Lillian wouldn’t agree, Nanette reminded herself. A person can be both hero and villain at the same time.
She started to work through the spellwork, wishing she could write her work down. She didn’t dare. The rooms weren’t closely monitored, but someone — perhaps even Penny — would wonder why she was writing out scenarios that would inevitably lead to disaster. She wondered, briefly, if she could do the work outside the school, then dismissed the thought. The risk was simply too great. She’d just have to improvise.
Penny stepped out of the washroom, towelling herself off. Nanette glanced up and stared. Penny was stunning. Stripped of her uniform, her hair hanging in ringlets over a perfectly-toned body, she was… Nanette looked away, hastily. The mission was too important to risk any sort of emotional entanglement. She concentrated, pushing the feelings into a small box and locking them away. Penny was going to hate her, when all was said and done. There was nothing she could do about that, not now. She’d been manipulating the girl from day one.
“I was thinking we’d start with a basic series of loops,” Penny said. Her voice was muffled as she pulled a new dress over her head. “And then go into a flying dance routine.”
“So I see.” Nanette didn’t dare look up until Penny was properly dressed. “You’re going to be dancing on air.”
“And teasing the boys with a chance to look up our dresses,” Penny said. “They’re going to be disappointed.”
Nanette gave her a sharp look. “You have a filthy mind.”
“You’ve never seen the way some boys look at you?” Penny smirked, as if she’d realised something important. “They can’t help it.”
“So they say.” Nanette kept her face expressionless, even as alarm bells went off inside her head. It was quite easy to manipulate someone who was attracted to you. It was how she’d manipulated Penny. Was it a coincidence or was she hinting she’d realised what Nanette was doing? “All the blood flows out of their heads and goes somewhere else.”
Penny’s smirk grew wider. “Have you seen a naked boy?”
“No.” Nanette pretended to be shocked. “I’m not supposed to see a naked man until my wedding night.”
“I suppose they wouldn’t want you to get scared and run away,” Penny said. “That would be awkward, wouldn’t it?”
“Yeah.” Nanette had to smile. She hoped someone took the time to explain the facts of life to Nadine before her wedding night. The mundane aristocracy liked keeping their daughters in ignorance for reasons that made no sense to her. She’d once read an anatomy textbook that concealed more than it revealed. And one glance at the diagram had been enough to tell her the writer was an idiot. “I suppose it would upset people.”
She studied the parchments for a long moment. “You work on precisely what you want to happen, then we’ll check and recheck the spells before putting them together,” she said, as the dinner bell rang. “Are you meant to stay here?”
“Outside class, yes. They’ll bring my dinner on a tray.” Penny shook her head. “They didn’t say I’d lose my badge, but…”
“Make it up to Lillian,” Nanette advised. “I’ll talk to her, convince her to help. You can make everything up to her and show you’ve learnt something.”
“Fine,” Penny said.
Nanette gave the girl a hug, then turned and left the room. The corridors were still deserted, only a handful of students hurrying through the dorms. The majority of the older girls were eating in Pendle or practicing their flying for the display. Nanette snorted at the thought as she made her way down the stairs and into the dining room. She didn’t really blame the older girls for eating out. The school’s food wasn’t bad, but it was bland.
Lillian came over to her as she sat down. “Can I get you something?”
“Just a regular tray, please,” Nanette said. The younger girl looked fully recovered. Her classmates wouldn’t mock her for being hexed by an older girl, not when there was no way any of them could have done better. “And I need to talk to you afterwards. Meet me in the library.”
“As long as she’s not around.” Lillian seemed astonished at her own daring. “Where is she?”
“Grounded.” Nanette allowed herself a tight smile. “She was heavily punished.”
“Good.” Lillian retreated, then returned with a tray. “I’ll see you afterwards.”
Nanette nodded, then started to eat. The meat pie was bland, as if the cook had forgotten to add salt or any seasoning to the mix. She ate it anyway, rolling her eyes at the students muttering complaints about the food. There were plenty of spells that could be used to change the flavour, if they thought to try. It wasn’t as if the pie was charmed against transfiguration. They could change the flavour effortlessly…
And no one ever thought to try, she mused. Why the hell not?
She mulled it over as she finished her meal, put the tray to one side and headed for the door. Laughter puzzled her. It was familiar enough for the differences to be disconcerting. The lack of boys gave vent to everything from boyish behaviour to student pashes that were both harmless and deadly serious. And the girls were encouraged to think of themselves as sisters, standing together against a hostile world. Nanette snorted in irritation. In her experience, sisterhood — and brotherhood — only lasted as long as it was convenient. Penny wouldn’t hesitate to sell her down the river if she thought she’d come out ahead.
They say the Sisterhood is the secret power behind the thrones, she reminded herself. She’d studied the legends, while her wrist was being repaired. The Sisterhood claimed immense power and influence, but… if that were true, she was sure she’d have seen more signs of its presence. It was far more likely it was simply a quarrel writ large, an association of magicians who just happened to be female. But does it really have enough influence to matter?
The librarian gave her a sharp look as she walked into the library. Nanette did her best to ignore it, although — as soon as Lillian arrived — she took the younger girl back down the corridor and into a deserted classroom. There was no point in irritating the librarians, not when she needed access to the library. She didn’t think she could be banned from the chamber completely, but there was no point in taking chances. She was all too aware she was running out of time.
“I didn’t realise she’d do that,” she said, when they were alone. “How are you feeling?”
Lillian grimaced. “My dormmates were full of sympathy. It was… unreal.”
“They’re smart enough to know you didn’t stand a chance,” Nanette said. “What she did was cruel.”
She patted Lillian’s shoulder, awkwardly. She couldn’t think of any firstie who could beat a fifth-year student in combat. Emily had beaten her — she admitted it was true, even though she didn’t want to — but she’d cheated. What sort of person would turn a Death Viper into a weapon? And besides, there were only three years between Emily and herself. There were at least five between Lillian and Penny.