Since she was able to get most of the paperwork finished within the week, Kore could space the rest of it out. She made sure that these ones weren't urgent and could be held off for a time, letting her relax a little. There were still several boxes left, but she got through the most important ones and sent them off.
Class started again on Monday night.
The recent lessons were boring, but that was standard. Arcanes were naturally intelligent and most of them were privately taught when they were younger. She only bothered to keep her grades at a reasonable level, but since they didn't do proper exams compared to the Lock House, she was doing alright.
As she sat in her seat, half listening to their teacher, she could feel the dark tone the classroom had.
Markus was irritable today, meaning everyone else was on edge and tried to keep away from him to evade his wrath. Unlike Davina who seemed to not notice it, Kore didn't care that he was moody. Everyone was allowed to have a moody day so she didn't try to antagonise him.
Davina sighed, frowning with her head resting on her arms on the table, sitting in front of Kore. "I'm so bored. And hungry."
"You have had your blood allotments for the day," Richard muttered, sitting next to her.
"I know but I'm still hungry," Davina said, suddenly sitting up straight and turning around. She looked over at Kore. "A wonderful idea. You can offer your blood!"
The Witch turned the page of her textbook, making a note of what the teacher wrote, "Fuck no. Besides, the drinking of blood is prohibited on school grounds."
"But you're not human, you're a Witch,"
"Like asking an Arcane for their blood is a taboo, asking a Witch is the same," she looked at her, eyes glowing a shade two more silver than normal. "My answer will always be no. And if you don't wish to insult me, don't ever even suggest it."
Annaliese scowled at her before looking at Kore, a box of chocolate between them as they snacked. No one was going to complain. Silas snuck a piece or two before Annaliese kicked him. He stole one more and snickered.
"What do you plan to wear to the ball?" Annaliese asked.
Kore frowned. "What ball?"
"Oh, right. This is your first ball here," she shrugged. "We have one here a few times a year. It's one of the few events where both Houses get together and interact. It's interesting, to say the least."
"What kind of ball are we talking about?" Kore asked, "Blacktie? White tie? Cocktail? What type of dress should I get?"
"I plan to go to the city to get a dress," Annaliese said. "I need a new one."
"I've literally got no dresses for any event that isn't slutty," she sighed.
She laughed. "Why am I not surprised?"
"Why haven't we seen you in those dresses?" Silas pouted, quickly slinking over to their table without the teacher noticing. He had tucked his arm over Kore's shoulder but electricity shot through him, making him remove the arm with a tiny yelp of pain.
"There's not been an occasion for them," she smirked.
Class ended early and Annaliese and Kore went with Silas and Wylan to a mainland city. For some reason, the Torrens had a small limo on the island, so all they had to do was change out of their uniforms and into something comfortable before they left for the ferry to the mainland. They headed to a large shopping centre, only after Wylan got permission from Markus for all of them to leave the island.
The Vampire had advised that the ladies should not go alone, purely because of Kore's situation with the Crowns. She didn't argue, agreeing that being safe is better than being sorry.
The boys planned to wear their uniform to the ball so the girls just had to get their dresses.
Silas was leading them to a store, opening the door to let them all in before hooking an arm through Kore's and leading her to the woman who owned the shop.
The shop was in pristine condition, beautifully decorated with long, thin lights on the high ceiling and manikins lining the wall. In one corner was a small door that led to a room half fabric and dresses, and the other fabric and suits. It was high-end, even more so than some shops Kore had seen in London.
A woman rushed to the door, her arms wide to hug Silas and give him kisses on each cheek. "Mr Torren, how have you been? I see you've brought friends with you."
"I've been wonderful, Madam LeLon!" Silas smiled. "We've got a ball in a few weeks and one of my friends hasn't even thought of what she was going to wear! This is Kore Greylight, and she needs a dress benefiting royalty!"
Kore jabbed him in the side with a little huff which just made him smile.
"Yeah, I didn't know about the ball until two hours ago," she said. "And all of my dresses aren't fit for a ball."
"Hmm," Madam LeLon nodded. "Come. I will get you sorted while my assistants finish up the tailoring for Miss Torren."
