Trust Issues

An audible gasp spread throughout the room. Jessamine, who had been briefed the day before on the Academy's wish to have Ms. Blackstone join the Societie Royale, sighed inwardly but did not let her discontent show.

"Rest assured, she will not be on this Board," Henry continued, attempting to maintain control. "She will simply be a regular member of the Societie, subject to the authority of this Board, the Vice Chairwoman, and myself, same as any other member. The Academy believes that it is the responsibility of this Societie to maintain peace between the Blessed Houses of Britannia, and allowing Ms. Blackstone to share in that responsibility could drastically improve the state of this kingdom. There is also, I suspect, regret from the Academy that Ms. Blackstone's father was not a member of this Societie, for similar reasons."

The murmurings among the gathered Societie leadership began to die down.

"Now, with that settled, I believe we can move on—"

"Actually, Chairman, I'd like to give a report and an opinion myself," said Jessamine, tacking on, "if you don't mind."

Henry was startled, but not upset.

"Please, go ahead."

"Thank you," she said, with a reserved, polite nod to her colleague. "I'll start with my report. I have recently been informed of some disturbing statistics. Over the last four months, foreign activity within Britannia has increased threefold. Numerous instances of corporate and military espionage have been reported, and it appears that the enemies of Britannia have successfully embedded undercover operatives within many public and private institutions.

"The di Cadenza family is aware of this infiltration and is taking steps to correct it, but currently the scope of the suspected infiltration is beyond our ability to remediate. The one bastion in all of this, until recently, has been the Academy."

"Until recently?"

Jessamine recognized the worry in Hope's voice, and nodded.

"We have reason to believe that such agents may be among the incoming class," she replied. "There were irregularities among the various examination centers across Britannia, and counterintelligence efforts have uncovered references to the Academy as a point of interest. I myself discovered an intruder in our clubhouse a couple hours ago and drove him out. We should be careful with who we trust moving forward."

Henry's eyes carried a grave expression, and he stroked his short-trimmed beard thoughtfully.

"I agree," he said. "We should take necessary precautions, but we should also do our best to avoid alerting the enemy of our intentions."

Many members of the Board nodded in agreement.

"You said you had an opinion, as well?" asked Henry.

"In matters of military intelligence, coincidences are rare and should be treated with caution," said Jessamine. "The fact that the Academy may be a target for foreign espionage while Elisabeth Blackstone is beginning her first term here cannot be overlooked."

"You suspect the Blackstone family is involved?"

"Indeed, though I cannot say to what extent."

Henry nodded.

"Understood. Is that the end of your report?"

"It is."

"Very well, then, we will discuss this in detail another time. Let us get back to the agenda for today's meeting…."

The remainder of the meeting was mostly logistical in nature, and neither the Blackstone family nor the potential Academy spies were brought up again.

As Jessamine waited for the meeting to conclude, having said her part, she noticed a raven perched silently on the windowsill. She cocked her head in curiosity; the bird mimicked the gesture, meeting her gaze with a level of confidence unusual for such a creature.

What does this remind me of?

A scene flashed through her mind: eyes, strong eyes, a young man across the square—the oddity she had felt while walking—no time, must hurry…

…muddied voices, saying: "She's had a long few days, and has been doing more than any of us…"

***

Jessamine's eyes snapped open as she kicked herself for falling asleep during a meeting of Societie leadership, looking around to find that the rest of the Societie had gone.

Unacceptable.

I'm the Vice Chairwoman. I can't fall asleep during a meeting.

She looked at the time; it would be dark soon, she needed to get dinner and then meet with one of her professors. As a second-year graduate student, her classes consisted entirely of individual meetings with professors between periods of self-led research, and she had scheduled the first such meeting for… An hour and a half from now. Not much prep time.

Hurriedly, she exited the Academy Keep while debating between dinner options. The Academy's mess hall was open around-the-clock, but at this time of night on the first day of the term would be absolutely packed.

I wouldn't make it to my meeting if I went there. I'll try one of the taverns around town.

Jessamine was entering the square when, to her surprise, she heard a loud voice coming from the gazebo. A girl's voice, perhaps one of the new students.

"So what? Why should I care about someone using my name like that?"

