Greetings, greetings…here's an update! I'll be hopefully updating more often over the winter break. Happy Holidays everyone! Ice cream sundaes with sprinkles for everybody!
Sabriel Moondancer: I hereby bestow upon you the reward for first reviewer! Thanks.
Wyvernwings: Here's an update, finally. I love winter breaks.
peppershake: Everybody makes mistakes! The tomato incident was actually similar to something I experienced…hehehe…
You fruitcake: Thanks! Interesting name, by the way.
elfin2: Thanks for the correction about the "dressed". I didn't catch that…whoops…
DISCLAIMER: Well, do I look like Garth Nix or a publishing company or anything or anyone that owns this? Yes? Really? Well…um…you're wrong!
Chapter 4
Magistrix Green stood silently at the front of the classroom. Her students hadn't noticed her impatience yet.
They will, she told herself. Let them figure out that I want their attention.
She surveyed her new students. The classroom was still noisy. A plump, smaller girl with red cheeks who could only stare admiringly at a talkative girl with auburn hair and a rather pouty expression; two identical twins, chatting amongst themselves animatedly; and two other girls, one slenderer and fairer, the other black-haired and surprisingly pale.
They've all certainly settled in! Sprawled on beanbags and chairs…well, I did want them to be comfortable after all.
The magistrix coughed loudly, even as a tall blonde girl rushed in.
Six pairs of eyes gradually turned her way as, right on cue, the bell rang for class to start: a deafening crashing above their heads. Every girl ducked instinctively, and the magistrix smiled. When the echoes died away, she said, by way of explanation, "This is also the bell tower..."
Some grinned nervously. The pouty-looking girl huffed.
"I have—I had!--guards around to dampen the noise, but lately I've been too busy to maintain them. Perhaps one of you could remind me after class."
Heads nodded.
"Good," the magistrix continued. "Now, about this class…"
Sabriel thought she had never attended a more interesting and worrying class than Basic Magic. Interesting because of the magistrix, and worrying because she saw all the work that was ahead of her.
Magistrix Green, they found out, was a quick, clever woman, a bit strict at times, but overall she made a favourable impression on her students. She started off with a lecture.
"The Charter is not something to be dealt lightly with; it can be dangerous when used or performed in wrong ways or even with good intentions. It can also be considered a gift given to you. You are not considered above others, or greater just because you have a Charter mark that was given to you.
What is the Charter, you ask? The Charter is all around us; in the walls, under our feet, in the air we breathe. But more about that later…you need to know that this course is a serious one. Many ignorant students and even other teachers—I won't say who--have joked about this class, saying the Charter does not exist. Some of your parents have specifically asked for you to take this course; that's fine. But if you're going to waste my time, please say so now. I don't want to waste yours. Everybody okay with that?"
There was a murmur of assent. Sabriel faked a coughing attack when Sulyn made ugly faces at Maggie, who had her hand up high in the air and was waving wildly "to catch the magistrix's attention", as she said later after class.
"What is it?" the magistrix asked as Maggie's face turned pink with the exertion and the attention.
Maggie rushed out in one breath, "Magistrix Green, my father says a Charter mark means you're smarter and my tutor says knowing magic is no use in Ancelstierre and it won't give you extra credits or anything for university…"
Sabriel groaned inwardly at this speech and felt herself growing embarrassed for Maggie. The magistrix listened patiently, though her face, Sabriel noticed, hardened somewhat.
"Those are typical responses," Magistrix Green said after Maggie had finished. "We all have our own opinions, but that's not the focus of this Basic Magic course. Enough of that. Now I'll have to take attendance…" She scanned the sheet in front of her. "This list isn't in alphabetical order, is it? I'd have to tell the office, then. Well…anyways, is Glesi here?"
"I'm here!" Glesi replied, sounding anxious. The magistrix smiled at her reassuringly.
"Good. Rina and Ronda…you two are identical twins, right? I have twin brothers, Thom and Macy. They don't look a bit alike though. Sulyn…there you are…hello! Maggie…Maggie Kendric. I take it then—pardon me if I'm wrong—your father is Brin Kendric of the High Ancelstierrian Moot…?" She paused.
Maggie smiled proudly. "Yes, magistrix. He's a very important man, but I don't see much of him because he's so busy dealing with the subbers and the Old…"
(Now, let's dust off Maggie's dictionary, shall we? "Subbers": n. slang, a crude nickname used by some Ancelsterrians in regards to natives or descendents of the Old Kingdom or of the pygmy tribes to the east. Derived from Latin, "sub", inferior, lesser. From The Concise Ancelsterrian Dictionary of Modern Terms.)
Sabriel glanced at Sulyn, who had her Oh shut up expression written all over her face. She felt the same.
