The trip back to Ikhan and Seda’s room was mostly uneventful, for which Mellick was thankful. It was getting to the time where students began waking up for their actual classes, but most were too groggy or too rushed to pay mind to Mellick guiding two suspiciously-synced young adults. It likely wouldn’t be too long until news broke out regardless, but the pair should at least have the opportunity to settle in beforehand.

As they approached the door, Ikhan fumbled around in his pocket for the key, his twin twitching as though resisting the urge to mirror the action. Hopefully they’d be capable of independence before too long, but Mellick had no idea of the timetable of these things.

More importantly, a key was produced and the door unlocked with no issue. Mellick grabbed the door as it swung, holding it open. “Get some rest, you two. I’ll find Amelie and come back within a few hours, all right?”

“Okay…”

“...Okay.”

The twins gave Mellick a tired nod before shuffling off into the room. He let the door swing in behind them, shutting closed with the usual click. For a while he didn’t move, just leaning against the wall and letting the air of what had happened wash over him.

An Accursed, right next door.

He’d never really put much stock in the rumors, the claims that they brought nothing but misery and misfortune wherever they went. Then again, he’d never had reason to consider it seriously. Aside from the spirit-chosen that sometimes passed through, not many Accursed made themselves known. Not that he blamed them.

All of which was to say that Mellick had very little idea of what being Accursed actually meant. He only had the hearsay of his parents growing up, and the rumors everybody knew. With just those, it was hard to deny feeling some trepidation at suddenly having to deal with one.

The stories abounded, after all: Accursed commanding legions of the damned who died around them, or bringing horrendous blizzards wherever they went, or sacrificing their loved ones in a vain attempt to lessen their own suffering. For every tale of more mundane sorcerers, there was an Accursed who outdid them in cruelty and magnitude alike.

For a moment he contemplated walking away. Let Dr. Vellicent and this Amelie take care of them. He was just a bystander who happened to live next door. But the image of Ikhan acknowledging him as Ishmael’s closest friend stuck in his mind. He’d come from the south alone, to a place practically the opposite of what he had known, with not a single friend or relative to cling to, all for the sake of knowledge and understanding.

What kind of person would Mellick be to turn away from that kind of dedication?

No, he’d stay. He wouldn’t be able to let it lie if he didn’t, after all. He stepped away from the wall, cast one more glance at his next door neighbors’ closed door, and set off. Time to find Amelie.

///////////

St. Myriak’s was originally a castle, the fortress of the reigning lord in the olden days before the Zmeivan crusade came through. Despite having given up the monarchal lifestyle several generations ago, it still held the same framework: An outer rectangular border that represented the fortress’ walls, and an inner diamond-shaped border that housed the actual castle itself. The majority of the university’s facilities could be found within the two.

The South Tower where Amelie supposedly lived was the southernmost spire of the inner diamond, just a short trek from Mellick’s room in the East Tower. That being said, it wasn’t an area he had occasion to visit often. His duties as prefect of his Tower usually kept him too busy to visit the other dorm areas.

Maybe he could treat this as a vacation, then? A simple break from the norm. Never mind that it felt like he was trying to convince himself of that more than anything else.

The tower itself was nothing special, at least. It was properly late morning at this point, and students of all kinds were up and about now, going about getting their breakfast or making it to class. Time to find out where his target was.

Fortunately, he happened to know a good way to find her. He found his way to the base of the tower proper, and to room S101. The prefect’s room. He knocked loudly several times. “Lari? You there?”

“One sec!” There was the muffled sound of items shifting and footsteps, and the door cracked open to reveal Larisa Makovi, prefect of the south tower. She was about the same height as Mellick, with thickset glasses and mousy features. On this particular occasion he seemed to have caught her in the middle of hair care, if the bedhead and the brush in her hand was any indication. “Can I- oh, Mel. What’s up?”

“Hey, Lari. Fighting the bedhead?”

“Always.”

“Seems like you’re winning, at least,” Mellick said with a smile. The two of them had known each other since they were first-year students in the same courses, and they’d endured plenty of brutal assignments together. Mellick considered her one of his best friends on campus. “I’m looking for one of yours, medical ward’s orders. Amelie Fontaine. Know where I can find her?”

“Amelie?” Larisa’s eyes flickered for just a moment before they lit up. “Oh, Amelie! She’s a year above us. Very distinctive, you’ll know her when you see her. I spoke with her at the start of the semester and she said she was keeping her mornings free for her own projects? So she’s probably still in her room. Floor three, room…S326? I think. That help?”

