School Reds and Blues by CE Dalton

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CHAPTER TEN

Catherine walked into her dorm room and found her roommate tapping a foot on the floor. "I'm not giving up my bed so you can have a library, Catherine."

"Why would you have to?" she asked, sounding slightly confused. She had just gotten in from the airport. Her roommate pointed at the piles of boxes and she shrugged. "That's another two bookcases worth and I sent one home before break. I was going to ask if I could shove one out here if I talk one of the guys out of theirs, but I'm definitely not storing any in your room. One of your guys might give you funny looks if they saw a whole bookshelf of reading material in your room that wasn't a romance."

Celia tried hard not to laugh but she couldn't hold it in. "Fine. You're right, but fine. You still get to shove everything in there all by yourself."

"Tomorrow," she told her. "I just got off a plane and only caught a small nap in the shuttle. Tomorrow. Try not to keep me up tonight with squealing over presents." She trudged into her room and dropped her bags, then crawled into bed without changing clothes. She was asleep before her roommate could come check on her.

Celia looked around. There was indeed a bare bookshelf in there. There was room for another two more if she crowded all the walls. Fine, she'd leave it alone. She walked in and got her roommate's shoes off then snuck back to her own room and her friends. "She's out."

"Good. Does she actually read all those books and do her homework?" Liana asked.

Celia snorted. "I don't know how, but yes. The girl comes right up here, does her homework, then either watches tv for a few hours or reads then watches some tv, then goes back to reading. She never does anything fun."

"Reading is fun to some people," Cody pointed out. "I don't know why but they're like that. I guess she's one. That must be why she gets along so well with Tyler." The door was pushed open and the girls all squealed, making Tyler smirk. "Bastard!" She threw a pillow at him. "You're corrupting us by being over here. What would your brother say?"

"That my chosen got some dangerous gifts during the holiday and a few odd ones as well," he said bitterly. He walked in and shut the door. "Did she say anything?"

"No, I only got a chance to face her down about her stack of boxes. Are they all books?"

"No, a few have some clothes packed around some of the books and I think her jewelry box is in one. You might want to be on the listen for her. Her mother's divorcing her stepfather. Between that and the strange lingerie gifts this holiday she's not feeling very comfortable at times." He laid down on the free spot on the bed, grinning at them. "So, how is the party situation tonight?"

"Four East and One South," Cody said succinctly. "Is she okay?"

"No, the same person who did her shoes knows who she is and sent her a crystal ball with an embedded movie in it. She didn't get a long look at it and Tish took it." They all nodded, they remembered Tish, she had graduated recently. "So keep an ear out for her."

"Isn't that your job?" Celia asked cattily. "Being her chosen and all?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted sheepishly, "but everyone seems to think I want to date her. Her mother said it'd happen some day and her stepfather was *sure* we were going at it. Then again, his own daughter was dating a thirty-something pageant judge." He grimaced. "She's not as bad as I had expected. She had her airhead moments but not that many of them. She did help a lot by bullying the salesgirl into finding what she wanted. Catherine has a few new uniforms, including two new broomstick skirts and a longer straight skirt. Plus three new blazers in a different fabric with a slightly different cut to suit her better. Her mother thought she should get silk shirts but she decided it might not be worth it so she only got a few of them. I know one box has shoes and clothes."

"That leaves six more of books," Celia pointed out. "The girl needs a new hobby or a boyfriend," she hinted.

"Not you too," he groaned. "She doesn't want to date. She had to get pushy with her parents too. Her mother pulled her into the kitchen and made cocoa to talk with her." The girls laughed, their own mothers had similar rituals for important talks. "Anyway, I wanted to warn you to keep a good ear open to her. Don't nag and don't push but definitely make sure she's fine around Easter, when her mother might be coming up."

"Am I getting a new roommate next year?" Celia asked.

"Possibly. Mother said we could have the big suite downstairs and we'd give her that trainer's suite that's attached. We need to get it wired for cable and internet first. She'd die without her internet." The girls all looked stunned. "You thought she only read?" They nodded. "No, she's got a few different interests." He gave them a smug look. "Which party's looking better?"

"Tyler!" Mr. Rayne yelled from the hallway.

"In here!" His big brother came in. "Yes, dear," he said smugly.

"Out of the girls' rooms."

"What? It's not like we're having an orgy."

"I know that, get out anyway. You know better."

Tyler stood up. "Who got onto you now?" he asked quietly.

"Nick. Out." He pointed.

"Fine, let me check on Kitten."

"No, out."

"Fat chance, brother dear." He walked over to glance in her room, noticing she was laying on top of the bedspread. He looked back at the other room. "Celia, one of the boxes has a special afghan as well," he told her as he headed back to her room. "Watch out for it, her grandmother made it for her and she's dead." She nodded. "Thanks. I'm going to unpack my books too," he said fondly. "Let her know that she can come over anytime she wants and that bribing the guys on the floor will get her a few new bookcases tomorrow easily." He let his brother shove him. "What is with you?" he asked.

"They're not us," he said firmly.

"They know, Philip. They have known. Liana is a scarlet. Cody's the one who fixes problems that I don't want to deal with. Celia's trained more of them than not. Now, what's really the problem?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Did the ex give you another ultimatum or is it inspection time already?"

"Inspection's tomorrow," he said grimly. "Though you're right about the first. That's not why I'm upset. The other boys on the floor think they can waltz in there anytime they want because you do. You're setting a bad example."

Tyler whistled, making many boys stick their heads out of their rooms. "Anyone think that they can walk into Celia's room raise their hands?" One boy did. "You can't. She only allows close personal friends in there and Catherine only allows those she's studying with. By the way, Catherine is looking for people to bribe for bookcases. She needs another two or three. Leave the girls alone for a bit, it's been a long holiday." They nodded and a few boys disappeared to reappear with bookcases. The others pushed theirs out too so he took his pick of them, leaving her the rest. He needed them, he didn't have a library at home. "Anything else, Mr. Rayne?"

"Behave, Tyler, or at least try."

"Where's the fun in that?" Celia asked from her doorway. She smiled at the boys dragging in bookcases. "Thanks, boys. What did you want in return?"

"Another puzzle party this term," one told her.

"I need help with my accounting too," another admitted. The last just grinned at her so that one nudged him. "Behave. Only Tyler gets away with being so cute it's nauseating."

"Shoot," the third boy grumbled. "Why?"

"Because he's six-foot-four and he's handsome as sin, plus he's got muscles that you'd have to see him shirtless to believe," the first boy told him, pushing some of his hair off his forehead. "Tell her anytime this term is fine." Celia patted them all on the back and the bold third boy hugged her before disappearing down the halls.

Philip looked at his little brother. "When did they see you shirtless?"

"During the puzzle party. I managed to spill my tea on myself so I took off my t-shirt. The seventh years turned positively green for a few minutes," he said smugly. He headed into his room to unpack. "I've got new books if you want to borrow one. If you help me organize, I'll even let you borrow two."

"I should make sure you have a roommate next year."

"Do it, watch them have to sleep on the couch," Tyler said sweetly. "Besides, some of us are moving to the special quarters next year. Oh, her mother may be coming up around Easter." He looked at the boy walking up to them. "What's up, little guy?"

"Do you have anything on Middle Eastern thought pre-Mohammed?"

"I do actually," Tyler said. "It's presently in a box. Give me a few hours and come back? Or you could help me unpack." The boy grinned and followed him in to help him set up his bookshelves, then they unpacked and organized his shelves. He walked out with two books and Philip came in to take another one, leaving Tyler with nearly fifty new books all to himself. He patted a new bookcase fondly and grabbed a book for the night. It had looked interesting.

