Nikodemus settled down on his cot with a happy sigh, finally he could take the weight from his aching joints. The wagon felt seriously cramped when he had company, especially compared to the vast library, but he didn't mind. He found the girls' mindless chatter strangely relaxing, he often found himself doze of, a true godsent for one plagued with sleepless nights and half awaken nightmares of doom.<br/>The girls really should be getting on with their studies, but Nikodemus let them be. Apparently Tom Tutt had been seen kissing Evie of the Gilded Leaf behind one of the wagons last night, and that seemed, if you were a young girl at least, to be a matter far more worthy of lengthy discussion than any secrets of Fay lore Nikodemus had to offer. He would never understand it, no he wouldn't.<br/><br/>Ember giggled so hard she had milk coming out her nose. She was sitting on the floor opposite to Pylea, both girls leaning closer as Pylea giggling passed on the latest gossip she had picked up around the campfires. The girl was more than a little bold, sharing very graphic and detailed descriptions of what she thought Tom and Evie really had been up to. Ember found herself blushing furiously while she giggling wiped the milk from her face. She imagined she'd be able to light up a small dark room when she blushed these days, her cheeks felt impossibly warm. Pylea noticed of course, but that always just seemed to encourage her, the evil bitch!<br/><br/>Nikodemus lazily wrapped a blanket around himself, his eyes already feeling heavy. He looked over at the girls and once again congratulated himself for getting them together. Choosing Pylea to tutor Ember had been far to calculating and Machiavellian than he preferred, but you couldn't argue with the result. While Pylea wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, she was so full of life and energy that you couldn't help but be infected by it, and Ember needed that far more than she needed a competent teacher at the moment. The recently escaped, scarred by their experiences in Faerie, often retreated into themselves, creating a protective shell against the outside world. Ember was even more likely to react like this, for lack of memories meant she had no driving force now that she was free, for she remembered no loved ones she'd want to be reunited with.<br/>Nikodemus had caught some of the early warning signs. Best nip it in the bud, he had thought, and thrusting Pylea on her had more or less forced her to connect with the world and the people around her. For each day that passed she got more and more involved in the doings and dealings of the Lost. Pretty soon she would no longer need her old family, even though Nikodemus still hoped she one day would remember where she came from.<br/><br/>Another reason he had chosen Pylea was how she and Ember looked so very much like eachother. Sure, there were many important differences, but there was no doubt both girls had been touched by fire.<br/>Where Ember's skin had an alluring red color Pylea's had more of an intriguing orange hue. While Ember's hair looked like normal hair most of the time and only occasionally flared up, Pylea's hair seemed to be made by liquid dancing fire, and her pretty eyes were like flaming rubies. Most importantly, her burning presence filled the room with a fragrant and colorful smoke that lazily drifted through the air, sometimes forming intricate patterns. The smoke seemed to have a relaxing and soothing effect, but that was not all. Ember had seen how the men of the camp looked at her friend, and it was not only because of how her hips swayed when she moved or because of her clothes (or rather lack there of). No, it seemed that the fragrance made her seem more appealing to men (or women so inclined, which made Ember question a thing or two about herself, like why her heart sometimes seemed to miss a beat when her friend entered the room). Not that she needed any help in that department, Pylea was stunning.<br/>The end result had been that Ember never had been given the chance to even begin brooding over her changed appearance and her loss of her mortal form. Meeting Pylea had been like the world saying: "Look, here is another girl on fire. You are no freak, you're not even that unique."<br/>And it had seemed to work. Of all things Ember was forced to learn to deal with her appearance seemed to be the least of her problems. Nikodemus guessed she had even begun to recognize she was beautiful, heaven knows Pylea had pointed that out to her several times.<br/><br/>"Girls," Nikodemus finally said, "your studies?"<br/>"Oh yeah," Pylea said, trying hard to stop giggling but wasn't entirely successful. "Look at the candle Ember!" At first Ember saw nothing, but to her big surprise the small flame jumped of the candle and danced across the floor, taking the shape of two lovers in a tight embrace. Ember guessed they were supposed to be Tom and Evie and the two tiny candle figures seemed to be getting bolder and bolder. But before their pawing got explicit enough to cause Ember to blush again they were once again interupted by Nikodemus.<br/>"Pylea, how about you start with something simpler? Remember what we talked about, walk before you run?" Nikodemus voice was calm and patient, he sounded just like a much loved teacher.<br/>"Oh yeah!" Pylea said, she seemed to indeed remember that particular conversation, at least after a reminder.<br/>"Look here, Ember, there's nothing to it really!"<br/>The flame had once again returned to the candle and Pylea now held her hand over it with an enigmatic smile on her lips. She showed no sign of pain and her hand remained completely unharmed.<br/>"Impressive, eh? Watch this!" She stuck out her tongue and picked up the candle and Ember gasped as Pylea ran the flame under her outstretched tongue. But the flame didn't harm her this time either.<br/>"It's magic!" she said with a laugh as she put down the candle. "Seems this old Faerie geezer went round and made deals with all sorts of things, like fire. And after our time in Arcadia it seems we are similar enough to the Fae that we can take advantage of those bargains too. That's why we call our magic Contracts."<br/>Ember glanced over at Nikodemus, who rolled his eyes, but then he gave her a short nod. Pylea seemed to have butchered the story pretty horribly, but what she said was more or less true.<br/>"I can teach you if you want, I'm sure I can! It should be easy really."<br/>