During the past three years Osgood seems to have grown in spirit. I do not say so lightly, since the fact that he stole my spot as best in class still rubs me the wrong way, and most likely will for the rest of my life. This growth can be explained in only one way, he changed the night he lost his last hope of ever finding his mother. Though Eutla’s death saddens me, for she was my mother’s friend, I did not despair. My reason for this was that I knew that she would never have left without leaving at least part of herself with Osgood. The question was, where would she have put it? There were no such vessels in Upper Realm. There were no such vessels anywhere where the light of the sun touched. That was why the thought that Eutla was killed was the first to appear in everyone’s minds. There simply didn’t exist such a vessel in any realm except the Stryker Circle.

“Zenia!” Osgood’s voice shocks me as it shatters my thoughts. Back in the present, I realise that I had bumped into him. Suddenly embarrassed, I apologize and turn to continue walking.

“Zenia, wait!” Osgood calls. What now? I’d already apologized. Did he want the sky as well?

“What do you need?” I ask impatiently, turning my head. If he wanted to talk, it didn’t mean that I had to be nice to him, after all, I had places to be.

“Sorry to bother you, but I need to speak with you.” Great. Just what I needed.

“I don’t have time for this. Master summoned me at the Upper Center. I need to be there soon.” That ought to stop him from annoying me. I turn to start walking again, thinking that the conversation was over.

“It’s about Mother.” I stop mid stride, swinging around to look at Osgood, half to make sure that he wasn’t lying and half to see how serious he was about what he’d just stated.

“When and where?” I ask, keeping my voice serious. Osgood or not, anyone mentioning Eutla disrespectfully would face my wrath. The only difference with Osgood was that he was closely watched. Even now, I could see people staring at him.

“The west wall. Midnight, after everyone is asleep.” Osgood’s choices are good, not that I’d tell him that. They would allow us to stay out of sight and above suspicion if we were caught. The western wall was up against a mountain range, so there was no enemy who could attack from there, which meant that there was no firelight there to block the stars. Some of the citizens went there occasionally to look at the stars, wondering about their ancestors. I thought that they were strange, expecting that our ancestors fight for us. If they did, what were we? Useless scraps of meat?

“I’ll meet you there.” I turn once again to continue walking.

“If Master says anything about Mother, you’ll tell me, right?” Osgood sounds hopeful. Pathetic. A warrior didn’t beg. She was certain in every decision she made. Obviously why I was better than Osgood.

“Depends on what it is.” When will it get through to him that I don’t want to speak with him unless I have to? I continue moving in the direction of Upper Center.

“See you there, then...” I don’t acknowledge his words. Maybe that will get through his thick head that I didn’t like him, since his empathic ability seemed to be dead.

It didn’t occur to me that, not only would I be with Osgood in the middle of the night, but to anyone who caught us, it would look like we were on a date. Great. If we were caught I’d be in trouble and everyone would be teasing me for being Osgood’s “girlfriend”, something that would never happen. My worst nightmare was soon going to be a reality, and I was walking into it by choice.

Reaching Upper Center, I take a deep breath. Anything that required me to be there could not be good. Why had Osgood mentioned Eutla? She was officially dead. Did he really believe her to still be alive? Even after announcing her death to everyone?

Shaking my head, I throw the speculations out of my mind. Why did it matter to me what he thought?

I reach for the door’s handle and pull one of the doors open. As always, it opened soundlessly, but Master already stood on the other side, so I didn’t have the chance to walk in unnoticed.

“I suspect you know why I called you here.” Seemingly to the expression of surprise on my face, Master replies “Your talk with Osgood didn’t go unnoticed. You would be wise to disregard anything he told you.”

“What is so important about Eutla’s death that I should?” If he was going to be annoying, he deserved that question. I wasn’t a little kid to have secrets kept from me.

“Eutla isn’t dead. At least, that is what the Unknown told him-” Master begins.

“And of course you told him to not listen to them because ‘He is too important for this realm’, just as with everything else.” I interrupt, rolling my eyes. I was already annoyed at Master, but this increased it to a maximum. Keeping Osgood here? When he could go save someone, especially his mother? That was not something he should have done. He should have shoved him out the door with a sword and maybe some bread and told him to go look for her. That would have let me be the best in the realm again, while giving that crybaby of a hero a chance to become something. Then again, the Solas Sword wouldn’t listen to just anyone, that annoying piece of ancient junk, so I couldn’t take his place.

“Yes. That is exactly what I told him, though I doubt that he listened to me, just like you”

“So what do you want me to do?” I ask, ignoring the comparison that he had drawn between Osgood and me. “Change his will? No one can do that. Even if I could, I wouldn’t do it. The less contact between him and me, the better.”

“Why must you be so difficult?” Master’s irritation with me is visible, though it didn’t matter to me.

“Why must I be difficult? Excuse me, but I’m not the one who refused the chance to fulfill a promise I made to a friend. “ Master’s face registers shock, but quickly changes back to the stone expression he still prefers to wear.

“I was not refusing the promise, just thinking of priorities. Osgood is-”

“I know, I know. ‘Too important for this realm.’ We’ve had this discussion before, so no need to repeat yourself. I still think you should have someone go save Eutla. She’s pretty important to the realm, too.” Master’s guard drops, letting me see the doubt that he was hiding deep within himself. Seeming to catch himself, he turns around, creating thicker walls around his thoughts. Only I seemed to be able to push doubt into Master’s mind, something I was not very proud of, but if it got Osgood to be a little more of a hero that people could look up to, and made him worthy of the Solas Sword, then it was worth it. If only the worst case scenario was the Sword would find someone else worthy of carrying it, then I wouldn’t have to worry about being second to the weakling of a hero.

“There is a problem with that, Zenia.” Master’s voice is quiet, more subdued than I have ever heard it. “There is no one we can spare to go on this quest. The soldiers of the realm are too busy to go, and I can’t risk anyone’s life.”

“The soldiers are busy? Doing what? Playing cards with each other?” Master’s glare rewards my sarcasm.

“No, Zenia. Something more serious. Something very serious. The Ketakutan are back, and they’re stronger than ever.”