"I think the other candidates expected you to stay with them." Hae-sung observed as San Jin claimed a share of the team's room.

"There was no reason why they should. I mean Guard Yun is not a bad guy but we both need a break. I don't need protection from you guys, do I?" The words were barely out of San Jin's mouth when a cushion came winging his way. Junseo laughed at the shocked look on his senior's face but San Jin soon retaliated. Hae-sung and Chenhui ganged up to pin Junseo down so San Jin could complete his revenge.

Song-hee looked on, shaking his head. "Guys, Guys, don't mess things up or we will be on our own for housekeeping."

"Yeah, it would be bad form to break something. Especially since I just got here." San Jin stood back waiting for Junseo to nod in agreement before signaling the others to release him.

The group restored their living quarters then took their teasing games out to the practice yard. After loosening up with standard sets, they paired up for light sparring. Scout Jia joined in to even up their numbers but bowed out to let Chenhui and Song-hee take on Junseo. After Chenhui's feint, Song-hee managed to sneak in a scoring point but lost his footing. "Touch, and double touch," San Jin announced from the sidelines and the boys dusted each other off. He took out is sword and asked if anyone wanted a match.

"Left-handed?" Junseo asked selecting a sturdy looking practice blade with blunted end.

"If you prefer," San Jin nodded before offering a quick saluted.

"Not like it will help," Hae-sung teased from the sidelines. Song-hee bumped shoulders and gestured for him to be quiet.

Guard Yun scanned the yard and gestured for the two older candidates to stay back while the match progressed. He frowned at Scout Jia, gesturing for the other boys to move aside when they came into his view. Hearing San Jin announce the combinations before each approach was a familiar pattern from the various lessons he oversaw at the Go family compound. The guard widened his focus to check on the audience assembling along edge of the courtyard and caught a roughly dressed servant glancing up at the stable's roof. He called a warning at the same time Junseo spun and knocked an arrow out of the sky. The team huddled together momentarily then each raised a wind-spinner to build a protective wall around San Jin. Seeing his charge was safe, Guard Yun raced off in search of the attacker. He returned empty handed and was even more dismayed the other candidates had not thought detain the witnesses.

"I don't understand how this is possible at the Knight-Master's estates. Why here when we were so much more vulnerable on the road?" Guard Yun looked to Scout Jia.

"A couple of possibilities come to mind. One would be to drive a wedge between Minister Go and the Lei family. Another might be just to frighten the fourth kingdom's heir into joining a more established training yard. After all, anyone who attended the championships, or even heard about the incidents there, would expect Junseo to deflect an attack." Scout Jia looked around the courtyard to confirm it was secure before asking the boys to call in their wind-dogs.

"Well, I want a word with Knight-Master Lei about his defenses," Guard Yun insisted.

"Of course," Manager Doak said as he crossed the courtyard, adding, "I know you naturally focus on your charge but it is entirely possible there was another target."

"Maybe, just a test." Scout Jia half whispered but Song-hee still overheard him and reported this speculation back to the group.

Junseo immediately dismissed this theory. "What's to test? I mean anyone at my training level should have the same skill. Maybe not the same amount of public practice but still," he lifted his arms up then dropped them.

"I just don't like the interest the servants seem to take in you, and there were definitely servants involved today. You can't get to that side of the compound if you are not on staff." Song-hee nudged Chenhui.

"He's right. There has to be more to this," the younger boy pleaded.

"You have to wonder who else has been sent here from the northern courts," Song-hee circled back to his pet concern.

"What are you talking about?" San Jin put his hand up, "What about the northern courts?"

"Song-hee is still hung up about my old nanny showing up here," Junseo frowned.

"She is a marked court lady." His exasperation made Song-hee's voice crack.

"Fine, but there is no way an Assistant Cook would be climbing around the roof. Somebody would have noticed." Junseo thrust out his chin.

"There is no reason to think she would be here by herself, is there?" Song-hee crossed his arms and turned his back on the others.

"We have no idea who, or what, was behind today's shot so there is no sense in fighting over something we know nothing about," Hae-sung said looking around to each member. "On the surface, San Jin is a more likely target than Junseo, but that does not narrow the field by much. I mean it could just be another attempt to undermine Knight-Master Lei's ideas about how training leagues should function."

"Your right," Junseo conceded. "Look what the sabotaged dikes cost. It would have been way worse without Journeyman Yang's fixes. So obviously Knight-Master Lei has his own enemies."

"What should we do?" San Jin looked to each of the others in turn.

"Stay together," Song-hee whispered.

