In the end, Caspian ended up eating the stale danishes.

Sitting at the table, a plate of stale food in front of him, Caspian absently picked at his meal with the enthusiasm of a man who'd been told to drink poison. Cassidy sat beside him. She'd stopped crying, thank the spirits, but her hair was still a mess and her dress was still ruined.

Christo had also finally deigned to join them. He looked different. No longer wearing the standard militaristic academy uniform, he was decked out in dark clothes that made Caspian think of an assassin. Strapped horizontally across his lower back were his two dirks.

"Heh-he, what do you think of my new outfit? Awesome, right? Right? Don't I look just like an assassin? Isn't it cool?" Christo said in a fast-paced voice.

Caspian could barely follow him. "Yeah. Sure. Cool."

"You don't sound very excited," Christo muttered before turning to Adesh. "What about you, foreign kid? You think my outfit is cool, right?"

"It is very stylish," Adesh admitted.

Naagendra pulled out a sheet of paper from somewhere, wrote on it, and then presented it to Christo. Even Caspian looked at the paper to see what was written on here.

"Nice... outfit..." Caspian muttered, blinking several times. He then shook his head.

As breakfast progressed, the doors opened and several people walked in. The headmaster and Sylvia de Floresca led the procession of sorceresses and instructors. Chatter ceased as the students turned their heads to watch the group walk by. Caspian stared into the group, seeking out the person that he'd been thinking about for the past two weeks.

Elincia walked on Sylvia's right. Her hands were clasped in front of her, and she held her head high, but he noticed the way she twiddled her fingers. She was nervous. As she walked past his position, her eyes caught his, and for just a moment, a look of relief washed over them. Then she was walking past him, and Caspian could only stare at her back.

"Bet you're excited to see your girlfriend again after so long," Christo said, grinning as he nudged Caspian with his elbow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Caspian muttered as he took a bite out of his danish. It tasted kind of funny, but he chalked that up to the food's staleness.

"Ooh, denial. That's so cute."

"It is not stylish to deny oneself their love for another."

"Shut up, both of you," Caspian growled.

"Girlfriend..."

Upon hearing Cassidy's distant voice, Caspian turned to look at the young woman—only to pause when he saw how defeated she appeared. Her shoulders were slumped and there was a strange smile on her face. It looked kind of psychotic.

"Cassidy?Is everything all right?"

"Girlfriend... he he he he he..."

"Um..."

Caspian decided to ignore Cassidy for the moment. He didn't know what she was thinking, but he also knew that he didn't want to know.

"Thank you all for gathering here this morning," Headmaster Stratello said, and his voice ecoed across the room like booming thunder. "Today is a most auspicious occasion. People from all over the continent have gathered here to witness the events that will be recorded this day. Today, twelve talented students will compete for the title of sorceress's knight. I hope that all of you will show your support to these upstanding young men."

Headmaster Stratello took a step back, and Sylvia stepped forward with Elincia trailing behind her.

"For many years, you all, who shoulder the pride of your families, have trained here to become the best. On this day, we shall see who among you has what it takes to become a sorceress knight. I expect to see a good showing from each and every one of you."

Sylvia took a step back, and the headmaster suddenly came to the front again.

"The tournament will not be held within the academy, but in the arena located in the center of Axium. As students of this academy, all of you are eligible to watch and may do so if you choose. Several MAFTs have been stationed out front and are waiting to transport you to the colosseum. Those of you who are participating, after you finish eating, make your way to the front. Two special MAFTs have been chosen for you to ride in."

"Oh, special MAFTs." Christo's excited grin was that of a child who'd been told they could stay up late. "I wonder what the headmaster means by that. I hope they're those new luxury vehicles. Maybe they can fly!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Caspian muttered as he turned to Cassidy. "Are you coming with me, Cas?"

"H-huh?" Cassidy's dumbfounded expression was rather cute.

"I asked if you were coming with me? Erica said that you were supposed to be my personal maid for the entirety of the tournament, right?"

"O-oh, yes. Yes, of course I'll be coming with you. I wasn't surprised about that."

"Then what were you surprised about?"

"It's just..." Cassidy's cheeks looked like red beacons. "... you called me Cas..."

"I did?" Caspian rewound the conversation a few seconds and soon realized that, indeed, he had called Cassidy "Cas." Shrugging, he said, "I guess I called you that because I feel comfortable around you."

"Y-you do?" Cassidy squeaked.

"Well, yeah. It's easier to talk to you than most of the people I know."

Cassidy didn't judge him like everyone at this school did. Even when they had first met, she'd treated him like a normal person. The only person who he felt more comfortable around than Cassidy was Elincia, and even then, sometimes Caspian felt really self-conscious around his childhood friend, like how his heart would race every time they got close. He didn't feel that way with Cassidy.

"O-oh." Cassidy held her hands to her cheeks. "I... I am very pleased to hear that."

