Mrs. Dowsley tried to enjoy her morning coffee while reading a message on her cell phone. She liked her coffee black and strong. It usually did a great job focusing her in the morning. Right now, she couldn't possibly be more focused.

Part of the reason she was so alert was the picture that accompanied the message. It showed a girl Mrs. Dowsley knew to be Ms. Tina, in an extremely compromising position. Her backside was facing the camera, and from the picture, Mrs. Dowsley could tell that Ms. Tina's hands were bound behind her back. Something was sticking out of her anus. Mrs. Dowsley didn't know what it was, and would probably be happier never finding out, either. In addition, her bum looked suspiciously red. With her skin color, it was a bit harder to tell, but she was reasonably sure those marks represented something similar to what she did to Ms. Acorn herself very recently.

The text detailed the result of Ms. Acorn's investigation; the reason why Ms. Tina was hiding here. Apparently, someone from the Council had killed all her friends, and she was on the run from them. That created at least as many questions as it answered: Why were all her friends killed? Had they done something wrong? Witnessed something they shouldn't have? Just been at the wrong place at the wrong time? Why was the Council after her? To eliminate a witness? To extinguish a bloodline? What was her father's role in all this? How was he connected to the Council?

Unfortunately, Haley hadn't delved deeper into any of those questions. Instead, she had decided to delve deeper into Ms. Tina's body. The rest of the message went into great detail on their private endeavors. Apparently, the girl was surprisingly good at “rug munching”, an expression, the meaning of which Mrs. Dowsley could only guess at. She certainly wasn't going to look it up.

Mrs. Dowsley put her cell phone down with a frown. It was completely clear that Ms. Acorn was doing her very best to rile Mrs. Dowsley up. She had technically fulfilled her part of the deal by learning of the girl's background, and instead of trying to earn any extra credits she instead opted to earn the ire of her principal. The picture, in particular, would be stuck in Mrs. Dowsley's mind for quite some time.

She tried to purge thoughts of Ms. Acorn's sex life from her mind, and instead focus on the important question. What should she do with Ms. Tina?

Volunteering her to the Council was out of the question, at least until they knew everything about her circumstances. Even then, the Council would have to make a very decent offer for them to consider it. Not that it actually was her decision: all power lay in the hands of His Lordship. Keeping that in mind, Mrs. Dowsley knew he valued her opinions, and she was going to be completely honest in her assessment: While Ms. Tina's magic potential was abysmal, she was well-mannered, intelligent and talented, and Mrs. Dowsley believed the girl would make an excellent addition to His Lordship's servants.

While she wasn't privy to all the details, she knew that His Lordship and the Council had previously been involved in a conflict. She didn't know the end result of said conflict, but based on the enmity he seemed to possess for the council, she assumed the result was not in His Lordship's favor. Even if the Council gave a good offer, he might decide to keep the girl hidden just to spite them.

Fortunately, Mrs. Dowsley had a way to learn more about miss Ms. Tina's circumstances: Mrs. Acorn's charm spell. Unfortunately, this meant she had to negotiate with the mischievous girl again and promise something Ms. Acorn would accept. She loathed having to rely on the girl for her services, but saw few other options.

They technically had a mind reader at their disposal, but she was young and inexperienced. Mind readers required years of training, usually with another mind reader, in order to have sufficient control to not harm their target’s minds. It was still possible to learn such control using other methods, but it was less reliable and took way longer. The problem was that practically every single full-blown mind mage was employed by the Council. Asking for training for their own mind mage would reveal her existence, and expose the youth to offers His Lordship simply couldn’t match.

In his endless generosity, His Lordship has decided to personally tutor the girl, hoping to earn a loyal trump card in the future. Quite the gamble, considering untrained mind mages were a risk to everyone around them, and often themselves as well. While it was possible for even an untrained mind mage to glean useful information, releasing her on Ms. Tina’s mind was the equivalent of letting a bull loose in a china shop. Though it was possible they’d learn something, it was highly unlikely that Ms. Tina’s mind would ever completely recover.

Mrs. Dowsley saw another possible option: a long-term project in which she got a girl of the same age group to befriend Ms. Tina, hopefully earning her trust and thus her secrets. The girl in question would definitely not be Ms. Acorn — Mrs. Dowsley had already taken a huge risk allowing the misbehaving girl anywhere near Ms. Tina. To be fair, the decision to do so was made before she knew anything about the girl, and still had reasons for suspecting her to be a spy. Now, Mrs. Dowsley feared the bad influence Ms. Acorn might have on the poor girl. They were already lovers, what would happen to the well-mannered girl under Ms. Acorn's corrupting touch given time?

