for diabolical_adonis

[homemadesweets]

It’s a nice day at the Sorcier kingdom’s academy- it usually is, what with the small army of servants who keep the walled community looking like something out of a picture book both inside and out. There’s a slight chill in the air though, warning of the approach of winter.

The school year is well underway, and it’s an unusual time of year for new arrivals. However, this latest arrival has unusual circumstances, or so Maria has been told. Held captive by the tyrannical Zaibach empire for ten years, Lady Schezar not only has a great deal of socialization and education to catch up on, but she is doubtless suffering from having spent so long under such traumatic circumstances.

Since a new environment could prove overwhelming, even if Lady Schezar’s enrollment is not guaranteed, Maria Campbell has volunteered, as a representative of the student council, to guide her around campus. The rest of the student council, unfortunately, is unavailable to help, because:

President Sirius Dieke and Vice-President Nicol Ascart are genuinely busy; Prince Geordo is only slightly less busy and considered it more diplomatically beneficial to keep his distance from the young lady; Prince Alan cannot be bothered; Sir Keith Claes cannot be trusted around young ladies, especially ones as fragile as Lady Schezar is likely to be; Lady Mary Hunt would be a perfectly fine choice except the situation with Lady Schezar was sudden and Lady Hunt had a prior engagement; and Lady Sophia Ascart would rather burst into flames than have to deal with a social situation without her older brother.

So. The duty of escorting Lady Schezar falls to Maria Campbell.

Currently, she awaits her duty in a classroom near the administrative offices, empty except for the professor, who is preparing the lesson plan for tomorrow. Maria is sitting quietly at one of the desks near the front, reading through a geography book, and absorbing very little. She keeps glancing at the door, and the moment it opens she stands up, more hastily than is doubtless proper for a young lady.

Maria drops into an equally hasty curtsy. She dearly hopes Lady Schezar will be nice. Or at least not offended that a commoner will be escorting her.

Comments

[diabolical_adonis]

It was only a few months when the luster of Celena's return began to wear off. Cautious to the extreme, Allen kept her confined to the Schezar estate, but for sanctioned outings with the Aston princesses. In some ways, the situation was more extreme than the past decade spent in Zaibach's service. The drastically narrowed scope of her world and what was "acceptable" quickly bred resentment and full-on conflict between the siblings.

The academy was Princess Eries' suggestion. Celena was clearly bored. Let her see the world, make new friends, undertake appropriate studies, and give her the space to develop as a proper young woman. She'd agreed to the plan, if only to escape her cage and Allen's anxious, watchful eye.

Such is how Lady Schezar finds herself standing in the doorway of the academy classroom, wearing a dress hand-picked by Princess Millerna from an upscale Palas boutique: a dramatic collar, ample lace trim, mutton sleeves, and long skirts, all in placid shades of blue and white. Still fresh from the trip, she clutches a large, floral carpet bag in her gloved hands, comforted by the knowledge that a pair of Allen's old trousers and a loose shirt are rolled up and stashed like contraband in the bottom of it. Later, she promises herself. Just a few more hours of misery.

Icy blue eyes flick around the room before finally landing on Maria. Celena judges her plain and uniquely harmless. It could be worse: she could have been one of those insufferable, haughty noblewomen the Astons kept in their entourage.

"You'll be showing me around?" Lady Schezar says briskly. This is immediately followed by a wince as she remembers her manners enough to give a slight tilt of her head and add: "Miss Campbell, correct?"

[homemadesweets]

“Yes, that’s right,” Maria says, instinctively moving to curtsy again, catching herself, and turning the gesture into nervously smoothing out her skirts instead. She’s wearing her usual pink overdress with the buttoned skirt. Her clothes are always very feminine, but quite plain compared to the noble ladies who attend the academy, including the lacey ensemble Lady Schezar is wearing.

“It’s nice to meet you, Lady Schezar?” There’s a note of uncertainty in Maria’s voice, but who else could the young lady in front of her be? Maria gives Lady Schezar a quick, curious glance, polite enough not to stare.

