That was not the answer Tori thought she’d get. “You’ll...you’ll call him in for an interview?”
“My lady, you have allowed us to start making reservations for rooms for the opening and each soft open will allow for another week of reservations,” Mr. Somerset told her before showing her an appointment book. Tori flipped through the first week and found that all the slots were already booked. She tried not to make a face recognizing the names of Ewan and some knights. “If it continues like this, we may need additional staff to bring snack carts, at least for the winter, when students are on break.”
He made a good point. Aside from Lukas’ trio in the cafe and the three printers in the back, Mr. Somerset managed the three other employees. When the store opened and there were people who were just learning, at least two employees were needed to help with the exhibition hall to teach new players.
This left Mr. Somerset at the counter while the third employee ran the snack carts. There were several rooms and tables upstairs that could potentially put in a snack cart order. In fact, tonight, Ewan and Axton had already put in orders.
“If he is being interviewed, I want to be present,” Axton said. He looked at Tori with a serious expression. “May I?”
Tori furrowed her brows. To say that she wasn’t suspicious of Montan looking for a job would be a lie. At the same time, she just told Mr. Somserset to treat applicants the same, no matter who they had a connection with. Axton sitting in on an interview would breach that, so she hesitated.
“If it is going to be treated like a normal interview, then no.”
Axton frowned. “All right.” Tori looked up at him, a bit surprised. Part of her was sure he’d insist. He signed his name with a flourish on the order form. “I’ll just question him before the interview.”
Tori pursed her lips. She hoped he wouldn’t wait outside Lycée and kidnap Montan to interrogate him. Axton was an adult and surely he had a better method.
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“I’m sorry. He what?” Tori was still wearing her practice clothes from her dance class as she stood in front of the counter at Cafe Fortuna. Piers was sitting on a stool, eating a sandwich.
“Axton brought Montan Alvere upstairs to question him,” Piers repeated. “He told me not to disturb him.”
Tori’s mouth hung open. “How did he get his hands on Alvere so soon? Electives just ended!” She was sure she was one of the first people to leave the campus after elective classes, as it was her turn to pick up snacks for her and Ilyana. She didn’t even bother to change out of her dance clothes and was lazily wearing her blazer over it.
If Montan didn’t have an elective, it was possible for him to leave campus immediately after homeroom, however, she knew that Montan had Old Sulfae as an elective.
Piers paused. “I don’t know.”
Tori tilted her head back and let out a heavy breath. “How long has he been up there with him?”
“Almost an hour.”
“What is he doing that takes this long?” Tori looked up at the ceiling. If all Axton wanted to do was question Montan on why he wanted to work at Duel, it shouldn’t have taken this long. She could only imagine that there were more questions and possible threats.
Tori debated whether to rush up to the room. On one hand, it was not her place to stop Axton from confronting his half-brother. On the other hand, this had to do with applying at her store.
“Axton told me not to disturb him,” Piers said as he swallowed a bite. “He did not say that you could not.”
Tori was fairly sure it was implied, but with that technicality, she headed up the narrow stairs to the upper floor above Cafe Fortuna. When she got to the top of the stairs, Axton was coming out of the large room and closing the door behind him.
“Hi, Tori.”
“Don’t ‘hi’ me. Why is he here? I thought we agreed that all interviews and prospective employees would be treated the same, regardless of whether the applicant knows us,” Tori said in a low voice.
“This is outside of Duel,” Axton replied.
Tori narrowed her eyes. “How did you get him here so soon? Electives just ended a few minutes ago.”
“I brought him here in a completely legal manner.” As he said it, Tori’s face contorted with even more concern. He let out a heavy breath and he gave her a knowing look. “Since I’m paying for his tuition, I’ve listed myself as his financial contact. I contacted the administration to take him out of class after homeroom ended.”
Tori found herself a bit relieved. That scenario was far better than what she initially imagined, which involved Axton jumping the wall, snatching Montan as Montan walked out of his classroom, and then carrying out a gagged and blindfolded Montan over his shoulder.
The door to the room creaked open and Tori looked past Axton to see Montan hesitantly looking through a narrow part in the door. Axton’s relaxed posture tensed at once. His face hardened and he looked at Montan with a cold glare. Montan immediately dropped his eyes.