***

Celia looked over as Catherine filled the single bookcase she had allowed in the living room, frowning at the books. "What's that series about?"

"Big dragons. It's one I've had now for nearly seven years." She looked over her shoulder. "It's also got thinking dolphins and an insidious menace from the skies."

"Okay then," she said, shaking her head. "I think I'll stick with my romances." Catherine grinned and went back to arranging. "How are you doing that?"

"Alphabetical by author and in series order if there is one. It's how I've got my library at home set up." The door opened and they both looked at the older man standing there. "Who're you?" she asked cautiously.

Celia looked at her. "Don't worry about it. It's one of those people who come up to inspect the school now and then." She looked at the older man. "We're still in the middle of unpacking but go ahead." He snorted and went to her room first. "You didn't put a bookshelf below the window, right?" She shook her head. "Good. He'll probably complain about all the papers but who cares." He came out marking something on his pad. "Hey, I cleaned, feel privileged."

"I remember your underwear being strewn about last year," he said bitterly. "The other girl's room?"

"Is the same place it's always been," Catherine noted. "Go ahead. I'll know if you touch anything of mine because I can see everything but my closet from here." He snorted and went into her room, then backed out to look at her, looking horrified. "Yes, some of us are avid readers," she said firmly. "Fortunately there were some unused bookcases around." She stood up, stacking the others on the shelf for now. "Is there a problem?"

"You've brought dragon paraphernalia into the school?"

"Considering it sat on my dresser at home for the last ten years, yes," she said firmly. "Nothing but a few books in there are new. You can ask my mother if you don't believe me. Some of us prefer fantasy to some paltry, repetitious romantic drivel where a woman needs saved constantly from some dirty, smelly man whose only redeeming feature is the size of the bulge in his pants." He backed further away from her. "For that matter, I've also used my collection of fantasy and sci-fi novels to help me when I got stuck in physics this year. It's what allowed me to pass mechanicals and power flows. Did you need to have a closer look at any of the collections? I've got another four hundred books at home that I can name off the top of my head." He went pale and ran out. "Prat."

Celia burst out in giggles, getting up to hug her. "Way to go! They might complain but you're one of the first women that has stood up to him about being smart and liking to read." She patted her on the back. "I can even forgive the slight to my genre of choice." She went back to her seat, turning on the tv again. "Finish shelving before someone else decides to storm in here."

Catherine got back down to her shelving, making sure she had some room on her shelves for anything her mother might be sending her from home. She had missed her library. She got up when someone tapped politely on the door, letting in the hall monitor. "I brought my dragon collection back," she admitted before he could open his mouth. "Between that and the knowledge that some of us do read and enjoy reading something that's not a romance novel, I believe he's about to have a fit."

"Okay." Mr. Rayne nodded. "I had wondered which of you got to him this year." Celia pointed at her. "Dragon collection?"

"Figurines and a few posters. Come see?" He nodded, coming in and closing the door. He followed her into her room. "This looks more like my room at home now."

"Wonderful." He looked around. Each and every single item showed wear. Nothing was new except some of the books. He looked at some of the titles, smiling at her choices. Not classics but supposedly good. He walked out to look at the other bookshelf, then nodded. "That's fine. Usually he throws a fit about someone on this floor. I thought it might have been Tyler but he was laughing too hard for me to say anything to him." He patted her on the back. "You behave and he shouldn't be back."

"I don't care either way. I'm wearing clothes and I was nice to him. Sorry, I'm still a bit tired and I'm about to take a book to bed with me." She smiled when Tyler stuck his head in. "Did he get to see yours yet?"

"The inspector? No. I heard you going off on him though. Good job, kitten." He grinned at her. "What else did you bring?"

"About half of my dragon collection."

He walked in and glanced in there. "I remember most of those. Where was the velvet poster?"

"Inside my closet, I didn't have room for it. I thought it should come here so it'd have a good home." She grinned at him. "Look, all shelved."

"Good job," he agreed, patting her on the back. "I stayed up to do mine last night. Any problems with the clothes?" She shook her head. "Then get comfy and take a nap. You probably need one. The holidays were really exciting there for a bit." He grinned at Celia. "Come over later?"

"Sure. I'll carefully avoid your books but I can come chat if you're still not allowed over here." The inspector opened the door with the headmaster. "Sir."

"It's amazing, she only brought half of her dragon collection from home. Her room must look really bare," Tyler agreed. "Her library's still overflowing, but I guess that's normal."

"You have a personal library?" the inspector sneered.

She glared at him. "Have had since I was ten, dear. Some of us have been smart for a while now. That's why we're here, not so we can find a cute boy and make babies. Women are good for more than that you know. If you didn't, perhaps you should join the *current* century. I'm sure your spouse, if you've managed to find one, would appreciate that quite a lot." She looked at the headmaster. "I'm sorry, sir, I'm still a bit jet lagged and I'm a firm supporter of reading programs. I even volunteer with them." He nodded, looking at her bookshelves. "If you want, you can go in there and see for yourself. I only brought half my dragon collection." He walked that way, coming out with a smile he had been trying to hold in. "I know, some of them aren't the best but that velvet one was one of the first of those I ever did. I've always had a soft spot for it. Am I breaking rules?"

Nick shook his head. "Not in the least, my dear. You're allowed to decorate any way you choose as long as you don't constitute a fire hazard."

"What do you call all those books?"

"Something to keep me quiet and amused so I don't have to think up horrible fates for the boys who kept me up last night," she said smartly. He went pale and backed up. "Seriously. Running up and down the halls screaming obscenities. I nearly went out there to spank them myself." He backed out of the room and she nodded for Tyler to slam it for her. Once it was closed she looked at the headmaster. "A real problem?"

"No," he assured her, hugging her. He really did like Tyler's girlfriend. "Good job. Not many of the girls stand up to him. I did like the velvet one actually, it was rather cute. I've never seen that shade of blue before. Settling in all right up here?"

"Fine. I grounded the boys last night," Philip assured her. "They might be shocked if you had spanked them."

"Then they'd never do it again, huh?" she suggested dryly. She looked at the headmaster. "Was Tyler joking when he said I could wear longer skirts?"

Nick shook his head. "No, wear whatever sort of skirt suits you as long as it fits the general rules: black, longer than five inches, no lace to make it longer, and it isn't obscene in any way." She jogged into her room and came back with a gauzy broomstick skirt. "With hose do you show through it?" She shook her head. "Then it's not a problem." She held up a unitard and put the skirt in front of it. "With the blazer, it would work," he admitted. He smiled at her. "Feel free to do things like that, Catherine. You have to live in the uniform and showing some creativity is a good thing in my book." He looked at his brother. "Should you be in the girls' room?"

"We invited him in and like a lost kitten he comes back. We don't mind," Celia assured him.

"Yes, but we don't want to have a problem with inter-sex dating," Philip pointed out.

She coughed and grinned. "So you'd prefer same-sex dating? Catherine, want to go out this Saturday?"

"Sure. I got a gift certificate to the bookstore coming in and I wanted to check it out."

"How?" Philip demanded. Tyler shrugged. "Not your doing?" He shook his head. "Nick?"

"Nor mine," he said gently. He looked at her. "Do you still have it?" She put her clothes on her bed and grabbed the certificate, letting him see it. "Hmm, like the crystal ball."

"As opposed to the unwanted lingerie?"

"Yes," Tyler agreed, grinning at her. "Should we take care of that?"

"No, I believe I'll talk to the owner. When they open in March, we'll make sure you get it back if it's all right, good with you?"

