"Just Earl Grey," I confessed, wondering for a moment if I should have gone for something more extravagant for the occasion. I managed to talk myself out of that, though, pouring Marius a cup and then one for myself. It was simple, classic, something that I knew the both of us had a tendency to appreciate. "We never did much for our birthdays," I said, hesitating for a moment before I continued. "Sometimes I'd buy something for one of my friends in the Sales, but there were too many of us for the guardians to make much of a fuss."

Things had changed a little when we moved onto the Cottages, but we still only lived on the basic stipend they'd given us each week. Maybe that made us all the more sentimental, though. We couldn't afford to buy each other the latest trends but I treasured Tommy's art and my Judy Bridgewater cassette more than anything that could be found in a department store. "Maybe it's time we started some new traditions."