Kore was brought into another room and asked to strip down to her undergarments. She did so without complaint, already knowing how a proper fitting was needed for a dress to fit well.
"Twirl for me, dear, I need to get to know your shape," Madam LeLon asked, swirling her pointer finger in the air to gesture for the Witch to turn. Kore did as she was asked, slowly turning as LeLon said, "Hourglass with hints of pear. Brilliant posture. You have a figure to die for, dear. Have you ever worn stockings?"
"I have," she nodded. "This won't be my first ball but I didn't think to bring any dresses to school that would fit a ball or dance."
"I will get you sorted, don't worry, dear," she smiled. "What were you thinking for a dress?"
Madam LeLon turned to her assistant, a girl who was a few years older than Kore with gorgeous curls. She scurried away with a smile and came back with three small boxes. Madam LeLon took all three and laid them on a table to the side.
By the end of two hours, Kore was fitted for a dress and would be able to collect it within a few days.
)()()(
The lake between the Key House and the main school was perfect to swim in. It was clean, Magically done so by the Torren family since Silas and Annaliese were attending the school. Annaliese wasn't with Kore right now, deciding not to have a swim. She found it strange since Sirens loved the water.
A couple of hours before the sun was supposed to rise, Kore was floating on the waters of the lake. she wore a black one-piece that had a deep V neckline with halter straps, a favourite of hers. Her hair was in two tight dutch braids, keeping it in place as she just floated. She brought a bag and left it at the shore.
She needed this.
She needed this silent time alone with no duties or things to do, nothing and no one to bother her.
She needed this time to get her thoughts in order. The lake was cold but that was expected for this time of year.
She welcomed the almost burning cold, reminding her she was still alive.
There wasn't a moment when she didn't think of her people back home.
While she was a cold bitch, as Silas would endearingly call her, who would gladly drop everything and fuck off to Rome or somewhere else warm, she was still a royal and that meant she had duties to fulfil.
Kore was the future ruler of a third of all Witches in the world, including the humans who married into the families and the smaller creatures and animals. There were expectations of her, and that was why she had tried to get the most important and urgent paperwork finished quickly.
Moments like this kept her sane.
With a need to rebalance her Magic, the cold waters of the lake centred her mind so she could concentrate on keeping her Magic under her skin and under her control.
Her Magic wasn't becoming undone or becoming dangerous. Magic was always dangerous and hers was even more so. Blood Magic wasn't something a Witch should be proud of having. It was considered a Forbidden Art for a reason. It could control people.
That was what Crown Blackwood and Whitestone wanted.
Control.
They forget that Magic was unpredictable, uncontrollable, and all shades of deadly.
Magic was either the cancer or the cure of a Witch, and most times it was a balance.
To keep that balance was the Order's sole purpose, but it seemed like the two sides had an alternative motive and that was unacceptable.
Magic was energy, and some energy could be lightning.
It could be influenced, brought from one point to another, changed into different forms and stored, but Magic could not be created or destroyed.
Very few could access the full extent of Magic.
Even fewer could control it.
By the time she found herself and her Magic in unison and balance again, the sun had already begun to rise. Checking her smartwatch, a great investment since it was also waterproof, it was nearly seven in the morning as the spring came and winter left them.
She let her swimsuit transform into an outfit, simple shorts and a shirt as she slipped into a pair of sandals and grabbed her bag. She began to walk back to the dorms.
Surprisingly, the forest that surrounded the back of the school grounds was quite tame and managed. Sprawling roots were coming out of the ground but they never interfered with any of the small paths. Brush kept to the designated areas that didn't have foot traffic.
The air was warming up as the sun rose, reflecting off leaves and trees as she walked through. Birds were beginning to wake up, tweeting and chirping obnoxiously as they made more noise.
A strangled sound stopped her.
Something softly thudded to the ground.
She let her Magic take over as she sought out whatever had thudded as it was alive. Alive usually meant she could get in tune with it, especially if it was an animal or person.