"Just fine," she agreed happily. "Thank you, Headmaster."

He grinned. "It's Nick, dear. After all, you and Tyler seem to be dating." They both shook their heads. "No? Are you sure? You do act like it."

"Not you too," she groaned. "You and my mother both!"

Philip patted her on the back. "Don't worry, it's just a close friendship."

"In which case I can come back, right?" Tyler asked impishly.

"Fine," Nick agreed, taking the certificate with him. "I've got to soothe the old man's temper tantrum about the fact that women can and do read. Nice work, Catherine. No one's stood up to him in years." He headed back to his office at a slow stroll. Better to let the inspector get it out of his system first. He'd get his secretary a nice present in apology.

Tyler flopped down onto the couch. "So, Catherine, what are you doing this afternoon?"

"Napping. You?"

"I was thinking a stroll in the woods. Maybe after dinner?"

"Tyler, there's snow up to your knees in place, and up to my thighs. We'd never get past the stables and it would disturb the poor horses." He snickered. "Later, when it's warmer I will."

"Sure."

"Can you please quit calling me kitten now? He knows who I am and I hate pet names."

"Fine," he said with a grin. "Go nap." She nodded, going in to curl up on her bed with her new book. "Go ahead, Philip. My room's ready for inspection."

"Fine. Behave," he warned, heading out, closing the door behind him.

Tyler grinned at Celia. "I think they're worrying about the wrong one." Catherine's door closed and he laughed. "Sorry, didn't mean to disturb you."

"You're not but I don't need to hear it either," she called. "Have fun with my blessings and all that."

Celia shrugged. "Since she said so." She kissed him hungrily. "I had to deal with pains in the butt when I went home."

"I had to duck her stepfather and two hellish nephews." He kissed her again.

***

Catherine went down to breakfast that first day, not daring to wear the unitard but the long skirt was very comfortable with her tights under it. She was finally warm. She sat down at Celia's table, pushing her cup of coffee closer. "Drink, you look like you need it."

"I do," she admitted, but she was looking happy enough. "You have a good night?"

"Just fine." She stood up. "Do I look okay?"

"Wonderful, and you don't have to iron that. I'm impressed, Catherine." She sipped her coffee. "Go through the line, I'll be here." Catherine nodded and went to get her breakfast. Celia started to dose again until another set of books hit the table. She knew it wasn't her friends, they weren't up yet. They barely made it to their first classes. She looked at the girl who had sat beside her. "Morning," she said casually. Marna, wonderful. "Did you need something since I'm not your usual friend?"

"You might want to warn your little friend that her outfit will get her in trouble." She couldn't snark at the older girl too much, her sister wasn't around to defend her from the older students and she didn't have many minions in Celia's year yet.

"It's within the rules. We checked the book," Celia said tiredly. "When the headmaster had to come up last night over the inspector being shocked by a woman who reads, he agreed that it was more than acceptable." Marna glared at her. "Anything else you want to try? She's comfortable, which is more than I can say about my outfit. If not, head off, Marna. I don't need indigestion that badly."

Catherine came back with her tray, handing Celia a croissant. "If you don't eat with the coffee you'll be miserable later."

"Oh, is *that* why you don't want a boy to date?" Marna said smugly.

"No, as you'd know if you knew Celia," she said dryly. Then she laughed. "I have nothing against women who like other women, but I'm not one of them. I never have been. Some of us have plans beyond two children and a husband. Now, why don't you leave."

"I agree, scoot before Tyler makes it down here," William said firmly as he joined them. "Or else maybe you should ask him if they're seeing each other." She looked stunned. "Out, Marna. You'll make me too ill to eat breakfast." He sat down beside Catherine and grinned at her. "I *love* that skirt on you. It looks so much more comfortable than the straight one the other girls wear. Is it?"

"Immensely. I can move and shift in it and it's wonderful. I don't even have to cross my legs if I don't want to. No one can see up it and I'm so happy I decided to go with these for at least half the week."

"Hey, comfortable is the right way to go," Celia agreed. "I need to look into that. Can I try on one of yours later?" Catherine nodded. "Thanks." She smiled at Tyler came in. "Morning, Tyler." He grinned and blew a kiss, sitting across from her on Catherine's other side. "Are the rest of you still in bed?"

"Robbie's making a stock sale, he'll be right down. Alexi's headed for the library to return a few things, and Sascha is the only other one up. The other two are still napping."

"I don't know how you got in here, *boys*, but you should pay more attention to your history."

Tyler smirked at her. "Our ancestor started the school, Marna, and our mother was running it. How do you think we got in here? William was the only one who hasn't had to take his placement test yet and I got scarlet and advanced two years ahead of the usual. All because I read. You should try it, it's like doing your homework in English." She stomped off, leaving her books there. "Brat. Needs paddled a few times." He looked at Catherine. "No unitard?"

"Tomorrow morning. I might have to order more of these though, they're very comfortable. More tights too. I'm so glad that Crystal found these for me."

"You could try asking her, it might make her week," Tyler suggested.

"True, it would," she agreed happily. "Crystal could use it as an excuse to get out of the house too. Besides, I left some money back there in my shaving cream can. I'll write her later." She dug into her breakfast. "Celia, eat, I don't have any antacid, it's being sent." She dug into the croissant, she apparently didn't have any either. "So, William, you're up early."

"I didn't sleep well last night," he admitted. "I had some of those dumb growing pains." Tyler reached behind her to pat him on the back. "Yeah, there." Tyler looked at him and he nodded. "There," he agreed again, meaning it was wing growth pains.

"I'll look it over later, see if a good rubdown won't help," Tyler promised. He looked up as a girl walked up to their table and stared at him. "Yes?" he asked patiently.

"Are you gay?" she asked.

Tyler choked, shaking his head. "No," he gasped. He finally caught his breath. "This is my *brother* William."

"Oh." She pouted. "Marna said you were all gay."

"Not even close," Celia said, grinning at her. "How long have you known me to date boys?"

"I know, but I figured you were being nice by being friends with them."

"Then let me introduce you. This is my roommate Catherine, the guy from across the hall, Tyler, and his baby brother William." She gaped then whimpered.

Catherine licked off her fork. "Marna's jealous. She's here to have a husband and babies and some of us are making more of our education. So she's jealous that she's not allowed to do so. Her mother is a bit strict about such things you know. Even if she studied in secret she'd probably be found out, that's why she doesn't."

"Oh, that poor girl. I'll go help her right now," she said, scampering off.

"That was mean," Celia noted. "Good job." She saluted her with her coffee cup. "She'll be cosseted and given pitying looks for weeks." She whistled, pointing at the girl who looked, then pointed at Marna's books. "Her mother said she couldn't be seen carrying them so she left them here." The girl came over to get them, then brought them back to her friends to get their help to help poor Marna. A bit of self esteem boosting should help, plus an offer to help her catch up since she was weeks behind in most things. She'd get used to it after a while and then she'd be free to study, far away from the tyranny of her mother's grasp. Her mother would not turn that poor thing into a breeder for the next generation of the family name.

Catherine smiled. "Nice job as well," she said smoothly. "How many more should I ask for?"

"Get another three, that way you've got a full two weeks of uniforms," Tyler suggested.

William leaned closer. "Get something indecent, give the girls a thing to talk about. It'll make them see that your mother sent an order to entice a boy." She blushed. "Seriously. They'll think you were reluctant before but now you're having to hunt. If you only wear it once in a while, then it'll seem like you're complying without seeming to try."

