Lucky Rabbit

Pandy’s sudden appearance managed to shake Geraldine out of her crying enough that they could hurry to her room. Fortunately, it was close by, and they only had to pass two other rooms in order to reach it, so no one saw the new teacher hugging a student she shouldn’t even know yet. There, Pandy explained a tiny bit of the chaos that had taken place in her home – omitting mention of Eleanor and calling Isidor her brother, on the general principle that something was better than nothing – and finally managed to make Geraldine smile.

Once she was certain Geraldine had recovered her equilibrium enough to handle it, Pandy said, “I’m going back after breakfast, but maybe one of these days you’d like to visit? And… I still have enough bedrooms that you could have your own. If you want to-”

“Yes,” Geraldine said, leaning forward to take Pandy’s hands. She’d been understandably leery at first of the new face Pandy was wearing, but shared hugs and tears had a way of bringing people together. “I don’t want to stay here. Not with her.” Her eyes narrowed, and Miss Cupcakes gave a hiss of agreement.

“Her?” Pandy asked. “Oh, you mean Ms. D-”

“Don’t say it! She’s now my enemy!” Geraldine said, sitting back and crossing her arms. This was a side of the usually energetic but easy-going child Pandy hadn’t seen before, but there was no doubt the girl meant it.

“I think she was just trying to-” Pandy said. She didn’t really want to defend Ms. Davenport, but if Geraldine’s parents really had refused to allow her to go home, the woman was probably doing the best she could to help Geraldine move on. Talking to a therapist of sorts and introducing her to new friends were entirely reasonable courses of action, it was just that Ms. Davenport handled it all so badly.

Geraldine’s glare now included Pandy, so she stopped, afraid she might soon find herself lumped in with the hall supervisor if she kept talking. Geraldine needed someone to blame, and she loved her parents, so it couldn’t be their fault. The next easiest target was Ms. Davenport, who really did need remedial training on how to speak to children.

Standing, Pandy brushed at her pants with unnecessary vigor. “Well, I should get back to Thaniel. I’ll see you at breakfast, and on Monday.” Impulsively, she hugged the girl again, whispering into her hair, “It’ll be all right. It really will.” She didn’t even know exactly what she was talking about, but Geraldine needed reassurance, and Pandy offered it readily.

Little arms closed around her waist and squeezed before Geraldine stepped back, tossing her curls. “I know. Probably.” Her lower lip quivered, but she got it under control and even managed to offer a small smile. “I’ll get the door for you.”

Pandy nodded, then poofed back to her Bunny-shape. Geraldine let her into the hall, and Pandy quickly hopped up to Thaniel’s room, where she found the door cracked open and a pouting child holding up a green tile. Clearly, it was her day to get in trouble.

Shoving the door closed with her paw, Pandy cast Shifting Faces for the third time that morning and hurriedly explained. Talking to Geraldine had allowed her to smooth out the explanation, so she didn’t stumble over the bits she was leaving out. Much. Thaniel knew her far better than Geraldine did, though, and as soon as she was done, he said, “What else?”

Pandy opened her mouth, grimaced, and shook her head. As she well knew, Thaniel was good at keeping secrets, but the school was potentially compromised. She hadn’t sensed any poppets in here, and she’d been over every inch of the room, but the fact that it hadn’t even occurred to her to check was a warning. She needed to be careful of every word she spoke in every part of the school – except, apparently, for the library, which finally explained why Augustus liked to hold secret meetings there, other than the ambiance.

“I’ll explain another time,” Pandy finally said, holding out her pinky. Thaniel shook it with alacrity, and she said, “I’m going to go get some things for work, then head home. I’ll be back tonight, though, I promise.” Another solemn pinky swear took place, and Pandy returned to her rabbit form as Thaniel finished getting ready for breakfast.

Augustus was notably absent, but otherwise the meal was comfortingly familiar, though Pandy desperately wished she could take several servings with her when she left. Unfortunately, even if she could sneak into the kitchen to get them, she didn’t have much space in her Inventory, though she had left several items at Avington House, tucked away in places where no one should stumble over them.

Thaniel gave her a final hug as he went off with Abbington and Geraldine to see what trouble they could get into, and Pandy hopped off to one of her favorite quiet nooks, tucked behind one of the sweeping staircases leading up to the chancellor’s office. Children and adults alike scattered after the meal, and when the foyer was momentarily empty, Pandy made her move, changing into Eurydice and dashing for the door.

