returned to where Russett was standing and held out his find.
“Oh, I wouldn’t have thought of daisies,” he said as he took the flowers from Kaelen. “That’s a clever idea. I need to check on the others now. Get these arranged and then I’ll make some notes for you and send them to your room,” Russett said.
“Okay,” Kaelen said and continued working for the rest of class.
Once at foreign language, it didn’t take long for Kaelen’s bright spot to be completely shut out. Lorelei was perched on a rock within the lake dipping her tail into the water. As Kaelen entered the gazebo she asked, “Who are you?”
“It’s Prince Kaelen,” one of the boys said. “The witches turned him into a girl.”
The rest of the boys laughed until Lorelei held up a hand. “Well, no one told me about the change. You will not have any excuses for not working. I expect the same work as before.”
“Yes, Lorelei,” Kaelen replied, grinding his teeth. The mermaid started their lesson and Kaelen sat taking notes while she wrote things on the floating chalkboard. Something poked Kaelen’s back and he turned to see one of the other boys holding a stick. “Quit it,” Kaelen hissed and then turned back to face the front. It wasn’t long before something was poking him again. “Stop!”
“Is there a problem, gentlemen?” Lorelei asked, her green eyes flashing.
“No, Lorelei,” the boys said.
For a while, things were quiet until something sharp poked Kaelen’s back. “Ouch! Would you cut it out?” he shouted, rounding on the boys behind him.
“Kaelen, I will not have you disturbing my class any longer,” Lorelei snapped.
Outraged, he argued, “But they…”
“No buts, Kaelen,” she interrupted. “You will leave at once. I want you to return tonight at five thirty sharp. If you are late or don’t show, I will speak to Calista about punishment. Now you will leave.”
Furious, Kaelen rose from his seat. “Fine,” he shouted, gathering his things before stomping away. One of the boys stuck his foot out to trip him. He fell to his knees, dropping his notebook and supplies. He jumped to his feet and rounded on his assailant. “Just you wait till I’m back to normal.”
“Oh, I’m really scared,” the boy sneered, “Kaelinda.”
“Out!” Lorelei shrieked as Kaelen lifted an arm to punch him.
“I’m going.”He lifted the edge of his skirt and continued out. Humiliated, hurt and angry, Kaelen headed towards his room. He desperately wanted to be alone.
But that was not to be the case as Calista walked out of her office just as Kaelen pounded up the last two steps. “Kaelen, why aren’t you in class? You should be in foreign language right now.”
“Lorelei kicked me out.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a distraction,” he spat.
“What were you doing?” Then distracted by Kaelen’s disheveled appearance, she continued, “What on earth did you do to your gown?”
“I tripped.”
“Over what?”
“Nathan’s big foot,” Kaelen muttered.
“Nathan?” Calista looked thoughtful. Then she looked back to Kaelen and said, “Well, we can’t have you going to supper looking like that. Come into my office for a moment and then I’ll send you to Gelasia.”
Feeling as though he lived in the office, Kaelen followed Calista. He looked about glumly as Calista penned a note on a piece of lavender paper. She folded it before grabbing a piece of black paper. “What’s that for?” Kaelen asked.
“I expect my students to behave as gentlemen. Now take this note to Gelasia. I will speak to Lorelei about a time for you to make up your lesson.”
“She said for me to be there at five thirty.”
“I’m afraid that will be impossible,” she explained. “For now you have a reprieve. Now, off you go.”
Knowing better than to argue, Kaelen took the folded note and watched the black paper fly out the window. He secretly hoped as he walked down the hallway that Nathan would be turned into something slimy.
As Kaelen walked into the etiquette classroom, Gelasia looked up. “Hello dear, I thought…Good heavens! What on earth did you do to yourself?”
Kaelen blushed as the older boys turned to look at him and his shabby, pink dress. “I didn’t do it on purpose.” He handed Gelasia the note.
