Lucky Rabbit

For the first time, Mrs. Lovett looked up, frowning slightly. Pandy guessed that while she’d taught this particular lesson many, many times, having a pet in the room was a first. She actually looked conflicted for a second, then stood and crossed to King Micah. Leaning down, she murmured quietly in his ear, and he looked momentarily rebellious before breaking out into a grin. Straightening, the teacher looked at Thaniel.

“Whenever you are traveling, King Micah will take care of your rabbit. He will keep it safe, be gentle, and if it becomes upset, he will not attempt to force it to remain with him. That said, if it does run away, he can punish you for its behavior.” She hesitated, then added, “You may also choose to leave the rabbit in your room for this class, Thaniel.”

Thaniel’s arms tightened around Pandy, and, for a moment, she thought he would argue. Looking up, she saw the storm gathering between his brows, and let herself go limp, snuggling into him. Even if she had to spend fifty minutes a day with ‘King’ Micah, it would be fine.

“All right,” Thaniel muttered finally, but there was no doubt he was Not Happy. Fortunately, the bell rang at that moment, and Micah’s outstretched hands fell back to his sides as he scowled.

The next class was Small Group, and Thaniel usually lingered in Governance and Leadership as long as possible, slowly gathering his things and chatting with the children in his two towns. Now, however, he snatched up his book and swept his papers and pen into his bag with a casual disregard that would undoubtedly lead to crumpled pages. He practically ran out of the door, and as he did so, the next door flew open as well, releasing a familiar figure into the hall.

Suzanne stared behind her as if the hounds of hell might follow her out, and since Thaniel was doing the same, Pandy barely had time to brace herself for impact before the two children came together.

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

Well, that was nice. What wasn’t so nice was Thaniel stumbling backward while Suzanne said, “Eep!” and flinched, lifting her bag-filled hands to protect her face. The pose was one Pandy had used so many times that she winced in sympathy. How rough had this girl had it, that this was her instinctive reaction to an accidental collision?

Thaniel, of course, had a very different reaction, and once he regained his balance he reached out to grasp Suzanne’s elbows, trying to see around the bag. “Are you okay? I’m sorry I ran into you.”

Cautiously, Suzanne lowered her arms, eyes widening as she realized that not only had she run into a younger student, but she knew him. Thaniel recognized her at the same moment, and grinned, but Suzanne was already backing up, glancing around as other students began to trickle into the hall. They came in twos and threes, smiling and talking, but those cheerful expressions faded as they saw Suzanne.

A confused Thaniel took a step forward every time Suzanne backed up, until the girl hissed, “Leave me alone! If they see you with me-” She pinched her lips shut, but the damage was done.

Thaniel had just come from a situation that had made him feel angry and helpless, and the anger flared up again as he glanced around and saw the looks the other students were giving them. For the first time that week, no one was bumping or jostling him. Instead, there was a bubble of space as everyone moved away, making sure they didn’t even brush against Suzanne, as if Dark magic might be contagious.

Awkwardly shifting Pandy to the same arm that held his bag, Thaniel grabbed Suzanne’s hand. Gasps sounded as he touched the older girl, which only made him tighten his grip.

+1 Corruption Point for entering Dark Aura I

“C’mon,” he said. “Where’s your group s’posed to meet?” When Suzanne just shook her head, he began to haul her down the hall, somehow managing to move her in spite of the fact that she was several inches taller. “My class is s’posed to meet by the stable. They’re all outside today, right? So you’ve gotta go this way, too.”

They moved in a silent tunnel of avoidance, two drops of oil in a river. The lack of resistance meant that they reached the door leading to the outside in a much shorter time than usual, and when they emerged into the sunlight, it was to find that they’d beaten almost everyone else. Thaniel didn’t stop though, tugging Suzanne off to the side, out of the way of the rest of the students.

When they reached the shade of a small tree, a shadowy refuge from the brilliant summer sun, Thaniel finally stopped. Looking up at the girl, who still wouldn’t meet his gaze, he said, “Did you take Governance and Leadership?”

Whatever Suzanne had been expecting, this wasn’t it, and she blinked before nodding. “Everybody takes it sometime in their first year.”

“Did you have to have a king, and dukes, and everything, and were they mean?” Thaniel asked, only seeming to realize he was still holding Suzanne’s hand when he tried to put his hands on his hips so he could glare properly. As soon as he released it, Suzanne snatched it back, but she didn’t try to leave.

“We…did. I can’t-,” she hesitated. “We’re not allowed to talk about what happens in that class. It’s a big deal.”

“Why?” Thaniel demanded, and now both his voice and his lower lip quivered slightly. “I don’t want to take that class. None of my other friends have it.”

Suzanne’s white-knuckled grip on her bag relaxed slightly. “They will. It’s taught every quarter. And you won’t be able to tell them about it then, either. I can only say,” she swallowed, almost seeming to struggle for words, “it gets better.”

Thaniel stared at her, then swiped at the corner of one eye with a knuckle. He looked down, scuffing the toe of his new boot in the dirt. “All right,” he muttered. “But I hate it. Everything else is…is…,” a tear plopped into the dust by his toe. “It’s a lot. That’s all.”

