Gallagher's Deportment School

This chapter was originally written on Feb. 18, 2012.

Welcome to another installment of Kuki Enchanted! Let give Kuki some friends, I am sure we all want that, right?

I'm surprised no one noticed the Hunger Games reference last chapter with the primroses, I had finished Mockingjay when I was reediting it, and I just had to put it in there, for those of you who have not read it, I will not say anything, but for those of you who have, CAN YOU BELIEVE THE ENDING! OMG! I squealed so loud in the hall (as I had my Nook to my nose reading so intently my cousin, Miranda, had to guide me down the steps, lolz) I attracted everyone's attention, though some people are used to my random acts of craziness, lol. Okay! Enough of my babbling, lets finish this up why don't we?

Words: 4,550

Disclaimer: I do not own Codename: Kids Next Door, but I did ask Santa for the rights for Christmas, I'm sure a big man like Santa knows Mr. W….Maybe I should of addressed it to Mr. W. instead… lol

Numbah1999's Disclaimer: Hey! I jumped into my T.V. and took Rachel's job! Not!

Now that those pesky, annoying disclaimers are out of the way, let us get on with the chapter!

Previously on: Kuki Enchanted:

Ace continued as if Nigel had not spoken. "I think you'll give it to me if I say you have to," he said slowly, a calculating look in his eyes. "So give me the ring. To seal our friendship. You must."

I bit my lips together, seeing red. No, I would not. I would not. No. "It's yours," the words spewed out of my mouth on a gasp of air.

"Well, thank you," Ace sneered. "Gee, Nigie, what a generous friend we have." I collapsed in my seat and fixed my gaze out the window blindly.

"Kuku." Ace's voice had me gritting my teeth. I ignored him. "Pay attention." I sighed and turned towards him.

"What?" I bit out.

He glared at me. "Our servants did not do a very good job of cleaning out the carriage before we left." He nodded towards a clump of mud underfoot that he had probably brought in with his shoe. "Pick that up."

Gladly, I thought. I scooped up the mud and smeared it down the front of his shirt. My satisfaction did not last long, however. At first, it looked as though he was about to hit me, but he stopped, and a smirk spread across his face.

On to the next chapter!

I could tell Ace was irritated with me. I could also tell that he was the kind of boy who would reach out and strike someone, even if that someone was a girl, at the slightest provocation. He did not do that with me. He knew he did not have to.

As we were bunking down for the night, Nigel approached me.

"Kuki, we are friends, correct?"

"Hmm." I hummed in return, wanting more than anything to get my pajamas on in the bathroom and go to sleep in my bed.

"You gave Ace that ring because you are friends. What will you give me?"

I stared at him in amazement. Nigel seemed to be a decent fellow most of the time, if a little slow. At other times, I could only view him as a coward, selfish and self-serving.

"Why don't you give me something?" I asked him.

He smiled at me. "I will. And you give me something."

I could see he was not about to let this go, and he had phrased it as an order. I supposed the loss of the ring had hurt his pride. "What would you like?" I asked, sighing.

His face took on a look that reminded me of the sweet but simple centaur Wally and I had fed at the menagerie. He cast his eyes about my belongings and my person, searching for something he could claim for himself. He pointed at the shining silver brooch that clipped to my green travel wear. It was a simple, elegant design that Kami had presented to me on my 13th birthday, probably another example of her small magic. It was that of a beautiful golden leaf. It had a string of gold going around behind it in an elegant half swirl on each side.

"How about that?" He asked, pointing to it.

"Really?" I fixed him a disbelieving look. It was obvious Nigel and I did not have similar taste in fashion. I would have gone as far as to say he had none at all. Though, with the differences of our gender, I was still surprised that of my things he picked this. Though of course, Father's ring was one of the few masculine things I owned, other than my favorite brown elfin-made boots that I adorned when I went walking in the forest that stood on our property. Father and I would spend many a day there, relaxing in the sun and eating a picnic that Kami had made by the clear river that ran through the elegant area.

"Yes. I want that…thingy. Did you know, Lady Rachel of McKenzie is going to be attending Gallagher's too, and I know she likes flowers, and I…" he trailed off suddenly, looking away. I rolled my eyes at his blush. It made perfect sense; only someone as Rachel would fall for Nigel, and only someone like Nigel could stand Rachel and her stubbornness.