Mrs. Dowsley sighed. It was quite the dilemma. Allowing Mrs. Acorn free reign would allow her to learn all of Ms. Tina's secrets. At the same time, if Ms. Acorn was effectively given freedom to do what she wanted with Ms. Tina, there was the chance that whatever potential the girl had would be forever ruined, or worse. An intelligent girl such as Ms. Tina might turn out to be an even worse headache than Ms. Acorn.

In addition, there was the risk that Ms. Acorn wouldn’t actually share all of the girl’s secrets with Mrs. Dowsley. For obvious reasons, Mrs. Dowsley didn't trust the mischievous girl very much; she had ordered their room bugged. She hoped the security personnel had acted professionally when they listened in yesterday. Even with the hidden microphones, it was very conceivable that Ms. Acorn would ask the most revealing questions when they were not in their room. Mrs. Dowsley hated the notion that Ms. Acorn might know something about Ms. Tina that gave her even further leverage over the girl.

The alternative, forcefully separating the two, might not only lead to Ms. Tina’s secrets being lost to her: it could also completely backfire. Mrs. Dowsley would have to resort to very strong measures to keep them apart, now that they were lovers, and have at least an official rationale for her actions.

Mrs. Dowsley sighed again. She opened her MacBook to write a preliminary report to His Lordship, laying out the situation. She would try her best to defend her choices and obviously give him the final word on their next course of action.

She was half-way done writing the report when her cell phone chimed. It was her secretary.

“Ms. Tina is asking to see you, Mrs. Dowsley,” Mrs. Allenby, the secretary, politely informed her superior. Ms. Tina here, on her own initiative? Mrs. Dowsley would be extremely surprised if this was unrelated to Ms. Acorn.

“Send her in,” she said and ended the call. She put her cell phone down and pushed the papers on her desk into a drawer while closing her Macbook.

Ms. Tina entered the room and gave a bow. “Good morning, Mrs. Dowsley,” she announced, “I hope I'm not disturbing anything important?”

Polite as usual: it was a pleasure to deal with someone who knew her etiquette. While Ms. Acorn was no doubt trying to corrupt Tina, at least her manners were still intact. Mrs. Dowsley felt a bit relieved.

“Nothing that can't wait, Ms. Tina,” Mrs. Dowsley assured the girl, “please don't hesitate to come to me when there's something bothering you. Sit down and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Dowsley,” Tina responded, politely as ever. She looked at the chair, her eyes betraying a hint of worry. In an almost comical fashion, she very slowly lowered herself down on the chair. When the material touched her bum, an ever so slightly wince was visible on her face. She carefully leaned back and tried to pretend that nothing was wrong.

With the clues from Ms. Acorn's message, it wasn't exactly hard for Mrs. Dowsley to puzzle the pieces together. She wondered whether Ms. Tina's pain stemmed from muscle soreness or some of the more… specialized activities.

“I would like to lodge a very serious complaint,” Ms. Tina spoke as soon as she had collected herself.

Mrs. Dowsley kept her face carefully blank. She had a strong feeling she knew what the complaint was about, but speaking her mind would reveal that she also had her fingers in the pie, and admitting that would be bad in quite a lot of ways.

“Oh?” she feigned curiosity, “Go on?”

“Yesterday, Haley Acorn did the equivalent of getting me drunk and raped me,” Ms. Tina stated with a chill in her voice, “except instead of drunk, Ms. Acorn used some kind of magic to rob me of my free will.”

Mrs. Dowsley was surprised by the fact that Ms. Tina showed absolutely no embarrassment at all. Granted, there was nothing to be embarrassed about, but Mrs. Dowsley knew that quite a lot of girls felt they were partially responsible for being rape victims.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“She abused me multiple times throughout the day,” Ms. Tina went on, “In addition, she had her way with me again this morning. This time not under the influence of the magic, but I was still forced to obey her commands under the implicit threat of being robbed of my free will again.”

So Ms. Acorn hadn’t been satisfied with just one session, she had repeated her offense multiple times. She hadn’t written that in her message. From her perspective, Ms. Acorn probably saw nothing wrong with having a lot of intercourse with her lover. Even if that lover was coerced into doing it against his or her will. Mrs. Dowsley had a feeling this morning’s session was strongly related to Ms. Tina’s rather awkward way of sitting down.

Ms. Tina was not done: “To make matters worse, the types of sexual activities Ms. Acorn forced me into further robbed me of my personal freedom by way of physical restraints. In addition, she intentionally inflicted pain on me as part of the sexual activity. As far as the mundane law is concerned, this increases the seriousness of the criminal offense from a ‘simple assault’ to an ‘aggravated assault’, especially so since it was repeated several times.”