Lady Schezar is tall for a girl, Maria thinks, and rather pretty, with light coloration. Her pale hair is boyishly short, in contrast to her feminine clothes and cute, flowery carpet bag. She does not look like a bedraggled waif who only just escaped the clutches of an evil empire.

“I hope your journey wasn’t too tiring.”

[diabolical_adonis]

Even after a few months, she has trouble answering to the name. It feels about as comfortable as the many layers of her stiff dress. Still, she nods her head.

The only outstanding detail to suggest that Lady Schezar had anything other than a normal upbringing is the puckered, pink scar along her right cheek. Usually a handmaid would take great pains to cover it with makeup, but Celena has a nervous habit of tracing it with a finger and rubbing away any powders or concealing creams. Much like she's moved to do now.

"It was long and boring," she says bluntly, dropping her bag on a desk. The bulk of the journey was aboard the Crusade. The crew either gave her wide berth or treated her with cautious courtesy as Allen's mysterious sister. They have to know, she thought. From her quarters, she listened to them fill time with jokes (some of them too rude for a lady's ears), cards, and booze while she watched war-ravaged Asturia and Freid slide by below.

A silence rolls in and a voice inside her that sounds suspiciously like Princess Eires nags her for some kind of performative pleasantry. Celena scrambles for something appropriate. She sees Maria's geography book and settles for a bland statement: "But your country is very, hm . . . beautiful."

[homemadesweets]

Maria’s gaze follows the path of Lady Schezar’s finger, her eyes widening as she takes in the sight of the scar, before averting her eyes.

Poor Lady Schezar! Maria doesn’t know if noble expectations in Asturia are much different from in Sorcier, but the noble girls she does know would be horrified by such a thing; everyone at the academy knows the story of how Lady Katerina Claes was able to get engaged to Prince Geordo by insisting he take responsibility for a cut on her forehead, in case it scarred her face and her subsequent marriage prospects.

(It hadn’t, but this didn’t stop Lady Claes from hanging onto the engagement with a death grip.)

Distracted as she is, Maria is subsequently taken aback by Lady Schezar’s blunt response. “Oh! Er, I’m sorry to hear that.”

There’s a brief silence, during which Maria tries not to fidget. But when Lady Schezar speaks again it’s clear she’s trying to be polite, and Maria relaxes slightly.

“I’m glad you think so,” Maria says. “Sorcier is very peaceful, and I hope you’ll like it here.” Her statement is in earnest, even if she doesn’t know Lady Schezar terribly well.

[diabolical_adonis]

Maria's reaction comes as no surprise. Celena is used to being seen as off-putting at best, rude at worst. The pang of guilt is new, however; there's a persistent part of her who still savors discomfort, uncertainty. Better to be feared than pitied. But this gentle-looking girl--this stranger--doesn't deserve that. Few people do.

Lady Schezar sighs, then musters her best impression of Princess Millerna: forcing a sweet smile and a laugh that's a bit too loud and sharp. "I was so eager to get here. The journey felt all the longer for it!"

It's hard to say if her blunt honesty was better or worse than this artificial cheer. "But I'm dying to see more. Shall we, Miss Campbell?"

[homemadesweets]

Lady Schezar’s performance might have been more convincing if it hadn’t been prefixed with a sigh. But if she’s trying, isn’t that what counts?

“Yes, of course,” Maria says, gesturing towards her book. “Just let me put this away.” Not wanting to keep Lady Schezar waiting, Maria scurries to take the book and return it to the shelf of textbooks off to the side, then heads for the door, pausing briefly to bow her head and take her leave to the professor.

“Please excuse us!”

The professor gives Maria a warm smile from over his work and waves the two young ladies off; the staff, at least, generally like Maria.

Maria heads out into the hallway, holding the door open so that Lady Schezar can follow her. At the same time Maria mentally sorts through all the places they might need to go over.

“Er, let’s see…” she muses, “You’ve already been to the administrative offices, right?”

The main building is mostly classrooms, too many and too similar to be worth looking at individually unless Lady Schezar already knows which ones she’ll be taking. The auditorium is important, though, as is the main library, and she should probably show Lady Schezar where the student council room is...

