As the week progressed, the roving bands of recruiters grew bolder. Or more desperate, Cal couldn't tell which. He tried to avoid them but their ubiquitous on campus made that impossible. Luckily, his new shield worked as intended. For the most part, there were some close calls.

Mercifully, they de-escalated once someone, either one of the perpetrators or a spectator, recognized who stood behind the mini plate on his collar. From the whispers he picked up, they didn't even know what club it was. He supposed the only thing that mattered to them was Benjamin being a member of it. The man had a reputation, his name alone was enough to make many run for the hills.

Cal felt that an overreaction but was coming to terms with his perception of things being skewed and not necessarily for the better.

With everyone on edge, it was only a matter of time before people decided to settle things on the field. Duels became commonplace. At first, Cal would be happy enough to spectate. That was until he saw the showings. Juvenile, in a word. He'd stopped watching them shortly after, content to passively see what he could while traversing campus.

That had changed on the fourth day, as a commotion larger than normal drew his attention. He wasn't alone in that, as other students flocked to the greenery where it was taking place. The crowd would make it difficult to see what was going on so he scanned the surrounding buildings, spotting a blonde who shared his idea.

He approached the building, entering and using the stairs to get to the roof like a normal person.

"Lily" He greeted the blonde, stopping beside her near the ledge. "You have a thing for rooftops don't you?"

There was no response. Cal looked at the distant crowd. He'd have to augment his vision to see anything. Worth it to avoid the congestion down there.

"Want to fill me in, that doesn't look like the standard fare."

Nothing was said. From his peripherals, he could see she had schooled her features.

"Anyone home?" Cal waved his hand in front of her. Prompting a scowl and a palm smacking his down.

"Stop, I'm trying to be mad at you."

"Trying? Seems you've been able to do it easily enough in the past." Cal leaned back against the railing, facing her. "At the risk of sounding like an idiot. What did I do to piss you off?"

"I heard about your recent talk with Alie." She went past him, leaning against the same railing but looking out towards the greenery. "She's been in a mood ever since. I want to blame you. I can't. family or not you haven't known each other long, so it shouldn't come as a surprise you're cagey about the past. Alie has many great qualities. Patience is not one of them."

Note to self, anything said to Alice will make its way back to Lily in short order. He was hoping to keep that conversation private, he'd not handled it as well as he could have. There was no reason to react like that in the first place. She may have been responsible for bringing him into this world but, no matter what anyone else said, she was never his mother.

He pulled his thoughts away from that, focusing on what was in front of him.

"You two are pretty close."

"We are, I owe her." The simple words from her carried a heavy weight.

"Then tell her what you just told me."

"I did." She grumbled. "Alie can be annoyingly stubborn on some things. Ugh, this is such a weird situation." The railing creaked under her grip. "I can't be mad at Alie for wanting to know more about her new brother. I can't be mad at you. The only one I can be mad at is a thousand miles away. I swear next time I see him." She closed her eyes and he could hear her counting under her breath.

She opened them again and clapped both hands against her face twice.

"Okay. I'm back now." He pretended to not notice the twisted piece of iron. "You wanted to know what's going on? Well-" She paused, her attention directed towards an empty corner of the roof where Cal was already staring.

"Don't mind me" The figure of Rolland shimmered into being. "Please continue to educate our junior"

"I do mind." Lily's foul mood made a reappearance. "Go bother someone who buys that act."

"Act? Why for such a lovely flower you do have your thorns." If that was meant to mollify her it had the opposite effect. "I was merely passing by when I came across an interesting duo."

"Callum." She addressed him. "Do me a favor and break his nose again."

What a tempting suggestion. Cal made a fist and took a step forward.

"I wasn't…" Lily grabbed him from behind, face morphing from shock to one of incredulity. "you're messing with me."

His response was a wry grin.

"I'd welcome our next bout." Rolland smiled, spreading his arms wide. "I'm beginning to think that was a one-time event. You've denied all my requests since."

He had, Cal didn't want to fight the man. Warry of any more slip-ups. Fortunately, Ferguson had a new rule saying Cal was only allowed to fight while he was watching. Needless to say, he'd gotten out of it in both classes this week. Bless whoever decided to give the drunk the morning class slot.

"I wouldn't want to inconvenience whoever does your laundry." Both of them looked at him strangely. "Blood stains can be a pain to get out."

Spoiled nobles. Then again, he had a habit of burning his clothes when they got too messy so maybe throwing stones wasn't the best idea.

"Man of the people are you?" Rolland walked over to join them. "I like to think the same of myself"

"There's the people." Cal gestured to the rowdy gathering. "Go join them before somebody spots you up here."

