Kynos was ecstatic. He thought he had smelled something sweet, and saw a gigantic box being wheeled in to the great chamber of the castle.

Mithandra had been keeping a sharp eye on him all day, but it wouldn't be enough to bring down his mood.

The preparations began that morning for the girls, who were all being bound by fancy dresses held up by wire mesh. Kynos briefly wondered if those dresses were supposed to serve as armor in emergencies. He had heard of something called 'chain mail,' but had never seen it, as mages rarely wore armor due to weightgetting in the way of casting. Mithandra had opted out of a dress and wore her school uniform, which looked brand new.

They were made to stand in the great chamber as two retainers, followed by Mathias himself, gave speeches of congratulations and praise. Even though they were partially for him, Kynos was bored and hungering for cake. Axal looked bored as well, though he forced himself to pay attention. It must be because he had been brought up with those habits.

Finally, the turn for Mithandra's speech came. She grabbed Kynos by the arm, just like when they had first met, and dragged him to the stage as well. Kynos was bewildered, and stammered out to try to stop her, but something else saved him from his fear of public speaking.

The large twin doors burst open, and a voice yelled into the crowd, “ATTACK!”

Kynos blinked his eyes as the room instantly became hectic. He briefly wondered how the pirates would do against the hundreds of siege weapons he saw facing the water.

The real surprise came next, as a wall of water gushed into the chamber itself. Kynos quickly covered Mith with his body, and did his best to create a shadow barrier to shield them both. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day, and the chamber was brightly lit. The water crushed the shadow like it was a sheet of paper, then crushed his consciousness as well.

Again, Kynos was awakened from the sound of voices nearby.

“...money, right?” A cruel sounding woman.

“All three brats got t'magic school clothes, each one could buy a new ship, boss.” A man this time, speaking with a crude accent.

“And that water mage?” “Aye boss, stuck 'im like I stuck me wenches I did. Got all our coin back before 'ee figured out we was nabbin' mages.” “Good, go make sure we're sailing at full speed. Those idiot Ailizeans are probably scrambling to launch right now.”

The woman laughed like a dying cat, then abruptly stopped. “Oh, and those brats are young, but dangerous. Go in there and make sure they're all blinded and there's no water near. Dakka was done in by a fireball and some water magic, we can't have that happening to us.”

Kynos heard a “shhhh” from Mitha few seconds before the door to his prison was kicked open. He let his body stay limp and calmed his breathing. Rough hands tightened his blindfold, and he heard the same thing happening two more times near him.

The door closed. He heard a soft whisper next to him.

“Hey, used your magic like I taught you, take off your own blindfold first, then help me.”

Kynos nodded to himself. These pirates would pay. They would pay for attacking Axal, they would pay for attacking Mith, and most of all, they would pay for attacking a perfectly good cake.