Interlude: Ambrus
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The first time he’d walked these halls, they’d been terrifying. His footsteps had echoed, the collar around his throat had weighed strangely on him, and it seemed that everyone was staring at him.
More than two decades later, it didn’t seem as if much had changed. There was carpet and paneling now, discrete drop ceilings and nooks that further broke up the sound. There were students here now, filling the halls, lounging in the dining hall, exploring the library. Ambrus was a student now, with a new twist on his name and a proud place in the Sixth Cohort. And if there were children of his in every Cohort here (he was fairly certain there were, although there were still holes in his memory), well, he still looked young enough to be a student. And he was still woefully ignorant enough to require the education, too.
And everyone was still staring at him. Not everyone, but the older students were looking at him speculatively, the younger students were looking at him with curiosity, and the teachers – who, unlike the rest of them, had not received the gentle mind prodding to let them believe that Ambrus was gone and Ambrose an entirely different person – were still waiting to see what he’d do.
To be honest, so was he. He couldn’t remember a time in his life when he’d had this much freedom. He’d spent the first week just rearranging furniture in his room, hanging decorations and taking them down, loading the ‘fridge up with stuff and then staring at it, having no idea what he wanted to eat.
It was hard to pretend to be a normal kid, but, luckily, the upperclassmen were all too busy trying to act like they weren’t predators to notice if he was a little off. And it wasn’t like he wasn’t new, it was just that he was new to a whole different set of things than the kids here.
He stilled as a hand landed on his arm.
“Hey. I didn’t see you out in the halls yesterday.”
Mea. Ambrus stepped away with a polite smile. She wasn’t dangerous, but he had little interest in ending up collared by his own daughter.
“I was out there,” he assured her. “It was a little loud for me, so I stuck to one side of the hall and felt my way to the Dining Hall.” It was easy enough to duck his head and blush. Truth be told, he really was a little embarrassed by it.
“Oh, that’s no fun.” She pouted. “It’s supposed to be a little bit scary.”
“It’s supposed to be terrifying.” Had Rowan walked up here in an attempt to rescue him or to poach him? Ambrus smiled cautiously at her, while doing his best not to turn his back on Mea.
“Well, I wasn’t quite terrified, but it was a bit nerve-wracking. I think I heard someone getting threatened with dismemberment.”
“Oh, they were probably just putting on a show. It’s all hazing.” Rowan smiled brightly. “It’s Ambrose, right? You’re in my math class.”
“That’s right.” She’d leaned over and helped him with a tricky question on Friday. “Where are you headed now, Rowan?”
“Well, I’ve got to be going,” Mea interrupted. “Got to go find my boyfriend.”
Ambrus ignored her, and Rowan did the same. “I was thinking of going down and getting some pizza. Have you tried the pizza in the Store? It’s the best take-out pizza you will ever find.”
“That sounds heavenly.” He gave her his best smile and led her lead the way. He might not let her catch him, but it might be fun to let her try for a while.