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena leaves her luggage behind and dutifully follows her guide on clacking heels that only add to her height. Her tight smile drops when Maria turns her focus forward and she peers into each of the neat classrooms with mild distaste.

"Yes, I already checked in." The administrative staff conducted an interview that would have been unassuming for anyone else, but for Celena, quickly became an uncomfortable interrogation. She couldn't stop herself from giving curt, if not outright snappish answers, careful to reiterate the details of the story she and Allen had agreed upon. By the end of it, she was too irritated to hide her visible offense when she was assigned "remedial" classes and a dedicated tutor.

"How long have you been made to study here?" She asks as if this is a sentence to be served rather than a privilege. "Did you travel from far away?"

maria's hometown is never actually named in any form of canon afaik.

[homemadesweets]

“Eh?” Maria stops briefly and looks back, surprised that Lady Schezar is bothering to ask questions about her.

“I’ve only been here a few months, but it hasn’t taken long for me to get used to things. And I came here from my hometown, Épillon.”

Since that’s unlikely to mean anything to Lady Schezar, Maria clarifies. “It’s just a small, border town in Sorcier. This academy’s the furthest I’ve ever traveled, although I’m sure it can't compare to the distance from Asturia.” She wonders if Lady Schezar is going to struggle with homesickness in the coming months.

Moving forward again, Maria thinks to ask about Lady Schezar’s own scholarly history- it seems relevant to the conversation, after all- but it occurs to her as she’s asking that obviously any of Lady Schezar’s history is going to be delicate territory, so what comes out instead is:

“Lady Schezar, have you… I mean, is it alright if I ask you if… Is it alright if I ask you about…" Maria's face turns bright pink. "I'm sorry. Never mind."

[diabolical_adonis]

The query is less about any strong interest in Maria as a person, more about gathering information. That Maria is relatively new to the place comes as a surprise. That she came from a small town doubly so, even as it explains the plain mode of dress. Celena is still no expert on nobility, but a simple look around makes it clear that the academy explicitly caters to the well-heeled. Maria is clearly an outlier.

Well, Celena probably wouldn't be here herself if not for Allen's status as a knight and war hero; the Schezar family's reputation was otherwise tarnished by mystery and misfortune.

Maria's stammering earns raised brows, and Celena has enough presence of mind to close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose in lieu of rolling her eyes. "Yes? Out with it. What do you want to know?"

[homemadesweets]

“Um.”

Maria has made enough social missteps at school before that she can tell when someone is annoyed with her, and part of her would rather clam up than risk digging herself deeper. But Lady Schezar seems to want her to be direct.

So Maria takes a quick look around, making sure there’s nobody around to listen in. Seeing no eavesdroppers she takes a breath, straightens, and does her best to look Lady Schezar in the eye, even as her face remains notably flushed.

“I was just wondering if you’d studied anywhere before you came here,” she says. And without leaving Lady Schezar much time to respond, Maria hastily explains “Most of the staff, the other student council members, and I, were told a little bit about you and that you were being held captive in the Zaibach Empire. S-so if you’d rather not talk about yourself, or anything, Lady Schezar, you don’t have to say anything.”

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena was expecting Maria to back down, but she's impressed by the other girl's resolve. The admissions interview had involved similar questions, and it's easy enough for Celena to recite her answer again.

"They gave me some basic education during my captivity. Reading, arithmetic, some science and history. If nothing else, the Zaibach Empire valued knowledge." At least insofar as it served their purposes. The answer overall is far from a lie, but she carefully omits any mention of the strategy, combat or weapons training that covered the bulk of her "education."

In some ways, answering is like slowly exhaling a breath she didn't know she was holding. Back at home, Allen refused to discuss her experience beyond what was absolutely necessary--as if every detail was some kind of explicit charge leveled against him. If he could erase her memory of the last ten years, she's certain he would.

She tilts her head, expression carefully neutral. "Anything else I can clear up?"