"It's disgraceful. Have you no shame?"

The other voice was male, and his critique seemed to aggravate the girl.

"I heard about you, you know… the only person in the world who's unable to chant magic. How pathetic!"

The sound of haughty laughter floated over to where Jessamine stood, hidden by the shadow of the Keep.

"I don't remember asking for your opinion."

Jessamine did not approach the gazebo, but she was able to make out a young man and woman having a confrontation of some sort. She did not recognize the woman, and it took her a second to recognize the young man who just spoke.

Is that the guy from earlier?

The girl's face had darkened considerably, her false smile replaced by a genuine scowl.

"And here I thought you were trying to be considerate. I thought you knew who I am. Maybe I'll have to demonstrate why people fear me."

Do I know her? Should I know her?

Now it was the man's turn to laugh.

"Does it matter who you are? This Academy has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to bullying. I'd be more concerned about whether or not chanted magic will be able to save you from expulsion."

"You can't prove anything."

"I'm sure there are cameras here. How much are you willing to bet that there aren't?"

…there was no reply from the suddenly-sullen girl, whose expression hadn't changed.

"Run along, then," the boy continued. "Leave me alone, and I won't go to the administration about this. And tell your lackeys to shape up, I'm tired of their antics."

How bold. However, will that prove to be wise in the long run?

The girl began walking past him, but paused for a moment:

"Don't think I'll forget this. I have a good memory and a long reach, and they won't be able to trace anything back to me."

Jessamine couldn't say for sure, but she had the distinct impression that the boy was smiling. It was an eager, terrifying grin, the kind seen on extreme sports enthusiasts at the prospect of a dangerous challenge to overcome.

"I'm counting on it."

The girl's eyes narrowed, and she resumed her path towards the women's residence halls. The man, still exuding that ominous feeling of anticipation, exhaled… Even though he's excited, he was still putting on a show?

Still, that guy does not shy away from conflict. Perhaps that's admirable, perhaps not.

The guy began walking towards the men's dorms, and though he never once indicated that he was aware of Jessamine's presence, she couldn't help but feel that she had been noticed.

There is something odd about him, but I can't tell what it is for the life of me.

Jessamine noticed a single raven perched on a signpost ahead of her.

It can't be the same one, can it?

***

Caspian's self-satisfaction shone on his face as he walked to his dorm, located in one of the back corners of the Academy town. All things considered, the day had gone exceedingly well, and he had been able to make considerable progress with his plans. The showdown with Elisabeth Blackstone in the square—secretly witnessed by Jessamine di Cadenza, no less—had been the icing on the cake. Caspian was sure to have made an impression.

Instead of heading directly to his room, Caspian made his way to the roof of the dorm, where he was greeted by a conspiracy of one thousand ravens.

[Welcome home, master.]

[It's good to see you, my Eyes. How goes your observation of Britannia?]

[A few of us have reports, but most have not seen anything interesting yet.]

When Caspian had discovered at a young age that his Third Eye could be used to communicate with the shades of all living creatures, he had made it his mission to recruit as many ravens as possible into his flock.

He did this for three reasons. Firstly, ravens are among the most intelligent of birds with mental maturity rivalling that of a human child. This limited the range of activities in which Caspian could take advantage of them, but Caspian was did not care. His Thousand Eyes, as he called them, were more than capable of remembering important goings-on and reporting them to their master.

Secondly, ravens are unquestioned by human beings. That was one major arrogance of humans, Caspian mused, the assumption that the power of complex communication was limited to creatures with the power of speech. Because ravens could not speak, humans assumed it was impossible for them to communicate, and thus would not attempt to hide their secrets from the dark-feathered fiends.

Lastly, the aesthetic of a raven army was something that Caspian could not pass up.

[Very good. As you know, I've started identifying Persons of Interest on this campus, and I'm sure more will follow. Stay on your assignments until I tell you otherwise. Those of you without an assignment are free to choose your own targets.]

[Thank you, master.]

Caspian looked out over the Academy town before him, which was still abuzz with activity despite the late hour, and grinned with dark pleasure.

This is it.

This is the ideal theatre for the play I have in mind.

The actors are in place and the stage is set.

It's showtime.