School Reds and Blues by CE Dalton

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CHAPTER FIVE

Catherine looked up as her room door opened, rolling over to get up and help Tyler inside with the boxes he was carrying. "What's up?" she asked him.

"I got my room moved." Her mouth opened a few times but no sound came out. "No, not in here," he sighed, rolling his eyes. "Across the hall. You don't start rooming with us until next year, kitten." He tweaked her hair. "Want to help me move some stuff?"

"Depends, is it heavy?" she asked, helping him over to his new room. She looked at all the boxes and whistled. "I thought my younger sister had a lot of stuff."

"You have a sister?" Tyler asked. "You never told us about her."

"An older one and a half one, and we don't get along that great," Catherine sighed, flopping down onto the old couch. "I'll unpack your books if you want to go make William carry stuff up here," she offered.

Tyler leaned down and kissed her on the head. "I know. He's coming up with more of the stuff anyway. You can start on the books though. Any with a blue dot on the box belong in my room." He pointed at the door on the left. "Any with a red dot belong out here."

"And the purple one?" she asked, pointing at it.

"Aren't books, don't touch it," he told her. He sat down next to her. "I know how you saved Sascha and you flunking your calc. test, but she was right, kitten. You can't tell anyone about what we are."

"But the teachers...."

"Not that many know. She did, you were right about that, but almost no other teachers actually know. We have to be *very* careful or there'll be people like your archenemy who'll call their mommies to come and shut us down."

Catherine hung her head. "I know. I knew she knew though."

"Yup, she did," Tyler said, lifting her chin up. "It wasn't bad, Catherine, but you've got to be more careful. When Philip said there were people who would watch you, he meant it. This is one of the big things they'll be watching for, for us to act funny or break our cover." She nodded, giving him a hopeful look. "Good. Now, get to unpacking while I go goad my brothers into helping."

"Why, Tyler," Philip Rayne said from the doorway, looking at the mess. "No one said you were moving up here *today*." He looked at Catherine, then shook his head. "It's not that bad, Catherine. Most everyone around here's got an idea that Tyler and Sascha are strange. You just gave a wonderful lie if anyone asked." She looked at him and nodded. "Then I won't hear of you saying anything else on the subject?" She shook her head. "Good. Tyler, this is a wreck and a fire hazard. Clean it up before I do room inspections tonight." Catherine squeaked. "Your room's right after his." Then he walked down the halls to put up the notices.

"Your room's not that dirty," Tyler said, frowning at her. "Why did you squeak?" She whispered in his ear. "Oh, wonderful," he said, rolling his eyes. "Go tell her and then come back and help me." He watched as she ran across the hall then got up and put away his purple boxes.

***

Catherine looked up from doing her homework and found a guy she vaguely knew from somewhere standing there beside her. "Hi, what's wrong?" she asked, turning to look at him. He was much too clean cut to be one of the scruffy ones, and much too tense to be a friend. She palmed her panic button, waiting for an answer. "I can't help you if you don't speak," she reminded him.

"Catherine?" Celia yelled.

"In here, small problem," she called back. Celia came running in, stopping when she saw the man standing there. "I looked up from my homework and there he was. He hasn't said anything yet."

"That's because he's not really here. That's an illusion. Push your button," Celia said calmly, walking in to look at the likeness.

Philip ran in, stopping when he saw what was standing beside Catherine. "Roschene?" he asked, looking disturbed. "How did he get in here?"

"He's an illusion, he hasn't moved," Celia told him.

"I looked up from my homework and there he was," Catherine added, looking worried. "Is this normal?"

"No. He's not supposed to be able to get into the school." Philip walked out and came back a few minutes later with a lit candle, which he put down in the middle of the illusion, burning it up. "Okay, girls," he said, looking at them. "How long before you called me?"

"Just seconds since I got in here," Celia told him. "Catherine?"

"I felt someone watching me, that's why I looked up." She shrugged. "I don't know how long he was here, I was working on my accounting homework."

"All right," Philip sighed, then he jumped as he was poked in the back.