I gave him the brooch and he gave me a black leather bracelet that had beads on it. I had to admit, it was pretty cool to admire.

I looked at the snoring figure of Ace, he was probably dreaming of new ways to order me about.

During our journey to Gallagher's Academy, Ace proved himself to be much smarter than his general behavior would suggest. He did not know that I had been cursed by a faerie, but it was clear he had figured out that if he told me to do something, I would have to obey him. He wasted no time demonstrating to me his aptitude for both cleverness and cruelty.

Early next morning, when we stopped for breakfast at a little inn in the town of Jenn, one of the attending servants brought each of us a bowl of hot porridge. Nigel grinned widely and began shoveling the porridge in his mouth like he hadn't eaten in days. I rolled my eyes and started to dip my spoon in with considerably more dignity when Ace piped up,

"Don't eat that, Kuku." He commanded as my stomach gave a loud growl.

I clenched the spoon in my hand with vehemence, imagining it was Ace's neck instead. The servant who had brought our breakfast heard him and approached us, turning his attention to me.

"Is there something wrong with the porridge, ma'am?" he asked me, a concerned look on his face.

"My dear little sister is not feeling very well," he told him, "she is a weak, fragile little thing and I do not think the porridge will help her much. Just look at her; she's far too delicate." He sneered at the last word.

"I am not his sister!" I snapped at the startled servant, and then tried to soften my expression in response to his affronted look.

"Kuki, if you are not eating that, then can I have it?" Nigel asked eagerly. I sighed and pushed the bowl towards him with my knuckles. The servant walked away and towards the doors that led to the kitchen. Ace grinned in triumphant as he continued to make me starve.

The servant returned soon, setting a plate down in front of me. On it was a large roll sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. It smelled absolutely divine and made my mouth full of saliva.

"I thought the young mistress might prefer this," the servant said optimistically and I shot him a bright smile. Ace scowled at my triumphant. I managed to get one bite in as the servant walked away and had just swallowed the soft, warm bread when Ace spoke again.

"Don't eat that either," he hissed at me venomously.

Nigel looked up. "But Ace," he said, through a mouth full of porridge, "Kuki needs to eat something."

"Shut up, Nigel. I am the eldest; I know best. Look at how pale she is. I will decide when she's ready to eat." And that will probably be never. I thought to myself as my stomach grumbled again.

Nigel lowered his eyes, he looked like he wanted to say something, but afraid of what his brother might do to him. I had a feeling that when not around Ace, Nigel was actually very intelligent.

Between the two of them, they managed to finish my breakfast in two bites. The rest of the day carried on like this, with Ace gleefully ordering me about and denying me the tiniest scrap of food, while Nigel averted his eyes and kept his mouth shut. If it were not for Kami's Tonic, I would have had no nourishment at all. Ace had tasted it and made a appalled face, so I assumed he would have taken it from me had it not been so bitter.

That night, after we had settled down to sleep in an inn we came across, I made sure that both Nigel and Ace were asleep before pulling out the book of faerie tales that Kami had given me before I left. I did not want to lose it as well, and knew that Ace would be able to tell how valuable it was immediately. All the pretty pictures would probably captivate Nigel.

I settled down in a comfortable chair that sat by the fireplace and opened the book. I expected a faerie tale, but instead I saw a picture of Kami! She was in the kitchen, kneading dough. I watched as she sprinkled flour onto the dough, tears streaming down her face. I could tell from her dress that this was from yesterday, right after I had left. I bit my lip to keep from crying, too. It had only been a day, and already, I missed her so much.

After a quick glance at Ace and Nigel's sleeping forms, I flipped the page. My heart sped up a little at the illustration of Wally. He was outside the palace walls, speaking with the guards who had been present at the ogre cages the day we visited. I gazed at his handsome face, friendly and open with the soldiers as he clapped one on the shoulder. I wondered why the book was showing me this. What significance did it have?

The next two pages had a map of Frell, indicating our manor, where I currently was, and where Mother was currently travelling. The second page included an illustration of Mother, sitting in a room in some inn, counting gold coins with a determined, pinched look on her face. Attached with it contained a letter to her partner who was in charge of the net income. It stated that she was heading to an Elfin (or as she referred to them as the 'Greenies') and hoped to obtain Ashley originals.

