Malbutorius
C'est le bien qui fait mal
Fancier.
Noblesse Oblige [Znt/SI]
- Location
- Greece
So, Shade could summon his version of a raging inferno? Oh boy, bye Halkeginia, it was good knowing you.
He spends time with you. His innocence was forfeit the minute he tried to get to know you.
Translation: Our comedy duo needs a straight man and you are perfect for the job, Draco-expy.
Notice me, senpai!
Get Tiffania. She is
Shadenight writing smut? DOES NOT COMPUTE! What did Karin hit you with when you were a baby? Cheering spells? Oh my god, she totally did, that's why you are her pwecious Henrykins and not Grumpy Henry, right?
Am I the only one who thinks that Joseph will be pretty fine with this? I mean the reason he did all those things in canon was because he couldn't feel anything, so he is basically the lovechild of Kotomine Kirei and Gilgamesh (try to picture that in your head, enjoy the nightmares!).
So when he finally gets the book, it will go something like this:
Joseph: *opens book* .............
Sheffield: Your Grace, are you okay?
Joseph:....... *closes book and gets up*
Sheffield: Your Grace, where are you going?
Joseph: *stands ramrod still and starts laughing loudly, without stopping. Eventually he runs out of breath and dies smilling*
*Meanwhile in the
Henry: *cackles evily* Excellent, my evil plan of using the liquid version of laughing gas as ink to write this version of my book is working splendily. Now the Pope is next, I have already aqquired 1 ton of windstones and a hungry aligator, but where am I supposed to find a willing loli girl without sounding like a pedophile?
Louise: Onii-tan, pick me!
Henry: *looks and gently picks up Louise* Yes, you will do nicely *starts walking away with a floating Louise next to his shoulder*
Louise: Weeee, faster!
InfiniteDaze
Too lazy to leave the house
- Location
- I wish I could stay
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
when the turn to Reconquista
a table, perform prestidigitation tricks
Chapter Twenty
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Twenty
Professor Colbert had more hair on his head than I remembered. He also was a good eight years younger, so there was a distinct difference in approach. Not on the appearance though, because he still had glasses, and he wore a one piece robe of a somber dark blue color.
"Good morning, class," he spoke crisply, but gently. "Today, we will take a moment to explain the precautions you will all undertake before dealing with Fire spells. We wouldn't want any student to get hurt, or badly burnt, when it could have been avoided," he gently lifted his wand, and the basins that had been empty in front of our seats soon filled with water. "First of all, you should ensure your hands and faces are wet. If you have long hair, please tie it behind your back, small strings have been left near the basins just for that reason."
I didn't have long hair -thankfully- and while I did proceed to wash my hands and my face, I had the feeling that perhaps this was going a bit too far. What were we going to do, lit fire to the world as Dot-level mages? I folded the sleeves of my shirt back to my elbows, just as an extra precaution, and tucked the frills and lace inside.
"Now," Professor Colbert moved to the nearby window, opening it up fully. "We are going to test your affinity with the Fire element. Please, one at the time come to the window, lift your wand, and continuously chant the words 'Ignite, by the Founder's will, ignite.', by seeing how far and how hot the flame will be, we will have a decent inkling of your skill in manipulating the fire element."
He then smiled. "Who would like to go first?"
And as he asked that, I stood up. "Henry de la Blois de la Valliere answers the call," I said with a grin, wand already out and fingers itching as I descended the few stairs to reach the window by the professor's side.
"Keep your wand pointed out of the window, Mister Valliere," Colbert said, "Now, do not worry if at first no flame appears. Simply keep your mind on the purpose of this exercise-"
I extended my wand out of the window, my eyes fixed on the crystal blue sky that lacked clouds, and then I began to chant, my voice calm and controlled, my heart drumming from the excitement of what might happen, and what might not. "Ignite," I said, "By the Founder's will, I command you to burn!" a tongue of fire left the tip of my wand, lashing out in the air and twirling around with its magnificent orange light.
"Mister Valliere-the word you should have said at the end was 'Ignite'," Colbert remarked sharply, "Now try once more." With a sharp twitch of my wand, the tongue of fire came less as I took a small breath.
"I apologize," I said, "I got carried away."
The proper chant still earned me a decent jet of fire, but it lacked the orange lighting, and seemed quite suffused in heat too.
"Well done, Mister Valliere," Colbert remarked as he watched the jet of fire. "Within acceptable levels, I would reckon. Now, who would like to go next?"
