(Continued from Ch 56, The Allure of Emeralds) The Chronicles of Rapina Chapter 57, Snubbery For a long moment she saw only the blackness that had shielded her from greater darkness these past few months, and then she let him go and rubbed the white star on his forehead. "I am sure going to miss you Starstruck," Bellany said. She turned reluctantly. Bellany was in the large courtyard in front of the old keep that served as the administrative building for The Bristol Academy for Boys and Vargrend's Academy for Girls. She shook the hand of Sergeant Lime. "Thank you Sergeant; I appreciate all the hard fighting that you and your men did to get me here safely. I am so sorry about the casualties. They were good men." "Aye they were, but they died well. That is the best a warrior can ask for. We will not forget them. We'll not forget yer valor either Sir Lady. Ye fought by our sides and saved lives. Even if ye catch flack for it, we are all in yer debt," The sergeant said. "Thank you Sergeant Lime, I am honored. I will see you and the men next summer when you come back to fetch us." "Aye. It has been a pleasure to serve ye, Lady Bellany." Bellany smiled and shook Lime's hand. Charles held a letter up and then gave it to Sergeant Lime. "This is for father and contains the story of the battle we had with the highwaymen. Men, you fought valiantly, I am sure father will commend you. Good luck and a safe journey home." The men said their good-byes, mounted up and rode out of the courtyard. Bellany was sad to see them go. Charles took her through a gate and up a couple of flights of stone steps that led up the side of the motte that the old keep sat on. Just walk up that last flight of stairs and into the girls' reception room," Charles said. "I have to go around to the other side of the building into the boys' reception room." "Will we ever see each other, other than at tournaments?" Bellany asked. Charles pointed at the second floor of the keep. "The library is above the offices and reception areas. You can get to it from the dormitory on the third floor of the girls' main building because of the linking bridge. Shelves split the library down the middle into a boys' side and a girls' side. Right by the librarian's cage, a wall of wrought iron bars splits the two halves. The Librarian is in a room with walls of bars kind of like a bank teller and she can go into the boys' or the girls' library area by unlocking a wrought iron gate. You can leave mail with her for anyone at the school, including me. On Sundays, they allow us to go to church. Those gates in the north wall of the courtyard opposite the stables lead to the various chapels to the gods. You can hardly see them from the road because the curtain wall is nearly as high as the chapels. Most of them are just one-story buildings. I will talk to you on Sunday, and I might see you through the library bars before that." "Okay, thank you Charles, you're the best brother. I really appreciate all you have done for me since you got home. Bellany gave her brother a hug and walked slowly up the stairs. It was the first time she had hugged him knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was not really her brother, but she let habit carry her through. He was one of the few men she had tried very hard not to attract, but they had spent so much time together that she wondered if it had been hard on him. She was about to enter a whole new world. Formal schooling was something she had never experienced. Bellany paused before going into the administrative building; It was a big step for someone who now realized she was just a hunted commoner and spy. _Now what have I got myself into?_ She did not know if her training under Guardian Thane and this summer with the tutor at Norwit would be enough to have prepared her for Vargrend's. Prepared or not she strode into the reception room and headed towards the desk. The secretary behind the desk was a woman in her mid twenties. "Hello, I am Bellany Norwit. Do I confirm my registration here?" Bellany asked. "Yes, you do. Just sign here and let me get your schedule," The secretary said. Bellany signed in a book next to her name and then took the schedule and the library card that the secretary gave her. She wrinkled her nose. "Are the classes below the line supposed to be something I picked?" "Yes, at Vargrend's every girl must have an education that is up to our high standards but we also like to see the special talents of each individual young woman developed. "My mother must have selected these before I was well enough to do this myself. Poetry is not going to work." Bellany scratched the palm of her ghost hand distractedly. It was acting up. "You are already scheduled Miss Norwit. It is too late to change now," The secretary said. Bellany leaned over the desk so that her face was very near that of the secretary. "Unless you fancy poems about the orcish gang rapes and tortures I endured during the past year I would suggest you get this changed," She spat through her teeth. The secretary blanched. "I'll see if Head Mistress Vargrend will make an exception in your case. Just a moment," The woman rushed away. A white haired woman with a weathered face came into the secretary's office. She scowled as if Bellany were another headache that she had to deal with. "I will take care of Lady Norwit's schedule. Why don't you go up to the library and fetch me Mary Duffy. She can take Lady Norwit upstairs when we are finished. "Yes Ma'am," The secretary said. She opened a door next to the countertop where Bellany waited and disappeared. "Here at Vargrend's we try to pair young women of roughly equal social status who also worship similarly," Headmistress Vargrend said. "Unfortunately Lord Avengene decided to send his granddaughter to school in Li'Yieraun this year and many of his subjects followed suit. Most of the students we do have from Avengene were already enrolled last year and did not wish to switch schools in the midst of their education. Your father is an important vassal of Avengene. I am surprised he did not send you to another school." "My brother Charles must have wanted to continue here," Bellany said. "It makes political sense because most of the peers of the realm attend the Bristol Academy. I imagine they wanted us together so he could look out for me." "Charles must be an astute young man. Now what is this business of you wanting to change your elective courses? It is highly irregular," Mrs. Vargrend snapped. "I was captured by orc raiders on the way to school last year and spent the lion's share of the year as one of their few female slaves. During my rescue, I sustained wounds from a spell that damaged my body and mind, particularly my memory, but I do remember quite a few bits now and the others are trying to shove their way to the surface. When I try to write poetry like I used to, any verses that come would be *extremely* inappropriate." Mrs. Vargrend took a deep breath. "I see." "I don't mind keeping music, and Lord knows I will need ballroom dancing if I am not to embarrass myself at any social functions this year," Bellany said. "If I tried to write poetry it would get me in trouble, and it is so sedentary. I need a great deal of activity - enough that I will sleep too deeply to dream and scream and sweat..." Mrs. Vargrend stiffened slightly where she stood. "We mustn't have that, you'll wake all the girls and make a spectacle of yourself. Some of them will remember the orcs captured you last year on your way here and soon everyone will know. That will cause you enough grief without adding screaming nightmares. I do not usually allow a girl to take two physically taxing elective courses, but in your case, it may be prudent not only to allow it, but also to insist on it. I will make the necessary changes. If you find you need to keep very busy, you may also attend an enrichment course after dinner. These courses are optional arts or crafts courses. Attendance is open and no formal grades are given. We also have guest lectures from time to time." "Thank you Headmistress Vargrend. I do not relish the thought of frightening the other girls with my poetry or my nightmares. Did daddy write you about mathematics?" Bellany asked. "He did, but you mustn't get your hopes up," Mrs. Vargrend said. Our mathematics teacher is not qualified beyond a little geometry. I gave the letter to Headmaster Bristol. He still teaches a class in mathematics just as I teach one in rhetoric to keep my skills honed in spite of my administrative duties. In addition Bristol's has a qualified mathematics professor, but only for the boys." "Oh," Bellany said with an air of disappointment. "You will be rooming with Mary Duffy," Headmistress Vargrend said. "She is not your social equal, but she is a worshipper of the vindicator from a hardworking family here in Bristol. Since you did not have the benefit of attending last year, Mary is the perfect young lady to help catch you up on our rules and routines here at Vargrend's. She is a comely young lady yet the boys do not faze her with their antics. She is wise to the tricks they try to pull at tourneys and social events. You would do well to follow her virtuous example." "Of course, Head Mistress Vargrend," Bellany said concealing her thoughts with a smile. _Virtuous Mary must have a flawless reputation for chastity. Virtuous Mary is likely here on scholarship; therefore, she works for Mrs. Vargrend. The Warden of the prison has sent a spy and exemplar of desirable behavior to be my cellmate._ When she arrived with the secretary, the expression on Mary Duffy's otherwise pretty, fine-featured face was stony. It was obvious it had not been Mary's idea to room with Bellany. "Mary, this is Bellany Norwit. I want you to tell her what we stand for here at Vargrend's while you show her around. Make sure she gets settled in by lights out tonight," Headmistress Vargrend said. "Yes Headmistress," Mary said a note of the long- suffering slave in her voice as she turned to behold her new charge. There was a brief pause as Mary collected herself. "It will be my pleasure," she said with a little too much breath. "choo!" Bellany tried to make her dry sneeze as graceful as possible. She had not been prepared for the powerful tickle of lust virtuous Mary was sending her. _No wonder Mary is unfazed by men. All of her interest seems to be concentrated on women._ Bellany had seen something similar in men like Brackston, but had never known a woman who was strongly attracted to women. Yet Mary could not possibly admit it to herself if she were a worshipper of the vindicator. "Oh excuse me, there must be a pollen in the air I am unused to," Bellany apologized for her sneeze. "Bless you," Mary said. "Lady Norwit, what is that under your dress?" Mrs. Vargrend asked. "Just a bandage, Headmistress Vargrend. I got a scratch on the way here. I have herbs and bandages for it," Bellany said. "Mary, you make sure to look at that. If there is any sign of infection I want you to make sure Lady Norwit reports to the infirmary straight away and follows Leach Lambert's instructions. We will take no chances with wounds," Mrs Vargrend said. "Yes Headmistress," Mary said. "We are all finished here Mary. Good day Lady Norwit," Headmistress Vargrend said. "Thank you and good day Headmistress Vargrend." Bellany curtsied. ------- Although there were some dormitory rooms on the second floor, Bellany's room was on the northwest corner of the third floor. The windows looked towards the river on one side and towards the administrative tower on the other. There were two beds, a large closet, two chests of drawers, a dressing table and two desks. Mary held one of Bellany's dresses up to her chest. "You have such beautiful finery, and so modest." Bellany smirked. "It is fine fashion for a nun, yet I feel so false pretending to be modest. Mother seems to think that if I act like a pious vindicator girl again, my innocence will magically return. That dress looks good on you, Mary, and its modesty is not out of place. I bet it would fit you if we took it in a bit." "Yes, I think you are only a little taller than I am, but your figure - how do you keep the boys away?" Mary asked. "The real question everyone seems