Author's Note: Much like Infinity, TSC is told in shifting POV. The main narrator of this story will be Charlie.

Chapter One: A Stolen Mirror

Charlie Bone

While the sounds of six other rustling bodies in creaking brass beds were gone, I found myself still unable to sleep soundly behind academy walls. Ezekiel Bloor and the awful influence he held over the Red King's City had been gone for the last five years, but the building was still old and creaky, and the memories were still there. I sat up and looked out the window over my bed. It was raining outside, a softly pattering against the panes. It should have been peaceful enough to help me sleep, but something felt wrong.

I gazed down into the courtyard. Since Asa Pike took over as the groundskeeper, it had never looked better. He had planted new grass. replaced the shrubs, and had even installed little electric lanterns around the yard that gave off a very soft, relaxing glow. Unlike Weedon, Asa spent his time actually fixing things around the academy instead of involving himself in nefarious plots. The difference was astounding.

Thanks to the soft light from the lanterns, I caught sight of a hooded figure confidently striding through the courtyard coming from the direction of the ruin. The only way to access the courtyard without walking through the academy was to jump over one of the walls in the ruin or access the secret tunnel through the Pet's Cafe. I cupped the glass to help myself get a better look. At first, I thought it might have been Asa until I saw them stop in front of the west wing. They looked up at a window for a few moments. Though I couldn't tell which window they were looking at, I was certain that it was the one that lead to Infinity's bedroom. The figure suddenly held their arms up over their head and the glass to Infinity's bedroom window shattered outward, as if something had been flung from her bedroom rather than tossed inside. I was certain that the loud crack of glass was enough to wake anyone up. Seemingly satisfied with their work, the figure picked something up off of the ground and took off into the ruin.

Worried for my sister, I quickly ran from my room and towards the west wing. As I cleared the boys dormitory, I could hear everyone else stirring from their beds, confused murmurs and shouts of surprise once they saw the damage in the courtyard. By the time I got to Infinity's room Dr. Saltweather and Asa Pike were both already there. Infinity was standing outside of the room wrapped in a long, white robe. I could see splinters of wood littered in her white blonde hair. "What happened? Are you okay?" I asked her.

She was so shaken up, she just stared at me with a panicked look in her watery eyes. Knowing I wouldn't get any information about what would happened from her at that moment, I poked my head into the bedroom and was surprised to see that her giant armoire had been completely destroyed. The wooden doors were cracked open and splintered, as if something had been shot out of it with great force. The chips were all over her bed and the window above it was completely shattered. Asa was trying to clean up the mess while Dr. Saltweather picked through the amoire to see what was missing.

"What is gone?" I asked.

"I'm not sure..." Dr. Saltweather tossed an empty, broken drawer on the bed. "I don't know what she kept in here, but this drawer sustained the most damage."

After taking a moment to herself to calm down, Infinity joined us in the bedroom. I pointed out the drawer that was tampered with and she began to panic all over again. "That's where I kept the Mirror of Amoret. I had a spell over it… No one knew it was there but me." The tears that had been threatening to spill from her eyes started to overflow. Whenever the mirror had been recovered, dad had tasked Infinity with taking care of it. She was able to protect it with stronger magic than anyone else at the time. I began to feel sick to my stomach, especially because I had watched everything happen and wasn't able to do anything to stop it.

"Hey, hey. Don't cry." Asa's calm voice pulled me back into the moment. I watched him place a reassuring hand on her back. "I bet that mirror cracked when it flew out the window. Charlie is the only person who has ever successfully repaired it."

"But we don't know who took it." Infinity stared at him. "It could have been anyone. Whoever it is, they are powerful because no one knew where it was but me. And no one could get to it but me."

"We'll take care of it. We'll figure it out." Asa wrapped another arm around her, pulling her into a comforting hug. "I'll get all of this cleaned up and taken care of. You can stay in my room tonight."

Due to their close friendship, Infinity gave Asa his own space in the west wing. I watched him lead a very distraught Infinity out of the room and down the hall to Asa's private quarters, leaving me alone with Dr. Saltweather. "You ought to return to your room as well, Charlie. I'm certain that you'll have quite a bit of work cut out for you tomorrow with all of the gossip. Just because something exciting happens doesn't mean that rules shouldn't be followed. You're the head boy this year. Make sure that you keep up with your responsibilities." Dr. Saltweather instructed.