“Absolutely. I knew I could count on you and your memory, Lari. I’ll grab you a drink next time I see you, sound good?”

“Oh, for sure. A coffee from somewhere, if you can. But if you don’t mind, I have a date with some unruly hair demons. Best of luck with Amelie!”

“And best of luck with the hair demons.”

Larisa shut her door, and Mellick wasted no time setting off towards the stairway, a bit of extra pep in his step. Floor three, room S326. It only took a handful of minutes to find; just like East Tower, South Tower arranged their room numbers like a clock, placing 326 squarely on the left side of the floor. Just like with Larisa’s door, Mellick gave a handful of loud knocks. No response. His smile fading slightly, he knocked again. Nothing. He cleared his throat. “Ahem. Amelie, are you-”

The door suddenly flung open, nearly striking Mellick in the process. Standing in the doorway, hand raised in greeting, was a woman every bit as distinctive as Larisa had warned. She stood maybe an inch shorter than Mellick, piercing blue eyes framed by luscious, bright pink hair. Hair dye wasn’t against any university rules, per se, but the gaudier types were certainly given a bit of side-eye. And this was about as gaudy as it got. Following the pattern, her clothing was sleek and stylish, a pair of black pants with a pale pink shirt and a dark jacket.

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“Yo. What’re you doing banging on my door? I’m working on something right now.”

Mellick straightened himself back out, recovering from the fact that the door had nearly just taken him out. “Amelie Fontaine?”

“Yep, that’s me.” She grimaced. “That all you needed?”

“No. I’m Mellick Pollense. Dr. Vellicent sent me.”

“The doctor?” Amelie blinked. “What does she need me for?”

“She wants you to help me take a pair of people shopping.”

“...What?”

“It’s complicated. I’ll explain on the way.”

Amelie stood there for a few seconds, seemingly weighing her options, before she just shrugged. “If the doctor says so, I can’t really say no. If you’re lying about that, though, I’m gonna toss you off the tower. Got it?”

“Not lying, I promise. It’s just been a long day, is all.”

“It always is when Ms. Vellicent gets involved!” Amelie stepped out, letting her door close behind her. “Let’s get going, then. You can explain along the way. Sound good?”

“Sounds good.” Mellick set off, Amelie catching up to walk beside him. As they turned the corner to the stairs, he started speaking.

“So I woke up this morning to a shout…”

///////////

By the time the two of them had reached the East Tower, Amelie was shaking her head. “Poor kid. Coming into a curse so far from home’s gotta be rough.”

“Does that mean you’re familiar with curses?” Mellick inquired cautiously.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Probably the most familiar out of the students at St. Myriak’s, at least. There’s a reason Ms. Vellicent sent you to me.”

“So then…” The question died on Mellick’s tongue as he realized asking somebody if they were Accursed was rather rude. Maybe a softer approach. “How do you know her?”

“Ooh, somebody wants to be nosy!” She replied with a grin.

Ack. “Well, ah, no, I just-”

“Just messing with you. We’re almost there, right?”

“Uh, I mean-” Mellick paused to take a deep breath. “Yeah. Here on the right, E102.”

The pair stopped at the door for a moment. No sound from inside, which was probably a good thing. Were they still asleep? It had only been about an hour, maybe it was best to let them lie? But what if-

Amelie’s finger suddenly jabbed into Mellick’s ribs, causing him to jump. “You gonna knock or what? They’re not gonna respond to a stranger.”

“They’re probably still asleep,” Mellick countered. “I don’t want to wake them if they’re resting after today.”

Amelie shot him a look. “Nosy and conscientious? Weird combo. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not take all day. I’ve got projects.”

Before Mellick could respond, she’d stepped up and rapped loudly on the door before looking at him expectantly. He sighed. “Ikhan? Seda? Are you awake?”

There was nothing for a few moments, but the door slowly creaked open to reveal Seda’s sleepy face peeking out. “...Already?”

Mellick nodded. “Already. Sorry. Where’s Ikhan?”

“Asleep.”

“And you’re not?” Amelie asked, leaning forward curiously. “I’d been told you had to sync up.”

Seda retreated in time with Amelie’s lean, almost vanishing behind the door. “I…don’t know. I couldn’t sleep, but…he was asleep almost instantly.”

“Hmm.” Amelie leaned back thoughtfully. “That’s cool. Anything else interesting happen?”

“...Who are you?”

“Ah, this is Amelie Fontaine,” Mellick cut in before Amelie could put Seda off any more. “The one Dr. Vellicent asked me to find.”

