Little Nora Grows Up

“Tell me, when did you become so pathetic?”

My eyes shot open and I sat up in bed. “What do you want Dimitri?”

He stood by the french window, one hand on the curtain, the setting sun spilling out of the opening, lighting the room with it’s pale light. “Was it when you decided to live at this school? Or the very moment Gabriel laid his murderous hands on you?”

My hands gripped my heavy covers. “Don’t talk about him like that.” I warned. Dimitri was family, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t hurt him if I had to. “Gabriel never harmed me in any way.”

He shrugged his thin shoulders. “He’s already killed one Nora, perhaps he thought that was enough.” He let go of the curtain and it closed, darkness falling with it. “How can you stand him, after what he’s done?” he asked bitterly.

“He wanted my forgiveness, and I gave it to him.” I answered. “It was the very least I could do for him.”

“Why? Because he felt bad about what he did? Because he was sorry?” Dimitri spat out the words, as if hating their taste. “You’re becoming as weak as he is.”

“Get out of my room, Dimitri.” I warned him. “I told Father that no family member is allowed to come here. This is my domain now. My territory.”

“I don’t plan on staying long.” he assured me. “I only came to pass on a message from Father. He’ll tolerate your little rebellion for now, but soon you will have to fall in line. Just because you failed to be his Nora, doesn’t mean he’s done with you.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked as he turned back to the window.

“He’s been talking with other families. Someone will come for you soon. Hopefully they’ll get you in line.” Dimitri answered. He pulled up a hood from the back of his coat, covering his head. He opened the window, stepping out into the sunset.

“Wait, what’s going on, who’s coming?” I threw off my covers and hurried to the open window. I stepped out on the balcony just as the sun dipped under the skyline. I looked all around, above and below, but Dimitri was gone. “For a blind person, he sure moves fast.” I sulked, leaning against the stone railing.

Who had he been talking about? Who was coming? Someone dangerous, probably, someone stronger than I was. Why would Father go to another papillon family though? Was it because I was the most powerful family member, ever since Dimitri lost his eye?

What was there to do, except wait and see?

I could go and tell Ms. Brun, but that might cause a panic in the school, and further alienate it’s inhabitants.

Besides, what papillon could stand up against me? I might not be the strongest physically, but no papillon could face my fire.

I decided that, in the grand scheme of things, I had other stuff to worry about. Instead I should be focusing on this ‘puberty’ dilemma. I had Professor Barnes’ class every day as well as the examinations after classes, and I was bound to run into Kieran again, how was I supposed to keep myself in check?

Perhaps Aiden or Aimie could help. It felt strange, asking someone for advice, but what if my fire really did come out?

I decided it was time to get dressed and have breakfast. Thankfully my clothes still fit me. It was just so jarring going to sleep and waking up a different height. Plus, I didn’t know when I was going to stop. I’d never achieved my full height before. What if I grew taller than all the other girls? Then I would really stand out.

It was early, so most of the students were still in bed. I crept down to the kitchens, where a perpetually tired Ms. Darwin slaved away at the ovens. She was a rather broad Irish woman, who didn’t know a word of French or English, so we usually communicated in nods. I nodded to her when I came in, and she nodded back, acknowledging my presence.

I opened the door to the refrigerated closet, shivering at the chill. My blood was stored in the back, which I hated, since that meant I had to walk all the way inside. I grabbed two of the nearest cartons and hurried back out again. I nodded to Ms. Darwin as I left, and she nodded back to me.

I drank my breakfast alone, which was actually what I preferred. I enjoyed the school immensely, but found it’s inhabitants to be rather noisy at times. Except for the children; I didn’t mind the children.

At the beginning of nightfall, before classes start, I would go down to the children’s dorm and help tuck them in. Most days, there would be Story Time. As much as the children loved it, Story Time was MY time. A small patch of time in which I was engrossed in someone else’s trials and tribulations, even if it was just a piglet who couldn’t find his socks.

The younger group was composed of children from three years to eight, both male and female. Once they turned nine, some of the girls would stay and take regular classes. Some moved away, with relatives, restarting their lives. None of the boys ever stayed behind.

After Story Time was done, Aiden was waiting for me by the door, book bag in hand, ready to start class. We walked to our first class together, and I realized that I had settled into a routine.

When I had lived at home, my days were random and shifting. There were times I underwent rigorous training, developing a new skill, then long periods where I was confined to one or two rooms, with nothing to entertain me but toys and crayons. Here I was doing the same thing every day, at the same time. Yet, it did not feel monotonous, instead the schedule gave me the framework in which I was starting to weave the tapestry of my new life.

