Maddie
I lay in bed early the next morning replaying the last few days in my head. I had spent a week with Darren and was no closer to figuring out what I felt about him. I knew he was good looking, a good kisser and that he liked me, but as to my feelings, I hadn't a clue.
Seeing Beca was still asleep, I got up to shower since I couldn't sleep. I heard her sad voice telling me Drew had broken up with her. I wanted to know why but I couldn't ask him because I couldn't find him. Then again he was missing the first day I came back.
As I turned on the hot water, I let my hand dangle in the tap. It was the first time in a week I had felt any sensation. My mind had been numb, not registering anything from temperature to a slap. As I thought more, I was beginning to see Anita had been right. I had to come back to Union to feel alive again.
When the water was ready and the bathroom full of steam, I shed my pajamas and slipped in. The sudden heat was a shock to my system but I adjusted quickly. I let it cascade over me, washing away the grim I felt soul deep. It was relieving but it caused a lot of wounds I had bandaged to open wide. I sank in the corner of the stall and cried, my tears mixing with the water.
When the water grew cold, I stepped out and toweled off. I knew if I stayed in the room, Beca would ask why I had been crying. So I decided to get out of the room before she got up. I dressed in my uniform, blow dried my freakishly long hair, applied my make up then bolted from the room with my bag and coat.
I was halfway across campus when I realized I was cold. I stopped and took time to button up my coat. It was still early but the cafeteria would be serving fruit and cereal. That suited me just fine so I walked on.
Opening the double doors, I walked into the warm cafeteria. A couple of teachers were milling about at six thirty, mainly coaches who were about to start morning practice before classes started. Coach Saunders was one of them. He nodded at me when he walked by me in line.
I gathered my breakfast items, which consisted of a banana, cereal and coffee, and headed to my normal table. When I had everything situated, I pulled out my sociology book and read ahead. It was an easy way of getting out of my head for a bit.
I must have been so engrossed with the words on the page that I didn't hear when someone called my name. When that person touched my shoulder, I jumped clear out of my skin. I sighed when I looked up, ignoring the burning of my pendent.
"Mr. Yeats," I breathed. "You scared me."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were engulfed in studying," he said with a slight smile. He motioned to the empty spot across from me. "May I sit?"
I nodded as I swallowed a mouthful of coffee. "Please."
He slid into the seat across from me and placed his coffee on the table. "Maddie, I might be prying, and just tell me if I am, but what are you doing here at six thirty in the morning? Classes don't start until nine."
"I couldn't sleep. It seemed this was a better place to be."
"Ah, hiding from your roommate. Very smart."
"Yeah, sometimes Beca goes crazy. I like talking to her about issues that go on but right now I can't. It's too hard."
Mr. Yeats shifted to bring his hands on top of the table. "Didn't Darren Starland go with you?"
I nodded. "Yeah."
"And you didn't talk to him about any of it?"
I shook my head as I played with the remainder of cereal floating in the milk. "No, I didn't, not really. I told him things about my dad but I never said how it made me feel. I'm not to that point yet."
"It takes a while for someone to work past a tragedy such as the one you've gone through."
"I know that. It's what my grandmother's therapist said when I went with her."
"At least someone was right. What are you going to do now?"
I stopped. No one had asked me that before. It seemed no one cared enough to ask. They assumed. As I sat there, I realized I knew what I wanted to do, what my heart was set on.
"I'm going to finish school and go on to college. I want to become a lawyer like my dad."
Mr. Yeats smiled, his turquoise eyes lighting up and the sword against my chest zinging with heat. I knew who he was but I was going to wait until he brought it up.
"What school are you looking at getting into?" he asked as if trying to keep from blurting something out.
"My dad went to Harvard. That's where I'd like to go after going to the University of Texas in Dallas."
"Big dreams but you can pull it off."
"Thanks, Mr. Yeats." I took another sip of coffee while I looked him over. His hair was dark and curly, making him look younger. "If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?"
He smiled again; this time full of teeth and dimples. "Not at all. I'm twenty-four. I graduated from UCLA with a Masters in biology."
"What made you come here?"