I returned to my seat and sighed, yawning with a hand to cover my mouth as I decided to catch a bit of brain-dead sleep, since it would be a boring hour before everyone had done their thing. "Well, the son of the Heavy Wind without a fire affinity? Who would have thought," Anthoine said with a smug smile. "I guess the professor just wants to find out who's going to be the top of this class early on," he craned his neck right and left, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go show off."
I blinked. "But...you're a Gramont."
"Indeed," Anthoine said with a chuckle as he stood up, rose wand in hand, "And passion is as hot as the flaming sun...or so my father says, flamboyance, my friend, flamboyance!" and with that exclamation out of the way -and rose petals fluttering around his head together with the sparkles, he reached for the window next and repeated the chant, creating a long tongue of fire that was easily twice my own.
When he returned to his seat, I simply smiled. "Ah...overcompensating for something else?" I quipped, only for Anthoine to playfully shove me to the side.
Henriette de Joyeuse went next, her demure and petite form looking like that of a rabbit in a cage, afraid of everything and everyone. She extended her wand, her mouth twitched as she stammered on the first words -was she nervous in front of a crowd?- and then a blast of fire outright left the tip of her wand, easily dwarfing Anthoine's own jet.
I stared.
Anthoine stared.
"Anthoine," I said. "Are you sure you're the one with the affinity for fire here?"
"I-well-uhm...oh," he muttered in disbelief. His eyes were transfixed on the girl though, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Someone's got a crush," I hummed lightly, even as André went next and reset the bar to a more acceptable level -similar to mine, or perhaps a bit less. Anthoine snapped his head towards me, eyes wide in something similar to fear, embarrassment and shock. I simply clasped my hands together and smiled softly, "Perhaps she has yet to be engaged."
"Ah...you...you think?"
"Write a letter home and ask," I replied. "Who knows," I smiled, "Though if I were you, I'd be quick about it."
André sat back down near us, and then grumbled. "I could have just told him my affinity was water and be done with it." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "The shame..."
"Meh," I remarked, "If you're ashamed, then what should I be? We did pretty much the same thing. Just let it be, André. You'll have your chance to outshine everyone else when we meet the Water professor."
Who was a certain professor Anne de Noailles, and differently from what the name implied, he was a male and not a female. Also, he looked manly as hell. He had a thick beard, arms so large he could easily twist in two a man, and yet wore clothes that made him look like one of the Gramont family -if with visible amount of chest hair on sight.
"Now, my students," he spoke with the strength of thunder, this Anne de Noailles, "We shall see to it that you are educated in the might that are the crushing tidal waves, the strong currents, the-"
"Sir...isn't Water magic supposed to be about healing?" one of the students in the crowd asked, even as I carefully sank most of my body below the desk.
Goodbye, random student who couldn't keep his mouth shut.
I hardly knew thee, but I will forever cherish and remember your shocked expression at the end of the military-like rant of the professor.
Oh, who was I kidding?
"Hey André," I whispered, "go on, tell him of your affinity."
André looked back at me with wide eyes, and then most nobly shook his head in the negative sense.
"After class," he whispered back. "Wouldn't want to...disturb."
I chuckled.
He didn't.
Professor Colbert had more hair on his head than I remembered. He also was a good eight years younger, so there was a distinct difference in approach. Not on the appearance though, because he still had glasses, and he wore a one piece robe of a somber dark blue color.
"Good morning, class," he spoke crisply, but gently. "Today, we will take a moment to explain the precautions you will all undertake before dealing with Fire spells. We wouldn't want any student to get hurt, or badly burnt, when it could have been avoided," he gently lifted his wand, and the basins that had been empty in front of our seats soon filled with water. "First of all, you should ensure your hands and faces are wet. If you have long hair, please tie it behind your back, small strings have been left near the basins just for that reason."
I didn't have long hair -thankfully- and while I did proceed to wash my hands and my face, I had the feeling that perhaps this was going a bit too far. What were we going to do, lit fire to the world as Dot-level mages? I folded the sleeves of my shirt back to my elbows, just as an extra precaution, and tucked the frills and lace inside.
"Now," Professor Colbert moved to the nearby window, opening it up fully. "We are going to test your affinity with the Fire element. Please, one at the time come to the window, lift your wand, and continuously chant the words 'Ignite, by the Founder's will, ignite.', by seeing how far and how hot the flame will be, we will have a decent inkling of your skill in manipulating the fire element."