“Your Grace, may I go now?”
Tori heard Axton take a deep breath. “You may go.” Montan stepped out of the room and gave them both a respectful bow. As he headed towards the stairs, Axton called out. “Before you leave, pick up the food I ordered for you downstairs. Don’t ignore it; it’s already been prepared and it’s a waste if you don’t take it.”
Montan paused in mid step. He lowered his head, but Tori saw it bob up and down before he quickened his pace and went downstairs. When he disappeared and his steps were no longer heard, Axton walked back to the room and motioned for her to follow.
“Now to talk to you,” Axton said. He held the door to the room open and Tori slumped forward.
“Me? I haven’t gotten my food yet.”
“Piers will bring it up. Come on.” Axton waved his hand and Tori sighed as she trudged into the room. She took a seat at the table and Axton sat across from her. He calmly folded his hands on top of the table. “I’m sure you’re wondering what I asked him.”
Tori stared at him with dull eyes. “It crossed my mind.”
“I asked him the state of his parents and if he knew where they were,” Axton said. Tori nodded.
“But don’t you already know what they’re doing and where they’re currently staying?”
“I know. But I want to know if he knows,” Axton said. “He was uncomfortable talking about them, but he knows where they are staying. He has been avoiding them. The only time he leaves Lycée during the school year is to go to his job.”
“I figured that would be the case.”
Axton took a deep breath. “He was fired.”
Tori jerked her head back. “From the place where his boss was willing to lend him tuition money?” She furrowed her brows. “Was it insulting for him to return it so soon?”
Axton shook his head, his face growing darker. “His father found him. He stormed into the store, yelling at him. He tried to hit Montan, and the owner’s son tried to stop him. The owner’s son got hit and the owner was furious. The patrol was called and Montan was fired for fear of this happening again.”
“Then that’s why he applied to Duel. He was looking for a job.” That made more sense and it calmed Tori a bit to know he had legitimate reason. “But why Duel specifically? Because there is also a print shop in the back, and he once sold stationery?”
Axton seemed to hesitate and there was an unreadable expression on his face.. “Because Duel has guards.”
Tori let out a low hiss. “Oh....”
Axton lifted a hand and ran it through his hair. “I’ve been keeping an eye on his father and knew he’d caused some trouble at the stationery store, but as I don’t pay too much attention to Montan, I didn’t know that he’d been fired because of his father.” He closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. “Does that kid need to work? Didn’t I already tell him that if he needed money, he could come to me? I’ll pay for his tuition and housing.”
“It’s not the same, Axton. He’s very clear about how you feel about him, and he doesn’t want to depend on you.”
“He has no money and no background, and his parents are trash.” Axton almost snarled the last part. “If I don’t help him, who will?”
“Perhaps that’s why he’s trying to depend on himself. He may accept you paying for his schooling, but what about the other things people his age need or want? He can’t go to you for every little thing,” Tori said. She lifted her hand to her chest. “Listen, I know my family spoils me. No one knows that better than me. If I asked Kasey to run the delta for me, do you think he’d refuse?”
“Didn’t he set it up for you to begin with?” Axton asked with a raised brow. Tori rolled her eyes.
“He did, but did I want him to continue?” Tori asked. “It wasn’t appropriate and I’m an adult. I should be able to do some things by myself and have my own responsibilities. I can’t depend on my brothers forever, and I know they’d let me. Isn’t it the same for Montan? He doesn’t want to use you.”
Axton leaned back against his seat and stared at the tabletop. He was quiet for some time, even as Piers arrived to drop off Tori’s drink and silently leave to let them talk.
“Do you think I should’ve taken care of him earlier?” Axton asked in a strained voice.
“Why do you think that you should’ve?” Tori asked, sipping her drink. “Considering the previous circumstances when his father was Duke Alvere and he was underaged with both parents, you had no place to take him in.”
Axton frowned and spoke in a cold voice. “I didn’t say I’d take him in.” Tori’s unimpressed gaze lingered on him, and he lowered his eyes. He let out another low breath. “My mother had told me to be kind to him. She had said that my father couldn’t be trusted.” Axton slowly shook his head. “I thought ‘Montan is his son’. The son he had with another woman and betrayed my mother for; why would he treat him badly? That old bastard...Mother was right.”
