Chapter 21

Diana pulled her blazer over her white cotton blouse. She adjusted every loose end and glanced at the clock. It was earlier than her usual running for the day, but it was because she couldn't sleep last night.

She came to a conclusion in those hours when sleep evaded her. She has to save her friends. Or what was left of them. Diana must admit the girls weren't as close to she as she was with Andrew, but the girls had always been there for her and she was for them.

All she knew was that Sucy Manbavaran was attacking her through them and a way for her to save their lives in whatever method Manbavaran use to kill that she couldn't decipher yet. So after her run, she immediately freshened herself up.

Everyone knew Diana's favorite beverage was a cup of hot tea. When her head maid—Anna—brewed the perfect cup of the perfect temperature and perfect flavor, she took a sip. But the sudden bitterness was a flavor she wasn't used too. It was kind of metallic and rusty.

Diana spat it all out on the floor, prompting her aunt and her cousins to let out a shrill cry of shock and utter disgust.

"Diana!" Aunt Daryl slammed the table, standing up from the other long end of the table. "What is the meaning of this?"

Unable to reply for her lungs constricted on an involuntary coughing fit.

"My lady!" Anna grabbed both her shoulders, fearing the future head of the house was poisoned.

"I...am fine." Diana mustered. She grabbed her napkin at the table and proceeded to wipe the nasty flavor off her tongue.

"Diana," her aunt called for her attention. Diana couldn't read the new expression that featured on her face. "Are you perchance, ill?"

"No, I am well, dear aunt," Diana said, slurping some water in three gulps. "I am merely just..." her thoughts strayed towards Andrew.

It didn't help at all. Now she knew why she didn't like the tea. It reminded her of the taste of blood.

"Diana," Aunt Daryl said, her visage contorted back to its original emotion, proud and arrogant. "The death of Andrew Hanbridge must have taken its toll on you. Death is no laughing matter, I don't have the foggiest idea why he would ever kill himself, but I know that I don't want you following him gruesomely because of despair. I advise you to stay at home as soon as your exams are over for the day."

"No," Diana said, earning a smug look from her aunt, but she didn't falter. "I have to go to school."

"Stubborn child, you can't possibly—"

"—if I stay locked up in my room, I might end up like my mother."

The ride towards school was quiet and quick.

The Luna Nova Academy had been her second home for many years, but now it was no longer safe anymore. Diana felt like a criminal who walked into the beautiful campus with a deadly disease to run amok and catch victims. She must save her friends. She must ensure those who are left won't be found dead in a ditch somewhere.

Diana had been expecting the worst case scenario in her head all night. Still, when she saw Hannah and Barbara, her only best friends left in the world, she winced. The girls were in their usual offensive look with a holier than thou attitude. They were in their perfectly groomed uniforms; their skins glowed like a porcelain doll. Diana took a long agonizing breath before walking up to them. Even as poise and expressionless as she tried to be, she still felt on the edge of heartbreak.

Hannah saw her and smiled sweetly. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"Diana, you act like you're from outer space," Barbara tried to joke, but her voice had a tone of nervousness in it.

"We should head to the auditorium. The Headmistress called for an assembly." Diana said unemotionally, walking ahead without waiting for them. That was just the beginning.

Hannah and Barbara looked at each other with discomfort at last.

"Did I say something wrong?" Barbara asked Hannah in a whisper as they followed behind.

"I don't know," she replied quietly. "Diana seemed like a different person this morning."

For the next few hours, Diana kept her eyes glued to the desk, quieter than usual. Hannah and Barbara noticed the difference, but they didn't dare to ask. She just wouldn't let them have a chance.

The academy did an assembly at the auditorium telling the student body Andrew committed suicide and began preaching about depression and all that jazz. Diana did not dare to look at Andrew's picture, knowing that he would most certainly be extremely upset wherever he might be, and if there was one thing she could not stand at that moment, was seeing his cold stare which reflected a side of him that she neither wanted nor wished to experience, for she knew that it would only increase the distress in her heart.