to be worried about is _will_ I keep the boys away?" Bellany said. "Ever since the orcs finished with my chaste reputation it has resembled Humpty-Dumpty after his fall. Mary covered her mouth with her hand. "Goodness." I have about as much virtue to preserve where boys are concerned as your grandmother, probably less," Bellany said. Apparently I cannot get pregnant either; both of which have my parents, the priests of the vindicator and Headmistress Vargrend squirming like worms in a churn. "You wouldn't let the boys have their way with you, would you?" Mary asked. Bellany smiled. "You don't want me to talk about boys, Mary." "I don't?" Mary asked. "No, I have no intention of trying to shatter your innocence," Bellany said. "Besides, Headmistress Vargrend will expect you to report what you know and that means I would be a fool to tell you anything that might ruffle your virtue and get me in trouble. After all, didn't you tell me the school motto was, all about virtue?'" Mary frowned. "Yes, I did. I suppose you are right. The headmistress will ask after you." Bellany nodded, "I'll be on my best behavior for you then and I won't talk about the orcs." ------- The rosy light of dawn was only a promise destined for the horizon as Bellany and her roomate began their morning routines. "Oh gods Lady Bellany what are you doing?" Mary asked as she finished putting on her shoes. "Sit-ups of course. I have a morning workout. You are up early. Classes do not start for another two hours." "Yes, I know and I don't have a first period class either. I work mornings in the library." "Oh, then I will have the room to myself for part of my morning workout?" Bellany asked. "Yes. Is that good?" Mary asked. "Yes, but you must knock if you come back unexpectedly," Bellany said. "Why?" Mary asked. "For our mutual safety," Bellany said. I do flips and kicks. If you open the door while I am flipping towards it you could brain me with it, and if you open it while I am kicking, I could knock your teeth out by mistake." "Heavens," Mary said a bit taken aback. "Will you help me with my bandage before we go?" "Surely." Mary said primly. Bellany took off her nightgown and smiled enigmatically as Mary's lust played down her spine. Together they removed Bellany's bandage. "Goodness how deep is... It goes all the way through and there is considerable bruising. I thought you said this was a scratch?" "I didn't want Headmistress Vargrend getting all worried and sending me to the leach. I am sure he knows what he is doing what with all the tournament and training injuries the boys have, but I don't see the point in visiting him when I know perfectly well how to take care of wounds." "How did you get this?" Mary asked. "A highwayman shot me." Bellany said. "Shot you?" Mary asked. "Yes, with a crossbow," Bellany said. "But you are a lady." Mary said with her hand to her mouth. "You can't expect a highwayman to have manners, besides he and his partner were making off with our carriage and he knew I was out to stop him." "So he shot you?" Mary said incredulously. "Of course, then when his shot only pinned me to the roof of the carriage he drew his sword and came after me." "What did he do to you then?" Mary asked as she helped Bellany clean the wound and apply herbs. "Well it all happened on top of a moving carriage. Footing was not the best and I was nailed to the roof by this bolt. My options were limited. I tripped him, and then parried his blade aside as he fell on me. Once I kneed him in the groin it was a simple matter to cut his throat with my rapier." "You... killed him?" Mary asked, the color draining from her face. Bellany nodded. "Had I not discovered an ambush before it was sprung and killed six highwaymen in the course of a pitched battle I would not have made it here for the second year in a row. This time at least I had the skills to do what was needed. I am a swordsman. That is why I train every morning," Bellany said. "But Lady Bellany... How did you learn to fight with a sword?" "I have a naughty brother," Bellany grinned. "Did your daddy let you?" Mary asked. "No, even after the orcs I was not allowed to know how to defend myself. I had to train in secret and when my father found out he came after me with my brother's practice sword," Bellany said. "Did he beat you black and blue?" Mary asked. "I think that was his intention, but the rapier is not his best weapon and angry men, though formidable in their strength and endurance are predictable." "You beat him?" Mary gasped as she helped Bellany put on a fresh bandage. "I had to wipe the floor with him, otherwise he would have attributed it to luck," Bellany said. "I got grounded afterwards but then he decided I knew enough that I could at least get myself into trouble but maybe not out of it. He had me continue to train under a couple of men in the garrison after that." Mary stood open-mouthed for a minute. "Bellany I cannot believe it. How could you do those things? That is so unladylike. No wonder Headmistress Vargrend is worried about you." "I am sorry Mary," Bellany said as she smoothed a stray lock of her roommate's chestnut-colored hair back to its proper location. "I no longer agree with the way women must act in order to be called ladies. Had I spent my summer acting ladylike, I would currently be dead or a highwayman's harlot instead of talking to you. When I was with the orcs I had the option to jump in the stew pot rather than entertaining the raiders. I decided against the stew pot but I also decided that I was going to avoid being weak and powerless in the future." "Oh," Mary said. "I, ah... gods Bellany what happened to you is not supposed to happen to a lady! We will have to talk later, I have to leave or I'll be late for work." "Okay, see you this evening Mary," Bellany said. Mary nodded, gave Bellany a quick hug and hurried out of the room. ------- Bellany's first class of the morning was also her longest class of the day. She did not have any trouble finding the room. It was in one of the few second- floor classrooms. The hushed voices of girls greeting one another and talking filled the classroom as students arrived and took seats. Bellany guessed they were not supposed to be talking but the teacher had not yet arrived. Some of the girls even seemed to be pointing her out to other arrivals. She had noticed the same sort of behavior last night at dinner and again at breakfast. Two young women in perfectly pressed school uniforms strode up the row next to Bellany's seat. One began to sit down. "Sniff, sniff, do you smell something off, Bianca?" One of the ladies said to the other at a volume far above the whispers the other girls in the classroom were using. Sniff, sniff, yes we mustn't sit here Glenda, it smells strongly of putrid pork." "Well then I guess it is true what they say, aye Norwit?" "What?" Bellany asked in confusion. "You are what you eat!" The entire classroom full of girls erupted with laughter. Strangely the laughter sputtered out shortly after it peaked. Bellany looked up and realized why. Headmistress Vargrend had entered the room. The headmistress scowled at Bellany as if she were somehow an affront to the equilibrium of the academy. Mrs. Vargrend walked swiftly to the podium and addressed the class. "Welcome to the Trivium, young ladies. Summer is over. A classroom is a place of learning. If you wish to socialize then you will do so in Vargrend's student family room or outdoors. This class, the trivium, will bring you one of your greatest opportunities to exemplify the virtue of scholarship. Who can remind us of the motto of Vargrend's Academy for Girls?" Bellany looked around the classroom. A few hands went up but not all hands. Her seat was near the back of the room and she decided just to keep silent since she did not want to call any more attention to herself than she had already been subjected to. "Lady Bristol?" Headmistress Vargrend asked. The motto of Vargrend's is, "Morality through Virtue, but my question is how can someone who cannot possibly be virtuous attend Vargrend's? Wouldn't that be an affront to our motto?" Bellany grimmaced "Bianca" was Lady Bristol. Bristol had just snubbed Bellany and now the young noblewoman was busy twisting the knife in the wound. "That is a good question Lady Bristol and perhaps the only way to answer it is with another question. If a lady is put upon by a band of armed men she considers brigands and she is forced to engage in conduct unbecoming of a lady, has she no chance at virtue after that time?" "Well I should think not. She should die fending off her attackers, or if that is not possible she should throw herself off a tower so that her family at least will keep their good name." "Then you see no chance for virtue once a lady has been sullied against her will?" Headmistress Vargrend asked. "None whatsoever," Lady Bristol replied. "No chance that virtue can yet spring from her?" Mistress Vargrend asked. "None!" Lady Bristol said emphatically. "Then you are saying your family can have no virtue, Lady Bristol?" Headmistress Vargrend asked. "What?!" Bianca Bristol exclaimed crossly. "Some 260 years ago the keep that eventually expanded into this school was inhabited by the Crabetts. Lord Crabbet and his family had migrated from the south, taking with them a young but learned priest of Mortaebius named Alistair Vargrend to see to the education of their children. As they expanded their holdings, a warlord from the northwest, chief of a band of men the Crabbets considered nothing more than an illiterate highwayman took the keep by stealth and by storm an hour before dawn one autumn morning. Elaine Crabett, third daughter of Lord Crabett survived the battle, as did many of the members of her family. One by one, their captors killed her parents and sisters, but Elaine caught the eye of the chief of her captors. He forced her to become his mistress. Later the chief became more mannerly and they were married. The captors retained Priest Vargrend as a scribe. He helped to educate Elaine's children including her first son who, incidentally, was conceived out of wedlock. Do you know the surname of the man who became Elaine Crabett's husband?" Consternation was written all over Lady Bristol's face. "Bristol?" She asked. "That is correct. If you really believe no virtue can spring from a violated woman, Lady Bristol, you cannot escape the conclusion that your family can have no virtue. Is that what you wished to say?" "No!" Lady Bristol said. "Mind you these were extreme circumstances. Today, I am sure all of you are aware that the purity of a Lady has a great deal to do with the kind of husband she can expect to get. A lady's purity also upholds the reputation of her family, but the virtue our motto refers to is not limited to sexual purity alone. "What is virtue, Lady Norwit?" Bellany straightened in her chair. She had been hoping to sink into obscurity. Thankfully, she had read the dictionary in Keep Norwit in the spring while trying to lure her memories back. At the time it had seemed to her that she must have read such a book before. "Virtue in regard to a person is a commendable or meritorious quality or trait." "That is correct, Lady Norwit. Is chastity a meritorious quality?" "Yes, Headmistress," Bellany said; although she really did not believe it. "Lady Gransward, is chastity the only meritorious quality a young lady can have?" "No Headmistress Vargrend," Lady Gransward said. Bellany rolled her eyes. Glenda was Lady Gransward, the daughter or granddaughter of Baron Gransward the baronial neighbor to Bristol on the West. Suddenly knowledge of geography gained in the library at Keep Norwit collided with her pirate memories. Grand Lake was in the Barony of Gransward and in that lake was Graveston Isle where the priest who had bested Red Jack once lived. That priest was none other than, Guardian Thane, formerly her mentor. Memories of the vistas of Graveston Isle blocked out the present and Bellany lost track of the conversation. "You are not daydreaming are you Lady Bellany?" "Oh I am sorry," Bellany said as she looked at the blackboard. Headmistress Vargrend had written chastity, scholarship, obedience, piety, and industriousness on the board. "Did you want me