"Strange seeing you here, I would've assumed you paid others to study for you," said Caspian. The insult was aimed directly at his sister, who stood confrontationally alongside the library stacks.
The Arcane Library of the Royal Academy of Magick was a refurbishment and retrofitting of the previous castle library, enlarged and made more accessible with additional lighting and seating for the benefit of students. Despite these modern conveniences, it retained the historical ambience which was responsible for much of the Academy's credibility, despite it being an illusion carefully fabricated by the Kingdom of Britannia.
"It makes perfect sense that I'd find you here," Elisabeth retorted. "You must be trying oh so desperately to find a way to defeat me, poor thing."
The siblings had to keep up appearances, after all.
Caspian's eyes narrowed.
"Leave me alone, you Daddy's Girl," he said. "I don't have time to waste on you."
Elisabeth turned her nose up as Caspian walked past her and sat at a reading table.
[Hey, Elsie. That was great.]
[You didn't have to go after me that hard! That stung!]
[I'm sorry, sis.]
[Geez!]
Caspian laughed quietly, making sure not to draw the attention of any other students in the library. Contrary to the scene previously enacted, this rendezvous was a well-planned and highly-coordinated effort. The Blackstone siblings were intent on keeping their relationship as secret as possible, which meant any type of physical or digital communication was out of the question—if it was intercepted, the ruse would be over.
Thus, they had decided to use Caspian's ability to communicate telepathically to be able to hold secret strategy sessions; the only issue was that Caspian found it more difficult to use telepathy over a long distance, which meant they'd have to find a situation where both siblings were forced to be in the same location without raising suspicions.
The Arcane Library had been selected as the optimal location, and today, Caspian and Elisabeth were proving this selection's validity.
[Status report?]
[I've made contact with the leaders of the spy ring, and they've agreed to my terms. I've contacted my people and begun making the necessary preparations. Looks like it's going to take place within the next two weeks.]
[Excellent. Right on schedule.]
[What about you?]
[The Research Group may actually be of use to us, but we'll have to wait and see. Vivianne called me last night, saying she's headed Stateside for some reason and that MI7 may be investigating me. She tried to throw them off, but I'm sure it didn't work. We'll see what comes of that.]
[Aren't you worried they might find out about us?]
[Yeah], he admitted. [But, at the same time, that's what makes it fun. Plus, MI5 doesn't know about us, and they've been trying to find out about my background for years, so I'm not too worried.]
[Adrenaline junkie.]
[Daddy's girl.]
[You know me, bro.]
[And you know me, sis.]
[Hold up—someone interesting just appeared. At the librarian's desk.]
Caspian glanced over discreetly. A mousey girl with large glasses was asking the librarian about books on the Academy's architecture, both the original stonework and the redesign.
[Her?]
[Yes. She looked at you when she came in; she's also one of the new students who has been recruited by the infiltrators.]
Caspian looked at the girl in a new light.
If she's researching the Academy's architecture, then this Academy itself must be integral to their mission. It's not random happenstance that they're here.
They're after something.
The Ravensleigh Vault, perhaps?
So, we share a common objective… maybe we can use that to our advantage.
The girl, having received an answer to her inquest, was now browsing the stacks in pursuit of a particular work.
Caspian watched her movements with care: she was young, inexperienced, nervous, but also determined. She likely believed in 'the cause', whatever it was, and was driven by a desire to be helpful yet couldn't help being nervous at the prospect of being discovered.
[She hasn't seen you yet, has she?] asked Caspian.
[No.]
[Let's keep it that way. If she sees you, it might spook her.]
[Alright. I'll be on my way, then.]
[Take care, Elsie.]
[You too, Caz.]
Only Caspian's magic-attuned senses picked up the whispered chant: "Vanish."
He turned his attention back to the girl.
She was carrying a large, modern architectural tome, and was failing to disguise her glances at Caspian as simply looking for an open reading table.
He smiled at her, and she took that as permission to come sit next to him, holding the book against her chest as one would do with a precious possession.
She's uncomfortable, in a defensive posture. That won't do.
"Uh, hi, Mr. Dawson—I'm not sure if you remember me—"
"You're Ms. Phillips, right? I believe we have Principles of Magic together."
"Yes! Yes we do!" The girl relaxed her guard somewhat, setting the book on the table in front of her and smiling at Caspian. "I'm glad you remember me, I've been wanting to talk to you for some time now, but have never been able to work up the courage."
"Well, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Will she try to recruit me or ask me out?
I'm going with… recruitment first.