Now, Diana had to endure a flood of people wanting to share their condolences and sometimes becoming snoopy in affairs regarding his personal life.

Suicide has always been a mishandled case every so often it appears.

Sometimes Hannah and Barbara would come and sit with her during exams, and in between exams when Avery, Mary, and Blair were with them as they review for their next exam, they ended up irritating her with their idle chatter instead of actually focusing on their works.
The girls along with Mary and Blair were still left in the dark about Avery's condition. Diana hated to be the one to break it to them. So for now, she opted to stay quiet, also for the investigation's sake.

During all this, Diana kept a vigilant lookout for Sucy Manbavaran but the Filipino seemed out of sight.

When they entered the Student Council Room after exams, Hannah and Barbara got even more tongue-tied about her sudden coldness and mute. She was usually a reserved person, but today was a lot worse than yesterday.

It was going well until Hannah's system couldn't bear it any longer, she exploded. "That's it, Diana!" she yelled. "You've been acting so weird today. What's wrong with you?"

Barbara tucked the edge of her sleeve to calm her.

"Is it because of Andrew's death?" Hannah stirred up again.

Diana looked up with her best stony face. She exhaled and decided that it was time to face the truth. "I have something to tell you."

"Okay good, we have been waiting for you to open up," Hannah said.

"We cannot continue being friends anymore," Diana told them flatly. Shock shone brightly from the girls' eyes. Barbara opened her mouth to speak, but there was no word coming out.

"What?" Hannah managed to ask. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not."

"What are you talking about?" she still said blankly, as if she didn't believe her own ears.

"I sincerely thought there was nothing wrong with your hearing, Hannah."

"Listen, Diana," Barbara attempted to salvage everything. "If this is about Andrew and Frank—"

"Stop it, Barbara!" Diana sneered.

Barbara stared back in shock, almost panicking under her gaze. Diana was certain that they would never forget this. But to ensure the girls' safety from herself, she had no choice.

"Diana we know you're hurt! The stress, the exams, our friends' deaths, and everyone's awful whispers are getting to you."

"No! You don't understand," Diana slammed her hands on the table. "It's not them!"

"Then tell me why just out of the blue you don't want to be with us?" Barbara rose from her chair and came toward her.

Diana quickly held her palm up to stop her. "Just stay away from me, you two!"

"Diana, you can't just snap at us like that!" Hannah stepped in, "Tell us what the bloody hell is going on!" Her face got all tensed. Her hazel eyes pierced at Diana.

She stared back without blinking. "Fine, you want to hear a reason? Actually, I have many." Diana said, knowing that if she had to lie to them, she had to make a bigger lie and also mean it. "You two are no different from Thomas and his group of friends. You mock people while you have nothing to prove but the fact that you cling to my side because of my family name. So please, leave me alone. I am better off on my own anyway. Thank for the companionship and everything, but sorry, I am not your kind."

"Oh my god," Barbara's little voice cracked with anger. Her face was pale and her bright teal eyes got all teary, but Diana cannot back down.

"Alright, we do admit, we are sometimes like stuck-up little bitches, but I never knew you feel that way about us, Diana," Hannah spoke again, and she was breathing hard. "I thought we've shown you that we genuinely care about you. Not because of your family name."

"We thought... you cared about us too." Barbara's eyes stung. "But we were wrong. So wrong."

And just like that, Diana turned her back at them before they could see her face crumpled in pain. As Diana started walking away, she could hear Barbara burst into a sob. Hannah kept mumbling to herself, "I can't believe this."

She could feel Amanda O'Neill's eyes following her every time they were in the same room, which was odd because she even followed Diana to the library. After the disaster of Andrew's death spreading like wildfire just this morning, Diana had quickly learned to take refuge between the rows of book-laden shelves, protecting herself from potential assailants.