to name a meritorious quality a young woman might possess? "Yes young lady, be careful not to let your mind wander in this class." Headmistress Vargrend said. Bellany nodded. "Valor." She said succinctly. "Valor? The headmistress said dubiously. "That sounds more like a meritorious quality of a young man." "A young woman who can load and fire crossbows, carry water and ammunition, figure catapult trajectories and dump oil from the parapets can make the difference between a repulsed attack and death or slavery for herself and her people." Headmistress Vargrend raised an eybrow. "Perhaps in certain situations valor in a young woman might be meritorious. The headmistress added valor to the list with a question mark after it... Miss Gleton, would you like to go outdoors? You seem to find something out there quite fascinating." Miss Gleton, a plump young woman with rosy cheeks blushed crimson. "I am sorry Headmistress. I am unused to seeing beggars in rags with dirty bluish skin on the school grounds. I just could not believe it." "Come here and point him out for me Miss Gleton," Headmistress Vargrend ordered. "Miss Gleton got up and pointed. There, he is crawling into that hedge. He must have seen you standing in the window, Headmistress." "I do not see him, Miss Gleton, but since you are not prone to embellishing the truth I will let this slide. In any case your attention should not be out the window Miss Gleton." "Yes Headmistress." Miss Gleton said. "If anyone should happen to see anything untoward, point it out as a report should be made to the constable. Occasionally naughty young men from Bristol's make it over to the girls' side much to their later regret. However, I will have to see it to make such a report and this morning I did not see what you said was there." Headmistress Vargrend said. "One last virtue I will add is the virtue of civilized and mannerly behavior. Elaine Crabett Bristol was mindful of the virtue of civilized behavior. Following her example, her husband became interested in education and legitimate authority for his children. Eventually the King granted the son of this frontier warlord a Barony, the Barony of Bristol." Be mindful of your virtues. A moral society cannot fail to emerge if every lady cultivates virtue even under extreme circumstances. To be able to cultivate virtue one must cultivate the virtue of thinking clearly. This class, the trivium, is composed of grammar, logic and rhetoric. Here you will cultivate the virtues of thinking, speaking and writing clearly, logically and with style." ------- After the trivium, Bellany attended a course on ballroom dancing under Miss Lesueur and then at last it was time for the two-hour midday break. Bellany made her way to the building west of the central keep that housed the shared cafeteria. The girls ate first at 11:30 sharp and they were expected to finish within forty-five minutes so that the tables could be cleaned for the boys' lunch. The food provided by the school was actually good. After filling her plate, Bellany went to find a seat. "Excuse me Norwit, I am Natalie Rose and this table is where my friends and I dine, why don't you go feed on your ham sandwich somewhere else." Bellany grimaced; ham was not on the lunch menu. She was not sure who Natalie Rose was but she moved on and tried another table just the same. "Can't you see this table is for ladies? We have no use for the baronetess of bacon here. Bellany looked at the speaker. "Don't you look at me like that, Norwit. You had best mind your betters. I am Deborah Hartmoor, granddaughter of Baron Hartmoor. Go find a table with the commoners. They will not be happy to see you but if they did not mind their manners they would not be here at Vargrend's." Bellany retreated from Hartmoor's territory. She recognized the name. The city of Turnmoor was located in the Barony of Hartmoor. Red Jack and his remaining men had turned Turnmoor upside down when he escaped his execution. Everywhere Bellany looked she saw young women turn away or meet her gaze with stony stares or whispered remarks. _What have I got myself into?_ She scanned the lunchroom for an empty table or at least one that had only a few people sitting at it. Bellany sighed as she sat down across from Miss Gleton. "They are shunning you, aren't they, Lady Norwit." Bellany nodded. "I am no longer a charter member of the virgin club. They keep making remarks about ham and pork." "They do that to me all the time but you're not plump," Gleton said. "Yes but orcs have some pig-like characteristics and..." Bellany said. "...you were captured by orcs and... uh..." Gleton continued. "Forcefully *bumped* out of the virgin club," Bellany said. Gleton stifled a giggle and then whispered, "It is not your fault about the orcs. It must have been horrible, and their comments just show how insensitive they are. You are welcome at my table. I am sure they will make me the butt of more jokes for it, but I have heard them all already. Anyway I can just say you outrank me so I have no choice." Bellany nodded and whispered, "Thank you, um, Miss Gleton." "My first name is Cleopatra." "Thank you Cleopatra. You can call me Bellany if you dare, but Norwit or Lady Norwit is fine in any situation that you need to distance yourself from me." Cleopatra nodded, "I will probably have to sometimes, just to keep them off my back. They are bad enough about my weight. I have tried to loose it. I am supposed to be finding a husband but I love food far too much. Cleopatra smiled. I used to say I ate no more than anyone else and just gained weight easily but no one believed me anyway." "Maybe you could find a husband with a fat fetish," Bellany said. "A what?" Cleopatra asked. "A fat fetish. Fetishes are little quirks that magnify a man's lust. A man does not choose any fetishes he might have. They just crop up as part of his makeup." "So a man with a fat fetish lusts more strongly for fat women?" Cleopatra asked. "Yes. Such a man would probably encourage you to eat since the bigger you got, the more you would fuel his lust." "Cleopatra's mouth dropped open for a moment. That is impossible, where would I find such a man?" "I have an acquaintance who might know someone with that particular fetish. He might be older like my acquaintance, but there is a good chance he would be wealthy like the man I know as well. I could make inquiries for you, but it might be a while since I am locked in this school." "Well I don't really believe it, but if you can find such a man for me, I would be amazed." "What are we supposed to do during midday break?" Bellany asked. "Some of the girls will go to the library or their rooms to get started on the days' homework. This time of year many of the girls just stroll around outdoors. They can play some outdoor games provided by the school, croquet and such. There is also a viewing platform. From there, you can watch the boys' practice at arms on the other side of the fence. This time of year the boys are establishing rankings during the midday break. The rankings will determine who represents the academy at tournaments against other schools. It just depends on the person what you do during midday break. I always mean to take a walk but it is hit and miss," Cleopatra said. "Stick with me girl, you'll take a walk every day. I am used to a lot of activity, besides I want to see the crossbow rankings when they are held in a few days. My brother Charles will be competing in them. Cleopatra, did you really see a man in rags with blue skin out the window in trivium today?" "I really did see what I said I did. I could not believe it." Cleopatra said. You can call me Cleo if you like. All my friends at home do. "Can you show me where it was outside that you saw him?" Bellany asked. "Yes, I think so." Cleo said. "Good, it will give us a goal for our walk," Bellany said. As they left the cafeteria, they passed Bianca Bristol's table. "Oh how quaint, the porked and porker have found each other. Bianca said with a sneer. The other girls giggled or made pig noises until Cleo and Bellany were out of earshot. The landscaping of the grounds on the girls' side of the school favored strolling whereas the landscaping on the boys' side favored tournament practice. Much of the girls' area was open, but there were sizable areas adorned by bushes, flowers, hedges trees and pathways. "Here it is." From where she stood near a hedge, Cleo pointed up to a window on the second floor of Vargrend's. "That's where we have our class on the trivium." "Where did the beggar hide when Headmistress Vargrend looked?" Bellany asked. "He went into that hedge," Cleo answered. It would help if I knew how to track," Bellany said... "The men of shadow returned to the darkness this way," a voice spoke from Bellany's memory. It was Doanthalas, the tattooed wood elf. On Gravestone isle he had tracked some ghouls that had eaten some of the pirate sentries. She remembered watching him as he followed the trail of the undead... "Not so long ago I was a pathfinder in the service of Lord Henrich Li'Yeiraun," another remembered voice said. It was Mansun Dido. He had shown her a few things about tracking before he left the pirate camp with Drake and Adriana, but that had been much later. Bellany carefully looked at the foliage near the hedge that Cleo had indicated to her. Bellany pointed out a few broken twigs. She touched her finger to one of them. "This one is still wet with sap. Someone did go under the hedge here recently. Let's go around back. The two girls took the winding path around the hedge until they were on the other side. Bellany noted a few more broken twigs and then her eye lit on thread that had snagged on a twig near the ground. She brought it close to her eyes. Bellany wrinkled her nose. "Does this smell like anything to you Cleo?" Cleopatra took the thread and sniffed it. "Eew, it smells like rotten meat." "Kent," Bellany said. "Kent?" Cleo asked. "Just a butcher's apprentice I once met," Bellany lied and sniffed the thread again. _Does it really smell like Kent or only like rotten meat? How can I be certain about nuances of scent given the condition of my memory?_ Bellany thought. ------- The school library was the entire second floor of the central Keep. It connected with the third floor of the girls' wing on the north side and the third floor of the boys' wing on the south side. School had been progressing for three days before Bellany emerged from her room to do anything beyond going to classes, partaking in meals and taking walks. She had expected the library would be more crowded. It was not and the current population heavily favored scholarship recipients and those of lesser wealth and status who could not afford research assistants. Bellany idly wondered how Charles managed to afford an assistant. _Does father give Charles a much heftier allowance than the meager amount he gives me?_ Floor to ceiling oak bookshelves defined the semicircular perimeter of the girls' half of the library. There were sliding ladders that addressed the higher shelves. Countertops and a cage of bars surrounded the librarian's area as if the librarian were a bank teller. Bisecting the librarian's cage and the area just in front of it was a wall of bars that separated the girls half of the library from the boys half. About ten feet in front of the cage the bars ceded to a wall of bookshelves with a solid back. The shelves separated the sexes even more convincingly than the bars. Behind the Librarian's area on the east side of the tower was a cylinder of stone about ten feet in diameter that stretched from floor to ceiling. Apparently there was a spiral staircase within the cylinder that granted access to the offices below and the tower above. Bellany braved the familiar scowls and found a table in the library where she could sit down and read. She deliberately picked a table just northwest of the librarian's cage so that she could see through the wall of bars to the boys' side. She was about to sit down when a chill ran up her spine. Bellany jumped and squealed. There were a few stifled snickers from the girls nearby. A student librarian's assistant came by and whispered near Bellany's ear, "I do not think I have seen you before. Are you new?" "Yes," Bellany whispered. "Welcome to The Alistair Vargrend Memorial Library. I take it from that chill that gripped you that Lady Weepins has already given you a grand ghostly welcome, but on behalf of the living, I, Patricia Aimes, also welcome you. The library rules are simple; say nothing above a whisper. This is a quiet place to do research." "Who is Lady Weepins?" Bellany whispered. "A ghost, of course," the librarian's assistant replied. "Is she one of the old dead Vargrends?" "How should I know? Do I look like a spirtualist or a magician who can skew her vision or cast spells in order to see ghosts?" Bellany's jaw dropped for a moment as her mind dipped into the past. Guardian Thane spoke to her, "Rapina you are a caster. Congratulations! This is likely the biggest breakthrough of your life!" *Gods, I am a witch just like the wanted poster at the church of the vindicator said!