Two beds, two dressers, one bathroom, one door, and two pillows, one for each bed. Natalie counted the items in her and Vice's shared room as he dropped his pack onto the bed farthest from the door.

"First training exercise tomorrow." Natalie pulled a spare set of clothes from her bag and placed it in the top drawer of a dresser. She slid it shut and turned to face him, smiling hesitantly. "Are you excited?"

"No." Vice emptied his own pack into his dresser.

Natalie nodded, sitting on her bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her head against the wall. "Why're you here? The only people who sign up either have a death wish, have no where else to go, or don't have a choice. Which are you?"

Vice tugged at the hem of his shirt. "I'll see you in the morning."

He crawled into bed and turned his back to her.

Natalie blinked before saying, "Of course. Goodnight."

A She stayed up a bit later than him, even though she knew she'd regret it in the morning. Her mind was filled with swirling thoughts and fears of what was to come.

And when she finally fell asleep, she was plagued with nightmares.

They were put in groups of eight, with four groups of two. Vice was wearing a long sleeved shirt that was apparently uniform. It had no symbols or writing in it, and was just plain black. Natalie was given her own set and after she changed into it, she stood next to Vice.

The rest of their group seemed kind enough. There was a set of two girls, one with bright green eyes and red hair, and the other with curly brown hair and a button nose. They seemed nice.

There was a boy with hair blonde enough that it seemed white, quietly talking with his partner, a girl with short black hair. They stood next to a muscular looking boy who had his arms crossed, facing away from his partner, who was tall with a mischievous smile.

"Hey. You're the one that showed up late, aren't you?" The girl with the bobbed hair approached Natalie. She took in Natalie's dark brown hair and cheeks that were pink from the cold. Natalie wasn't used to the chill in the air, coming from a desert region.

"Yes. My name is Natalie." She smiled warmly.

"Cassandra." 

Natalie pointed her chin at Cassandra's partner, the blonde one. "What's his name?"

Cassandra glanced over her shoulder. "Jayce. He doesn't talk much. He seems shy."

Natalie gestured at Vice. "Mine just doesn't talk because he has a stick up his ass."

Vice glared at her. "I can hear you."

"Keep it down!" The redheaded girl hissed. "I'm trying to hear the instructions!"

They went silent and tuned in to what Master Ingrid was saying. She was standing in the front of the room, near a training mat.

"Millennia ago, we were able to harness magic." Ingrid laced her fingers together in front of her. "But we grew lazy. Weak. We lost that ability. Now to access that power, two must work together to be able to tap into their combined magic. That's why we work in twos."

Natalie's eyes flicked to Vice for a moment. It would definitely be interesting to see what their magic looked like together.

"You and your partner will train to be able to control that magic," Master Ingrid continued. "In a year, you will be sent to the front lines to defend Decian. The war will kill at least a quarter of you before your first month in battle."

Vice still had his eyes ahead. He hasn't spared her a glance.

"Which is why we're starting your training today. The sooner we begin, the better your chances of survival are. Watch the demonstration for today's exercise." Ingrid crooked her fingers at a tall and lanky woman, her own partner, for the demonstration. "You will practise on your partner."

Natalie watched as Master Ingrid grabbed her partner's arm and twisted it behind her back. The partner then kicked Ingrid's legs out from under her before pinning her down.

"A simple exercise. I will be going around correcting form along with the other instructors." Ingrid dusted herself off as she stood.

Natalie turned to face Vice as the others at their mat all paired up. "So... Who's attacking first?"

Vice shrugged, stretching out his arms. 

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Very helpful."

The girl with curly hair shouted as she had her arm twisted, attempting to kick her partner's legs. She ultimately failed and had to tap out.

"I guess I'll attack you first," Natalie said to Vice. She grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, only to be immediately swept off her feet. The air was knocked out of her lungs at the impact and she remained there for a moment as she caught her breath.

"Easier than I thought," Vice conversationally said as Natalie stood up.

Natalie then had her arm pulled behind her back. She kicked out, catching him in the shins. He made a disgruntled sound from the back of his throat, but didn't react otherwise.

"Aim for the back of his knees," an instructor advised her, standing at the edge of a mat.

Natalie swung her leg out for them the next time, managing to make him fall to his knees. She then tackled him, finally completing the exercise.

