I reached out a gloved hand and knocked on Amelia's door before stepping backward and waiting. After a second, I pulled at the high collar, adjusting it and wondering if it was improper to loosen it entirely.

The entire thing was a muted affair of deep blue with silver accents, a departure from the more earthen tones the Esttons preferred. To quote Leon, "Greens aren't your color," whatever that meant. If I had my way, I would have gone in black but would not turn my nose up at a gift or pretend to be an expert in Ferren fashion.

It should feel uncomfortable, but whatever magic inside the material worked wonders. The sleeves fit closely, the pants bordered on tight, and the high boots and gloves left me covered from neck to toes, but rather than feeling suffocating, I barely noticed it. The suit felt weightless and remarkably flexible, adjusting with my movements. If I had to bet on it, I could probably move and fight as effortlessly in this as my usual attire.

I had debated purchasing a holster for the battle wand I had won in Dueling but decided against it. Carrying something for self-defense was great and all, but if a fight broke out, there was not much I could do to defend myself against anyone outside of the other first-years. Though maybe I should have bought a dagger or something that I could tuck under a pant leg or in my coat?

The door swung open, and I looked up, a greeting dying in my throat as thoughts about weapons and preparations ground to a halt.

Objectively, I was fully aware that Amelia was an attractive young woman. She was intelligent, confident, and had the skills in both magic and weapons to back up her attitude. That, coupled with kindness and a sense of humor, left little to dislike. Sure, she had negative traits, namely her occasional stubbornness and habit of bruising feelings with jokes, but still.

Despite all that, it had never occurred to me until now.

Her dark hair was pulled back from her face into an intricate braid of some kind, with a few curls falling down and framing her face. Makeup drew attention to her eyes, and I found it difficult to break her gaze. A dark green dress flowed to the ground, baring her arms with several golden bangles hanging from each wrist, matching shining earrings that dangled towards her shoulders.

I noted the sensation of mana flowing from her, concentrated on the jewelry, and nearly laughed aloud. Something told me whatever they did, it was less focused on fashion and more on function.

After a second, I took a hasty step backward, suddenly aware of how close I had been standing to her. My mouth felt dry, and my heart pounded in my chest.

"Good evening, Vayne. Right on time, as usual." Amelia said, smiling at me.

It took me a second to catch my thoughts, and I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"You look beautiful, my lady." I burst out, stiffly bowing as I tried to remember my training with Girem. What was I supposed to do next? Sure, speaking politely with a noblewoman was within my skill set, but escorting them to a dance? My mentor believed in preparing me for plausible scenarios, not impossibilities.

Amelia burst into laughter, rolling her eyes and replying, "Never noticed until now? I wonder if I should take offense or not. But none of that 'my lady' please. It's weird."

I coughed, adjusting my footing and nodding, thankful that she had not made a bigger deal about the awkward greeting. What in the hell was wrong with me?

Before I could say anything else, she held up one finger and stepped back a few steps into her room, grabbing something from what I assumed was a nearby table before returning to the hallway.

"Here," she said, holding out a tiny box small enough to fit into my palm. I took it, turning it over before opening the lid to find a small silver ring. It was unmarked except for a few tiny runes, which looked similar to the sigils for the word 'clean.'

"What is it?"

"A present," she responded with another grin and an eye roll, "You got me something, and it's only right that I repay the favor."

I looked back up, blinking and replying, "I cannot accept this, Amelia. I-well, my gift to you was just a gift. You do not need to repay anything."

She held up a hand to stem my protests, "And I don't think I need to, but I want to. If you don't want to call it repayment, consider it a thank you for helping me improve over the last few months."

That...worked, I suppose. I hesitated for another moment before nodding and slipping it around the ring finger of my left hand. The right indicated betrothal or marriage, and I did not want to give anyone the wrong impression.

"What does it do?" I asked, sensing tiny hints of mana running through the metal. Silver, I think.

"Nothing powerful, if I'm honest. It cleans you and your clothing. Makes it spotless and removes most stains and such. But considering how often you go out and train, saving you a few minutes of bathing sounded useful."

It was, and I smiled, admiring it as the light reflected off the metal.

"Thank you, Amelia. Should we go?" I asked, gesturing to the hallway.

"Let's," she said, looping one arm into mine and stepping a little too close for comfort.

I almost began walking, but something occurred to me, and I asked, "That reminds me, what did you end up doing with the bracelet I made?"

"I'm wearing it on my ankle." she replied, reaching down and pulling the hem of her dress up a few inches to reveal the leather band, "Didn't match the jewelry, but I wanted to have it on me just in case."

"Smart," I remarked as we started down the hallway.

"By the way, you look beautiful too," she muttered, grinning and nudging me with her shoulder.

----------------------------------------

The ballroom surpassed all expectations I had about it, and those were a vast threshold to cross.

