Chapter Fifty
I had my back against the wall of my father's office, the cracks that had spread through it the year before now fully gone. There was a painting of the whole family on the wall now, father and mother standing on the background and looking forward, while Cattleya sat on her wheelchair with her hands folded on her lap in front of them. I was on my father's right side -mother being on the left- and Eleonore was on the left of mother's. Louise stood by Cattleya's side, and she did indeed look happy.
Well, everyone there looked happy, myself included, except for Karin's steel-like expression on the painting. If I had a black marker, I'd draw a pair of mustaches on her face and give her a nice smiley face. Of course, I'd do this by pinning the blade on a foreign agent, but considering how swiftly she had found out about my sorties-there was a spy. Not only was there a spy, but said spy knew all about my movements.
"So," I said as I looked at the water pitcher by my side with a look of barely restrained disgust, seated on one of father's plush armchairs while my parents were both on a sofa in front of me, "What do we need to discuss?"
Pierre chuckled softly, and then twirled one side of his mustache, "It's simply a matter of-"
"Your behavior is unacceptable, Henry," Karin said firmly, her eyes centered on Raven, who carelessly stood on my shoulder with his eyes narrowed. "I thought I had made it clear that your familiar would not be allowed inside the house."
"Then I'll leave outside an arm of mine too," I answered, extending the arm in question. "After all, if a familiar is an extension of the mage, it would be like having me leave a part of myself outside."
Karin's lips thinned, but she said nothing. Point for Henry, ball in the court once more.
"Perhaps your time at the Academy ruined you," Karin said firmly, before glancing at Pierre, who looked away slightly ashamed. "It is clear that they cannot control you any better than Wardes can." She glanced once more at Pierre, who once more looked away. "Pierre."
"What your mother-" a stare, "What she-" another glare, "What we decided," he said in the end, although it was clear he was battling with himself, "Is that you will not spend your third year at the academy."
I stared. I stared as I clenched my knuckles tightly.
"You will spend it here, getting taught everything you have apparently either forgotten, or refused to learn," Karin said firmly. "Crass behavior will not be tolerated, and rest assured that anything the academy could have taught you, private tutors will teach you better." My heart skipped a few beats. I looked down at the pavement of my father's office, thinking about whether I could just spite the man off by revealing his porn collection, or go on a binge of revealing Karin's past in the hopes of getting a lighter sentence.
Yet, what would that achieve if I didn't have someone to use as an information source? Someone who had told me that?
"It won't be that bad," Pierre said kindly, "You will be allowed to write, and I am sure we can find a few days you can spend visiting your friends-"
"Only if his behavior becomes exemplary," Karin said firmly, her voice brokering no further argument.
My heart burned. My fingers clenched together. Fuck no. My heart drummed as my eyes narrowed. Fuck no. I licked my lips. I really wanted to say that. I really wanted to-
"I'll fight it," I said in the end, staring right back at my mother. "If that's your decision, then I'll fight it."
"After a few nights without dinner, I am sure you will change your mind," Karin said. "You are in no position to refuse, Henry. Cooperating and improving your behavior will-"
"No, mother, you misunderstand," I said firmly. "The ways of old nobility are to solve everything with the wand," I clenched my hands, "So-I'll fight you for my freedom."
Pierre nearly choked on his saliva, as Karin's eyebrows both rose. She was probably wondering if she had heard me correctly. "So you wish to duel me with your freedom on the line, Henry? Is that what you are saying?"
"No, mother," I replied. "I will fight you for my freedom. A duel happen once, but I am not so foolish as to think I'd defeat you at first," I swallowed. "So-I'll fight you until you surrender."
Karin's eyes turned to steel, "Are you sure about that, Henry? This basically amounts to rebellion. I won't show you any mercy. Even if you start crying-until you surrender, I'll keep on going."
"Please, there's no need to do this sort of thing-" Pierre said suddenly, "I am sure we can find a compromise, like-once a month, a trip to the capital? Wouldn't that be fine? I'll oversee things personally-" but he balked as Karin's glare made him quiet down. "Please dear, don't be too harsh on our son," he mumbled awkwardly as he looked away.
"Precisely because he is our son, I need to be harsh," she turned her stare towards me, perhaps expecting me to fold if she looked at me with enough of a murderous glare, but I did not fold. If anything, I clenched my hands tighter and stood up, my chin held high in pride.
"I am not going to cry."
I'd eat those words, together with enough dirt to make for a mud cake, only ten minutes later. I had been pretty much sure I wouldn't have won at first, but I thought that perhaps, somehow, I might be capable of winging something eerily similar to a victory. Instead all I had gotten was mud, dirt and dust. Mostly due to air hammers slamming me on the ground and air pressure spells holding me down, weighing like iron blocks over my back.
My fingers clutched the ground even as the pressure on my back increased.
"Are you going to surrender, Henry?" Karin said flatly, "Nobody likes a sore loser," she added, her voice firm. "Surrender now, and at most, your scraps will be healed by tomorrow. Otherwise, I'll draw blood."
"Then draw it," I hissed as I tried, unsuccessfully, to lift myself back up on my feet. "Unless I'm unconscious, I'm not going to stop-"
"Please dear, don't kill him," Pierre yelled from the sidelines, "Think about Cattleya! And Louise! And the King and Queen!"
"It's precisely because I'm thinking about them, that I need to rectify my troublesome son's behavior!" Karin yelled back, the pressure on my back increasing tenfold, yet for all of the lack of air that it did to me, I still did not surrender.
I had tears in the corners of my eyes though, but I was not going to surrender, no matter what.
"I love you!" Raven yelled from the sidelines, as if encouraging me. Yet, all of the encouragement in the world could do nothing against overwhelming power.
This day was my loss, but I refused to admit it. Even in pain, I refused to admit it.
"I can keep this pressure on until tonight, Henry," Karin said. "I can take all the time in the world, Founder be my witness, so you would do best to surrender. You are simply making the work pile up by acting like this."
The pressure intensified yet again, and I gasped in pain as my lungs burned. In the end, I began to scream.
The pressure did not drop.
"Henry, instead of showing this undignified form of yours-surrender," Karin's voice was still firm, and unwavering, "I won't warn you again."
My wand clutched into my hand, I stared firmly at the ground below me.
This was a matter of principle. Headstrong as she was, I would not lose to her on principles!
...
The Gramont family escape technique.
I'm truly a dumb idiot.
Why didn't I think about using it earlier!?