Tori stared at the table wordlessly. Even if she knew what happened and understood how Axton felt, if it were her, there was a large possibility that she’d feel differently.
“What did you tell him?” Tori asked in a quiet voice.
Axton swallowed hard. “I told him if he wanted to apply, I wouldn’t stop him, but if he did anything to betray you and the others, to hurt your hard work and the staff, I’d make sure his father was the least of his worries.”
Tori closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead. “Axton....”
“But, if he is hired and does his work well, and is loyal, he won’t regret working for you. And I’ll make sure he’s safe.” Axton clenched his hands over the table. “Tori...would you be willing to hire him?”
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She had made it clear that Montan could work at Duel only if he passed the interview like any other regular applicant. She would not reject him for personal reasons as a favor to Axton. Piers had told her before that Axton was quite sentimental. Tori had long felt that Axton was, in modern terms, a ‘softie’.
Tori didn’t know if they’d regret Montan working for them since he was a love interest, but he hadn’t been spending much time with Alessa recently and Axton was considering him. It wasn’t as if she weren’t prepared for any betrayal.
“What if he betrays you and sells our game information to the Cow Man?” Ilyana paced behind her in their dorm as Tori sat at her desk, carefully applying exaggerated black eyeliner. “Or what if he’s working for the Cow Man?”
“Piers and Axton would’ve known if he was working somewhere in any way related to the Cow Man,” Tori said in a calm voice as she lowered the thin brush. Eyeliner was tricky and she wanted it as even as possible. “Axton followed up at Alvere’s old job and everything was confirmed.”
Ilyana stopped in place and pouted. “Are you pitying him because of his family situation?”
“Yes.” Tori didn’t hesitate to admit it as she put the lid on the eyeliner pot. “I don’t think he has anyone he can really trust right now and I’d rather he gets help from Axton than from Hart, who we know is close to the Cow Man.”
Ilyana seemed to consider that, and her expression lightened thoughtfully. “I see your point. Keep your enemies closer.” She sat down on the side of her bed and looked at Tori curiously. “I’m still surprised he applied at Duel.”
“I both am and am not.” Tori moved the mirror back to check her make-up. While make-up wasn’t mandatory, it did give the dance a stronger effect and Tori knew that Victoria put in a lot of effort when she performed. Tori had gotten up at dawn to prepare for the dance. She looked at her made-up reflection and turned her head to the side. The small bells hanging over her forehead chimed. “What do you think?”
Ilyana giggled. She’d been fascinated with the bells that were part of the dance since Tori brought them to the dorm from the dance studio. She had let Ilyana wear the headpiece to their post-final exam dinner the night before and it had been passed around amongst her friends.
The costume was just a series of layered robes ranging from cobalt blue to a soft pastel powder blue. She had pants and a long, wide sleeved top, but the layers were thin. Ilyana had been worried Tori would get sick dancing in the cold, but Tori assured her she’d be fine, as dancing would warm her up. The dance allowed for shoes and Tori wouldn’t remove her big, puffy coat that reached her calves until the dance started.
“I wish I could go and watch the dance,” Ilyana said. She looked at Tori’s ankles and hands. “Where are the other bells?”
“In the bag,” Tori said, motioning to the canvas bag on her bed. “I don’t want to jingle with every step I take.” The bells on her headpiece were smaller and quieter than the pieces that wrapped around her ankles and wrists.
“Aww....” Ilyana looked disappointed and Tori laughed.
She walked to the coat rack and put on her puffy coat. “Since you guys are using my carriages today, Piers is sending an imperial carriage to take me to the abbey.”
“With an escort, right?”
“Yes, with some imperial knights. I won’t be alone.” Tori promised her. Their original plan was to go to Duel for the whole day to prepare for that afternoon’s opening, but as Tori was now dancing for the orphanage, she couldn’t go until later.
Ilyana insisted on going with her, but Tori refused and told them to continue as planned. Piers and Axton were going to go with her to the orphanage instead.
However, the night before, Piers was ordered by his father to join him for a diplomatic meeting. Piers had refused until Tori found out and forced him to go. He was close to being named the crown prince. He had responsibilities and couldn’t neglect his duty for something as insignificant as a single dance.
