WARNING: Death and violence.
--> Check out the auxiliary volume once you've finished this chapter, it may help answer your questions and thoughts!
——
January 14, 1941
"Pardon?" The Preceptor raised a single eyebrow.
Ines weakly smiled and held her hand up to her heart. Her eyebrows were tightly knit as if she weren't sure what she was doing was the right decision.
But regardless of the storm brewing in her heart, she continued. "Sometimes, when I wake up I feel like I'm not the only one in my body. When I try to recall certain memories, my nose starts bleeding for an extended period of time. Is this normal?"
"…"
Preceptor Amadeus pursed her lips and frowned. Her friendly demeanor dropped for a fraction of a second before the young girl could take notice, and her gaze flickered between Ines and the yellowed papers laid on her desk.
Hearing no reply, the young girl paused, "Preceptor Amadeus?"
"I'm listening, Ines. Have you told another about this before?"
"… No," Ines lied through her teeth, "I haven't."
"Have you visited Clémence for this matter?"
She shook her head, "No."
"Truly?" The older woman inquired.
"Yes, I haven't."
Preceptor Amadeus exhaled and leaned back in her seat. All tension seeped away from her face like she finally heard the magic words she was waiting for.
"Good, good," The older woman said. "Then, Ines, would you like for us to meet one on one once a week to discuss this matter?"
Ines' hand trembled, and she nearly dropped the box of cookies out of shock. "What?" She gaped.
"Did you not confide in me about this matter because you wanted someone to express your thoughts to? If you don't want to, you don't-"
"No! That… I do want to," Ines said, furiously nodding her head up and down in agreement. She wore a conflicted expression despite how eagerly she agreed.
"Then? What is it?"
"... Is such behavior normal? I mean- to head to bed, wake up without any memories a week later, and…" She shrugged, "You know, acting like someone else when I'm not?"
"Yes."
"Truly?"
"Yes," The Preceptor affirmed once again.
"... Then, I'm happy."
Slowly, the lit candlewick on Preceptor Amadeus's desk stopped burning, and the once dazzling flame became smaller with each word spoken. The wind that occasionally danced against the brittle windows came to a halt, and the branches of the century-old willow tree stopped scratching against the crumbling brick walls.
It was peaceful, and she could even faintly hear sparrows chirping and hummingbirds singing.
Ines' breathing evened out, and her chest no longer thrummed horribly in pain. She no longer felt hunger, nor did she feel the sleepless nights chewing away at her consciousness anymore.
Beneath her feet, her shadow gradually took form and stabilized. The "tears" and ripples that were once visible if viewed by one who possessed a special gaze stitched itself up.
Preceptor Amadeus stood up at that moment, bringing Ines out of her reverie. "Ines, the following weeks, come see me in my office during this time."
"Yes, Preceptor Amadeus."
'Teacher… Preceptor Amadeus has such a pretty smile, but since when did she smile with her teeth?' Ines dazedly observed.
"Do you have anything else to say?" The older woman genially inquired. However, she didn't look at Ines, but rather at the door. Her fingers occasionally thrummed against her desk, creating a repetitive melody that harped against her thoughts and itched her skull.
Like a fool, Ines nodded. She had something to say–many, but oddly enough, she couldn't bring the words to the tip of her tongue.
Ines clasped her hands, "Well-"
Before she could continue her words, the door swung open and a young girl who was barely one-third the height of the door skipped in with a hop to her steps.
Her sudden and loud entrance (intrusion) brought a sense of clarity to Ines' consciousness like she had been doused in ice-cold water, and her mind cleared up.
"Teacher! Teacher Amadeus!" The said young girl, Odette, gleefully beamed. Though, noticing that she wasn't the sole visitor, she dramatically gasped and turned to wave at the other. "Ines! Hi! It's been a while!"
Unlike their previous encounters, her smile this time seemed to be truly genuine, however, it did not seem to reach her eyes.
