Lucky Rabbit

The dining hall contained only three tables for students, and one long table for teachers. Only Eleanor and Thaniel sat at their table, while the other two contained a few older students. No other first-years were present, as far as Pandy could tell. Likewise, the teachers’ table was also half-empty, with Chancellor Blackwood sitting at the center, Mr. Benjamin to his right, and a thin older woman Eleanor identified as Ms. Davenport on his left.

Pandy wasn’t allowed to sit in Thaniel’s lap, as she usually did, but there was a ceramic bowl containing hay and vegetables on the floor by his feet. Thaniel immediately sat Pandy down next to it while loudly exclaiming about how pleased he was to see his good friend Ellie after so very long. Pandy thought it was a bit overdone, especially since no one seemed to be paying attention to the children other than the servant who brought their food, but since no one was watching, no one became suspicious.

As Pandy took a rather tentative bite of the hay – she’d had grass before and enjoyed it, but hay was a new experience – she met the big brown eyes of a sad-looking puppy sitting near Eleanor’s feet. His face looked like someone had draped a muddy towel over the back of a chair, all sagging jowls and long, dangling ears, brown spots on white fur. His body continued the theme, with enough skin for a dog much larger than the one actually living inside of it.

“Woof,” the puppy said quietly, then took a bite of his own food and chewed politely, barely dropping any crumbs on the floor in spite of his loose lips.

Pandy responded. Not surprisingly, the puppy didn’t answer, but he also didn’t begin barking or try to run after the rabbit that had appeared within easy chasing distance.

Ellie leaned down, smiling from the dog to Pandy. “This is Bunny, Winston,” she said. “Bunny, please meet Lord Winston Howl the Third. Winston, shake!”

Obediently, the puppy lifted one over-sized paw into the air, waiting expectantly until Pandy reached out and tapped the paw with one of her own. Ellie squealed at the sight and sat up, nearly knocking her plate off the table. “Thaniel, you didn’t tell me you taught Bunny to shake, too! She was so cute!”

Thaniel, too, peered under the table, and Pandy and Winston were expected to ‘shake’ twice more before a sharp voice called from the direction of the teachers’ table. “First-years! Decorum, please! This is not a place for your boisterous antics.”

Neither child had been doing anything Pandy would have called either boisterous or antics, but they immediately sat up straight. Eleanor smoothed her skirts down and crossed her legs at the ankle, her posture as stiff as if she’d shoved a board down the back of her dress. Thaniel wasn’t quite as stiff – though both Lian and Lady Reedsley had been teaching him manners – but he did use his napkin to hide several slices of tomato until he could drop them on Pandy’s head. Not that she minded. Tomatoes were delicious.

The rest of the meal passed without incident. Lord Winston Howl the Third spread his jowls over his front paws like a surprisingly tidy tablecloth once he was done eating. He continued to watch Pandy, but there was no malice in those soulful eyes. In fact, if anything, she sensed a lively and intelligent mind behind the laconic facade. Frankly, she was just glad not to find herself in another Miss Cupcakes situation.

Soft murmuring and the clatter of silverware – real, made-of-silver silverware – against dishes were the only sounds other than Ms. Davenport’s occasional correction of some unfortunate student’s mishandling of the cutlery. Servants glided out to take away used plates and deliver fresh ones. This was done on a set schedule, whether or not the diner was actually done eating, and Pandy was glad that pets apparently got only one course, so she could take her time.

Only after dessert – a beautiful, jiggly flan, at least as far as Pandy could tell from beneath the table – was taken away did anyone move to stand, and then it was the chancellor. Beside him, Ms. Davenport tapped her glass with her knife, and Pandy didn’t think she imagined the somewhat beleaguered expression on Mr. Blackwood’s face when he glanced at her before he began to speak.