"I can do that," she agreed. "Then again, my sister got me a nice dress for the holiday pictures and it's about as short as I've ever seen."

Tyler looked at Celia. "It's got about seven inches of skirt and it's in scarlet velvet."

She shuddered. "That's got to be horrible. Full dress?"

"With a plunging neckline and long sleeves," Catherine agreed. "It's in my closet as well. She usually has much better taste but I have the feeling her boyfriend picked it out for her."

"It is something a thirty-year-old guy would give his sixteen-year-old girlfriend," Tyler agreed.

"Now *that's* an age difference," Celia noted dryly. "Your mom let her get away with that?"

"No. As soon as she found out she went off. It was so loud Tyler and Sascha had a snowball fight while they yelled at her. Then he had to hide in my room to get away from the cleaning mom was doing in frustration. He's a former pageant judge and he was supposedly coaching her to become a better contestant in the higher levels. Dad was livid, he had paid the guy some money to do this."

"Ouch. My dad would have killed," Celia pointed out.

"Our mother nearly did. Both of them." Catherine ate another bite. She looked over as Marna stormed back. "We sent your books with Cyndy and her friends. They have a class with you next and none of us do." She ate another bite, looking at William. "Three, you're sure?" He nodded. "I can do that. She'll be able to check on my new jackets too. Mom's picking them up as soon as they're done and mailing them to me."

"Wonderful," he agreed. He felt the lapel of her jacket. "Fleece?" She grinned and nodded. "Wow, you'll be *warm*. Can I borrow that?"

"It wouldn't fit you but you can borrow it tomorrow."

"Cool. Thanks. I've got math tomorrow."

She patted him on the wrist. "I've got it today and physics."

"I'm so sorry," Celia said with a grin. "But you will be warm." Everyone but Marna listening nodded. She looked at Marna. "Still here?"

"My mother's putting up a challenge to the uniform rule. It's *obvious* you shopped off the rack for those."

"No, I went to the most exclusive clothiers in my region, in New York City. They were most happy to cater to my whims. It beats London any day, dear." She ate another bite, then looked at Tyler. "Eat," she ordered.

"Hmm?" He woke up and started to eat as well. "Thanks, didn't get much sleep last night."

"I heard. That's why you need to eat." He nodded, digging into his pile of eggs. "You as well, William."

"Yes, mommy," he said in a little kid's voice. She gave his head a shove and he giggled. "You do a mean impersonation at times."

"Happy to help. Now eat."

"Yes, ma'am." He dug in, eating quickly.

Celia looked at her. "You're very good. You have them civilized and everything. How do you train the men so well, Catherine?"

"I find positive reinforcement works best." Marna looked shocked. "Not like that, you cow. Did you bathe in the perfume this morning? Please stand up-wind again." She dropped her fork and grabbed her roll and her books. "I'm heading up to my first class. Have fun today, guys." She dropped her tray off and nibbled her roll on the way up to physics. The teacher looked at her, then smirked at her. "I'm warm."

"Good. It's a smart woman who knows and fixes her needs so she's comfortable. Tights as well?"

"Definitely. Dancer's tights in heavy woven cotton. They should survive for months if I'm good with them." She took her usual place. "What are we studying this term, sir?"

"We're going to go over chemical reactions first, slowly moving into the area that physics and chemistry share." She nodded, pulling out her notebook. "You're early, you know that right?"

"Marna made it quite hard to eat today. She came over and accused me of sleeping with my roommate, of William and Tyler being together, and then got mad when we proved her wrong. Then she challenged my skirt and had it sent back in her face, and for the last thing she was standing in the line of the breeze and had bathed in her perfume this morning. I was going to be ill."

"That's fine then. Just be quiet." She pulled out her book and opened it, making him smile. "So it was you." She grinned at him and nodded. "Good job. He used to go here and he never could get past the fact that the women wanted careers." He went back to writing on whatever he was doing while she read until the other students came in. "Sit, now," he ordered without looking up.

***

Nick passed Catherine in the halls and pulled her out of the line of the students. "What did you say to Marna?"

"That she had bathed in her perfume?"

"No, about her not being able to study?" He smirked at her. "I've only heard bits and pieces." She leaned up and whispered in his ear, making him giggle. "Nice one. Go to your next class."

"Do I have to? Someone still put me in horsemanship and horses hate me."

"Give it a try and if it doesn't work I'll switch you to swimming or something." She nodded, heading outside at a fast trudge. He shook his head, leaning against the wall to laugh. Tyler and William? The world would sooner explode!

Catherine walked out to where the other girls were, staying away from the horses. One or two looked at her and shifted away so she moved backwards by a few feet.

The teacher noticed this and cleared her throat. "All right, ladies. Who of you have had some training?" Half the hands went up. "Good. Those of you who have, take your horses and groom them for now. We'll make sure you're all up to sitting in the saddle by five classes from now. How many have wanted a horse or riding lessons?" Most of the other hands went up. "Good, go watch them and hold the horses still. It'll be good training. I'm assuming the rest of you are scared?" Catherine shook her head. "No?"

"No, horses hate me."

"Why?"

"I have no idea. I've never had a bad experience, but the first one I approached didn't like me and it's spread."

"Come closer."

"Only if you get off and hold her. I'm not going to be responsible for you being thrown." The teacher gave her a long look then got down and held the horse's reins near her chin. She slowly moved closer, doing it properly, and held out a hand. The horse sniffed her then tried to get away. "See, it always happens. I'm lucky to be this close." She backed off and the horse relaxed. "I love horses, they're beautiful creatures, but they loathe me."

"Try it again," the teacher said, watching her. Catherine walked closer. No aggressive or submissive body posture, perfectly neutral. She was looking the horse in the eye. She held out a hand for the horse to sniff before she came in contact and the horse nearly wrenched her shoulder to get away from her. "I agree, they don't like you." Catherine backed off while she got her mount calmed. "You quit. She won't hurt you. She thinks you're very pretty." The horse still tried to get away. "Dear, why don't you get switched. Just go to the headmaster's office and he'll do it."

"Sure. That's what he said when he told me to give it another shot." She jogged to the school and inside, going right to the office. "She nearly got trampled," she said in greeting. "Horses loathe me."

"Send her in," Nick called. She walked in and took off her cloak, jacket, and fanned herself. "Sorry, I hate the cold. You okay?"

"I'm fine but she'll probably want some liniment for her shoulder soon. She tried it twice." She shrugged. "Won't swimming be cold?"

"It's either that or track, unfortunately."

"Can I hold it off until there are more options?" He shook his head. "That's all there is?" He nodded. "Shoot. I suck at running. I guess I'll take swimming but my suits are at home."

"Call your mother," he offered.

She picked up the phone and dialed her home, smiling at her mother's cheerful voice. "Mom, it's me. My gym just got switched to swimming. No, horses. Yeah, the same thing happened. Poor teacher may need her shoulder put back in. She didn't understand why I wanted her to dismount first until her horse nearly bolted while she was holding her. Can you send me my suits? Yeah, just the ones I have are fine. Well, if you find something cute that I'll be able to swim in, you know, not a bikini, then I'll take it of course. Oh, tell Crystal to get into my shaving cream canister and take my old allowance to get me more broomstick skirts please. Please? They're comfy. I love them. The girls here look at me funny but I don't care, I'm warm. Plus she can check on those jackets for you. Thanks, mom. Talk to you soon. Love you. Laters." She hung up. "Should I go now?"

"Sure. Give this to the teacher," he said, writing out a note and handing it over. "Have a good time."