The magistrix managed to make her way back to attendance after Maggie fell silent. "Sabriel…" she trailed off, and stared at her before she shook her head slightly.
"Here," Sabriel called out, though she couldn't understand why the magistrix was looking so odd, and looked away uncomfortably.
"Right…thank you…and the last would be Ellimere. Please come earlier to class next time…hello? Ellimere?"
The blonde girl looked up from examining her nails and grinned. "All right. Sorry. I'll try to be earlier."
"Ellimere's always late," Maggie declared, as Glesi agreed. "She missed Etiquette once because she didn't wake up, and I bet she did the same this morning."
Ellimere glared, but didn't say a word, showing surprising restraint.
What a snitch, Sabriel thought, thoroughly disgusted with Maggie and her attitude. She had no idea why she had ever considered her as a good friend; now they were on speaking terms only. People change, I guess.
"That is enough, Maggie," Magistrix Green said in a tone that would brook no argument. "I'm sure Ellimere is trying."
"Magistrix…"
"Thank you, Miss Kendric. Let's move on."
"But Ms. Umbrade said—"
"Be quiet!"
The room suddenly seemed to darken. The sun in the sky slipped into a stack of storm clouds. Sabriel shivered and found herself cold; she could feel the power in the air, a tingling at her fingertips. Everyone was quiet, tense, and even Maggie had her mouth shut. The magistrix took a long breath, sighed, and closed her eyes. Warmth surged back into every body, every limb. There was a collective sigh
"I apologize. Now let's move on."
Not even Maggie dared say a word.
A few days later, a strange package arrived for Sabriel.
Ms. Umbrade had called her over the intercom out of English class, and she had walked nervously into the Headmistress' office. She was sure she would be rebuked for secretly throwing away the burnt porridge this morning, or for sneaking out of bed last week after lights-out, or…
"This came for you this morning, Sabriel," Ms. Umbrade said from behind her desk. "It's from your father, but I thought it looked a bit suspicious…so I'm getting the magistrix to look at it."
"Oh." Sabriel sat down awkwardly in an offered chair. The package lay on the desk, wrapped in ordinary brown paper. It seemed harmless…
A light flickered out of the corners of her eyes. Sabriel blinked. She could've sworn the package was shimmering and every time she moved her head away she could still feel it. That feeling was familiar, but she just couldn't place it…
The door creaked open as Magistrix Green peered into the office.
"Come in, magistrix," The Headmistress gestured. "Close the door behind you, please."
The magistrix did as she was told and looked at Sabriel curiously, nodding to the Headmistress. "Good morning, Ms. Umbrade."
"Yes, yes, you too," Ms. Umbrade said briskly. "This girl here…a package came for her. You can have a look at it."
"I know Sabriel," Magistrix Green, showing a hint of annoyance at the Headmistress' tone. "She's in my Magic class. But a package, you say? May I?" She pointed at the parcel.
The Headmistress pushed it over. "Take a look. I just thought it looked a little strange…"
As Magistrix Green bent over the package and began turning it about with deft fingers, muttering to herself, Sabriel sat and watched her. The feeling was growing stronger every minute, and with each passing moment her father came to mind. The magistrix frowned.
"This package is…odd," she said at last. "It feels like a…a book, but there are Charter marks all around it." She shook her head even as Ms. Umbrade flinched at the mention of the Charter, her beady eyes darting involuntarily to the magistrix's forehead. "I don't know, Headmistress, but--"
"Oh!"
The two older women turned to stare at Sabriel's sudden outburst, who turned pink.
"I think…I think I know what it is," Sabriel tried to keep her voice steady. "But it couldn't be. Father always had it near him, he told me not to touch it until…"
"What is it?"
Sabriel held out her hands. The magistrix hesitated, than gave the package over. Sabriel tore at the wrappings, and the corner of an old leather bound book came into view. She let out a sigh and hugged it to herself protectively, for she knew now her father had sent her the Book of the Dead.
"What is it?" the Headmistress repeated, impatient.
"It's…uh, my father's book," Sabriel replied, her answer coming out as a croak. How would she tell them about the Book of the Dead? The book pulsed in her hands as if in answer, half hidden by brown paper. "My father's…um, scrapbook." That sounds so stupid. "He said he'd send it to me. It's nothing dangerous…"
She could almost imagine her father saying wryly, "Well, that's an understatement…"
"If it's only a scrapbook, then…" Magistrix Green nodded, though she looked suspicious. "It should be all right."
The Headmistress looked relieved. "That's fine. You can…you should…go back to class, then."
Scraping the chair back hastily, Sabriel nearly tripped over her shoes in her rush to get to the door, the book in her arms.
