Rachel awoke around the time she normally would for class, extremely hungry. She bounced out of bed, hurried with her clothes and purse, and ran to the eatery. Today she was eating a full breakfast, or else she feared she would die of hunger. With some food in her, she walked around the academy to waste time before meeting George and James listening for any comments or rumors about the fairy visiting the academy yesterday. Most of the students seemed to have ignored Rachel’s presence at the tournament, it was no surprise that everyone was talking about George and his top ranking in the tournament. The students may not care about a new fairy, but maybe the teachers or other adults that saw her at the tournament might have an opinion. Rachel was going to have to keep her ears open and maybe take this chance to ask George what he thinks.

Once again Rachel found George and James surrounded by a group of students, but this time they weren’t all girls, it seemed that guys were after them too. This time Rachel snuck into the crowd and popped up behind George and James.

“Hey. Are you two ready to go?” Rachel asked, surprising the two guys.

“Great you’re here!” James smiled.

“I hope these crowds simmer down after some time,” Rachel sighed worrying about George and James’ ability to deal with all the attention.

“Excuse us, we will be leaving now,” George said trying to take command of the crowd. Despite the crowd’s unruly behavior, they did let the trio leave.

“Wow, what a difference it makes to be at the top of the Military Arts students, you now have guys going after you,” Rachel laughed.

“So, you saw the tournament?” George asked.

“I did,” Rachel replied.

“Did you see James and I fight?” George asked trying to hide his excitement.

“Yes, it was very different from your sparring, very serious, and honestly kind of scary. I don’t know how you fight like that,” Rachel replied honestly.

“If I don’t attack James seriously and he doesn’t do the same for me, we won’t be prepared for the enemy down the line,” George acknowledged.

“At least, don’t hurt each other. So, where are we going to eat?” Rachel asked trying to both lighten the mood and change the subject.

“I want my usual, it has already been a whole week and I am tired of what the eatery has to offer,” James exclaimed dramatically almost shedding a tear.

“I figure that was where we were headed. Is that alright with you George?” Rachel asked.

“Yes, of course. It is James’ reward, plus I’m usually fine with anything. He’s a food hedonist,” George claimed while pointing at James.

“Alright, to the bakery!” Rachel declared.

The three of them marched over to the bakery and purchased meat pies, bread with meat and cheese, and confections. Rachel purchased the sweet-tasting desserts to celebrate the successes of George and James in the tournament, and secretly her first ceremony officiation. At that moment Rachel felt that it was the least she could do to honor them, knowing that each success the two achieved lead them directly towards war.

“You know, one day I hope we get to try all the food here. Have either of you ever been to the restaurant here?” Rachel asked, between mouthfuls of a flaky pastry.

“Neither of us have been there before. It seems like it might be expensive, and you must be dressed nicely, but I hear the food is good,” George explained.

“Well let’s promise to go there one day, maybe when we have graduated,” Rachel exclaimed, determined. She was smiling.

“I promise. For the food,” James said, imagining the restaurant’s food.

“I promise,” George said also smiling, whispering, “to see you there.”

Rachel was relieved that George and James had promised her this. For her, it was a sacred pact that might keep them safe, at least up until graduation. The pact gave her strength to pursue her role as a fairy, George the ability to get to know others, and James the courage to follow George. In more ways than one, the trio knew that the road ahead of them was going to be dangerous.

When the three students finished their food and cleaned up, Rachel finally asked, “So did you two know that there was going to be a fairy at the tournament?”

“No, Sir Reginald must have either kept her a secret or made all these changes last minute,” George replied.

“Fairies are rare here, so I wonder where she came from?” James added.

“I don’t know. She was wearing a red cloak that was definitely from this town. So, she’s at least been here awhile. Every fairy born in Gerais is tracked and protected and I think that her hiding her face means only Sir Reginald and maybe a few others knows who she is,” George concluded.

“Well, why is she here now? Does the academy need more fairies?” Rachel asked feigning ignorance while also trying to gather more information.

“Gerais as you already know doesn’t have that many fairies, so maybe she is filling in. But if she was requested to come by the academy then everyone at the school would know about her. She would have been formally introduced. So, if she wasn’t requested by the academy, she must be a student here and also hiding that she is a fairy,” George explained.

“Why would she hide her identity?” Rachel asked.

“The fairy is probably concerned about losing her freedom. Like I said Gerais tracks their fairies. If they are needed in one part of the country, they will be persuaded to go there and if they don’t go when the country is asking nicely then they will be forced. My father employs Elanor, the fairy that officiated the academy’s welcoming ceremony, and he has her sent, albeit in luxury, all over the dukedom. My father will most likely investigate this new fairy that has appeared. If she answers to Sir Reginald and is a student at the academy, then my father will probably leave her alone till she has graduated,” George responded.

“Eventually she will have to reveal her identity though,” James chimed in. “It is uncustomary to hide your identity while officiating a ceremony and if the Duke exchanges her freedom for more officiation at the academy then she will have to be formally introduced.”

“But what if the other countries, the ones starting wars, find out her identity?” Rachel asked with a tinge of concern in her voice.

“We as the military students will probably be tasked with protecting her. But we’ll have to wait and see what happens,” George said.

Rachel thought, oh no. For a second she thought about telling them that she’s the fairy now while she had their attention. But she wasn’t ready, she hadn’t prepared herself for doing it today. She knew she was going to have to do it before Reginald does it.

“I guess things will be changing around here. Let’s head back to the academy,” Rachel said a little anxiously.

“Sure, James and I have more practice. We can’t slack off now that we are at the top of the military students,” George said while standing up to turn and walk back to the academy.

The walk back was short and even though Rachel was anxious about having to reveal her secret to George and James soon, she enjoyed it. Serra was a very calming place, as it wasn’t bustling like the cities in Tetrades. When they arrived at the academy George and James left to change into their armor after Rachel declined their invitation to watch their practice. She had a lot to think about and she needed to figure out how and more importantly when to tell George and James her secret. This night was a very restless one for Rachel.