"Still shy are you? Well if it bothers you so." Rolland waved a hand and Cal felt the magic surround them. The air shimmered slightly as the illusion took hold around them, hiding them from sight. "Satisfied?"

The three of them stood in an uncertain silence. Cal was stuck in the middle, Lily to his right and Rolland to his left.

"Fine." Cal assented to the man's presence. "You were saying?" He tilted his head towards Lily.

"It's a club battle. Well, that's what most people call it. There's no official term for it and it's not a sanctioned process like duels are. It's used whenever a disagreement between two groups gets out of hand. Whatever they're fighting over becomes the prize for whichever club comes out on top. It can take many different forms. However, as with most things in the Academy, they lean towards martial ability. For these two, it doesn't take a genius to know what they're going to end up choosing"

"It's hard to imagine the riding or equestrian clubs choosing anything other than a joust." Rolland preempted his question.

"Riding and equestrian? Aren't those the same thing?" Cal asked.

"It's likely the reason they're fighting." Rolland responded. "Their potential membership pool overlaps too much."

While not a reasonable reason to fight in his opinion, it was understandable. He was still wondering what they meant by joust when he heard the beat of wings. His head flicked in that direction, spotting a magical beast rapidly approaching.

Flames gathered around his arm. A hand on his shoulder stopped him. Lily lightly shook her head. He shifted his gaze back, studying the beast closer. It had the body of a goat, with long protruding horns. On its back were two fur-covered wings. What was this? Some discount brand pegasus?

Regardless, it wasn't acting as hostile as he knew beast to be. It glided to the greenery. Stopping in front of one of the groups. A student approached it, stroking its neck. So this was what they meant by joust.

Now where was the opponent? This time he heard the shouts from the students first, he augmented his vision and saw what no person in their right mind would consider a horse. Sure, it shared the general shape. Except the thing was covered in scales, had two reptilian heads, and purple smoke protruding from the mane should be. It was also far more unruly than the goat, with students diving out of its path.

"This is allowed?" Ryan had shown him the stables from a distance, but he didn't think they'd let a magical beast tear through campus like this.

"No, it most certainly is not." A fourth voice answered him.

What the hells was up with this rooftop?

He turned, finding a woman striding towards them. So much for that illusion hiding them.

She wore a white blouse and long dark green pants. The pants were matched with a cape around her shoulders. Her brown hair was tied in a tight bun. "They will be reprimanded." Her green eyes bore into Lily. "Speaking of reprimands, Lady Arcutien." She didn't finish, letting the ruined railing do the talking for her.

"Can't you take it out of my account? Father is good for it" Lily looked off to the side, not willing to face the woman.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

"That's not proved to be a deterrent for you." The woman snapped her finger and pointed at the damaged object "Now either fix it or receive the proper punishment."

"Fine." Lily said with reluctance. She placed her hand around the railing again and slowed her breathing. Cal felt her magic fluctuate and then watched as the metal jerked. It overcorrected at first, bending in the opposite direction. A few more tries and it was straight once again, next the surface stretched as the indents filled in. Finally, it resembled what it had prior.

"There, happy?" Lily clearly wasn't, there was slight precipitation on her forehead.

The woman walked up, running a finger on it. Cal thought Lily had done a decent fix job. Manifestations geared towards manipulating metal weren't simple to accomplish. They involved mixing lightning, earth, and fire. If you got the ratios wrong or slipped up for a moment the metal was liable to shatter and drill pieces into you. Cal had tried it a couple of times before deciding it was not worth the trouble.

"Adequate." The woman judged. "However, slow. You would do well to practice it. Affinity or not."

Lily crossed her arms in a huff.

"Deputy Headmistress." Rolland tilted his head slightly downward. "How delightful for you to join us. Allow me to introduce my good friend Callum Ardere here."

Headmistress? Shit that sounded like a big fish. And this prick had the gall to call himself a friend.

"I'm well aware of the new Ardere." It was his turn to withstand her harsh gaze. "His late schedule change needed my approval." It might have been his imagination but he thought there was a tinge of disapproval in her voice.

Her eyes narrowed as he met them.

Not his imagination then, she didn't like him. He decided the feeling was mutual.

The yelling in the distance grew louder.

"They're getting ready." Lily commented and everyone's attention shifted back to the field.

The greenery had been mostly cleared, with a large gap in the middle and two lines of students on either side.

There were small huddles of students around each animal who dispersed on some signal he must have missed.

"Where are the lances?" Cal thought out loud.

"Lances?" Lily asked with a confused voice. "Why would they be using those?"

There he goes with his preconceptions.

"Nevermind." he muttered. "So what's the goal here then?"

"Dismount" Rolland said simply. "Attacks on mounts themselves are disallowed."

So it was still sorta like the jousting he knew.