"Problems, kitten?" Robbie asked, looking at the candle sitting on the floor. "Illusion?"

"Roschene," Philip told him.

"Bastard," Robbie spat. "Who let him in here to bother her?" He rounded on his brother. "Did you *feel* him show up?"

"I didn't and I was sitting right here," Catherine said, getting up to calm him down. "It's all right. He was staring at my homework, nothing more."

Robbie patted her on the shoulder. "Vivital Roschene is not to be messed with and he's not a minor problem, Catherine." He looked around the room. "I want you to go wake up Tyler." She shook her head. "Yes. You need protection tonight and it's going to take us a few minutes to ward your room." He gently pushed her from the room, then turned to look at her roommate. "Call in your crew, we need Cody." Celia nodded and left to go get her girlfriend. Robbie looked at Philip again, shaking his head. "This is bad, man. Only two days and he's already caught her scent."

"I thought we sent him packing back when we were children," Philip said quietly.

"We did. Someone sent him back."

"So, like a bad postcard, Roschene shows up again?" Alexi asked as he walked in. Robbie nodded, pointing at the candle. "Hmm, simple illusion that let him study her. How long was he here?"

"A few minutes at least. She was doing her accounting homework."

"Then I'll go over and check on her." Alexi walked over to go check on their mascot, running into William in the hallway. "I want you to stay with Tyler and kitten," he ordered quietly. "We've got to ward her room."

William nodded. "I know. Tyler called me to come up and entertain her." He glanced at her room. "Mom?"

"Isn't on this plane, as far as we can tell," Alexi said, patting him on the shoulder. "Go do that. I'll have some clothes brought over so she can camp out on the couch if we run long." He walked back into Catherine's room and started going through her drawers, pulling out a comfortable looking shorts set and some underwear. He handed it to Celia as she came back in. "Go give this to her. She's in Tyler's room." Celia blushed and nodded, going over to do his bidding.

"Alexi," Cody said, stroking down his arm, "it isn't that bad. He just caught her scent. You guys can protect her."

"Mom might be on his plane," Robbie said coolly. "We just want him gone again."

"Deal," Cody said, pulling something out of the fanny pack she was wearing and walking over to the window to examine it. "When did she get this crystal?"

"Her second shopping trip," Philip told her.

"Go calm the floor, Mr. Rayne," Cody ordered, not looking at him. "We don't need hysterical boys." She waited until she felt him leave, then looked at Robbie, passing him the crystal. "He infected it."

Robbie sighed and crushed the crystal, sending the little pieces into the trash can. "Anything else you can find?"

"No. Not unless...." She walked over to the closet and looked inside, bringing down a pair of shoes. "He blessed her shoes?" she asked, sounding incredulous. "How does he do that? *I* can't do that!"

"Mom can't do that," Tyler said as he walked in. "She wore those ... yesterday," he told her, having to think about it.

"How do you *bless* shoes?" Robbie asked.

"Not a clue," Cody sighed, putting them into a plastic bag. "Brook's waiting on me downstairs. We'll bring them back up after we're done." She walked out, leaving the guys alone.

Tyler walked back over to his room, watching as William hounded Catherine for a kiss. "Stop it," he sighed, closing the door. "She said she's not ready for a relationship yet."

"I just wanted a kiss, not a wedding," William pouted, then he turned his pout on her.

Catherine gave in and kissed him on the cheek. "There, better?" she asked, patting him on the head like a dog.

"Yup," he said, grinning again. William looked up at his brother. "She's fine."

"Of course I am, it was only mildly creepy." Catherine curled up, looking up at Tyler. "Anything interesting?"

"Just the fact that you have underwear with cartoon characters," he said, smiling down at her.

"They were there and in my size," she said, shaking her head. "Not meant to be seen." Her head snapped up. "You went through my underwear drawer?"

"No, I watched while Celia pulled out some clothes for you." He sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her neck. "You're taking this very well, kitten. Good job."

"Tyler," she sighed. "I hate pet names."

"I heard. But we'll only call you this one."

