Thaniel and Eleanor went their separate ways after promising to see each other at breakfast, and Thaniel took Pandy to his room. There, the boy – with great reluctance – pulled out some of the books Lian had told him to study and began to read. They were all fairly low-level primers Pandy had read in game, so she returned to her hiding pce under the bed and began to grind her skills once again.

  She continued this through the night, and by the time Thaniel gathered her up to take her to breakfast, she had Bite to level thirteen, and Minor Heal was over halfway to fourteen. Her cheek also ached like a toe that had been stubbed too many times, in spite of the fact that it had been completely healed.

  After breakfast, the children found the css lists, which were posted in the entry hall. Most of the older students had small group assignments already, and whoops of glee mingled with groans of disappointment as friends discovered that they either were or weren’t together this year.

  Once the two first-years -- both small for their age and seeming even smaller among the nine- and ten-year-olds surrounding them – compared css schedules, they went on an exploratory mission to find their cssrooms.

  “Here’s the first-year homeroom,” Thaniel said, looking up at the door, which was firmly locked, just like all the other doors along this hall.

  Eleanor nodded, consulting her handbook. “So we’ll be here together until lunch, and then you go to Combat Training, while Geri and I will go to Etiquette lessons.” She made a face. “I’d rather go with you. I’ve been learning etiquette since the day I was born.”

  “It’s not fair,” Thaniel agreed. “I bet Geri’d rather have Combat, too. An’ I don’t know much about etiquette, except what Lady Alice taught me. Not that I want to do that instead of Combat.” He grinned, already excited.

  “Shh,” Eleanor reminded him. “Don’t use names. We’re not supposed to let anyone know who our families are, and even if she’s not family, exactly, you should probably practice.”

  Thaniel sighed. “That’s another thing I don’t understand. Why’d they make up such a silly rule?”

  The princess tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, looking down at Winston, who gazed back up at her with soulful adoration. “I’m gd they did,” she admitted quietly. “I’ve never had a chance to talk to people who don’t know who I am. I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually, even with the illusion charm, but for now, I know that anyone who says they like me probably means it. It helps people like…like our other friend, too. People who don’t have a lot of money or connections, but are really nice. Everybody gets a fair chance, for a little while, at least.”

  Thaniel nodded slowly. “I guess so. I still don’t really understand why it matters, though.”

  “I know,” Eleanor said with a bright, sweet smile. “And that’s exactly why I like you! Now, come on. We have Horseback Riding together after Combat and Dance, and I want to see the stables!”

  Unlike the rest of the school, the stables were bustling. Teenage boys and – to all of their surprise – girls, all wearing a uniform of linen shirt with brown pants and suspenders, ran around, caring for the horses. There were a surprising number of mounts, some with the names of students on the door of their stalls, while others were in stalls marked only with numbers. When Thaniel asked about this, Eleanor admitted that one of the small ponies was hers, and they went to visit the little mare, who whickered excitedly at seeing the girl.

  Several happy minutes were spent stroking the gray pony and feeding her fruit that Eleanor had hidden in a handkerchief during breakfast. Where, exactly, that handkerchief had been lurking was a greater mystery, since the skirts of her uniform had no discernable pockets, an injustice with which women everywhere were long-familiar.

  Only when a stablegirl came by to take the pony for a run did the two children and their pets move on to finding their next cssrooms. Once again, the two girls had css together, though this time it was Art. Eleanor was quite a bit more enthusiastic about this than Etiquette. Meanwhile, Thaniel was supposed to go to Governance and Leadership, a css title that made the boy look like he would rather be fed live worms.

  After that was something simply called ‘Small Group’, and all first-years were supposed to meet in their homeroom, though the older students went to different pces depending on their advisors. Pandy suspected that once the children all had groups assigned, they, too, would scatter to different offices, cssrooms, and possibly even outside on the grounds, if the older students’ assigned locations were any indication.

  Lacking any more cssrooms to find, Thaniel convinced Eleanor to visit the gardens, though the girl was visibly uncomfortable with the idea. Now that they were outside, Pandy was on the ground, hopping along with Winston, and thus in a perfect position to notice how Eleanor’s pace grew slower and slower the closer they got to three rge, green gss buildings that shimmered with something that might have been magic, and probably was.

  Thaniel, of course, failed to notice Eleanor’s reluctance, and excimed in delight as the first of the gardens rose up to surround them. This was an herb garden, neatly beled, with rge, healthy pnts in raised beds filled with rich, dark soil. Pungent aromas filled the air, and insects flitted from pnt to pnt. Most of these insects were entirely normal – bees, butterflies, beetles, and even dragonflies that hovered around a small pond. There were some, however, which Pandy was certain didn’t exist in her world, and these seemed drawn to Eleanor as if she was the fme to their moth.

  Less than halfway through the garden, Eleanor stopped, her fingers once again tucked behind her back, gripping each other so they wouldn’t wrinkle her skirt. “Thaniel, I’m sorry,” she said, beginning to back away from a bright spark that had more wings than any insect could possibly control without magical assistance. “I forgot I needed to…study. Mother sent me a few more books, and I really should, um, read them. She always knows if I don’t.”

