It hadn't occured to them that there would come a day that Ethel would finally act like a lady they had hoped. And no, it wasn't because of her personality and manner of dressing, but rather when it came to the matters of the opposite sex. She was too invested in the way of the warrior that they hardly saw her take an interest in people other than for sparring.

They had reason to believe, or more like yearned to believe, that Ethel harbored other intentions that were unusual for the warrior. Fate led them to believe that it was something more. After all, they established a bond of friendship unlike any other. Of course they would love to see their strongest warrior blossom in her prime.

“Should we really be following her?” Porte whispered.

“Shh! She might hear you. And of course we should. Women aren’t allowed in the male dormitories without reason,” Albright replied.

Fleur rolled her eyes. “Why are you guys whispering? You do know that I can hear it, don’t you?”

The two of them stiffened and smiled apologetically. While the three of them trailed a few steps behind Ethel and Vyron, who was leading the way, they whispered amongst themselves.

“Do you think that Carys might be the one?” Fleur muttered.

Her presence alone attracte a lot of stares from the crowd. Not to mention that they were in the male's dormitory that was brimming with testosterone, she was like a rose in a field of grass. The two men groaned as they picked up the pace to leave that seductress behind.

“Fine! Don’t answer me.”

As the five of them reached the very end of the corridor, Vyron opened the door to the right. “He’s in there. I don’t know if he’s awake yet but I haven’t opened our partition ever since he closed it two days ago.”

Ethel nodded and had no qualms about entering a man’s room. They shouldn’t be here at this time of day because of their theoretical classes, but Ethel managed to persuade them into skipping by letting them copy off of her notes (a lie because she did not take notes).

With a yank, she opened the partitions and saw a huge bulge in the bed that was curled up in a ball. There was no movement and sound, if it was not because there was a glass of ice on the bedside table, Ethel would believe he was dead.

She hadn’t mentioned the fact that the both of them wore similar accessories, nor did she mention that fact to Carys himself, whom she assumed had no idea seeing as he hadn’t seek her out yet. She had a reason to believe that they may be one and the same.

“Can you guys get out, for a moment?”

“No!” the three men yelled out simultaneously. Fleur had an even bigger smile on her face.

Ethel felt an incoming headache and threw a pleading look at Fleur.

“What would you do without me?” she shook her head and proceeded to push the three men out. “Out we go, come on then. Unless you want me to spill your secrets?”

They momentarily forgot about Ethel’s insistence on being left alone and scrambled out of the room with begrudged expressions. Vyron threw a last glance over his shoulder before Fleur slammed the door shut with a loud thud.

Ethel sighed. She sat down on the cold, stone floor and stared at the blanket. There was subtle movement as it moved up and down, accompanying the steady breathes of the figure underneath. With her senses, she could vaguely sense the vtialis in his body.

Vitalis in the body signified that it was still alive.

“Carys.”

There was no sign of movement.

“Wake up.”

She forcefully removed the blanket and threw it on Vyron’s bed. To his surprise, Carys threw a punch, hoping to make a diversion and make a grab for the blanket. Unfortunately it failed, not only didEthel manage to block his fist, she threw a punch at his gut. It didn’t connect but now she had a good look at Carys.

Gone were his brown hair and eyes. Ethel smiled as she managed to confirm her suspicions.

“I would have never guessed that the favored student of the Headmaster was an zabiya.”

Carys jerked back and glared at Ethel. He had already made a grab for the sword underneath his bed and did not hesitate to point it at her neck. The blade had been directed precisely above the artery in her neck.

“Someone is a bit jumpy.” She raised her brows as an act of defiance, but it couldn’t hide the fact that her heart lurched and her palms sweated that she broke out in a cold sweat.

“When someone discovers your secret wouldn’t you have done the same?” Carys asked calmly, not missing her sweaty palms.

“Of course I would’ve. But I advise you to sheath your sword.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why should I?”

Ethel then breathed deeply and tried to calm down. “Simple, because of the Headmaster."

Carys applied more pressure on the blade to her neck.

'This crazy bastard.' Ethel felt another incoming headache.

"If you care for him at all, you wouldn't kill me. It would reflect badly on him if his prized student killed someone."

The atmosphere was tense as she waited in bated breaths for his decision.

“Fine.”

Carys sheathed his sword and put back the sword under his bed. He sat down on his worn bed, his head hung low. He wouldn’t initially let Ethel go so easily, seeing as she found out his greatest secret. But a lingering thought in his head had convinced it that it was better she was the one who found out about it, rather than someone else.

He couldn't have kept it a secret forever. There was bound to be someone who found out and if he thought about it positively, it was helpful to have a worthy accomplice to help him. Carys rather thought it was a miracle that no one had picked up his disguise. He did find it quite suspicious that Ethel had found about it and why she handled his cursed appearnce quite calmly.

'Was she like him?' he thought. But shook his head. There was no way that another one of his kind would crop up in a such a place. Zabiyas would usually keep to themselves in the far east, where there was hardly any large countries and where deserts spanned for miles and miles. The sinking feeling in his chest did not reside and a burning curiosity flashed in his eyes.

In any case, only people who had something to hide would wear a similar accessory. It was just that different people had different secrets. He wanted to know hers.

Ethel sat down on the opposite bed and smiled. "I'm sure you're curious how I found out and if i'm the same as you?"

He nodded. Ethel's deep eyes that showed a hint of amusement did not fail to pass his gaze. If there was one thing that Ethel was good at, it was hiding secrets. She took pride in teasing people despite her usual casual demeanor.

Carys' white hair seemed to shimmer in the rays of the sun and his pink eyes glittered like gems. Ethel had to blink again to make sure she wasn't disillusioned. 'Weird,' she thought. They were both zabiyas but he seemed to be even more beautiful than her. Unlike her, she more or less resembled the cursed ones. She looked down on her ankle again.

Without missing a beat she then said, "What you're thinking isn't too far from it. Yes, I have seen a zabiya before. It was a fateful encounter iin the slums." Carys was stunned, he didn't peg her as the type that lived in the slums. Ethel laughed. "Yes, you wouldn't guess that I came from the slums, specifically the red light district. The zabiya that I saw before was also a boy. He was with his parents escaping to the far east. As for how I found out, well I have a similar one like yours. Except mine is hidden and well, yours could be seen in plain view."

Carys looked a bit – disoriented. “Then why would you –”

“Wear one?”

He nodded.

“The same reason as you.”