Where do I begin? Exhaustion presses on me, but my mind buzzes with ideas, realizations, the many connections I’d previously missed. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until I’ve at least related some of what has happened.
I’ve unraveled it. Much of it. The workings of their so-called technology. A way forward. Why the aristocrats are so obsessed with pretty jewelry.
This all started two days after my last entry. I’d hoped to learn more about Great House Arix, but either Nadine’s library had nothing on history or my literacy was still too underdeveloped to comprehend how her books were organized. I ended up spending most of my time poring over medical tomes.
(I freely admit that this was not the best use of my time, but the act of puzzling out these books’ meaning was a welcome distraction from certain difficult questions about where I stood with Nadine and Olrick.)
Jacque was brusque when he arrived for our regular tutoring session. That is to say, more brusque than usual. He had something of a scowl on his lips as he took out his tablet and brought up a lesson on grammar. I wasn’t in the mood for a verbal sparring match, and the lesson seemed useful besides, so I attempted to brush aside his sour mood and focus on the work.
Alas, he was unable to contain himself for long.
“I heard about your little [???],” he hissed, suddenly interrupting our discussion on verb tenses. “Maybe you thought you could keep it secret, but people are talking. And I’ve got you [figured out].”
I leaned away from him. “I do not understand?”
He swept a hand across the tablet, and it resolved into a simple image of a woman wearing a crown in front of a red background. Her face was square and her eyes were rendered as two angled lines—was this crude image meant to be me?
The caricature left me momentarily speechless, and Jacque decided to fill that moment with poison.
“I admit, I had to give it some thought,” he said, his voice low and sharp. “Why would you go around claiming to be the long lost Arix? Such an obvious lie would be easy to [disprove].”
“I didn’t—”
“But you are intelligent. You’ve proven as much to me.” The background of the imaginary queen shifted to ocean blue. “You thought, if anyone would believe you—would choose to believe you [in spite of] all [proof against it/evidence to the contrary]—it would be Lady Valia.”
“But I am not—” His word choice gave me pause. “Lady Valia?”
He pressed on. “Perhaps you imagine you can live like a queen in [vacation/exile?] off of the generosity of nobles, eager to [???] themselves to the new Queen Arix. And you may be right. [The ancestors] know there are fools enough steering our society.” A malicious flame burned in his eye.
“But I won’t stand for it. I will work against you, Miss Why, or whatever your real name is. I have [connections] enough to be heard. I know what you really are, and, soon, so will the entire city.”
I sat up straight. “And what am I?”
He was uncowed. “A selfish, scheming, [no-necklace] mutant.”
It took me a moment to absorb what he was saying. Mutant was a word I’d overheard Nadine use when she thought I wasn’t listening. It was a word I’d had to go out of my way to look up. In fact, that was the very phrase she used: [no-necklace] mutant.
“That is enough.” At some point, I had risen from my seat. “You do not call me ‘mutant’ or ‘scheming’ or ‘[no-necklace]’ anymore. You are here to teach me. So teach me.” I was panting, dizzy, my heart pounding in my ears. Perhaps I should have left it there; it would have been the proper thing to do.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Then again, if I had behaved myself, things might have turned out far worse.
“But can you teach me?” I asked. “You are bad at it. All very bad. You have a slow head and no… Not understand…” I didn’t have the words. I never had the words! There was so much I wanted to say to these people, but…
I dropped my language spell. “”
He sank back into his chair, even though he couldn’t understand me. I may have been screaming.
“
Hunched over my side of the table, I took a deep, steadying breath—or perhaps a handful of ragged gasps. With some difficulty, I resumed my language spell, though my fingers were clumsy and the hand signs were slow in returning to me.
“Are you finished?” Jacque asked.
“No. You also have big nose.” Perhaps I was still a touch upset.
He reflexively brought a hand to his face. Sniffing loudly, he rose. “I do not need to take this. I do not need to take any of this. I [???] at the top of my [???].” He began for the door.
“Wait,” I said. He halted, and I straightened up to my full height. “Do not forget your this.”
I held the tablet out to him, making sure to stand over him as I did so.
He snatched it from my hand and rushed out the door, bumping into Nadine in the hallway.
“Is everything all right?” she asked. “I heard shouting.”
“I quit!” Jacque shouted. “I want nothing more to do with this…this…” I don’t know the precise meaning of his next word, though I’m confident it was terribly unflattering. “And if you have any sense, you would throw her out on her ear!”
“Jacque, wait!” Nadine called after him. She stopped and glowered at me, then chased him down the hall.
***
Ah. Now that I’ve written this out, I worry you’ll think rather poorly of my behavior. Yes, I was questioning the merit of remaining with the Seabornes, but I hadn’t actually made a decision one way or the other—and I certainly wouldn’t have chosen to leave under such unseemly circumstances.
It may have been easier, perhaps, to keep this episode to myself. However, I want you to have a complete picture of what I’ve experienced here, as well as an understanding of what led to the events that transpired next.
***
I allowed myself several seconds to regain my senses before I followed Nadine down the hall. Even if I still harbored some resentment towards her for working so resolutely against me, I did feel some small amount of guilt for my actions. And, of course, Jacque’s lessons had proven useful in advancing my skills with the Panzean language. Even if it was a dreadfully mechanical way of learning.
“Can’t we talk about this?” Nadine called after him.
“You do not pay me enough to suffer these [indignities].” Jacque did not so much as break his stride as he spoke. “You cannot [afford?] to pay me enough for this. I was doing you a favor, Nadine, and I am also doing you a favor when I say: [wash out of your hands?] this evil woman!”
The front door creaked open and the conversation moved into the courtyard.
“But what could she possibly have said?” Nadine turned to me as I came out into the courtyard behind her. “What did you say?”
I looked back at her, but I had no answer. Honestly, I was in such a daze that I couldn’t remember what I’d just said.
She turned her attention back to Jacque as he reached the gate. “Jacque, please, don’t leave like this!”
He stopped by the gate, sliding it open with some effort. “We have been friends for how long? Many years now.” His voice was quiet now, introspective, but I didn’t dare get any closer lest I frighten him off. “You are being [deceived?]. Until you realize that, I will thank you to keep your distance.”
He’d only managed to wedge open a narrow gap in the gate, which was normally operated via some unseen mechanism. Still, he was determined to leave with that last word, and so he squeezed himself out into the street.
Nadine turned to face me. Her mouth was open in a teeth-bearing grimace, though I couldn’t tell if she was confused, or angry, or…disgusted, perhaps? I felt little ill, myself.
Still, she didn’t speak. It seemed as though we stood there, staring at each other, for quite some time. In truth, it cannot have been so long, because a terrible screeching sound issued from outside, followed by a crash that shook the very building. Nadine shot off towards the gate, and the world blurred as I instinctively took chase after her, squeezing out of the narrow gap right behind her.
On the road just outside the Seaborne Estate, a carriage had overturned. Jacque looked up at us, eyes wide and golden skin turning ashen, from where he lay pinned to the ground by his leg.