Mindie blinked, then bowed her head. “Yes. I forget that you’re like me.”
“I’ve dealt with many of the same issues that you have,” Yukiko said softly, “except for your mother. I would have been heartbroken...”
Mindie’s eyes glimmered and she bowed her head. “Thank you. I heal in her name.”
They all turned when the sound of boots on the stairs grew louder, facing the guards coming into the room. Leading them was Sergeant Willof, who nodded to them. “Aether’s Guard, we are here to escort you to a waiting area until it is time for you to be brought out for the ceremony.”
“Thank you, Sergeant. I’m curious why it’s you and your men? The last two times, it’s been a captain,” Yukiko said. “Not that I’m complaining. I know we’ll be in capable hands.”
“The captains are stewarding the novices, and I volunteered my men to assist,” Willof replied. “I can see about getting another—”
“No,” Gregory said quickly. “We have no desire for anyone but your men, who’ve proven themselves capable and honorable, to be our shield.”
All of the guards seemed to stand up a little straighter, and Willof nodded. “Very well. Follow me, please. My men will fall in around you.”
“Thank you again, Mindie,” Yukiko said, giving the healer a smile. “You’re an amazing healer, and I’m sure she would be proud of you.”
Mindie’s eyes glimmered more and she bowed again. “Thank you. I hope you have a good evening.”
“Lead on, Sergeant,” Gregory said, going to stand near the guards.
They went down the long hall and into a room Gregory had never paid much attention to before. Inside, there were a dozen chairs and two tables, which had various bottles and glasses waiting to be used.
“Spread out and secure,” Willof said when he opened the door.
His men ushered the trio in, then took up stations around the room, with two of them staying outside. Willof took up position next to the inside of the door.
“Thank you, Sergeant,” Jenn said. “We just wait here until it’s time?”
“Yes. Someone will come and inform us when it’s time to take you back to the preparation room.”
“Sergeant, are we going out at the same time as the novice champion?” Gregory asked.
“Yes.”
“Does that mean the second-place novice goes up with the Eternal Flame?”
“Normally, yes, sir. However, in the past, if the council believed there might be trouble, they have been taken up separately.”
“I hope they do that this time,” Yukiko said. “Daciana won’t get along with them at all, and if they’re speaking the way they normally do, she would be hard-pressed to stay calm.”
Willof didn’t reply.
“Nothing we can do but wait,” Gregory said, moving over to see what they had to drink.
~*~*~
Time slipped away as they sat there, but they could hear the faint sound of cheers, and the room occasionally trembled. Eventually, there was a knock on the door. Willof answered it, speaking to someone before nodding.
“Men, be ready to move,” Willof addressed them. “Champions, it is time. Please follow me.”
As the three of them followed Willof, Jenn spoke to her lovers, “Should we display our medallions?”
“Oh, that would cause a stir,” Gregory chuckled.
“Does it do anything for us?” Yukiko asked.
“It shows that Aether’s Guard has advanced past every other clan,” Jenn said.
“Hmm... That would raise the clan’s reputation,” Yukiko mused.
“Let’s do it,” Gregory said. “Anything we can do to make the clan look better is good.”
“Should we wait until we’re heading up to the arena floor? Keep it secret until then?” Jenn asked, looking around the hallways with people moving about.
“Yes,” Gregory agreed.
“I can’t wait to see the expressions when people see our medallions,” Yukiko giggled.
Willof led them down into the preparation room where Nessa and her guards were already waiting. “Spread out and wait,” he commanded his men before going across the room to the far stairs and speaking with the captain there.
“Well done, Nessa,” Yukiko said, hugging her friend before stepping a few feet back.
“Thank you,” Nessa beamed. “I thought Daciana had me a few times, but I wasn’t going to give up.”
“You both fought well,” Jenn said, going to stand beside Yukiko. “How did she take it?”
“Better than I feared. She was smiling and promising to beat me next time, but I didn’t see any hurt in her.”
“Good,” Gregory said. He stayed a few feet farther back than the other two, all too aware of the guards watching them. “She’s a good friend. How is Victoria?”
“She gave Daciana some grief, but it was all in good fun. Daciana reminded her that she beat her, or she would have been the one to lose to me.” Nessa looked at the guards, understanding why Jenn and Gregory hadn’t hugged her. “The three of us have been speaking about joining a clan together.”
A few guards shifted before going still again.
“Hmm... I’ve heard similar things have happened in the past,” Yukiko said with a hint of a smile on her lips. “I’m sure the clan will be overjoyed to accept the champion novice, as well as the runner-up and one of the final four.”
“Hard to believe anyone would object to that… well, besides the clans you don’t join,” Jenn said.
“Form up,” Willof commanded.
The men all moved to stand by the stairs in two lines.
“Follow the guards, and remember to wave to the crowd,” Yukiko told Nessa.
The cheering echoed down the hall, growing louder as they walked. As the guards split apart, forming a path at the end of the tunnel, Nessa was breathing a little fast. If not for her friends right behind her, she would have been panicking more.
The cheers rose even higher when Nessa, Gregory, Yukiko, and Jenn exited the tunnel. The ground shook with
