"Man... I had a weird dream last night..." said Elliot while stifling a yawn. "I dreamt that I was floating in a boat at sea, when Pat suddenly jumped in and started rocking it back and forth!"
"I did what?"
We were both distracted by Darius who started coughing. I pat his back and noticed that his face had turned bright red.
"What about me? Was I in the boat too?" Cat asked, feeling left out.
"You were floating in the clouds with Darius," said Elliot, "Lycan was trying to catch you, while Arman was running away on a tall elephant with huge tusks..."
"Woah, now that's one heck of a weird dream," said Arman who's been reading the tome of illusions as he waited for us to get dressed for class.
"I dreamt that I was riding a carriage with my sisters," Cat recounted while putting on his uniform. "The road was real bumpy, so they all fell off the seats and started crying like babies! I was still laughing at them when I woke up!"
"A-are you all ready to go?" Darius asked as he headed for the door and opened it.
"G-good morning," Lycan said shyly, his raised fist aimed to knock on the now open door.
"Lycan!" Cat happily bounded towards him like a playful kitty. "Let me tell you about the dream I had this morning!"
The two of them led the way down the dormitory while Darius and I kept a good distance at the back.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked discreetly. "I read before that sex between men could be very harrowing for the one who plays the female part..."
"I'm fine, though I am a bit sore," he confessed, his face still flushed. "Thank you for helping me clean up last night."
"It was the least I could do," I touched his hand and noticed that he was feeling a bit warm. "Do you have a fever?" I placed a hand on his forehead.
"It's nothing."
"But you're really warm..."
"Is something the matter?"
We looked up at Arman who was waiting for us by the second floor landing.
"Darius seems to have a fever."
"It's probably just a little cold."
"Let me see..." Arman touched his forehead as well. "Yup, he's warm, alright, you should ask for some fever medicine when we get to the infirmary."
"That's right, I'll try to make you something during our apothecary class as well," I said while rubbing his back.
"Okay, but it's really no big deal."
"Hmm... you two look really close lately," Arman suddenly said with a big grin on his face. "Did something happen last night?"
The two of us stared at him wide-eyed.
I felt my face burn as Arman's grin got wider.
"H-how did you know?!"
Darius covered his face with both hands.
"No fair, I was aiming for Pat as well!" Arman said with a laugh as he grabbed my left arm and clung to me like a child.
"So tell me, how far have you gone?"
"D-Darius and I are just close friends!" I told him, "Right, Da–"
I was rendered speechless after seeing the hurt look in Darius' face.
"Oh, stop trying to cover it up!" Arman cut in. "I've seen how you look at Darius, especially when we're in the baths! You're probably the only one in our group who doesn't know how you really feel! Except for Cat, of course," he laughed some more. "Besides," he added, "it's quite obvious by the way Darius is walking right now, we all know how big you are, after all!"
"I... I mean..." I tried to say something, but Darius sighed and held my right arm instead.
"Pat, do you like me?" he asked, straight out.
"Yes!" I immediately answered. "May I dare say I love you?"
A loud laugh broke out from Arman.
"Now isn't this sweet? I knew I should have made a move on you sooner!"
"Sorry, but Patrick's my man, now," said Darius with a challenging look on his face. He was holding on to me so tight that the sword on his side was digging painfully into my right hip bone.
"Don't worry, I've got my eyes on Elliot as well!" Arman grinned at us.
"As well?" Darius frowned at him.
"I believe that love should be given freely to everyone I like," Arman said with a dramatic sweep of his arms. "So, how about a threesome some time?" His brows moved up and down. "Maybe Elliot would want to join us too?"
"How could you say that?" I frowned at him. "Why keep Cat and Lycan out, when I have enough love for all of my friends?"
Arman burst out laughing even louder.
"This is why I love you so much, Pat," he said while leaning on my left arm. "You mind sharing?" he asked Darius.
"Too bad, I'm quite possessive, you know," said Darius in a flat tone.
"Why don't we head on downstairs," I intervened, "Elliot and the rest must be waiting for us."
"What took you so long?" Elliot asked as we stepped out of the dormitory.
"Pat and Darius has something to say to us!" said Arman before we could answer.
"Tell us what?" Cat asked with his head tilted.
Elliot's eyes fell on Darius's arm around mine.
"We've got another couple in our group!" Arman announced.
"I knew it!" Elliot grinned at us. "Congratulations, you two are perfect for each other!"
"Aren't they adorable?" Arman cooed as he went to Elliot's side. "A gallant knight and a brilliant magician," he added in a lower tone. "They're meant for each other!"
"T-thank you," I said, feeling sheepish. Darius seemed to be too embarrassed to say anything.
"But if they're another couple, then who's the other one?" asked the clueless Cat.
"Why, you and Lycan, of course," said Elliot.
"Oh, that's right! Me and Lycan are the bestest best couple in our group, right Lycan?"