Mrs. Dowsley was unable to properly respond. Something about the situation felt extremely weird. This was not the words and demeanor she expected from a fourteen-year-old girl. In the first place, the knowledge she seemed to possess far outstripped what girls her age normally possessed. Then again, Ms. Tina had proved on the tests that her academical skills were way beyond what was expected of her age. Why should she not also possess similar high levels in juridical skills?

Putting aside her skills, the way Ms. Tina spoke of the offenses made her seem like the lawyer for a rape victim rather than the victim herself. Perhaps she was suppressing her feelings in order to remain in control? Maybe she would break down later, when she wasn’t sitting directly in front of her? While it was probably not healthy, Mrs. Dowsley couldn’t just ask the girl to let her feelings out. Maybe that was what she needed — crying on someone’s lap or shoulder — but right now Ms. Tina was presenting a complaint. Interrupting that would show a complete lack of respect for her efforts.

Mrs. Dowsley knew the girl was speaking the truth: the cell phone on the desk next to her contained discriminating evidence as well as a personal confession of the acts by the perpetrator. Worse, Mrs. Dowsley was also partially responsible, considering she essentially gave her permission for Ms. Acorn to do what she deemed necessary to learn Ms. Tina’s secrets. The only silver lining was that she hadn’t actually known in advance that Ms. Acorn planned to rape the girl, although she did consider the possibility of it happening.

Ms. Tina seemed to have paused in order to let Mrs. Dowsley speak her mind. When it became apparent she had nothing to add yet, Ms. Tina continued her monologue.

“I am unfamiliar with the laws of the Veiled world. However, if your laws don’t properly handle these kinds of transgressions, there is also the option to go to the mundane courts. While I will be hard pressed to prove that I was under the influence of mind-affecting magic, I should easily be able to get Ms. Acorn convicted based on the fact that I am below the age of consent.”

Mrs. Dowsley swallowed dryly. Even if she was not the direct target of Ms. Tina’s enmity, she could feel how threatening the girl was. Taking it to the mundane courts would make this a complete disaster. Even in the extremely unlikely scenario that Ms. Acorn was not convicted, His Lordship’s honor would still be dragged into the mud. While His Lordship was very tolerant of others’ opinions, he was understandably concerned that his own name would be associated with unethical behavior.

“That… should not be necessary, Ms. Tina,” Mrs. Dowsley tried to assure the girl, “Rest assured that we take these accusations very seriously and will do our utmost to solve this case in the most satisfactory way possible.”

She was aware that she sounded like a politician trying to escape responsibility. That also mirrored how she felt. Her strongest desire right now was to avoid having the case blow up. She knew that she would not be able to defend her own position to His Lordship if all details of this case were revealed to the general public. While she had done everything with the best of intentions, it could easily be argued that she should have known better.

“I’m afraid that your assurance is not enough for me, Mrs. Dowsley,” Ms. Tina said, still maintaining her polite disposition. That was the most disconcerting part of her behavior: how she managed not to break etiquette at any point. Most people, Mrs. Dowsley included, would probably scream or at least raise their voice at some point.

Having felt a taste of what Ms. Tina could do, Mrs. Dowsley definitely wanted the girl on her side rather than be in opposition to her. She had a feeling this girl would be even more trouble than Ms. Acorn if she put her mind to it. Unlike Ms. Acorn, who Mrs. Dowsley could at least pin the proper blame on, Ms. Tina did nothing wrong, while still managing to feel like an enormous threat.

Mrs. Dowsley needed to appease the girl in any way possible. While it was possible to restrain her to the security bedroom for some time, it would be a direct violation of His Lordship’s trust to not inform him. He was benevolent enough to overlook her minor mistakes in the past, but if the girl headed to a police station, her life was at an end. Not literally, of course, but her life would be completely worthless without His Lordship’s trust. As a completely last resort, she would admit her wrongdoings and ask His Lordship to personally meet Ms. Tina in order to solve the situation.

“Is there a way we can solve this without taking it to the courts?” Mrs. Dowsley worriedly asked. She should probably have formulated the question in a way that did not make her sound like she was willing to offer anything, though that was a good summary of her thoughts right now.

“I’m quite certain we can come to a satisfactory compromise, Mrs. Dowsley,” Ms. Tina said, asserting that she was completely in control of the situation.

“I would like the equivalent of a restraining order on Ms. Acorn: She is not allowed to contact me, directly or indirectly, or physically be within ten meters of me. This also extends to anyone affiliated with her, including those currently or previously affected by her spell. If she fails to follow these instructions, I want to be able to act in self-defense, resorting to any means I deem necessary in order to defend myself as if my life was under threat, and not suffer any repercussions for it afterward.”