Axton, as his personal knight, needed to accompany him as it was a diplomatic meeting. To make up for it, Piers was lending her his carriage and six of his escort knights. Tori had told him regular knights would suffice, but Piers and the escort knights insisted. Tori was sure it was because immediately after the event, they would go to Duel and the knights would be free to play.
Ilyana walked her towards the front gates of the school. The tense air of the previous final exams week had diffused and all the students they passed were either excited to be free for winter break or exhausted from the exams. A few greeted them and some others did a double take as they saw Tori’s elaborate dance make-up and gold strewn about her curly hair.
Her bag with the bells still jingled a bit, though muffled.
They could see the white imperial carriage waiting as they arrived and just as they stepped out of the gates, a footman greeted her and opened the door.
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“Remember, if I’m delayed, just start the opening without me,” Tori told Ilyana. “Everyone has been waiting a long time and I don’t want to delay the opening.”
Ilyana nodded obediently. “Don’t worry, everything will go smoothly.” She gave Tori a hug before stepping back. Tori adjusted her bag over her shoulder and then grasped a bar beside the door to pull her up. The door closed behind her.
“Good morning, Guevera.”
“Ah!” The voice in the cabin of the carriage greeted her pleasantly, but Tori still flung herself back against the seat. She hadn’t noticed a commoner-dressed Gideon sitting at the far corner. “What are you doing here?” Did she get into the wrong carriage?
She looked out her window and saw Ilyana waving with a bright smile. Tori forced a smile on her face so as not to alarm her and waved back.
“I am also going to Alessa’s orphanage school opening,” Gideon told her.
Tori wanted to scream. That wasn’t what surprised her. “But what are you doing in this carriage?”
“My parents weren’t going to let me go, but I said you were going, so they gave me permission. However, I must be accompanied by you the entire time and when you leave, I must leave, too.”
Tori’s eyes crinkled up as the carriage moved forward. This was not planned, and she wanted to call Piers immediately to ask him what his parents were thinking, but knew that he was already at the diplomatic meeting and couldn’t answer his comcry easily. She decided to figure out how to squeeze the Emperor for renumeration for babysitting his son outside her ‘guard hours’ when this was over.
“You know that after the dance, I’m going to go directly to Duel, don’t you?”
Gideon nodded, unfazed. “Yes, I also plan to go to Duel for the Grand Opening. The Sword Association let me into their group for a round. I thought nearly everyone in the Sword Association would want to be a paladin, like myself, but their classes are varied.”
This is unreal. He is talking to me like a normal classmate. “Have you gotten used to the game, then?”
Gideon’s face lit up at the mention of dungeon crawl. “I have much to learn from what I’ve seen of Axton’s game.” He paused for a moment and gave her a small bow of his head. “Thank you for letting me come and play at your store, Guevera-Countess Guevera.”
Tori maintained her collected posture on the other side of the carriage. If the game could distract him from Alessa, all the better. She looked out the window. “It’s always nice to know people are enjoying it. You should join the Tabletop Club at Lycée if you want to play more often.”
Gideon blinked. “Tabletop Club?”
“Some of the Sword Association members came to the delta last summer and are familiar with the game. I asked if they’d be interested in creating a club for such games to help promote it. Everyone from the Sword Association who has come to a soft open is part of it. They meet in the evenings and split into groups to play.”
Gideon furrowed his brows. “I didn’t know there was such a club. Where do they meet?”
“Cafe Fortuna,” Tori said. “Twice a week, after most clubs end for the day. Although, the last few times, they just came to the soft open. Ilyana is the treasurer and uses the budget the school gave us to supplement snacks for the meeting. If you’re interested in joining, you can ask Theophania Bucher-Kowalski.”
Gideon nodded, as if making a mental note, but froze. He gave her a suspicious look, as if she were tricking him. “I’ve never heard of a Theophania in school.”
Tori rolled her eyes. “You’ve been playing with her group for the last three weeks. It’s Tiff. Tiff is short for Theophania.” No one called Tiff by her surname unless they were an instructor and she always introduced herself as ‘Tiff’, but her official documents had her full name. “She’s the president of the Tabletop Club.”