* Bellany idly wondered what spells she was capable of. If she could find some books on magic then perhaps she could jog her memory. During these revelations she was vaguely aware of what the librarian's assistant was saying. "Tradition has it that there are three ghosts at the academy, Lady Weepins, The Scribner, and The Guardian. Lady Weepins is the most often sighted by people who see ghosts. I am not sure the other two even exist but I am pretty sure Weepins does." "How can you be sure?" Bellany whispered. "I can't, but during my two years working here, I have seen quite a few chills and I have seen a book or two just jump off a table or shelf of its own accord. Some girls claim to have seen Weepins too, but I cannot see ghosts so I have no idea." Bellany panned her hand until she got the peculiar ghost itch. It was like a sympathetic resonance as if something in her ghost hand was like ghosts. When she exposed the palm of her ghost hand to living people the feeling was entirely different, but ghosts and people made an impression different than inanimate objects did. Starstruck, she noted, registered like a person rather than a ghost. Thus, she guessed her palm sensed life force. It was not as sensitive as her lust senses, but it worked on animals, women and men who were not even exuding an appreciable amount of lust. It seemed to work on ghosts as well, if a ghost was what she was sensing. She wondered if a walking skeleton would give her the same feel as a ghost. Memories of the walking dead welled up in her mind. Skeletal servants, soldiers, sailors, mounts, moaning scribes, flaming warriors and ghouls like Kent skittered down the halls of her memory until she had to blink to put the nightmarish scenes to an end. If she really wanted to know who she was, she would have to find books on magic and Mortaebius and read them. Yet a worshipper of the vindicator would not normally be interested in those things and would no doubt be prohibited from perusing them at some point, thus she would not risk asking a librarian's assistant. She would go through the library shelf by shelf until she had a good feel for what books were where. Then she would clandestinely read any that seemed like they would give her further clues as to who she was, what she could do and how it was done. She was appalled when she found the section on religion. There was one book that summarized the various faiths and in it was a notice that said that one could ask for archived religious books at the desk or get them from any of the various church libraries on Sundays. Guests of other faiths were always welcome at any chapel represented at Vargrend's. Bellany wondered where the archives were, as she knew she should not make any appearances at the temple of Mortaebius. After all, she was the daughter of a peer of Avengene, or at least she was impersonating one. The results of her search were lackluster. Other than a documentary book about magic that told about feats of magic and the famous wizards who performed them, there was nothing on magic other than storybooks. No theory and no spell books, it was a total loss. Surprisingly, there was also nothing on alchemy. The closest she could get were books on herbs and medicine. *Gods this library is useless! I wonder if the boys' side of the library is any better?* There was no time to find out. Bellany took a few of the medical books to the desk, checked them out and asked for her mail. She had received a short note from Charles asking her how she was doing and what the girls' reaction to her abduction had been. She frowned. Her social standing was in some ways lower than that of the scholarship recipients. She would answer the note before bed and drop her reply off in the morning before class. She made a mental note to ask Charles what books the most advanced boys' math classes were studying. The next evening after she finished up some homework, Bellany returned to the library and walked up to the librarian's desk. She worried that she would be told that she was not to read on certain subjects prohibited by Avengene. "If the girls' section does not have something is there a way we can check to see if the boys side has it?" Bellany asked a librarian's assistant. "Yes, you can find out by looking in the card catalog. It indexes the entire library. If the number of the book starts with an 'M' it's on the young men's side. If you see a book you want from the boys' side, just copy down the number and give it to me and I will have an assistant on the other side get it for you." "Oh, thank you Patricia," Bellany said to the librarian's assistant. Bellany found half the cards were in alphabetical order by subject. After reviewing the titles, she wrote down five numbers from the boys' section. Two books were on mathematics, two were on the Orcish language and one was on medical alchemy. She gave them to the librarian's assistant who handed them through the bars to the boys' librarian's assistant. Bellany nodded to the young man and smiled sweetly. The tug she gave his lust was just a little tip. He seemed rather awkward to begin with, but having a girl smile at him seemed to make his head and his loins spin. His lust was hopelessly tangled. He was not tied into the vindicator's straightjacket like a priest but instead he seemed paralyzed by his own lack of confidence. No doubt, his awkwardness had provided him with plenty of proof that girls found him repulsive. Yet his lust was very powerful and Bellany found it somehow criminal that a boy should be so tangled. *If he could squeeze through the bars I would untie that snarl for him.* The boys' assistant passed the books to the girls' assistant and she looked at them. Patricia slid one back through to him and said, "She has a 'V' card. "Oh," the boys' assistant said. "Lady Norwit, worshippers of the vindicator are not allowed to read anything on alchemy or magic, but we got the books on mathematics and Orcish for you." "Okay, thank you," Bellany said. She took the books back to a table and looked through one of the math books. It was the one Charles' note had said the boys were using in their advanced math course. There was enough new material in it that Bellany decided she would check it out just to keep up with the boys in case she were somehow able to get Headmistress Vargrend to get Headmaster Bristol to let her take mathematics. The books on orcish proved much more fascinating. Her memory seemed more fluid since her encounter with the statue of Mortaebius on the way from Norwit to Vargrend's. She looked at a chapter entitled "Diplomacy: Dealing with Orcs." Several sections into the chapter she read, "Culach: The Duel," and her mind transported her into the past. She had gone to collect bodies with her mentor near a destroyed fort when some reinforcements from Avengene had caught her. She diverted their attention so that the others could escape. The Orcs who had earlier defeated the garrison of the fort then defeated the reinforcements that held her. Lieutenant Harms, the commander of the Avengene reinforcements had wagered her and won their freedom by defeating the orc chief in a duel to the death. Harms wagered her again on a horse and lost. What followed was a grueling march of the Rageblood orc clan to the safety of the mountains. Hluk, the orc who had won her had done so at great cost and was carried while the others marched. She remembered the orc leach and shaman, Chontral Oagmak. The first night she had been obliged to bed orcs surfaced in her memory as well. Thalis had brought her to her peak and she had been able to touch his mind. Other allies among the tribe had followed but he had been her first. During her march with the orcs through some deep caverns she had used a cantrip that had summoned a ball of blue light and later she had perfected a healing spell to save Hluk's life. She had used the same spell to heal the wounds of other orcs and had gained a great deal of good will in so doing. _Gods I am a witch, or at least I was becoming one. I think the priests of the vindicator attributed much more power to me when I was fifteen than I had so that they could pretend that I had bewitched Evangeline rather than having been the last of his many rape victims._ There was no longer any doubt in her mind about her identity. She still could not figure out exactly how she had become Bellany Norwit, but she trusted it would come back to her in time. She needed to remember more. ------- As Bellany entered her room, her roommate greeted her with a complaint. "How can you stand yourself when you are being snubbed by everyone!? Just being your roommate is ruining my social life!" Marry Duffy said as Bellany got in and began to get ready for bed. "Oh gods why did I come to this madhouse?" Bellany shook her head. "You are only seeing the tip of the iceberg, Mary. They pick on me constantly. Yet I am just a convenient excuse. I am sure Bianca Bristol would have come up with another reason to snub worshippers of the vindicator if I had not come along. If you want to preserve your social standing in Bristol, I would suggest you change your religion. The vindicator and Mortaebius are at war." "But," Mary started. "Marquis Avengene did not send his granddaughters to school in Li'Yeiraun for nothing. He and Baron Bristol are at odds. Neighbors or not, Bristol is a bastion of the god of the dead and when Avengene decided to expel the priests of Mortaebius from his lands there was bound to be bad blood with Bristol." "Oh that's nonsense, a group of bandits whose former leader was buried alive and turned undead by those ghoul priests just went on a vendetta and burned those fell temples. Good riddance!" Bellany looked at Mary dubiously. "And once they were conveniently eradicated a law against their returning was enacted. You really should move to Avengene, Mary. You are just the sort of woman I am supposed to be." "I am?" Mary asked. Bellany nodded. "If only I could believe what you believe." "But you can," Mary said vehemently. "No, I cannot. I lost my innocence. You go on believing, Mary. It is safer for you that way. Good night Mary." Bellany said as she got in bed. "Goodnight Lady Norwit," Mary said but her voice cracked. ------- The next day after lunch Cleo and Bellany began their usual stroll around the grounds. "Lets brave the scowls and comments today and go up on the platform. My brother Charles is competing with the other boys at Bristol's Academy for the crossbow team. "He is? Is he a good shot?" Cleopatra asked. "He tends to embellish the truth sometimes, but I spent a lot of time reloading for him this summer and he is an excellent marksman. I just hope he makes first crossbow. He could use the boost to his social standing. Gods know I won't help it any," Bellany said. The platform resembled a twenty-foot high section of stone bridge that ended as abruptly as it began. It ran parallel to the stone curtain wall about ten feet back from the wall on the west side of the gymnasium and cafeteria building. This building began just west of the ancient central keep. There were quite a few girls crowding up the stairs when they arrived to find a place in the bleachers atop the structure. "Well if it isn't the porked and the porker. Why don't you crawl back under your rock?" Gransward sneered. "Good day Lady Gransward," Bellany