He then smiled. "Who would like to go first?"
And as he asked that, I stood up. "Henry de la Blois de la Valliere answers the call," I said with a grin, wand already out and fingers itching as I descended the few stairs to reach the window by the professor's side.
"Keep your wand pointed out of the window, Mister Valliere," Colbert said, "Now, do not worry if at first no flame appears. Simply keep your mind on the purpose of this exercise-"
I extended my wand out of the window, my eyes fixed on the crystal blue sky that lacked clouds, and then I began to chant, my voice calm and controlled, my heart drumming from the excitement of what might happen, and what might not. "Ignite," I said, "By the Founder's will, I command you to burn!" a tongue of fire left the tip of my wand, lashing out in the air and twirling around with its magnificent orange light.
"Mister Valliere-the word you should have said at the end was 'Ignite'," Colbert remarked sharply, "Now try once more." With a sharp twitch of my wand, the tongue of fire came less as I took a small breath.
"I apologize," I said, "I got carried away."
The proper chant still earned me a decent jet of fire, but it lacked the orange lighting, and seemed quite suffused in heat too.
"Well done, Mister Valliere," Colbert remarked as he watched the jet of fire. "Within acceptable levels, I would reckon. Now, who would like to go next?"
I returned to my seat and sighed, yawning with a hand to cover my mouth as I decided to catch a bit of brain-dead sleep, since it would be a boring hour before everyone had done their thing. "Well, the son of the Heavy Wind without a fire affinity? Who would have thought," Anthoine said with a smug smile. "I guess the professor just wants to find out who's going to be the top of this class early on," he craned his neck right and left, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go show off."
I blinked. "But...you're a Gramont."
"Indeed," Anthoine said with a chuckle as he stood up, rose wand in hand, "And passion is as hot as the flaming sun...or so my father says, flamboyance, my friend, flamboyance!" and with that exclamation out of the way -and rose petals fluttering around his head together with the sparkles, he reached for the window next and repeated the chant, creating a long tongue of fire that was easily twice my own.
When he returned to his seat, I simply smiled. "Ah...overcompensating for something else?" I quipped, only for Anthoine to playfully shove me to the side.
Henriette de Joyeuse went next, her demure and petite form looking like that of a rabbit in a cage, afraid of everything and everyone. She extended her wand, her mouth twitched as she stammered on the first words -was she nervous in front of a crowd?- and then a blast of fire outright left the tip of her wand, easily dwarfing Anthoine's own jet.
I stared.
Anthoine stared.
"Anthoine," I said. "Are you sure you're the one with the affinity for fire here?"
"I-well-uhm...oh," he muttered in disbelief. His eyes were transfixed on the girl though, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Someone's got a crush," I hummed lightly, even as André went next and reset the bar to a more acceptable level -similar to mine, or perhaps a bit less. Anthoine snapped his head towards me, eyes wide in something similar to fear, embarrassment and shock. I simply clasped my hands together and smiled softly, "Perhaps she has yet to be engaged."
"Ah...you...you think?"
"Write a letter home and ask," I replied. "Who knows," I smiled, "Though if I were you, I'd be quick about it."
André sat back down near us, and then grumbled. "I could have just told him my affinity was water and be done with it." He crossed his arms in front of his chest, "The shame..."
"Meh," I remarked, "If you're ashamed, then what should I be? We did pretty much the same thing. Just let it be, André. You'll have your chance to outshine everyone else when we meet the Water professor."
Who was a certain professor Anne de Noailles, and differently from what the name implied, he was a male and not a female. Also, he looked manly as hell. He had a thick beard, arms so large he could easily twist in two a man, and yet wore clothes that made him look like one of the Gramont family -if with visible amount of chest hair on sight.
"Now, my students," he spoke with the strength of thunder, this Anne de Noailles, "We shall see to it that you are educated in the might that are the crushing tidal waves, the strong currents, the-"
"Sir...isn't Water magic supposed to be about healing?" one of the students in the crowd asked, even as I carefully sank most of my body below the desk.
Goodbye, random student who couldn't keep his mouth shut.
I hardly knew thee, but I will forever cherish and remember your shocked expression at the end of the military-like rant of the professor.
Oh, who was I kidding?
"Hey André," I whispered, "go on, tell him of your affinity."