Despite having to leave the city gates to get to the abbey and orphanage, the ride itself didn’t feel very long. Tori couldn’t help but be surprised that she and Gideon were able to have an amiable conversation. It mainly revolved around dungeon crawling and Piers, but Tori’s annoyance at Gideon was minimal the entire time.
She never once wanted to slap him, which was a good feeling.
“Does he really prefer to play alone?” Gideon seemed to find the fact that Piers liked his solo games to be a massive blow. No doubt that Gideon had hoped to one day play a game with his exalted older brother.
“He likes mysteries. All kinds. Crime, supernatural, fantasy. As long as he has to put together puzzles to find the answer, he’ll enjoy it,” Tori told him. It was time consuming for her to create solo RPG for Piers and had resorted to what she remembered of various true crime from her original world.
“My brother is highly intelligent. I’m not surprised. I’m sure he gets them every time,” Gideon said, puffing out his chest as if he was the one who had solved them.
Tori looked at him with deadpan eyes. “He has.”
“I knew it. My brother is amazing.”
For a moment, Tori wanted to argue that as far as older brothers went, hers were still superior, but held it in. No need to get into an argument when the conversation was going well. Even if her brothers were superior older brothers.
The carriage began to slow and turned from the smooth main road leading out of the city and on to a dirt road. The ride became bumpy, and Tori looked out the window. She recognized the surrounding fields and trees. The abbey wasn’t far.
She glanced at Gideon and then leaned closer to the window. She could make out double the number of knights she expected, meaning Gideon’s escort knights had joined them. It was expected, but Tori suddenly felt as if she had to deal with guarding Gideon because he was with her.
The carriage turned off the road and on to the drive of an old stone abbey atop a short hill. It wasn’t the first time Tori was here and noticed the small building next to the southern wall of the abbey. It was new and judging from the rows of benches and small stage set up in the courtyard surrounding the small building, it was the new school.
After she stepped out, she kept her eyes on the school. From where they stood, it didn’t look badly built. It was just like any other standard building in the countryside. Simple brick walls and a clay tile roof. Few embellishments.
A nun met them part way and upon finding out that Gideon had arrived, eagerly led them towards the school courtyard. The wall on one end only reached her waist, but Tori found that the other four sides were two heads taller than her and complete. The last wall would be completed later.
Tori also found that the structure for the school wasn’t a rectangle, but in an ‘L’ shape with a wing that stretched out along the length of the courtyard. There were several rooms and a small chapel. An area was squared off to be a garden and a nearby well had a pump.
“It’s not bad....” Tori said more to herself than anyone else as she looked around. Perhaps she shouldn’t have expected so little from Dimitri’s carpenters and masons. He was, after all, still a love interest and was doing this for the heroine.
“Your Highness! Countess Guevera! You’ve arrived!” Alessa’s voice rang out and Tori tried her best not to groan and slump forward. She maintained her dignified posture and turned towards the voice.
Along with Alessa was Dimitri, Fabian, Tom, and Adrien. It had been a while since Tori saw her with so many love interests at once and resisted the urge to step back into a fighting stance. There were four out of the original seven and if Gideon decided to take her side now, it would make five.
Tori was suddenly glad she gave Montan a chance and he was being personally taught by Mr. Somerset that morning.
“Good morning, Alessa. Everyone,” Gideon gave them a warm smile and nod of his head.
Tori didn’t give them a verbal greeting, but acknowledged their presence with a nod of her head. She didn’t want to talk to them and pretended she was distracted with the building.
“You came.” Fabian looked relieved as he and Gideon shook hands.
“I wouldn’t miss it,” Gideon said. He looked at Alessa and waved his hand. All six of his escort knights followed him, but one was holding a bouquet of flowers. “Alessa, congratulations on your project. You worked very hard and have done an amazing job.”
Alessa’s face flushed and she smiled shyly as she accepted the flowers from Gideon. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
“Excuse me, are you the dancer for Saphira? Countess Guevera?” Another nun had approached them, and Tori turned and greeted her with a smile. The middle-aged woman was smiling warmly and looked hopeful.
“Yes, I’m Countess Guevera. Good morning, Sister.” She was relieved to be distracted. Tori didn’t want to deal with the rest of the love interests. She wanted to make an appearance, do a dance, get some social credit, and then go to her shop.