[homemadesweets]

“I see. That’s a relief.” With very little information to go off of, it’s easy to picture the worst. For all Maria knew, Lady Schezar could have been thrown into a cell to rot for ten years. But just from looking at her, it appears as though the Zaibach Empire did at least provide more than the bare minimum necessary to keep a hostage alive.

Though… Perhaps not much more. Unthinking, Maria’s eyes stray to the side of Celena’s face. Did that come from Zaibach? She’s shamefully curious, but even if Lady Schezar is giving her permission to ask her questions, it still seems rude for Maria to interrogate every odd detail. Maria tries to think over her words, to find a question that gets to the heart of the matter.

“I suppose what I’m wondering most about is... how do you survive something like that?”

[diabolical_adonis]

That's not a question anyone has ever asked her. It takes her a long moment to assemble an answer, knowing that it might set the tone for her entire stay in Sorcier, especially if Maria happened to be the gossiping type.

"I did what I had to do to keep myself safe. Sometimes those things were not nice." She pauses, her voice softens. "And I wasn't alone ... Not everyone there was bad. There were kind people who protected me through the very worst of it."

She pronounces the words carefully--as if speaking on behalf of another person--to prevent herself from slipping sideways into the grief that always creeped on the edges of her thoughts. Still, she swallows down a rising tightness in her throat and hides it under another abrupt change in demeanor: she puts on a faux smile and laces her fingers together. "I don't want to keep you too long, Miss Campbell. What's next?"

[homemadesweets]

She doesn’t know quite what to make of Lady Schezar’s words. It all sounds very different from her own experiences. Maria has always tried to be nice, and Maria has always had to look out for herself. Maria has never been a prisoner.

And… those kind people that Lady Schezar mentions. Lady Schezar refers to them with the past tense. There are a number of possible reasons for this, few of them good, no matter how dispassionate Lady Schezar’s tone of voice is.

Lady Schezar clearly wants to move on, but it feels like Maria should say something after her admissions. She settles for ducking her head and saying “Please excuse my impertinence.”

Then Maria finally turns, ready to move on if Lady Schezar is.

“You’ll need to know where the auditorium is, for assemblies. We also hold recitals and plays, sometimes. Are you interested in that sort of thing?”

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena has half a mind to dismiss Maria's apology as unnecessary. A part of her didn't want to close off the topic completely, but like any deep wound, it was still too tender. So she says nothing and proceeds down the corridor.

"Palas has plenty of theaters and opera houses, but I haven't had a chance to see any performances. Most of them were put on hold while things rebuilt," she muses with a shrug, then offers, "I'm supposed to learn piano, though."

The advisors had goaded her into taking a "fun" elective outside of her required courses and she'd made the choice without much thought. The Schezar estate had a dusty grand piano languishing in one of the many unused rooms and she had fuzzy childhood memories of hammering on the keys until someone made her stop. She imagined history would repeat itself shortly, maybe with a larger audience.

[homemadesweets]

The mention of rebuilding makes it occur to Maria that she doesn't know many details about what was happening outside of Sorcier. Ensconced as she's been in her isolated life in her small hometown, and then at the academy, she knows little except for overheard worries from the adults about economic woes and concerns about "it" coming here.

...She probably should have paid more attention to that sort of thing.

“Perhaps you’ll get a chance to see something during the summer break,” Maria suggests. Though that feels a long way off. And is assuming that Lady Schezar settles in, rather than being hastily called back home at some point.

The main entrance to the auditorium isn’t hard to miss, being a pair of large, elegantly carved double doors of the sort that declare one is about to enter A Place.

“I wonder if it’s unlocked right now.” Maria gives the doorknob an experimental turn and, finding no resistance, tugs the door open to show Lady Schezar what’s inside.

The academy’s auditorium is a surprisingly grand space for a school, with three levels of balconies looming over the parterre, and a massive golden chandelier glowing overhead. It had overawed Maria the first time she saw it and truthfully, she’s still impressed. She remembers that Sir Dieke had given a speech up on the stage and she has no idea how he’d been so composed.

After scanning the space for a moment Maria comments, “It’s a shame we don’t have any performances scheduled any time soon.”