I gave a quick nod before returning to my room. Despite my average grades, I still somehow ended up being appointed head boy. Dr. Saltweather said being head boy wasn't just about grades, it was about leadership skills and following the rules. It felt like it was just special treatment, considering my father owned the academy and my sister was a biology teacher, but I still tried my hardest to avoid letting anyone down.

I wasn't able to sleep that night and rose from my bed when it was time for breakfast along with everyone else. There was a lot of nervous chatter and gossip about the night before just as Dr. Saltweather predicted. "I heard that room belonged to Miss Bone. She's very pretty, you know. Possibly a jealous guy?" I heard someone whisper.

"That is enough of that." A familiar voice snapped from behind them. I turned and saw Manfred Bloor scolding the gossipy first year student. "It's not appropriate to spread rumors about the staff. Get to breakfast."

"Sorry, Mr. Bloor." The student hung their head in shame, quickly sulking away.

When Manfred noticed me, he brightened up a bit. Despite the questionable behavior he had in the past, he was completely forgiven by my family after he was shown to be a decent person outside of Ezekiel's influence. While he was still kind of rough around the edges and not very friendly, he was very good at his job as a history teacher. He was also still very good friends with Infinity despite the fact that the relationship Infinity had with his brother Salem had ended a few years ago. "Bone, I'm happy to see you." There was no sign of happiness anywhere on Manfred's face, but I was sure he was curious about what happened. "Is Infinity okay? I wanted to go check up on her when everything happened but Matron Taylor needed assistance in keeping the students in line."

"Uh, she's pretty shaken up. I wouldn't be surprised if she took a personal day today." I awkwardly walked next to him. Although Infinity trusted him, it was still strange for me. I no longer had a reason to fear him. I stood at the same height as him now, and I knew how to utilize both my endowments to the fullest to keep myself safe, but I struggled to talk to him sometimes. I didn't know if I should tell him about the mirror.

"I saw Asa replacing the window this morning. Dad kept a lot of spares on-hand just in case your uncle wanted something." He joked, referencing the few times Uncle Paton showed up to explode windows in the academy in order to persuade Ezekiel or Dr. Bloor into giving him what he needed. "Anyway, I don't want to keep you from getting to breakfast. I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Try to have a good day, Bone."

"Yeah. You too, sir." I murmured before ducking into the breakfast line. When I got my food and picked a table, it didn't take long for my friends in the music department to join me. Fidelio Gunn showed up first, almost shaking with all the questions he wanted to ask. My little brother Billy second, also curious. Because he was still in a common dorm, he didn't get the opportunity to leave and investigate like I did. Then Dagbert showed up, apathetic as always. And finally, Vera Clark joined our table.

When I explained the situation, Vera seemed to be the most disturbed. Vera was a year younger than me and enrolled in the academy the year after my dad took over. She was a descendant of Guanhamara and was clairvoyant. She didn't use her endowment often, as most of the things she was able to predict were either too mundane or so off the wall that she didn't know how to interpret it. "I thought I saw something the other day, but I wasn't able to make much sense of it." She tucked a piece of chestnut brown hair behind her ear. "I saw shards of broken glass in a white rose bush and a jeweled mirror. I also saw a castle by the sea. It was very old with crumbling walls, but something made me feel uneasy."

I wasn't sure what the castle by the sea was, but the glass in the rose bushes and the jeweled mirror were clearly warnings about the previous night. I thought about bringing everything up to Infinity when I saw her again, provided that she had gotten the opportunity to calm down a bit. "If you see anything else, can you please let me know?" I asked her.

"Of course, Charlie." She gave me a reassuring smile. I liked Vera a lot. I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I would never see Matilda again and that she would never exist in my time, but being around Vera cushioned that blow a lot. She was very kind to everyone she met and gave good advice to those who needed it. She was excellent at baking, rivaling even Maisie. She played the clarinet very well for an endowed student. She was very pretty too. She kept her hair cut in a medium length bob, had a round face that was covered in cute freckles, big brown doe eyes and an infectious smile. "I have Medieval with Mr. Bloor next. Have you talked to him about any of this?"

"Uh, no. Not really." I looked down at my breakfast. Vera had never known Manfred the way I had, and because of that, he quickly became her favorite teacher once he was hired at the academy the previous year despite his grumpy demeanor. In addition to teaching Medieval Literature and History to the fifth years, he also had taught European History to the fourth years. "I was going to leave that to Infinity. They're pretty good friends. He only stopped me to ask if she was alright."