“Wonderful! Thank you for coming, Countess Guevera. May the light of your family and friends always bless you.” She brought her hand over Tori’s head and Tori lowered it to accept the blessing.
“I will strive to shine my light on them,” she replied automatically. She didn’t remember where she learned the response to the blessing, but the nun looked pleased.
“As expected of a dancer for Saphira’s blessing. Thank you for your generous donation, as well, Countess.”
As she said this, Tori’s smile widened, and she turned her head to smirk at Dimitri. His smiling face quickly darkened.
“Not at all. This is for an incredibly good cause. I’m always happy to support children,” Tori said.
“Does my lady require a place to change for the dance?” the nun asked, looking Tori up and down. She could see the blue robes peeking beneath the coat, but one never knew.
Tori shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I just need to attach the wrist and ankle bells.”
“Then, let me take you to your seat. You have close access to the stage, my lady.” The nun happily led Tori away, but not before Tori ordered the escort knights to stay with Gideon and to surround him when he sat. The knights nodded and she caught an ugly look on Fabian’s face as she left with the nun.
They passed the entrance to one of the classrooms and when the nun saw Tori turn her head to peer inside, her face brightened.
“Would the Countess like to see inside?” she asked.
Tori was taken aback. She didn’t expect to be asked, but she was curious to see how the classroom was set up and if it was different from what they were planning to build in the delta.
“I would love to. Thank you, Sister.” Tori gave her a grateful look and followed her into one of the rooms. The building had a pitched roof, and the exposed beams overhead weren’t too high or too low. There was a dark slate board mounted on the far wall and rows of benches and desks.
Children were standing around, playing and when Tori entered, the jingling noise of her bag caught their attention. Tori threw them a smile and gave them a nod.
“This is Countess Guevera,” the nun told them. “She will be doing a blessing dance today and wants to see the school.”
“Are you excited to have a new school?” Tori asked. The children rushed to tell her they were, and Tori smiled. The children looked to be from ages six to eight and they led her around, pointing out the different parts of the room. Tori nodded, pretending to be impressed as she listened to their energetic comments. Several little girls wanted to hold her hand, saying she looked like a fairy.
She’d been complimented many times since she transmigrated, but looking like a fairy was probably the best compliment she’d gotten yet. She chuckled and let the children look at her bells and touch her headpiece.
The bricks were familiar, and Tori wanted to snort as she remembered that they should’ve been sold to her at one point. Still, at least they were being used for a good cause. She looked up, following the exposed wooden framework.
Is it bowing? Tori squinted. Perhaps it was the angle she was standing from, but the bricks didn't look perfectly straight. She couldn't question the quality of the materials, but she could question the quality of the work.
Her eyes followed the wooden beams. They looked a bit older than she expected now that she got a closer look. And they appeared a bit...damp. Tori shook her head. She could question the quality of the build, but not the quality of the materials. Unfortunately, she didn’t know much about building, as she usually left it up to the professionals.
She bit her lips and decided that she would make use of Gideon and have him send an inspector to make sure the building was built well, if only for the safety of the children. Usually, only government and historical buildings required an inspector, but it was common practice to have one come for private properties.
In Sur and Nord, it was required for any non-residential buildings, as they needed to withstand a certain strength of earthquake as well as protect against harsh elements.
She slipped out of the room, telling the children to study hard and that she would do her best for the dance so as to get maximum blessings. She let a few children touch her bell accessories before she left.
When she arrived, there weren’t many guests, but after a few minutes inside the classroom, most of the benches were filled up. Tori looked surprised and noticed a few familiar faces in the crowd as she was led to her seat to the side. Surprisingly, the Prime Minister was in attendance, but his wife wasn’t there.
Alessa’s four love interests were seated on one side of the aisle, in the front row. Fabian was nodding as Dimitri said something while Tom looked around and Adrien sat, appearing content. Tori saw Gideon seated awkwardly in the first row with one knight on either side of him and then four knights immediately behind them.
Wow, they really took my order to heart. I’ll send over some meat pie at Duel this evening. Positive reinforcement. Tori nodded to herself as she saw several people getting on stage.
Alessa was the first to walk up, followed by the woman Tori assumed was the Abbess, a few older nuns, a priest, and two children; a teenager and a small child. Alessa walked towards the front of the stage to applause.
“Good morning, everyone!”