It took a couple of seconds of walking to find the source of the whimpering. A grey fox froze as she approached, going into an attack crouch before it whimpered and took the pressure and weight off of its left back leg.
Kore tried to approach it slowly, to not startle it but the creature was on high alert and hissed at her. It put weight back on its back leg, quickly collapsing off of it before she got within range.
She knew it didn't want to be touched but she still tried to grab it by the scruff of its neck, lifting it off of the ground so it wouldn't hurt itself further. It clawed and scratched at her arm, hissing and trying to bite her. She shook it gently.
"I am trying to help you," Kore said, bringing it up so she could look it in the eyes. It wiggled once more, trying to bite her arm but relented afterwards. "Thank you. Now stay still as I try and heal you."
She sat on a nearby root, large enough that she didn't have to crouch down a lot to sit. Placing the fox on her lap, she felt its sharp claws dig into her thighs. The fox was hurt and scared, even if she promised to help heal it.
When she made the fox lay on its stomach on her thighs, it dug its claws in further, making her bleed just a tad. She ignored that, comforting it by running her fingers down its spine until she reached near the tail. She held the base of its flank, massaging the area as she infused Magic into its leg before spreading her fingers and going down the whole leg to spread the Magic evenly.
The tension left the fox, stopping the death grip it had with its claws on her. It trilled as foxes did, a happy little sound as it kicked its once bad leg back and pounced off of her with ease. It tested it, jumping up before jumping against a tree as it practised and made sure it didn't hurt.
"Better?" she asked, smiling as it trilled and then more or less screamed at her as foxes did. "Ahhhh, right back at you. Go home, little guy. And don't jump out of trees again. Stupid fox."
She stood, brushing herself off before spitting at the ground.
There was blood in her saliva.
She sighed.
She didn't realise the fox jumped at her, biting into her right wrist with a quick scream. It latched on for a second, the pain filling her system as her Magic tried to fight it off. The fox jumped off after a few seconds, satisfied with its work as it left several small bloodied indents from where its fangs latched in.
It stood back, watching her inspect the wounds before nodding to itself. It circled her ankles, brushing up against her before chirping once and walking away.
"Weird ass fox."
It took only a few minutes of walking before she found herself no longer alone. Quickly healing the bite from the fox, she found that the bite didn't heal completely, leaving tiny lilac scars on her skin.
A young man appeared, no older than her. His most dramatic features were his white hair and the light eyes of an albino. He was pale and stood stiffly before her.
He was a Warden, or he was supposed to be if his half-Demon blood wasn't tainted with Davina's. It was the only way to control a Warden and to make a servant out of them.
"You healed the fox," he muttered. "I wonder about the length of your abilities to heal."
"No need to wonder. I rarely heal things." She stood stiffly. "Who are you?"
"Ruel Michaelis, Lady Greylight," he placed a hand on his chest and bowed only an inch. "Davina requires your help in healing."
"Why should I?"
"She wants to live a free life," he said.
Much like him, then.
She shifted her feet in place. "What does this have to do with me?"
"The only reason she is sick is that her Magic is unbalanced. Prince Alastair usually is able to help her but his blood has stopped helping now. We have to go for other options. And you are one of very few that can help her, maybe the only one now."
"What do I get out of it?" She crossed her arms. "Magic is valuable, I don't give it out without reason."
"You would have her as an ally. Something you are greatly in need of because of the unsettlement with the Order."
She tamed her anger and disgust at his thinking of her needing anyone, sinking the emotions down until they were manageable.
"What is your answer to the proposal?" he asked.
"What would I need to do?"
"How did you heal the fox?"
"Increased the rate of its blood production and the rate at which the cells multiply," she said. "It's science more than anything. What would happen if I were to help her? How? This works only with small animals, manipulation of Vampires is much trickier."
"The normal way, of course," he smiled softly, almost like he was about to reassure her but it didn't work. "Blood."
She hummed. "Do I have a deadline to agree?"
"No, but the sooner the better," he said, bowing once. "Goodbye, Lady Greylight."
He disappeared into the forest.
)()()(
The instance Markus sensed blood on campus, he feared a Fallen had gotten into the school.