A bolt of lightning impacted the ground and the goat soared up into the air. Circling the alleged horse rider.

"Mr. Ardere, don't you have a class scheduled for now?" It was worded as a question but the tone suggested otherwise.

He wanted to say the teacher wouldn't notice his absence. Despite the teacher deserving it, tattling to the guy's boss struck him as a pretty uncool move to make.

"Headmistress, I'm sure Professor Wyatt would forgive some tardiness on the part of our young friend here. This can be an eye-opening experience for him."

Oi. How did that guy know his schedule? That clinched it.

"No she's right, I lost track of the time. I'll head out then." Cal said while going for the door. A betrayed look was shot his way. Sorry, Lily. Your sacrifice won't be forgotten.

—

Cal pulled out his phone, checking the time. He was late by a whopping minute and Wyatt was asleep. He wondered if the man woke up to deliver his half-hearted lecture or if he slept through the time entirely.

"Late" Mia observed from the side.

"Got distracted along the way, two clubs duking it out in a joust."

Cal walked over to the closest desk, setting his satchel down, and sat on the desk itself.

"Has the culinary club ever had to do that?"

"Yes."

Oh, colored him intrigued.

"What ended up happening with that?"

"Benny."

Ah, fair enough.

"You think it will happen again?" It might be fun to do something like a cooking battle. That wasn't very martial though….maybe hunt the beast they cook? That would work.

"Benny."

He couldn't tell whether that was a 'Benjamin would handle any challenges' or 'Benjamin intimidation factor would prevent any in the first place'

"You have a lot of faith in the guy. How long have you two known each other?"

He waited as she flipped through two pages before realizing she wasn't going to provide an answer to that.

"What about that lump then." Cal gestured towards the sleeping teacher.

"Four."

"That's supposed to be years right?" She nodded. "Long time, has he always been like this?"

"No." her brow furrowed. "Recent."

From that, he could tell she wasn't pleased about the man's behavior either.

"Why the change then?"

"Stuck."

"On some research then?" Another nod. "Do you help him with that?"

"No. Not my area."

He was a little interested in what that area was, the books she read always had plain covers.

"Why are you his teacher's assistant then?"

"Favor."

He didn't feel like asking any more questions. The minutes ticked by with only the sounds of soft snoring keeping the silence at bay. From prior experience, Wyatt wasn't liable to wake up unless he leaked some magic. The man seemed overly sensitive to that. Cal opted against waking him and pulled out the textbook. Reading dry text was more bearable than having someone read dry text at you.

Referencing the syllabus, he began reading the chapter meant to be covered today. He didn't bother speed-reading it, he had time to kill. On the second page, he tried to recall what he had already read and discovered he couldn't.

It wasn't entirely his fault and he was beginning to see why these classes usually had certain entry requirements. He found himself increasingly relying on rote memorization rather than actual understanding. That type of practice would snowball if he allowed it.

He flipped back to chapter one, starting over. This was an 'intro' course. His pride bucked at the thought of admitting defeat. He went through it at a laggard pace. His hand occasionally moved to scribble something on the paper beside him. Things he needed to go back to for a plethora of reasons. Some being clarification, others being idle thoughts. It felt as if a ghost had taken over him, the actions reminiscent of a far-off past.

He'd been so utterly absorbed that it took a book snapping shut in front of him to jar him out of the state. Mia pointed the closed book to the broken clock on the wall. Cal understood the point and took out his phone to check the time again.

An hour over class time. Whoops. He gathered his belongings, turning to Mia who had retaken her seat next to the slumbering teacher.

"Thanks, see you later." He offered as he gently shut the door behind him. He wasn't sure why he did that, not like that would wake the man.

After leaving, he made his way to where he could grab a quick bite to eat before heading back for the night. A fleeting thought passed through his mind.

Cal groaned, wishing he could unthink that.

Damn Lily for getting in his head. It was much easier to ignore something when someone didn't point it out.

He'd have to be the mature one, even if he didn't enjoy it.

His new destination was further than his initial one. It was also not a route he was accustomed to taking yet. Fortunately, it was still close to central campus so it wasn't too out of the way. Along the way, he felt the same magic from earlier today.

Cal scowled. This guy couldn't take a hint.

He spotted a conveniently placed pebble close to him. Without a minimal change to his gate, he kicked it in the man's direction. He missed and it shattered on the bark next to his target who gave a yelp and fell back. The illusion faded to reveal it was A prince but not THE prince.

What the hells was up with this damn family?

He continued without pause, pretending he didn't see anything.

"Halt." The little prince demanded in a breathless voice, running after him. "You flee after an unprovoked attack?"

"Thought you were someone else." Cal shrugged without stopping. "Let's put this behind us and move on with our lives."