She should have known she couldn’t escape that easily, however, because when she stepped outside, she found Augustus speaking genially with his aunts and a few teachers who looked familiar, though Pandy had never spent time with them in either of her forms.

“There she is,” Augustus said as she appeared, and held out his hand, wiggling his fingers invitingly. Without quite knowing how it happened, Pandy found that they were holding hands as he drew her in close, practically tucking her beneath his metaphorical wing.

“Augustus was just telling us you had breakfast together in his suite,” Lady Frances said, keen eyes sweeping over Pandy. She was certain the older woman didn’t miss the fact that Pandy was wearing the same outfit she had every other time they’d met, and for some reason felt her cheeks grow hot, though the lady didn’t actually comment on it.

“I- We-” Pandy stammered, feeling like her face might burn right off of her body.

“Were just discussing the particulars of her position,” Augustus said, drawing her even closer.

“I wasn’t invited to breakfast when I was hired,” one teacher muttered speculatively.

“He wasn’t chancellor when we were hired,” another replied, waggling her brows in a way that Pandy found unnecessarily suggestive. The two women laughed, but Augustus ignored them, turning to Lady Arabelle, who stood quietly next to her wife, leaning on her cane.

“Eurydice found a wonderful new designer, and is picking up new clothes this morning,” he said, addressing his other aunt’s silent questions. “She wasn’t able to bring much with her when she came, and most of it isn’t appropriate for a teacher at Falconet.” He didn’t say why it was inappropriate, leaving that up to the active imaginations of his audience.

“Oh! Do tell,” Arabelle said, turning sparkling blue eyes on Pandy.

Finding herself at the center of all eyes made Pandy distinctly nervous, and her voice squeaked as she looked down at herself. “Yes, she… um, was able to make these clothes very quickly. I ordered some more that should be ready soon.” Remembering, she stuck out a foot, “I also got these shoes from… a friend who said she bought them from Mr-” Quick, what was his name? “Mr. Shaw! At Lanthorne Court. He usually makes men’s shoes, but I think he did a wonderful job with these.”

She could practically feel the quest fulfillment, straightening her shoulders in pride as she finally managed to do as Tom Shaw had requested and tell other people about his beautiful work. Everyone – the ladies in particular – oo’ed and ahh’ed appropriately, something which was no doubt helped by the fact that the lovely little boots still looked as good as new, thanks to the magic of Shifting Faces.

“Yes, but who is this new modiste?” Lady Frances asked as soon as the discussion began to drift. “I’m not one for the fashion of ladies wearing trousers, but those do look comfortable, and fitted to a woman’s body in a way I’ve not seen before.”

“Oh, she makes wonderful dresses, too,” Pandy said, almost wishing she had ordered a few more dresses, just so she could show off Saskia’s full range of talents. “I just like wearing pants. She works with an artist who does beautiful embroidery, as well.”

“Ohhh,” one of the women said, fingering the delicate embroidery around her own sleeve cuff.

“I also met her at Lanthorne Court,” Pandy hurried on, before anyone could ask any more questions. “But I believe she’s recently hired someone to work at the market. Just look for a young lady named Gwen.”

Heads nodded, then turned to watch as a carriage rattled down the drive, pulling up next to the steps. Augustus smoothly separated them from the group, handing Pandy up into the carriage with a few words murmured into her ear and a brush of his lips against the back of her hand. Really, he was taking this too far, but somehow she found that she didn’t mind.

“And don’t forget this,” he said as he pulled something from his pocket cache. It was fairly small, about four inches tall, and a little less wide, wrapped in a piece of heavy blue silk. The fabric slid over her fingers as he pressed it into her hand, smiling conspiratorily as he said, “something to remember me by.”

Little titters came from behind him, but he stepped back and closed the carriage door with all the grace of an otome hero, which he absolutely would not be, because that would make Pandy an otome heroine, which she absolutely wasn’t.

The carriage rattled and took off, allowing Pandy to sit back, protected by the curtains covering the windows. She was terribly curious what was in the package, so she tugged at the satiny ribbon before releasing Shifting Faces. By the time she’d settled into her rabbity perspective, the silk had puddled around a small glass jar, filled with some mysterious contents the color of sunshine. What was this?