"Apprentice Natalie." Master Ingrid called out. "I'd like to speak to you for a moment."

Natalie excused herself and hurried to Ingrid's side. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Your tardiness." Ingrid examined a nearby pair as the practised. "I will excuse it this once, seeing as you have only just begun."

"Thank you," Natalie gratefully said. "It won't happen again."

Master Ingrid hummed. "See to it that it doesn't."

And so the rest of training went by, and they were sent to lunch in the large room that Natalie had first met Vice. They grabbed trays of food and sat next to each other, eating in silence.

Well, mostly silence.

"Do you like to read?" Natalie inquired, trying to get to know her partner more.

Vice swallowed before saying, "Yeah."

"What do you like to read?" Natalie questioned. She idly swung her legs under the table.

Vice shrugged. "I dunno."

"You're very talkative," Natalie dryly said. 

"I don't know you that well," Vice bluntly said. "Why would I talk with you?"

"So we can get to know each other!" Natalie put her utensil down. She absentmindedly started braiding her hair so it draped over her shoulder. "We're going to be stuck together for the rest of our lives!"

"Which may not be that much longer," Vice distractedly said, making eye contact with a dark-haired boy who was glowering at them. Vice nudged Natalie with his elbow. "Do you know him?"

Natalie looked to where he was staring before shaking her head. "No. I don't."

The boy slowly stood up, storming over. Vice sighed and tightened his grip on his fork.

"Um, hi?" Natalie tilted her head as the stranger reached Vice and her. "Is something wrong?"

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" seethed the boy. He grabbed Natalie's fork and leveled it at her throat. "You- You can't just waltz in here!"

"Why not?" Natalie raised her eyebrows. "I had my scroll just like everyone else."

"Typical Winster." He snorted and brought the fork down, a grin lifting his lips. "I can't wait to gut you."

Vice pushed the vegetables on his plate around with his fork, seeming uninterested.

"Who are you?" Natalie demanded. "Why do you care?"

"Your sister killed my brother." He sneered at her, pressed the fork into the flesh of her throat. 

"Apprentices Natalie and Kyros, is there a problem?" Master Ingrid interrupted, placing her hands on her hips.

"No, ma'am. Just showing her the proper way to hold her utensils." Kyros flipped it to offer the form back to Natalie. He grinned at her menacingly. "Isn't that right?"

"Let's go." Vice grilled her forearm and pulled her away just as she opened her mouth to respond. He dragged her from the dining hall and into the hallway.

"Hey!" Natalie tore herself from his grip. "What was that for?"

"I may not care about your safety, but I care about mine." Vice thrust a finger into her chest, glaring at her. "I don't want you getting yourself killed because I'll be stuck with someone who's probably worse. You're annoying, but you could be worse."

"Wow," Natalie's lips tipped upwards, "you care about me."

He huffed and turned away. "I'm going to be pissed if you get yourself killed, you hear me?"

"I'm dead! What are you going to do about it?" Natalie challenged. 

Vice clenched his jaw. "I'll save your life just to hold it over your head."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Wow, how devilish of you."

"Just stay away from Kyros." Vice crossed his arms. "Got that? He's going to try to kill you, and Master Ingrid won't always be there."

Natalie nodded, studying his face. "I will. I'm smarter than I look."

Vice pinched the bridge of his nose. "You just said you look stupid."

Natalie frowned. "Shit, I did."

Vice sighed and started walking away. "Come on. We have magic training next."

Natalie jogged to catch up. "Really? Fantastique!"

"You speak the old tongue? I thought the language had died out," Vice remarked as they walked. 

"Only a little bit." Natalie smiled softly. "My mother spoke it when we were kids."

"My mother's dead."

"Aren't you a little ray of sunshine," Natalie commented before pausing. "And sorry about your mom. Mine's dead too."

Vice glanced down at her, something flashing in his eyes. "Thanks."

"Oh." Natalie came to a sudden stop. "Oh my."

Vice looked annoyed. "What? You- Oh."

Kyros finished wiping his face with his shirt and lowered it so it covered his abdomen again. He smirked at them, pushing the door to the training room open. "I've been waiting. What took you so long?"

"Why're you waiting for us?" Vice tensed.

"Just wanted to make sure we ended up at the same station." Kyros fiddled with the empty sword sheath at his waist.