"I try. I'm a good swimmer. I hope I don't freeze though. Have fun with the heater and all. Have you thought about a chair with a warming function?" She hurried out, closing the door behind her so no cold air could leak in.

"They make those?" he asked, pushing the button for his secretary. "They make chairs with warming functions?"

"Yes, sir. There's a catalog somewhere on your desk under the admissions paperwork."

"Thank you, you're a peach, dear." He let the button go and searched until he found it. He'd even pay to have it shipped back to Yale with him.

Catherine found the swimming pool with a bit of help from a custodian. She hadn't known anything was down in this part of the basement. She walked in and handed over the note. "Horses hate me," she admitted.

"You're not the first. Got any suits?"

"Not here, my mother's sending mine."

"Good. I can wait. Can you swim, girl?" he asked gruffly.

"Well enough to save myself but I'm not good at putting my head under the water while I do so."

"So you're better at the back strokes and things?" She nodded. "Which ones?"

"That one that makes you look like a frog flapping its wings and the backstroke. I can do a modified crawl and a modified breaststroke as long as my face isn't in the water. I seem to breathe in the water."

"Hmm. Interesting." He looked at the class, all girls. "Go ahead and strip down to your unmentionables and hop in. It's an all girls class." She gave him an odd look. "I'm old enough to be your grandfather and none of us are going to look, girl. I'll let you go early to change." She nodded, heading back to the changing room, coming out in her plain cotton underwear. "Sensible. Hop in near the ladder." She dove in and came up, swimming across with only a pause. "Good. Now backstroke." She did the floating/flapping/frog kick stroke until she ran into the natural stone side, then turned and did the modified breast stroke forward, taking a breather over there before coming back. Then she got out. "Good enough for now. You can take this for daily exercise."

"Sure, I like swimming. Can I go change now?" He nodded, letting her run off. She took off the wet things and grabbed a towel to dry off before putting on most of her clothes again and heading up to her room to change. She found Celia on the couch. "You all right?"

"Headache," she said quietly. She looked at her. "Swimming class?" She nodded. "Go change before you freeze." She headed into her bedroom to change, coming out fully redressed, including tights, and handed over a bottle of water before disappearing. "Thanks," Celia called after her. She looked toward her bedroom where her other boyfriend was hiding. "She's gone." He came out and grinned at her. "She got transferred into swimming and the coach had her do the underwear thing."

"Poor thing. She obviously passed somewhat." He came out to rub that nasty headache away for her.

***

Catherine opened the door when it was knocked on, letting the mail room guy in with her two boxes. "What're those?"

"From home," he said with a smile. "No books this time, they're not that heavy." He let her sign the slip then nodded politely and left.

She sat on the couch, pulling the first one over. He was right, it wasn't that heavy so it couldn't be books. She opened it and smiled at her other uniforms and her swimsuits. A note taped to the inside flap got her attention and she pulled it out to read. "My shaving cream can was missing? Why?" She grimaced, she'd talk to her mother later. She heaved that box into her room, dumping it onto her bed so she could put things up.

"There's no more room for bookcases," Celia announced as she came in.

"It's mostly not books."

"Good." She hefted that one into her roommates room and looked at the new clothes. "Wow. Your sister seriously shops for warmth. Stretchy velvet, fleece, nylon?"

"It's a fabric we found earlier this year, it's a rayon/nylon mix and it never wrinkles." She balled it up and then let it go, showing it off. "It's great, it absorbs liquid so it doesn't stain, it's washable, and it's stretchy in a comfortable way." She let her roommate hold it. "It's a marvelous fabric and good for most of the year."

"Great." She handed it back, it had felt nice to the touch, like odd feeling silk. "What else was there?"

"My other new jackets, all in lambs wool. The skirts, a new dress," she said, holding it up. A formal gown in midnight blue with silver trim. "Hmm. Have to show that to William later." She put it aside. "My sister does the pageant stuff and I guess she forgot I didn't need that many of those." She opened her other box, pulling out her other sets of sheets and the rest of the books she had been waiting on. Those went onto her bedside bookcase and the sheets were tossed into her closet. "There, flannel." Celia laughed, shaking her head as she sat on the edge of the bed. "I like flannel, I sleep on them at home except in the really hot months. They're very comfortable."

"I know. I gave up on sheets a few years ago and made due because I never had enough room for clothes." She folded the bathing suits, looking at the older, kind of ratty ones. "Your mother wouldn't get you new ones?"

"I asked to have her send the old ones. They're broken in and we have the most trouble finding me swimwear. That's the one thing I can't order, I have to be physically fitted for. I can let mom pick out shoes for me but not swimwear. Otherwise she'll get me stuff I can't swim in." She pulled out the box at the bottom of the last one, opening it. "Tyler!" He came jogging over. "The nighty of questionable origin came back." He took it with a grimace. "Sorry, got stuff from mom. My shaving cream can disappeared too."

"How?"

"I have no idea. But I did get the rest of my clothes and I did get my flannel sheets finally." He smirked at that. "Hey, a girl's got to be comfortable in her own bed or she sleeps badly. I'm one of those, thank you." She shooed Celia out of her way, opening her closet to hang things up. "I'm guessing Crystal got me the ballgown."

He held it up, looking it over. "It's a pretty color and you'd look good in it," he offered, handing it over so she could hang it up. "Thankful you don't have to pack all this up during the summer?"

"Dear, who do you think moved my room down from the tower? It used to be my bedroom until the first leak. Then I had to move my room down, move all my books up there, and then rearrange the shelves. When Mom and Dad got back from their honeymoon they were really impressed that my aunt had slept through it all." He laughed, eyes closed as he shook his head. "Seriously." She grinned at Celia. "My library at home is about nine bookshelves reaching floor to ceiling."

"It's quite a collection," Tyler agreed. The phone rang and he answered it. "Yeah?" He smirked at Catherine. "Hi, Catherine's mom. Yup, it's me. She was just showing me the dress you found her. Sure, hold on." He handed the phone over and helped by hanging the rest of her things up for her.

"Hi, mom. What's up?" She listened to the quiet rant. "I didn't do that, mom. No, it was in my bottom drawer, where it's always been. Was anything else missing?" She frowned. "No, I brought my cheap jewelry box with me, the one with Grandma's things. I left the other one there because I didn't want to break it. I'll gladly pay you back for that, but what were you getting me?" Now she looked confused. "Mom, why would *I* ask for something like that?" It stopped the rant cold. "Yeah, it wasn't me. No, I haven't even emailed you this semester yet. I promise, it wasn't me. No, I'm only using my dragonmail account. I have my school one forwarded to it. Hold on, let me turn on my machine."

She turned on her monitor, she had left it on this morning before classes. Her email popped up. "Okay, I didn't send one," she said, refreshing her inbox. She had to log back in and it came up with three new messages. "I have one here from you about the Christmas lingerie?" She grimaced and opened it. "Said it was a present from you because you wanted me to have something pretty. No, it doesn't sound like how you write. No, the others were from Crystal and one from someone named Brad and Greg."

"My older brothers," Tyler noted.

"Tyler said they were his older brothers. I have not a clue, mom. No, I never asked for it and I surely didn't take my shaving cream can. I have no idea where that went, really. I know I had a few hundred saved in there, but that's new news to me. Are you okay? You sound really stressed. No, uh-huh. If you even thought about getting me a white silk ballgown I'd be really upset, mom. You might think it was a stand-in wedding dress and get really over-excited about that prospect." She laughed, her intention. "Thank you. No, ignore that one fully. That is *so* not my doing. Yeah. What else did it say?" She turned to Tyler and looked smug. "Really? Could you forward that to me and report it as a hacker attack, mom? Yeah, just write the administrator at your mail address. Thanks. No, don't worry about it. Oh, dirt, Great-Grandmother's ring was in my other jewelry box. That big, heavy thing in the grape cluster pattern? That one. Hey, it's pretty distinctive. If it was stolen no one could pawn that thing without it being remarked on. Sure, report it stolen, I'm all for that. My can should have had about three hundred and a few bills in it."

