Kee nodded and ordered Gryphon to stay. With a mournful sigh, the mastiff sat down. Larral planted himself in front of the mastiff to ensure it, and the three boys headed out the door, followed by Abi and the remaining three Royals. They parted ways at the stairs, with Perry and the littles making for the kitchen and the rest for Heralds’ Collegium.

Once at the dining hall, Trey and Niko made a beeline for their friends. Kat glanced over at Abi after surveying the tables full of chattering Trainees, mostly Heralds, but a leavening of Bardic and Healers among the gray. “Well, which conversation shall we join? Romance gossip, lesson whinging, artistic panic, or who’s buying what at the Midsummer Fair?” she asked.

“Midsummer Fair shopping,” Abi replied without a moment of hesitation. “Is it that close? I’ve lost all track of time.” And she had; one day was pretty much like another for her now, she was so busy. Her family didn’t attend services at any particular temple—Amily went with the King and his family, but Mags didn’t go at all, and the siblings figured that their religions class taught at all three Collegia was enough holiness for anyone. So without regular services to mark the day and break up the time, and every day marked by classes or study, time had gotten away from her.

“A fortnight. But of course, people are already jabbering about it.” Kat could be cavalier about the Fair; any time she cared to she could just join the Court for the evening’s informal entertainment. There was always music, generally performed by the best of the Bardic Trainees, and often acrobats or players, hoping for Royal accolades. But Trainees didn’t get to attend the Court gatherings, informal or not, and most, if not all of them, wouldn’t have had the time to if they could. But all Trainees got a day off during the Fair in rotation, so it was the high point of the summer.

There was, of course, another important day of the summer term—the annual day just before harvesting began, when those parents who could make the journey were invited to turn up to see what their offspring had been up to. There was a Kirball game, individual Bardic Trainees would perform throughout the day, there were booths where Healer Trainees could demonstrate remedies and techniques anyone could use, and demonstrations of martial arts and Companion riding for the Heraldic Trainees, culminating in a concert by the Bardic Trainees. But that tended to be a day devoted more to anxiety on the part of the Trainees than anticipation.