For some reason, Duran had chosen today to be quiet and calm. I tried to retrace anywhere he might go- a building filled with swords (the armory?), the docks, even the kitchens. No luck. He was just gone.

  They can’t have lost him already, I tried to tell myself, but that wasn’t really my worry. It was impossible to tell how much trouble Duran would get in, left unsupervised. He might not be in danger, but the school definitely was.

  I walked a little faster. I was on the other edge of the wall now, able to barely duck into the shadow of the logs as I approached the kitchens again. Maybe he’d slipped away and tried to get a snack.

  This time, the door to the kitchen was closed. I tried the handle, but it rattled. Locked. I glanced up, but smoke was still billowing out of the chimney. Either someone was in there, or they were foolish enough to leave wood burning with no supervision.

  I could hear something, too- crackling and what sounded like a low voice. There had to be another way in. I crept along the outside of the building. Like most of the buildings here, it had been built in a very basic manner. Most didn’t even have windows, so I supposed I should feel lucky Sylvia and I had been given one.

  This building, it turned out, didn’t have a window. But it did have a small vent just underneath the roof. I pressed myself against the wall and listened. Wherever the vent was, it let sound through perfectly.

  First there was a comment in northern from a woman’s voice, low and gravely. There was a silence, then she spoke again. “Southern? Please tell me you speak something.”

  “Finally! I thought no one here spoke southern.” Duran’s voice. I pushed up, trying to see inside, but the vent was too high for me.

  “No wonder they’ve sent you here. Clearly you’re too much of a fool for anything else.”

  “That’s not what they said. I’m just here to help!”

  “And I was born yesterday. If you want to help, see if the coals are hot enough yet. Not like I have a moment to supervise anyone! With the festival coming up, you’re lucky I didn’t throw you out! I’m dead tired of them sending children as a punishment, you know. This is real work!”

  “What festival?” There was a crunching sound. Duran must be following her orders.

  “What festival do you think? The winter festival. Only me to plan the food, of course. ‘Oh, Svena, you’re so good at cooking’, they always butter me up,” she said. “As if that makes up for double the amount of guests as usual! No further victuals! They’ll be lucky if I serve them boiled clams. At this rate, they’ll get cups of salt water! Are the embers good or not?”

  “The fire’s going better now,” said Duran. “There are guests?”

  Of course he sounded excited. I closed my eyes and tried not to sigh.

  “Where have you been? Under a rock? Of course there are guests. That fancy general- never likes my food, always a complaint, as if he doesn’t drink too much to taste it anyway- and then all of his troops. None of them ever eat properly either! They just steal the upper division students and do those fool trials. Where does that leave me, I say! I told the headmaster this year, I did. Told him he ought to just cook himself and see how he likes it, making all the food just for it to go cold. They might as well just bring ale and nothing else!”

  “The upper divison students?”

  There was a rattle and a long silence. Eventually, the woman said, “Got a bit carried away, I did. Don’t you worry your head about the upper divison.”

  “But-”

  “You’ll go deliver this food to the guests in the far cabin,” she said.

  “Is the upper division just for older students? Or is it for the best students? Or the worst? What do they do?”

  “If you’re worthy of the honor, you’ll be given the trial. As for what they do, I certainly don’t mind my head about that! I just wish they’d eat at normal times.”

  “But-“

  “Out!” she interrupted, and I began to trot over to the doorway. As I rounded the corner, however, I saw another figure- Duran’s mother.

  I froze, then pulled back away. Just my luck! Why had everyone in the world I disliked apparently decided to spend their winter in the Crags?

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  I thought you were supposed to prevent unfortunate coincidences like this, I informed Andrena. She didn’t comment.

  Around the corner, I could hear something rattle, and then the squeal of a hinge. I stared up at a seagull circling overhead and hoped they wouldn’t be walking in my direction.

  “Oh,” said Duran. “Um, hello. I’m just-”

  “I told you to keep your mouth closed.” She sounded just as happy as she’d been in the temple, I decided. At least Duran hadn’t inherited her bad attitude.

  “I didn’t get in trouble for speaking,” he said. He sounded a little resentful. “Just because of a little accidental slush-”

  “Give me that tray,” she interrupted. “I won’t have you walking around out here. You’ll just make it worse.”

  “But I’m supposed to deliver it!”

  “You aren’t permitted to go to the far cabin.” Her voice was like ice. “Svena’s laziness does not remove your restrictions. I will take the tray, and you will go back inside. You will lock the door after you, and you will say nothing. You will ask no questions. You will be very helpful, and perhaps you will be permitted to return to the dormitories.”

  I didn’t hear the rest of it. Something had connected mentally when she’d forbidden Duran to go to the far cabin. That’s us. A shudder ran down my spine as I turned and moved as quickly as I could towards the far cabin. You’ve gone and done it now, Elysia.

