Lucky Rabbit

Saturday dawned drizzly and cold, a grumpy gray evening slowly fading into a frosty morning. Blades of grass and fallen leaves dripped gloomily onto sodden ground, and almost everyone who entered the school had to wait for a servant to come and cast a spell to clean the thick layer of mud from their soles.

Even the students seemed despondent, mostly confining themselves to their rooms or playing desultory games with cards or tiles. Pandy-as-Thaniel had one last, brief, public argument with Augustus at breakfast, after which she returned to Thaniel’s room and stayed there, conserving Shifting Faces until shortly after six-thirty that night, when a servant knocked on her door.

To Pandy’s complete lack of surprise, that servant turned out to be Sir Bailey, who told her a carriage was there to pick her up and take her to her ‘dinner party’. Pandy swallowed hard, nodded, and stepped into the hall. Shutting the door behind her felt more final than any previous closing of a simple wooden panel.

Pandy mentally reminded herself that she would probably be back in just a few hours, hopefully having learned a bit more about who their enemies were. After all, it would be ridiculous to publicly invite Thaniel somewhere and then make him disappear. Suspicion would naturally fall on the party’s host, and attention was the last thing these people wanted.

Even if they did try anything, you’ll never be in any real danger.

Keros had no patience left for Pandy’s maudlin thoughts, and though he’d been surprisinging willing to give her privacy while she was with Augustus, he’d had no problem interrupting her every time she’d started spiraling since then.

<You don’t know that,> Pandy said. <They have Dark mages whose literal job is to control Dark elementals. And apparently Bound can throw spells that just suck the Corruption Points right out of my body like I’m a juice pouch.> That had been a horrible feeling, too, one of the worst among a wide range of new and painful experiences Pandy had discovered since reincarnating into this world.

I hate those pouches.

Do you know how much sugar is in just one?

I had to do so many Gorgon Crunches when I got back.

Pandy couldn’t help but think that Gorgon Crunch sounded more like a breakfast cereal than an exercise, even though she knew Keros well enough to be certain it involved working out somehow. He’d been stuck in some kind of magical simulation of Pandy’s Earth apartment for what he swore were literal months, and during that time he’d only had her cheap, processed food to eat, including the Pink Passion Punch that was one of her secret vices.

At the door, Sir Bailey helped Pandy-Thaniel into a heavy coat, then opened the door so she could walk out into the dismal evening. A frigid mist practically hung in the air, reducing visibility and instantly forming a clammy layer on Pandy’s skin. Again, that unexpected shiver hit her, and she drew her coat close around her, pulling her collar up around her ears as she made a mental note that Thaniel needed a scarf and hat before this already-miserable weather became truly cold.

As she descended the steps, a shadowy mass ahead resolved itself into a carriage. It was almost disappointingly normal, with two horses stamping impatiently in the leads and a completely average-looking man waiting at the door to help her in. The inside of the carriage was equally non-threatening, and the cushy velvet seats were actually pretty comfy.

Thaniel wasn’t very large, so where Eurydice would have sunk deep into the pillowy depths, Thaniel sort of perched on top of the cushions, which meant she was thrown around a lot more than usual as the carriage made turns through the dark and quiet streets. Apparently the students of Falconet weren’t the only ones who weren’t interested in going outside in the dreary weather.

Pandy kept a close eye on her countdown timer, but thanks to the near-total lack of traffic, they arrived at Matilda’s house in just over twenty minutes, leaving her with nearly four and a half hours of Thaniel-time remaining. Augustus had shown her where Matilda’s house was on a map of Knightmere, just in case she had to fly back, so she knew she was now almost directly south of Avington Manor, well outside the area near the palace where the most important people lived, in a part of town known as Amberlock.

Amberlock was populated primarily by artisans and the nouveau riche, which definitely included Matilda’s father, though her mother came from an old family. The district was also close to the river, which had been used as an escape route last time someone tried to kidnap Thaniel, and which Pandy had to admit made her just a wee bit nervous.

You could probably lift a carriage by yourself.

You have a healing spell, but even if you’re too badly injured to use it, eventually your body will just reform itself.

Probably.

You’re fine.

