She shrugged. “I have my orders,” she said, trying to add a hint of sourness to her voice. “And how many others even give me the time of day?”
Penny reddened. “I could introduce you to people if you weren’t in detention every weekend,” she said. “Why did you help the little brat?”
“I…” Nanette shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, really.”
She peered down at the parchments. Penny was good, for her age, but Nanette was better. Aurelius had practically given her a charms apprenticeship, before she’d even graduated from Mountaintop. It had taken a great deal of work to craft charms that looked harmless, as long as they weren’t put together in a specific order. Nanette had few qualms about risking lives, but she knew she was risking discovery. A skilled charms mistress might realise something was wrong if she studied the parchments. She’d suspect the worst — and she’d be right.
“This is going to be great,” Penny said. “Everyone will be watching.”
“Yeah.” Nanette studied the parchment. “I still can’t believe you trust your life to these spells.”
Penny smirked. “Too scared to fly, little girl?”
Nanette allowed herself to flush. Mistress Jens had made it brutally clear she was not to try flying, at least until she’d mastered the spells. Nanette was sure she could use them, but it helped cement the idea she was bad at charms in everyone’s mind. And besides, she was entirely sure the spells weren’t safe outside a controlled environment. The teachers might promise expulsion without appeal to anyone who tampered with the spells, but what good was that in a real fight?
She sighed. Penny had finally dragged her into the arena and forced her to watch the older girls flying around like bats out of hell. There was a kind of freedom in flying, Nanette had to admit; there was something in her that liked the idea of letting go of her cares, throwing herself into the sky and letting the wind take her away. And yet, she knew she could never be so carefree. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that a single spell could send her crashing to the ground far below.
“It’s not that and you know it,” Nanette said. “They won’t let me fly.”
“Maybe you should show off your true skill.” Penny leered at her. “Or would that get you into more trouble?”
“Yeah,” Nanette said, quietly.
Penny stood. “You promised me more dancing,” she said. “And I brought music.”
Nanette had to smile as Penny produced a spellstone from her drawer and placed it on the cabinet, then muttered the activation charm. Recorded music was rare — she’d never actually seen a recording spellstone, outside enchantment classes — but she had to admit it served a purpose. There was no need to hire a band for private dance lessons.
And any aristo who could afford a spellstone would sooner die than admit he couldn’t afford a band, she thought. One must keep up appearances, even if it means pawning the family gold and eating off one’s shirts.
She took Penny in her arms and led her through a series of dance steps. It was tempting to just let herself sink into the music and enjoy the dance — Penny was a better partner than some of the men who’d taught her — but she had a job to do. Penny sighed as Nanette ran her hand down Penny’s back, gently brushing her magic against the girl’s skin. The suggestions were definitely starting to take root. Penny couldn’t help feeling friendly and trusting towards Nanette. It only took a moment to strengthen her feelings of bitterness and resentment towards Lillian. The younger girl didn’t know it, but she was Penny’s romantic rival.
Nanette felt a pang of guilt as the music changed. She was no stranger to manipulating people in any number of ways, but it still cost her to play with Penny’s emotions. She wasn’t sure why. Penny had set out to use her, just like so many others. And yet… she shook her head, Penny leaning against her. She had a job to do. The plan was steadily coming together. And then she’d be gone, leaving a heartbroken girl behind.
And this school might accidentally foil my plans, she mused. What’ll happen if Penny starts questioning her own feelings?
She kept the worry off her face as she led Penny through a series of more complex dance steps. It was easy to cast compulsion or domination spells, but they tended to be incredibly noticeable. An outside observer would probably notice something was wrong, even if the mere act of casting the spell didn’t set off alarms. And Penny might be able to fight it off. It was better to play with her emotions, to steer her round to doing what Nanette wanted her to do without ever questioning her reasoning. And yet…
She’ll recover, she told herself. And she’ll be all the stronger for it.
Penny stepped back, her face flushed. Nanette understood. Dancing was as close as one could get to sex without actually making out. It was intimate… one of her tutors had told her that dancing allowed the partners to become intimately familiar with each other without ever crossing the line into intercourse. She’d thought it was silly at the time, but there was a world of difference between dancing with a tutor and dancing with someone attractive. She supposed she was lucky Penny didn’t have wandering hands.
“I…” Penny shook her head and tapped the spellstone, cancelling the spell. The music died to silence. “I really should get back to work.”
“You still have that essay to do?” Nanette leaned forward. “Do you really have to get it done before Friday?”
“I have to coach the team on Saturday and finalise the spells before the flying display on Sunday,” Penny said. “I really have to get it right.”
“I’m sure you’ll do well,” Nanette said. “It’s just a shame you can’t practice everything first.”
“We’re not firsties,” Penny said. “We have to pretend we’re starting from scratch.”
Nanette rolled her eyes. She’d been taught that practice made perfect. Better to get the mistakes out of the way during training than when lives were at stake. But she thought she saw the logic. What was the point of a surprise test if everyone knew it was coming? The girls weren’t just being judged on their flying, but on their ability to cast a complex semi-ritualised spell on the fly. She told herself, firmly, not to question it too much. It would come in very handy.
“You know who’s coming?” Penny smiled, wanly. “I have to impress them.”
“I believe you might have mentioned a few… hundred … names,” Nanette said, dryly. “I’m sure you’ll impress them.”
“I better had,” Penny said. There was a knock on the door. “Oh, what now?”
“Come in,” Nanette called.
The door opened. Lillian peered in nervously. Nanette glanced at Penny, just in time to see her face twist in jealousy. The suggestions were taking root, then. She’d heard enough horror stories about pashes gone wrong over the last few days to feel a twinge of sympathy for both girls. Young romance was bad enough even without someone manipulating one’s feelings to cause chaos at the right moment. It was funny, she supposed, how Laughter had more romantic drama than Mountaintop or Whitehall. The girls weren’t really expected to marry each other. They could indulge their feelings in the certain knowledge nothing long-term would come out of it.