"And it will keep me from making up one," William told her. "Really, that's not something that you want to get on my bad side of."

"I *hate* pet names," she said firmly. "I have a name."

"Ah," Tyler said, giving her a squeeze. "A pet name keeps us from telling everyone who you are, because Roschene is not the only bad guy out there, kitten. It's harder for them to try and take you if they don't know who you are." He looked over at William. "You can go. We've removed the tainted and touched things."

"Things?" Catherine asked.

"Things," Tyler agreed. "Your crystal and the shoes you wore yesterday. You'll get those back by tomorrow though."

"He tainted my *shoes*?" she said, looking confused. "Can you do that?"

"Apparently, he can," Tyler noted. "He works with a different form of magic than you or I would. Dragonic magic is very different from what humans would use. And it seems like he's got a fondness for shoes." He shrugged. "We're working on making sure that he can't see you."

"Tyler," she said, getting free so she could turn and face him. "What's the big deal here? Why would he be *after* me?"

"Because of what we are," he reminded her.

"And? I'm thinking that you're not the only ones."

He snorted. "No, our mother was most prolific, but that's not the real reason." He looked into her eyes. "Which you want to know, right?"

"It's the best way for me to be protected."

"Okay. Truth is, Mother runs an international business, the school is just part of it, she was once a student here. One of our sisters started an information brokerage. Both were started well before Christianity took over Britain. They've morphed over the years to stay hidden, but there are a lot of people who'd like to see us fail as a family."

"That's not it," Catherine said, shaking her head when Tyler nodded. "No, it's not. I can tell you're holding something back."

"Yes, but it's not something that you need to know at the moment," Philip said as he walked in. "Cody and Brook are warding her room now. Celia's been sedated for the night. Catherine, are you all right?"

"Fine," she said, giving him a sweet smile, "but I want to know who that man was and what's really going on. It's the only real way for me to protect myself after all. You guys can't be with me *all* the time."

"True," Philip sighed, looking at Tyler, who shook his head. "You'll learn soon, Catherine, leave it there for now. What Tyler told you is part of the reason, but not the whole of it. It's enough for now." He sat down on the chair, looking at them both. "Roschene is the family's enemy. He's from our mother's people. He wants her destroyed more than life itself, and he's gotten very close before. You are the most easy target to reach right now. He tried to get the other bound ones, but he couldn't do it. He could only reach you."

"And that's a bad thing?"

"If he knows you then he can take you," Tyler told her gently.

"We'd really like to avoid that," William agreed.

Catherine stood up and looked at the men. "Then why are we doing *magic* to ward me? Don't I need to know hand-to-hand or something?"

"No, it won't help," Tyler said simply. He leaned over and grabbed her, pulling her down into his lap. "What we are, our family heritage, is magic, kitten. Everyone like us can use it. William's a little too young to start that aspect of his training," he said, looking at his brother, "but he's getting closer." He kissed her on the side of the head. "Sleep, let Alexi show you tonight in your dreams." He projected his own ability to calm, putting her to sleep as he slowly hummed in her ear. Once she was out, he laid her down on the couch, letting William stroke through her hair while he dragged his older brother into his bedroom and shut the door. "What's going on?" he asked quietly.

"As far as we know, Mother got dragged back to his realm already," Philip told him. "He's not looking for her, he's looking for the one named *after* her." He could see realization dawning on him. "He wants you guys, not Mother, and not her. He thinks he can control you through your bonded."

"Then he's whacked," William said from the doorway. "When do we go get Mom?"

"She left orders for us to not move from the school," Philip reminded him. All of the children had been given very specific orders to follow until she got back. "As soon as you have complete control over your form, you'll start your training. Tyler, I want you to watch over her. She's just rash and impatient enough to go find answers and trouble."

Tyler nodded. "I noticed. We heard you swearing when you found out who was surfing the web for dragon sites." He looked at William. "Any way to get her transferred over here?"

"I think she'd throw a fit," William suggested lightly.

"She will. Tyler, the best thing we can actually do is move her downstairs."