"You see—ever since I heard you speak in class—and I've seen you sparring with Ms. Rivierra and Mr. Johnson, they're in your research group, right? Well, I have to say, you're very impressive… and I…"
She looked down at her lap.
"I…"
Man, guessed wrong.
Suddenly, there was a voice behind them.
"Miss, do you mind if I borrow Caspian here for a moment?"
Jessamine di Cadenza walked around the table and sat down on the side opposite Caspian, firmly establishing her authority with the tone of her voice and the look on her face. Using his first name had been a calculated move; it seemed to have paid off.
"Oh—yes—of course, I was just leaving, anyway," Ms. Phillips replied. "I'm sorry for getting in the way."
I wonder if Jessamine intentionally interrupted that conversation before she could try to recruit me, or if it was just happenstance.
No, wait, that's not important.
I didn't feel Jessamine's aura approaching us.
That powerful, beautiful aura—gone?
He narrowed his eyes at the uninvited guest, who matched his stare with her own.
"I'm sorry that I didn't introduce you two properly," he began, "but I didn't hear you approach. That was Ms. Faith Phillips, we have Principles of Magic together."
He didn't use exact language, but he didn't have to.
"Oh?" asked Jessamine, smirking. "You didn't feel my aura as I entered the library?"
She doesn't want to play games. She's calling my bluff.
"No, I didn't," he replied. "That's a very nice trick. Who ever thought that you could control an aura like that?"
"What makes you think I was controlling it?"
"If you had simply been hiding your aura, well, I would've noticed it's absence."
Jessamine smiled.
"An astute observation from someone who's obviously had a lot of practice measuring the auras of others," she replied.
"Well, I am a magician, after all. 'Know thy enemy.'"
"Are we enemies, Mr. Dawson?"
"Why don't you tell me, Ms. di Cadenza?"
Jessamine's smile vanished and her eyes narrowed.
"Why don't you ask me where I learned to control my aura?"
"Fine," said Caspian. "Where did you learn a nifty trick like that?"
"From you. Though, it took a lot of practice to be able manage even this much."
That's what she noticed on that day!
No one had ever before noticed it and I was blind to the possibility that someone could.
Of course! It all makes sense now.
Caspian smiled.
"What ever do you mean, Ms. di Cadenza?"
Jessamine studied his face very carefully before replying, noticing many new details, as if she had never truly seen his face before.
That smile. The confidence in his eyes with a hint of excitement, the small twitch of his mouth as it tries to smile even more—he's restraining himself—secretly, he's enjoying this dance of ours.
That makes one of us.
"I'll admit, it took me awhile to put my finger on it," she said. "I wasn't sure why you first caught my attention, but something felt off about you. I didn't like it. I still don't, to be honest. Your aura is too smooth, too perfect. And your eyes… you're confident, yes, but your eyes have an assuredness that goes beyond your capability as a runic engineer or magic theoretician."
She took a deep breath; what she was about to say could not be taken back.
"I also know," she continued, "that you happened to serve in the Army special forces for a time. That, alone, is not uncommon—many of the Academy's students have completed a tour of duty or two. However, when I examine the persona that you present to the world, I just can't imagine you as a special forces soldier. That can only mean one thing: everything about you is fake. It's an act. It's artificial. And that's what I don't like about you, Mr. Dawson."
Caspian had sat through her speech without moving or changing his expression; now, he softly clapped twice and leaned forward in his chair.
"Bravo, Ms. di Cadenza, bravo," he said. Jessamine was unnerved: his tone was now gravely serious, utterly lacking the carefree confidence she had come to associate with him. "I see now that I have been approaching my time here with too much abandon. That is my mistake. Thank you for bringing it to my attention."
Jessamine studied the man before her.
Wait; when did he become a 'man'? I've always thought of him as younger than me, but now…
Just like when I approached him in the hallway.
At that time, he was able to switch between different 'characters' quickly and fluidly; he's done it again, and I didn't even notice. Or did I?
Is this closer to who he truly is?
"You're welcome," she tentatively replied. "Of course, the only question remaining is that of your real identity…"
But if he's a Magi, he surely wouldn't want me revealing that. It wouldn't help the Kingdom, either.
"…but I'll agree to leave your secrets alone, Mr. Dawson, if you'll do one small thing for me."
Caspian raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"What do you want me to do?"
Jessamine smirked.
"Spar with me."
Caspian's suspicion turned to excitement.
She's good. Maybe I should try to recruit her to the House of Blackstone.
That would be a fun challenge.
Let's see where this goes.
"I accept."