I turned the page again and found an actual faerie tale. It was a retelling of The Shoemaker and the Elves, from the perspective of the Elves. In this version, though, each elf had a personality, and I came to know them better than the shoemaker. And I finally understood why the elves disappeared after the shoemaker made clothes for them. They went away to help a giant rid herself of a swarm of mosquitoes, too small for her see. Although the elves left a thank you note for the shoemaker, he put his coffee cup down on it, and it stuck to the cups damp bottom. The story made sense now.

"That book must be really interesting, Kuku," I heard Ace say groggily, "Let me see it."

I started. I forced back the tears I could feel stinging my eyes. If he took this away from me, too, I did not know what I would do. I handed it over to him, my arms stiff and jaw clenched. I would kill him. The book got heavier as I handed it over, his eyes wide as he read it.

"'Care and Cleaning for Exotic Animals? Ugh, that's not even the slightest bit of appeal to me." he said in a disgusted voice. He turned the page, "The Life Cycle of a Centaur Tick? You cannot be serious. You enjoy this boring piece of rubbish?" He said.

"It is so fascinating, don't you think?" I replied eagerly, fighting to keep the laughter out of my voice. Apparently, the book was defending itself against Ace. I could not blame it. "You can hold onto it for awhile if you would like to read it. I mean, we should have similar interests, since we are friends now." I could not quite keep the sarcasm out of my voice at that.

"I don't think so," Ace said with a glare as he tossed the book at me, and grumbled about not wanting to have anything in common with me. I caught the book deftly and hugged it close to my chest as I turned away to fall asleep.

The rest of our journey had me acting as a servant to Ace, and, by extension, Nigel. Ace continued to claim I had a weak constitution and refused to let me eat, usually taking my portions for himself. Never had I been more grateful for the Tonic. Beyond that, he had me constantly tidying up the carriage, fetching firewood, and cooking food I that I was not permitted to eat. One time, Nigel mentioned that we had a servant to do these things, but Ace just shot him an angry look and claimed I needed the exercise.

Nigel had not worked out that I was required to be obedient. However, he had learned that if he repeated a command of Ace's, I would comply, but he attributed this to my character rather than compulsion. On a particularly hot day, Ace demanded that I as a respectable female of future court, that I fan him. I found a large plant frond for the purpose.

"Fan me too," Nigel said hopefully, wiping at his sweaty brow. I reluctantly raised my free hand and began waving a second frond in his direction. "Kuki, you are so nice!" he would exclaim, never once thinking to reciprocate the action. I fought to bite my tongue constantly; I knew that sniping at them would only anger Ace and add to my chores and humiliation. I could not always hold back a derisive comment, but many went unsaid.

As we continued on the last leg of our journey, I looked out the window as we past herders and their sheep, my stomach grumbling. I prayed for some diversion. A diversion that would last long enough for me to swipe a loaf of bread from the basket of food that was sat between Nigel and Ace.

My wish was granted when a cloud of dust hid the road behind us. Through it, I made out a band of ogres, kicking up the dust as they chased us. But we were outdistancing them. The cloud was receding.

"Why do you run away from your friends?" One of them called out. It was one of the sweetest voices I had ever heard. "We bear gifts of your hearts' desires. Riches, love, eternal life…"

HEARTS' DESIRE! FATHER! The ogres would bring him back from death. Why were we tearing away from everything we most wanted?

"Slow down!" Ace ordered unnecessarily. The coachmen had already reined in the horses. The ogres were only yards behind us. Untouched by their magic, the sheep were baa-ing and bleating their fear. Briefly, their noise covered their honeyed words and the spell broke.

I remembered the ogres could not bring Father back. The horses were whipped again to a gallop. However, the ogres would be beyond the sheep in a minute and we would be at their mercy again. I shouted to Ace and Nigel, and to the coachman and footmen.

"Yell so you cannot hear them!" I shouted at the top of my lungs. The coachman understood first and joined my voice with his, shouting words I had never heard before.

Then Ace began, "Eat me last! Eat me last!" He shouted.