said. "I do not have the pleasure of getting under rocks this afternoon. My brother is shooting in the crossbow competition and I mustn't miss it." "We do not want your porcine puss up here," Glenda said. "I have tried to keep out of your way but today I am sure you will indulge me because my brother is in the competition," Bellany said. "What makes you think we would be so gracious?" Glenda said. "You are a Lady are you not?" Bellany asked. "I am not going to step aside and let you up." Glenda glared. "You would force me to interrupt Headmistress Vargrend's lunch over this?" Bellany asked. "You wouldn't," Glenda said. "My brother is competing, Lady Gransward. My mother expects me to be here so I can properly report the events in my next letter to my family. If I do not she will be impossible to get along with. Have you any idea how good ladies of the vindicator are at laying on the guilt? Interrupting Headmistress Vargrend's lunch would be a small price to pay compared to my mother's incessant pricks, and I have had more than my share of incessant pricks." "A great deal more, orc slut, but I suppose I might possibly let you come up as long as you beg nicely... in orcish." Gransward laughed. Bellany dropped to her knees, her head down. "Wal yal neen Ee augn deez ksabow culahil, gatsisis?" she said as she made a show of begging to see her brother in competition. Gransward raised an eyebrow. "I see you have experience at the slave bit. Come along then slave girl and watch your brother. It's a shame he cannot possibly win. I hear they brought some gifted commoner out on scholarship. What's his name, Erol Fobs, I believe. Last year will be the height of your brother's brief reign as a tourney champion." Bellany gritted her teeth. Charles had worked so hard and now they'd brought someone in who probably did nothing but shoot. She looked at the targets. They were placed at short medium and long ranges. There were three colored rings surrounding the red bulls-eye. A herald explained that each ring was worth one point, plus one point for each ring surrounding it. Thus a bulls-eye was a four point shot. Each man would shoot five bolts for a possible total of twenty points at each range or sixty total points. The top five would move on to shoot at moving targets. Bellany could see Charles pat another boy on the back evidently wishing him luck. "Is that your brother with the red hair?" Gransward asked in a disinterested tone. "Yes that's Charles," Bellany said. "That boy with him is Fobs. Evidently they have something in common. Like their class," Gransward sneared. Several of the girls snickered. There were five targets at each range and about 30 contestants. Before long Charles and Fobs stood at the short-range line and fired. Charles fired his first shot into the ring next to the bull's-eye. Fobs scored a perfect bulls-eye. Bellany gritted her teeth. Charles had worked so hard. She hated to think that all the crossbows she had loaded and the ropes she had pulled to move targets would be in vain. At close range Fobs and another boy scored perfect twenties. Charles' score was an eighteen. Glenda Gransward gave Bellany a condescending smile. After some waiting Charles again stepped up to the firing line, this time for the medium ranges. Bellany cheered loudly each time her brother scored a bulls- eye. Three of his shots flew true and found their mark. The other two were just a bit off giving Charles a total of seventeen for the medium range target. Bellany frowned. Fobs seemed so much more meticulous in his aiming. Charles just let fly with an easy bravado. Three other boys scored eighteens while Fobs scored a near perfect nineteen. "It appears your brother may just barely make the cut to compete at the moving targets," Gransward remarked. "I hope I didn't spend all that time loading crossbows for him this summer to see his hopes of victory in the tourneys dashed." "You loaded crossbows like a servant, how crass." Gransward said. "I enjoyed it, even learned to shoot a little myself." Bellany shrugged and watched the boys shoot at long range. At last her brother stood at the line. "No!" Bellany screamed as her brother's first shot struck outside the third ring. "A zero. I guess he is in the process of showing his true colors," Gransward sneered. "Now watch Fobs. Huh, you see he hit the first ring, not a bad shot." Bellany crossed her fingers. She idly thought about trying to ruin a few of the other boys' shots by attempting a long-range tug on their lust, but she decided against it. It just would not be fair. Besides if she got in the habit of using supernatural powers in public she might eventually get caught and that was something she could not afford. Charles' second shot landed in the innermost ring. His third was in the third ring and his fourth was in the second ring. Fobs scored a bulls-eye two shots to the innermost ring and one to the third ring. "Come on Charles," Bellany whispered under her breath. She knew he would not make the top five unless he pulled off a great shot. Bellany winced as he hardly aimed before firing his last shot... "Oh yes!" she squealed as the magic of Charles' silly bravado scored him a perfect bulls-eye. The crowd hissed as Fobs final shot barely made it into the third ring. "How lucky. Mayhap he will be one of the five after all but he will hardly be the leading bowman." Bellany did the math in her head and smiled. Charles had just barely made it. A few minutes later the Harold announced the outcome for the stationary targets, "In first place with a score of fifty-one is Erol Fobs. In second place with a score of 48 is Robert Welsh, In third place with a score of forty-four is Hal Jimes. Tied for fourth place, each with a score of forty-three are Charles Norwit, and Robert May. Bellany smiled sweetly at Gransward. "Well congratulations Norwit. Mayhap you would have been spared the quiver of a thousand corkscrews had your brother been riding with you last year. Rumor is you got in a bit of a tussle this year too. You didn't fight did you? Word is you fought with bloody blade. How unladylike." Bellany looked Gransward in the eye and spoke tersely through her teeth. "Spending one year as a slave girl was enough. This year I paved the road to school in blood." Gransward stiffened for brief yet satisfying instant. "How barbaric," She sneered. "The winners will now test their skills against a swinging target at short range. Bowmen must release before the target reaches the end of the second swing or the shot gains no points. Barriers obscure the ends of the target's swing so that no archer can take advantage of the target's hesitation as it changes direction. In these final bouts, all contestants will fire at the same target so that movement will be identical for all contestants. Five separate shots will be tallied," The Harold called out. In his usual style Charles hardly aimed before firing, yet shot after shot hit the bulls-eye. Charles finished with a perfect twenty at close range. Fobs got only a seventeen. Bellany grinned broadly. Charles was the king of the snap shot and there was no time for meticulous aiming when faced with a moving target. "The next target will be a sliding target at medium range," The Harold announced. Charles' shot was always the first to hit the target. He scored three bulls-eyes, one shot to the innermost ring and one shot to the second ring to tie his score of seventeen for stationary targets at medium range. Fobs scored a respectable fifteen. The long-range target was the same as the medium range target. The archers simply fired from a line closer to the girls' fence. Charles first shot missed the target entirely. "Shhht!" Bellany snapped. "Mind your language, orc bait," Grandsward snapped. Fobs' arrow struck in the third ring. The next shot found the fortunes of the boys reversed with Fobs missing and Charles scoring in the third ring. On the third shot Charles landed a bolt in the second ring for a score of two, while Fobs managed to pick up a three. On the fourth shot both boys hit the third ring. Charles' fifth shot marked the bulls-eye. His arms went up as the crowd cheered and then cheered again as Fobs matched his shot. "Your brother seems to be catching up." "Yes, he is one point behind Fobs for the tourney," Bellany said, having already done the math in her head. "None of the other boys compare. Their ranged scores have been well below their scores on the stationary targets." "Of course that is obvious," Gransward said. "And now, the final test. A target has been painted around the heart of a buck that will be released at long range. This shot gives each contestant one last chance to gain up to four points. The boys will use bolts with colored shafts in case the fletchings break off when the buck falls. As the buck flashed into view it hesitated for just an instant and then two bolts found their marks before the buck rolled to a halt, dead. "In the third ring a score by Erol Fobs!" The Harold announced a few minutes later; "and as an honorable mention a near miss by Hal Jimes." Bellany was so disappointed. Her brother had done so well on the ranged targets only to miss the deer entirely. She could see Charles was talking to Fobs. "Our winner is Erol Fobs!" The Harold announced to a cheering crowd. Fobs stepped up. "I am not ready to claim victory until I see the carcass," He shouted. There were a few moments of confusion before a few huntsmen carried the buck to Fobs. He pulled the judge and the chief huntsman down to a crouch with him and the three of them scrutinized the carcass. After a brief conference with the other men, the Harold made an announcement, "The chief huntsman has informed me that this buck died too quickly to have been killed by the perforated lung caused by Fobs' bolt. The judge notes we have found an entry wound in the bulls-eye and an exit wound on the other side!" The crowd murmured with a hundred different voices. The other men's bolts were carefully pulled from the ground where they had stuck. The judge made a show of wiping each with a clean white cloth. The Harold announced each man's bolt. "The yellow bolt of Robert Welsh," The Harold announced as the judge waved the cloth. It was clean save for a bit of dirt. The green bolt of Robert May, the Harold announced as the judge waved a clean cloth. "The purple bolt of Lord Charles Norwit," the Harold announced as the judge waved a bloodstained cloth. The crowd cheered loudly, many standing as they did so. "Ladies and Gentlemen," The Harold announced. Our investigation has revealed a four-point kill by Lord Charles Norwit, this year's first crossbow of The Bristol Academy for Boys! Bellany jumped from her seat and cheered wildly. "Congratulations to your brother," Gransward said, her haughty expression diminishing for just an instant. Now the event is over. Run along and write your mother, orc bait." Bellany's grin lit her face as she spoke, "Thank you Lady Gransward." ------- Bellany left the platform with Cleo and headed towards the girls' classroom and dormitory building. "What did you get on that essay for Trivium?" Cleo asked. "I got an 'A+' for the grammar of the essay, an 'A' for rhetoric and a 'B-' for logic," Bellany said. "Really? How can you do so well on grammar? I got a 'B+' in logic, a 'B' in rhetoric and a 'C+' in grammar," Cleo said. "Grammar is easy if you have a good memory for rules and exceptions." Bellany said. "But if you are so smart, why did you get a lousy B- in logic?" "I am writing from the point of view of a vindicator girl. The headmistress wants us to think freely and reason decisively. I don't think she likes vindicatorish logic. I do not dare try any other type of logic though. I have to turn all my papers back in. Mother gets them all by post. Even if I did want to inflict mother on myself and write from a different point of view, I am not allowed to check out books from the library on quite a number of topics. Vargrend emphasizes educated investigation from one side of her mouth and agreed to restrict what vindicator girls can read with the other side. It is not fair." Bellany nudged Cleo onto a less traveled path they sometimes used. "Tomorrow is Sunday, I have a favor to ask of you if you would be