LbN: Quinntana Week, day five. Prompt - AU.

The end of the term was always a bit shaky. Evaluations were coming in; grades were going out. People were leaving, and/or getting hired. The students you'd grown to love were leaving for bigger and better things.

"Airship training?" Professor Fabray asked, incredulity dripping from her voice.

The young woman across from her smiled brightly. "Yes, Professor."

"Tina, you've had me for six years running now," the blonde said. "You can call me Quinn."

"It still feels weird, Professor. I'll probably never break the habit."

Quinn grinned as the bell tower rang out the hour. "Well, if anyone can do it, you can. You definitely have the right disposition."

"Thanks...er...I think."

"It was a compliment, don't worry."

"I have to go now," Tina said as the last of the bell's tolls died away. "All of the recruits are going to dinner before we have to leave for the academy."

"Best of luck, Tina. I know you'll do great things."

The young woman gave her a shy smile, reminiscent of the first day she'd stepped onto campus. "Thanks Prof - Quinn."

Quinn got back to her papers after the girl left. She always felt a pang when her favorites graduated. This year even more so, since she'd seen four of her favorites move on to greater things. A Professor at the kingdoms premier college, Aelox University, she'd had a selective group of student in independent study tracks with her for the past eight years. This last group had been one of her favorites. She was the head of the Thaumaturgical Linguistics department, and attracted a diverse cohort of students each year. This past year, the group of four that had included Tina had been interested in Necromatic Accoustics - the reverberation from the dead, and how you could hear them in some places better than others. This had meant quite a bit of study of ancient magical languages with Professor Fabray. Currently, she was writing letters of recommendation for two of the four, who were trying to get their study funded so they could pursue further research.

The speaking tube made the strangled goose noise that indicated a call coming through from the department lobby.

"Fabray," Quinn answered, pulling the little bronze mouthpiece toward her.

"Dr. Fabray, there is a visitor here to see you. Er…."

Quinn sighed. The new student worker at the desk was having a real tough time getting the hang of "important" versus "take a message". "Yes, Evanna?"

"It's an important visitor."

That got Quinn's attention. One thing Evanna usually wasn't, was sparing with details. If she was holding back, that meant it was really important. "They're right there, aren't they?"

"Yes."

"And they can hear your answers."

"Very much so, Dr. Fabray."

"Okay, then just answer yes or no. Is it any of the royal family?"

"No."

"Is it the Archchancellor of the College?"

"No."

"Ah, that must mean it's some high-up from society, yes?"

"That's extremely correct, Dr. Fabray."

"Right. Send them up."

"Thank you, Dr. Fabray," Evanna said, clearly relieved.

There was a click as the speaking tube disconnected. Quinn replaced hers on the wall and waited for the mystery visitor. Sealing the two letters, she dropped them down the mail chute and let out a sigh. Any time bigwigs came to see her, it was usually something to the effect of "Hi, I found my granddaddy's diary in the attic, could you decipher it?" And usually it wasn't the ancient language of dragons the person had predicted (and hoped for, so they could sell it to the New Chronology House for a small fortune), but simply messy handwriting.

The floorboards in the hall creaked slightly as the visitor approached. A moment later, a tan woman with pitch black hair stood in the doorway. She was dressed in normal Airship attire, but with a few touches here and there that gave off the impression of extreme wealth.

"Dr. Fabray," she said, striding forward. "I'm -"

"I know who you are," Quinn said cooly. "Santana Lopez. Daughter of a wealthy Airship designer, niece to the Baron and Baroness of Aelox. Heir to the Laithenghast Airship empire, and rumor has it, a Sky Pirate."

Santana grinned. "Well, they did say you were thorough. Yes to all, but the last is exaggerated."

"What can I help you with?"

"I had the opportunity to do some...traveling over the past month. I came into possession of a certain book - don't look at me like that. I bought it, fairly," she added, seeing Quinn's face turn stormy. "I was visiting the next kingdom over - Aradine - and I spent an entire day at their bazaar. Anyway, I got this book, and it's in a language I've never seen before. It's...an important book. The man who sold it didn't know what he had."

"What's so important about it?" Quinn asked. The other woman's self-important smile was starting to grate on her nerves.

Santana shook her head. "Can't tell you that just yet. If you agree to work with me, however, I'll let you keep it. I understand you collect rare works."

"You just need me to translate the book?"

"That's the first bit. I also have a feeling that there will be more things for you to translate - I think the book is a map of sorts. The full job, I hope, will take about a month. There would be travel involved, but I'm willing to provide decent compensation."