“Good morning!” The crowd chorused as the clapping died down. Even Tori had clapped, so as not to be rude. She sat amongst the other nuns, in the front row closest to the steps leading up to the stairs.
“Thank you for coming this morning to celebrate the opening of this school for the orphans of the Saphira Abbey,” Alessa smiled brilliantly. She introduced herself to the crowd and then introduced the priest, who was to give the welcome prayer.
Tori bowed her head, her thoughts drifting to what she should do at Duel’s opening later. Since they were going to close very late, she decided to order food for her friends and the staff for dinner and made a mental note to call Mr. Sassure at the Three Queens. If she could call Axton, she could ask him to pick it up with Piers. The diplomatic meeting was supposed to end in the afternoon and there would be a late afternoon luncheon before everyone dispersed, and Piers had to attend as the son of the Emperor.
She felt a small tug at her side and saw the sister who had shown her where to sit. “My lady, after the children finish their speech, you are next.”
Tori nodded and put a silence charm on herself as she put on a thick bracelet of bells around each wrist and on her ankles. She couldn’t wear the crystal bracelet Master Ramos gave her, as the small round bells would catch on it and could damage the item. She had to return it to the dance studio before the dorms closed for break.
Once the items were securely on her she untied her coat and began to shrug it off before removing the charm. The air was cold, but it wasn’t too bad. At the very least, it wasn’t windy. Tori kept her head up, listening to the children’s soft voices as they thanked the guests and expressed excitement that they were able to have a new place to learn.
Tori smiled and clapped her hands as the children finished their speech. The Abbess stood up as the two children walked off the stage. As they came down the steps in front of her, they looked in her direction, drawn by the layers of vivid blue cloth and gold trinkets, and likely her shimmery make-up.
Tori beamed at them and whispered so only they could hear her. “Good job! Those were marvelous speeches!”
The two children blushed as the Abbess announced Tori.
“To dance a blessing to Saphira to pray for and bless these children, Countess Victoria de Guevera has come this morning. Countess Guevera is not only the Countess of Cosora, but is one of the ranked dancers of her age within the Belcoy Church.” Tori stood up and placed her coat on her seat. She stood up straight and gracefully walked on to the stage, her bells jingling with each step. The Abbess looked extremely pleased and bowed her head. “Thank you, my lady.”
“It is an honor,” Tori said, still smiling. The Abbess took her seat in the row of chairs at the back of the stage and Tori moved to the front center. She sat down, with her right leg bent so that the heel of her foot was lifted off the ground. Her arms were at her side, and she closed her eyes.
The sound of her heel hitting the wooden stage floor hard echoed with the bells on her ankle as she raised her foot and hit the stage again. She used her other leg to push her up from her seated position as the beat was kept with her heel hitting the floor. Her arms extended as she twisted her body.
The concept of the dance was taking care of children with the love of family, represented by the Saphira. It involved a lot of circular and sweeping motions, swaying, and the bells had to jingle at the correct points of the dance while remaining reasonably quiet during others.
Whenever Tori danced, she moved the way her body told her to and didn’t question or resist it. Sometimes, she didn’t feel as if she was controlling her body as it moved, almost as if she were in a dream. It was kind of relaxing; like floating on a beach and letting the gentle waves take you back to shore.
Tori turned her head to the side and brought her arms up. Next, she would flick her wrists to ring the bells around them.
She heard a crack coming from the back of the audience and then a creaking noise. For a moment, she wondered if she broke the wooden stage where she was dancing. She wasn’t heavy, but she was stomping rather hard to get that echo thud sound. Wood was snapping and it wasn’t coming from where she thought.
She’d stopped dancing and her eyes were fixed on the pitched roof of the schoolhouse. It was folding in and suddenly, screams of children filled the air. The gathered crowd turned around to see what the noise was about when the pitched roof folded over, sending the bricks at the top tumbling down.
Tori’s heart shot to her throat. A thought echoed in her head: there were children still inside the school.
Guests were yelling and pointing. Nuns were shooting out of their seats and the Abbess was giving orders to save the children. The roof was coming down and children were coming out while covering their heads.
“The door’s blocked!”