  Hopefully Duran would argue a little more. I glanced over my shoulder, breaking into a half-run. I thought I saw some movement behind me. Had she already shaken him off?

  I vaulted over a bush and tore around the back of the cabin, leaning in and knocking at the broken window. It felt like an eternity before Sylvia’s head popped back out. She was yawning. “Done already?”

  “They’re coming with food for us!” I hissed. “Be ready to lock the door behind me!”

  Before she could say anything else, I edged towards the front of the building, peering out before I made a break for the door. There was faint movement in the distance. If I ran for it…

  I took the plunge. Two steps to the door, then I yanked the bolt open and slipped in. Behind me, Sylvia jumped out. She was wearing a long impractical robe. I winced as it dragged through the mud, but she’d already shoved the door shut. I heard the bolt slide shut, and then I was left to arrange myself on a bed and try to look normal.

  My heart was thudding violently in my chest. I started with surprise when there was a knock on the door. “Food. I’ll be opening the door to deliver it. If you try to run out I will punish you accordingly.”

  Sylvia still wasn’t back. I looked over my shoulder. She was trying to climb into the window, her robe caught on a splinter.

  I stepped towards the door and faked a cough. “Oh, ah, give us a moment. We’re changing…”

  “As if I care about that!”

  “I don’t either,” I prevaricated, “But there is a lady here, and…”

  There was a thump behind me. Lady Sylvia had fallen through the window. In front of me, the door was yanked open. Duran’s mother, Flaviana, stood there. Her eyes were cold and hard. She glanced from me, standing in front of the door, to Sylvia, who had pulled herself to a sitting position and was pretending to tie her robe closed.

  She closed her eyes briefly and let out an annoyed sigh. “Were you going to tell anyone your window had broken?”

  “Has it? I didn’t notice.”

  A gust of wind tore through the room, nearly stealing the napkin on the tray. Flaviana reached forward, quick as a snake, and anchored it down with a fork. “I see. Well, we can’t allow you to have such a vulnerability.” Her eyes flashed with menace. “The upper division works at night. It would be a… pity… if you got in their way. I’ll have a repairman sent, and a guard to watch the frame in the meantime.”

  Sylvia recovered before I did, swanning forward and taking the tray with a big flourish of her robes. She batted her eyes at Flaviana. “Thank you so much. The upper divison… are they wild animals, perhaps? I’ve heard there are trained bears here.”

  “I’ll send the guard,” said Flaviana, short. “Enjoy your meal.”

  As she turned to leave, Sylvia reached out and snagged her by the wrist. “Wait,” she said. “We’ve been here a full day. Are we not entitled to a meeting with the headmaster? I don’t even know what lies beyond this door!”

  Flaviana’s eyes lingered on the mud at Sylvia’s hem, then turned to me. I tried to pat down a windblown section of my hair. She couldn’t realize, could she?

  “The headmaster is very busy,” she said. “The upcoming festival requires all of his attention.”

  “But for a concerned parent?”

  “You’ll wait for his time, like anyone else,” snapped Flaviana. She yanked her hand out of Sylvia’s grip. “If you touch me again, I’ll treat it as a threat and act upon it as I see fit. Are we clear?”

  Before either of us could respond, the door had slammed behind her. As soon as we heard the bolt slide closed, Sylvia sighed, sitting on the bed. “Not very friendly here, are they? I wonder if it’s cultural.”

  “If you go out of the window one more time, I might be able to escape before they come to change it…”

  “Don’t be foolish,” she said. “She obviously knows what we were up to. Better to eat and wait to meet the headmaster.”

  “You heard what she said. He doesn’t have the time to meet with us now.”

  “Every mountain can be worn down by enough water,” said Lady Sylvia. Her eyes were vicious as she took a delicate bite of bread. “I’ve only just gotten started. They’ll let us meet with the headmaster.”

  I didn’t know if I believed her, but I could already hear movement outside. A moment later, there was a knock at the window. “Ma’am,” said the young guard outside. He glanced between Sylvia and I. “Uh, Ma’am and Ma’am?”

  “I am a lady,” said Sylvia.

  “Yes,” he said, clearly flustered. “Ah, Lady, I’m here to guard you while we wait for a window repair.”

  “Delightful.” Sylvia took something off of the tray and held it out. “It must be cold out there. Will you have a cup of tea with us?”

  It couldn’t possibly work, I decided. She was clearly being fake. There was barely a smile on her face, and she hadn’t said anything with real enthusiasm. Even the most half-rate guard wouldn’t take something from her.

  “Thanks!” he said. “Awful nice of you.” The guard reached out and took the cup from her hands, having to lean partway into the window. Sylvia turned to me, looking smug as she raised a brow, and I sighed. That meeting with the headmaster needed to happen sooner rather than later.