“Thaniel!”

They both looked around, seeing Geraldine and Eleanor waving at them. The girls smiled at Suzanne, as well, though Eleanor’s brows drew together very slightly as she did so. Geraldine started to run over, remembered she was supposed to be a lady and slowed down, then visibly decided she didn’t care and ran the last few steps. Looking between them curiously, she asked, “What’s going on?”

Suzanne opened her mouth, but Thaniel said, “We ran into each other in the hall. I figured we might as well walk together.”

Geraldine nodded. “That makes sense. Where’s your group, Suzanne?”

Suzanne looked around, almost like she was surprised to realize she was standing outside, then pointed. “By the gardens.”

All four students started walking in the direction Suzanne had pointed, and Thaniel said, “D’you know what a ‘scholar-sion’ is?”

“Scholarly excursion,” Geraldine corrected at the same time Suzanne said, “It’s a chance to leave the grounds and study something different with your group. It could be anything, really.”

The three first-years perked up, but before they could ask any more, Isidor strode up, with Abbington and, surprisingly, Matilda behind him. Isidor was almost as tall as the two fifth-year girls, and as the groups merged, Isidor had to slow down so he didn’t leave the others behind. As he did, Matilda pushed past him, linking her arm through Suzanne’s with a flip of her glossy curls.

“This is your first excursion, isn’t it?” she asked the younger children in a haughty tone. When they nodded, she sniffed and said, “Just do whatever your teacher says, and you should be fine. These trips can be a little bit dangerous, you know.”

Suzanne actually laughed, softly patting her friend’s hand where it rested on her forearm. “You don’t have to worry about them, Till. I’m sure their advisor will keep an eye on them.”

Pandy’s mind veered abruptly sideways. This was Matilda worrying about them? Yes, she supposed it could have been taken that way, but…

Pink rose in Matilda’s cheeks, and she tossed her curls again. “Well, they’re just children. Someone has to remind them not to wander off the trail, or eat anything they don’t recognize, or-”

Suzanne smiled, brown eyes twinkling as she patted Matilda’s head with her free hand. “They’ll be all right. Just because you ate a-”

Matilda gave a very loud, “Hmph!” covering whatever Suzanne was about to say, and hauled her friend to the right as the path split. “Well, we’ll be late for group, and so will you. Goodbye!” She waved her fingers at the five first-years and took off at something just a little slower than a gallop, dragging Suzanne behind her.

Eleanor gave a little giggle. “I wasn’t sure I liked her,” she admitted softly. “But she reminds me of my brother. Just a bit.”

Pandy felt like a light had just gone off in her mind. If Edgar was the aloof intellectual, the prince could only be described as a tsundere. He constantly watched out for Clara, all while insisting that it was only because it would make him look bad if any of his group members got hurt or fell behind in class. Pandy much preferred someone who was more open about their affection – mainly because unless that person told her directly, she doubted she’d ever pick up on it – but once Kaden did finally admit he liked Clara, it was all ‘deredere’ from there on.

The other four children still looked uncertain, but they had reached the rest of the first-year students by now. They were all standing in an uncertain clump near the stables, and as the bell rang to let them know class had officially begun, one of the teachers separated from the others who stood in the shadow cast by the building.

“Please line up by your advisor,” the woman said, smiling out over the twenty-five children. They began to move as she continued, “We’re going to go on a walk today. As you may know, the school grounds are next to a nature preserve that was created by King Rupert the Wise, grandson of Queen Nora. Having the preserve so close is a great boon to the school, and you will visit it many times before you graduate.”

Sobering, the teacher said, “The preserve is not a park. There are wild animals living in it, as well as plants you won’t find anywhere else, at least this close to Knightmere. Listen carefully to your advisor and the other teachers today, because what they tell you may one day save your life.”

Twenty-five six-year-olds nodded solemnly, some looking excited, while others were glancing from side to side, looking for the beast that was going to leap out and eat them. The teachers began to walk, and each Small Group waddled along behind their advisor, ducklings on the way to a new pond. Ms. Wellington brought up the rear, with Thaniel, Eleanor, Isidor, Geraldine, and finally Abbington behind her.

The teacher at the front of the column was speaking, but between the murmurs of the children and the shuffling of thirty pairs of feet, Pandy could barely understand her. Instead, she watched Ms. Wellington struggle to walk on the soft ground in her three inch high-heels. Why hadn’t the woman worn flats for once? Rather than a duckling, she looked like a penguin as she swayed from side to side, trying to step around any patch of ground that looked particularly moist, all while attempting to keep her weight on her toes.

Pandy barely noticed as Brook ran up beside them, making her strange, hollow click-purr. Abbington reached between the slats of the fence to pat the capybara, who stared forlornly after him as he continued walking toward the trees. Rather than returning to the pond, the animal kept pace until the children entered the thick woods just past the edge of the pasture.

A fence stretched along the treeline, and when Brook saw that her boy was really entering the forest, she ran toward the fence. Pandy doubted if anyone else noticed the way the capybara seemed to melt around the slats that made up the fence, reappearing with a liquid rush on the other side.