She took a cautious sniff, catching nothing but the faint smell of Augustus himself, possibly with some minor overlay of sweetness. There was a card tied to the neck of the jar, however, and she grasped it in her teeth until she could turn one eye on the neat block lettering, which read MOONBERRY PRESERVES.

Pandy could have kicked herself – entirely possible as a rabbit. Of course these were the promised preserves! Augustus knew Pandy would see Mira today, so he’d sent this for the woman, exactly as he’d promised. Honestly, that touched Pandy’s heart in a way a gift for her wouldn’t have. Who remembered a promise to a random person they never expected to meet again? But of course Augustus did exactly that, and also somehow managed to find something that was presumably both rare and expensive.

After placing the jar into her Inventory so it wouldn’t fall and shatter, Pandy spent the rest of the trip with her nose pressed against the window, just beneath the curtain. Surely no one would see a small pink nose and fuzzy face peering curiously out at them. She hadn’t had many chances to just observe people going about their business in her new world, and both the differences and similarities between this and her old world still fascinated her. It was amazing how many casual ways they found to use their magic, from carrying packages to preventing mud from splashing on their clothes. On the other hand, the smiles, laughter, and even the occasional angry expressions were eerily familiar – an old story told in a new setting.

She was familiar enough with Lanthorne Court that she began to recognize landmarks as they approached. The lampposts were slightly shorter, and yellow flags flew jauntily from every third one, rather than the red ones near Falconet, so that was easy, but she also saw a shop with a cute teapot on its sign and little two-person tables out front, as well as a building painted an unlikely shade of orange, almost defiantly bright among the more subdued creams and browns of neighboring buildings.

By the time the carriage came to a halt, Pandy was back in her guise as Eurydice Haupe, holding the rewrapped jar carefully in her lap. She hopped down easily, not at all missing the entangling layers of skirts she’d had to wear as Ms. Wellington. After trying to pay the driver – who roundly insisted he’d already been paid, seeming almost insulted that she’d asked – she stepped back and watched the conveyance drive away.

Turning, she stared at the little house, with its neat white paint and yellow curtains embroidered with tiny, perfect white flowers. The flowers in the windowboxes bobbed cheerfully in the breeze, and she saw with surprise that the cracked windowpane had been replaced. Hopefully, Pandy’s generous payment for her various orders had helped to facilitate that, because she suspected the imperfection had bothered Saskia no end.

“You’re here!” came a voice from behind her, and Pandy whirled to see Luca grinning at her. He had a pole across his shoulders, each end of the pole bowed down by a sling containing several boxes and bags. The whole thing had to weigh almost as much as he did.

Hurrying forward, Pandy lifted the pole off the boy’s shoulders, holding it in one hand until she saw Luca’s startled look and realized that probably wasn’t a very human thing for her to do. Instead, she shifted it to her own shoulder and said, “Didn’t you just get a new carriage to help you carry things like this? Where is it?”

The boy laughed, straightening, and Pandy wondered if she was imagining he was taller, or if he’d somehow managed to grow a noticeable amount since the last time she’d seen him. His cheeks had filled out, too, so he looked healthy, rather than slightly underfed.

“We rent it out most of the time,” he said cheerfully, using a key to open the door of the little house. “It’s nicer than most folks have around here, so they like to borrow it to impress clients and such. Besides, that way nobody feels like they could steal it, because everybody’d get mad if they did.”

Oh. That hadn’t occurred to Pandy, but it probably should have. She’d rarely had anything worth stealing, but she never would have left a bicycle by the side of the road and expected to return to find it both intact and free of domestic terrorism like stink bombs hidden beneath the seat.

A voice called out from inside the house as Pandy tried to figure out how to maneuver herself, the pole, and the packages through the waiting door. “Who comes?”

There was no way to miss Saskia’s thick accent, and Luca rolled his eyes as he swung one of the pole-slings out of the way so Pandy could enter. “It’s me, Aunt Saskia,” he called back, before muttering, “It’s always me.”

“I hear!” Saskia said, swinging open the door to her work room. She barely paused as she saw Pandy there too, then stepped back into the room, saying, “About time. Come!”