"Hm?"

Cassidy looked away when his gaze turned questioning. "It's nothing," she mumbled.

"Heh," smirking, Christo started to sing, "love is in the air. It's everywhere—doof!"

Unfortunately, his singing was cut short when Caspian's mighty fist of retribution slammed onto the top of his head.

***

The MAFTs that Caspian and the other contenders were transported in really were top of the line. The leather seats felt like heaven on his back. An ice cooler was filled with fizzy pop. While Christo whined about not having wine, Caspian enjoyed sipping at the fizzy beverage while they were driven through the streets of Axium.

"Would you like some more fizzy pop, Master Caspian?" Cassidy asked as she held up a bottle filled with carbonated goodness.

"Oh, sure. Thank you." Caspian frowned as he held out his glass for Cassidy to pour more fizzy pop in. "And didn't I tell you not to call me 'Master?'"

"You did, but since Mistress Erica told me to treat you with the same respect that I treat her, I cannot comply with your request."

Caspian twitched.

"Ah! How stylish of you, Caspian, to have such a beautiful young maid who is so devoted to you!" Adesh swooned.

"She's not my maid!" Caspian shouted.

Naagendra wrote on his notebook and held it up to Caspian's face. It read: "Good job!" and had a little chibi drawing of Naagendra giving him the peace sign.

Caspian twitched some more.

Sitting separate from everyone else, Julius scowled at the group. "I always knew that the only way you two could make friends was by meeting foreigners. Low-born and plebeian fools like you couldn't be friends with members of high-class society."

"Says the barbaric fool who looks like he's spent his whole life doing manual labor," Caspian shot back.

"I do not look like I do manual labor!" Julius's scowl would have been fierce on anyone else. On him, Caspian thought it made him look stupid. "Can you not see the silky smoothness of my skin? The shimmer of my beautiful hair? My perfectly manicured nails? These are not the signs of peasant scum like yourselves. Only high-class members of society, in other words, the elite, have such glorious features."

"Someone has an awfully high opinion of himself," Christo murmured.

"While you do indeed look stylish, isn't long hair a style befitting stylish women?"

Caspian snorted while Christo outright laughed. Cassidy looked like she wanted to laugh, but was scandalized by the thought of laughing at a noble.

Julius's blush was as deep as his scowl. "Are you making fun of my hair, foreigner?!"

"I would never make fun of someone else's stylish choices," Adesh defend himself. "I was merely pointing out that most men do not have long hair."

As Julius began arguing with Adesh over the finer points of hair, Caspian felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

"Are you feeling well, Master Caspian?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Caspian waved off Cassidy's concern as the dizziness left. "I'm just a little anxious. And can you please stop calling me 'Master?'"

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that I cannot comply."

"Figures," Caspian muttered with a tired sigh.

The MAFTs took them all the way to the center of town. Buildings became more sparse, the road turned rougher, and looming before them was a large structure that was several times more massive than any other building.

The colosseum, or the fighting arena, as it was often called, was not a very tall building. Standing a little over two-stories, most of the building itself was underground. Round and wide, the colosseum was shaped like a large oval.

Many people were already gathered around the colosseum. They streamed in from all of the roads that connected the rest of Axium to this place, coming in droves, like a horde of büyüvars—giant creatures that wandered Terriara in massive herds. Most walked, but Caspian spotted several people being ferried into the colosseum on chariots.

Those must be the nobles who came here by train, he concluded. It was a natural thought. No noble would ever consider walking somewhere if they could help it.

As they moved closer to the colosseum, the road became slanted. Walls rose up on either side, the people vanished from sight, and a massive set of bronze gates loomed over them. They didn't stop moving. The gates opened. Christo pressed his face against the window, watching as several massive cogs turned. Caspian ignored him and focused on controlling his breathing. His anxiety was making his chest feel tighter than normal.

After their vehicle pulled into the colosseum, it parked in the middle of the room and they all disembarked.

Caspian stumbled a bit as he set foot on the ground, but he quickly caught himself before he could fall. Shaking his head, he fell in step with the others as they congregated with the group from the other vehicle. Instructor Murok looked at all of them with his stern glare.

"All right, you lot. The tournament will be underway in less than an hour. I want all of you to wait here until we call on you. Also, if any of you get caught fighting outside of the tournament, you'll be automatically dismissed from the tournament."

Instructor Murdok left. Unsure of what he should do, Caspian strolled over to the wall, where he planned on lean against it. Yet the moment he took a step, vertigo overcame him. He stumbled forward and would have fallen on his face were it not for Cassidy catching him.

"M-Master Caspian! Are you alright?"

"Yes," Caspian lied. "I'm fine. Can you help me get over there, Cassdy? I think the anxiety is getting to me."

"O-of course."

Caspian knew that whatever problem he was having, it wasn't anxiety. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but something was definitely wrong.

What's wrong with me?