Lucky Rabbit

Since Pandy didn’t have any elementals to track down right that very moment, the conversation turned to other things, with Pandy coming back to Isidor again and again. There wasn’t anything she could do to keep Eleanor at school, and she had several months to figure out how to pay for Geraldine’s future schooling, but Isidor was going to have to leave right away.

“What about Isidor’s ‘Master’?” Pandy asked, making air-quotes around the last word so Augustus would know she didn’t take that title seriously.

One dark eyebrow rose. “That person was training Isidor for a position he can no longer fill. Sending him here was seen as his best chance of continuing on a path parallel to the one they’d hoped for. They certainly still care for him, and will make certain he gets training in a field that suits his temperament and abilities, but they can’t cover the cost of ten years at the noble academies.”

Pandy was pacing back and forth across the office, fingers tapping against her crossed arms as she thought. Now she spun on him. “You said the candidate has to be of noble blood. That means Isidor is a noble, right? Why can’t his family pay for it?”

Augustus grimaced. “They could, but they won’t. I believe I also mentioned that it didn’t matter for that position if the noble blood was legitimate, but it very much does for almost anything else. Both of Isidor’s parents are dead now, but his father was a Knight of the Royal Eagle, assigned to the border between East and West Altheric. He was already married when he met Isidor’s mother, though by all accounts it was an unhappy arrangement.”

This was news, though Pandy had had a feeling Isidor’s story wasn’t going to be a happy one. “What about his mother’s family?”

With a weary shrug, Augustus stood. “They disavowed Isidor’s mother before he was even born. If it’s frowned upon here to consort with East Althericans, they are even less pleased when one of their own dares to take up with one of us.” He held up a hand to hold off her next question. “I don’t even know who they are, and the odds are good that they’re part of one of the desert tribes, who don’t care for anyone who doesn’t spend their life among the sands. They certainly wouldn’t have any currency that could pay for an education here.”

“Then I’ll do it,” Pandy said, coming to stand in front of him. “I still have a few hundred gold, and I’ll get paid for teaching, won’t I? Surely that will at least cover the rest of this year.”

“At Falconet? Among students far younger than he is, learning nothing new, and with nothing to protect? Do you think Isidor would want that?” Augustus asked gently.

“Then at Kestrel.” Pandy said, reaching out to grip his hands, willing him to help her.

For the first time, Augustus actually looked thoughtful. “That might work. I’d have to owe Chancellor Lockhart a few dozen favors. While everyone is supposed to be equal and anonymous while at school, the truth is they all know each other. Isidor would be coming in late, and as a third-year, which is almost unheard-of, so everyone will be suspicious of him. There would be a furor if some of the parents learn he’s not meant to be there.”

“But he deserves to be there,” Pandy said. “He’s so smart, and hard-working, and he and Tempest are really powerful. I mean, he can be a little obnoxious sometimes, but he didn’t leave me behind in the tavern, or on the-” She broke off. She’d been about to say, ‘the third floor’, but Augustus didn’t need to know about that. Ever.

The chancellor looked intrigued, and she could practically see him making a Mental Note to Self: interrogate Isidor about any adventures he and the rabbit may have had together. Well, she would just have to get to Isidor first, and surely he would keep her secrets if she paid for his education?

Another thought occurred to her, and she grabbed at it before it could slip away, back into the rabid turmoil that was her mental process. “And,” she said triumphantly, waggling a finger in front of his nose so he nearly went cross-eyed trying to stay out of eyeball-jabbing range, “we know that Isidor is in Gacha Love, because I can use my skills around him. That means he’s still involved in this somehow, so we shouldn’t just forget about him because he’s no longer obviously useful.”

A wry grin spread across Augustus’s face at this, and something like pride shone in his eyes as he looked at her. “Right you are, Rabbit,” he said. “And very perceptive of you, too. With that, I can probably get some help from Beeswick, as well. He has his own motivations, which can be,” the grin turned to a sigh, “murky, at best, but he’s fascinated by you and your story. Knowing Isidor still has a role to play will make him reluctant to allow the boy out from under his watchful eye.”