willing help me act up," Bellany said. "What is it?" Cleopatra asked? "It's a special mission. It says in the library that anyone can go to the chapel of any god to learn more about that god. What a fat lie that is. If I go to the chapel of any god other than the vindicator I am going to catch hell from the priest of the vindicator and probably later from my parents when the reverend squeals on me. It is just not fair. I ought to be able to visit all the other temples just like everyone else. I had a thought about how I could rebel without getting caught. I have noticed that priests are often quite willing to loan out their books to parties interested in their gods. Therefore I want you to go where I would *really* catch hell for going. Just make it seem like you are interested in the god, borrow some books, and then just happen to bring the books in your bag at lunch. Don't get anything too simple. I want the gory details." Bellany said. "What chapel should I go to?" Cleopatra asked. "Do you even have to ask?" Bellany grinned. "Mortaebius!" the girls squealed in unison. ------- Bellany smoothed the bodice of her third dress and frowned. "Mother your modesty is a curse! Why is it all my necklines come up to my eyelashes? Oh well, I think the lavender dress I had on before this one is the best. This brown is boring." "Your mother has perfectly good taste, Bellany. You don't want the men getting any ideas," Mary said. Mary, don't you enjoy some men looking at you and getting ideas?" "Heavens no!" Mary said. Bellany giggled. "Gods Mary, can't you just imagine the touch of a man's hands all over your body?" "Eeew!" Mary yelped. Bellany shook her head. "Just don't expect me to help you find a husband. It is not fair to pair a man with a woman who is going to yawn or recoil when he gets in bed with her." "I know my marital duties," Mary said. Bellany briefly put her face in her hand. "Letting a man at you and enjoying him are two entirely different things. Trust me on that. I know the difference. You never talk about any of the boys, Mary. You never go up on the platform and watch them either. Perhaps you should become a schoolteacher and never marry. You seem much more... comfortable with women." Mary stood openmouthed for a moment. "Do you think there is something wrong with me?" Mary asked. Bellany stripped the brown dress off her semi-nude body and shook her head. "That look you just wiped off your face so quickly, that is about the same look I would have if a man just started to undress in front of me." Mary blushed crimson. "Are you saying?" "I am not going to say anything about it to anyone Mary. You can deny it all you want but it is as obvious to me as the nose on your face. Don't worry though I doubt the innocent virgins around here would have a clue unless..." Bellany trailed off. "Unless what?" Mary asked. "Unless they looked at women as you do," Bellany said. Mary's mouth opened. "Do you?" "You had best steer clear of me, Mary. I would break your heart. I see everyone that way, but I cannot be faithful to anyone. I would make just as lousy a wife to most men as you would, not because I would not get magnificently turned on by them when they got in bed with me, but because I would also get unduly turned on by their best friend, their manservant and the chamber maid as well. I would have to find an impossibly naughty husband who wanted a naughty wife rather than one he would shelter from his proclivities. "How scandalous!" Mary said. "We all have our nature. Yours really is not that uncommon." "It isn't?" Mary asked. "Not at all. It is very distracting though." Bellany smiled and tugged at Mary's lust. "Mary's eyes bulged. Oh gods I should not lust for you Bellany! I will have to talk to the reverend." "If you pour out your soul to a reverend of the vindicator he will surely squish it. But, don't let me stand in your way. You should find out what the vindicator had to say about women who lust for women, assuming you don't know already." "Why did this have to happen to me?" Mary said, on the verge of tears. "I am so sorry for bringing it up Mary. At least I did not grab you and start kissing you madly. I just cannot ignore the way you look at me any longer. When your heart races, so does mine," Bellany said. "I guess this turquoise is going to be the best I can do, Bellany said slipping into the tuquoise dress. "Please help me with the bodice, Mary. I rather like your touch. It does not bother me that you enjoy women. I noticed it the first time I saw you. Just relax and don't be silly about it. You may be a virgin but I am most certainly not. Besides we must be on our way to church or we will both have to endure the chastisement of the vindicator's pastor and flock." "But, I feel so false!" Mary said. "It is not right for me to feel the things I feel." "If you must torture yourself, do it later," Bellany said giving Mary a hug which only seemed to drive the girl into tears. "I am so sorry Mary. I really did not mean to torture you. I was an innocent girl of the vindicator once. It seems like it was so long ago. Now I simply act like an innocent girl of the vindicator. No one seems to notice the difference except me." Bellany finished putting on the turquoise dress with only a little help from Mary and in a few minutes, the two of them were out the door. ------- "There is never the slightest bit right about the vile undead monsters consorted with by certain wicked priests and magicians! Gaining knowledge of such things beyond what is needed to destroy them is shear folly! Wickedness must be fought at every quarter! No one is exempt!" Reverend Leland roared from the pulpit. "Even peers of the realm can be lured by evil power and sucked in by sin. Why the Bristols themselves became caught up in the evil of a wicked priest in a war fought some two hundred years ago from the very keep we now use as our school. The Bristols kept their lands and faith through the power of Baladus Vargrend a priest who woke the dead to vanquish the righteous warlord from the southwest. The Bristols involved with this fell priest maintained their power in the world but died with a stain upon their souls!" Reverend Leland preached. Bellany oohed and ahhed her way through the reverend's feast of guilt and recrimination and raised her eyebrow at the end when he mentioned the Bristols in a less that flattering light. She wondered if it were proper or even wise to mention such things about the Bristols while in Bristol at a school they sponsored. His preaching was beginning to wear on her making her fake smile start to droop. The price is too great," the reverend continued. "Do not consort with such evil, for wickedness comes back upon those who use its power! Repent and preach the ways of righteousness to the wicked! Help the vindicator save them before they are stained for eternity!" She tried to think about other things while pretending to listen. There were a few good things about Sundays. Temple row was just across the courtyard from the stables and just east of the girls' building. With luck, Cleopatra would soon be borrowing books from one of the neighboring temples, the temple of Mortaebius. Bellany hoped they would do something to jog her memory back into shape. Another good thing about coming to church was that Charles and some of the male faithful of the vindicator were present. Bellany wished she could sneak over to the chapel to Virtusar and lure a few real men into the back room but she doubted that would be possible. She had to make do with projecting the pretense of piety for half a dozen vindicator boys. At last Reverend Leland finished his fiery sermon and his congregation stood up and sung a rousing hymn. When it was over the reverend spoke. "Rejoice that our many prayers have been answered! Lady Bellany Norwit was taken by the orcs last year on her way hither. A group of heroic adventurers rescued her early this spring. They left her sorely wounded body at the office of a leach this spring. Others will tempt you to blame her for being the victim of our war with the foul orcs. Yet, every soldier of the vindicator who survives such an ordeal is a hero in the eyes of our god and his servant Lord Avengene. We are having a picnic brunch today in the chapel yard starting in half an hour. Invite your friends so they may taste of our wonderful fellowship," the reverend said. After the service, parishioners wandered around the chapel foyer congregating in small groups. The students were getting reacquainted with those they had not seen since before summer break. The congregation must have once been larger. More than half of the seating had been vacant during the sermon. Bellany suspected that was because Lord Avengene withdrew his grandchildren and many must have followed his example. Bellany still wondered why Baronet Norwit had not changed schools. Charles waved to Bellany. "Belle, come and meet some friends." Bellany grabbed Mary's arm and took her over to Charles. Mary was the only other worshipper Bellany knew. "Reverend Leland, I would like you to meet my sister Bellany," Charles said. "Welcome to the fold, Lady Norwit. It is such a miracle that you survived in the hands of those vile raiders. I rejoice that our prayers were answered. How are you feeling?" the reverend asked. "I am fit. Hostile magic nearly killed me during my liberation. I was bedridden for most of the spring but for practical purposes my body is fully recovered expect for the hurt I took in the shoulder on the way down. My memory is still fragmented, but probably my largest wound has been social, thanks to Bianca Bristol and some others." "The faithful of the vindicator will not back down in our battle against vile necromancy. Take heart, here in Bristol you are being persecuted for righteousness sake." Bellany lowered her voice. "I suppose there are some political motivations behind Miss Bristol's actions, but it is my lack of virtue she is attacking. She is aware that virgin and stew-meat are synonyms in orcish. Her approach has been working well. I even get frowns from the ladies of the vindicator, and I am ruining Mary's social life just by being her roommate." "You have had more than your share of tribulation, milady. I believe the men and women of the vindicator shall show greater charity and empathy for you when they realize what Lady Bristol is up to. After all, Avengene has long been at war with the orcs. Abductions and deaths are a fact of life. It is wonderful just to see you alive," the reverend said. "Thank you reverend," Bellany said. "Now you must get on with your life. Put the orcs behind you," The reverend said. "Of course, I must put the orcs behind me," Bellany said smiling at the memory of Smith Tzangzar pounding away at her from the rear. "You seem in good spirits, milady. Please excuse me there are so many people I must catch up with," the reverend said. "Of course, Reverend Leland, thank you for coming by," Bellany said. "It was my pleasure," the reverend said. "It is a year late, but I would like you to meet someone. Bellany, this is Abraham Steefl, Abe, this, finally, is my sister Bellany. "You are so beautiful milady; I regret your long ordeal, but you were certainly worth waiting for," Steefl said. Steefl was a big man, a bit taller than Charles and broader even than Baronet Norwit. His eyes were steel gray and his hair was light brown. His disfigured face might once have been mildly handsome, but he was currently one of the least attractive men Bellany had ever laid eyes on. "Thank you Sir Steefl. You are already a knight, are you not? Charles said something about having to address you as Sir Steefl in one of his notes." "Yes, I was knighted by Lord Avengene this summer," Steefl said. "Congratulations!" Bellany said. "Thank you milady. Charles told me you were a poet," Steefl said. "Not anymore," Bellany said softly. "My words are too dark since I lost my innocence to the orcs. The damage to your face, did you receive it in battle?" "The worst of it was from orcs when I was seven," Steefl said. Bellany nodded. I have wounds from my past as well but they are written in my mind rather than on my body. After the orcs, I refused to continue to be defenseless. I spent my summer learning to defend myself, to wield a rapier and to ride astride on a fast horse." "I told you Abe, since she returned, Belle's become a real war lady," Charles said. "Thanks to my naughty brother," Bellany said with a grin. "If it weren't for the highwaymen, some of the guys might have made me feel bad about teaching you. Yet the certain knowledge that I'd be pushing up daisies had I clung to tradition instantly allays my guilt concerning your training." Charles smiled easily. "Mother will keep working until she finds a chink in that armor," Bellany giggled. "Like a skilled assassin stalking a lucrative mark," Charles affirmed. "Speaking of marks, congratulations Charles. You won first crossbow of the academy in spite of that fellow they brought in to steal your fame," Bellany said. "Erol Fobs?" Charles asked. Bellany nodded. "Fobs is a good man. Did you see the competition?" Charles asked. "Yes, I had to practically lick Glenda Gransward's feet to get up on the platform, but there was no way I was going to miss it. I have already sent a letter about it to mother and father," Bellany said. "Fobs suspected I might have hit the buck too, and he was man enough to make them check it when I mentioned it to him. