Winter silently followed Nelly Terran through the halls, her hands positioned behind her back. She memorized every twist and turn they made until Nelly said, "Here we are." Winter narrowed her eyes at the door with the numbers 614 delicately engraved in the wood. "Am I rooming with anyone?" Nelly glanced down at her watch, "No, everyone else is already paired up. Would you like to request a roommate?" Winter grabbed the door handle, "This is fine." Winter walked into the most extravagant bedroom she had ever seen. The bed looked big enough for six people to sleep in comfortably. The satin curtains, of the softest lavender, were heavy enough to keep any amount of light out. The room's color scheme was blush pink, gold, and lavender. The marble floors glistened so much that she could practically see her reflection. She walked over to the bed and laid down. The smoothness of the silk sheets combined with the perfect firmness of the mattress made Winter intolerably drowsy. She sat up and looked toward the door frame to ask Nelly if there was any other significance to her being the only one assigned this room, but she was alone.
Winter glanced at the clock positioned on the wall adjacent to the door. It was pattered with different flowers, the most elegant looking clock she had ever seen. She got a strange feeling of nostalgia and stared at it longer. She heard a knock at the door. Winter got up to answer it. Lucas' eyes met hers, puzzled. "Sorry I didn't know anyone would be in here." Winter crossed her arms, "Why did you knock then?" Lucas narrowed his eyes as his face flushed a little bit, "It's a habit." Winter waved her hand, "Why are you here?" Lucas glanced inside the room and then turned around mumbling, "No reason." Winter turned to examine her room again, pondering the reason for his appearance. She remembered the sparring matches and then walked out of her room, heading back to the courtyard. Winter attempted maneuvering her way through the crowd which proved to be difficult because they were extremely rowdy. She was looking for her friends when a voice came up behind her, "Where were you?" Winter faced Layla and smiled sheepishly, "I was being assigned to my dorm." Layla raised her eyebrows, "What's your room number?" Winter glanced towards the platform but saw no sign of Nelly, "614." Layla nodded, "That's in a different building than ours." "A different building?" Layla scratched her head, "I don't think anyone lives there anymore." "Anymore?" Layla laughed, "What are you, an echo?" Winter sighed, registering that her question had been avoided, "What happened during Jax's match?" Layla swallowed, "They cut each other up. Bad. Even when the match was called they didn't stop." Winter nodded, "Who won?" "Draw." Winter tugged at her hair, "Where's Jax now?" Layla motioned her head over to where Mandy was helping tend to Jax's wounds. Winter began walking over to them when Layla grabbed her arm, "I wouldn't go over there." "Why not?" Layla let her go, "Because he's still pretty worked up about you fighting with that sword." Winter shrugged walking over to him. Mandy smiled when she saw her. Jax rolled his eyes and winced at his injuries. "Looks like the hotshot got hurt," Winter bent down to examine him. He scoffed, "You missed the match but came to gloat that I got hurt?" Winter stood back, noting the pain in his voice. "Where's the healer?" Mandy chimed in, "She went to deal with Sam first." Another healer came over to them, "You sent for me?" Winter motioned for him to start working on Jax. Mandy looked at Winter, surprised, "Telepathy?" Winter glanced over her shoulder at Leo who just shrugged, smiling, "Something like that." The male healer began mending the wounds on Jax one by one. When he finished, Jax stood and got close to Winter, "We need to talk." He took her wrist and pulled her away from the crowd. She felt eyes on her but didn't turn to see whose.
Jax stopped walking and faced her, "Winter I need to know why you chose that sword." Winter fiddled with her bracelet, "There isn't any special reason. I just didn't know what sword to choose so I closed my eyes and picked randomly." Jax's gaze became more intense and his grip tightened, "Is that all?" Winter sighed, "Yes Ryan, that's all. Will you let go?" Jax looked down at her hand and released her. "Why the freaking out?" "Nothing," Jax grumbled. Winter stood on the tip of her toes and tugged at his ear, "Don't lie to me." He shrugged, grinning boyishly, "It's really nothing. Where were you just now anyway?" "Dorm 614." Jax paused. Winter nudged him, catching his reaction, "What is it?" He shook his head, "It just sucks you had to miss me destroying Sam with my awesome swordsmanship." Winter laughed, "I heard you lost." Jax puffed his chest, "Who told you that? It was a draw. A draw!" She smirked, "I know." He shoved her playfully, shaking his head. She sighed, "I wish today was dedicated to practicing our magic." Jax studied her, "I could help you out." "Really?" Jax held up his wrist, displaying his bracelet, "Yeah. Afterall, us prisoners have got to stick together." Winter chuckled as he went on, "We'll meet at the pool after school. Excluding tonight because I need a break." Winter raised her eyebrow smugly, "What, too tired after getting the arrogance beaten out of you?" "You didn't know? My arrogance replenishes itself within seconds. I'll never run out." Winter twisted her bracelet, "How fortunate." Jax began to walk away and waved, "Yeah yeah. Tease all you want." She smiled and clapped her hands slowly, "Nicely done on the draw, Jax "Arrogance" Ryan." He shook his head and disappeared in the crowd. The matches were nearly over and Coach Russo's voice rang out, "The last match is Leo and Mandy." Mandy walked up to the center hesitantly. Leo casually said, "I forfeit this match." Quiet murmurs and low laughter filled the courtyard. "Of course. He would've destroyed her." "Class 5 girl against a high ranked class 8 student?" Mandy wrung her fingers. Leo's tired eyes fell on the platform, "My head hurts. I'll take a nap in the infirmary." Winter clenched her teeth.