[diabolical_adonis]

Summer break. Right. She'll probably be obliged to head back to Asturia. Surely, Allen and the Princesses Aston will be eager to see her progress. She's wondering if she can hold out that long. Even keeping herself carefully poised for an afternoon is a test of her endurance. For a moment she imagines what Maria would say if she took off her heels and continued the tour barefoot.

Celena takes a few steps inside to peer across the space. The interior details are not too far from Palas' ostentatious furnishings and workmanship. Even the smell is similar. Perhaps some citrus-based oil used to preserve and shine the wood.

"Why is that?" Maybe, in some way, war touched this place as well? If it's the case, she doesn't see any sign. Still, she knows that frontlines can be days from a city, but exact a toll nonetheless: sapping resources and putting frivolities on hold. "When will they resume?"

[homemadesweets]

Maria follows Lady Schezar partway, still keeping a hand on the door to keep it from shutting behind them.

“I’m not sure,” Maria admits. “There just doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in organizing anything.” She ponders this for a moment. While the academy certainly has the facilities, the academic focus overall isn’t directed towards the performing arts- the establishment primarily seems to serve as a funnel into the magic ministry, and a place for the upper class to make connections with one another.

“I think acting isn’t considered an appropriate career for nobles,” Maria says slowly, “So perhaps that has something to do with it?” She gives Lady Schezar an uncertain look. Lady Schezar’s nobility, so perhaps she’d know a little about that sort of thing.

“But the president mentioned there’s always something put on for the school festival, and recently he’s been asking someone to put on a recital.” Maria smiles slightly. “Since you mentioned you’ll be studying piano, maybe you’ll get to perform up there eventually.”

[diabolical_adonis]

She waves off Maria's speculation about the trajectory of her piano skills, feigning modesty. She'll be lucky if she doesn't make the music instructor quit before the end of a semester. "Don't hold your breath."

The comment about acting strikes her as more interesting. She spins back around and returns to Maria and the open door.

"Oh, but the skills of nobles and actors are so similar. Wouldn't you agree?" Celena says, shooting the other girl a wry smile. She's already has plenty of practice wearing uncomfortable costumes and pretending to be something she's not. "Both like to put on a good show, don't they?"

[homemadesweets]

“I suppose,” Maria says, a little concerned that she might be edging into unkind territory. “I’ve never thought about it, but the nobility always seem to have an audience, don’t they?”

She absently leans back against the door. It’s true that when she thinks about it, all the girls at the academy- with the exception of Lady Ascart- either seem to have an entourage or be part of a more charismatic girl’s entourage. It’s reminiscent of a performer and her backup dancers.

“I wonder if it gets tiring, sometimes.”

[diabolical_adonis]

She exits the theater and gives a proper laugh, not without an obvious edge of bitterness. "Speaking from experience? Yes, it does."

Celena certainly has her suspicions about Maria's background, given the girl's mannerisms and dress. Maybe it's not tactful to address it directly, but she's already trying to see how much of the chaff of decorum she can safely winnow away. "'They'? You don't come from nobility yourself, Miss Campbell?"

[homemadesweets]

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Maria says, gently shutting the door behind her.

Then, the question earns Lady Schezar a brief, puzzled stare. “Didn’t anyone mention…?” Maria had gotten used to everyone on the campus grounds knowing that she was that commoner girl with light magic. But of course, if Lady Schezar only just arrived from abroad, then the gossip might not have reached her yet.

So Maria gives her head a decisive shake. “No,” she says, “I’m a commoner, Lady Schezar. If I didn’t have magic, I could never have attended this school.”

Despite the firmness of her words Maria watches Lady Schezar carefully, bracing for whatever her reaction will be.

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena frowns, briefly wondering why the topic would come up, but then recalls painful luncheons where, inevitably, at least one of the ladies present would rattle off gossip and grievances. A special contempt was always reserved for those just below who aspired to better their station.