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy to get them to look. I might have wound up playing second fiddle. Abe cleaned up this year as usual. Did you see him?" Charles asked. "No, I wish I could have watched more events but I could only catch the crossbow competition. Bristol and Gransward would not allow more. I am so snubbed," Bellany said. "Abe messed up this year. He tried to tip his helm to Lord Carnarvon and take second in the joust, but Carnarvon had a bad break and Abe won. He is first lance this year. He also took first rank in two-handed sword, flail and wrestling. "Wow, are you going to be on four teams, Abraham?" "No, milady, I will joust because it is the most knightly of sports, and I will compete in one or two other events, probably flail and wrestling because Bart Blaxton is nearly as good as I at two-handed sword." "That sounds prudent," Bellany said, doing her best to act prim. "Milady, the ball celebrating the winners of the tournament rankings of this semester will be next Saturday evening. I would be honored to be your escort for the dance." "I would be glad to come, Sir Steefl. It was kind of you to ask. Thanks to Bianca Bristol I am sure every man at the academy now knows my virtue was compromised to a hoard of orc raiders, a hoard that grows larger with each telling, no doubt. I would be surprised if anyone will even dance with me." "I will," Sir Steefl said. Bellany smiled. "Thank you Sir Steefl. I see Lord Avengene knighted you for more than your prowess at the arts of war." "How's that shoulder wound, Belle?" Charles asked. "It is much better, Charles. It is healing well." In truth it had been quite a pain in her dance classes until she magically healed all but the outer surfaces of the wound over the last few days. About ten minutes after the flock began serving their picnic brunch in the churchyard guests began arriving. The class of one of the first groups of guests was notable. "Charles!" A familiar voice called. Bellany glanced up to see Lord Carnarvon leading a number of very well dressed young men. After a glance to make sure Steefl was looking at the new arrivals and not her, she turned her smile on Carnarvon. In the warmth of her smile was an undertow that pulled his lust with powerful subtlety. "Loyd! Glad you could make it," Charles said striding over to Lord Carnarvon. Bellany raised an eyebrow. When Charles had first come to school he had claimed that Lord Carnarvon and he shared a love for wine, women and song, and that the future baron would be Charles' best friend. Since the two of them were on a first name basis only a week later, Bellany gained greater faith in the charisma and bravado of her eldest brother. The way he had won first crossbow certainly had not hurt his reputation either. Deep down she realized he was not really her brother, but he had been like a brother to her, therefore she regarded him as if he really were her brother. "Looks like you brought the whole who is who list with you Loyd," Charles said. Baron Carnarvon smiled. "The Emerald Ladies are making noises about snubbing your sister. It is nothing I did not see coming when you arrived this year. Girls are girls and Bristol is feuding with Avengene. I told the guys they should come over and see whom they were being told to snub before they passed judgment sight unseen. I did not bring George Gransward. That seemed a lost cause." "Lady Bellany, let me introduce you to a few of my friends. You know Larry the mayor's son and Paul Patel whose father bought the old Avengen manor. This is Brad Bostwick, son of Baron Bostwick, and Vernon Saint Varlans the youngest of Baron Saint Varlans' grandsons and the broadsword of the academy. Bellany smiled as the two unknown noblemen kissed her hand in turn. "A pleasure to meet you Lady Norwit," Brad Bostwick said. "Thank you Lord Bostwick. It is my pleasure to meet you as well," She replied keeping his lust tingling for sometime after he released her hand. Next Vernon Saint Varlans took her hand and kissed it very lightly. "Pleasure to meet you milady, he said nervously." "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Mister Saint Varlans. You have such a light touch. You need not be nervous. I am not a rabid dog nor do I bite. The orcs that captured me were young, healthy warriors. Many of them had seen fewer summers than you. I assure you they did not leave me with any of the contagions Bristol might have fabricated in her imagination to frighten you." Saint Varlans blushed crimson. "Did Bristol make some plague up for my benefit?" Bellany asked. The boys laughed. "She did," Saint Varlans said. "It figures. She has been pulling out all the stops. I am perfectly healthy other than my crossbow wound, and if you have trouble taking my word for it, just ask the young lady over there. That is my roommate, Mary. She sees me naked everyday. "My roommate's name is Harold. Would you like to trade?" Saint Varlans asked. "Mmm, and live over at the boys school where they have all manner of handsome young men and a real mathematics instructor? I think I would enjoy that. Do you suppose you could charm Headmistress Vargrend into making the switch?" Bellany asked. The young men chuckled. "Heads up, the chiefs of the conversation police are headed this way." Charles whispered. A moment later reverend Leland joined the group. "It is so good of you all to come," reverend Leland said. I believe you know Lieutenant Herrington, Vargrend's assistant constable. What churches have you all come from this morning?" "Virtusar," Lord Carnarvon said, raising his fist. "Mortaebius," Lawrence Eagan, the mayor's son, said challengingly. "Nurtriste," Lord Bostwick said. "Nurtriste," Saint Varlans seconded. "War, Death, Agriculture and Agriculture again. Welcome to the house of the Vindicator, god of justice. For those of you who may not know me, I am Reverend Leland. Our ladies vie with the women of Nurtriste for the top prizes in culinary artistry each autumn. I expect the ladies of Nurtriste will give us some stiff competition this year since much of our flock moved to Li'Yieraun. Please enjoy the food. You are always welcome here." "Thank you reverend. Good day Lieutenant." After much shaking of hands and a little talking the "conversation police," left. Bellany snagged Mary from the serving line and brought her to the table where Charles and his friends were eating. "This, as I said earlier, is my roommate, Mary Duffy. Mary, this is Lord Carnarvon, Lord Bostwick, Mister Eagan and Mister Saint Varlans. Bellany smiled as she introduced each of the young men to her roommate. Each greeted Mary in turn and kissed her hand. Eagan was quite attractive in a civilized, fine- featured sort of way, and Lord Carnarvon was attractive in the burly broad-shouldered way of the warrior. Saint Varlans combined some of the best of both worlds and was perhaps the most attractive man in the group, on a par with Bellany's brother Charles who was quite good- looking. She gauged Mary's reaction to each of the young men. Mary's heart never skipped a beat. Her reaction was uniformly indifferent. Bellany could feel the lust of some of the other ladies of the vindicator graze her person on its way to the attractive and powerful young men, but Mary was not phased. After some conversation about Saint Varlans' prowess with the broadsword, and the difficulty of algebra, Charles and the Emerald Lords excused themselves and left the churchyard to go riding. Steefl staid behind for a study group led by the reverend. Bellany followed the young lords across the courtyard to the stables. Bellany looked at a huge stallion. "These are huge." "You are supposed to look at the horse, not under him, Belle," Charles chuckled. Bellany blushed. "Most of the horses kept here are for use in the jousts. I brought a light horse for Charles from Carnarvon manor, and Lord Bostwick brought one over for Varlans," Lord Carnarvon said. "Gods I miss riding. May I come?" Bellany asked. Lord Carnarvon smiled. "We would be glad to have you but the courtyard guards will not let ladies leave unless accompanied by an approved chaperone. That usually boils down to the coach and servants of an Emerald Lady or visiting parents or close relatives. There are also a couple of school chaperones who can take you to town to go shopping during the week, but I think that is by appointment." Bellany frowned. "They don't call it 'Vargrend's Prison for Girls' for nothing Belle," Charles grinned. "They should let me go. They are just trying to protect the virtue of the girls. Bristol has made sure everyone knows it is a little late for that in my case," Bellany said. "If they did that I'll bet all the girls would volunteer for deflowering just for the sake of freedom," Varlans said. "And I would be the first to volunteer for deflowering duty. Get your freedom here ladies," Charles said patting his crotch. "Speaking of which, have you found any naughty young women for me over at Vargrend's, Belle?" "Unfortunately, with the snub on, I have not been able to find out who might be interested in boys sans chaperones." "I heard Bruhnhilda Delrath is no longer a maiden due to an errant priest of the vindicator," Lord Bostwick said. "She would not do for Charles. There is the Brianna Barter issue standing between any laison," Bellany said. "Brianna Barter?" Varlans asked. "A commoner who killed Reverend Evangeline Avengene," Charles said. "He was the priest who put the church of the vindicator on the map in Avengene and the church has practically made him a saint. Didn't you get in trouble over Bianna Barter when you first got back to Church, Belle?" "Yes, they told me this beautiful fifteen-year-old girl named Brianna Barter bewitched reverend Evangeline into her bed and then killed him with magic. I had trouble believing a girl that young would or could force a celibate priest of Evangeline's power into bed. I am sure he went kicking and screaming all the way, or _someone_ did. Of course, I got in trouble for saying. Now I am very curious what really happened, but I suppose if Evangeline did anything untoward the Avengenes would have covered it up by now to save face." "I don't know. I have seen Barter's wanted poster," Lord Bostwick said. "That woman is _hot_. She could lure me into bed just about instantly." "Can you get one of those posters for me, Charles? I need something to hang up on my dormitory room wall for those long winter nights," Varlans asked. "I'll see what I can do, Vern. There were some less than celibate rumors about Evangeline, but no proof. Dad had a falling out with Baron Daelrath over the Barter issue. Well, that and the idiot priest who forced himself on Bruhnhilda. That ball-brain ruined years of alliance building in one stroke," Charles said. "Could daddy have done anything even if there had been proof behind those rumors about the lechery of Evangeline?" Bellany asked. Charles grimaced. "Blood is thicker than water. Dad never said it in so many words, but being baronet of Western Avengene