The room itself was circular, with multiple floors worth of balconies overlooking the base. Vines covered in flowers hung from the walls, and petals gently floated through the air, held aloft by magic, I assumed. An orchestral tune played in the background and strangely seemed to come from everywhere at once. I suspected it was another quirk of spellcraft, and for a moment, considered other possible applications. Distractions, maybe.

Servants weaved through the crowd, carrying trays piled high with snacks and flutes of wine, which was a bit unusual. The Academy rarely hired servants, preferring magical automatons for their needs, but maybe this was a purposeful change. Humans were more expensive to hire, and that might emphasize the school's wealth and power.

As we stood by the entrance, I wondered if not bringing a weapon was a mistake. Hundreds of mages, many of them rivals, packed into an enclosed room full of alcohol was a recipe for disaster. An old saying went something like, "No Ferren party is complete until the first spell gets thrown."

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Fingers crossed that was not the case tonight. Or, at the very least, they aimed away from me.

"So, what's our plan?" Amelia asked, leaning in and speaking in my ear over the music and conversations.

I gritted my teeth, ignoring the warmth from her breath, and responded, "Socialize, have fun and avoid insulting anyone along the way. Easy as can be," I joked, giving her a smile that did not feel genuine.

She grinned, responding, "It's a party, not a duel to the death. Just follow my lead."

I took a deep breath, moving into the rhythm to gather mana as she dragged me into the crowd. My agility had improved over the months, but Amelia still completely outmatched me with her grace and dexterity. The fact that she managed it in heels and a dress was doubly impressive.

As we walked, Amelia whispered into my ear, indicating people in the room.

"Oh, look over there, Vayne! That's Marquis Allos. He lost one arm in battle but crafted an enchanted prosthetic to replace it." Amelia said, pointing to a large man standing in a large crowd.

Passing by him, I noticed that his right arm was noticeably bulkier than his left under his clothes, and his hand appeared to be metal rather than flesh.

"It looks a bit crude, and I would assume he cannot use it anywhere near as well as a regular limb," I replied under my breath.

"It's primitive, but I've heard he uses mana crystals to form artificial channels, so he can still use magic with it. Don't tell anyone, but my mother told me he stole the entire idea from the Tinkerers. Their versions better, though."

"I prefer flesh and blood," I said, shrugging.

"Agreed. Oh, and that's Master Oliver. He teaches a class on hybridized casting. The story is he worked wind mana and fire mana into this weird mixture that cooks enemies alive in battle."

"Unpleasant," I responded, wrinkling my nose as I imagined the smell of burning hair and cooked flesh.

She conceded the point with a nod, "And that's Countess Yulia. Her family trains and breeds magical beasts. The rumor is she's working on domesticated drakes."

I glanced at the woman she indicated and noted the plain black crow on her shoulder with four eyes. As we passed, the spiraling band around her upper arm adjusted, and I realized it was a snake with metallic-looking skin.

"You seem to know the big names here," I remarked, turning towards her with a raised eyebrow.

Shrugging, Amelia replied, "This isn't my first banquet, you know. Besides that, they're all famous figures in Ferris. If anything, you are the odd one out for not knowing about them."

"My training focused on more mundane topics," I responded, "Political theory, economics, battle tactics, and languages."

"So you don't know any of these people?"

"A few are familiar sounding, but my mentor assumed it would not be important anytime soon."

"You've heard the saying about assumptions, I hope?" Amelia said, hiding her smile behind a hand.

I turned to reply but stopped when I spotted Leon on the second floor, near a balcony and talking to several others.

"Sorry to cut this short, but I found my lord's son. I should make an appearance with him if only to make sure that Leon does not harass me tomorrow."

"Lead the way," she answered, gesturing with one hand.

After some careful maneuvering through the crowd, we approached the group, with Leon noticing me out of the corner of his eye.

"Vayne! I was worried you'd not come, and I'd have to hunt you down." Leon said with a laugh as he walked up to us.

"Of course not, sir. After you went to the trouble of purchasing these clothes and arranging for me to attend, it would be improper to refuse." I replied, shrugging.

"And it's a fun night with friends," Leon added before turning his attention to Amelia with a raised eyebrow.

"My apologies. My name is Leon Estton, the first-born son of Duke Estton. A pleasure." Leon said, bowing his head. Amelia took his greeting, holding out one hand, which Leon took, brushing his lips against the back of it.

Amelia giggled, and I caught the briefest hint of red on her face. A scowl threatened to cross my face, and I pushed down the unexpected surge of...something, schooling my features into a neutral expression.

"Amelia Ruteh. It's a pleasure to meet you, Leon," she replied, retrieving her hand from his grip.

"How do you two know each other?" Leon asked, glancing at me curiously.

