Marie

Month 12, Day 17, 9:00 AM

Sitting at her table in the office, Marie took a bite of her breakfast porridge. Poe left early to watch the University. He needed to scan Silverling’s token, so that he could trace the man as he travelled around the city. But, getting access to Silverling was more difficult than Poe had expected. He did not want either Silverling or Professor Lacer to know that he had decided to spy, so he would go early to campus and try to watch for Silverling by the ornamental gardens near the lifts. He assured Marie that eventually Silvering would leave the university to either meet the Raven Queen, or whoever had him fence the trinkets.

“Could he have just stolen the trinkets himself?” Marie had asked.

Poe thought about this for a while.

“This is a good question.” Poe eventually replied. Marie noticed that he did not actually answer it.

So, Marie sat at the desk, muscles slightly aching from the progressive calisthenics Poe made her do every morning, eating a rich oat porridge—with caramel ham-hock in— and reading the primer. Poe had moved her to the geometry chapters, and she found the ideas there fascinating. The radius of all circles had the same proportion to it’s circumference? No matter how big or small? Marie have gone through the physical proof several times because it fascinated her. As she reviewed the construction of triangles, the alarms sounded.

Marie shivered uncontrollably in fear. ‘An aberrant?’ The alarm did not sound close, but she jumped up and locked the office, bringing her book with her, as she left for the shelter. Shelters this close to the Mires were not spacious, and the press of people would be horrible, but Marie would take no chances. She’d already encountered one aberrant, and that was plenty.

Even as she walked as fast as she could, her chest aching, she tried to get her emotions under control. She took a long slow breath, just as Poe has been teaching her, to help her center he will. What would Poe say if he thought she was behaving fearfully? Going to a shelter was the prudent and reasonable precaution anyone would take. No one would blame her if she rushed a little.

The young girl that Marie suspected was the Stag—who had the office under now constant surveillance—stepped away from the corner and followed her. But, soon Marie was among the crowd going into the underground shelter that was marked as warded.

She maneuvered through the crowd, but she couldn’t find a comfortable corner to sulk in. Instead, she ended up sitting between two families and attempting to look unobtrusive. Eventually, however, the Stag teen found her. Marie grinned to herself at the teen’s effort to conceal herself. She was facing away from Marie at an angle, but kept her eyes swiveled hard to the side, watching her.

From her blind side, Jemnie bumped into her.

“Careful there! Why’re you standin’ in the middle floor like that?” Marie rolled her eyes at Jemnie, who gave her a wink. He’d pickpocketed something off the Stag teen, Marie was sure, although she hadn’t seen it.

“Oh, is this a friend of yours then?” Jemnie called to her.

Marie half covered her eyes with a hand.

“Not exactly.” She answered.

“Oh, then a secret admirer.”

“Hey!” The girl protested.

“Well, who are you then?”

“Cory.”

“Cory! Well then, per’aps you should clear off and leave my friend Marie alone.”

Marie didn’t like where this was going.

“It’s ok Jemnie.” Marie said. She had an idea. “Come on over here Cory, where you can keep an eye on me properly.”

“Hey, I don’t …” Cory started, but Jemnie smirked at her, and she stopped talking and just allowed Jemnie to guide her over to Marie. Up close, Marie saw Cory was shorter than she thought, but her body was thin, like she’d been a bit short on food.

“So? You work for the Stags then?” Marie whispered to Cory. Jemnie’s eyes narrowed.

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“It’s nothin’ person’l. They just asked me to keep an eye out for … trouble.”

“Morrows you mean?” Jemnie asked.

“What, you aren’t a Morrow are you?” Cory looked Jemnie up and down. Jemnie wasn’t wearing colors, so the girl didn’t realize.

“What’s it to ya?” Jemnie replied, a hint of menace in his voice.

“Now now!” Marie said. “We’re in shelter and there’s no fighting in shelter.” She looked over to the watcher by the door. “If there’s an aberrant out there, I don’t want to get kicked out to face it.”

“Alright.” Jemnie said. Cory also nodded.

They stood in silence for a while, and eventually they sat on the floor. The people in the shelter mostly tended to be quiet, although there was a constant murmur of hushed voices. Marie pulled out her little journal and began to look over it and tried to transfer notes to herself on the latest geometry she learned.