Regardless, Ines frowned and harrumphed. She turned her head and faced the Preceptor again, ignoring the younger girl who stood by the door with her hand out, waving.
"Odette, knock next time." Preceptor Amadeus said. She stared straight ahead and ignored the brewing tension between the two young girls.
"Yes, teacher," Odette smiled.
The older woman then stood up and began shuffling through her cabinets. With her back turned to both girls, she addressed Ines, "As for you, Ines, take your papers with you when you leave. Let's talk next time; have a good evening and remember to eat dinner with your peers this time."
"Yes, Preceptor Amadeus."
With that said, Ines took her papers from the Preceptor's desk, and she wordlessly left without paying a single glance towards Odette.
As she shut the door behind her, Ines took large, mechanical-like steps toward the main building. Several minutes later, clarity returned to her mind and she stood alone in the dining hall.
Her eyes were wide open like mango pits, and befuddlement was evident in her gaze. 'The… The dining hall? I was going to head back to the dormitory, was I not?' Ines thought, alarmed.
–
Back in Preceptor Amadeus' Office:
Odette boldly wandered around the Preceptor's office. She flicked through her papers, peeked into her cabinets, pulled books off her bookshelf—she even dared to lean on the older woman and put her hands on the Preceptor's personal items.
"Teacher," Odette said.
Silence. The older woman continued scribbling away and she turned a blind eye to Odette's antics for attention.
"Teacher!" Odette said again, her voice rising. She hopped off the guest seat and she skipped closer to Preceptor Amadeus.
Looping behind her, Odette reached for the incense burner that sat behind the Preceptor's seat– she then went as far as to tinker with the object.
Then, Odette smiled mischievously and she leaned in closer to the burner to smell the incense.
"Datura leaves–shouldn't the windows be open, teacher?"
Screech–!
Preceptor Amadeus stood up from her seat and she snatched the burner out of Odette's hands.
"Aw, teacher, you're even using the gift I gave you, that's-"
"What a good nose you have, Odette–as expected, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," The Preceptor murmured offhandedly as she turned to open the window.
Whether it was said intentionally to set the younger girl off or not, Odette's smile rotted off her face and her visage became uncannily still. "If that's the case, then I suppose you are aware of the true purpose of this teaching, correct?"
"No!" Odette shrieked. She scrambled from where she stood and quickly got on her knees, pleading.
Her face was a horrendous shade of ghastly white from fear. It was an odd expression that did not suit her—fear, a primal emotion that could be expressed through all races whether human or animal, however on her face, the look of trepidation looked almost un-human and rather fiendish.
"Regardless, I have nothing left to teach or advise you. Worry not, your unique existence has taught me something during this exchange, and I'll most definitely leave a good word for you. The Head Mistress will surely treat you fairly, Odette. "
Odette frantically grabbed at the hems of the Preceptor's robes, "Teacher– Preceptor, Preceptor Amadeus! I-I don't know what you're saying!"
However, for all the kindness the older woman showed before Ines' guileless heart, she showed no mercy or hesitation before Odette.
Kicking the younger girl away, a large smile spread across her face at the sound of her ribs cracking.
"There are far too many rats here, and a foolish brat like you was bound to be found sooner or later–consider yourself lucky that it was I who had found out, and not the doctor or that angel-faced harpy."
Black fluid seeped out of Odette's orifices, and her golden hair turned brown and dry as straw. Her flesh rapidly shrunk and aged, she looked as if she were a decomposed corpse that had been dug out of the ground freshly after a rainstorm.
However, even in the face of the violence inflicted upon her, she crawled toward the Preceptor as if she were an infant searching for their mother's warmth.
"Teacher, teacher…" Odette mumbled like a broken record.
In a swift motion, Preceptor Amadeus raised her foot and firmly stomped on the young girl's hand, silencing her mechanical cries. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the foul, stomach-churning smell seeping from Odette, and the nauseating black fluids that stuck to the soles of her shoes.
"It's time to execute Phase Two."
END OF