air, she was glad to step out of the plaza and into the quaint jewelry shop.

The old shopkeeper greeted her as he would any other shopper, but Revlina wasn’t just any customer, and after making small talk for a minute and showing her his wares on the counter, he suggested she take a look at his collection of jewelry held in a back room. Closing the shop for business with a sign that said, BACK IN FIFTEEN MINUTES, the old man escorted Revlina to a small back room, where she waited for him to pull back a thick crimson carpet with gold dragon embroidery, and lift the trapdoor underneath. Then she climbed down after him into another room beneath the shop.

A large black ball about a meter in diameter, floated a few inches above the floor at the back of the underground room, and Revlina chose to keep her distance. But the old man showed no such reluctance, and slipped his hand into the ball as though it were made of water because she could clearly see a ripple run along its black surface which reflected the overhead strip lights. When he pulled out his hand, the old man held a small black box resembling a jewelry case with beveled sides, completely devoid of any markings but for the carvings along its top.

He held out it out to her, and Revlina opened it to see a slender feminine bracelet lying within.

“Is this the one?” he asked her.

She found his smile a little unnerving. “Yes.”

Reaching inside the box she retrieved the slender bracelet and slipped it around her left wrist. The bracelet warmed to her skin in an instant, and she felt as though fingers were creeping around inside her brain. When the sensation faded a short while later, the bracelet almost vanished from view as it assumed the color of her skin and camouflaged itself.

The bracelet was the key or link to the Remnant residing within its Sarcophagus. The Sarcophagus itself was hiding in a fold in the fabric of space-time, commonly referred to as Pocket Space. In other words, the bracelet was like a key ring hanging outside of a trouser pocket, while the keys – the Sarcophagus – was inside the pocket. Where the bracelet went, the Sarcophagus in Pocket Space followed, although the latter was impossible detect. Even the Awareness-fields that radiated from other Remnants like radar waves would fail to perceive a Sarcophagus hiding in Pocket Space, although Revlina was aware that some Remnants, those belonging to the Ruler Class, had abilities that could force a Sarcophagus to reveal itself. With any luck, and the gods willing, she wouldn’t run into a Familiar with a Ruler Class Remnant.

Closing the box, the old man continued to smile at her. “Then I wish you luck, Ferryman.”

Revlina clamped down on the shiver that almost broke free and ran through her body.

If she failed in her role as the gateway or ferryman into Pharos, then she’d better pack her bags and run. However, she honestly didn’t know how long she could stay ahead of them if they were serious about capturing and punishing her for her failures. The organization wasn’t the forgiving kind. Turning herself into Public Security or the Sanctum might be better options than trying to flee. Although she faced the prospect of a lifetime imprisonment, she would at least be alive. Then again, if the organization had operatives within Public Security or the Sanctum, they would probably get to her regardless.

The old man returned the box to the black sphere, and Revlina climbed out of the room ahead of him. After he closed the trapdoor and unfurled the dragon carpet over it, she followed him out to the front of the shop, and exited the establishment moments later.

Behind her, the old man flipped the sign on the door, indicating the shop was once more open for business.