"Which automatically sets of alarms with girls like Marna, who's been giving her fits now since school started."

"That girl," William snorted. "We can have her removed."

"Not without a good reason. Her mother's using her as a spy right now," Philip told him. "We're feeding her false information but she's got to be here for a while." He ran a hand through his ash brown hair. "Then I guess you're staying up here. Alexi's already at the other end of the hall. Celia's crew is going to watch out for her too. We'll have to be very vigilant until the unveiling next month." He walked out, mumbling something to himself.

Tyler looked at William. "I want us all to have a meeting, and then bring her into it. Got me?"

William nodded. "I'll tell the others." He jogged out of the room, going to find his brothers and sister.

Tyler walked out and sat in the chair, watching his bonded one sleep.

***

Catherine sat down at her favorite table in the library, looking at the pile of books she had pulled down. She picked up one her left and started to skim through it, looking for the information that no one would give her. One thing she did know was how to search out the information she needed. She put that one aside and picked up another one, skimming the sections that she might have something in. She put that one aside and picked up the next one. It was the diary of a former student and its categorization sticker had it in the same section. She decided to put that one aside in her bag and pick up the school's history, a thick and heavy book. She had gotten through the parts dealing with the foundation of the order, which was fascinating in its own right, when she was joined at the table by Tyler. She noticed him because he took the book from her. "What?" she asked, trying to look innocent.

"You're supposed to be able to trust us," he said quietly, putting the book down. "We're going to tell you, once we figure out which parts are the pertinent ones."

"Why don't you tell me all of it and let me be the judge of what's pertinent?" she suggested. "Trust does go both ways, Tyler."

"I know." He patted the edge of the history book. "While this is fascinating, it's not what you want." He pointed at a very ragged book on the bottom of the right-hand pile. "You want to read that one."

"Why?"

"Because it's the diary of the former Headmistress, who knew all about this." He stood up. "I wish you had waited. It's a very complicated story."

"I've been reading since I was four," she told him. "I started reading my parent's anthropology books because that's what was in the house. Is this harder than Marxian theories?"

"No," he said, giving her a faint smile. "Not that hard. Just more twisted."

"Twisted is good, I can deal with twisted. I can't and won't deal with being lied to." He nodded, he had gotten the point. "Should I read it or are you going to tell me?"

"Read it, then we'll discuss it and fill in the gaps," he told her, giving her a sweet smile. "Then you and I are going to go riding."

"I *loathe* horses. And the feeling's mutual."

He leaned closer. "You still have to know, just in case you have to ride one of us," he whispered. He sat back up. "Besides, it's good exercise and you get to breathe fresh air for a few hours. We can even go into the woods if you want."

She smiled. "Nice try, but no." She pulled the book out and started to flip through it, getting lost in the narrative.

Tyler stood up and left the library, going to report to his older brother. He had never known anyone as stubborn as that girl. Then again, he liked challenges.

From behind a nearby bookcase, Marna peeked out to see if the coast was clear. "So that's what this is all about," she muttered, going to call her mother. She would want to know about this.

***

Celia slammed the room door as she came in, startling her roommate. "What did you tell them?" she demanded.

"Huh?" Catherine checked her watch. "Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"I just got told the most *outrageous* rumor," she hissed. "The rumor is, the scarlet girls are all here to marry the headmistresses' children!"

"Um, okay," Catherine said, moving her feet out from under her. "I never said that. Who's spreading it around?"

"Marna and her sister." Celia flopped down into the chair, still glaring at her roommate. "They said that they overheard you making plans for a *dalliance*, their word, with Tyler."

Catherine's brow wrinkled as she recalled her and Tyler's talk that afternoon. "Well, he did say something about riding horses so I would know how to ride him," she offered. "I guess someone overheard and took it the wrong way." She shrugged. "Again, yay."