"Oh, you know how it goes. I met Vayne through a family friend, and we found that we shared several classes. Truthfully, I'm surprised he showed up tonight. I would've guessed he'd be too busy studying to show up." Amelia answered, glancing at me with twinkling eyes.

"Am I really that bad?" I remarked, half-feigning exasperation.

"A little bit," Amelia said, and Leon nodded a few times.

"When we were younger, Vaytne here tripped and broke a vase because he was too busy reading to watch where he was going," Leon said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

They both laughed, and I smiled, hiding a grimace at the memory. Girem had confined me to my room for a month after that incident. I doubted Leon even remembered that part.

Abruptly, Leon turned his head, noticing that the music had changed into something more upbeat.

"I think I need to stretch my legs a bit. May I have this dance?" Leon said, turning and offering a hand to Amelia. She glanced at me briefly before nodding with a smile.

I watched them disappear into the crowd, holding back a frown before shaking my head and walking away. Leon's friends glanced at me as I walked by, but I ignored them and proceeded up several floors, finding a quiet spot to lean against the railing.

Leon led Amelia into the center of the crowd, pulling her close and into a simple but elegant dance. My teeth ground together, and I squeezed the marble railing hard, feeling another stab of something unfamiliar in my chest.

Rather than dwell on them, I tried to turn my thoughts elsewhere and wondered if either of the Archmagi were here tonight. The most influential and well-known mages in Ferris would be, so it was entirely possible.

I closed my eyes and focused on opening my senses. If there was an Arhcmagus here, they would stand out even in a crowd this large. Almost as soon as I 'looked,' a wave of sensations slammed into me, and I cut off the connection, pulling back my mind and stumbling against the railing.

"Okay, lesson learned," I muttered, rubbing my head. Next time, I should not try to sense a few hundred mages at once unless I wanted to earn myself a pounding headache for the trouble.

"You look like you're having fun," a voice from behind me said, and I turned to see Master Julian standing nearby, dressed in a dark suit with bronze edgings and an unfamiliar family sigil emblazoned on the left side of his coat. A pair of wings on both sides of a swirling spiral.

I shrugged, responding, "The ballroom is quite impressive."

"And as we both know, you're quite the architectural lover. Is that why you're up here? Inspecting the stonework?"

My traitorous eyes glanced back down to the dancefloor before meeting Julian's own, and I shrugged again.

"Possibly."

Julian chuckled, taking a few steps closer and glancing down towards the ground as he gestured towards a nearby servant to bring us two glasses. He handed me one before taking a sip, sighing softly.

"So, what's the issue?"

"My...companion is dancing with my lord's son, Leon."

"And that's a problem?"

I took a sip, considering my response as I said, "No. Yes. It should not be, but it is. We are friends, and it is just a dance. Besides that, Leon is a handsome, talented noble who will become a duke someday. And I am...me."

Master Julian chuckled, shaking his head at me.

"I've told you this before, but self-pity and jealousy aren't good emotions emotion to wear, Vayne. Or helpful, for that matter. Natural, sure, but I think you should look for solutions rather than stand around and feel bad for yourself."

It was a fact, not self-pity. Amelia was a noble, and every Ferren social norm said that becoming anything more than friends was preposterous. Though I had to admit, the jealousy comment was uncomfortably close to the truth.

"I had hoped I could hide my thoughts better," I remarked with a rueful grin.

"Well, no offense, but teenagers aren't subtle. You're many things, but you're still an idiot half the time. Not that I was any better, of course. If anything, I was much worse. Ask Sig sometime about our first banquet."

I smiled, deciding to do just that before looking back down. The two had finished dancing and stood at the edge of the room, Leon muttering something into her ear. A joke, judging by the way that she laughed.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Master Julian looking down at the crowd before turning back to me.

"Some free advice, Vayne. Just go and ask her to dance. Don't make it anything more than that. Just smile, hold out a hand and ask. Like you said, it's a dance with a friend, not a marriage proposal."

I turned to him and tilted my head a fraction, "Why are you help me with this? You have never had any investment in my social life before, so why now?"

"Your sour face is scaring off people. And I am your advisor. The least I can do is give a bit of a hand, so you don't make a fool of yourself." Julian said, grinning as he glanced over my shoulder, "But if you'll excuse me, I spotted an old friend. Good luck!"

The older man walked away, and after a few seconds, I pushed off the railing, draining my glass and glancing at the open archway back into the Academy. If I called it a night now, I could probably get a few hours of practice. I was close to getting my Mana Bolt down non-verbally, which could save me a second or two during casting.

Then, I laughed and shook my head. If I planned to face armies and battle inhuman warriors, the least I could do was gather up the nerve to ask a girl to a dance. Falling into Origin Breathing, I slowly began making my way back downstairs and towards Amelia.