"Thanks for going easy on me, brother," whispered Elisabeth. "Let's do this again sometime."
As Elisabeth received the same news that was sweeping Britannia at the moment, she involuntarily looked to her older brother for guidance.
The man going by the name Dawson, but who was really Caspian Blackstone, returned the look for only a moment.
[Elsie, can you hear me? What's wrong?]
No matter how many times they used it, Elisabeth was still unsettled by the sound of another voice in her head.
Is this what schizophrenics feel like? she wondered, before focusing her mind and hoping Caspian hadn't noticed the stray thought:
[I just heard from home. The King was shot while announcing his heir.]
[Did he survive?]
[It appears so. He was hit in the shoulder and has been rushed to hospital.]
[And Mr. Trevena?]
[He's okay.]
[Alright. Let's change tack and take advantage of the chaos which is sure to follow. It's likely they'll try again in the future; by the time that happens, we need to be the ones in control. I'll leave that up to you.]
[What would you have me do?]
[Create a funnel that leads them to us. I'll handle the rest.]
[You have my word, Caz.]
Elisabeth sighed. It had been easy to convince the school that she was nothing more than the spoiled princess of a crime syndicate; but for this assignment, she'd have to convince the right people that she was something more.
[…also, you did great, Elsie.]
That raised her spirits, and she allowed a small smile to form on her lips.
Her smile was not long for this world, however, as both Henry and Jessamine were approaching them. From the seriousness of their expressions, it wasn't hard to guess that they had just received the same news.
"Mr. Dawson, thank you for your participation today," said Henry. "However, we must now ask you and your friends to leave. We have Societie matters to discuss."
Jessamine looked at Caspian with equal parts disappointment and suspicion.
That fight was too clean.
It was a textbook example of asymmetric magical warfare. An underpowered aggressor uses elemental magic to create an opening; the defender, with a strong capability for shield magic, uses the aggressor's own eagerness against them.
For someone with the ability to make a device like that Aura Shroud and those liquid nitrogen bullets, his strategy seemed too basic, too predictable. Especially since he showed off instinctive counter-magic in the final act, as if he was trying to tell us that he could've won if he so desired…
…but I can think about that another time.
There are more pressing matters now. I wonder if he'll protest—
"We understand," said Caspian. "Thank you for this opportunity. I'm sorry that I am unable to join the Societie Royale."
With that, Caspian turned and began walking back to the Academy town, with Gwen and Lance in tow. Jessamine saw how inquisitive they were and knew Caspian was in for a long walk.
Of course he wouldn't protest. He chose this outcome.
He was in control the entire time.
Their attention turned to Elisabeth Blackstone.
Henry was the first to speak.
"Ms. Blackstone, you are now a member of the Societie Royale. While we should go over the Code of Conduct for our members later, I want to stress at this point that the Societie exists independently of the Blessed Houses, even though we do interact with them regularly."
Elisabeth, who had seemed to be focusing on Caspian, now turned to the Societie's Chairman.
"Mr. Chairman, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what point you're trying to make," she said, her voice dripping with false, honeyed innocence. "Could you please be more specific?"
Henry's expression did not change.
"Please take this seriously, Ms. Blackstone. You now have a duty, a purpose, higher than whatever the House of Blackstone has given you. You're a part of something bigger—"
"I respect your position and your Societie, Duke Cahill, I really do," said Elisabeth, any hint of amusement having vanished from her eyes. "But do not claim that your little club is 'something bigger', something with a purpose. I am a Blackstone daughter. My children's children will each have more influence than the entire Societie Royale. I am not here because I need to be here, and I am not here because you accepted my application: I am here because I chose to be here."
So this is the real Elisabeth Blackstone, thought Elisabeth. She's proud, but she believes that she has a right to be proud. And maybe she does…
"Very well, then, Ms. Blackstone," answered Henry, now visibly annoyed. "I'll put it plainly. Please share with us any and all information you possess relating to the attempted assassination of King Uther Pendragon this afternoon."
"Well, since you asked so nicely…"
And now her mask is on again.
"This was not my family's doing, though we were aware of the possibility. So was the King, but you both knew that already. The assassination was likely timed to coincide with the revealing of the Crown Prince intentionally—"
"—wait, Crown Prince?" The Duke was confused, rightfully so.
"Ah, yes, you probably haven't heard yet. The King has named his heir: Arthur Trevena, or rather, Arthur Pendragon. A bastard from one of his many affairs, but one with decent magical potential. Anyway—the timing is no coincidence. The transfer of power between Uther and Arthur will be Britannia's weakest moment in this century, and our enemies are sure to take advantage of it."
"'Our' enemies?" asked Jessamine, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
Elisabeth turned to her and smiled, though the smile was laced with contempt.
"Our Houses may not get along, Ms. di Cadenza, and Lord knows Britannia certainly has no shortage of rumors about my family's activities. However, the House of Blackstone has no desire to see Britannia fall. Quite the opposite, in fact."
Such an explanation did not satisfy Jessamine.