"I see," she says, mulling the information over. Forming alliances has never been her strong suit, but if she does spend any length of time here, her outsider status is almost guaranteed. Maybe the the rumors of her "captivity" have already earned her that. Either way, she doesn't want to end up completely friendless.

She chooses her words carefully and keeps her tone as earnest as she can: "That must be difficult for you. Trying to fit in."

[homemadesweets]

Maria nods mutely. The truth is, ‘difficult’ is something of an understatement. She hadn’t realized before enrolling that she would be literally the only commoner in the entire school. And even if she had, there was never anywhere in her rural hometown that she could have learned the kind of ladylike manners that all the other girls seemed to know instinctively. Not to mention her clothes and hair, her lack of personal attendants, and her ignorance as to who’s-who in the noble circles...

In short, Maria stands out as much as a tomato in a strawberry shortcake, and several of the other girls are not shy about complaining about the taste.

But it would be unfair to whine about her woes to Lady Schezar, who’s only just arrived here and is trying to ease into academy life. Nor does she want to turn Lady Schezar off of the academy. Lady Schezar is technically a noble and seems hard to intimidate, so perhaps she’d have a little more luck making friends than Maria had. She deserves it, after what she’s been through.

“It’s not so bad,” Maria says. “I’m very fortunate to have the opportunity to- to receive such a high quality education. And the school itself is a beautiful place. The staff here are very helpful as well.”

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena hums at the diplomatic reply. Maria would be a terrible tour guide if she said anything different. Still, she notes the obvious omission from the list.

"And the other students?" she presses.

At best--Celena guesses--she'll be a strange spectacle to be observed from a careful distance. If that's the case, she's okay with cultivating mystery and keeping to herself; her time here could pass without incident. At worst, her fellow students will make themselves an active nuisance, requiring her to fall back on old habits. If she's expelled from the academy for bad behavior, she'll have to suffer the weight of Allen's disappointment and some fresh scheme to acclimate her to a gentle life.

Maybe she can coax some honesty from Maria with a bit of her own vulnerability: "I'm bound to be seen as an outsider myself. I'd like to have some sense of what I can expect."

[homemadesweets]

Maria is dismayed by the thought, but Lady Schezar has a point about also being an outsider. Even Maria has already noticed that Lady Schezar can be more direct than other girls, and that’s notwithstanding Lady Schezar’s unusual background.

“Some of them can be… unkind,” she admits. Maria picks over her words carefully, trying to strike a balance between an honest warning and still trying to avoid unduly worrying Lady Schezar.

“Particularly if they do not approve of your conduct, they might try to approach you when you’re alone so that they can reprimand you. And there are little things, such as deliberately bumping into you, or stepping on your feet.” The small things, at least, are easy to brush off individually- it’s when such things happen multiple times, every day, that it starts to weigh on someone.

“But please don’t assume that it’s going to be that bad,” Maria adds. “As long as you’re not unlucky enough to attract the ire of the more important people… And there are plenty of good people here as well.”

[diabolical_adonis]

Lady Schezar crosses her arms and nods, pleased with that information. It matches her glimpse into Palas' high society: clearly both are keen to maintain hierarchy and the strict bounds of acceptable behavior.

She can deal with those cowardly tactics, albeit not in any way her brother or the school's administration would condone. But she'd sooner be expelled than kowtow to haughty nobles.

"Who are these 'important people'?" she asks, pronouncing those last words with an edge of scorn.

lady blackbourne is made up out of whole cloth, tbh a lot of the Bullying Noble Girls are unnamed

[homemadesweets]

“Er…” Maria fidgets for a moment, torn between the feeling that the conversation is falling into gossip territory- particularly since the unspoken purpose is to name the unpleasant people- and the more practical concern that this probably still would be useful information for Lady Schezar to know beforehand. (Certainly, she wishes that someone had given her a briefing on who’s who before she entered. It could have saved her some stressful situations.)

“Well, Prince Geordo Stuart and Prince Alan Stuart are attending the school currently, so anyone associating with them would also qualify. Prince Geordo is engaged to Lady Katarina Claes-” (If Lady Schezar is observant, she may notice the nervous way Maria clasps her hands together at the name.) “-Who is the daughter of a Duke, and whose brother is on the student council along with the Princes. Prince Alan is also engaged to Lady Mary Hunt, who’s the daughter of a Marquis.

