Coming back through the door, the warmth and sound of the Banquet hall rushed in all at once after the cold quiet of the balcony. Conversation. The scrape of silverware. Bursts of laughter from unfamiliar tables. Heads turned as she approached the Head table, eyes that lingered a second too long before looking away. She did her best to keep her gaze forward.
Then she found her table.
Saphy was sitting on the opposite side of Geire, leaned in with her hands on her face and smiling. It was more unnerving than every stare she'd gotten coming down. She darted to Se'raf.
"W-what..?" Her voice trailing off.
"He called her pretty." Se'raf replied, eyes drifting toward them. "Albeit in a shy, awkward manner."
Ester watched as Saphy reached over and picked a piece of food from his cheek. Geire's eyes went wide, mouth agape as she did so.
"But...how long?" Ester asked.
Se'raf tilted their head. "...Right after you left?"
Ester's heart sank.
Arthur's eyes darted between them and Ester. He'd already dissipated the coating the moment they stepped back through the door. A small flick of his wrist was all it took. The Banquet hall wasn't nearly as cold as the balcony had been but it wasn't cosy either. She understood the reasoning.
She just didn't know if it was the same as his.
"… Why is that bad?" He queried. "Aren't they just talking?"
A part of her knew he was right. Geire wasn't doing anything to her at the moment and Saphy seemed comfortable. She wanted to respect that. But part of her hadn't forgiven him for the training fields. Part of her held a grudge on how deranged he'd acted. For the way he'd look at Saphy like she was something that was his.
"What do you think of him?" Se'raf glanced at Arthur.
Arthur grimaced. "...The first time I saw him… when he came out of the dorms, Brea alerted me." He stared at Geire across the hall. "...She described him as a monster." He faltered slightly on the word. "...To be honest I'm still wary of him because of that."
They watched for a moment longer before Se'raf began moving toward the table.
Kris was watching Lucius and Ezekiel have an eating contest with a bored expression, a candied stick turning slowly in his mouth. He looked up when he noticed them approaching and offered a quiet nod. Ester caught what seemed like a semblance of a smile on Geire's face as he talked with Saphy, until he looked up and it faded the moment he saw her.
Saphy turned around, eyes widening.
"Oh, you're back!" She got up and hurriedly pulled her into a hug, expression shifting quickly to concern. "How are you feeling?"
Ester didn't glance at Arthur as she sat down. She forced a smile. "...Better."
Saphy broke into a toothy grin. "That's a relief."
"...And you?"
She narrowed her eyes. "I'm...fine..?" She followed Ester's gaze as it darted toward Geire. "..Oh."
Saphy clasped Ester's hands in hers. "I'm fine." There was an intensity in her eyes when she said this. One that Ester had trouble maintaining.
She ended up just nodding.
"So?" Arthur cleared his throat. "What's been going on?"
"Geire called Saphy pretty." Kris said, nodding toward the pair who seemed flustered. "...And Zeek was telling Lucius what happened in the marketplace."
"Cos Lin Hua was so cool-" Ezekiel muttered.
A few seconds later, Lucius broke into a laugh. "H-He died!" He wheezed, loud enough to draw looks. Ezekiel's ears flushed red.
Arthur turned to him with wide eyes. "You've died?"
Ezekiel scowled, muttering under his breath. His voice trailed off as he avoided the intense stare of Arthur and Kris's quietly judgmental expression.
He took a slow breath and closed his eyes.
"...I did, yeah." He nodded. "I died because I thought I was helping...Thought I could handle the strain..." He grimaced, touching the bandage on his head. He let out a shaky breath. "Turns out… I'm weaker than I thought."
Silence settled over the table as Ezekiel resumed eating. Ester watched him. Just a few days ago he had introduced himself as the Great Ezekiel the Third and demanded to be honoured for his lineage. They could've sworn the person in front of them was an imposter.
He looked up when he realised nobody had spoken.
"...What?"
"It's just…" Saphy stared. "You sound so mature."
Kris agreed without a word and Ezekiel angrily scarfed down more food in response.