Pandy blinked at him, realized her finger was still perilously close to smudging his glasses, and yanked her hand back, hiding it behind her back like a child with stolen candy. “How can an elemental help? I mean, he obviously rules the library – libraries – with an iron fist, but we don’t need books. We don’t need anyone eaten, either, at least not yet,” she hastened to add as Augustus opened his mouth, making him splutter a laugh.

Rather than reply, Augustus opened his desk and slid out a book. The cover was bright red – not blood-colored, but the shade usually reserved for particularly embarrassing Valentine’s Day cards, not that she would know anything about that – and he flipped it over so quickly she only caught the word Poems in the title.

Clearing his throat, Augustus flipped to the inside cover, where one of those embossed circles the students used to shelve the books was clearly visible on the paper. Reaching into his magical pocket, he withdrew a glittering golden coin and set it down beside the circle. “What do you notice?” he asked.

Pandy leaned down, examining the coin. It looked just like the West Altherican coins she’d seen before – round, with a woman’s head in profile on one side, and a building on the other. When placed next to the embossed circle, she could see that it was almost exactly the same size, with the paper-covered lump being slightly larger, as if the page had been stretched over-

“Gold?” She stared up at him. “All of the books have gold in them?”

He nodded. “Gold is the medium through which Dragons work. They can use magic without it, of course, but it’s far more difficult. It’s the coins that allow Beeswick to track, locate, and control each book.”

“And if he needs gold for new books-,” Pandy said.

“Then he has a huge stockpile of it somewhere,” Augustus finished, nodding. “The tales of Dragons hoarding gold are true, however, and they are loath to give it up once they’ve acquired it. On the other hand, our beloved librarian is, as you say, far more human than most elementals, thanks to his age and constant contact with us. He has developed what is a very unseemly sense of curiosity for a Dragon, or so he tells me.”

Pandy grinned. “So he’ll want to keep Isidor around, and he has plenty of money to do it.”

Augustus nodded again. “He’ll drive a hard bargain, though. If he knows you can afford to send the boy to school without his help, he’ll refuse to aid you until next year. The gold and the books are his, and he will not yield them lightly.”

“So wise for one so young,” came a voice from behind them, causing Pandy and Augustus to spin until they faced the door to the landing. Professor Beeswick stood there, amusement in his metallic eyes, sharp teeth visible in a smirk. “And yet he somehow forgets to lock his doors.” He clicked his tongue in disappointment.

Augustus gave an exasperated glare. “Oh, I locked it, and set the wards, too. You’re not supposed to be able to get in.”

The Dragon raised one hand, examining the curving lilac claws that tipped the fingers. “Unless I believe someone may be in distress within.” He cupped the hand around his ear, saying mildly, “Oh, no, is that screaming?”

Augustus opened his mouth, then closed it again as two more figures filled the space behind the dragon. Professor Beeswick wasn’t tall, though his wings took up most of the doorway. The two women could both see over the Dragon’s head without any great difficulty, and one of them locked eyes on Pandy with a gasp.

“You!” exclaimed Lady Frances Brewer.

“You!” said Pandy, in much the same tone of voice someone might have used when discovering their butler was actually the murderer after all.

Augustus rubbed his temples. “Aunt Frances, Aunt Arabelle. How lovely to see you. Please come in.” He hurried back around his desk, quickly slipping the red-bound book back into the drawer, along with the gold coin. It was very obvious that he preferred to have a large piece of furniture between him and his aunts.

The shorter of the two old ladies entered first, her pale golden hair gleaming in perfect curls, without a speck of silver to tarnish them. She wore a dress in Falconet’s blue and russet, with a skirt that was neither too wide nor too narrow, allowing her to swish without being ostentatious. There was something mesmerizing about the way she moved, with the kind of grace a ballerina would envy, in spite of her advanced age and obvious infirmity.

Pandy moved aside as the lady settled into the first of the two chairs, crossing her hands gracefully in her lap, a gentle smile curving her lips and warming her blue eyes. Despite the almost palpable elegance and warmth, however, Pandy felt a pleasant chill as she shifted out of the way, and her eyes widened. It wasn’t Dark Aura, since no notifications about Corruption Points were flowing across her vision, but she would swear that this woman was a Dark mage of some kind.