Tori wasn’t sure who yelled, but she had already jumped off the stage and ran to her seat. Her hand shot into her bag and grabbed her crystal bracelet. Instead of replacing the bells around her wrist with it, she held it in her left hand and ran alongside the crowd to get to the schoolhouse. She passed four of Piers’ knights.
“Atienza and the rest of you, follow me!”
“My lady, wait!”
“No time!” Tori skidded to a stop and slammed her hands on the ground. Energy flooded her body, and she released it through the terracrystal. Yelling was heard from within the blocked room as Tori shut her eyes and visualized a column. It was difficult to create without seeing it, but she was able to push the earth from beneath the brick floor and use it to create a pillar beside the exposed wood columns to reinforce them and hold up the walls and ceiling.
As soon as she felt it was stable, she shot up and got closer.
Children were yelling for help from inside. The doorway to one of the rooms was barricaded with fallen bricks and a pillar.
“Help us!” Children were crying and Tori yelled at the knights who had followed her.
“You four check the other classes and make sure everyone is out. I’m going to remove the debris.”
“One of us will stay with you, my lady.”
“That’s fine, just hurry up!” Tori yelled. She looked back, over the pile of fallen brick and a cracked beam across the entryway. “Children! Children, listen to me! I’m going to save you, but I need you to follow my directions, all right? I’m going to count! When I say three, take three steps away from the rubble. Okay?”
“Okay....” They sounded as if they were about to cry.
Tori moved her hands around the brick, trying to figure out how to clear it quickly. “One! Two! Three!” She listened and heard some movement. She let out a heavy breath. “Can you hear me? Are you three steps away?”
“Yes!”
“Stay where you are. When I tell you to ‘walk’, it’s safe to come closer. Don’t move until I tell you or you will get hurt, all right? Don’t come until I say ‘walk’!”
“What about the ceiling?”
“It’s all right! Do you see the dirt holding up the walls and beams? I did that,” Tori said, hoping it would comfort them. “It will hold. Don’t worry.” She was worried. She actually didn’t know how long it would last.
She swallowed hard and took three steps back from the debris. She could hear the quiet creaking around them, threatening to fall at any moment.
She put her hands on the ground once more and concentrated. In her mind, she saw the loosening of the dirt beneath the rubble. It began to liquify and she had to be careful so as not to make the area it was liquifying too large or liquify too quickly. The fallen debris seemed to be swallowed into the ground.
Using terracrystal usually wasn’t difficult, but because of the precision required and her nervousness, Tori was trying to focus and keep herself calm at the same time, making her use much more energy than normal.
She kept chanting in her head ‘little by little’, but at the same time, didn’t dare to be too slow. The creaking of the building was threatening.
“Guevera, you’re almost done! We can see inside!”
Shut up, Gideon, I’m trying to focus! She furrowed her brows. She could ‘feel’ the debris almost swallowed up. Sweat trickled down the sides of her head and her heart was slamming against her chest. Just a little more....
“My lady, you’re pale-”
“My lady, that’s enough! We can get through to them!”
“A little more!” Tori shouted. If she had time, she would’ve used an energy charm instead of relying on what she could get when she grounded. Her grounding had improved, but it wasn’t Sebastian-level.
“Countess, you can stop!”
Tori opened her eyes. There was about a knee-tall pile of rubble, but her vision was starting to get blurry. One of the knights must’ve noticed her expression.
“Children, come to the door! We’ll lift you out!” Two knights stood on either side of the door as Tori panted.
“Walk!” Tori yelled. It was the order the children were waiting for. She felt all the energy she was holding on to be sucked out of her and her arms gave way.
“Countess Guevera!” One of Gideon’s escort knights came to help her, and she shook him off.
“Get the children out!” She was only tired. She didn’t have a collapsing building over her head.
She could hear the children clamoring as the knights plucked them out, raced to the side to put them down and return for another. The nuns were checking the children to make sure they were accounted for.
“Where is Susanne? Susanne!”
“Sister, I’m here!”
“Blessings from Saphira! Everyone got out!”
That was what Tori was waiting for. She felt a dull ache in her head, and she swayed from where she was seated with her legs under her. She blinked as the world seemed to move.
Crap.
“Guevera!”
“My lady!” The voices were drowned out by a droning noise.
Crystal fatigue.
Her eyes rolled back, and the world went dark once more.