Pandy still wasn’t certain if the god was trying to encourage her or just stop her from worrying so loudly, but either way, his comments at least distracted her enough so that she could look properly impressed as she climbed down from the carriage at the end of the brief journey. The house might not be in the fanciest part of town, but it was clearly trying to make up for any perceived deficiencies. Ornamental statues dotted the sweeping lawn, illuminated by glowing balls of light strategically placed to produce the greatest effect. The steps looked like marble, and the double doors were held open by not one but two butler-types.

Matilda stood in the opening, an uncertain smile on her pale face as she held out a gloved hand for Pandy-Thaniel’s. “Come in,” she said as the doors swung majestically closed behind them, shutting out the sodden gloom. Her hand gripped Pandy’s tightly as the girl led the way down a hall lined with more statuary and expensive-looking portraits. Pandy recognized Matilda’s bright curls in a few, together with a tiny, black-haired woman who looked like a dark fairy next to her husband’s bulk.

“There are actually some other children here tonight,” Matilda confided, drawing Pandy close as they walked. “I think Father wants to make sure you feel comfortable. That was thoughtful, don’t you think?” She smiled too brightly, and Pandy nodded, unable to form words as she looked around at the opulence that was almost a parody of what she might have expected from someone with too much money and too little taste.

They made a sharp right after a statue of a woman Pandy now recognized as probably-Nora. The stubborn jaw had been narrowed down to achieve a more traditional beauty, but the determined line of the brows was standard in every depiction Pandy had seen of the first queen. As in almost every statue and painting of the woman, she held her hands out in front of her, palms up. A cluster of surprisingly simple purple flowers with yellow centers had been placed in her hands, their delicate petals opening like the night sky surrounding little stars.

A woman in a frilly uniform stood beside one of the doors down this last short hall, and she opened the door for them as they approached. A subdued murmur emerged from within, far different from the excited chatter Pandy usually associated with gatherings of children. As she stepped inside, she immediately recognized several of the occupants.

Matthias Winstanley was there, as was Lamonia Kimball, looking pale but healthy. It took Pandy a moment longer to place an older boy as Miller Oakden, the Condor student who had been so careful not to leave any of his blood behind when he was interviewed by Augustus and Professor Beeswick. He was a Dark mage who had theoretically been infected with the spider-borne disease that left every other Dark mage who’d caught it with the Dark Aura from which Pandy gained the majority of her Corruption Points. He had no Dark Aura, however, which brought into question either his story or all of their guesses about the ‘disease’.

Several adult men and women were in the room as well, and Pandy immediately noticed the resemblance between Matthias and the man he had been standing next to. Matthias gave this man a respectful nod, then approached Pandy and Matilda with a broad smile on his face.

“Hello, Thaniel!” he said, picking a glass of some yellowish beverage off of a tray on a table as he passed. He handed it to Pandy with a conspiratorial grin. “This is something new they came up with for the Fall Festival. It’s called Star Wine. Try it.”

Pandy accepted the glass cautiously. Thaniel was eight and Matthias himself couldn’t be older than eleven. What were they doing with wine? Matthias saw her hesitation and his grin widened. “What’s life without a little excitement? Just try.”

Behind him, Matilda gave a tiny nod, and Pandy decided that while she didn’t trust Matthias as far as she could throw him – which was probably a poor figure of speech, given that she could throw someone Matthias’s size quite a long way – she was willing to trust Matilda. Besides, alcohol probably counted as a poison, and Pandy was immune to poison, right? She took a sip.

It was lemon-lime soda. The flavor burst over her tongue in a half-forgotten symphony of flavors, the acidic bite perfectly complementing the sweet tanginess of the citrus. With a gasp, Pandy drained the glass, then greedily eyed one of the full ones on the table.

Matthias laughed. “I don’t know why they call it wine,” he said, clapping Pandy on the back, “but the star part is right. It’s like swallowing fireworks, right? No one knows how they do it, and it’s incredibly expensive and difficult to acquire. We have it almost every weekend, but I’m rather impressed to find it here.”

He didn’t quite sneer as he swept his gaze around the room, which was carpeted, paintinged, furnished, and just generally decorated to within an inch of its life. Matilda’s expression stiffened, but she didn’t argue with the older boy. Instead, she picked up another glass of the fizzy beverage and took a sip, wrinkling her nose against the explosion of bubbles.