She grinned. "Thanks, mom. Have a better day. Anything more like that, reply to it including the original message and I'll gladly tell you if it was me or not. Love you too. What?" She paused. "Sure, I have a corner I can put the box in. Why?" She shuddered. "Even better. Yeah, go ahead or put it in with daddy's things. They can't get to anything in there. Thanks, mom. You be safe and protect Crystal from whatever this is. Love you. Laters." She hung up. "My window was cracked open this morning but not any other morning and it had been locked. My shaving cream can was missing when my mother went to find it, as was my second jewelry box, and six new dragon statues appeared on my dresser. Plus someone using a school account asked my mother to send me..." Her email blipped at her, then snored. "New mail," she muttered, opening it. She smirked as she opened it, reading the list. "Oh, come look at this tripe," she offered. She got out of the way, shelving the new books while they read. "Is that or is that not a stand-in wedding ensemble?"

"It is," Tyler agreed smugly. "I know that we can trace all outgoing messages. Let me talk to Alexi, dear." He walked out, heading down to the computer lab. His brother looked up when he leaned in, stopping his remedial tutoring. "Bro, a moment?" Alexi followed him into the hallway. "Someone hacked Catherine's mother's address and sent her mail requesting some specific items, plus she's come up with things missing and things added. Can you figure out the mail part?"

Alexi nodded, looking stern. "Easily. I'll look over the 'sent' folder the school keeps of all outgoing email tonight."

"Thanks, bro. Send William up as soon as you're done with him." He headed back up there, with a quick stop to tell Nick. He wouldn't care, he hardly ever used his own email and he had said often enough he didn't understand computers anyway.

***

Alexi handed the email to his brother, then looked at the girl he had drug in with a teacher's help. "This is her," he said, waving a hand and getting out of the way.

Nick looked at the older girl. One of the blues. "Cody, why were you emailing Catherine's mother asking her for white gowns?"

"I didn't, which is really odd. I hardly ever use my email account through the school, I prefer writing physical letters. Are we sure it came from my account?" Alexi nodded. "I didn't, not unless I'm suddenly having two personalities and the evil hand did it while I wasn't aware."

"Who has access to your computer?" Nick asked calmly.

"My roommate. She does email now and then, plus we've let a few girls come in to do some research online. No one this term though." She scowled at the paper, looking like a pissed off puppy. "This is just so wrong!" she said, stomping her foot. "I'd never write anyone I didn't know an email and I like Catherine. Celia speaks very highly of her."

The teacher, Ms. Pierson, shrugged. "I don't know, Nick. She's right, she's not an email sort. She's always got letters going out."

Alexi shrugged. "I can only find where it came from, not who did it. By the date stamp it had to be two days ago."

"I was in the infirmary being ill after that disastrous scallop stew," Cody told him. "You can ask."

"I remember meeting you up there," Ms. Pierson agreed. "Was anyone in your room?"

"Not that I'm aware of but my dresser was straightened out when I came back. I thought it was odd but the cleaning lady had done it. She's done it in the past and it was her day."

"I'll talk to her," Nick assured her. "Maybe she knows. Does your roommate know her?" She shook her head. "Marna?" She nodded. "Close friends?"

"Very close friends. She's one of her blackmail victims. Apparently Marna found out she was sleeping with someone on school grounds. I don't know who."

Nick blushed. "That girl is shameless."

"My roommate's actually pretty nice, she just has lousy taste in boyfriends."

"Not her, Marna."

"Oh, well, yeah." She shrugged. "Proving it is another matter. It could have been one of the others. She's got five or six blackmail victims from what I hear, possibly more. The girl is vicious in her desire to run the school. Could she be behind the lingerie incident as well?"

"We're not sure," Nick admitted. "She talked to her mother today and found some things missing in her room back there, plus some new dragonette statues on her dresser." Cody looked furious, like a puppy that was going to attack something that smelled wrong. "Okay. Can you get into your email account?" She nodded. "Have you checked your sent folder?"

"I did, but it wasn't automatically saved in there," Alexi noted. "There are very few people in this school who could fake her email address and not have it go through her account. I know all of them from class and none of them seem to be friends of Marna."

"It's not her friends, 'Lex, it's her blackmail victims. She's blackmailing a lot of people from the rumors, but we all know how wrong those can be. Most of them are started by her anyway."

"Is there anyone who might know for sure?" Ms. Pierson asked.

"Taylor," Cody said smugly. "Benbridge is a horrible gossip monger but she's always right about her sources. She finds things that no one else ever hears of, including certain truths about Tyler and his buddy." She stared Nick down. "Do they have *no* idea that they're dating?" He shook his head. "I didn't think so." Alexi snickered. "They are! He treats her like that!"

"He does," he agreed happily. "She treats him the same way. They're insisting that they're just friends and he's dating Celia."

"No, she's sleeping with him, that's different, dear." She patted him on the arm. "Don't worry about it though. You're much too pretty to worry about such matters." He blushed and looked down, making her grin. "So, Headmaster, am I in trouble for suggesting the girl have the equivalent of a wedding outfit, or the outfit for a virgin sacrifice?"

Nick blinked a few times, then suddenly smiled. "You're good." She beamed. "I hadn't even thought of that idea. Thank you. No, you're not in trouble. Alexi, show her how to password her computer and how to fix her email problems. Even if we have to assign her a new one." He nodded, taking her out. "My dear sister-in-law Elizabeth, what shall we do about this?"

"Philip said the naughty lingerie was sent with the latest shipment."

"I heard Tyler ranting. Do you think that's from the person who stole her money and bought her dragon statues?" She nodded. "Admirer?"

"I'd hope so. I'd be worried about her stepfather but I know he's not into children from her background check. Maybe he's got a friend whose kids likes her?" He shrugged. "Maybe we'll figure that part out."

"I'd hope so. Tyler's about to go insane about that lingerie thing. For all that they're not dating," he said dryly. She laughed and left him alone to think about this new idea. It could be either. He looked at the list. "Everything's in a natural fabric," he noted. "She doesn't seem like a silk person to me."

***

Catherine looked around the town as she walked up to the grocery store. Tyler had been busy, no one she knew was going this time and the monitor wasn't a teacher she had yet, she taught French. She walked into the grocery store and smiled at the clerk. "Morning," she said happily.

"Morning. Another Saturday finding munchies?"

"I hate studying without something to nibble on," she agreed, heading for the chips and snacks section. It didn't have much selection but she found a few things she liked, including the bag of white cheddar cheese popcorn she had been craving. She went back to pick up a basket and went back to her browsing. She picked up some more granola bars and some more fruit snacks, including some dried fruit to put into her morning oatmeal tomorrow. Then she headed for the sodas, getting a few two-liters this time. She browsed the rest of the store but nothing else caught her attention. She did stop when she found a cute little pocketknife keychain, tossing it into her basket. She headed to the checkout, finding another woman manning it. She didn't know this one. "Morning," she said happily. "Study supplies." The woman looked at the keychain, then her. "It's got a good nail file on it and I could use one." She checked her out, handing her the bags. "Thanks." She headed for the candy shop, it was someone new working and she hadn't made the mistake of telling her she was a scarlet girl. She loaded up in there on a sampler pack, then headed for the store she got hose and socks from, getting a few new pairs to replace the things that had runs and rips.

