Scribe Ranking
POV: Alexandra
I was anxious to finish my class in dictation because I wanted to catch up with Derek to see what happened with Meldon. I was almost too distracted to finish the test that we were given but somehow I powered through and handed it in just before we were to be dismissed. This was my second to last class for the day and we were going to have an announcement on where we rank for the scribe internship at the end of class. We had been tested in several areas already on it and we were coming to the end of the selection process so that we could intern for the last two weeks of the semester. This announcement would be the final one before the selections were made which would be announced at the Fall Masquerade Ball and the assignments of who was selected. Of course, the coveted scribe position was to be an understudy to Malinus. There would be two scribe positions for Malinus, one for Josiah and one placed with Veritus at the Elder Council. Normally, one of the positions would be at the Citadel but the General declined due to the sensitivity of some of the investigations going on so the council opted to send one of the positions to Malinus. I had handed my test in and went back to my seat to await the professor’s announcement of the scribe rankings. About five minutes later, the professor stood up and said, “Has everyone handed in their test?” A big affirmation came from everyone in the room so the professor continued, “I’m going to call out four names that are the top four. The Elder Council and the King have decided that since these four candidates far surpass the other candidates that they will be the four to be scribes. Your assignments will be announced at the Fall Masquerade Ball as planned initially. The four will be Melody Maigny, Theodore Befent, Alesha Baltilliard, and Alexandra Batiste. Please note that this is not the actual ranking, this is just the names written down by Veritus of the Elder Council. That is all, you are all dismissed.”
I rose from my seat, nervous about where I would be placed. I thought to myself that my absolute nightmare scenario would be in the Headmaster’s Tower. Granted I would be working with Lucien but I’d also be working with Josiah who absolutely hates me. I was very much convinced of his hatred of me. If at some point down the road, they find out he’s in The Order, I would not be shocked at all. I was in my own head thinking about my nightmare scenario that I ran into a solid muscular chest. With my face buried in his chest, I heard Derek say, “Lex, baby if you wanted a hug…you could’ve just asked.” I pushed away from him and rolled my eyes at him, “Whatever, dude.” I smiled up at him, “Did you get your super-secret mission done?” He nodded, “Yep, I got to hang with your parents for a bit. It was kinda cool.” I laughed, “A day with my mother in a stressful situation? Yeah…I don’t think that’s cool at all. How did all that go anyhow?” He looked around and whispered, “I’m not allowed to say.” I pouted, “You got my hopes up. I want to know so bad.” He shrugged, “You’ll have to talk to His Grace about all of that when we get back to Blackwood Manor.” I looked up at him, “You’re killing me here!”
He chuckled, “Anyhow, I heard they were going to announce the scribe rankings today. How did you fare?” I rolled my eyes again, “Way to change the subject. They actually announced the finalists today. Alesha and I made the cut. So did Melody and Theodore Befent.” He smiled at me, “Well, that’s awesome! Good job there, Lex! Any idea where you’re going?” I shook my head, “Nope, they’re going to announce it at the Fall Masquerade Ball. I dread where I’m going to end up interning at.” He put his arm around me, “Let’s just hope it’s not with that cranky old man here at school. That would totally suck.” I nodded, “My thoughts exactly. I am hoping the council or with the King. Anything but Josiah.” We walked down the hall and he asked, “So what’s the last class for you?” I sighed, “Water arts. I signed up the minute they let Dorothea teach classes. I am just not good at it which is why I sighed just now. Love the professor though.” We turned to the hallway where magic was taught and came to the furthest classroom. Derek was allowed to attend classes with me if he didn’t have anything else going on and since his classes were excused today, he got to go inside with me.
Dorothea was writing something on the board as we were walking in. She looked up at us, “Hi kiddos, how’re my favorite nobles? Having a good day?” Derek laughed, “Lex has had a very interesting day so far. Right, Lex?” She set down her marker and looked at me, “We have time. You want to talk about it?” I shrugged, “I guess but we need discretion.” She smirked at me, “I’m the very model of discretion, kid. I did lock myself away in the woods to stay away from people just to avoid talking about The Order.” Derek smiled, “She’s got a point but seriously, Granny, this is something the Citadel is handling so we need to keep hush about it.” She sat at her desk and leaned on her hand, “Okay, must be serious. Let’s hear it.” I sat at a desk near her desk like I always had, “Okay, so apparently I likely have a twin brother that was stolen the night we were born. The King found this out from Grand Pretre and now he’s having the Citadel looking into this. I believe he informed my father this morning and Jess said it is likely they were sent to do a parentage test. They probably have the results right now and NO ONE…” I looked over at Derek with a pout, “Will tell me about it.” She laughed, “Yeah so parentage tests are done by a very skilled water mage. If the Citadel has a very effective water mage, the results could have been instantaneous. Speaking of effectiveness….Derek?” He sat up in the seat he took beside me, “Yes, Granny!” She laughed, “You promised me an aptitude test. Let’s get it done after we conclude this conversation.” Dorothea turned back to me, “So young Ashton didn’t die that night then?” I looked at her confused and then shook my head, “It appears he is alive.”
Dorothea rose from her seat and started pacing the floor, “I was there and I was sure he had died. I examined the boy myself and he had no vitals. Hmmm.” Derek asked, “If he seemed dead to you, wouldn’t it be possible that whoever took him used something to make him appear that way?” She looked up at Derek shocked then snapped her fingers, “You’re right, kid! She walked over to her bookcase and then pulled out a book. She perused through the book for a while and then tapped a page, “The Nightshade Potion. It gives the appearance of death but the one it is used on can be revived later on. It would have to be a very powerful water mage to accomplish this.” She rubbed her chin, “I don’t recall anyone there that night that was a water mage other than myself.” I got up from my seat to look at the book, “Would someone just need to make it and hand it over to whoever gave it to my brother?” She nodded, “They would have to have made it fresh though so if he ingested it at birth. That potion has a very short shelf life. The potion maker would have had to have been there that night.” I asked, “Could they have disguised themselves? If so, how could you tell if they were disguised?” She sighed, “It’s possible that it was a disguise but you cannot tell when someone has been disguised. This will probably be a lengthy investigation. Who did they say your brother possibly was?” Derek interceded, “Meldon Maigny.” Dorothea looked up in silent thought, “That makes sense. I’ve seen the kid with his supposed sister and they don’t even look anything close to being twins. I wonder if he truly is.” I looked over at Derek and he shrugged, “Can’t say.” I was frustrated that he couldn’t even just tell me and ask me to be shocked when I found out.
Derek got up from his seat, “So now that we’ve concluded the twin brother talk and we have.” He looked at me pointedly in a way that said don’t ask me again then he continued, “Let’s get this aptitude test done. I’ve gotta warn you that my fire test went crappy so I’m sure this one will too.” Dorothea laughed, “Just because you are bad at one magic, doesn’t mean you are bad at all magic. If you take Talon, for instance, he is bad at water magic but excels at fire and wind magic. If you take our pretty one here, she’s great at fire magic but bad at water magic. No offense dear.” I shook my head, “None taken. I know I am woefully inadequate.” Dorothea set up the water aptitude test for Derek just as she had done for me when we captured my uncle in the woods. Derek chanted the words to activate the test and Dorothea examined the results. After that, she went to her desk and pulled out a magical paper, and wrote something on it. Derek looked at her confused, “What are you doing, Granny?” She smiled at him, “I’m sending word to the Citadel that I am signing you up for my class. You’ve got one of the best scores in water that I have ever seen.”
