Mahon and Zac were eating with trembling hands, at a table far away from the other First Red. Their skin was bruised and painful in more than one place. Blue and yellow even had started to appear on their arms.

They felt crushed and incredibly tired. They had spent the ten fights against Tiarsus and Travaran and they had exited each one with more pain and injuries. And after Mahon had landed that blow at the end of the first fight, Tiarsus had purposefully elbowed Mahon in the face multiple times as revenge.

Fortunately, the nobles were not very good, so they had suffered from the same exhaustion as Mahon and Zac and the fights had been less and less violent. Now, Mahon and Zac were tending their wounds while eating what was left at the canteen.

“I’m not sure I will be able to go through that kind of beating every day.” Zac said.

“Me neither…”

“So what should we do?”

Mahon shook his head.

“I have no idea…”

Zac sighed in response and they continued eating in silence.

“Should we try ranking up?”

“I don’t think I can, Zac. But you shouldn’t have to endure that with me. You could rank up and I will join you afterwards…”

“Cut the crap. I said I would not leave you. I was more thinking about duo dueling... you think we could manage that?”

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

“We won for the first time today, can’t we do it again?”

“We won because they were more focused on beating the crap out of us than actually winning. And to rank up, we will have to aim for people stronger than them. And we got crushed even more with the swords. And…”

“Yeah, yeah, stop it. So... we just forget about ranking up?”

“Maybe we can start to study some First White duos, if only to have an idea of possible targets. Who knows? We may stumble upon an easy target...”

“But you don’t think so.” Zac read Mahon’s true thoughts.

“No, it’s not very likely.”

The duo tossed aside their now empty plates and grabbed some of the fruits available at every table.

“We could speak to Slander. Describe what’s happening and he would help us. Probably.”

Mahon raised an eyebrow.

“It’s your domain of expertise, Zac. Is it likely the instructor will intervene in a simple noble quarrel in favor of the commoner?”

Zac grimaced and went silent for a moment, thinking.

“Yeah, not likely... But I think the instructor will soon open the rings further than our rank and if Tiarsus and Travaran keep winning every time, they will have to spar with stronger people soon.”

“Right. Good point. So maybe it’s not much of a problem. We keep losing for a few days and they will not be our problem anymore.”

“That could work. But we will be stuck with the other First Red and Tiarsus may have instructed them to do the same.”

Mahon sighed deeply. They were stuck between a rock and a hard place, and no solution seemed appropriate.

“I don’t know what to tell you then. Let’s try to survive an entire week and maybe reconsider after that?”

“One week seems fine to me. I can handle that much. And it’s also some kind of hard training.”

“Yes, let’s consider it like that.” Mahon chuckled.

While continuing their discussion, they stood up and went to Yordar’s lesson. The walk was slow, but their enthusiasm had not been totally damped by the arrogant nobles. When they were together, they had this strange ability to cheer the other up and forget about their hardships. In fact, they had to if they wanted to pursue their crazy goals. Otherwise, they would have crumbled under the enormity of the task a long time ago.

The remainder of the day was not different from what they were used to before the opening of the duel. The main change was that they were only the two of them sitting in their usual row. They could see their old roommates scattered in the other rows with their new roommates and friends, discussing one thing or another. They had waved when they had seen each other, but they didn’t have more time to discuss. Their friends couldn’t be seen with mere First Red after all, now that they had ranked up.

Mahon already spent his specialized lesson alone, so the fact that his roommates had ranked up didn’t change anything. His sore body, however, impeded him and he did some of his worst lessons for a full month. Slander didn’t miss any of it and the flood of the instructor had been targeted at him more than not. When Mahon went back to the house, exhausted, he saw Zac waiting outside.

“They are already inside?” Mahon asked.

“Yeah, I figured we could as well stay outside and come home once it’s time to sleep. Let’s avoid trouble as much as we can.”

“What about eating?”

With a knowing smile, Zac grabbed one of the bags that laid beside him and reached inside to pull out a few sandwiches.

“That’s the second time you’re acting smart today, Zac. Maybe you should get punched more often.”

“Shaddap and come sit with me.”

Mahon grinned happily and followed Zac further in. He led them to a small area with two benches in the middle of a tree circle. It was located two dozens meters away from the house and the dense foliage almost made it invisible from there. They sat face to face in the cozy space and Zac emptied his bag on a cloth that he laid between them. Cheese, ham and bread rolled on the improvised table. It was frugal, but plenty enough to satisfy their needs.

“So the next strategy test will come soon?”

“Yes, I think so too. Yordar hinted at it multiple times during his lecture.”

“Do you need special training to convince him he should teach you? Will he give you a special test or something?”

Mahon shook his head.

“No, it’s unlikely. I think he will just test me himself and ask broader questions that might take into account my Nightmare’s knowledge.”

“Not stressed?”

“No, I think it will be fine. I don’t know exactly why but I like the man.”