Then she decided to wander back to the park. She had her things. The monitor checked her bags then let her put them onto the bus, then she got out to take a wander around the park. She hadn't before and it looked pretty with the flowers just starting to come up. Her cellphone rang and she answered it. "Yeah?" She smiled. "Thanks for getting the plan switched, mom. No, it's a Saturday in town. I just picked up my studying nibbles. How are things going over there?" She listened to her mother's quiet confession that her soon-to-be-former husband had turned mean and cruel recently. "I'm sorry 'bout that, mom. Why don't you come over for a visit?" Her call waiting beep went off but she ignored it, she had voicemail. "Are you getting a restraining order against him?" She grimaced. "Really? Would he be the one that added the dragon statues?" She snorted. "Well, that solves that. Did he do the lingerie too?" She shuddered. "He's nasty, mother. Sickening and gross. I'd rather not if it's all right. Yes, I'm quite sure. No, we're still friends and I'm still not going to use that gift certificate. I'll send it back with the nighty if you want to hand them back to him for me. I'd never mind." She laughed. "Good. Yes, tell his mother about the tasteless gifts. Maybe she can stop him. I don't need the local fire chief's son and his TransAm on my case. I didn't like him when we shared a school and being here means I like him even less. How did you know?" She listened to the story of catching him, walking further into the park. "Cool!"

***

The monitor counted heads, coming up one short again. "Who's missing?" she called, gaining attention. Everyone looked clueless. She looked at them, counting again.

"There's some bags in one of the seats," one boy noted, pointing at them. "Maybe she ran off for another chocolate?"

"I didn't see any more children in the town," she said, walking back to check the bags again. "The red-haired girl, anyone seen her?" Everyone looked clueless. "Okay, let's get you back to the school, we can come back for her or the locals can make sure she gets back." She nodded at the driver and he pulled away. "Don't wander off from the group. There's no telling where she is."

"She's a brain," the boy who had spotted the bags said.

"Who?" the other boy on the bus asked.

"That red haired girl, the one who shows everyone up in accounting."

"Catherine? Tyler's buddy? She's on my floor. She's pretty nice and she's not a scatter brain like some girls. She wouldn't have wandered off." He looked at the monitor. "Even with her nose in a book she wouldn't have wandered off."

"I'll tell the headmaster, he'll call around and find her," she assured him. "She's probably in another store because she forgot something. It'll teach her to wear her watch." She sat down in her seat as the bus started back up the hill. As soon as they parked, one of the older students came her way. "Get your friends and take them upstairs," she ordered.

Benton, one of the more quiet Scruffy Ones, looked in the bus. "She's not here."

"No, if you're talking about that one girl, she's still wandering around and no one knew where. I'm going to report her now."

"Let me," he said, taking her bags from the helpful boy and heading to the office. "NICK!" he yelled as he walked. His brother came out of the library. "Kitten's missing. No one could find her. She came back early, dumped her bags, and disappeared." She handed them to Sascha.

"I called her phone but she was talking to someone," Tyler admitted. "I was going to ask her to get me some chocolates and I'd pay her back. I left a message on her phone." He looked at Nick. "We've got a real problem. She left her books unguarded."

Nick grimaced and pointed at his office so they headed that way with him following. Once he had retrieved a local phone book, he called down there to the police department. "Hello," he said in flawless French. "One of our students seem to have come up missing. Red hair, one long spot that she likes to play with. What was she wearing?"

"Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers. Uh, blue shirt with 'I Am The Goddess' on the front," Tyler told him.

"Did you hear that?" he asked. He nodded. "No, her things were on the bus so we know she checked in, then she left. Please. No, I'm the Headmaster. I'll be down within an hour to either retrieve her or to help you look. Thank you. No, she's had some security issues. Her parents are presently arguing during their divorce and things." He smirked, that was good enough, the cops would search for foul play now and they didn't need to know the real reason. "Of course. One hour. Thank you again." He hung up. "Let me get presentable and I'll drive down."

"With us," Sascha told him.

He looked at her. "No."

"Bite me, I'll jog if I have to," Tyler noted. "We all knew she'd be in trouble. Who was supposed to go with her?" Everyone looked clueless. "I had that paper to do today. William?"

"He's in training sessions today over his form," Nick said. "Guys, did we leave our wanted chosen alone?" They glared at him as a group. He grinned. "Thought so. Fine. Let's go check on it. Tyler, if you're going, put on something more decent. Anyone else as well. Tyler, take that to her room and tell Celia. Sascha, dear, please get Greg and Brad from downstairs. We might need someone who's more of a warrior than I am." She nodded, handing off the bags before running off. He went to his room, calming himself. It had to be innocent. It was barely spring. He tried her cellphone again, listening to it ring. Not a good thing. He hurried and met his brothers at the car, with one of his older sisters. "Wynn?"

"I can't find her," she admitted. "I'm hoping for a more local trace to work on it. Plus I've loaded weapons in the trunk." She got in the back in the middle, letting the boys sit wherever they wanted. Tyler was next to her so she took his hand to hold, squeezing it. "It's all right. She's got to be fine."

"I tried her phone while I changed, it just rang," he said quietly.

"So did I," Nick admitted. "Same result." He sped down the road, heading down to the local police department. This really wasn't like the girl. She may have forgotten to go to a class because she was reading, but not to come home. Not knowing she'd have to walk about two miles uphill to get back to the school and be in big trouble. She'd never worry Tyler that way; even if she wouldn't admit they were dating she hated to make him worry. He walked into the police department, looking around. "Any luck?"

One of the police officers walked over to the desk at the front of the office. "We found a cellphone on the ground in the park. Could anyone identify it?"

"I can," Tyler said as he walked in. He took the phone, opening it so he could get into the menu and look at the phone number. "It's hers. It's got three voicemails." He accessed it and listened to his, then moved on. "Her mother's worried, they were chatting when her signal cut off." He went to the next one, again her mother. He called her. "Hey, Mom, it's Tyler. We don't know. We think she was mugged or something. We're looking for her right now. Yeah, feel free to come over and browbeat us. Welcome. Bring Crystal if you want." He hung up and tucked it into his pocket. "Where in the park was it? She was mid-sentence with her mother when her phone was cut off."

The officer swallowed. "She is yours?"

"She's my best friend. I protect her. I would have been with her but I needed to write a paper for Lit class." He crossed his arms over his chest but his brother patted him on the back.

"She's one of my family's friends," Nick said calmly. "Would you please show us where in the park she disappeared?" The officer nodded, coming around to lead them back there. A few more people had joined the group, including a few nuns from the Order. He made sure to nod politely at them as he walked past them. "Sisters," Nick said in greeting as they followed the cop. "Catherine put her things on the bus then disappeared apparently. The monitor didn't even try to look for her?"

The sister walking on his other side shook her head. "She said she asked the other students but most of them were not aware who she was much less that there might be such a danger. Only one boy from Four West was on the bus and he identified her and pointed out that this wasn't usual behavior. She said they'd come back for her later." She glanced at Tyler. "Calm down, brother."

"You calm down," he said bitterly. "I'm going to kick someone's ass if they've hurt her." He walked past the officer when he stopped, looking at the perfectly normal looking bit of ground. "Here?" He nodded. "Is there anywhere nearby that they could have set a car?"

"No. Those bushes," he said, pointing at a group, "hide the other part of the jogging trail. The nearest parking lot is about a half-mile on the other side of the woods from here. Or behind us where the bus usually parks." He glanced around the pristine park. "We never have things happen like this."