So it was rather jarring when something forcibly interrupted my new schedule.

A girl hurried down the hall, in the opposite direction. Her eyes were wide. “What’s the matter?” Aiden as she sped past us.

“Someone at the gate...” the girl gasped. “Must go tell Ms. Brun.”

Aiden looked at me, then we both hurried to the front of the school.

We were on the second floor, but the front windows overlooked the gate. Already, there were a crowd of girls peering outside.

I looked at the throng helplessly. I had many powers, but even I couldn’t see through solid mass.

Aiden cracked her knuckles, then began elbowing and shouldering her way through the other students. They didn’t give her much passage, too intent on what was outside. Still, she managed to squeeze her way through. She reached back and grabbed my hand, pulling me in as well.

I ended up pressed against the large window, the throng behind me crushing into my back. I looked down at the front courtyard, then blinked in surprise. “It’s a boy.”

A young man stood in the middle of the courtyard, facing two Guardians. Guardians were older girls whose job it was to defend the school, and the only ones allowed to carry crossbows at all times. It was completely dark out, save for the streetlights by the gate. My eyes did not have the hindrances of a human’s though, so I was able to see perfectly.

From this vantage point I could not see his face, just short black hair and glasses. He was wearing a black suit with a high collar, perfectly tailored to his slim frame. He carried a long wooden stick, polished and curved slightly. He held it at his side with one hand, with his other hand hovering over the base, like he was preparing to draw a sword from it’s sheath.

“Is he really thinking of attacking the Guardians with that thing?” Aiden wondered.

“Why is he here in the first place?” I asked. I was starting to feel like a sardine in a can, crushed against the window as I was. I reached up and unlatched the window, swinging it outward. The mass behind me pressed even further, till Aiden and I were leaning out the window.

It was midsummer, and yet an icy wind blew in through the window. A shiver ran through the group of girls, and me as well.

My earlier nightmare came back to me strongly. I did not like this chill.

“If you do not stand aside, then I will force you to move.” the stranger’s voice carried up to us. It was a boy’s voice, yet strong and commanding. It was not loud. There was control in it, like a tempered blade. His words were a little strange. He spoke perfect French, and that was the problem. He spoke like someone who had learned French from a book. Perfectly rigid.

“Class is in session now, outsiders are not allowed inside,” one of the Guardians replied, keeping her crossbow at the ready, aimed at the foreigner. “Please vacate the school grounds or you will be forcibly ejected.”

“Fine, if you will not move, then I will move you.” He brought up the wooden stick in one fluid motion, slashing the air in front of him deftly.

A sudden gust of wind flooded the courtyard, sending the Guardians flying backwards. The girls behind my gasped, but I kept my eyes on the stranger. He walked up to the large double doors that was the front entrance to the school. They were made of thick oak bound by iron, and as old as the school itself was.

He tried the latch, but it did not budge. He raised his stick again.

“Don’t you dare!” I screamed, climbing up onto the window ledge before I knew what I was doing. I jumped down to the courtyard, landing lightly on the asphalt.

The stranger turned and I got a better look at him. His skin was smooth and white, his eyes like black glass, and slanted in a way I had never seen before. His jet black hair was neat and straight, and his glasses were thin and most likely for show. He clenched his teeth when he saw me and I could see his fangs perfectly. His apparent age was about the same as my apparent age.

“This building belongs to me.” I said, standing as tall as I could, which was a full foot shorter than him. “If you lay one mark on those doors, then I will not have mercy on you.”

“The DOORS?!” Aiden shouted at me from above. “Your classmates are lying in the dirt and THAT’S what you care about? Nora, what’s wrong with you!?”

“Nora?” he asked, surprised. “Are you Nora Manigault, the Kyūketsuki that is a student here?”

I gestured to my uniform with both hands. “My name is Nora Manigault and I am a student here,” I replied challengingly, placing a hand on my chest. “And I am a Papillon.”

“I see.” He tilted his head down slightly as he adjusted his glasses. The light from the streetlamps reflected off of them, briefly hiding his eyes. “Then I have no need to break the doors, as you are my goal.”

“My father sent you here, didn’t he?” If this wasn’t the foreign Papillon Dimitri had been talking about, I’d eat my bedsheets.

“You have been apprised of the situation? Good, then I don’t have to bother with explanations.” He walked towards me. “Let us leave at once.”