Diana had to thank the librarian's no-nonsense attitude, and that most of the students of Luna Nova are afraid of earning the wrath of the librarian and any ensuing punishment by causing a disturbance. Diana, naturally, spent a great deal of her time there, researching and writing her papers for class.

No one even dared to approach Diana in the library, no one except for the American redhead. Diana dutifully ignored her, determined not to show any kind of curiosity or receptiveness to the enigmatic girl. The librarian had to chase Amanda O'Neill out of the room and Diana hoped that would be the last attempt the delinquent would make towards her.

She was lucky until somebody placed a bottle of oil on her table. Diana looked up to meet blue eyes behind huge glasses.

"Please take this," the orange-haired girl said, "Commiserations for your bereavement."

Diana gripped her pen tighter. "Thank you but I do not need any ointment.

The girl merely scrutinized her under her willful gaze. "Trust me; you need it. Like illness, sadness is which cannot be cured by modern medicine. It causes misfortune to love ones emotionally or mentally, lost of mental focus, lack of sleep, lost to appetite, sudden accidents, and other unexplained cases."

They merely exchanged looks.

She fixed her glasses as she added. "My grandmother recommends."

Diana grabbed the bottle and inspected it. It has a scent of coconut and it appeared to be hand brewed. "Medicinal oil concocted from coconut, is it not? What is it called?"

"My grandmother told me it's called Lana by one of the regions somewhere in South East Asia and you rub it on your body."

Diana nodded. "Inform your grandmother my gratitude."

She shook her head. "You tell her yourself, Miss Cavendish."

"Why? Who is your grandmother?"

"Headmistress Holbrook," the girl said, "from my mother's side."

"Lotte Jansson?"

"You have people watching over you, Miss Cavendish." Lotte smiled. "Not necessarily just people."

Diana had observed her all throughout their conversation. She had made a fairly pertinent first impression about the young woman. She was clever, and like her grandmother, have an old soul. She also possessed a kind and sensitive heart that allowed her to see the world in a delightful manner.

"See you around." She said as she drifted away.

The coconut ointment still rested on her palm, and as she watched it glittering in the purple light of the morning from the nearby window, she wondered why Headmistress Holbrook gave it to her.

When she thought she would finally be at peace her stomach grumbled. Diana cursed under her breath before searching her surroundings. No one was around; at least O'Neill is gone. Now she found a chance to retrieve some meal to satisfy her hunger.

Returning the books back to their shelves, Diana quickened her pace towards the cafeteria. At least she needed to go get some lunch fast and eat somewhere solitary.

Diana was focused so much on her task that when someone emerged from the hallway; they almost collided to each other.

"Oh, Diana Cavendish, just the girl I wanted to see."

Diana had to regain her footing before looking up. A blue-eyed face of Louis Blackwell slid into her vision. The bloke gave Diana a grin, and his teeth may as well have been icicles for how cold it was.

"What do you want?" her voice suddenly got a lot deeper, in an attempt to mirror his austere aura.

"Andrew must really have it hard for you, doesn't he?" he simpered, chuckling and the sound grated Diana's already stretched nerves.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You are very cruel, you know that Miss Cavendish? It was blatantly obvious why Andrew killed himself. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Diana's eyes narrowed. "Y-you know?"

"Let's get to the point, shall we?" Blackwell smiled; the expression was saccharine, like tea laced with arsenic. "I didn't believe my eyes when I saw you depart from Frank's funeral just so you can go on a date."

"What?"

"You see, there are whispers, Miss Cavendish, whispers that the House of Cavendish is up to something with the Houses of families with eligible bachelors. Whispers that you're trying to initiate something revolutionary, initiate into some group that you've supposedly been forming. Some are even saying you've wrapped Frank and Andrew under your vile spell!"

That was the first time Diana heard of it.

"They're all ridiculous, of course; but that doesn't matter, does it, Cavendish? Because once the rumor mill in this place starts churning, whispers spread like Greek fire, and they're just as hard to control, to rein in. There's a fragile peace in place at the moment. And as things currently stand, you, my dear—you are a threat to that peace."