“I am extremely pleased to see several of our students back with us already. I expect we shall see many more arriving tomorrow, and, of course, the term begins the day after that. Class schedules will be posted in the morning. Upperclassmen, please show our new students where to find their schedules, and, if possible, show them to their classes so that they may, in turn, aid their own yearmates.

“If you are missing any required materials, including books, please let Mr. Benjamin or Ms. Davenport know. If you discover that you have abruptly shot up several inches since you last tried on your uniform,” here he shot an amused glance at an older student whose uniform was clearly too small, “let us know so that we can replace it. Don’t forget to be in your room by nine.” A girl was on the receiving end of the look this time. “Thank you, and I will see you at lunch tomorrow.”

Everyone stood, with Thaniel only lagging a moment behind as Eleanor nudged him. The Chancellor and Mr. Benjamin exited through a door to the side, while Ms. Davenport gave the students a look that even Lord Winston probably knew meant Get Out. Wisely, the students did so, remaining mostly silent as they exited. As soon as they were out from under the teacher’s sharp gaze, however, their voices rose, filling the entrance hall with laughter and excited chatter.

Thaniel and Eleanor were among the last ones out, even though their table was the closest to the door. This was mostly due to the fact that they had to gather up their pets, but once they did so, all of the older students slowed down as they walked past. Most of them had bright, curious eyes, but a few looked rather annoyed to see the animals.

As they walked out into the foyer, several students who had gone ahead surrounded them. They hustled Thaniel and Eleanor off to one side, out of the way of Ms. Davenport’s Penetrating Gaze, and Pandy abruptly found several hands stroking her, with one particularly bold girl actually tugging at Pandy’s velvety ears. Winston was getting the same treatment, and there was no doubt that the polite pup was very uncomfortable with the situation. He held still, but his pleading brown gaze was locked on his young mistress, waiting to be told that he could escape.

Thaniel and Eleanor looked almost as uncomfortable as their pets, and finally Eleanor swallowed hard, lifted her chin, and said, “His name is Winston, and he has excellent manners. If you would please wait to be introduced?”

To their credit, the older children realized that Eleanor was implying the dog had better manners than they did, and backed away immediately. All, that is, except for a blonde girl who was probably in her last year. She gave Pandy one more stroke, almost as if daring the two younger children to say something about it, then hitched her own chin and said, “What’s the rabbit’s name?”

“She’s…Bunny,” Thaniel said, his expression making it obvious that he dreaded the response. He was right to do so, too, since the older girl made a face.

“Bunny? That sounds like something you would name a stuffed toy. You should give her a different name. What about…Peaches? Or Princess Peaches?” She reached out and ran her hand down Pandy’s back, making little cooing noises. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, Princess?”

Eleanor looked more than a little horrified at this misappropriation of her title, but Thaniel just clutched Pandy closer. “Her name is Bunny. She’s used to it, and she wouldn’t like it if I tried to change it.”

The girl snorted softly, ignoring one of her friends as they tugged at her sleeve. “Rabbits are cute, but everyone knows they’re not particularly bright. I bet she’d respond to Princess Peaches just as easily as,” her lip curled, “Bunny.”

Now Thaniel’s jaw firmed, and his eyes narrowed. Pandy knew what that meant, so she wasn’t at all surprised when he said, “What’ll you bet?”

Drawing herself up, the girl looked down her nose at the small boy, and said, “Oh? I bet…my favorite hairpin.” She touched a delicate golden pin with a perfectly crafted butterfly perched on the end. If its wings hadn’t been decorated with gems, Pandy would have believed it could fly away from its position, perched atop her golden hair, at any moment.

Thaniel shook his head. “Uh uh. I want you to apologize to Bunny for calling her stupid.”

“Apologize? To a rabbit?” The obnoxious girl looked horrified, but then her expression turned calculating. “Fine. But we’re going to test her.” She tugged her friend forward, making the girl’s cheeks turn pink with embarrassment. “Suzanne can call her by that ridiculous name, and I’ll call her Princess Peaches. If she goes to Suzanne, I’ll apologize, but if she comes to me, you have to let me play with her whenever I want.”