“Ah, Lady Hunt isn’t the sort of person who might harass others, though. I don’t think she collects followers either.” Thinking about it, Lady Hunt might almost be as much of a loner as Lady Ascart. Maria also decides to skip over mentioning Lady Ascart- she might be the daughter of a Count and current Prime Minister, but she’s usually in the background nevertheless.

“I’m not really familiar with everyone’s names yet,” Maria continues slowly, her eyes getting a slightly glazed look as she tries to recall the various bits of genealogy and lineages and pedigrees she’s been told since arriving. “Lady Flores is the daughter of a Marquis… Lady Blackbourne is the daughter of a Baron, which doesn’t rank as high, but her family is very wealthy…

“Well, they all have various friends of different ranks, but I know the faces better than the names,” Maria finally admits.

Bullying Noble Girls do not deserve names >:[

[diabolical_adonis]

Gossip and essential intelligence? They're not much different, Celena has come to learn. "Civilized" society is just a different kind of battlefield. Thinking about it through that lens almost makes it more tolerable, or at least understandable: power, alliances, strategy ... if all of those were rendered down to the most bland version imaginable.

Lady Schezar does her best to file away those names, but they're not much use without the associated faces. Her tone drops to a lower, businesslike register, almost as if she's speaking to a subordinate. "I'll count on you to point them out to me then."

She catches herself and shoots Maria a twitchy attempt at an encouraging smile. Her voice resumes a polite note. "If you'd be so kind. It would benefit us both to look out for one another, Miss Campbell."

lmk if there are parts of the Grand Tour that you think it'd be better to skip/skim over btw

[homemadesweets]

The business-like tone almost goes unnoticed- it’s not uncommon to get from teachers or the president, truthfully. It’s the visible way that Lady Schezar has to course-correct with a makeshift smile and some stressed phrasing that makes it stand out by comparison, and Maria returns the smile with a much gentler one of her own.

“I’d be happy to help you in any way that I can, Lady Schezar,” she says earnestly.

(...And yet why does she get the feeling she just agreed to something she doesn’t entirely understand?)

“Ah! Speaking of which, we should get back on track- after the library we’ll be done with the main building, and then we can go outside.” From there, unless Lady Schezar is extra curious, there isn’t much besides leading her to the dormitory buildings, although there is one important detour to make…

“We’ll have to show you where the training grounds are- it’s an area designated for magic using students to practice, and I think some boys use it for sword training and things, so it would be dangerous if you wandered into the area unaware.”

[diabolical_adonis]

"Oh, I think the library sounds self-explanatory," she says dismissively. In truth, it sounds boring. At every stage of her life, she's been more likely to fall asleep with a book than actually read it. Nothing's changed in that regard.

"I could use the fresh air, and the training grounds sound lively." Celena certainly won't be using them for magic, given her lack of aptitude, but maybe she can spend a few afternoons putting some soft noble boys in their place.

"My brother is an accomplished swordsman. He's taught me a few things about how to handle a blade." She hates singing Allen's praises, but it's the truth. The second part, however, is a lie but might help excuse a lady participating in a bit of swordplay.

[homemadesweets]

Maria’s first instinct is to protest- when she first arrived she was very concerned about falling behind and studying is still her main priority- but she falters and says, “W-well, as long as you’re sure you’ll be able to find it, if you need to.” It isn’t as if the library is hidden after all, or that nobody else would be able to point it out to Lady Schezar if asked.

Besides, Lady Schezar seems genuinely interested in seeing the training grounds. And the auditorium is close to the back entrance of the main building, so Maria leads Lady Schezar that way, keeping up conversation as they walk.

“It should be quieter since we don't have any exams soon,” Maria admits, “But a few weeks ago it was especially busy. The groundskeepers had a lot of work smoothing everything out every day.” Maria herself got in some practice healing away various small bumps and bruises on anyone who wasn’t too prideful to let her heal them.

