Chapter 4: Whisper

It was a few days before Julian finally summoned Lily and Mary Ann to a meeting. Mary Ann felt anxious.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Won't he tell someone? He's one of the student council", Mary Ann whispered as they approached the auditorium.

"Trust me", Lily soothed.

Julian was standing with two others at the bottom end of the hall. There was a short boy with a mousy blonde and tall girl who was seated across from them.

"How long is this going to take?" The girl moaned. Janette came to her feet and groaned. "I've skipped a committee meeting for this little favor of yours".

The short boy let out a girlish laugh and put a hand on Janette's shoulder.

"Come on. You know Julian would never call us out for no reason"

"You're too soft Robert", Janette sighed.

As Lily and Mary Ann approached the group turned towards them. Julian stepped forward with the letters in hand.

"Thanks for coming", he said.

"Of course", Lily smiled. Mary Ann tried to smile and squeezed Lily's arm a little tighter.

"I invite people from the student council as witnesses", Julian explained.

"Witnesses to what?" Lily asked calmly.

"If the student council determines a student has broken the rules, they can vote to expel that student without the need for a teachers' consent", Julian looked up as the door to the auditorium slammed open.

Everyone looked to the door. Darelle, made his way down the stairs till he was face to face with the group. The only faces he knew were Lily and Julian. Lily smiled with an expression he thought was familiar.

"What's all this about? Summoning me here, like some sort of peasant", He growled.

Julian brandished the letters in front of Darelle's face.

"Look familiar?"

Darelle took a step closer and leaned in to read the letters.

"I don't know what this is", he replied annoyed.

"There's no point in hiding it anymore", Julian asserted.

"What? What are you talking about?" Darelle scoffed.

"You've already been found out".

The group watched Julian carefully produce a notebook from his bag.

"Hey! That's mine", Darelle reached out to snatch it. Julian yanked his hand back. He opened the notebook and put the letters beside each other.

"Hmmm", said Janelle leaning in, "Looks like the same writing to me"

Her brow raised and she eyed Darelle. Robert peered over to Julian's side and began to examine the two.

"It does look the same to me", Robert added thoughtfully.

"This is ridiculous", Darelle scowled, finally snatching the two. He examined them for a moment and his face screwed up in horror.

"This isn't..this can't be mine!" He yelled.

"I had it verified by a professional analysis from the government. It's definitely a match", Julian declared, taking back the letter and notebook.

Darelle began to shake his head.

"This is all lies. Someone's trying to set me up", he spluttered. He looked towards Mary Ann with a beastly glare. Julian quickly stepped between them.

"It's a known fact that you do the dirty work for the nobles in this school", Julian said undeterred.

"That's true. I've heard of you", Janette added, "Looks like to just got caught in the act", she sneered.

"The student council can't turn a blind eye to this", agreed Robert.

"No! This is bullshit", Robert roared, "Tell them you bitch! Tell them the truth"

He Lunged past Julian towards Mary Ann. Julian grabbed him by the shoulder as passed and struck him down with his other fist. Darelle fell to the floor with a thud. He didn't move

" A bit excessive for you?" Janette threw her head back and laughed. Julian didn't answer.

"I'll go get someone," Robert said softly.

Mary Ann stepped forward. She twiddled her fingers for a moment then looked up.

"Thank you", she said to Julian.

"I just did my job", Julian replied coolly.

"I know", Mary Ann smiled sweetly, " But I'm really grateful".

Lily detected a hint of red across Julian's cheeks. He was so easy to read she thought to herself.

After Darelle was taken away, Lily was left alone in the classroom packing away her things. Julian came into the classroom. He leaned over his desk to pick out his books. Lily paused as their eyes met.

"Thanks again for helping my friend", She smiled.

Julian nodded. He turned to leave the room. Just as he put his hand on the handle he paused.

"You're a good friend", He said in a quiet voice and left the room.

Lily took a deep breath and sat back in her chair. It had been a risky move to use her magic so early in the game. But it had turned out well. She had made sure to only meet Darelle in the study room she reserved. They entered separately after school. She doubted anyone had seen them and even if they had, it couldn't be connected to her. It was only a matter of time before Julian made a move on Mary Ann. When that happened, he wouldn't quickly forget how she had helped Mary Ann. And she would need to remember that fact if the plan was to work.

Now, she needed to move on to the next piece. Sabine.

Lily had always thought Sabine would be a promising target. She had all the qualities she was looking for. Sway with the other students, power, and narcissism that could be easily pandered to. What luck she had been introduced to her through Mary Ann.

Mary Ann, the gift that keeps on giving. It was a shame that she had to break up Mary Ann's relationship. But in the end, she was empire scum like all the rest. She deserved it.

In the following weeks, as Lily had predicted, Mary Ann began to take an interest in Julian. Lily used the opportunity to get a foothold with Sabine. As Sabine and her followers walked the gardens she spotted Lily sitting alone.

"Where's Mary Ann? I thought she was with you?" She demanded.

"She's been a bit preoccupied lately", Lily motioned towards Mary Ann and Julian who were eating together across the courtyard.

"Honestly! I love Mary Ann, I do. But the girl is so flaky", Sabine huffed. Lily smiled sympathetically. Sabine narrowed her eyes.