André looked back at me with wide eyes, and then most nobly shook his head in the negative sense.
"After class," he whispered back. "Wouldn't want to...disturb."
I chuckled.
He didn't.
Petite eh? How old is the princess right now? old enough to get away with looking like a small highschooler?
Dragonskyt
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?
- Location
- Kiln of the First Flame
These water spells have been passed down the Noailles line for generations!
She should be like 8 years old. So I doubt it. Unless magic.
The princess has a water affinity, anyways. Not a fire affinity.
Rinn
Coffee Addict
- Location
- Cornfield County, Ohio
A strong one, too. Can't she stack magic to something like sixth level spells? Two above Square? Or was that just a secret Royal thing? Or am I ignorantly rambling about a fandom that I haven't studied as much as I usually do?
What she can is work in tandem with another person who knows the technique, meaning another royal, to effectively stack their powers to some degree. "Hexagon" magic is basically teamwork.
- Location
- Mountains and rivers
There you go.
lit the
Perun expy (from The Iron Druid Chronicles) confirmed.
Yeah, I bet.
Alphaleph
The Firstiest of First
But Shade! Female lions don't have manes!
/pedant
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
They are magical lions. Logic does not apply!
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
light fire to the world
will, ignite'; by seeing how far and how hot
Chapter Twenty-One
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Twenty-One
Professor Guiteau taught Wind magic. His stern, no nonsense face told me he considered his classroom serious business, and as his eyes narrowed upon each of us as we sat down on our seats, I realized he really was the Severus Snape I had been looking for. He just needed to say that there would be no flimsy waving of wands, or cheeky chuckling, and everything would fit in like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
He had short and cropped dark hair, narrow dark eyes, and thin lips that seemed to exude displeasure. He really didn't want to be there, apparently. Judging by the way he was in turn judging us, it seemed we were found lacking in something.
"Wind is an invisible force," he spoke in the end. "It can take the form of a thunderous air hammer, of a slicing blade, of a strong hurricane, or it can be linked-becoming lightning, enhancing fire, forming ice, creating sand-" as he used his wand to scribble on the chalkboard, it became pretty clear early on what type of professor he was.
He was the kind that began to speak as soon as the clock marked the start of the hour, and finished only when the lesson was over.
Quietly, I began to scribble down notes. My fingers didn't cramp, but then again I was used to hours and hours of scribbling, and where my body failed, my mind powered through. By the time we were done, I was the only one who did not groan as the professor handed out homework to do. Apparently, my first trip on the library would be earlier than planned, seeking out who were the strongest wind users in the last two centuries and writing a brief biography on their lives -as well as their emotional character, which would give insight on how to best manipulate said element in chants.
That was the theory behind it, or at least the explanation the professor gave. I simply looked at Anthoine, André and Henriette, who in turn looked back not really understanding my eye-talking ability. They were honest amateurs in professor-given tasks, but I'd teach them well enough.
After lunch, we made our way to the library, which was filled with shelves, books and students of older years rummaging through them. Although splitting up was a good idea, I did not want to end up losing sight of Anthoine and find him being babied by an older student. My eyes moved to where a group of youngsters -in my head, since in body they were older than me- were lazing around, half-asleep and dreadfully wishing they could get on with their lives without tests.
"Forgive me for asking and disturbing you," I whispered as I drew near, catching their attention, "Do you perhaps know which books are best to deal with professor Guiteau's research on wind users genealogy?"
One of the older guys looked at the other, and then furrowed his brows, "Uhm...what was it? Wind Users in Halkeginia?"
"Yeah, that one and Famous Houses by affinity," the second one replied. "The librarian should know where they are if you ask her," I smiled, and made a light bow of my head.
"Thank you very much," I said.
"Remember to polish off your writing," one of the girls of the group said. "Professor Guiteau doesn't like flourishes or large letters-he thinks we use it to skive off on the required number of pages."
"Thank you once more," I said with a smile as I turned around and began to walk towards the librarian, Anthoine right behind me. André and Henriette had gone to look for a table to sit, and were currently moving two chairs with their wands to have four chairs around a single table. The librarian pursed her lips at that display, but said nothing since we were keeping it on the low key.
"Good afternoon," I said gently, "Would you happen to know the location of Wind users in Halkeginia and Famous houses by affinity?" the old woman nodded, and quickly set off in her task. I turned to Anthoine, "We should be done in a couple of hours, perhaps even less."