“Come, let me introduce you to the others,” Matthias said, placing a possessive hand on Pandy’s shoulder, putting his own body between the young hostess – Matilda – and her guest. Not wanting to cause a scene, Pandy went along, with Matilda trailing after them.

“I’m sure you know Lamonia,” Matthias said, drawing Pandy to the girl’s attention. She had been staring into space, her eyes a bit glassy as she sipped another cup of Star Wine. At the older boy’s words, she blinked, offering Pandy a weak smile and a shallow curtsey.

“We have homeroom together, of course, but I’m not sure we’ve ever spoken,” Lamonia said. “I think you worked on that silly potato project with my brother, Lamont.”

Pandy had been far too entertained by the complete focus on potatoes and potato-products for the first-years’ Fall Festival project, but she hadn’t really paid much attention to which student did what. Again, she didn’t say anything, just nodded. Thaniel wasn’t the type to be overwhelmed easily, but even he would probably struggle to find words if he was thrust into this bizarre situation, so it didn’t feel too unrealistic to limit her responses.

After a few beats of awkward silence, Lamonia smiled and raised her half-empty beverage. “Well, it was good to meet you properly. I’m sure we’ll see each other in school.”

You’re terrible at this.

<Would you do better?> Pandy demanded as Matthias brought her along to another boy she didn’t recognize at all. Just based on his apparent age, he was a second- or third-year student, and he looked almost as unsure about why he was here as Pandy. They exchanged names, then sipped soda at each other uncomfortably until Matthias moved Pandy along again.

Dorian could do better, and he’s the strong, silent type.

Dorian was silent because he didn’t have anything to talk about except fighting and how much he wanted to be a Knight of the Royal Eagle like his father, and even he was aware that wasn’t interesting to anyone other than himself.

I heard that!

Pandy definitely hadn’t meant for that to reach Keros’s non-physical ears, which made her wonder how many other supposedly private thoughts the god had been privy to. Did he know about the fantasy where Aug-

We’re never mentioning this again.

Ever.

Well, that was embarrassing, but it also pulled Pandy out of her stage fright enough that she was able to smile when Matthias brought her over to where Miller Oakden was standing with a few of the adults, including the person Pandy assumed was Matthias’s father, based on his similarity to the boy. The superior attitude fled the boy’s demeanor as they approached, and when he spoke again, he sounded almost subservient.

“Father, this is Nathaniel Conroy. Thaniel, this is my father, Count Holden Winstanley.” Matthias said, pushing Pandy forward ever so slightly, so she might have stumbled if not for her Agility. She nearly let it happen anyway, just to show how very nonthreatening she was, but there was something cold in the eyes turned toward her that she couldn’t bring herself to drop her guard even that small amount. Those eyes didn’t belong to one of the adults, however. No, they belonged to Miller Oakden, teenage boy, student, and Dark mage.

When Matthias’s father spoke, it was all Pandy could do to look away from those eyes. Was this even the same boy Augustus had spoken to in the library at Falconet? That boy had been genial enough, if slightly condescending. This one watched Pandy with the gaze of a predator, or perhaps simply a murderer. Predators killed to eat, but Miller didn’t look like he would need a reason to end someone’s life.

“-to meet you, Nathaniel. Do you mind if I call you Nathaniel?” the count asked, shifting so he partially blocked Pandy’s view of the shorter teenager beside him. Leaning forward, he spoke conspiratorially. “Matthias says you go by Thaniel, but that’s a child’s nickname. Nathaniel is a man’s name, and you look like you’re going to be a man, sooner rather than later, eh?”

Thaniel looked more like a six-year-old than an eight-year-old, and most definitely didn’t look like any kind of man, which was fine with Pandy, but she puffed out her chest and nodded firmly. “Nathaniel’s fine. Sir,” she added belatedly, realizing the man was probably owed some kind of honorific.

One of his brows went up, but his smile never wavered. Instead, he leaned even closer and said, “You have your father’s eyes, did you know? But that hair is pure Grace.” He sighed, patting Pandy on the shoulder in a consoling manner. “I was sorry to hear of your mother’s passing. Your father, too, though I didn’t know him as well.”

Now even the glacial eyes watching Pandy from Miller’s face couldn’t hold her attention. She was completely locked onto Matthias’s father, and the words that slipped from her lips were the ones Thaniel would have asked if he were here.

“You knew my parents?”

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