"Arthur! Arthur! Arthur!"

The crowd had formed a tight circle around them, people cheering up, chanting the blonde boy's name. Arthur sneered, his blood-covered lips twisting when his punch failed to reach Jules' jaw. The apprentice hunter ducked, his opponent's fist brushing past his cheek, leaving a searing trace over the side of his face.

Arthur raised his hand, straightening his fingers to show a signet ring he wore on his thumb. Jules reached to rub his face, hissing as he pressed at broken skin and smeared the fresh blood.

"Stop! Somebody help, please!" Evionel cried out, trying to elbow her way through the crowd. "Somebody separate them!"

"Shut your mouth, you little witch!" Arthur barked. Tightening his fist, he took another swing.

Jules stepped aside and tripped him up, making him stagger, but then the older boy grabbed at his shirt, pulling him down and they fell together. A hard blow reached his stomach - a hit Jules didn't see coming. Gasping for air, he blocked another stroke. Somebody laughed above them - booted foot approached in Jules' vision, sending dirt into his eyes. Blinded, he felt only a pull and a push. The world twisted upside down for a second and he landed hard on his back, pressed to the ground with Arthur straddling his chest, his right hand locked under the older boy's tight.

"Now," Arthur grabbed at his throat, pinning him down. His fingers clenched painfully, making Jules' breath hard and raspy. He caught Arthur's wrist with his left hand, fighting to push it away. "Admit defeat and beg for forgiveness, and maybe I'll show you mercy -"

"Like your father did?" Jules spluttered.

Arthur's face assumed a deep shade of red as he clenched his fingers harder on the smaller boy's neck. Jules' lungs screamed for air, but none would go through his throat. A wave of warmth went through his body. His eyes opened wide despite the pain, his irises pulsating with golden light. The crowd gasped. Arthur jaw dropped, his grasp loosening.

Jules pushed at the older boy with all the strength of his body, the magical energy exploding from his hand. The servants parted as the Lord's son flew over the yeard, falling to the ground like a lump of wood a few meters away.

"What is going on here?!" Captain Rogre's voice rolled over the muttering crowd. Servants stepped aside, and soon Jules found the man towering over him, his wide shoulders casting a shadow on his face. "What are you all staring at?"

Jules sat up, half-blind, pressing his palms to his eyes, coughing. Two large hands grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him up to his feet.

"Arrest him, Captain!" Arthur's voice was sharp with anger. "He attacked me! This damned freak attacked me with magic and everybody saw it!"

"It'll be taken care of," the man said slowly. "You two, escort Arthur to the infirmary. Healeress girl, you follow me."

Two shades of guardsmen moved past Jules to where Arthur's voice had come from. The boy let himself being steered across the yard, to where the guardhouse must have been. Pressing his hands to his eyes, he gave up on trying to glance around.

"Now you've got yourself into trouble," the Captain led him inside and through a narrow corridor into his office. He pushed him into a chair. "You sit down here. Your master won't be happy when he gets back."

"That was not my fault!" Jules groaned with frustration. A small, delicate hand took his wrist and gave it a tug. He bit at his lower lips, putting his hands on his lap, allow Evionel to examine his face.

"No one's asking whose fault was it," the man said harshly. "Arthur is the future lord of this feud, while you're an orphan with no family standing behind you. Whoever fault it was, you'll be the one punished, you can be sure of that."

"I need to flush his eyes, sir. Where can I get some water?" Evionel asked in a small voice.

"Here, there's some in the jug. I'll get you more," the Captain's voice was accompanied footsteps retreating toward the door. "You two stay here."

"Damn it all," Jules muttered as soon as the sound of the door closing came to his ears. "I hope Arthur isn't having fun with your ant setting his nose!"

"Jules!" the girl exclaimed at that, and although he couldn't see her, he could imagine a frown forming on her face. "You shouldn't have hit him in the first place. It was wrong and you know it."

"The thing he said to you..." the boy know she was right, but couldn't admit it. He tightened his fist on the edges of the chair. "He just asked to be punched."

"I have no idea what he meant," Evionel's fingers forced his eyelids apart, and he saw the blurred image of her face. "Now, I need you to lean your head back. I'll flush your eyes before you injure them any further."

"It's not like I got the dirt into them myself," Jules reminded, obeying her request. He hissed through his teeth when she poured water over his eyes, pulling his eyelids further apart. He hated the feeling; dreaming about scratching his eyes out, he wondered if you could ever see again. Still, his pride hurt more than any injuries. It didn't matter that he'd managed to throw Arthur off himself - he shouldn't have been caught on the ground in the first place. "A hunter lying on the ground is a dead hunter", was one of Ravin's saying when they trained.

It took long minutes, a new pot of water and a display of skills before Jules' eyes were cleaned from the grains. Evionel removed the stuck ones with magic, lifting them up with precision and softness that hunters could never achieve.

"We all must pass the Ant Test before we're allowed to practice on patients," Evionel answered Captain Rogre's unspoken questions while he watched her examining her work. "They mix flour with a little water, then throw a few ants into it. We have to remove them, but we pass only if all the ants survive."

"That sounds hard to do," the Captain gave Jules a hard look. "And could teach a lesson of discipline."

The boy was about to disagree but bit his tongue. Hunters could possibly do that even if they wanted - their Sixth Sense worked in a different way than the healers, strengthening their bodies and senses, and allowing them to use magic in combat. Evionel could save the ants he couldn't - but wouldn't be able to move the bowl with flour and water the insects were drowning in.

A hard, soldierly knock made him jump on the chair. He spun around, his reddened eyes wide open. Artur had had more than enough time to go and tattle to his father - who had cut a man's head without a proper trial less than an hour ago.

"I hope it's your master coming to pick you up," Captain Rogre walked across the room to sit by his desk. He smoothed his ginger beard. "Enter!"

The door opened, but it was not the hunter that stepped into the room. A guardsman greeted the Captain with a salute, his brow furrowed and sweaty.

"The Lord demands your presence, sir," he cleared his throat, giving Jules a curious glance. "Something has been stolen from his family's private chambers, and Lady Guinevere is... very much in distress. I heard her crying something about poor little Lady Rosalie."

Jules froze on the chair, forcing himself to assume a neutral expression while all blood left his body. Clenching his fists so hard his knuckles became white, he prayed that Ravin would be back at the castle already.

"I'll be right there," the Captain dismissed the guardsman with a short nod before turning to the apprentices. "You did a good job, girl, now go back to your mistress. And you," his gaze hardened when he addressed Jules. "Stay here for your own good, is that clear?"

"But sir...!" the boy stood up, blocking the man's way to the door. The image of the execution came alive in his memory, and he didn't want to think what fate would the supposed thief share.

"You're in enough trouble as it is," Captain Rogre grabbed his arm and forced him to step back. "I can always lock you in the dungeon if you can't sit still."

"But I know what happened to Rosalie's pendant!" Jules protested. The man halted, giving him a look of mixed surprise and annoyance. "I'm sure it's about the pendant," the boy inhaled deeply to muster up his courage. "It's gone because I borrowed it. And I don't have it with me right now. I left it at the Lensters' house."