“What you writing?” Jemnie asked.

“Just notes on geometry. I’ve been studying shapes.”

“Is that thaumaturgy?” Cory asked. “I was tol’ that Mr. Poe was a sorcerer. Is that true? I never saw him.”

Jemnie looked irritated.

“Yes, he is a sorcerer.” Marie replied. “And, you did see him, this morning in fact, and the other week when you followed us around.”

“I never done.” Cory said. She turned to Jemnie, “Have you seen him …?”

“I don’t think so …” Jemnie admitted.

Marie sighed and returned to taking notes. They were so thick.

“So, anyway, is that sorcery?”

“No, I’m just practicing different shapes.” Marie replied. Poe promised this would make her sorcery better. According to him, drawing was the gateway to imagination. If she could understand porportion and shape well, she’d have an easier time with illusions, which despite Poe pretending otherwise, he was very good with.

But, the two spies seemed to find her notes and drawings fascinating. ‘They must be bored.’ She thought.

Eventually the all clear sounded. They didn’t say why the alarms had been set off, but it the Red Guard must have cleared it up very quickly, because they were in the shelter hardly any time at all. Marie still felt a little anxious, and she realized she didn’t want to be in the office alone. She stood up and made her way to the Agency. The weather had remained cold, and Marie wished, again, that The Boots were done. She also thought about how it must be to sit on the corner watching the August Agency.

Walking home, the two annoying spies trailed behind, a little hostile to each other, and getting into little shoving matches, until Marie finally had to lay down the law.

“That’s it! Stop acting like horses’ ass. You can follow me about, if you must, but the August Agency is neutral.” Marie decided desperate measures were called for. “Stop being dumb and come inside for a tea.”

“Hot tea?” Cory asked suspiciously.

“Of course, hot tea.” Marie snapped.

“With her?” Jemnie asked.

“Yes. We’re going to have a nice tea, and relax, and be glad that an aberrant didn’t kill us all and sup on our bones.” Marie replied icily. The other two paled.

She led them inside and left them in the outer hallway, where she figured they couldn’t get into too much trouble, because the office’s door was still locked. After making tea in her rooms, she came down the stairs carrying a tray with pot of hot tea and cups, and she found the two staring murderously at each other.

“Come on then.” Marie said cheerfully. “We’ll have some tea, and everyone will feel a little better.” She led them into the office. She had overseen the purchase of a couple of additional chairs for the waiting area in the last few days, so she dragged them to her table, and set the spies down across from her.

They sipped tea warily for a few moments. Marie put her cup down, and glared at them.

“Jemnie, I think it’s time you returned what you stole.”

He thrust out his chin.

“What?” Cory sputtered mid sip.

Jemnie sighed, reached in a pocket, and put a small battered folding knife on the table.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Cory grabbed it.

“I know.” Marie said. “That’s why I wanted Jemnie to give it back. You two are enough trouble as it is.”

“But …” Cory started.

“Neutral. Remember? Not that either of you are particularly good at remembering.” They glared at her across the table. Marie continued.

“I already know that the Stags are watching because they are worried the Master Poe is a spy or a plant for the Morrows.” Marie nodded toward Cory. “But, Jemnie, what I can’t figure out is why you’d be all the way over here, when you should be doing marks in the Market. So, are the Morrows watching me?”

“I’m not supposed to tell.” Jemnie looked away and mumbled.

“So, yes. Is it Kett?”

“He … yeah.”

Marie wondered how they’d gotten into this mess. “Why?”

Jemnie gave Cory a sideways look. “He says that he wants to meet the Mariner fellow Mr. Poe told Madame about. Maybe he can be bribed into helping us.”

“Does Mama know you’re spying?”

Jemnie shrugged.

Marie considered just denying ever hearing about a Mariner, because she hadn’t heard them name or met them. But, she decided instead to remain quiet. Hardly anything ever got worse for keeping your mouth shut, and mentioning her ignorance wouldn’t help.

She took another sip, and then the door burst open as Poe strode in with a whirl of color, his long embroidered coat fastened up to his neck.