Diana's thoughts started swirling. Perhaps it was the fatigue and stress that made her stop connecting all the dots of what the blond was telling her.

"So, here's how this is going to go." The words were said lowly, all false humor discarded. The simpering, the show of cordiality, they had disappeared in the bat of an eyelid. Left in their place was the icy ruthlessness that Diana knew was the true face of Louis Blackwell. "Agree to combine both our family's assets and I will never speak a word of how you drove Andrew to suicide because of your ruthlessness."

Diana's brain short-circuited momentarily. Her mouth unhinged. Never in her life had she heard something so blatantly dim-witted. She glared at him. Louis Blackwell doesn't have enough skill or brainpower to be able to hoodwink the likes of her.

"Pardon?" she scoffed. "Is this your way of finding better associations in the political room?"

Blackwell grinned, believing he's still at the upper hand. "You are in no position to defy me or to act all innocent. It was opaque as crystal that Andrew's very much in love with you but you broke his heart into tiny little pieces when you went on a date with that Eastern transferee student."

"Oh?" Diana taunted him, crossing her arms. "Care to elaborate on that?"

"I saw you—at a gothic looking secondhand store in an attempt to hide your trysts. I never knew you were into women, Miss Cavendish. I must say, you truly are the most unique girl I've ever chanced upon meeting."

"Blackwell, with all due respect, your attempt to use words as intimidation falls short on your wrong conclusion about my relations with Andrew and Atsuko Kagari."

"You're from a long and famous bloodline, Diana Cavendish. Surely you are aware of how controversial it is when your aunt and the other Houses would learn that you favored women over men. So if you intend to not start a civil war in your home, you will do as I say."

"This is not how you pursue a woman, Blackwell." Diana hissed. "At this point, I will opt to choose another over your courtship."

Blackwell's nose flared, losing his cool at the botched effort to intimidate her. "I must say... the dalliance between you and this eastern girl. It's beneath you."

"And what how do you know you fare at the ways of romance, Blackwell?"

"Easy, she is nowhere near your league. How much the LNN or even the UKN would love to hear that Miss Cavendish and a lowly common girl from another foreign country are involved romantically."

"First of all, you have no proof, only assumptions. You know nothing of me or what I am going through. Second, do you really think no one from outside your little reformist group would know you are its leader? And lastly; you are worst than what Wangari used to be at spreading lies."

"I beg your pardon?"

"At least Wangari is aware the news she spread before were all lies. You, however? You are merely pathetic."

In response, Blackwell balled his hands into a fist and punched Diana squarely in the jaw, his anger flaring up with surprising intensity.

Taken aback by Blackwell's outburst, Diana silenced herself from making any more comments. Her eyes widening in surprise, and then acknowledging the revelation of the empty corridor asides from them, Diana thought fast. She wouldn't fare with someone bigger than her in a fight. Now she wished she took all those defense classes Detective Inspector pestered her with two years ago.

Louis Blackwell appeared to be a cowardly son who only used his family name to enforce authority within everyone in the academy. He would back out from a fight he knew he couldn't win and would sometimes resort to cheating whenever he was playing cards or settling fights.
But this... this was something totally different.
This was serious.

"I can't believe what you did, you bastard." Diana spat out.

"Oh yeah?" Blackwell cornered her into the small space of two adjacent walls. "No one's going to believe you, anyway. Everyone thinks you're the one who pushed Andrew to his demise! Or perhaps you were the one who one who staged the murder scene. No suicidal man alive would do such extravagant lengths just to kill himself. And besides, I have my acquaintances in the little reformist group you were talking about. They're a little rough, but they are also wonderfully loyal, and that rather makes up for it if you ask me. I can make up some proofs and witnesses that you assaulted me instead."

Diana feared for her safety, wrapping her arms around herself. She was contemplating kicking him in his nether regions when all of a sudden a blur swung through the air, hitting Louis Blackwell right to his head.