"It could be worse," Tyler called from the hallway. He opened the door far enough to stick his head in. "At least that rumor's *partially* true." Celia waved him in so he walked in and closed the door behind him, leaning against it. "It's a useful rumor. Much better than the truth getting out." He grinned at Catherine. "Maybe we should go riding after all." His bonded threw a pillow at him. "Sorry, never mind," he apologized, but he was still smiling. "Think about it, Celia, it could be *much* worse. This one we can counter fairly easily. Or we could let it stand, which might be even more helpful." The door was knocked on so he opened it, stepping out of the way of his older brother. "You heard?" he asked.

"What did you say?" Mr. Rayne asked Catherine.

"I'm afraid this is mostly my fault," Tyler said, blushing a little when his brother glared at him. "I told Catherine that she had to go riding so she could learn to ride one of us."

Mr. Rayne hit himself on the forehead and groaned. "I don't want to know." He looked at Celia. "Can we count on you to stop this rumor?"

"Why stop it?" Tyler asked. Everyone glared at him. "What? It's better than the truth being known and..." He shut the door again. "It's much better than anyone finding out what's really going on, plus the whole bonded issue is covered too. It's a very convenient lie, and one that might even up our incoming students. After all, there's a lot of us, and if mothers think that they have a chance with us, which wasn't possible in the past, more of them would send their children here. Especially the boys."

"Why wasn't it possible before?" Celia asked. "My mother was hoping I'd make a good match while I'm here."

"It's stated in the handbook that we do not encourage our students to fraternize," Mr. Rayne sighed, starting to look very tired. "You're supposed to go out and get matches from the available population of rich people who need spouses, not from the other students. It defeats the purpose if you date within the Sisterhood's candidates."

Celia shrugged. "How many of us are heirs though? I figure that at least most of us are minor heirs, if not total heirs, to our parents' estates. None of us here are poor, Mr. Rayne."

"Yes, but originally, the intention was to start a female uprising so that women could get more power," Catherine told her. Both men looked at her. "What? It was in the history of the school and the order. They're here to encourage female empowerment by any means. Marrying off the students to world leaders and corporation owners was just the most convenient. It was then expected for those women to work to bring more women up and give them power by influencing their husbands. Or at least that's what that diary said."

Mr. Rayne nodded. "Definitely," he agreed. "Which is why it's not encouraged for you students to date other students." He looked from Catherine to Tyler and back. "It is a convenient rumor," he agreed finally.

"Can I belt the first person who starts humming the wedding march?" Catherine asked dryly, grinning at the men. "By the way, one of *you* gets to tell my mother when she hears about this."

Tyler chuckled. "That's fine, kitten." His smile got wider at her growl. "We explained that."

"Doesn't mean I like it," she reminded him. "I hate pet names, even more than I hate horses."

"Catherine, which would you rather have? Being kidnaped to a world where the sun never rises and that is worse than anything that could ever possibly be found in any horror movie, or a pet name?" Tyler asked. She frowned at him. "Seriously. It's happened in the past. That's why we instituted the pet name system." She shook her head, letting it hang. "So, which would you rather have? Torture in a realm dark enough to be hell, or kitten?"

"Fine, but I hate pet names."

"That's the only one you'll hear and you'll only hear it from us," he promised. He looked at his brother. "Isn't the next unveiling next month?" He nodded. "Did we find her an appropriate outfit yet?" Philip shook his head. "Why not?"

"Huh?" Catherine asked, raising a hand. "I have clothes."

"This is another special event thing, and this time the blues are invited," Celia offered.

"Can't I wear the one I already have?"

"No, that one is special and only to be worn for the welcoming," Tyler said firmly. "That's why it's cut that way and looks a bit old-fashioned."

"Yeah, but I looked good in it," she offered.

"Well, this time, we'll find you something equally as old fashioned," Tyler promised with a grin. "We should go to the closet this afternoon."

"William's been in it again," Philip admitted. "It seems he wanted her in blue." He looked over, then nodded slowly. "What he called up was quite pretty and might even suit her. How do you feel about midnight blue and gold?"

"Gold?"

"Gold?" Tyler asked. "With her skin tone?"