"My little brother got kicked out of four boarding schools in California. I told my mother I'd watch out for him. He's a year younger than you."
"Matt Yeats is your little brother?" Matt was the only other Yeats in Union and he was the starting point guard on the basketball team, playing alongside Bruce and Parker.
Mr. Yeats nodded. "Yep, Mattie is my little brother. Obnoxious but good at anything he does. He has sports while I have biology and weaponry. We're completely different."
"Most siblings are."
"Do you have any siblings?"
I shook my head. "Nope. I'm an only child."
"Hey, Max!" We both looked over as Coach Saunders called out to him. "Teachers' breakfast is over. The students will be coming soon." He had said his piece so he walked out for morning practice.
Mr. Yeats shook his head. "He's so loud."
"He's a coach. It's his job requirement," I replied as I packed my bag again. This time I was going to the library.
He surprised me by laughing. It was soft and melodic, which really suited him. When he sobered up, he looked at me with happy eyes. "Miss Bates, would you walk with me to the Science Building?"
I crinkle my nose. "Wouldn't it seem weird if you were caught walking alone with a student?"
"It might but I can cover with the headmaster." The way he said it made it sound as if he had planned it this way. I watched as he stood. "Come on, Maddie."
Him calling me by my first name forced me to set my jaw. He was flirting with me! I stood, trying to control my irritation as I fell in step beside him.
We walked in silence across campus. Either it was because we were both cold or if he knew I was slightly put off by him. It didn't matter because we made it into the building in record time.
I shuddered as I stepped in the building. Going from extreme cold to sudden heat was killing my sinuses. Before I knew it, my nose was steadily dripping blood. It didn't help that Casey had bashed it in a few weeks ago.
Grabbing my nose, I tapped Mr. Yeats' arm.
"Um, we kinda have a problem," I said, my voice muffled by my palm.
Mr. Yeats turned around. "Geez! Come on. To my office."
He ushered me down the hall of the first floor. Luckily it was the biology floor. I looked back and noticed that I was leaving a trail. It grossed me out.
Once in his office, he sat me down in a chair and tilted my head back. He moved away for a few moments. When he came back, he stuffed paper towels under my nose. It was done roughly and for some reason it made me laugh.
"You have a bloody nose and you're laughing?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Usually I just blow my nose until it stops bleeding," I replied as I looked at him. He motioned me up and I stood. Walking over to the wastebasket I blew my nose until I was certain it was done bleeding. Wiping my face, I turned around. "See? I told ya." He was looking at me oddly. "What?"
He pointed and I looked down. My blouse had come unbuttoned and it was giving him a clear view of my bra. But that wasn't what he was staring at and that was the only thing that kept me from being embarrassed. The sword pendant my dad had given me was gleaming at him, the emerald winking in the light.
I watched in slow motion as Mr. Yeats sank to one knee as I buttoned my shirt. I knew what was coming so I waited.
"I pledge myself into your service. My life is yours to do with as you please. Do you accept my offer?" he said with a final severity that made it hard to look at him.
"I do. Rise, Sir Lionel." He looked up at me and I had to smile down at him. Even at twenty-four, he still had his rugged, boyish looks. "You did a very good job hiding this. No one but me would have guessed."
He smiled as he stood. "How so?"
"The pendent tells all." My smile faded. "Why did you wait? Why let Casey attack me?"
"I had to make sure you were capable of what we were asking. It's no light task and one we've been dealing with for centuries. Arthur has been looking for you since the day you disappeared and he wouldn't stop. He fought Morgan along the way, sometimes dying. Only you can stop this vicious cycle."
"Am I capable of it?"
"Only you can answer that." He glanced at the clock. "You better head off. It's almost time for classes to start."
I looked at the clock and gasped. We had been together for two hours. They had flown by and we didn't realize it. Then again how could we when we were dealing with a bloody nose and Knightly issues?
"Excuse me," I said quickly as I grabbed my bag and coat.
"Maddie," When he said my name this time, it didn't sound so weird. "Remember: to do this job, you not only have to believe in us, but you have to believe in yourself."
I simply nodded then ran to my first class, tromping through the snow and not caring that my shoes and socks were going to be soaked for the rest of the day.