"And what about you? Why are you eating alone? Didn't you want to eat with us?"

"I did but I thought I might not be welcome without Mary Ann"

"That's ridiculous. Come on, get up. We don't eat outside like the rest of the commoners", Sabine began to march towards the dining room. Her band of followers scurried after her.

Sabine seemed to take a liking to Lily in Mary Ann's absence. Li.ly was soft and malleable like the rest. But because of her origin, she was also a spectacle. And there was nothing Sabine looked more than a spectacle.

Eating lunch together in the upper-class dining room had become a routine for Lily. She used the time to learn more about Sabine and the school. There were three main departments of study: Governance, magic, and the knight's training.

Sabine, like most of the upper class, studied governance. And like most of the upper class, she had no intention of ever going into government. But it was tradition. The middle classes would usually study magic and the rest went into knights training--With some exceptions. There were other departments for other important skill based studies but they didn't interest Sabine.

She would spend the lunch hour speculating about the rise and fall of her fellow classmates. Her predictions were eerily accurate. It seemed to Lily that the academy was truly a mirror for the greater society. Lily quickly realized that it wasn't so much that Sabine could predict how other students would end up, but more than her words made it happen. Once something came out of her mouth it was assumed to be true. And whether it was or not, the greater student body acted as though it was. A person's whole reputation could be made or broken on Sabine's whim.

Lily made it her business to find out why. Everyone knew Sabine's father was a confidant to the king. But she soon learned Sabine herself had been brought up with the royal family. In fact, many believed that she would be an empress one day.

Having Sabine under her thumb would grant Lily the access she needed to get close to the royal family. And Lily knew just the way to reel her in. The mid-term ball was fast approaching. It was the event of the season. Everyone would be in attendance.

Sabine was particularly excited. She summoned her followers for a shopping trip into the capital. Of course, all obliged--including Mary Ann. Lily hadn't been able to meet Mary Ann as often as before. But she made sure that the two remained close friends.

The group had arranged to meet at the most famous dress shop in the capital. What Sabine called a girl shopping trip was really a chance for her to show off the type of dresses she knew the other girls couldn't afford. However, after the girls had suffered through an inordinate amount of dresses. Their praise had begun to bore Sabine and she was feeling charitable.

As Sabine began to change back into her uniform, she turned to her pet project, Lily.

"What will you be wearing, Lily? Show me what you picked out", Sabine demanded.

Lily smiled. The hours of sitting through Sabine's endless dress had put her on edge. She inhaled silently and rose to her feet. The other girls were still engrossed in their own conversation. Lily used the moment to draw close to Sabine.

"The truth is, I do have something picked out. But I'm too embarrassed to put it on in front of the other girls", Lily whispered.

Sabine scrunched her face in confusion. The concept of embarrassment hardly ever crossed her mind. After a moment of thought, she waved to the other girls.

"Lily and I will meet you at the cafe. I want Lily to try on something for me", She dismissed them.

The girls quickly left secretly relieved the ordeal was over. They scurried out leaving Lily alone with Sabine.

"Now go! Quickly try it on so we can take afternoon tea with the others", Sabine gestured to the curtains.

Lily chose a dress from the rack she knew Sabine would hate. After the dressmakers fitted the black dress onto Lily, she opened the curtain. Sabine who had been sitting in the lounge looked over in shock.

"I see why you were embarrassed. I hate it. It's hideous. Try something else", Sabine said shaking her head.

"I don't have your good taste", Lily sighed, "You have such a good eye, what do you think would look good on me?"

Sabine, who had been secretly dying to dress up Lily from the start, called the dressmaker. The dressmaker stood at her desk without moving. She seemed to be in a kind of trance. Sabine angrily clicked her fingers.

"Come quickly, girl"

The dressmaker stood still as if she hadn't heard at all. Sabine, unaccustomed to waiting, marched over to the desk with a scowl.

"I need you to bring out the blue dress this instant. Do you hear me?"

The dressmaker jolted awake. Not quite realizing what had happened, she quickly went to fetch the dress.

"What kind of service is this?" Sabine asked angrily. The girl looked to Lily apologetically and showed her into the dressing room. After some time had passed, Lily emerged from behind the curtains. Sabine congratulated herself. The girl looked like a real beauty. As she looked at the outfit from head to toe, she noticed the gloves were missing.

" The gloves. Where are they?", Sabine snapped. She looked around the room but the dressmaker was nowhere in sight.

"I can't believe this", She began annoyed, "I'm going to give her a piece of my mind".

"Wait", Lily called out, "There. The gloves are there beside you".

Sabine down the row of chairs and spotted the gloves. She rose to her feet and snatched them from the chair. She exhaled angrily as she brought them over to Lily.

"Here", Sabine said jutting her wrist out with the gloves in her hand.

Lily reached out with both hands, as she took the gloves with one hand, she placed the other over Sabine's hand.

"Thank you", Lily smiled.

Sabine felt dizzy. A black haze descended over her eyes. She slowly stepped back and collapsed into the chair behind. Lily dropped the gloves to the flour. Stepping out of the dressing room she leaned over Sabine. As Lily whispered into her ear, Sabine couldn't help but listen.