"We can change it to silver," Philip agreed. "We'll bring it to you soon. It should look stunning on you, Catherine. You three behave, please. I've got two kids with the flu on the other end of the hall." He left them alone.

Tyler came over to sit next to her, giving her a pat on the back as he put an arm around her shoulder. "You should look stunning in this dress. We want to make others jealous, dear." He grinned at her. "It's why we're all so pretty."

She pinched him. "And arrogant," she pointed out dryly.

He smirked at her. "It's not bragging if it's true," he quipped, grinning at Celia. "How's the party circuit looking?"

"Fairly good this weekend," she admitted. "It's a town weekend for the fourth years." She glanced at Catherine then back at him. "One of you might want to think about sneaking her down there to find shoes."

"Mine's in another week," Catherine pointed out. "I should have enough time. Or I could always order online and have them sent to my mother, who then can mail them to me."

"I'd never order shoes online, you can't be sure how they'd fit," Celia reminded her. "Do get something comfortable. Last's year's turned into a very long dinner."

"And dance."

"Dance?" Catherine squeaked. "I can't dance!"

"We'll teach you," Tyler said calmly, hoping to calm her down. "Alexi is very good at that and Robbie should have been a knight. I promise, we will teach you, kitten." He stroked her cheek. "We'll figure it out, okay?" She nodded. "Though I do agree, we should sneak you down for shopping. None of us are in your year and with that skanky thing finding you, I don't want you unguarded for a bit."

"What could happen?"

"Oh, let's not go into the realm of 'what if's, dear, it'll give some of us nightmares and then we'll become *really* overprotective." He stroked the back of his hand across her cheek, making her shiver. "Now, you rest and study."

"It'd be better if you found a way to go with her group," Celia admitted, "especially with Marna starting stuff."

He considered it. "True. I'm sure we can do something about that." He stood up, grinning down at them. "I'm going back to my room. Come over to hang out if you want; we'll let you know if you're in the way." Celia smirked at him. "Yes, even you and your ladies. I'm sure the misery they could cause the others would be stunning." He wiggled his fingers and walked away.

"Shoes?"

"Shoes. Wear something comfortable. Last year two of the benches broke," Celia told her. "We had to stand for four hours." Her eyes went wide and she groaned. "You could try for heels. Their mother said that something like that happening again would cause great pain in some rears."

"Hopefully. Definitely thicker heels if I wear heels."

"You could go for flats."

"Sasha's the only one near my size. I fit in Robbie's armpit."

"Well, then maybe a short heel," Celia admitted. "How's the schoolwork?"

"Boring this week. I hate physics."

Celia nodded. "I know, but it's part of the territory. Think about how much easier it'll be next year when you get to specialize." Catherine looked stunned so she chuckled. "As long as you get all your mandatories out of the way. There'll be language courses of course, but other than that, you've probably got your math out of the way if you pass calculus. Unless the guys think you should take one more year of a higher math, and then I'm sure you could ask one of them to tutor you in the special maths and physics that you'd be taking. Plus riding lessons."

"Horses loathe me. They bite, they kick, and they sneeze on me. I hate horses. I loathe horses just as much as they abhor me. Short of them sending me out there in padding like you see the guys we beat up on in rape prevention classes, I'm not getting near them."

"I'm sure they'll get the point after the first day," Celia offered. "Let one of the guys take you down to the stable once. That should cure one of those problems. Sasha gets along great with them."

"Fine, I'll let her take me down there soon," she sighed. "When I'm back in a sling for the bite again, you get to help me wash my back."

"If you want," Celia agreed with a smirk. "I didn't know you liked girls."

"I've never really cared that much one way or another. Why have a relationship? They always *there*. You can never get away from them." She shuddered and grabbed her books, standing up. "I'm going to email my mother. Let's see if she's realized I'm going to beg for more treats." She headed into her room, closing her door gently.

"You know," Celia said to the empty room, "they're going to have a long way to go to calm her down." She picked back up her book, going back to the romance. "Hey, no fair, I wanted to see what he fed her to get her into bed."

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