“Might have known, boys never can keep themselves out of trouble. Including older ones,” she added loudly as several boys started snickering. She skimmed the note before waving it in her hand causing it to disappear. “Very well, Kaelen, have a seat. Once I finish this lecture, I’ll be right with you. And as for you,” she continued turning to her class, “a gentleman never laughs at a lady. Ever.” She glared at the boys until it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
Kaelen sat in the back of the room, playing absentmindedly with the tear in his dress. The hole was jagged from landing on the sharp stones littering the floor of the glass gazebo. Mud and green slime was smeared across the skirt and on his hands. Spying a basin of water in a corner of the classroom, he got up and walked to it. As he scrubbed, he noticed several small scratches on his palms. They hadn’t bled much, but they stung horribly and he again felt an unfamiliar pricking behind his eyes.
“Let’s get some bandages on those to take away the sting,” Gelasia said from behind him.
“Okay.” He followed her to her desk and sat patiently as she put some kind of ointment on his hands and then wrapped them with thin strips of white cloth.
“Better?” When Kaelen nodded, she continued, “Now, let’s see what we can do about that gown. First, take this robe and go behind the screen and change out of that mess.”
“Can’t you just wave your wand at it?” he asked as he pulled the gown over his head.
“Dear, you know I can’t change the Sisters’ magic. I cannot alter anything they’ve done. Not even to fix it.”
He sighed, “So can you fix it?”
“Of course I can, and you’ll help me. It can be our first sewing lesson.” She took the ruined dress from Kaelen and continued, “Now, the first rule in sewing is to always work with clean hands and materials. Your hands are already clean, but this fabric needs washed. So we’ll fill that basin with hot water and soap and start scrubbing.” She helped Kaelen fill the basin and handed him a washboard. “You’re going to have to scrub very hard to get those stains out. I have to work with my students so I’ll leave you to it and check on you in a bit.”
Kaelen started scrubbing the stained dress. “Maybe if I scrub hard enough, the color will change,” he muttered. He kept scrubbing until the water was muddy. As Gelasia walked up to him, Kaelen pulled the skirt out of the water.
“That’s probably as good as it’s going to get, dear,” she said, looking at the skirt. There was still a brownish stain around the tear, but most of the mud had come out. “Now, let’s get that dried. Since you can’t very well go around in a night robe, we’ll need something quicker than wind.” She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the dress. A stream of hot air blew over the skirt, drying it instantly.
“How come you could dry it with magic?” Kaelen asked.
“I didn’t use a spell to dry it; I used a spell to create hot air. Between the two of us,” she said, dropping her voice conspiratorially, “some of these boys could have done a better job.”
“Really?”
“Oh yes, and we won’t go into fairies I know. Sometimes I can be funny,” Gelasia continued as Kaelen stared at her in disbelief. “Besides, you’ve been so sullen lately; it’s good to hear you laugh. A lady should always be cheerful, as should a gentleman.”
He frowned. “It’s hard to be cheerful when everyone’s out to get you.”
“Nonsense,” she retorted. “I’m not out to get you. Neither are the other staff members. I’ll just bet there’s someone who wants to be your friend. You just need to drop the tough-guy act.”
In the infirmary, Adrian was catching Lucian up on what
he had missed that day. They were laughing as Tallia walked up to Lucian’s bed with a tray in hand. “Well, what are you two up to?” she asked.
“Nothing,” the boys replied.
“Surely I don’t look that gullible. Alright, Lucian, let me see that arm.” Lucian held it up and Tallia gently unwrapped the bandage to look at the two rows of stitches. “Well, you’re looking alright. No infection or additional damage. We’ll wrap that back up to keep it clean and keep it in a sling so you don’t toss it about. No writing, fencing, hunting, tossing, throwing or any other activity I may have missed for at least one week.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“You can sit still and listen to instructions,” she replied, pinching his uninjured arm gently. “Come back tomorrow and we’ll see how you’re doing.”
“You mean I can go?” he asked.
“Of course, silly. You didn’t think I was going to keep you here forever did you?” After finishing the bandage she patted Lucian’s shoulder. “You’re cute, but not that cute. Go on, if you’re fast enough you’ll get to supper on time.”
“Okay, bye Tallia.” Lucian and Adrian left the room and headed down the hall. They arrived just as the first years were lining up to serve themselves up for supper. The noise prevented them from talking much as did interruptions from other boys welcoming Lucian back. “You’d think I’d been gone a month instead of a day,” he said in disbelief as Adrian helped him carry his tray to their table.
“A lot of people were worried about you,” Adrian explained.