She leaned forward, a hint of a grimace fleeting over her face as the parts of the bum that touched the chair shifted.

“Believe me when I can say I can be very crafty when it comes to life-threatening situations,” she spoke in a rather soft voice.

Mrs. Dowsley felt a cold shiver down her spine. This was the first time she saw a crack in Ms. Tina perfectly polite demeanor, and it scared her. From Ms. Acorn’s message, she knew that Ms. Tina had been the only survivor of a massacre, but not exactly how. It was possible she had been forced to commit atrocities no human should do in order to escape the situation.

Given the lack of cards she currently held, there was nothing Mrs. Dowsley could do but nod in agreement. It was not actually a bad deal at all, as long as Ms. Acorn upheld her part of it. Unfortunately, Mrs. Dowsley was almost certain the mischievous girl would test the limits of such an arrangement. Probably to try to plant another charm spell on Ms. Tina.

It seemed Ms. Tina had the exact same thoughts. “In addition, I want to be given special permission to carry a knife on my person at all times. I can assure you I will be very subtle about it and not let anyone else see the knife unless I find a use for it. If I believe Ms. Acorn attempts to affect me with her spell, I may feel forced to use any means necessary to end the spell.”

Mrs. Dowsley swallowed again. Killing Ms. Acorn would obviously end her spell. Inflicting pain enough might force her to break the spell, but only if she chose to do so herself. Rendering her unconscious would also stop the spell, though Mrs. Dowsley wasn’t sure if Ms. Tina was capable of doing so to Ms. Acorn without actually inflicting life-threatening wounds, considering her smaller size.

“Obviously, I will require a new room that I don’t share with Ms. Acorn. From what I can tell, there are two dormitories on the premises, so I see no reason why the two of us can’t get rooms in separate buildings. In the first place, I find it rather peculiar that I was assigned to share a room with someone of a different age group and that has a history of unruly behavior, but I won’t dwell on that fact.”

The text between the lines was obvious. Ms. Tina knew that Mrs. Dowsley had intentionally placed them together. She might not know the entire reason why, but she probably had strong suspicions. What she essentially was saying was that she was willing to let Mrs. Dowsley off the hook, despite her being partially responsible. It was a sign of goodwill; that she was willing to give the principal another chance despite everything that happened. Mrs. Dowsley was all too willing to jump on the offer: it would by far be the easiest way to solve this, frankly, messy situation.

“I will make certain to arrange everything according to your wishes,” she obliged.

“I appreciate it very much, Mrs. Dowsley,” Ms. Tina said, suddenly all filled with politeness again, “If I may be so rude, I’d like for the two of us to compose a document outlining the results of our agreement.”

Ten minutes later, they had both signed the printed document, pretty much entirely dictated by Ms. Tina. Once again, she proved competence beyond her age. Mrs. Dowsley’s secretary copied and scanned the document. Fortunately, she was professional enough not to make any comments on the contents she undoubtedly read.

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll return to the security bedroom while you make the appropriate arrangements for my new lodgings,” Ms. Tina explained. This was another display of goodwill. She was willingly giving Mrs. Dowsley the chance to detain her without causing any kind of scene. It was rather obvious she wanted to show Mrs. Dowsley that she was perfectly willing to succumb to her leadership, as long as her basic demands were met.

While Ms. Tina was very subtle about it, this was actually a huge deal. Ms. Tina showed that she could be extremely reasonable and willing to submit to authority as long as she was respected: an extremely positive qualification when it came to serving His Lordship. She was probably not aware of this part, but Mrs. Dowsley was thoroughly impressed regardless. Mrs. Dowsley was looking forward to working with Ms. Tina in the future, and already envisioning what responsibilities she could be given even before finishing school.

“That sounds like a good idea, Ms. Tina,” Mrs. Dowsley verbally agreed. “While you take a rest, I will inform Ms. Acorn of the new arrangements, especially including the consequences of her breaking it. Rest assured, I will also hand out harsh punishment should she attempt to violate the deal.” … and this time, she will not be off the hook with just some spanking, Mrs. Dowsley mentally added.

She felt mentally uplifted by the resolution to this problem. Not only was everything solved in a very acceptable way, Mrs. Dowsley also acquired something she had been sorely lacking: a counterweight to Ms. Acorn’s so far unchecked behavior.

Ms. Tina awkwardly rose from her chair, made a proper bow and thanked for Mrs. Dowsley’s help before leaving the room.