"Doesn't your family have economic roots in most of the New Roman Union? I'm sure the mighty House of Blackstone wouldn't be diminished by the fall of a single country."
Elisabeth narrowed her eyes, barely resisting the urge to scowl at Jessamine.
"I do not answer to you, Ms. di Cadenza," she replied. "Your Chairman asked me ever so kindly to share information. I am doing so. If you do not like the information I am giving you, well, feel free to ignore it. I'm sure the great information harvesters of the di Cadenza family are more than adequate for the job."
"Indeed they are," answered Jessamine. "In fact, you haven't said anything which they haven't told me already, which leaves me wondering—what haven't you told us?"
"Oh, many things," said Elisabeth with a wry smile as she grit her teeth. "Surely you didn't expect me to reveal all of the skeletons in our walk-in closet, did you?"
She's right. We weren't expecting that. But why does she have to be so aggravating?
"Well, Ms. Blackstone, I'm sure you understand the Vice Chairwoman's concerns," said Henry, attempting to diffuse the growing tension. "Your family is quite infamous, after all. Even the decision of whether or not to invite you into this Societie was one of much contention among our leadership."
"If I was so much of an issue, then why did you extend the invitation?"
"Ideally, to convince to you to use your talents for the betterment of Britannia," he replied, "though if that purpose should fail, we also want to follow the sage wisdom of keeping enemies closer than friends."
He looked at the young woman standing before him and couldn't help feeling a sense of awe at her commitment to the Blackstones, and the confidence that she had in her family.
Elisabeth met his gaze and studied his eyes; he felt as if she was reading the details of his soul.
Suddenly, Elizabeth let out a light chuckle.
"If it's a friend you're looking for, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place," she said. "However, I do believe our interests currently align in a way that is most fortunate."
Why do I feel as if a bear has its jaws around my neck? thought Jessamine.
"My family does wish for Britannia to stand, which means that these interlopers—whoever they are—must be stopped," Elisabeth continued. "I was planning on doing so alone, but if you wish to keep an eye on me, as you have suggested, then I wouldn't be against an alliance."
"An alliance?" spat Jessamine, shocked. "Do you really have the power to guarantee an alliance between the Blackstones and the Cahills? Between the Blackstones and the di Cadenzi?"
"I thought the Societie was independent of the Blessed Houses?" Elisabeth asked mockingly. "It is not an alliance with another House, but an alliance with the Societie myself. And as for my authority within the family…"
Her eyes narrowed.
"…that's for me to worry about, and you to find out."
***
"Ah, Mr. Dawson. I've been expecting you."
The scout for S2 Magus Technology Holdings, Inc. was sitting on a bench near the front entrance to Caspian's dormitory. He rose to shake Caspian's hand, his excitement barely concealed by his placid smile. "I take it you're just returning from the Societie Royale, then? Shall I begin the paperwork—"
"I'm sorry," Caspian interrupted, "but it appears we've both had a run of bad luck. They had me compete against Elisabeth Blackstone for a spot in the Societie. You can imagine how I fared."
The scout hid his disappointment well.
"That's a shame, Mr. Dawson, but S2 Holdings would like to employ you nonetheless."
Caspian's eyes narrowed, focusing on the man before him with intense scrutiny.
"That brings up another question of mine," Caspian replied. "King Uther was shot just an hour or so ago. Most people are glued to their television screens and news feeds at this moment, so why is it that you're insistent on scouting an Academy freshman?"
The scout paled.
"T-the King was shot? I didn't know—"
[Silence, worm.]
Caspian's voice was projected into the scout's mind, followed by an immense pressure which nearly broke the man's sanity. He collapsed, falling to his knees as his hands worked autonomously to tear his eyes from their sockets.
[I know who you are and who you work for.]
Caspian's shade increased the pressure on the scout's shadow, causing the man to start vomiting through his frantic hands.
[You have become an annoyance to me. That mistake will cost you.]
Caspian no longer bothered using telepathy; the man would be dead soon enough. Caspian used his shade to cast a truly heinous spell, one which began a chain reaction which would completely dissolve all molecular bonds in the target object. Such a spell would be difficult to create through runes and nigh-impossible through chants, but to Caspian and his third eye it was a simple matter, no more difficult than breaking a toothpick.
As he watched the man's scalp begin to melt into a primordial elemental soup, Caspian met the man's eyes one last time.
They were bottomless wells of absolute terror. Somehow, the man understood what was happening to him, but he could barely come to terms with the fact that his life was ending.
Caspian studied those terrified, bloodied, half-dismembered eyes for the few moments they remained part of the scout's body.
They say the eyes are the windows of the soul.
I wonder if they felt a similar fear of death...
What is life, except the time given us to accept our ultimate demise?
Caspian's expression became one of intense resolution. There was now only a muddy-orange puddle in front of him, a puddle which used to be a man.
I will accept nothing.
Maybe I should have kept him alive for information.
No, the Blackstone family is more than capable on its own.
We'll be doing this our own way.