“You’re talking about Yordar?”

“Yes, he has that special way of teaching and speaking that I find really good. He is smart and impressive. In some ways we are very alike.”

“Yeah, you would make the perfect couple!”

Mahon threw at Zac the cheese that he was eating, but his friend dodged it while laughing.

“Hey! No playing with food!”

“I will just be myself and answer Yordar’s questions the best I can. If it’s not enough to convince him, I will try my luck with one of his assistants. But I have a good feeling.”

“Yeah, being oneself is always the best thing to do. I can’t repeat it enough. If you don’t know how to act, just be yourself.”

The two friends ate while mixing jokes and serious conversations as they used to do. Mahon taught about their future strategy for the next fights against Tiarsus and Travaran while Zac explained more of Ratho’s society to Mahon.

Mahon still had trouble understanding how the different noble families interacted with each other and which one was responsible for what. Between the Council, the queen and the high nobles, there was a hidden game of power and influence that governed most of Ratho’s decision making.

Zac was far from knowing all the undersides of it, but even the simpler version he pictured was hard to comprehend for Mahon. The interests of the great powers were always buried under layers and layers of deception and manipulation, and no one could know for sure what the goal of any of them was.

The sun escorted them for most of the evening and when its dying colors turned to darkness, Mahon and Zac dropped the heavy topics and relaxed. Zac took out his sitar and played slowly, tunes only known to him. Sometimes he instructed Mahon on some famous current songs and occasionally Mahon would recognize the melody. It resurfaced unexpectedly from his past life, and he was singing the lyrics without even realizing. When it happened, Zac played similar songs to see if more of its memories came back.

“Look at them, aren’t they lovely?”

The sentence broke the dark night and only now did Mahon and Zac realize that the First Red nobles had circled them in complete silence. They stood up and glanced at their roommates. Tiarsus glared back at them with a cruel look that made the two friends shiver. The strange scene seemed to freeze for long seconds, during which Mahon and Zac moved closer to each other while the nobles closed the circle, preventing them from running.

“Catch them.” Tiarsus ordered and the nobles jumped upon the duo.

At four versus two they stood no chance and after a futile resistance Mahon was tackled down and immobilized, a knee painfully pressing on his back. He managed to turn his head and watched how Zac was also slammed down by the other two nobles and incapacitated. Tiarsus walked between them with assured steps and grabbed Zac’s sitar.

“Stay calm, you two. You’re lucky we can’t harm you while at school… But there are other ways to obtain what I want.” the noble commenced.

He paced between them and squatted near Zac so he could see him better. When Zac realized the noble had his sitar in hand, he struggled, but he was held too well by the nobles and couldn’t do anything. Tiarsus sneered and pursued his talk like nothing happened.

“Zac, because of your good relationship with Methild there, I’m ready to give you one more chance. You tasted our medicine this morning and there is no need to endure it any further. Leave that thing alone in the fangs where it belongs and come with us.”

The noble gestured to Mahon and even spit in front of his face as he spoke.

“But if you keep that stupid idea of helping him, then we will have to treat you as one of them. Is that what you want?”

“You’re fucking crazy! Let us go and…”

“No, no, no, no...” Tiarsus interrupted Zac and pinched his jaw to prevent him from speaking further. “I just need a simple answer. Will you join us or will you abandon your position among the rulers?”

“Go to Nightmare, you freak.”

“So it’s like that. At least we tried to save you.”

As he said so, Tiarsus grabbed the sitar with both his hands and raised it high above his head. Then, in a smooth and violent motion, he crushed it on the ground.

The sitar broke and exploded in pieces with a defective musical noise. As his head was kept on the ground, Zac had trouble seeing what had happened, but he had identified the dying sound of his instrument.

“No! What have you done?!”

Zac jolted violently in the hands of his abductors and Tiarsus gestured for them to let him go. The nobles released him and, as he stood up, he watched the remains of his sitar scattered on the ground. Zac grimaced hideously and turned to Tiarsus.

“You’re just a bunch of animals…”

“Hahaha… That’s what happens when you don’t realize where your place belongs. Come guys, let them reflect on their new conditions.”

The nobles that were holding Mahon moved away and they all retreated into the house, leaving Mahon with a devastated Zac, kneeling between his sitar’s remains. Mahon helped Zac gather the main pieces of the instrument, but the damages were impressive and parts of the sitar had been reduced to scraps.

“It’s beyond hope, isn’t it?”

Zac raised his head and sadly smiled at his friend.

“Yes… There is no way we can fix it…”

“I’m sorry Zac…”

“It’s not up to you to be sorry, Mahon. It’s them.”

Mahon sighed loudly and put his hand on Zac’s shoulder in a comforting gesture.

“I think it’s worth looking at which First White we may be able to take down. But we should rest for now. You wanna discuss it further in Nightmare?”

“No, it’s fine. I prefer my kind of sleep. We’ll see tomorrow.”