"I'll pass."

Santana's grin widened. "Really? Is it because of the pirate thing? Because I told you, that was exaggerated. True, I have my own Airship, and true it's not for the purposes of protecting the realm. But I don't loot, pillage, or plunder. I'm an explorer. Do you think, with how famous I am, that King Brad would let me live if I was a pirate?"

Quinn glared at her for a moment. "If this isn't something illegal, then why can't you just tell me what's going on?"

"I have a crew of fifteen men. For this, I'm only taking my two closest. I don't want word getting out before I've even got started. They're already jealous." She took the small book out of her bag, and passed it across Quinn's desk. "Think on it overnight. I'll see you tomorrow." Without another word, she swept from the room. It should be impossible to sweep, especially regally, when one does not have on a long cloak or dress, but Santana managed it.

Quinn scowled after her for a long moment. She should throw the book out, or tuck it away until the woman came back for it. She shouldn't get mixed up in whatever Santana was planning. She knew that, but she looked down at the book and knew that she was hooked. The script was bold, blocks and strikes. It immediately struck her as some sort of Elvish, but that couldn't be right because of the sentence structure. The looked at the book again. Three words. The first letter looked like an arrow pointing up, the second looked like an H with two bars across. The third looked like an M written by the world showiest calligraphist. She took a stab in the dark, guessing it translated to the word "THE" in her language. Pulling a scrap of parchment to her, she took out her pen and began the translation.

"Dr. Fabray? Dr. Fabray!"

Quinn jerked awake, parchment slightly stuck to her face. "Hrrm, what?"

"You slept here last night, Professor," Evanna said, gently removing the paper from her face and stacking it neatly with the others. "Another one of your projects?"

"Yes, an unexpected one."

"I've brought up your coffee - extra large today," Evanna said. "And a warm towel. The Dean is on his way over from the Cannterton campus. He'll be here in an hour. And there's a woman downstairs who says she wants to see you. She said she's happy to wait until you've woken up fully."

Quinn groaned. "Thank you, Evanna. Send her up."

Santana was in the room again in another five minutes, eating a slice of coffee cake. She offered one to Quinn. "I had a feeling you'd be intrigued enough to pull an all-nighter. I thought the least I could do was to bring breakfast."

"I looked through the book," Quinn said without preamble, though she did accept the pastry. "It's some sort of old Mage script - similar to the Aeloxian First Elvish, but -"

"Whoa, wait. Isn't that thousands of years old?"

"Seven thousand, three hundred and five, precisely," Quinn said, waving a hand. A few ancient, crumbling tomes floated just above the desk and opened. "And you were right, it is a sort of map - or directions, I guess would be more accurate. But it's like…."

"Yes?"

"Did you ever play 'Find the Prince'? when you were small?"

"That's the game where one of the children hides and the others get clues to where they are, right?"

"Right. Normally, the clues lead to other ones. That's what this book is. It's a history of a sect of Magi, and they didn't want to make it too easy for anyone to find…."

"Do continue," Santana said.

"There's some kind of treasure," Quinn said stonily. "But you already knew that."

"I had a hunch. So...are these the transla -" Santana pulled her hand back. She'd been reaching for the stack of papers, but Quinn had slammed her hand down on it.

"I haven't agreed to help you."

"Fine," Santana said, losing her look of smug detachment for the first time since they'd met. "What will it take to get you to say yes? This is a great opportunity for you!"

"You mean for you."

The sly grin came back. "For me? I'm in this for the chance to explore, and possibly line my pocketbook with something shiny. For you? This could be huge for your career. Don't tell me you had a better idea lined up for the summer. Better than researching a dead, nearly forgotten language? You want to do this. You may not like me, yet, but you have to admit I've just handed you a golden apple."

Quinn looked from her and back down to the translations. "They're rough. I'll need to study more."

"Can we get started with them?"

"Yes."

"Then we leave on the first day of summer. In the morning, just after breakfast. Pack only essentials."

"But that's only two days away!"

"Then I suggest you pack quickly," Santana said, winking. "We'll leave from the main Airship dock, across from the palace. I look forward to working with you, Dr. Fabray."

Quinn stood and paced the room once she'd gone. She stopped in front of the window, looking out over the city. The bell jar - a six story glass structure full of gears and purple lightning - was working overtime to produce enough energy for the coming festival. She turned away and started pulling her travel folders out.