The second woman, of course, was Lady Frances Brewer. Her iron-gray hair was done up in a neat twist, making her seem even taller. Her dress was green again today, with severe lines that highlighted her straight posture and exposed perfectly sculpted collarbones that would have made Michelangelo weep.

“Ms. Haupe,” this paragon said, deigning to offer Pandy her hand. “Who could have known we would meet again so soon?” Her brows lifted as she took in Pandy’s clothes and hair, which were, of course, exactly the same as they had been the first time they met, in the dress shop, Needle and Tread.

“I see you decided not to purchase anything from that awful man,” she said, her tone carefully neutral. “The offer to take you to a more fashionable modiste remains open.”

“Frances,” Lady Arabelle said gently. That was all, but the proud woman stopped immediately, giving her… sister? an abashed look.

“I’m just trying to help,” Frances muttered.

“Mmm,” Arabelle said, then offered Pandy her hand without rising. “I’m Arabelle. Aunt Arabelle to this rapscallion,” she said, giving Augustus an affectionate glance. He ran his finger around the inside of his collar until she turned her gentle blue gaze back to Pandy. “And I hope you’ll call me the same. One can never claim too many nieces and nephews, I feel.”

Pandy blinked. “I- You- Lady Arabelle-”

“Aunt. Or just Arabelle, if you must. We can work our way up to Aunt.” Her eyes twinkled in the same way Augustus’s did when he was really enjoying teasing Pandy. “I do hope you’ll forgive my rudeness.” She patted her leg through her skirt. “I have an old injury that makes it painful to stand for too long, and I need a bit of a break after those stairs.”

At this, Frances took a step forward, laying a protective hand on Arabelle’s delicate shoulder before speaking to Pandy. “Ms. Haupe, I’d very much like to speak to you about-”

Augustus began to cough. He coughed so long and so hard that his face turned red, and Pandy came around to pound him helpfully on the back. An attempted Minor Heal revealed that he had no actual injuries, but he continued coughing until he finally managed to wheeze out, “Aunts, I’d like to introduce you,” he coughed a bit more, “to Miss Eurydice Haupe, our newest teacher. I’m afraid she just dropped in to talk about the particulars of her position, and she has to be getting back home now.”

He gave Pandy a fierce look, and she blinked, then nodded vigorously, almost surprised not to feel long ears flopping around her face. “Oh, um, yes.” She laughed awkwardly, edging around toward the door, where the Dragon still stood, watching the proceedings with great amusement. “I just got a new house. I should… open some boxes. Unpack things. You know how it is.”

Arabelle was holding Frances’ hand where it rested on her shoulder, and she smiled at Pandy. “Well, I’m certain we’ll have many chances to get to know each other, since we’ll all be working here together. It was lovely to meet you, my dear.”

Frances looked like she was gritting her teeth so hard they might shatter and fall out of her mouth, but she managed a grudging nod. “Yes. Though perhaps we’re going in the same direction? We have a house in Crown Terrace. It’ll be a bit of a drive, going back and forth every day, but of course it’s worth it to help my nephew.”

‘My’, not ‘our’, and that hand-holding didn’t look sisterly. What was their relationship? But Pandy’s idle curiosity was blown away as the woman continued, “If you live in the same area, you could ride with us. We were just going to tell Augustus good night before we left.”

Pandy flinched. She didn’t really know the names of the parts of Knightmere, just the specific areas that had been mentioned in Gacha Love. Crown Terrace sounded suspiciously fancy. “I, um, just moved into the family home. It’s… They didn’t take good care of it, so I don’t think-”

Now Arabelle’s eyes brightened with interest. “Is it old? I do love old buildings, but many of them have been renovated so many times that you can barely see what they once were. If yours has been allowed to remain unchanged, I’d love to come take a look at it. I flatter myself that I’m quite knowledgeable about historical architecture and decor, so I might be able to help you update it, while maintaining the original feel of the place.”

“Oh, that would be… nice? Nice,” Pandy said, more definitely the second time. After all, she did need to fix the place up, and she had no idea what the styles were in this world. She’d probably find the West Altherican version of a privy and think it was a bathtub. She completely missed Augustus’s warning cough as she said, “It’s called Avington… Manor…” The cough rose into a fit that put the previous one to shame, but it was too late. Both women were staring at Pandy like they’d just discovered she was an undead rabbit.

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