"I think" The prince's sentence dangled as he caught up to Cal. His eyes widened as he saw a trio of students around the next corner. Sebastian dove into the foliage, just in the nick of time as one of the students turned his head a second later. Only seeing Cal on the path.

Maybe the illusion had not been meant for him. Cal didn't say anything to the trio, simply tapping his collar. One of them whispered to the other and they left promptly.

"They're gone." Cal called out. "You can stop hiding."

For a moment, the only sound was from the bushes being rustled by the wind. Then the wayward prince stepped out. Leaves and branches sticking out of his uniform and hair.

"I was not hiding." He said while brushing off debris. "It was a strategic decision to conserve my resources."

Cal chuckled at the explanation.

"You must be doing something right, I didn't last a day."

"Indeed." Sebastian preened at his comment. "It would be unbecoming for someone of my station to succumb to that rabble."

"Missed a twig." Cal said, triggering the prince to frantically search for the imaginary object. "Doesn't said station deter them anyways?"

Sebastian realized the ruse, playing it off as an attempt to straighten out his uniform.

"To an extent, yes. I will not be forced into anything. However, blunt refusal may foster discontent. It is better to avoid the situation entirely."

Sebastian glanced at his collar again and Cal spotted the look of recognition.

"Benny's popular isn't he?" Cal asked the rhetorical question. "Any reason you're still following me?"

He'd started walking away yet the kid was still by his side.

"Don't think too highly of yourself." The boy scoffed. "I happen to be traveling in the same direction."

Cal bought that. That is until he made several turns which the boy matched.

Whatever, as long as he stayed out the way the kid could do what he liked.

The glass building showed itself, it was deserted at this hour. That suited him just fine, he used the main entrance this time.

"What is your purpose here?" Sebastian asked, looking around.

"Making amends" Cal said offhandedly as the floating platform carried them.

"You make it a habit of wronging others aside from myself then?"

"I give it my best shot. Not that I did anything wrong in this particular case."

Cal reached the room and entered it flipping on the lights, revealing the kitchen. He caught the prince's look of contempt from the corner of his eye.

That wasn't important.

Now what to do?

He'd thought about it on the way over. New ideas popped up as he walked over and took stock of what he had available.

"This place is more appropriate for servants than nobility." Sebastian took careful steps. Looking at everything warily and not touching anything.

"Bastard remember?" Cal responded while rummaging in the cabinets for the bowls he needed. "Besides, Benny does it as well."

"I thought the first might be a slip of the tongue." Sebastian said softly. "Few call him by that name. And yes, however my brother's retainer or not, he remains a commoner. Yet to be bestowed a proper title."

The intricacies weren't completely lost on Cal. He simply didn't care either which way.

He was still gathering what he needed when the prince spoke again.

"If you are seeking to make amends, what does debasing yourself in such a matter accomplish?"

"Everyone loves food kid." Cal said dismissively

"Please use my proper title or name." The prince stood straighter, standing on the other side of the counter where Cal had been placing things. "And of course, I understand that. However, you would be better served by tasking one of the servants or purchasing whatever you hope to create."

"That might be so." Cal acknowledged. "There's something to be said about doing it yourself. Maybe it's the commoner in me, it just feels more sincere."

The prince crossed his arms. Staring hard at the table, the blatant look of contempt had softened a smidge.

His eyes trailed back up to Cal.

"You claim to have not wronged anyone. Then why do you go through all this trouble to make amends?"

"It's not about being right or wrong." Cal insisted while tying an apron on.

"Father says a proper Emperor never admits fault." There was a sureness that those words were delivered with. "To do so is to invite weakness. The notion of doing so for no reason is absurd."

Cal couldn't help but laugh while washing his hands. He dried them on his apron.

"Sorry" There was a look of profound offendedness on the little prince's face. "That older brother of yours. One of the first things he ever said to me was admitting his fault, so I find that rich."

"Perhaps he is not as well suited to the throne as many believe." Shortly after saying that, the prince looked to have sucked on one of the lemons Cal had placed down.

"I won't disagree with you there." Cal started mixing ingredients. "Although, that's because he rubs me the wrong way. Nothing wrong with saying sorry."

Cal stopped what he was doing, trying to find the words to properly explain.

"Sometimes life hands you a bad situation. The kind where no one is at fault and yet everyone is still upset with one another. Someone has to take the first step. Otherwise, what are we all even doing with ourselves?"

Cal tossed a lemon over. Sebastian caught it with a perplexed look.

"Go ahead and zest that for me."

"Surely you jest?" He gripped the lemon strangely, not knowing what to do with it.

"If I was I'd say something like making lemonade out of lemons." Cal smiled at his own words.

"Instead, we're doing lemon tart."