“Oh, is that so?” Maria says, surprised that any noble lady would be allowed to do something so tomboyish. But then, for Lady Schezar it makes sense. “Does he want you to be able to protect yourself?”

[diabolical_adonis]

"Something like that. Don't you think everyone should be able to protect themselves from harm? Be it someone stomping on your foot or ..." She pauses, considers the audience, and stops herself before she describes something particularly grisly. "Or something much worse?"

"It's not as if a guard or some gallant knight will always be around to keep us safe." There's a hint of bitterness in her voice, bordering on sarcasm.

"If not a blade, surely you'll learn to defend yourself with magic?" This question has genuine interest behind it. "Magic" was a rare thing in her experience, limited to predicting and shaping fate. Powerful, certainly, but not exactly accessible or practical.

[homemadesweets]

Maria considers this. She’s never been very strong, not physically- whenever someone steps on her foot, or worse, her reaction is always to just freeze up and wish that they wouldn’t. She can’t imagine actually striking another person, and the idea seems… unpleasant.

“Well… What you’re saying certainly seems logical,” Maria says. “But in some situations… I think you might just make things worse for yourself.”

There are a few more students in the hallways now, hanging around near the back entrance. A few of them give the two curious glances, but none seem terribly inclined to stop them. Still, Maria’s voice is quieter when she next speaks.

“My magic isn’t very good for that sort of thing,” Maria admits. “I’ve only ever used it to heal people.” She’d read in a book once that light magic was used for healing and purification, clarity and insight, protection and balance, but none of it was elaborated on in a practical way. For all everyone tells her that her magic is special and powerful, there are times when she feels like a glorified first aid kit.

[diabolical_adonis]

In theory, Maria is correct. There were plenty of instances of "making it worse" in Celena's past life, and she's racked up a fair share in her present. Maybe less physical aggression in recent history, but plenty of verbal spats. "Maybe. But if you don't put up a fight when it matters, people will walk all over you."

Celena gives the passing students not-so-subtle appraising glances, wondering if any of them are the problems Maria pointed out.

"And if you can heal your own wounds, it's even less of a risk." She gives Maria a thoughtful frown. "But is that really how it works? You only have the one kind of magic that can do one thing? You can't learn to shoot fire from your fingertips or ... ?"

[homemadesweets]

Maria frowns, mulling over what Lady Schezar is saying. Her strategy- her hope- has always been that if she just behaved nicely, eventually other people would see that she never meant any harm. That they’d forgive her and realize she hadn’t actually done anything wrong herself. It hasn’t really worked so far, but it’s not so much the being-walked-over part that bothers her, but…

Maria shakes her head. She has a Lady Schezar she needs to be guiding. Sidestepping the other students, Maria heads to the back entrance of the building.

“I’d need to have fire magic to do something like that,” Maria explains, as they step outside. It’s quite nice out- just a bit brisk, but sunny, and there are more small groups of students loitering here and there across the paths.

“Every magic user from Sorcier is aligned to one of the five elements, and you can’t use magic outside of your element. Although some people have a lot of flexibility in what they can do with their element.”

She thinks for a moment and adds “For example Lord Claes, from the student council, is very proficient in earth magic. He can create enormous dolls out of earth, and make them move about as he wishes. I’ve only seen him do it once, but it was very impressive.”

Sorry for the delay! (/▿＼ )

[diabolical_adonis]

Celena can't help but imagine this Lord Claes' golems as earthen guymelefs. As peaceful as the school--as this whole country--seems thus far, the more she learns about magic, the more she's convinced they would make formidable enemies.

"Maybe your magic is more flexible than you think? If it can mend wounds, maybe it can do the opposite?" She isn't entirely sure what she means by that. Open old wounds? Make new ones? Those who study medicine also learn the best ways to hurt people, right?

"Even if your magic is no help, even a child can learn to use a sword. And even if you're not drawing a blade at every turn, there's power in knowing that you could," she says, circling back to the original thought. Her eyes go from sweeping over the grounds to giving Maria a sideways glance. "I could teach you."