"...So?" Lucius leaned in. "What do you intend to do about it?"
Ezekiel paused. "Train harder." He narrowed his eyes. "...And come first in the trials."
Lucius hollered. Loud enough that half the hall turned. "You know you're not coming first."
"...Then who is?" He muttered. "You?"
"Of course." Lucius said, smiling, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Ezekiel held his gaze.
"...We'll see."
Saphy exchanged a glance with Kris. Ester watched Ezekiel with something she couldn't quite name.
Arthur turned to Geire, debating whether to open his mouth. "...What about you?" He tried. "Do you think you'll do well?"
Geire froze. He stared at Arthur for a moment before pretending he hadn't heard.
Se'raf let out a quiet snicker.
"Geire…" Saphy sighed. "That's not very nice."
He looked at her, his expression shifting. "...Sorry." He turned to Arthur, not quite meeting his eyes. "I will...do my best." He whispered.
It was vague. Ester found she couldn't look away from him after that.
"Starless!" Markos clapped his hands. "Time to head back to the HoS." He glanced toward a window. "It's already so dark…"
Reluctant moans rippled through the hall.
"The dining hall will serve the remains of the Banquet, so don't worry." He tried for a smile. "The headmaster should really be the one addressing you, but he's still bedridden." He looked across the room. "I want to thank you all for how you conducted yourselves tonight...I pray you all enjoyed the evening."
His face held a faint sadness when he said this.
He cleared his throat.
"Ezekiel."
Everyone at the table jumped. Ezekiel straightened immediately.
"You wanted to challenge Lucius, yes?"
Stifled breaths. Murmurs spreading table to table.
Ezekiel glanced at Lucius and pursed his lips. "…I do."
Markos smiled as noise erupted throughout the hall. He turned to Lucius. "What do you say?"
Lucius sighed loudly, as if this were deeply inconvenient. "How about tomorrow?"
"...There's your answer, Ezekiel." Markos looked around the hall. "Well then, shall we?"
They filed out table by table, leaving maids to begin clearing the vacated spaces.
Near the exit, Elijah approached with his scowl, extending a hand toward Lucius. "S'nice to meet you."
Lucius stared at the blue haired boy for a moment before shaking it. "Hmm." He nodded.
Eli looked at his own hand afterward with an expression that was hard to read.
"..Are you smiling?" Saphy narrowed her eyes. He scowled harder dropping his hand. Cosmo appeared behind him.
"Wow…" His eyes cycling between Arthur and Lucius with barely contained awe. "You guys are like...famous."
Arthur blinked. "R-really?" An awkward laugh.
The other third year Vanessa drifted close, one hand rising to rest on Arthur's arm. She didn't say anything. Just smiled playfully, almost innocently.
Arthur swallowed. "Um.."
"Will you cut that out." Eli said flatly. She eventually let go without losing the smile, or the eye contact. He turned to Ezekiel. "Are you stupid?" He said it like it was a genuine question.
Ezekiel looked at him. "...Shut up."
Eli looked at him for a long moment before sighing.
Ester waved goodbye to Cosmo as their table was the next to leave.
The carriages moved slowly through the Holy Lands, lights flickering past the windows in uneven intervals. Outside, the mountain roads were dark and narrow, a cry of something in the distance that they didn't even bother questioning echoed above them.
Ezekiel had eaten so much he could barely keep his eyes open, slumped against the carriage wall with his mouth slightly open. Kris turned his candied stick slowly and stared at nothing in particular. The cold from outside had started finding the gaps in the carriage door. Ester couldn't wait to be out of the dress.
Then Saphy began humming.
Something low and unhurried. None of them protested over it. Maybe because there was nothing to say. Maybe because her humming took their minds off everything. Even the cold seemed to ease slightly.
They sat with it the whole ride back.
When the carriages finally stopped it was already past midnight. The HoS was silent, the torches along the great steps burning lower than they had earlier in the evening.
Ester didn't even remember falling asleep.
"ESTER."
Saphy's face was an inch from hers, eyes wide and urgent.
Outside, something was already happening.