Rafeeda al-Fayad did her best not to shiver in the cold. Mostly because High-Master Zubair stood next to her, watching the academy students running circles through the complex. At first, she’d been startled by the size of the ‘academy’, until she realized only the men went here. Though, considering the size of Elusria, she really shouldn’t have been surprised.

She only had Azakarias to compare it with, and the Elusrian Royal Academy fell well short of her expectations. She shifted her feet in the yellowed grass. All around her snow lay part way up to her shins, but the High-Master had, thankfully, cleared a spot for them. Even now, she sensed him pushing the falling snow away from them, along with a bit of the cold. Though even a High-Master could only do so much when there was no heat to replace the cold with.

“High-Master, may I ask a question?” She asked, timidly. Zubair looked to her, his deep brown eyes lingering for a moment on hers before nodding. “Why are you out here?”

Zubair cleared his throat, his voice deep and resonant. “Our job as representatives from Ankiria is to supervise the training of the military students of the United Alliance. Supervising their training, requires that we watch them.”

Rafeeda nodded, gesturing that she had a follow up question. After a moment, the High-Master acknowledged her with a flick of his wrist. “But why are you out here exactly?” She thought a leader needn’t worry about simple supervision.

“A fair question.” Zubair replied. “It’s my job to compile the report when we return to Bacchis. If some of the information is wrong, then it’s still my responsibility. If I’m going to put my weight behind the words of others, then I should at least have a base of knowledge to work from.” He gestured towards the students still running through the drifting snow. “In the beginning that means I’m doing a lot of monitoring and following classes, as the…” He paused searching for the right word. “Trimesters progress and we lean towards the end of the year I can well pull back and let others report their findings. With a solid base of knowledge, I can better tell if information is off, and if I need to investigate myself or they can continue their observation.”

Rafeeda nodded, thinking over his reply.

“And,” He added, looking at her with a mischievous glint in his eye. “It’s been a little boring while waiting for the trimester to begin.”

Rafeeda smiled under her veil, looking away from the High-Master. She searched through the groups, looking for the student Mistress Naadiya had sent her to look for. It didn’t take too long, there were only so many first year students of that size.

“Tell me, Apprentice Rafeeda, why are you out here, then?”

Zubair’s question startled Rafeeda. By reflex, she widened her stance to improve her footing, causing her slipper to slide into the snow. She stopped herself from jerking back, but only because she knew the High-Master was watching. Jerking about like an untrained child in front of a master of all three Disciplines would inevitably get back to Mistress Naadiya.

“Mistress Naadiya sent me out to observe that one.” She nodded to the tethered in question. He ran ahead of his group of students, only one other who seemed capable of keeping up with him, though one student wasn’t far behind.

Zubair el-Harron was quiet for a moment, following the student as he kept a brisk pace. “He is a curious sort, I can see why your Mistress would want him observed.”

Rafeeda felt an involuntary shiver move through her, the bone-chilling cold of elusrian winter seeping through her composure. Zubair chuckled at her involuntary display.

“Elusria might not train the best tethered, but you won’t find a much tougher people.”

“Really?” Rafeeda asked. “I’d heard they melt if summers get too hot.”

Zubair let out a genuine laugh. “Not quite, but close enough.”

She smiled under her veil, trying her best to ignore the frosty wind that seemed to shear right through her clothes. She squeezed her jaw to stop the shivers from rattling her teeth.

Together, she stood with the High-Master watching the first-years complete their morning training, before the sun had even gotten up. It was only when the students started heading inside that the High-Master nodded towards their apartments, located in one of the dormitory buildings.

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Gesturing that she had a question as they walked, she waited until the High-Master acknowledged her. “What about the other years? Shouldn’t they be out exercising, too?”

“You might’ve not recognized it, if you weren’t looking.” He pointed to a group just rounding into their view. “The second years run on the opposite side of the first years, while the third and fourth years run before them, and the fifth years run first.” Zubair explained.

“So early.” Rafeeda murmured, shuddering slightly.

“Tough as they get.” Zubair said in wry tone.

They entered the building together, the High-Master holding the door open for her. She felt the breeze of his expression, scooping any snow or lingering ice off her clothes and throwing it into the cold.

She gestured her thanks and they headed up the stairs to their apartments. Living in the fifth year dorms, Rafeeda had thought she would have to trudge through a busy building, but there were no students in sight as they walked through the halls of the building. Each and everyone was already in their class, or an excursion.

