"Be careful she doesn't get bored with you next. It's a long way to fall."
- Pippa A.G.A.T.B
(The arrival of Gemma)
Red hair, green eyes, she was a bit too tall and a bit too broad shouldered. She walked in wearing mourning clothes. Her step was uncertain.
"She's the new girl, Gemma something-or-other, she came all the way from India. Her family really isn't that well off. Although I hear her Grandmother has the majority of the wealth. It's rumored that her mother recently died, though her death is shrouded in mystery."
"Thank you Cecily, that's enough gossiping for now, the new girl isn't our concern." Felicity told her entourage dismissively. "Now, as I was saying…"
(After a while…)
Although she had said that it was of no concern, the new girl interested her. It was true that she and Pip had locked her in the chapel just the other evening, but still, there was something mysterious about this Gemma Doyle. There was something about her that Felicity couldn't quite place, perhaps a sort of bold determination, and a sort of cunning that Felicity saw in herself. Of course, she had no intention of reaching out to the new girl, because this would be a sign of weakness that Felicity simply could not afford. It wasn't until the mysterious Gemma had "saved" her from the disgrace of being found kissing that gypsy boy, only after that incident could she invade Miss Doyle's life at Spence, and figure out her deepest secrets. After all, she was the most influential girl at Spence, and if Felicity Worthington decided to challenge the new girl, then of course it was all right.
(Later the same day…)
"So what really did happen after that Gemma girl pushed you in the lake this afternoon, was it payback of some sort?" Pippa asked, linking arms with Felicity.
"Nothing happened, it was all just an accident, I told you." Felicity said dismissively.
"No actually you didn't."
"Oh Pip, please don't act so childishly, jealousy does not become you, really. You're not getting replaced if that's what you're thinking in that foolish head of yours."
"Of course not, why would I think that?" Pippa asked, sounding like a petulant child.
"I honestly have no idea." Felicity sighed. Without realizing it, she was absently searching for a glimpse of red hair; she wondered if the new girl was nearby. "I'll be right back." Felicity walked off, brushing past Pippa. "Gemma."
"Felicity."
Brave green eyes stared back at her.
"I was wondering if we could speak for a moment?" Felicity asked, staring unnervingly back into those glass-green eyes.
"Certainly."
She could tell that the new girl was trying very hard to remain civil.
"I know that we might have the wrong impression of one another. It seems that you are much more worthy than you first appeared. Would you care to join Pippa and I in my tent?"
There, an olive branch, a million girls would do anything for this opportunity.
"Only if Ann can come as well."
The boldness of her! Adding a condition to the deal, and yet she almost admired the audacity.
Felicity smiled weakly at the plain looking, scholarship girl. "Yes, alright." She escorted Gemma and Ann back to the tent with her.
"Fee, I was just thinking we could…" Pippa beamed as she returned. "Oh…" her smile faded quickly as she noticed Gemma and Ann. "Hello." She greeted sourly.
"Hello." Gemma replied.
Ann said nothing.
"So, what is this, another plot against me? Am I going to find Pippa's diamond earrings have been slipped into my boot, and then I'll be made out to be a thief in front of everyone?" Gemma asked, her voice cold.
Pippa laughed harshly. "We wouldn't try the same trick twice. We have more imagination then you give us credit-…"
Felicity cut her off. "No, this is an olive branch. Our one condition is that you trade a secret for a secret, and since you already have one of mine, you must now tell me one of yours." Felicity laid out her ultimatum.
"Fee!" Pippa exclaimed angrily.
She knew Pippa would be angry with her for keeping this from her, but right now she couldn't be bothered with her friend's childish temper.
"Do we have a deal? Either that or…" Felicity let them hang, enigmatically.
"We shove you out of our tent right now." Pippa finished impudently.
Gemma glared at Felicity, she was trying to determine whether or not Felicity was being truthful. Her green eyes turned toward the anxious Ann, and then to the petulant Pippa, then back to Felicity again. Felicity looked right back into those green eyes, with what she could only imagine was her best 'inscrutable' stare.
"Fine, I accept." Gemma said tenaciously.
"Wonderful." Felicity smirked; she would finally grasp some of the mystery behind the secretive Gemma Doyle.
Felicity: "I hate you."
Pippa: "It's not me you hate, Fee. It's not me."
-A.G.A.T.B
(This takes place right after Felicity and Pippa's fight in the Great Hall.)
"The only reason you want to be around Gemma is because she has power. Isn't that right? You're tired of feeling helpless. What do you know about being helpless? At least you're not getting pawned off like some wrecked family jewel! Gemma's power can't fix everything, Fee. It just can't, and it's not ours to have. It just isn't." Pippa ranted, her eyes glistening with tears. "Gemma can't fix everything!"
Felicity turned on Pippa. "You don't know that! Maybe her power can be ours too! As long as we have The Order, The Realms, we can change things; we can fix things!"
"It can't last forever! It's only a temporary solution, Fee. It can't fix all of the problems in your life, just as it certainly cannot fix all of mine!"
"You don't know that!" Felicity shouted.
"Fee…"
"You don't know that!"
Tears rolled down Pippa's beautiful cheeks. "Do you see what this power is doing to us, what it's done already? We'll only ever have a taste of it, that's all we'll ever get."
Felicity's face was set and determined. "It will fix things Pip, it has to."
Pippa sighed, wiping at her tears. "Maybe you're right."
Felicity stared out the window with quiet determination. "I am."
"Okay." Pippa agreed. "Okay."
Hope you enjoyed the past two chapters. Thanks for taking the time to read. Please review!