However, it was Nigel who saved us. His wordless roar drowned out thought. I do not know how he drew breath; the high screeched sound was unending. It continued as we passed the outlying homes of the town, while the ogres faded from sight and while I recovered from my fright.

"Shut up, Nigel!" Ace said, placing his hands over his ears. "Nobody is going to be eaten now." He said, and then added, "You are giving me a splitting headache." However, Nigel did not hush until the coachman stopped the carriage, came inside with us, and slapped him smartly across the face.

"Sorry sir." He said, and popped back out.

By the time we finally arrived at Gallagher's Academy of Deportment for Young Gentlemen and Ladies about two days later, I was exhausted. My stomach felt as though it was about to consume itself, my arms ached from constantly fanning the two boys and carrying firewood, and my head pounded just at the thought of Ace's sneering voice issuing another order and our recent ordeal with the ogres. We arrived at about noon, so I hoped for heaping lunch portions.

"Welcome, gentlemen and lady," Lord Gallagher himself greeted us as we climbed out of the carriage. The three of us returned the salutation. Lord Gallagher eyed my curtsy with one raised brow, clearly impressed. He gestured towards me.

"Pray tell, who is this?" he asked.

I spoke up quickly, before Ace could introduce me in an unfavorable way.

"My name is Kukihana Jin Sanban, Lord Gallagher. I have a letter here from my mother, Lady Josephine of Frell." I handed over the letter, as well as a change purse of silver coins that Mother had packed for my tuition. After weighing the purse in his hands with narrow eyes, Lord Gallagher smiled at me.

"Excellent. Very good. Welcome to Gallagher's Academy. As you may have deduced, I am the Headmaster of this fine institution." Nigel looked mildly surprised. "We've just finished lunch." I cursed internally. "And now the ladies are sitting down to sewing and the young gentlemen have jousting practice."

"Now," Lord Gallagher stated, turning his attention into me, "Kukihana, I will lead you to your afternoon sewing classes. As for you two gentlemen, a servant will be along shortly to take you to your jousting classes."

Ace nodded as Lord Gallagher led me down a hall. The hall was decorated in a dark navy blue color with white trimming. Beautiful pictures were hung about the hallways of the landscape of Kyrria.

We stopped outside of a classroom, which I assumed was the sewing class. I watched as Lord Gallagher walked in the class and towards the Sewing Mistress.

After a word with the Sewing Mistress, Lord Gallagher left me to attend to other matters.

"Ladies," The Sewing Mistress called for attention, "I have a new friend for you to all meet." I felt several pairs of curious eyes on me and fidgeted under the scrutiny. "This is Kukihana of Frell, and she will be joining us."

All the maidens rose and curtsied for me, and I responded with an awkward curtsy for my stomach had growled at this in opportune time. I heard a couple snickers and saw three girls giggling at me. They were all very beautiful. One had scarlet hair, fair skin, and vibrant green eyes. Her complexion was flawless and her bone structure immaculate. I thought to myself with no small amount of bitterness that she looked exactly like the kind of maiden that Prince Wally would one day marry. She had a girl sitting next to her, who looked almost the same, she had scarlet hair in two elegant braids that had white flowers in them going down both sides of her face. She had brown glasses on and had dark brown eyes. She was a little chubbier than her companion ginger. The other had skin the color of chocolate and long, dark hair that was held up with some kind of string on the top of her hair.

"Back to work, ladies." Sewing Mistress added as I shuffled to a nearby desk and sat down. Sewing Mistress handed me a swatch of fabric, a needle, and thread, and told me to practice my stitching. I stared blankly at the task. Despite my interest in fashion, I had never sewn anything before. Normally, I would be eager to learn, especially since I had noticed that I was starting to grow and my clothes did not fit as well as they used to. Tailoring would be an important skill, at least for the duration of deportment school and until I could get home. However, my head ached from exhaustion and lack of food. My fingers trembled as I attempted to push the needle through the cloth. I frowned as the thread went completely past the swatch.

"You need to put a knot at the end of the thread so it won't go all the way through each time," I heard the girl across from me say, her voice tinged with amusement. I glanced up, ready to glare at her, but I saw she was smiling in a friendly way, so I softened my features. She was very beautiful, with dark skin, darker than I had ever seen before, like smooth chocolate, (I could not help but think of food) and very dark hair in a braid going down her back. She was very thin but looked exceptionally strong and agile. She grinned at me before bending her head to make a tiny stitch in what appeared to be a blue ball gown that had a white ribbon belt around it.