"We're in the same groups from this morning. That's how it will always be," Vice told him as he and Natalie entered the room. "Or were you not paying attention?"

Kyros scowled and let the door bang shut behind them. "Fuck you."

Natalie waved at Cassandra, who had already found the rest of their group. "Can we hurry up this little fight? I'm excited for this session."

Kyros turned on his heel to find his partner while Vice and Natalie made their way to the others. As soon as they were out of earshot, Natalie whispered, "You saw his eight-pack, right?"

Vice nodded. "I did."

"Why does he have an eight-pack? He flashed us his abs on purpose, right?" Natalie gazed back at Kyros before immediately stumbling on the edge of a mat and falling on her face.

Vice waited for her to stand. "I don't know."

Natalie gasped. "Holy shit. He totally wants to fuck you. He even said 'fuck you'!"

Vice buried his face in his hands. "That is absolutely not what's happening."

Natalie frantically nodded. "It totally is. I mean, I think he's an asshole, but you go for it if you want."

"I'm not fornicating with Kyros!" Vice hissed under his breath at her.

Natalie scoffed. "Not if you keep saying 'fornicate'."

"Okay, everyone! Welcome to your first training session about magic!" A man with brown robes and spaced out eyes said from the front. He paused, wobbled in place before he droned on. "The Decian kingdom treats magic very carefully. There are laws we must follow, so that is today's lesson."

Groans echoed throughout the room as people settled in for a long speech about rules. Natalie sat next to Cassandra on the mat while Vice surveyed the room, glaring at everyone for absolutely no reason at all.

After what seemed like hours later, their instructor (who had introduced himself as Master Speem) finally dismissed them. Several people had to be woken up.

"What's next?" Natalie asked Vice.

He didn't look at her. "We go back to our rooms."

"It's not even dinner yet!" Natalie said in outrage. "That's our whole day?"

"There was an incident. Someone was killed, so we're being sent back to our rooms until the morning." Vice pushed through the crowd, not bothering to see if she followed.

"What? Who was killed? And by whom?" Natalie struggled to keep up with him.

"Apprentice Natalie. Apprentice Vice." Master Ingrid's voice cut through the chatter. "Viens ici."

"What does that mean?" Vice murmured to Natalie.

"It means come here," Natalie explained. She cautiously approached Ingrid. "Is something the matter?"

She sighed, placing her hands in the folds of her robe. "As you know, an apprentice was killed. We're still investing you did it, but in the meantime, their partner needs a temporary group."

Kyros stepped forward, expression carefully blank. "It really is a tragedy."

"Seeing as you two have bonded the least as you've known each other the shortest amount of time, you will have Apprentice Kyros temporarily with you." Ingrid gazed out the window at the sun. "An extra bed will be sent to your room."

Vice nodded as the three of them walked to their room. He gritted his jaw when Kyros leered down at Natalie.

"Hello, roommates," Kyros said. "Isn't it horrible what happened to my partner? And they seemed so nice..."

"Our room is right ahead. Give us a moment?" Vice phrased it like a question, but left no room to argue as he turned his back on Kyros.

"He killed his partner, right?" Natalie frowned up at Vice. "He's acting weird."

"He clearly wants to get close enough to kill you." Vice ran a hand through his hair. "Shit... Too bad I guess. It was nice knowing you."

"Excuse me?" Natalie demanded. "I-"

"It was a joke," he deadpanned.

Natalie's mouth fell open and she stared blankly for a couple moments.

Vice gently shut her mouth. "I decided you were right. If we're going to be together for the rest of our lives, we might as well be friends."

"I'm always right."

"We'll see."

"Hurry up!" Kyros bellowed. 

Vice sighed, (Natalie was beginning to notice a pattern) and trudged ahead. 

"I'm going to turn in," Kyros declared after his bed had arrived. "Sleep well..."

"We'll take turns staying awake," Vive muttered. "I'll take the first shift."

"Thank you." Natalie climbed into her bed. "I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

Vice nodded. "Anytime."

He pulled his glasses out of his drawer that night, as everyone else was asleep. He also took his book out. Flipping the well-worn pages of his favourite novel, he buried himself in his book as he waited for his turn to rest.

Is he growing on you yet, Simp4CaptainRex?