That was a long hiatus. Schoolwork can really eat up your free time. Anyway. The usual disclaimers:
Ariana Moore Belongs to Youknowme, Adrick McKale Belongs to quoththeraven, and Juliet Thomas Dalton belongs to the sweet16 writer. I own Sarafina, Lisette, and the people connected to them (i.e., mother, brother, friends). Everything else is probably something you recognize, and that all belongs to Jenny Nimmo.
So Enjoy! And review! Yay!
Happy Sunshine!
Surprisingly, Sarafina's mother took the news about her son well. Of course, she was really sad, but she didn't blame the girls. They spent most of Sunday doing homework and helping around the house while Ms. Zarkov sighed. Lisette wished she could do something to comfort her, as a feeling of guilt welled up inside her every time a mournful breath escaped from Sarafina and her Mother.
After a stiff dinner, the girls got ready for a week at Bloor's. Unable to contain her guilt, Lisette blurted out, "I'm really sorry!"
"Lisette, please. Do not feel sorry. It is not your fault."
"But it is! I came here! Someone got my blood, so technically I'm responsible."
"Please. Do not talk of this. It makes me sadder. My brother is gone, and my closest friend believes herself worthy of the blame. Let us talk about something happy."
"Like what?"
"Sir Shadow. He was funny, no?"
"Yeah…" Lisette laughed at the memory of the strange eleven year old and the guy with the midnight blue eyes. " Do you think he goes to Bloor's?"
"I know it. As does short one."
"Ariana? How do you know?"
"I overhear her conversation with the person in the mysterious black car," Sarafina shrugged and grinned. "I made a, how do you say, inference."
"Hmm," Lisette sat down and sighed.
A click, and the door to Sarafina's room opened. Ms. Zarkov poked her head in.
"Girls, it is eleven. You have school tomorrow. Sleep is recommended." Those were the sternest words Lisette ever heard her say. After bidding her hosts goodnight, she went to the guest bedroom and fell into a dreamless sleep.
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The next day, as they got off the bus, the first person they saw was the boy, dressed in what Lisette assumed was his usual black ensemble, walking into the building without a cape. Then Ariana got off of the music bus, her hair in a long brown braid. She was smiling. She glanced at Lisette and her face soured instantly. Lisette ignored this and rushed into her dance class with Sarafina.
At the first break, Lisette saw the shadow guy, sitting under a tree bent over an open sketchbook. She approached him as she would a small woodland animal.
"Hey," she said softly. "I'm Lisette. What's your name?"
"Adrick," He said, without any emotion.
"What are you drawing?" Lisette asked, in a desperate attempt to make some sort of conversation.
"An invisible cow eating invisible grass"
Lisette gave a half laugh. "Do you want to talk to people?"
"Not particularly. I prefer the voices in my head."
"Just don't listen to them if they tell you to jump off a cliff." With that, Lisette turned on her heel and walked away. Within a minute, she had reached the circle where Sarafina was engaged in conversation with Charlie, Fidelio, Lysander, Olivia, Emma, Juliet, and Tancred. Sarafina had relayed the details of Lisette's teleportation, and the group was in the midst of a deep discussion.
"Dorcas definitely could do something like infuse a piece of clothing with blood and use it for a malicious purpose," Tancred was saying, his cape moved by a slight gust of wind. Lisette noticed the way both Emma and Juliet looked at him. He was everything to both of them.
"But to what end? What are the Bloors doing with whatever they're using?" asked Lysander.
"I have a theory," Lisette interjected. "When I teleported everyone, and blacked out, I saw a small boy with white hair running through an ever-changing scenery. There were also wolves."
"That's Billy!" exclaimed Charlie.
Just then, the hunting horn blared. Ariana passed by the group with suspicion barely concealed by her smile. Lisette allowed herself to be swallowed by the crowd as she made her way inside.
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That night, Manfred was back supervising homework. Lisette noted that both Ariana and Adrick were sitting at the round table. Two gone, two new, She noted, based on her information she had from the other endowed. It seemed awfully polarized. Dorcas and her group definitely were malevolent, but did Charlie's group instigate the conflict? Who was the catalyst in this reaction? Ariana seemed confused and scared rather than actually malicious. Her eyes crinkled when she smiled. She probably just spoke to the wrong people first, she thought with pity. Ariana looked up from her homework, made a face at Lisette, and looked back down. She glanced over at Adrick. Suddenly, one of the twins, because they seemed impossible to identify, spoke.
"Can the new people introduce themselves?" she asked Manfred.
"Yes!" her twin added. "What are their endowments?"
The tone of their voices gave Lisette the impression they already knew. Yet Manfred thought it was a good idea.
"This one," he said, gesturing at Ariana. "Is Ariana Moore. She can sense emotions.
"And that—" He began again, while pointing at Adrick, but he was cut off.
"I can introduce m'self, thank you," said Adrick. "Name's Adrick. That's all you need to know."
"But what's your endowment? You do have one, right?" asked Joshua.
"You really think I'll tell you?"
"Who will you tell?"
"If I'm lucky, no one. Just figure it out yourself. Or better yet, don't."
Lisette had to stifle a giggle. It was always slightly entertaining when people argued about inconsequential things. If Adrick did not want to share, who would blame him? Lisette thought she had it figured out anyway.
"McKale, spill," ordered Manfred.
"Oi, I don't want to tell. You know already, what's the point?"
"Detention."
A collective gasp spread through the King's Room. Apparently, detention was something you didn't want. Yet Adrick remained unfazed.
"I'm still not telling."
Manfred gave him a beady stare, and then returned to his work. At seven-thirty, they were dismissed. Everyone left the room, including Manfred. Lisette noticed Charlie's group congregating, and slinked up to Sarafina.
"Ten minutes," Charlie was saying. "We'll meet in the art room. I'll alert Fido."
"I'll tell Livvy," said Emma.
The group scattered into their dormitories, with Lisette following Emma. She wondered how often they met in the art room, and what they'd discuss this time. Despite the fact that they seemed to trust her, she didn't consider them anything more than acquaintances. Bloor's was a dark place. She, unlike the others, had no idea who to trust.
Again, apologies for the delay. And also for the horrible fluff. Maybe it'll be important later. Anyway. 1151 words.
Review. Please.
~La La~
