The cafeteria was a spacious room reminiscent of the grand hall of a noble's mansion. Surprising, since the academy only housed, at most, one hundred people at any given time. White marble tiles made up the floor, their polished surface gleaming as sunlight reflected off them. Due to the many large windows, the cafeteria possessed an open feel, making one almost think they were outside rather than inside. Only the ceiling that stood high over everybody's head and was decorated with an intricate network of arches let the students know otherwise.

“Come on, come on.” Christo continued to drag Caspian further into the room. They passed by several tables that were lined up along the floor at an even distance from each other. There were seven in all, and each one was long enough to comfortably seat twenty people, although they were mostly empty at the moment, due in large part to the fact that many of the students were only just now waking up. Most of them were probably only beginning to get dressed. “Let's hurry up. I'm starving!”

“You're always hungry,” Caspian said, grunting as he managed to finally jerk his head out from underneath Christo's arm. For someone so short, the cheerful, dagger-wielding young man had one hell of a grip.

“Hahaha!” Christo bellowed, the grin he'd been wearing since Caspian had returned to their dorm room still stretching across his face. “I guess I am, but I also imagine that you're pretty hungry too, right? I mean, you are the one who got up really early in the morning to train. And, knowing how you train, you must have burned through a lot of energy.” Caspian would have disputed Christo's claim, but his stomach chose that moment to intervene, rumbling like an about to erupt volcano. The grin on Christo's face widened. “Ha! I knew it! Now, let's get some grub!”

Relenting, Caspian let Christo drag him over to the back of the cafeteria, where a rotund woman stood in front of a booth filled with various types of breakfast foods.The woman was one of nearly a dozen maids who worked for the academy.

Like all maids, she wore a traditional outfit. Her black and white dress stretched across her large frame, and her head dress looked several sizes too small.

“Good morning!” Christo's buoyant greeting put a smile on the large woman's face.

She wasn't a very attractive woman, even with the smile. Her skin was rough and somewhat dry from being out in the sun too long. Her large hands looked kind of like balloons. Several rolls of fat fell over the fabric tied around the waist, and two chins hung beneath her jaw, wiggling and jiggling with every movement she made.

Caspian didn't judge the woman for her looks, but he did wonder why she didn't exercise more―and what she must've been putting in her belly for it to get that large.

“And a good morning to you as well, Christo. Will you be having your usual breakfast?”

“Hahaha! You know me too well!” Christo's bright grin seemed to gain a new level of luster as he was handed a plate consisting of different Danishes and several sausage links. Caspian's roommate had always been a sucker for anything sweet and salty. “Thank you.”

“You're very welcome, young man.” The lady manning the cafeteria then turned to Caspian, her face slowly deadpanning. “Here.” She handed him a very basic plate of biscuits and gravy. From the way the biscuits clinked together, they were probably a few days old.

Withholding the urge to sigh, Caspian accepted the plate. Having spent over a third of his life here, he'd grown used to this treatment by now. Most of the staff treated him the same way.

Caspian didn't bother thanking the woman, and she merely turned away from him, pretending he didn't exist. What else was new?

As the two began walking away, Christo balanced his plate on one hand and used the other to pat Caspian on the back. “Don't worry about your food too much. I'll give you some of my Danishes,” he said in a consoling voice.

“It's not the food that bothers me,” Caspian informed Christo, a dry look on his face. Was his roommate really that blind to the prejudice he received from the staff thanks to his less than noble lineage? Ever since they had been put into the same room, the insanely joyous young man had appeared completely oblivious to how disliked he, Caspian, was.

“Huh?” Christo looked at him, clearly confused. “It's not?”

“No, it's not.”

“I see. So then, what is bothering you?”

“…Nothing,” Caspian sighed, “just forget about it.”

“Well, all right.” And just like that, Christo forgot all about what happened, just like every other time this happened. “Now, let's eat!”

As they sat down to eat, Caspian released a heavy breath. He really hated having this idiot as a roommate. Still, it could have been worse. At least he wasn't bunking with Davidé Gorossolaine.