"I've already asked her." Maud started. "Mildred is-!" but she was cut off from explaining.

"You're not a vamp or Halfling, if we had to explain houses to you. Or a Franken." Ruby said. She talked a bit loud, especially compared to Maud's quiet little hush sadly. and Mildred wondered if it was that loud music or the reattached ears might have made her slightly Deaf to quiet things like Maud. "and you're not fae or you'd be all over that Hallow girl. So what are you? And why Cackles even? You don't look scary at all, you could easily pass for a human."

"She is Human." Jadu and Maud reiterated. Unfortunately, at the same time Mildred got quite sick of hearing about Ethel and said over them:

"Why would I want to be friends with Ethel? She's not very friendly!"

"Don't you like Ethel? Everyone else is already charmed by her." Jadu scoffed. "Drusilla's started 'fawning' over her on sight."

The others three groaned and batted her with cushions. Ruby even threw a skittle her head.

"Jadu, that was awful. No I don't like her much. And even if I did, Ethel really doesn't like me. In fact, she hates me." Mildred said. Then explained what had happened in the forest. She hadn't thought much of it, but the others clearly did.
"Withershins, first the bins then HB now this?" Jadu gaped. "Wait no so first Ethel then the bins then HB? What a combination."

"Oh dear! And you introduced yourself? And gave her your name?" Maud fretted. She was on her feet pacing. "On your first day too!"

"That's never a good thing." Ruby said seriously. "You better be careful around her from now on."

"Why? What's so special about Ethel?" Mildred asked. Maud, Jadu and Ruby goggled at her.

"Mildred she's fae blood..." Maud said in a hush.

"Royal fae blood too! That's even more dangerous."

"She's nearly as much a fairy as she is a witch."

"And a Hallow well. they're like a really powerful family."

"I hear her father's one of school governors here."

"He is. And her mother's advisor to both the witches' council and the fairy court."

"Fairies. Right." Mildred took in the frowns about her. "And I guess they're not like the sort in picture books?"

"Not unless the Commoners have started paying more attention to the Irish tales than to Disney movies." Ruby said. "How do you not know that? The vampire houses I could get not getting but I thought every monster-"

Jadu coughed.

"She's no monster, Ruby. Mildred is a Human." Jadu said in very plain terms with no malice, giving Mildred's hand a squeeze. "She's here on a scholarship. aren't you, Mil?"

Mildred nodded with a grin.

But then Ruby said "Oh. So, you're a common witch then?"

And suddenly Mildred felt like she'd been smacked in the chest.

"As mud." She said quietly.

"Cool." Ruby said and went back to her cards.

Common.

Ruby had said it twice. Maud had said it earlier. And Ethel too when she'd declared war had called her a filthy commoner. And now Mildred wondered if that was the word Gris had stopped Fenny using. Her mum was a nurse and her dad worked in the office in the same factory he'd been at since he'd left college. Not on the council or governors or advisers, or head of any clans. There was no big ancient witch family behind her. And then Mildred wondered if even if at a school for monsters she was a little too rough for a boarding school…Especially if some monsters had real blue blood.