A/N: I'm pretty sure THIS is actually the shortest chapter yet.

Chapter 11

Waking up at 6 wasn't really as horrible as Virginia had imagined it would be. Kitiara had woken up at 5 almost every single morning when she lived on the farm, and while living at Iris Academy had made her somewhat rusty to waking up early, it wasn't too difficult to slip back into the habit.

She walked along the dark hallway, enjoying the early morning quiet and solitude. Iris Academy seemed so peaceful at this time of day, when no one was awake.

Professor Grabiner was seated in the Teacher's lounge, reading his book again as if he'd been waiting for her to show for hours. Which she doubted, considering it was actually 5:45.

"Good morning, sir," Kitiara said, smiling at him as she sat across from him. A neat stack of empty envelopes had been set up, as well as a neat stack of five dollar bills.

"Good Morning Miss Kix." He seemed back to normal, his expression cold and tired. "What do you have there?"

Kitiara looked at the book tucked under her arm.

"Jules Verne," Kitiara explained, setting the book to the side. "I was going to go read after this."

"Are your studies up to standard?"

"Yes sir. I am allowed to have some free time," she added with a smile. He sniffed at her and gestured to the two stacks beside her.

"The two stacks will only have as many envelopes as there are students here. As soon as you have filled the last envelope, the stacks will disappear. I trust you know not to try and steal?"

Kitiara fixed him with a glare, and he seemed to almost smile in response.

"Well then, Miss Kix. I'll leave you to it." He stood up, tucked his book under his arm, and left.

The work was tedious but simple, and Kitiara did it quickly. There was no way to hurt herself in this instance, and she was therefore able to do it with great ease.

Afterward, she quickly ran through the four halls, but stopped when she realized that she didn't know how many students there were to a dorm. Before she could panic, three envelopes pulled themselves from the pack in her hands and flew beneath the door.

Thus relieved of her worries, Kitiara went about her business and finished before it even hit 8 am. She was greeted by Isobel, who was also apparently an early riser.

"Good morning, Kitten," Isobel called. Kitiara didn't even bother getting annoyed. The nicknames had gotten out of control on account of the campaign, and she'd already anticipated the further diminished used of her full name.

"Morning Isobel," she said, waving. She left the last three envelopes (retrieving her own after it flew under the door), noted that both Ellen and Virginia were still asleep, and then made her way eagerly to her favorite alcove. She had truly come to look forward to her reading days, and while she lamented the fact that she was a fast reader, she would gladly just sit here once the book was finished. Mostly she just lamented the fact that their allowances were so small.

While Kitiara was reading, her legs tucked beneath her and the book floating in front of her (she had decided to practice some raw Blue Magic and had successfully gotten the book to float in a static position right where she could easily read it and flip the pages), she heard someone approaching. Looking up, she saw- to her shock- that it was Damien. With her concentration somewhat skewed, the book plopped out of the air and landed in her lap, fortunately still open to the same page.

"Hey," Damien said quietly, walking toward her. He stopped a few feet away, his expression awkward.

Kitiara didn't answer, still too surprised. She hadn't thought that he, of all people, would want to talk to her.

"I know, you're angry with me." His face was carefully composed, and he seemed anxious. "I was rude to you. I know this. I just- I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you that… I'm sorry."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Kitiara asked quietly. "Which one of you is the real one, Damien? The one who's a good friend, or the one who can push people away so easily?"

"I wish I could explain." Damien threw his hands up, his mask cracking. "All I know is that I wanted to stay away from you. To avoid getting close to you. But you're so different from everyone else!"

If you only knew, Kitiara thought to herself.

"That sounds unoriginal," she said instead, crossing her arms. "Why should I listen to you? You pushed me away so easily!"

"I just… I can't tell you," he said, and he moved quickly to kneel in front of her. Damien's violet eyes bored into her brown ones, and she felt that same, original feeling of unease.

"Damien…"

"I can't let people get close to me," Damien said quietly. "But with you, I'm willing to try."

The feeling of unease grew, and Kitiara had to blink. The world around her was skewing, and for a moment, she saw Damien standing a few feet away from her, talking to a blurry outline. She couldn't make out who it was.

"I want to trust you," Damien was saying, and she could see very easily that this vision of him- she had no doubt that it was a vision- was saying the exact same thing. The world slid back into focus, and Kitiara was sitting on the bench, looking at the demon kneeling before her.

"I…"

In his eyes, she saw a world of need… But it wasn't so much for her.

Kitiara didn't know what was going on, but she knew she couldn't trust Damien. The old saying said that you should keep your enemies closer than your friends, but Kitiara was wary of even that much.

"I'm sorry Damien," she said quietly. "It's going to take more than words to make me trust you."

A flash of anger and fury flashed so quickly through Damien's violet eyes that Kitiara couldn't be sure that she hadn't imagined it, and then Damien was standing, staring away from her.

"I guess I was wrong," he said bitterly. "You're just like everyone else."

"Hang on-"

Kitiara's words went unanswered, and Damien flipped around and stalked away.

Holding the book tightly with her fingers, Kitiara felt deeply that she had been in the right… But part of her still felt so wrong.

Disturbed, she spent the rest of her Sunday just sitting and thinking, absently playing with a tiny ball of light that played across her fingers.