"Thank you," I murmured my thanks to her. She glanced at me again and frowned in concern as my shaking fingers attempted to tie a tiny knot in the thread.

"Abba's name is Abbagalia (pronounced Ab baa ga lee a), but Abba's friends call her Abba," she said as she moved to sit beside me and she took the thread out of my hands. She spoke with an interesting accent, and told me she was from Ayortha, and lived in a city called Amonta (which meant Love in Kyrrian), which was just on the border Ayortha and Kyrria. Her being from Ayortha made sense since she spoke in third person like she was. It was common for Ayorthaians to speak like that due to them not having words to replace those of our first person declensions of our singular and plural words.

I repeated an Ayorthian greeting Matthew had taught me a few months ago, "Abena utyu anja ubensu." Hoping I still had the pronunciation right. Abba's eyes widened in delight.

"Ubensu ockommo Ayortha?" She said to me.

"I actually only know a few words," I said, but her face showed a crestfallen expression.

"It would have been so nice to speak to someone in my native tongue." She said, looking down at her stitching.

"You could teach me!" I told her.

"You're accent is very good." She said, her eyes shining with light.

"I'm very good with languages." I told her happily. "Once heard, always remembered. That's my motto when it comes to languages.

"It would be so nice to speak with someone in Abba's language," she replied happily, "Abba'll teach you! Repeat after Abba:"

The new order meant I could abandon my stitching for the time being. We spent the rest of the class in this manner. By the end of the hour, I had learned many new words, and was starting to create short phrases. Abba was very excited by my progress.

"Utyu ubensu evtame oyjento?" I asked. (Do you like finishing school?) She shrugged, "You don't? Is it terrible? I asked, reverting back to Kyrrian.

Before she could answer, a shadow fell over us. We looked up guiltily to see a very unimpressed Sewing Mistress, who scolded us for neglecting our work.

"Kukihana, as a young lady of court you must be more focused on you task." She picked up my swatch and gave a horrified look and announced to the class.

"All this time! Only three atrocious stitches. You shall go without dinner." she said in a stern manner.

I winced at the thought of it, trying to ignore the pain throbbing in my head. I couldn't help from snapping out, "I'm not hungry."

"Well, then," Sewing Mistress replied angrily, "You shall do without breakfast as well, for your sass."

I tried not to picture Ace's inevitable satisfied grin at hearing of this news as my stomach growled loud enough for the whole class to hear.

So who can guess who the three maidens are? Here are their descriptions again to help you out: One had scarlet hair, fair skin, and vibrant green eyes. Her complexion was flawless and her bone structure immaculate. I thought to myself with no small amount of bitterness that she looked exactly like the kind of maiden that Prince Wally would one day marry. She had a girl sitting next to her, who looked almost the same, she had scarlet hair in two elegant braids that had white flowers in them going down both sides of her face. She had brown glasses on and had dark brown eyes. She was a little chubbier than her companion ginger. The other had skin the color of chocolate and long, dark hair that was held up with some kind of string on the top of her hair.

Poor Kuki, right? She cannot get a break. At least it will get better, right? Yes, it will, do not worry. And, Yay for Abba! As you must have guessed, Abbagalia is Abigail, I had to Ayorthianarize (I totally just made up that word on the spot lol!) so I thought that this would be the best. Anyone guess the Ayorthian language pattern? You know the drill by now, read and review and you get a sneak peak at the next chapter! Submit a disclaimer and if it wins, you get another excerpt!

Next Chapter: Abba and Kuki bond with another girl ( can you guess whom?), Kuki gets her first, and very unexpected, kiss, (I wonder who this person is? If you can guess correctly, I will give you a sneak peak for chapter 8! Emma you are forbidden to answer since you know already!) We also learn some of Ace's fears and desires, and Kuki is force to sever ties with her best friends.

So do what readers do best and review this chapter! For without reviews, there will be no chapter 7, and I am sure all of you would like to read the next chapter!

With much love,

LatinMagicWriter