“Nice to meet you!” Amelie added, raising a hand in greeting. “Now, are you gonna let us in? I need to take stock of what we’ve got.”

Seda disappeared wordlessly behind the door. A moment later, it swung open, revealing Ishmael’s disaster of a room. Amelie stared at it, mouth agape. “Wow. That’s a whole lotta books.”

“Ishmael never was the organized type,” Mellick muttered, stepping inside. Amelie followed, glancing around with a slightly shocked face. Seda let go of the door once they were both in and fell in behind them, still dressed in the same ill-fitting clothes as this morning.

Mellick found himself a seat at the desk chair, one of the only surfaces left uncovered by papers and books, while Seda took a seat on the bed beside her duplicate. For her part, Amelie stayed on her feet, carefully navigating every inch of the room as though she were taking it apart with her eyes.

After an awkward few moments, Mellick spoke up. “How are you feeling, Seda?”

Seda looked thoughtful for a moment. “...Okay. It’s still…weird, being in a new…body.”

“I’ll bet,” Mellick replied with a smile. “Take your time. Nobody’s going to force you into anything.”

“Speak for yourself!” Amelie chimed in from one of the bookcases.

Mellick shot her a glare, though she wasn’t about to see it with her face in a book like that. “You could have a little compassion.”

“It’s not about compassion, it’s about honesty!” she exclaimed, shutting the book and moving to inspect a shirt on the floor. “We’re taking them on a trip whether they want it or not. Least we can do is be straightforward about it!”

“For…clothes, right?” Seda asked.

“Yep!” Amelie answered. “Among other things. Clothes, toiletries, that kind of thing. I figure you all need food, too, so I was planning on stopping somewhere on the way.”

“...Sounds okay to me,” Seda muttered.

“Does that mean you already have places in mind?” Mellick said, leaning forward.

“Oh, yeah,” came Amelie’s response. “There aren’t too many clothing options around, but I wanted to show you guys my favorite cafe at least.”

“Well, no use waiting much longer,” Mellick said. “Seda, if you would?”

Seda nodded and poked Ikhan’s face lightly, prompting a groan from the young man. He shifted in bed for a few moments before his eyes creaked open. “...Already?”

“Already, sorry,” Mellick said with a smile and a sense of deja vu. “Take your time getting dressed, and we’ll go get something to eat.”

“...Give us privacy.”

“Well, yeah.” Mellick hauled himself to his feet, while Amelie was already heading for the door. Within moments, they were waiting back outside. Mellick was the first to speak. “They’re already much better at speaking separately than they were this morning.”

“It seemed like it, from what you described,” Amelie replied. “Though that could be because one of them was asleep. Maybe something de-synced them?”

“I don’t know,” Mellick said with a shrug. “I’ve never dealt with or even spoken to an Accursed before today.”

“Oh? Totally new to this, are you?” Amelie smiled slightly. “Well, after tonight is your best chance to bow out if you want. You’ve already done more than enough good deeds for a day.”

“I think I’d like to stick around, if it’s all the same to you,” Mellick replied. “Unless you’re actively trying to get rid of me, in which case I’d rather you just told me that.”

“Oh, not at all!” Amelie raised her arms in a hands-off gesture. “I didn’t mean it like that. When it comes to curses, having another pair of hands is great. Especially if it comes from somebody who knows the victim. It’s just that, well…” She paused for a moment, searching for words. “It’s not something you want to get involved with lightly.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see how I feel at the end of today, eh?” Mellick replied with a small smirk. It was kind of satisfying seeing Amelie off-balance, considering how much she’d been messing with him earlier.

“Sounds like a plan to me!” And she was already recovered. What an interesting woman.

Before Mellick could inquire on anything further, the door swung open, and the Rabins stepped out. To their credit, Ikhan and Seda had done their best with the options they had, but both of them were still swimming in their clothes. Amelie leaned forward, inspecting the both of them. “Hmm. You’ve got a height difference on you. And your hair and eyes don’t match up…interesting.”

Ikhan and Seda exchanged a glance. “Is that…important?” Ikhan asked.

“Maybe. We can talk about it over lunch.” Amelie spun around, pointing in the general direction of the exit. “It’s on the way. Ready?”

She set off without waiting for a response. Mellick shot the twins a sympathetic look. “I’ll go after you two,” he said, stepping to the side. “Might give you some peace of mind.”

“Thanks.”

“Thanks.”

And so, the four of them set out.