Solona leaned against the bookcase, comfortable despite the cold stone floor beneath her. The book she read was not academic, for once. It was one of the precious few romance books available in the circle. The templars didn't care about this sort of contraband, and so reading it gave her a little thrill of rebellion without the crushing fear of being punished. Reading about mages in love (the topic of any good romance novel) always made her toes curl – it happened so rarely in the circle. She felt as though it could be nothing but fiction.

A sudden jolt against the other side of the bookcase made Solona jump. She heard low murmurs coming through the books, frantic sounds of passion and a quiet rustle of robes. She stared at the bookcase for a moment, wondering if she shouldn't just walk away. But curiosity burned in her, and she rose, gently pulling one of the books out of the bookcase and peering through the hole.

She squeaked, surprised as her eyes met with amber ones. Solona flushed as the eyes crinkled – he was grinning at her – and she quickly put the book back, flustered. In order to get to the door, she'd need to walk past the alley between the bookcases where they were – she stopped there, frowning. Solona had never thought mages were supposed to… Well, she mused, it was clear that this was a stolen moment of passion. One that she was quite horrified to have accidentally intruded upon, even if the two had interrupted her quiet reading space.

As she continued to contemplate exactly how to escape this situation with her dignity in tact, she heard a man's voice offer a quick thanks and a sound of a single pair of footsteps walking away. Solona paused; perhaps she could stay and read, after all? That thought was ruined as the man turned the corner, and she instantly recognized him.

Anders.

He was a few years older than her, she was pretty sure. He'd been here since he was young; so young that she couldn't remember which of them had gotten to the circle first. Regardless, he had been a permanent fixture in her life, if only through stolen glances. He never really noticed her much. Jowan teased her about him every chance he got.

"Sorry about that," he said, grinning, and she noticed his earring, which she normally found stupid but now it did something funny to her insides and all she could do was clutch at the book and clear her throat and blush a deep red. "Didn't mean to interrupt your studying."

"I'm n-not…" Solona began, stopping to clear her throat so her voice could be heard. "Not studying, really. It's alright."

He surveyed her for a moment. "You've been here as long as me, haven't you, sweetheart?"

She blushed deeper at the pet name, knowing it meant nothing, it was just what he did, but still liking it. He grinned at her and she could feel the heat all the way up through her ears.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"S-solona," she murmured, finding her voice halfway through the word.

"Lona?" he asked, and she nodded, too shy to correct him. "I'm Anders," he said, and she thought of course you're Anders, you're brilliant and rash and so heart-breakingly attractive. "Pleasure, Lona."