Anthoine sighed, "And here I was, thinking we'd enjoy our day of the Void before starting this sort of dreadful work. We have a whole week to finish this assignment-"
"When half of your family is composed of strict people, you learn to adapt," I pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were spies referring my every move to my mother in an effort to ingratiate her," and I was pretty sure Wardes was among them, of course in his best interests as the older brother-type, he wouldn't be doing this out of malice, or self-interest, but simply because he had been asked.
Or he could be a malicious little bugger whose carcass would be found drowned in the courtyard's fountain one morning, but that wouldn't be the case, at least, I hoped.
I chuckled softly as I took my seat, cracking my fingers as quill and ink pot found their way in front of me from the table's side. "Two books, one per couple, then we compare the notes," I said calmly, "André, you're with me." My eyes twinkled, as Anthoine's own sparkled as understanding dawned on him that I was playing matchmaker. "We'll start with Wind users in Halkeginia," I continued, "If that's all right with you all?"
"Sure," Anthoine all but chirped it as he moved his chair closer to Henriette, who shyly looked at the blond blue-eyed kid before flipping open the book in front of her, while André and I did the same with ours.
In the silence of the library, only the scribbling of quills on parchments could be heard, and it suited me just fine. A few hours later and we were done with the assignments, the ink dry, and the parchments neatly rolled up. "And now we are free," I said with a sigh of relief. "So...what do you want to do?" I asked the rest of the group, who in turn looked at one another.
"Tea in the courtyard?" Anthoine hazarded.
"A horse ride around the academy?" André remarked.
"Uhm...anything's fine," Henriette mumbled, twiddling her fingertips. In answer, I looked at her, she squirmed a bit, even as I kept my stare on her until she finally emitted a soft whining sound, and continued, "I...I would like to practice my water magic a bit more."
"Why would you need to do that? Your fire's affinity is quite high-" Anthoine said with a charming smile -charming smile number three, known in the Gramont family as the smile that steals the panties. "We can just throw André in front of the water professor whenever he asks for a volunteer."
"Ah. Ah. Ah. No," André stressed out, "Anthoine-we can throw you in front of professor Chevreuse if you prefer, I'm sure she'd gobble you right up..."
I blinked as I looked at André, Anthoine surprised too by the sudden boldness of the teenager. André, instead, looked at the both of us -and at the creeping blush spreading on Henriette's face- with a puzzled expression. "What?" he asked.
"André," I smiled. Anthoine slowly began to push himself away from the table, "My dear friend," the Gramont third-born took Henriette by the wrist and began to move her away from the table faster than I could finish smiling like a shark, "Let me teach you some interesting stuff."
When we stepped out of the library, André was twitching.
I was chuckling and trying my hardest not to laugh out loud, but the pale white face of André was truly priceless.
"He told you?" Anthoine asked as he joined us outside, Henriette's face a startling crimson blush. "Everything?" There was a twitchy nod. "Come here, my brother..." Anthoine added as he widened his arms and hugged André tightly, "It's all right. Henry's perversion wins only if you let it win."
I bristled and mockingly brought a hand right beneath my chin, "Please-this is nothing."
"Excuse me for disturbing you," a familiar voice called to us as we turned, in time to see Wardes draw near with a smile on his face. "But I will need to speak with Henry for a moment in private, if that is fine with you kind misters, and miss," as he tipped his head lightly in Henriette's direction, the young lady in question giggled softly.
"Oh, Jean-Jacques," I said with a smile, "This is Viscount Wardes, he's engaged to my sister Cattleya," I added as I made the presentations. "I don't think it will take long, so...I'll probably meet you outside later, André," I said. I then patted Anthoine's shoulder and whispered to his ear, "One can train water magic in the courtyard while taking tea, my friend...go fulfill your destiny."
Anthoine's eyes shone with firm determination, his inner fire igniting with joy as his rose wand ended up in his hand, near his face. "Yes, sir!"
Wardes looked on and chuckled, not really understanding, or perhaps understanding and keeping quiet about it.
"So, Jean-Jacques," I said as I began to walk by the older boy's side. "Can I be reasonably certain you have the unrewarding task of referring my actions to Cattleya?"
Wardes smiled gently, "I do," he admitted. "But I would rather you told me, rather than risk throwing you under the tender mercies of your mother's punishments."
"You truly are a good friend, Jean-Jacques," I smiled back.