Again, Zubair opened the door for Rafeeda as they reached their apartments. The entrance was dark, no lights yet lit. Zubair had headed out early and not turned on any lights and she’d generated her own, forgoing the need for a torch.

A pair of brightly glowing yellow eyes appeared in the dark, shedding light on an aquiline nose and framing black hair that fell in a disheveled mess around Saleema’s face. Rafeeda let out a squeak of surprise at the woman’s sudden appearance, backing into the broad chest of Zubair.

“Calm down, why don’t you make some light for us.” Zubair whispered, before settling the younger tethered aside. “Saleema, your Majesty, is there anything I can help you with?”

Rafeeda shivered as Saleema turned her attention from her to the High-Master. She’d never seen eyes like Saleema on any other High-Master, but then again, she’d never seen a High-Master like the Princess.

Rafeeda generated a ball of soft yellow light into her Veil. On whisper steps she approached the bright-torch hanging on the wall. The glyph of light etched into the bronze. Laying a hand on the glyph, she formed the intent to summon a ball of light and poured the energy into the torch. Slowly, light started emanating from it, taking over for her own generated ball and she dismissed it.

Once it reached proper intensity, she altered her intent, expressing power to sustain the light for a few hours, drawing on Blood of Light to manage the kind of power required in a timely manner.

Turning back from the torch, she saw Zubair down on one knee before the seated Saleema. She looked at him with a simmering intensity, barely hidden underneath a glaze of confusion. A bone deep chill of an entirely different kind ran down Rafeeda’s spine.

“I know he’s here. I can feel it, Zubair.” Saleema said quietly. She grasped his calloused hand in with her thin fingers, shaking noticeably even from a distance.

“I know you can, Your Majesty.” The High-Master replied. “We’re still looking so it’s going to wait a while.”

Rafeeda considered using Blood of Light, to make herself lighter as to be less noticeable as she left. Though to the people before her it might be like screaming her presence to them. As a second stage tethered, she didn’t know what the sensed of a full master was like. Wisely, she choose to sneak out on the lightest of her footsteps, instead.

“I can find him, I just have to get out there.” Saleema implored, her eyes wide beneath the shroud of her unwashed hair.

“I can’t let you outside right now, Saleema.” Zubair replied.

“Can’t?” The indignation in Saleema’s voice might’ve stopped Rafeeda’s heart. A burgeoning presence of power burned to Rafeeda’s senses. “You can’t?” Indignation quickly turned to anger and the presence welled into her full wrath.

Pain squeezed Rafeeda’s spirit, striking into her tether-space like needles into her lungs. With a pained gasp, she fell to the floor catching herself with one hand against the wall, the other on the floor, her veil falling down in front of her eyes.

Space rippled in waves from Saleema, cracks of purple light shimmering through her golden eyes. “You cannot!” She yelled, her fingers a vice grip on the much larger man’s hand.

Strain showed around the corners of Zubair’s eyes, still he smiled gently at the woman. “Saleema, Princess,” With effort, he ran a gentle hand over hers. “Please, you’re choking Apprentice Rafeeda.”

Rafeeda felt sick as the woman’s wide eyes turned to her. For a moment, she only saw anger in them, before confusion set in. The pressure faded. With a gasp, Rafeeda almost collapsed on the floor, only caught by the familiar hands of Mistress Naadiya.

“I- I- I’m.” Saleema said, though Rafeeda barely registered it as her teacher pulled her from the room. “I’m sorry.”

Naadiya seated her on a chair in the lounge, grabbing her hands and massaging them. “Look me in the eyes.”

Rafeeda idly examined her Mistress’ nails. The paint on her right pointer finger had chipped.

“Rafeeda! My eyes.” Naadiya commanded. She gripped her jaw with one strong hand, forcing Rafeeda to look her in the eye. “Deep breath in, deep breath out. Like we practice. Feel the light in your body. Circle it throughout your Discipline. Come on. That’s it. Nice and slowly. Keep it controlled.”

Rafeeda started feeling some sense of coherence as her Mistress’ instructions worked their way through the haze Saleema’s power had settled on her. Behind Naadiya, she saw Zubair carrying a crying Saleema in his arms, cradling the seemingly middle-aged woman in his arms like a child.

“Look at me, Rafeeda.” Her Mistress commanded again.