If one of them got into the school, there could be carnage. While most Fallens were Vampires who let their bloodlust take over, it was a lesser-known fact that many Fallens were the result of a Vampire taking Arcane or Witch blood by force. The Magic within the blood fought against the Vampire, causing them to turn into a Fallen with an insatiable thirst because nothing could quench it anymore.
A Fallen's bite could cause cross-contamination, creating another Fallen in the bitten.
It took him only a few seconds to realise that it was Kore's blood, which concerned him.
When she got into her dorm, he let her have a moment before he knocked.
"You were bleeding earlier," he said. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she shrugged. "There was an injured fox and I healed it. It decided to bite me after. No big deal."
It wasn't a Fallen.
Good.
"You should be more careful,"
"I was careful," she frowned at him. "All I did was heal a fox. It was scared."
With a scratching sound at the window, they looked towards it. A grey fox blinked at them from the ledge outside the window, a smile curling its lips as it waved its tail.
Kore glared at the little fox, it just smiled back at her and pawed at the glass again.
"That's the fox," she said, flaring her nostrils in slight anger. She stepped forward, pointing a finger at it. "You bit me!"
It pawed at the glass again after purring for a second.
"Are you going to let it in?"
"Should I?"
He looked at her and then back at the fox, seeing how they mirrored each other with their tiny little glares. Markus walked over to the window, opening it to let the fox in. It jumped into the room, circling Kore's feet as it brushed up against her again. It tried to climb up her leg but couldn't, so it decided to walk away before leaping towards her.
It landed on her shoulder with a happy yelp, snuggling into her neck as she froze and shivered as a cold nose was tucked behind her ear. She took it off her shoulders, holding it at a distance with her hands tucked under its arms. It wiggled with a whine, rubbing its head on her wrist with a tiny whimper of sadness.
Kore sighed and tucked the fox closer to her as she cuddled it against her chest. "Better, little guy?" It almost purred as she scratched at its ear. "Bite me again and I'll chuck you out of the window..."
The fox snorted, sneezing before it looked up at her like it knew she was lying.
"Foxes usually do not like humans," Markus said, watching as Kore scratched its head. "They tend to stay away."
"This idiot decided to jump out of a tree and hurt itself," she smiled. "I healed its leg but it decided to bite me on the wrist. Which hurt, you little shit!"
The fox just wagged its tail with a yawn.
He reached for the fox, gently petting it as it leaned into his touch with a happy purr.
"Traitor," Kore muttered with a smile. "Right. I've got a couple of bits of paperwork to go through and finalise before noon. Can you take this one outside? I doubt having a fox inside the dorms is allowed."
As soon as she said that, the little fox stopped its purring and latched onto his hand, though not drawing blood.
"I believe the little one has decided he wants to stay," he said, shaking his head an inch at it. "I've seen this before. An animal suddenly latches onto an Arcane after it is helped, though I have not seen this happen to a Witch. We call them Familiars."
"We have them too," Kore looked down at the fox, seeing familiar grey eyes. "We usually have to do a ritual and ask our Magic to select a suitable creature to serve us. I didn't do a Familiar summoning ritual, I did a rebalancing one... Which led to me finding the fox and helping it. Shit."
Markus chuckled as the fox unlatched his jaw, licking the indents before sneezing at him. "How unlucky. I have a Familiar of my own, but I can manipulate his form as I choose."
"If it's true," Kore bit the inside of her cheek before sighing. "Familiars are sacred to us, they're made of our magic usually. I don't... Can I keep him in my dorm? I rather he was not outside without guidance, the other Witches are still pissy about shit and I don't want him around the other Arcanes without me."
"Of course. Familiars shouldn't be far away from their masters for long," he said. "I've allowed anyone with a Familiar to have them in their dorms, but not many have them. The older the Arcane, the more likely it is that they have found one compatible."
"Thank you, Markus," Kore lifted the fox closer to her head, letting it place his head on her shoulder and it trilled happily. She whispered again. "You bite me and I will chuck you out of the window, Tsar."
Markus almost laughed at that.