gave him power over just about everyone in the baronety except Evangeline. Sometimes I think Evangeline looked on dad as nothing more than a steward who ran the baronety for him while he attended to spiritual matters that he considered more important." Bellany nodded. "I never knew that as a child, but now it seems so obvious. If you fancy Bruhnhilda it would be a coup to restore the alliance with Dealrath, but without more information on the Barter issue you could not get past the first conversation." "Sure I could," Charles said. "You could if you lied, but all Bruhnhilda needs is another lying man of Avengene trying to get between her legs. If you are going to approach her, I would suggest buying some integrity. She is way too used to the men of Avengene having none. Maybe there is some way we could find out if she is right about Barter. It would be stupid to base your relationship on a foundation of lies. It would just blow up in your face. Distancing yourself from the priest who raped her would not be a bad idea either. What god does she worship? "She worships Virtusar, like all good war ladies," Baron Carnarvon said. "Oh, do you see her at church?" Bellany asked. "Every Sunday," Carnarvon said grinning. She is one of Vargrend's three B's. "B's?" Bellany asked. "Beauties," Charles said. "Three?" Lord Bostwick asked? "I would say so, Saint Varlans said." "I'll agree on Bernadine Belgado and Bruhnie Daelrath, but It is hard to tell the way vindy girls dress. You never know how much is them and how much is the dress," Bostwick said. "Necklines don't mean squat, Bostwick. They can bolster up from below to fool the eye. You need to see a lady in a variety of dresses to really get an idea of what she looks like. I have seen Bellany in two dresses and she has looked the same in both." "Belle could have used some extra padding last year, but she really developed while with the orcs. I don't know what they fed her, guys, but whatever it was it owned," Charles said. "Charles!" Bellany squealed. "It's true Belle. I noticed the difference the first time I saw you this summer," Charles said. "There is no extra padding in this dress or my riding dress if that is what you are wondering," Bellany said. "Honestly, you are making me feel like a circus animal." "Sorry Bell," Charles said. You don't get to be one of the grade 'A' 'B's' without some serious consideration. I can't vote on account of you are my sister, but others raised the issue since they are not related to you." Bostwick cleared his throat. "I'll concede on the front side, but you can't expect me to let the rear slide." "Trust me on the other side," Carnarvon said. I was not trying to be ungentlemanly, it is just that Belle zoned out and fell backwards against me as she dismounted." Bellany smiled at Carnarvon. "Those memory fragments can do that to me when they fall in place." "Hey could you fall back against me," Bostwick asked. Bellany cleared her throat. "I may have lost my virtue and my chaste reputation, but I still have a prudish mother and a ferocious father. Discretion is very important in my situation. If I were to bump my rump against you in front of a group of young men in the stables, word would get out in a flash and before I knew it, mother would lock me in a convent. That would be no fun for anyone." Bostwick grinned. "You have a point there. Looks like I will have to buy some discretion." "Stick with me," Carnarvon said. "His lip flaps like a sail in a contrary wind." The boys laughed. "No good family would let their son marry me, so none of you can really commit to me anyway, but that does not mean I could not have friends if I were not locked up in Vargrend's. When I get out I have decided I will stick with men who are trustworthy and discrete," Bellany said. By this time the young lords had all mounted up. Bellany frowned. She was horseless and incarcerated. "If one of us had a sister who we could get to invite you over it would be great, but sisters are in short supply this year. If George and Glenda Gransward were not being such asses about you because of Bianca Bristol, we could have taken you on our ride," Carnarvon said. "How about Natalie Rose? Aren't the Roses sponsoring Ryan Ludlow, the axe tosser of the academy this year?" Bostwick asked. "The Northern half of Roshaven is in Bristol. There is no way Natalie is going to go against Bianca's snub order. The way things are going none of us will be able to break it either because technically, since we are in Bristol Bianca holds a higher social rank than the rest of us," Carnarvon said. "But she is not even a baron to be," Charles said. "True, but none of us are barons yet," Carnarvon said. Steefl technically outranks us all since Marquis Avengene knighted him this summer. Nevertheless, socially we outrank him. Likewise, the social reality is that Bianca has Baron Bristol's ear. She is his favorite grandchild, the apple of his eye. She also has the allegiance of most of the Emerald Ladies. Socially she has us by the balls. I think most of the guys like you and your sister, Nortwit, but Bristol has put Bellany in quite a spot. I am sure she would have tried to do the same to you, but your skill with the crossbow is the ultimate ace. Everyone loves a winner." Charles grinned. "Enjoy Vargrend's prison Belle. It is just the kind of place you are bound to hate." Bellany scowled. "You are so right. After being a slave, I just cannot get enough of being caged. Good bye Lords and gentlemen, see you next Sunday or through the bars of the library perhaps." The men said their good-byes and Bellany left the stables. In the distance, she saw Headmistress Vargrend talking to someone near the far end of the north side of the courtyard where the gate to the temple of Mortaebius was. Bellany frowned and then rushed through the gate to the main keep. When no one was looking, she zipped up the stairs and into the girls' offices and reception area. About fifteen minutes later Headmistress Vargrend and an older gentleman came into the offices. "Good day Lady Norwit. This is Headmaster Bristol." "Good day Headmistress Vargrend. Good day Headmaster Bristol," Bellany said. "I know I am the last person who you would expect to be here with this sort of problem considering how Bianca treats me. Nevertheless, someone with a lot of social clout was saying some things about the Vargrends and Bristols today that I found disturbing in view of the tensions between the churches of Mortaebius and the vindicator." "Tell me what was said, Lady Norwit?" Headmistress Vargrend asked commandingly. Bellany noticed an increase in the ambient lust directed at the Headmistress from the Headmaster but failed to notice the headmistress doing anything to stimulate it. Bellany cleared her throat. "Even peers of the realm can be lured by evil power and sucked in by sin. Why the Bristols themselves became caught up in the evil of a wicked priest in a war fought some two hundred years ago from the very keep we now use as our school. The Bristols kept their lands and faith through the power of Baladus Vargrend a priest who woke the dead to vanquish the righteous warlord from the southwest. The Bristols involved with this fell priest maintained their power in the world but died with a stain upon their souls!" "Perhaps it is nothing headmistress, but it disturbs me that anyone would come so close to fomenting rebellion here in Bristol when tensions are so high between the churches of Mortaebius and the vindicator," Bellany said. "No, you did right young lady. Who said those words?" "Reverend Leland said them before the entire congregation of the vindicator this morning in his sermon," Headmistress. Headmistress Vargrend stood open-mouthed for an instant. "Why the nerve of that man!" "A good student would look up your family history in the library and read about the incidents to draw her own conclusions. However those of us with "V" cards are not allowed to read about the Vargrends because so many of them were priests of Mortaebius." "I have never been comfortable with the censorship we do for Lord Avengene, but I abided by his request because of his peerage. Now it appears reverend Leland is stabbing us in the back for our trouble. Headmaster Bristol we must validate this young lady's statement and then do something about this affront. Baron Bristol would not be happy," Headmistress Vargrend snapped. Again Bellany felt a surge of lust from the headmaster. "Yes Headmistress," He said breathlessly. "This is not right," he added. Bellany cocked her head as she thought. _Something is turning him on. Is it when she gets loud? Or is it the note of command?_ "Lady Norwit I need you to write what you said down," Headmistress Vargrend said. "I am sorry Headmistress, if anyone sees that it is in my hand I will get in no end of trouble even if they tell you I will not." "Headmistress Vargrend frowned. Can you repeat what you said?" "Yes Headmistress," Bellany replied. "Good let me get some parchment and I will put it in my hand." The headmistress briskly unlocked the door to the offices and rushed in leaving Bellany with Headmaster Bristol. Bellany spoke quietly yet decisively, "Headmaster Bristol, you have not got back to me in regard to my father's request for additional mathematical instruction for me. I would be an asset to your mathematics program. Just imagine how hard the boys would work if they knew they were being outdone by a girl." For a moment, Bellany took Headmaster Bristol off guard. She achieved surprise but not lust. "Well now," he said. "So you fancy yourself a mathematician? Let us say I have seven ripe, delicious bosk pears and some unknown number of apples. If I add two to four times my number of apples and divide the result in half, that number is equal to the number of bosk pairs I have. How many apples do I have, young Lady? Bellany stared into space for a few seconds. "You have *three* apples Headmaster," Bellany said forcefully. When she felt the headmaster's lust begin to tickle up her spine she latched onto it and tugged savagely as she looked into his eyes. "Yes Mistr-, Miss Norwit that is absolutely correct," The headmaster said breathlessly. Bellany smiled. "My father was not stretching the truth. I do hope Headmistess Vargrend remembered to give you the letter from Baronet Norwit, my father. I am sure she has been very busy this first week of classes." "Yes, yes I am sure she must have. I will make a point to read it as soon as possible." "You will. Thank you headmaster." Bellany smiled as she gleaned a satisfying flow of lust to latch on to from the order that preceded her thank you. She was being so bad playing with the headmaster but if she had to suffer without a man then she could at least have fun toying with the master of her prison. The headmistress returned and broke Bellany's spell without realizing what had transpired. Bellany repeated what the reverend had said so that the headmistress could write it down. "Thank you for being so responsible in spite of Lady Bristol's behavior, Lady Norwit. This is absolutely not the kind of inflammatory preaching we need with Bristol and Avengene on the brink of hostilities." "Thank you Headmistress. Is there some way I can sneak out of here without being seen?" "Really milady, is that necessary?" Headmistress Vargrend scoffed. "You have no idea, Headmistress. It took being a slave of the orcs to make me realize how much of a slave I was at home. I could get in no end of trouble if they knew I told you. If the reverend heard that I had complained about not being able to look into your family history for myself, he would verbally decapitate me in front of the entire congregation. The vindicator may be the god of justice, but he is certainly not the god of freedom," Bellany said. She could see her words had struck a nerve in Headmistress Vargrend. The woman did not like the censorship she had been obliged to uphold. "Very well Lady Norwit. Come along; I will take you through the breezeway we use in winter to allow the girls to get from their building to the cafeteria without braving the snows." ------- This ends, Snubbery, Chapter 57 of The Chronicles of Rapina. The story continues in Chapter 58, Inmates. Copyright 2003 by Rapina