“Oh, but Tilly, you know-” Suzanne tried, only to have Tilly cut her off.

“Is it a deal?”

Thaniel nodded, his chin brushing against Pandy’s back. Then he buried his face in her fur and murmured, “I believe in you, Bunny,” so softly that no one else could possibly have heard.

Tilly glanced around, giving the open dining room doors a rather nervous glance, then motioned for Thaniel to set Pandy down. He did so, hands steady and expression confident.

“Suzanne, you go stand over there,” Tilly said, pointing to a spot near the dining room doors. Thaniel stepped away from Pandy, moving up next to Eleanor, who looked so angry that if she hadn’t had such terribly good manners, she might well have given Tilly a good punch in the face. Suzanne did as she was told, but her shoulders were slumped, her expression telling a story of past and present misery.

Once the two girls were about equal distances from Pandy, and Thaniel was out of the way, Tilly crouched, holding out her hands to Pandy. Suzanne did the same, and they both began to call to Pandy, using the two different names. Pandy, of course, turned immediately toward Suzanne, who looked startled, but called with a little more enthusiasm. Then something wafted toward her from the other direction, and she turned her head.

What was that? She lifted her nose and sniffed. It was like the best, tastiest, freshly-picked, sun-warmed carrot she’d ever smelled. Like a sweet apple just fallen from the tree at the perfect ripeness, or a tender dandelion, filled with sweet nectar. Unconsciously, she took a step toward the blonde girl, who gave a triumphant smile.

No! What was she doing? Pandy’s paw froze in the process of taking another step, and she stared at Tilly, ears standing straight up and eyes wide as she tried to figure out what was going on. Then she noticed that one of the girl’s hands was turned down, fingers closed in a fist, and something small flickered between those caging fingers. An elemental. Was she using magic to cheat?

But of course she was. And now she was looking a little less certain, as Pandy refused to come any closer. From behind the rabbit came the soft, defeated call of, “Bunny,” and Pandy turned, presenting her adorable, fluffy rear to the annoying girl.

Three long hops – not Hops, though it was tempting to use one – took her to Suzanne, where she sniffed the girl’s hand, then rubbed her cheek against it just to make her point crystal clear. Suzanne gave a soft gasp of delight and surprise, and reached out, trembling fingers stroking Pandy.

A screech came from behind Pandy. “You cheated! There’s something strange about that rabbit. There’s no way a normal rabbit could have resisted-”

“What, exactly, Matilda?” a cold voice said, and the children turned en masse to stare at the imposing figure of Ms. Davenport. The woman’s gloved hands were clasped in front of her, and her gimlet eyes were on Tilly. All of the children except Thaniel, Eleanor, Tilly, and Suzanne scattered.

“Could it be that you were using an elemental outside of class, Matilda?” Ms. Davenport went on. “The term has not yet begun, but I believe you are well aware that that is not allowed on school grounds. I, myself, have spoken to you on this matter. Twice.”

She glanced around at the three remaining students. “And if you three don’t have anything else to do, I can certainly assign you chores as well. I believe Master Lawson indicated that one of his helpers is ill, and he could use help cleaning stalls.”

Suzanne started to protest, and the teacher held up a hand. “No, no, Suzanne, I well remember the last time you attempted to enter the stables. They still haven’t found all of the barn cats. The library also needs to be straightened and books reshelved. Unless, of course, you three would care to go elsewhere?”

Eleanor immediately gave a curtsey, and Thaniel darted forward to scoop Pandy back into his arms. Suzanne looked like she might protest, but bit her lip and straightened, giving the teacher a polite nod. “Thank you, Ms. Davenport,” the two girls chorused, with Thaniel only slightly behind them, and then Eleanor grabbed Thaniel’s hand and led him Away, Stage Right. To Pandy’s surprise, Suzanne followed, and together they escaped through the doors leading to the classrooms.