"Maybe you should talk to him, Charlie." Dagbert shrugged. "I know it's weird, but if Mrs. Tilpin is involved in any of this he might be able to help us. If Fin trusts him, we should trust him too. I'll bet it was that little gutter rat son of hers that snagged the mirror."

I let out a resigned sigh. "You're right. I hate it, but you're right. Maybe I can catch up to him before his class starts."

"I'll go with you, if you'd like. He's usually in his classroom after breakfast." Vera nudged me with her elbow. I begrudgingly agreed to go with her.

Vera and I walked together to Manfred's classroom. Vera was very short compared to me. She was just barely over five feet and once confided in me that she had to still buy shoes from the kids section. She was also a bit on the chubby side, often joking that it was only because she was so short. She never let her height or weight ruin her confidence, however. She feared nothing and no one and always held her head high. It might have been my favorite thing about her. It was I that ended up following her into Manfred's classroom, not that she had any reason to feel awkward in his presence as I did. He was sitting at his desk staring down at his cellphone when we walked in.

"Hi, Mr. Bloor! Can we talk to you for a moment?" She asked, causing him to jump with surprise. The old Manfred would have flipped out on us. This Manfred apologized for being distracted.

"Of course you can." He then noticed me lingering in the doorway. "Ah. Is everything okay?"

"As okay as it can be, I guess. Did you get to talk to Fin at all yet?"

"A little. She and I are supposed to meet up while everyone is at lunch. I figured she would tell me what happened so I didn't have to press the information out of you. I, um, understand how it can be hard for you to talk to me sometimes."

"It can be difficult sometimes, but it's not really a trust thing." I sat down in one of the desks in the front row. I told him everything in detail. His expression was grim as I described the intruder and told him that the Mirror of Amoret had been taken. Vera took over and told him about what her endowment had let her see.

"You say you saw a castle that made you feel uneasy?" Manfred pointed out. "Can you describe the castle to me?"

"It kind of looked like this." She walked up to his chalkboard and drew a crude outline of the castle with many strangely shaped windows. As Vera continued to draw defining features, I heard the familiar click of heels on the tile approaching Manfred's classroom. There was a light knock on the door before I noticed my sister standing beside me. No one else seemed to notice her entrance.

"That's Blathe Castle." Manfred said. "One of the properties my family used to own. That the Bones own now."

"Blathe Castle?" Infinity's voice almost made Manfred jump out of his skin a second time. "We don't own such a castle."

"You do. I know there were a lot of properties to sort through. It could have been missed." He raised a brow. "It's practically a ruin now, but your ruin nonetheless."

"No. Dad and I went through everything together, selling off the extra properties and returning the ones that had been taken by illegal means. I never encountered a Blathe Castle. We only own a handful of your old properties anymore. None of them are Blathe Castle." I didn't know much about dad's estate, but Infinity was meticulous in helping him organize everything.

"I don't understand how it was missed. You went through all the paperwork my father gave you and the mother of pearl box, right?" Manfred tapped his fingers on his desk. "It actually belonged to Borlath, you know. It was where he stayed before he attempted to take over the Castle of Mirrors from Amadis. I visited it once as a teenager. It was crumbling and beyond repair. We only kept it in the family because it had belonged to Borlath himself. It's up north, right on a cliff overlooking the sea. The closest town is maybe thirty miles out."

"How could have it been missed by dad, Fin, and Judge Sage?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. But Vera is seeing it for a reason, right?" Infinity awkwardly played with the hem of her black cape. "Maybe we should go check it out?"

"It's a long journey, not one that we could really just take time off to make. I don't think it would be wise of us to leave the academy now. Not if someone is lurking around." Manfred began to pace the room. "This isn't something we should just rush in to. That's how people get hurt."

I scoffed. I didn't mean to, but the irony wasn't lost on me. Manfred was worried about the safety of everyone involved. The same Manfred who had almost succeeded in murdering my sister. I didn't have to look up to know that Infinity was glaring daggers at me. How she had been able to forgive him to the extent that she did actually shocked me at times. Manfred did have a point, though. It wasn't like we could just up and disappear to investigate a castle in the middle of nowhere just because Vera had a premonition. This wasn't going to be like my past adventures, where I rushed into things head first and people were hurt due to my actions. I needed to stay behind and investigate myself.