  She attempted a smile, but there was no way to miss the fact that she wasn’t looking at Thaniel, but rather at several more of the many-winged things that were heading straight for her. Thaniel looked from her to the small creatures, which Pandy was almost certain were some kind of low-tier elementals. He frowned, but seeing that his friend was in real distress, he immediately turned around, heading back for the gate in the fence around the garden.

  “Let’s go back,” he said cheerfully, setting a rapid pace so that Eleanor could hurry without looking like she was doing so because she wanted to. “Suzanne said the library would be open today, didn’t she? And we went right past it. We should get library cards, and it would be the perfect pce to study. Lian left me a lot of books, too.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Eleanor said, panting slightly. She obviously hadn’t spent nearly as much time running around as Thaniel, and even Lord Winston had to jog to keep up, his saggy skin bouncing with each step of his short legs. Once they were out of the garden again, Thaniel slowed to a walk, and Eleanor gratefully slowed as well, drawing in deep breaths as she tried to catch her breath while still retaining her dylike poise.

  The little train of two children, a rabbit, and a dog soon found themselves back at the wide, open area that y between the stables and the building. There were a few benches there, and Thaniel headed for one of them, only to hear someone calling his name. When he turned, he found Geraldine, Miss Cupcakes at her heels, and a broad grin on her freckled face.

  “Thaniel!” Geraldine waved, her wide skirt swaying. She wasn’t yet in her uniform, so she must have just arrived. Thaniel gave her an answering grin, and he and Ellie soon joined their other friend. Geraldine, being almost a year older than the other two, stood a good inch or more taller than them, and her treks across the Reedsley estate in search of pirates had given her a healthy glow and sturdy frame, making her look even older, especially in comparison to Eleanor.

  “Who’s this?” Geraldine asked, eyeing Eleanor curiously. There was little furrow between her heavy brows, as if the brunette standing before her reminded her of someone else, but she obviously wasn’t making the connection.

  Thaniel gnced around, then leaned in and whispered. “It’s Eleanor. Ellie. She just, um, has a-” he motioned to his neck, and Eleanor’s hand twitched toward the golden chain that was just visible beneath the colr of her shirt.

  “Oh!” Geraldine said, eyes growing wide. Reaching out, she grasped Eleanor’s hands, making Winston give a gruff little bark until Eleanor shushed him. Introductions were made all round, since Eleanor hadn’t met Miss Cupcakes before, and of course Geraldine and Miss Cupcakes hadn’t met Lord Winston Howl the Third. Geraldine didn’t look terribly excited to meet even such a good-natured dog, though she shook his paw gamely. Miss Cupcakes, on the other hand, was having none of it, spitting furiously at the puppy when he lifted his paw in her direction.

  Geraldine looked between the two pets with a slightly concerned expression on her face. Turning to Thaniel and Eleanor, she said, “I saw the name ‘Ellie’ on the door to my room when Ms. Davenport took me back, and she said my roommate was also one of the students with a pet, so I hoped it was you, Ellie. But now-”

  “Are you on the corner?” Eleanor asked eagerly, and at Geraldine’s nod, she said, “Then yes, we’re roommates. How lovely! And don’t worry about Lord Winston. He’s terribly polite. Though I wonder-”

  She broke off, but Pandy could almost hear her thinking that her mother probably had everything to do with the room assignment. After all, the queen had been quite firm about Geraldine attending Falconet, even to the point of offering her a schorship. It made sense that it would be better to have the princess room with someone she knew, and better yet for that person to be indebted to the royal family.

  Eleanor’s face fell slightly, but neither Thaniel nor Geraldine saw. Instead, they pressed close as Thaniel revealed that his room was directly above theirs, which would allow them to communicate via some form of secret code.

  The two friends immediately began to devise said secret code, but Pandy suddenly wondered if it was really just a coincidence that Thaniel was above the girls. After all, children sometimes did things at school that could be unfortunate for their future selves if they were revealed. With Thaniel in the room overhead, no one would be able to spy on the princess from there unless they did so by magic, and Pandy wouldn’t be at all surprised to find that the corner room was protected against such things.

  How far would the illusion of freedom granted to the princess extend? Were her teachers as carefully chosen, and would the students in the rooms on each side of her be there purely out of chance? Who would be her small group advisor; the teacher to whom she would probably feel the closest, and be most likely to confide in? The longer Pandy thought about it, the more it sounded like a conspiracy theory. It wasn’t just a theory if it was true though, was it?

  The three children sat on the nearest bench, and though Eleanor was soon chattering away, suggesting different codes and ideas for how they could communicate without anyone else knowing what they were saying, the brightness had gone out of her eyes, and Lord Winston sat on her feet, not beside them.

  For whatever reason, even when the idea of night-time tea parties was suggested – by Geraldine – Thaniel didn’t mention the secret passage between the first and second floor. That was good, at least as far as Pandy was concerned, but at the same time she felt a little sad. They were only six, and yet at least two of them were already keeping secrets, even from their closest friends. How many more secrets could fit in the space between them before they could no longer reach across the gap? Would that barrier break, or would their budding friendship fail first?