The best there could ever be.
Professor Guiteau taught Wind magic. His stern, no nonsense face told me he considered his classroom serious business, and as his eyes narrowed upon each of us as we sat down on our seats, I realized he really was the Severus Snape I had been looking for. He just needed to say that there would be no flimsy waving of wands, or cheeky chuckling, and everything would fit in like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
He had short and cropped dark hair, narrow dark eyes, and thin lips that seemed to exude displeasure. He really didn't want to be there, apparently. Judging by the way he was in turn judging us, it seemed we were found lacking in something.
"Wind is an invisible force," he spoke in the end. "It can take the form of a thunderous air hammer, of a slicing blade, of a strong hurricane, or it can be linked-becoming lightning, enhancing fire, forming ice, creating sand-" as he used his wand to scribble on the chalkboard, it became pretty clear early on what type of professor he was.
He was the kind that began to speak as soon as the clock marked the start of the hour, and finished only when the lesson was over.
Quietly, I began to scribble down notes. My fingers didn't cramp, but then again I was used to hours and hours of scribbling, and where my body failed, my mind powered through. By the time we were done, I was the only one who did not groan as the professor handed out homework to do. Apparently, my first trip on the library would be earlier than planned, seeking out who were the strongest wind users in the last two centuries and writing a brief biography on their lives -as well as their emotional character, which would give insight on how to best manipulate said element in chants.
That was the theory behind it, or at least the explanation the professor gave. I simply looked at Anthoine, André and Henriette, who in turn looked back not really understanding my eye-talking ability. They were honest amateurs in professor-given tasks, but I'd teach them well enough.
After lunch, we made our way to the library, which was filled with shelves, books and students of older years rummaging through them. Although splitting up was a good idea, I did not want to end up losing sight of Anthoine and find him being babied by an older student. My eyes moved to where a group of youngsters -in my head, since in body they were older than me- were lazing around, half-asleep and dreadfully wishing they could get on with their lives without tests.
"Forgive me for asking and disturbing you," I whispered as I drew near, catching their attention, "Do you perhaps know which books are best to deal with professor Guiteau's research on wind users genealogy?"
One of the older guys looked at the other, and then furrowed his brows, "Uhm...what was it? Wind Users in Halkeginia?"
"Yeah, that one and Famous Houses by affinity," the second one replied. "The librarian should know where they are if you ask her," I smiled, and made a light bow of my head.
"Thank you very much," I said.
"Remember to polish off your writing," one of the girls of the group said. "Professor Guiteau doesn't like flourishes or large letters-he thinks we use it to skive off on the required number of pages."
"Thank you once more," I said with a smile as I turned around and began to walk towards the librarian, Anthoine right behind me. André and Henriette had gone to look for a table to sit, and were currently moving two chairs with their wands to have four chairs around a single table. The librarian pursed her lips at that display, but said nothing since we were keeping it on the low key.
"Good afternoon," I said gently, "Would you happen to know the location of Wind users in Halkeginia and Famous houses by affinity?" the old woman nodded, and quickly set off in her task. I turned to Anthoine, "We should be done in a couple of hours, perhaps even less."
Anthoine sighed, "And here I was, thinking we'd enjoy our day of the Void before starting this sort of dreadful work. We have a whole week to finish this assignment-"
"When half of your family is composed of strict people, you learn to adapt," I pointed out. "I wouldn't be surprised if there were spies referring my every move to my mother in an effort to ingratiate her," and I was pretty sure Wardes was among them, of course in his best interests as the older brother-type, he wouldn't be doing this out of malice, or self-interest, but simply because he had been asked.
Or he could be a malicious little bugger whose carcass would be found drowned in the courtyard's fountain one morning, but that wouldn't be the case, at least, I hoped.
I chuckled softly as I took my seat, cracking my fingers as quill and ink pot found their way in front of me from the table's side. "Two books, one per couple, then we compare the notes," I said calmly, "André, you're with me." My eyes twinkled, as Anthoine's own sparkled as understanding dawned on him that I was playing matchmaker. "We'll start with Wind users in Halkeginia," I continued, "If that's all right with you all?"
"Sure," Anthoine all but chirped it as he moved his chair closer to Henriette, who shyly looked at the blond blue-eyed kid before flipping open the book in front of her, while André and I did the same with ours.