His body flew sideways like a ragdoll. It was a massive concussion, although not fatal. Diana slumped down, Amanda O'Neill kneeled right beside her with an American baseball bat she rested on her shoulder.

"I am your personal flying squad, vroom vroom motherfucker!"

Diana gaped at the sight of an unconscious bloke on the ground and the offensive object for sport at the redhead's hand. She recollected her thoughts and stared at her with a straight face. "You have detention for a week, Miss O'Neill."

"What? Oh come on, don't give me that crap! Aren't you glad I saved you from homophobes?" Amanda said, smearing her nose with her thumb like a rugged boy. She grabbed her phone and called someone. "Hey, dude! I got some news for you. Come to my location. You have me on GPS right?"

Diana swiftly stood on her feet, and smoothed her skirt to rid it of creases and dust. She began walking the other way, wishing the American won't be able to see her brave façade falter, at least for a little while. She decided she will have to skip lunch and perhaps notify a professor of harassment and the matron at the infirmary of an injury.

"Yo Cavendish!" the redhead followed. "I was looking for a chance to talk to you!"

Diana sighed. It was only Monday and she knew her bad luck won't stop coming. "Yes?"

The delinquent got a cocky sneer on her face, "Is it just me or are you cursed?"

Diana showed her best sneer. "Did you come here to gloat?"

"Not really," she grinned. "But think about it. That Kinsley kid had a crush on you and he's dead. Frank also had a crush on you—dead. Andrew gives you flowers—dead. This mop blond dude was harassing you and he received a baseball bat to the noggin."

"Leave me alone. O'Neill." Diana said, walking past her. She better had to find Professor Cruz—real name Croix Meridies about Blackwell's harassment on her for she was inclined to believe her version of events.

"Is that why you pushed your friends away too? I saw the breakup. It was really ugly and messy."

Diana had no comment on that.

"So, tell me." She swooped around. "What does a high school detective like you do? Stir up troubles?"

"I am a servant of truth and I investigate murders."

The redhead raised a questioning eyebrow before shrugging. "So it's just stirring trouble in the name of justice or whatever yeah? Count me in."

"Excuse me?"

"Come on, you need a Watson to your Sherlock. Everybody knows that."

A list of things to say sprung up in her mind, though she chose to say something else. "Why is everyone adamant on following the tropes in books?"

"Who says anything about books? I've watched movies. But come on, I know you're so fucking fed up with all of this shit. Do you know some people were talking behind your back despite telling you they are sorry for Andrew's death? What a bunch of cunts!"

It stung. The truth stung. Diana knew what was going on behind her back anyway. Anyone knew how devastated she is behind all that thick makeup. Everyone had theories about why Andrew apparently killed himself. None of it was pretty and it mostly involved her.

"Please, O'Neill, language."

"There was really no better way of putting it than that, you know."

"O'Neill, please if this is your way of consoling me—"

"I'm not consoling you, I'm telling you, I want in. It's actually getting boring around here. And I know you're doing something prohibited among the rest of us. I'm not a moron who believes Andrew Hanbridge killed himself. I also know you're looking for the killer from the recent murders, right?"

Diana chastised herself for assuming Amanda O'Neil wasn't observant enough.

"You have to persist it, don't you think?"

"Persistence with the killer is a dangerous game," Diana said.

"Why would you say so?"

"Perhaps my persistence is the reason why Frank and Andrew are now dead," Diana said.

They both resorted to silence.

It didn't last long for sounds of people running in the hallway came. Wangari and her troops of LNN members spread at the scene like forensics. Joanna dutifully photographing an unconscious Blackwell and Kimberly writing notes as Wangari started her interview with Amanda and Diana.

A/N
There was a headcanon a year ago swirling around that Headmistress Holbrook is Lotte's maternal grandmother. And I'm fond of it myself so I incorporated it here in this au.