"Y-yes, Cat," his best friend replied with a goofy smile.
"Well, this group won't have enough time to eat breakfast if they don't get on their way to the dining hall!" Elliot reminded us with a laugh.
We went off to our morning classes after a full breakfast.
Darius and the rest left for their daily training with Senior André, while Arman and I made concoctions in our apothecary class.
"What are you making, Pat?" asked Elmer from the table next to mine.
"I'm working on a dry ginger concoction with cinnamon and lemon juice," I replied. "It is said to be good for alleviating fevers."
"Is someone sick?"
"Not really, but Darius might be running a fever."
"Oh..." Elmer trailed off as he continued to work on his own concoction.
"What about you? What are you working on?"
"Just some sleeping drought."
I looked at the other table where Arman is working on a double boiler while talking with some of the seniors.
"I wonder what Arman is working on."
"He's been chatting with the seniors all this time, I'd be surprised if he gets anything done," Elmer said with a small laugh. I could sense some spite in his words, though.
Just then, Senior Triste entered the room to announce that classes were over.
"Take the rest of the period to clear your work area and place a sample of your concoctions on my table before you leave."
"Here you go, Pat."
Arman handed me a small jar filled with a lavender scented solution.
"What's this?"
"It's a cooling salve that I concocted," he said proudly, reaching up to whisper to my ear. "It'll help lessen Darwin's pain in the you-know-where regions!" he added with a giggle, making my face burn bright. "It's pretty useful as a lube too, just wait for it to cool and solidify."
"You made a cooling salve?" Elmer gasped in amazement. "Nothing less from the young master Fentibeau!" he added in a slightly exaggerated tone.
"Oh, please, here I am simply Arman!" my friend laughed. "Now, let's go before we get late for Prof. Novil's class."
"You go ahead, I'll wait for Norman," came Elmer's usual reply.
"Just a minute," I called to Arman while setting aside some of my dry ginger concoction in a vial.
"Mmm, I smell ginger, is that for Darius? You should add a dollop of honey to lessen its spiciness."
"Oh, thanks for the suggestion!" I replied. "I hope Darius' fever went down already, though."
"Not if he joined their usual morning exercises," said Arman. "Anyway, the seniors told me that some masters arrived earlier today," he said excitedly. "They said more will be arriving tomorrow, up `till next week when they introduce them formally to us."
"That's good news for you and Elliot, then!"
"Yeah, he would probably go bonkers! I hope he gets to be apprenticed to a chef like he wanted."
The Medics class was just coming out of their lecture hall when we stepped out of our room. We saw our friends with the other students, surrounding two middle-aged men who looked as big and intimidating as Senior André who stood beside them.
"We'll be seeing you later, then," said one of the men with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
"We shall be choosing our apprentices after tomorrow's special training," added the bigger of the two who had long black hair and a goatie.
"Did you hear the news!?" Cat exclaimed as they approached us. "Some masters have already arrived today!"
"Yup, the seniors in our class were talking about it, too," Arman replied.
"Yeah, I wonder if there's a chef among them?" Elliot thought out loud.
"We just met those two grand knights from the temple," said Darius, "they said three more would be arriving later this evening."
"That's great, didn't you say you wanted to be apprenticed to a grand knight?" I asked him.
"I do, in fact, that's Grand Knight Lucifer of the Holy Order," he said, pointing at the dark haired knight with a goatie. "He's one of the seven Grand Knights serving directly under his majesty the emperor."
"And guess what?" Cat piped in. "That big knight just asked Darius to be his apprentice!"
"He did?" I looked at Darius with a smile.
"He's actually acquainted with my father," Darius explained. "Though I'm having second thoughts, since some students might think of it as biased, preferential treatment."
"A what treatment?" asked Cat.
"It means they're giving him a big favor for being a duke's son," Lycan explained for his friend.
"What favor?" Cat frowned. "Everyone knows that Darius is the best swordsman in our class!"
"I-I personally think you're better," mumbled Lycan.
"Cat has a point, Darius," said Arman. "Who cares what other people think? If you want to be his apprentice, then who's there to stop you?"
"That's right, Darius," Elliot agreed, "it's a big honor for a Grand Knight to personally request for you as an apprentice. You should accept it if that's what you really want."
"I really do," he answered with a smile and looked at me.
"Then you should take his offer," I touched his hand.
"He asked me to meet him later this afternoon after classes with the other apprentice candidates," he told us. "I'll tell him my answer then."
"In the meantime," I took out the vial containing my honey-ginger concoction, "here's something for your fever. It seems you're still a little warm."
"Thank you, I took some medicine earlier, but I guess I'm still a bit tired..."
"That's why I told you to skip Senior André's training earlier!" said Elliot with a frown.
"Don't worry, the next class is just a lecture, anyway," Darius replied before drinking from the vial. "I'll be better in no time."