"And stay vigilant, even if it is uncomfortable." Junseo nodded back before adding, "We should practice our sending and catching. Not just with our regular partners." He dug out the flyer he had tucked away and sent it spinning into the air. The other boys followed suit until it looks like a small flock of birds looking for a place to perch. 

Later that afternoon, former Lady-in-Waiting, Geo Yun-se gathered a wooden ladle, a small earthenware jar, and a woven basket and made her way along the edge of the herb garden to the large storage jars lining the stone wall. She glanced around before checking each of the lids, swiftly pocketing the note tucked under the rim of one of the older jars. She made a good show of sliding back the lid to test the rich sauce before shaking her head and moving on to the next urn and carefully filling her jar. Once glance showed her where her contact waited, another revealed a not-so casual guard watching, so she walked between the rows of abundant greens to select the finest of the green onions for the special dish she was planning.

When she got a chance to read the message, she sighed in disappointment. Being called back into service had been unexpected but she knew she was well equipped to discern whether Junseo understood the potentials of his true lineage. A lot had changed since she arrived at the estates with only the vaguest prospect of encountering her former charge.

She waited for the clouds to dim the light from the rising half-moon before returning to the designated rendezvous.

"You know at least one of the boys is suspicious," she whispered.

"What of it? Surely after years at court you can outwit a teenager," the man snickered.

"This is not a level playing field. The shots at the practice session have all the guards on edge. If that was you, it was a foolish risk to take." She put her hand up to pre-empt the strike she sensed was coming before adding, "You have everyone more on edge. For what? To confirm the rumors circulating both about the boy's training and familiarity with an old dervish trick?"

"They showed extraordinary control. The kind of control we expect from a full crystal adept," he said.

"The whole team joined in, so it confuses as much as it revealed." She shook her head. "I'm not sure how that will give you the proof you need about his affinities, or his political sympathies."

"We have a better idea about his leadership potential."

"I already told you even the older boys on the team deferred to him but he stays humble enough not to lean into unearned privileges. Some of this must come from his skills as a healer. Did you look for the amethyst affiliates in the genealogies, like I asked? We need to consider alternate explanations." She nodded to herself in the dark and could her the man beside her shifting uncomfortably.

"The princess had a great-uncle and a second-cousin with some renown as healers," he said before admitting, "We need very solid evidence to counter the other factions."

"And that is not the kind to be prompted by random attacks, not when there is a fourth kingdom heir here as well. You need to stand down and give me more time." Her firm, quiet voice conveyed her former court status.

"We may not have it. Not with the other cousins allying themselves with southern malcontents and their off-shore supporters. The courts might not admit it but this country is already at war." The man's warning came out louder than he intended and the guard dogs started barking.

Geo Yun-se hurried back to the kitchen, trying to arrange a vaguely bland expression for any potential onlooker. She spotted the two youngest members of the team across the room and hurriedly brought over a plate of treats. They nodded their thanks before asking for a few extras to share with the others. She complied even though it was stretching the house rules to let the boys take food to their rooms.

She was happy to have offered this kindness as she watched the training team ride out on their mountain excursion early the next morning. Their obvious armament seemed to beg for trouble but gave herself a shake. The outfits were part and parcel of their training regime with Manager Doak insisting on battle-ready formations and strict adherence to the chain of command.

Guard Yun took point, followed by the older cadets, San Jin was paired with Chenhui, Hae-sung with Junseo. Song-hee stayed in the rear with Manager Doak to help manage the pack horse. The group circled around the courtyard, offered the Knight-Master a short salute, then trotted out gate. A sudden downpour hid the departing group from view before they turned onto the path that would take them past the tea plantation and into the forest preserve.

Geo Yun-se used the excuse of retrieving the illicit tray to invade the boy's living quarters. She was confident the boys would not take their full collection of jewels into the wood so search quickly for any signs of hidden treasures. The common hiding spots yielded nothing more than a few design notebooks. She flipped through the first of the books quickly puzzling over the shapes and formulas and was nearly ready to give up when she spotted a thin silk ribbon poking out of a book lower in the pile. She cautiously extracted the small bag and checked its contents. Three slivers of dark stone glinted in the bottom of the bag, proving the boy was ready to come into his own. She hurriedly returned everything to its original spot just as the regular maids entered the room.

Since the music box project had generated frequent complaints from the regular smith, she also carried rough transcriptions of a popular northern folk song, to cover her tracks. Geo Yun-se held these out to the other women asking where they thought she could leave the papers to be sure Junseo might find them. They directed her to a stack of small wooden boxes, some plain, others with fine inlay. She placed her offering among the boxes and left knowing her presence would be reported to both the head housekeeper and the chef.