“Leave?” I queried. “I’m not going anywhere with you just because you tell me to.”

He studied me a moment. “I understand.” He brandished his stick at me, swiping upwards.

Wind hit me like a wall. I dug my heels into the asphalt, probably wearing the soles down on my brand new shoes in the process. Just as I was recovering, he was inches from me, preparing to strike me down.

I did the first thing that came to mind. I grabbed his stick.

Ice shot through my veins and I cried out, releasing the weapon and pushing him away. I called my fire, flooding my arms and banishing the cold. I shook my hands, making sure I still had feeling in them. “Your power is cold...” I said to myself. “I can see why Father sent you in particular after me.”

He shook his stick a little and shards of ice appeared all over it, encasing his hand as well. His eyes glowed an unnaturally bright blue as he lunged towards me again.

I was getting angry, which made my fire rise quicker. I called it to my hands, flames wrapping around them as I forced his attacks away. He was practiced as well as agile, keeping me on the defensive, blocking any opportunity for a counterattack.

I needed something more, something to counter his stick. Though really, it was an ice sword, if I wanted to be technical. I would need something similar if I were to try to repel him.

“Nora!” Aiden yelled down to me. “Catch!”

I looked up just as she threw a silver rapier out the window, probably a weapon borrowed from a Guardian, as the ones we used in class were made of wood. It was going to land nowhere near me of course. Aiden was not the best thrower. I ran and jumped towards it, grabbing it deftly by it’s leather-wrapped, handle.

I faced the foreigner, studying him carefully, waiting for him to strike again. “You are obviously new to Paris,” I said, somewhat haughtily. “Allow me to show you how the French fight.”

My temper was edging past my barrier of control, my fire burning brighter. It leaked from my hands, dripping onto the asphalt and sizzling softly. I formed it, pouring it around my new weapon, encasing it in a solid glow. If I allowed the silver to absorb my fire directly, it would melt on the spot, so I concentrated on the air around it, molding a perfect shell of heat and flame.

He attacked again and I was ready, parrying swiftly, blocking only when I absolutely had to. When our weapons touched, however briefly, fire and ice sent sparks flying.

As the battle raged, my foe became unsure, almost hesitant to do any actual harm to me. I saw an opening, a half second of weakness slowing his movement. I lunged, slicing the front of his suit jacket.

He stumbled backwards, one hand on his chest, wincing in pain. My cut had gone through his jacket and white shirt and down to his skin, which burned bright red. His eyes were black again. The ice around his wooden sword shattered. “My uniform,” he gasped.

I pointed the glowing tip of my sword at him. “Go back to wherever you came from. You are much too weak to try and pry me away from my home. When you make your report to my father, tell him the same.”

I turned away from him then, heading back to the doors, savoring my victory. If he tried anything while my back was turned, then I would cut him down at once.

One floor up Aiden was hanging halfway out the window, whistling loudly and cheering. I couldn’t help but smile.

The doors opened before I reached them, revealing am angry Ms. Brun and a furious Franceska. More students ran out, towards where the Guardians lay. They got to their feet easily, merely stunned by the wind.

Ms. Brun opened her mouth, but Franceska was the first to speak. “Just because one papillon is allowed here, it does not mean your friends can visit whenever they like!”

My anger flared up once more. “That was not my friend!” I pointed behind me without turning around. “This is the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on him!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that he invaded school grounds just because of you!” Franceska marched up to me, her face inches from mine.

“I fought him off! I protected my school! What more should I have done?”

“If you weren’t here, he wouldn’t have come in the first place!”

“That’s not for YOU to decide!”

She slapped me across the face, taking me completely by surprise. It hurt, a searing gash across my cheek. The fire around my sword went out like a snuffed candle. I reached my fingers up to my cheek.

She looked at her hand in surprise, then realized she was wearing a silver ring. She covered it with her other hand and glared at me. When she spoke again, there was still anger in her voice, but it was a lower tensely coiled fury. “What about those two Guardians outside? What would you do if they were gravely hurt?” She narrowed her eyes. “You’re putting the entire school in danger, even without any visitors.”

“Franceska!” Ms. Brun said sternly. “Under no circumstances do we ever strike another student. Detention, for both of you.” We both looked at the Headmistress, similar looks of outrage on our faces. Her expression challenged us to respond.

Franceska bowed her head. “Yes, Headmistress.” she said quietly.

I was far too hurt, confused, and angry to be demure. Instead I hurried past both of them, heading for the stairs, wishing that they would collapse in on themselves and bury me alive.