In the silence of the library, only the scribbling of quills on parchments could be heard, and it suited me just fine. A few hours later and we were done with the assignments, the ink dry, and the parchments neatly rolled up. "And now we are free," I said with a sigh of relief. "So...what do you want to do?" I asked the rest of the group, who in turn looked at one another.
"Tea in the courtyard?" Anthoine hazarded.
"A horse ride around the academy?" André remarked.
"Uhm...anything's fine," Henriette mumbled, twiddling her fingertips. In answer, I looked at her, she squirmed a bit, even as I kept my stare on her until she finally emitted a soft whining sound, and continued, "I...I would like to practice my water magic a bit more."
"Why would you need to do that? Your fire's affinity is quite high-" Anthoine said with a charming smile -charming smile number three, known in the Gramont family as the smile that steals the panties. "We can just throw André in front of the water professor whenever he asks for a volunteer."
"Ah. Ah. Ah. No," André stressed out, "Anthoine-we can throw you in front of professor Chevreuse if you prefer, I'm sure she'd gobble you right up..."
I blinked as I looked at André, Anthoine surprised too by the sudden boldness of the teenager. André, instead, looked at the both of us -and at the creeping blush spreading on Henriette's face- with a puzzled expression. "What?" he asked.
"André," I smiled. Anthoine slowly began to push himself away from the table, "My dear friend," the Gramont third-born took Henriette by the wrist and began to move her away from the table faster than I could finish smiling like a shark, "Let me teach you some interesting stuff."
When we stepped out of the library, André was twitching.
I was chuckling and trying my hardest not to laugh out loud, but the pale white face of André was truly priceless.
"He told you?" Anthoine asked as he joined us outside, Henriette's face a startling crimson blush. "Everything?" There was a twitchy nod. "Come here, my brother..." Anthoine added as he widened his arms and hugged André tightly, "It's all right. Henry's perversion wins only if you let it win."
I bristled and mockingly brought a hand right beneath my chin, "Please-this is nothing."
"Excuse me for disturbing you," a familiar voice called to us as we turned, in time to see Wardes draw near with a smile on his face. "But I will need to speak with Henry for a moment in private, if that is fine with you kind misters, and miss," as he tipped his head lightly in Henriette's direction, the young lady in question giggled softly.
"Oh, Jean-Jacques," I said with a smile, "This is Viscount Wardes, he's engaged to my sister Cattleya," I added as I made the presentations. "I don't think it will take long, so...I'll probably meet you outside later, André," I said. I then patted Anthoine's shoulder and whispered to his ear, "One can train water magic in the courtyard while taking tea, my friend...go fulfill your destiny."
Anthoine's eyes shone with firm determination, his inner fire igniting with joy as his rose wand ended up in his hand, near his face. "Yes, sir!"
Wardes looked on and chuckled, not really understanding, or perhaps understanding and keeping quiet about it.
"So, Jean-Jacques," I said as I began to walk by the older boy's side. "Can I be reasonably certain you have the unrewarding task of referring my actions to Cattleya?"
Wardes smiled gently, "I do," he admitted. "But I would rather you told me, rather than risk throwing you under the tender mercies of your mother's punishments."
"You truly are a good friend, Jean-Jacques," I smiled back.
The best there could ever be.
- Location
- United States of America
How did Henry's parents come to ok the engagement between Wardes and Cattleya? I thought Karin said it wasn't going to happen.
Silver W. King
King of Adventures
- Location
- The Nasuverse
I'm gonna sound so thick-skulled but what did Henry talk with Andre about and why did he do that? Because Andre snarked?
esotericist
A Weary Hand
- Location
- Lacey, WA
Yeah, Wardes will never see it coming.
Iskierk
O come ye young of Hamelin
- Location
- South of somewhere
Birds, bees, and the mating habits thereof.
And because he didn't understand the implications of being 'gobbled up'.
- Location
- Mountains and rivers
How do you know the secret smiles that have been in the Gramont line for generations? Shade, at this rate, they'll have to produce a daughter for you to marry so the secrets stay in the family!
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- Location
- Own World
You would get them. I mean this is a medieval Magic society. So mostly heavy drama for now, since all of them(except shade) are children. Then there is the destiny(read
lot) that Louise's generation got to get the most exciting experiences.
Good job, I can really hear Alan Rickman in this line... aaaand now I'm sad
With how frequent these kinds of thoughts come up, you'd think Cattleya's not the only Valliere who needs frequent medication