"Now that you have made your point, consider the future. Soon your body will
change. The things that you will want from life as a maiden will change. Pursue
the course you have, and you might be crippled by an accident." He looked at his
right arm and smiled crookedly. "What if you fall in love? What if you come to
grief, or cause others to do so, because your thoughts are on your heart and not
combat? This year was the easiest."
You think so? she asked him silently. It wasn't your year, was it? She opened her
mouth to reply.
"Not now," he said, raising his hand. "Do not answer me now. Go home and think
about it." He sighed. "You are dismissed."