"We know," Nick agreed. "I know it's not a resident. This girl's biological father used to do some great things in Archeology and she's been in danger from that before he died. It's either that or from the current divorce." The officer relaxed. "Will you let us look?"

"Of course. Would you like some help?"

"No, I think we can manage with just these ones. They're very determined and stubborn," he said with a touch of sarcasm. The cop smiled and nodded. "We'll come to you if we need more help." He nodded again and backed off, letting them search. Nick pointed at the spot. "Start from here, fan out, find the girl before something worse happens." They all knew something bad could be happening so they hurried off to find her, the more magically inclined trying to do a triangulation on her and the rest searching manually.

Tyler stomped through the bushes, seething at this happening. How could he have been so stupid? He stopped and looked around at the jogging trail. There weren't any hidden spots. It had been built during the last run of crime in the village so the planners had made sure it didn't have anywhere for someone to hide and jump out at people. He took a long sniff of the air, then headed off down the trail. He smelled her shampoo, he swore he did. Ahead there was a curve into the woods and he sped up, expecting her to be there. She wasn't, but she wasn't that far away. He could smell her better now. "NICK!" He searched a bit longer until the others got here. "I can smell her shampoo," he said quietly. They fanned out and his sister Valerian found her lying in a puddle of shadow beneath a tree. "Kitten." He knelt beside her, brushing her hair back. "Catherine?" She clutched his fingers when he placed them in her hand but she didn't respond otherwise. "Let's get her back to the castle."

"We'll need to be careful with her," Nick noted. "She could have been physically injured, Tyler." He relented and got out of the way. "How are we getting her home?"

"Take the car," Valerian ordered. Everyone nodded. "Then come back for the rest of us. Get her into the infirmary and set up so Tyler can come sit with her." They nodded, carrying her carefully. She walked to where the officer was staring in shock. "It looks like she was mugged. She woke up briefly so we're taking her to the infirmary," she said quietly. He nodded, closing his mouth. "She'll be fine. Come, I'll show you where she was in case it was something that wasn't from her past." He nodded, following her back to the patch of shadows. It probably wasn't something he could do anything about but it made him feel more useful. By the time she came back, the car had been up to the school and back, so the rest of them headed up there. She took the back tunnels to the convent, going to report. "Reverend Mother," she said respectfully when she ran into the older woman in the foyer. "We've found the girl. She was unconscious and heading for the infirmary. She didn't look physically injured but we believe she's trapped in her mind at the moment."

"Very well. I'll go up tonight to check on her myself," she agreed calmly. "How is her chosen?"

"She's the chosen of the Scruffy Ones, ma'am; the ones who were with us were frantic and the rest were waiting on them."

"Very well. You have done well. Go soothe your brother. You know how this incident must turn out." Valerian gave her a long look. "She must win, child, and we all know this."

"We know that, Most High, but we didn't want to put her into this sort of danger. Her mother is probably on her way over. Tyler said she had been talking to her when the phone was cut off."

"Very well. I will wait for her with Nicholas. Go with them." She nodded, hurrying off. "The Dark One will not win this battle," she vowed. Her scales shifted for a moment then went back. "I will not let the Princess suffer for that one's benefit." She went to call her contacts on that other realm to see if they could help any further.

***

Nick walked into the infirmary, heading back to the special section, nodding at the nurses from the Order. "How are they?" he asked quietly.

"Doing as expected," the nurse reported. She put her stethoscope around her neck. "Neither of them will wake. We were lucky enough that the young one wasn't injured, simply knocked out."

"We're lucky we found Mother's body before it was taken," he said grimly. "Are they in the same condition?" She nodded. "You're sure?"

"Positive. Those who have mental skills have examined them. They're somewhere very similar. Who do we let in?"

"Let any of the Scruffy Ones in, she's their chosen. Let me, let the ones you trust, and let her mother when she comes up." The nurse nodded, making that note on the paper in her hands. "I have no doubt you'll be seeing much more of Tyler than you ever have in the past."

She nodded. "He's already growled at us and breathed some smoke for one of us trying to get him out of the way so we could check her over. It'll probably be like that until she wakes." She smiled at him and patted him on the arm. "We'll help her all we can, Nicholas. Be easy."

"Thank you, sister." He walked into the specially warded and soundproofed room, looking at his brother. "If you get in their way, they'll send you out for an hour." He looked at them. "Is she okay?"

"As fine as she can be without being in her body."

"Tyler, I'm sorry."

"No, it's my own fault," he assured him bitterly. "I should have taken a break to go with her. Can you make my excuses for me?"

"For both of you," he agreed. He walked over to pat his brother's back. "Relax. We'll help her all we can. This one isn't a physical attack but we'll do what we can. We all like her and think you two are very sweet together." He grimaced and opened his mouth to protest. "If you weren't dating," he overrode the comment starting, "you wouldn't be so concerned. I wish you had gotten to fully bond with her, it might make this easier; but remember, Mother is tougher than all of us put together and she's probably there too." Tyler relaxed. "Now, when she wakes, are you going to tell her you're dating or not?"

"I probably will, but she'll glare at me. She doesn't want to be tied down."

"Then convince her you're not dating her, simply stalking her," he said fondly. "Did you tell her mother to come up?" His little brother nodded. "Since we found her?"

"No, not yet," he admitted, pulling the cellphone out of his pocket. He pushed the speed dial button for her mother and listened to the frantic greeting. "We've found her, she was mugged," he told her. A technical lie but the reality would drive her insane. "She's presently unconscious but we're expecting her to wake up anytime now. No, we've got a full hospital wing in the convent attached to the school. We have Sisters who work in war zones who sometimes bring in orphans, plus they use it to help train the ones who want to be doctors. They've said she's fine, just unconscious. No, I'm not moving from her bedside, not in the least." He grimaced. "My big brother just said the same thing," he admitted. "Thanks. See you in a few days. Yeah, it can wait that long. If she wakes up before then I'll have her call." He hung up and looked at him. "We've got three days. That's the first flight she could get that wasn't booked."

"Then we'll work on it," Nick agreed. "Make sure to keep in physical contact, she'll need an anchor to come back to." He patted him again and headed off to talk to the more gifted members of the family. He wasn't one, he was more of a warrior and a scholar than anything else. His brother Tyler was the same way. The ones who would fight this battle were the ones who were gifted in other arenas. Greg and Brad met him. "Have you found her mind?"

"No, we're looking now with William's help," Greg told him grimly. "She's in the same place as mom. I felt them connect."

"Good. At least it's something. Her mother will be here in three days. Tyler's staying there. What can we do to help?"

"Get us some food," William muttered, concentrating hard on his task. He finally slumped. "I can't get a picture. Maybe if I'm in the same room?"

"I tried that and I couldn't," Valerian noted. "Then again, I tried it with Mother."

"She's technically the Scruffy One's bonded," Greg offered. "Wouldn't that help some?" She nodded. "Run up there and try, William." He nodded, heading to do that.
"Did the big git ever bond with her?" Everyone shook their heads. "Why not?"

"Spring Equinox is this coming week," Nick pointed out. "There hasn't been time. Fortunately, Tyler did say he was going to tell her she was dating him." That got some laughter. "We'll work on it people. Let's get down to work. Which books should I start with?" The stack was pointed out. "Thanks." He headed over there with Robbie and Sascha. "You're not helping?"

"My skills are minimal so I'll be adding to the levels at the end."

"That's fine." He patted her on the hand. "We'll get through this and she'll be fine."

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