One Week Later

Vera Stone rushed through clean up of the reliquary desk, running late for a meeting with a transfer student on the main campus. At times, she despised being Chancellor of the University and Temple Magus of her chapter of the Order. Or rather, Grand Magus as has become her latest title. As if her life weren't complicated enough dealing with barely adult students running around doing unsanctioned magic, she had to make sure the other thousand plus students on campus didn't kill themselves or others with their normal levels of stupidity.

The Council offered to find a replacement for her University title, but Vera couldn't help but believe it was more of a dig at her than an offered hand. An action to say that they knew she was incapable of doing both and would sooner find someone who could. But she was stubborn; always had been.

She didn't give up when she was attacked from all sides by her former Grand Magus and appearance of werewolves, and she wasn't about to give up now.

A tentative knock sounded from the large doors and she released an annoyed sigh. Ever since the erasing of the werewolves minds, she felt as though the door were never left silent. Everyday, she received a knock to inform her of another result of their newest medicum's mistake. The batch of memory wiping powder they'd been tasked to create had been too strong, erasing more than just the past few months worth of memories. As a result, Vera had needed to damage control nearly every night and restore some of the wolves memories slowly.

Restoring larger quantities at once could overwhelm the subject's mind and either land them comatose or in a vegetative space. Smaller increments also allowed her to twist details in her favor so as never to leave them curious of the exact thing she wanted them to forget.

With a twist of her wrists, the reliquary doors opened and Vera spoke, knowing exactly who would be there without once looking up from her desk. "Miss Drake, I assume you have a life outside of our little society here, yes? Maybe you should take the time to indulge in it a little more and a little less in Mr. Morton's activities. I, myself, have other things to take care of rather than fix every little thing in the young man's life."

"Sorry, Grand Magus, but this isn't about Jack or the others," Alyssa Drake responded awkwardly. "An Acolyte from another chapter is here requesting to see you."

"Actually, I'm a Magistratus," another voice added, causing Vera to look up curiously.

The voice sounded vaguely familiar to her, though she couldn't place it until she glanced upon its owner's face. Even then, it took her a moment to put a name to it. "Miss Marin, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is your sister here as well?"

"No, no, just me," Aracelia replied with a knowing smile. "Temple Magus Marin remains in Hainesworth, I assure you." There was a mocking lilt to her voice that made Vera suspicious somehow. Just ahead of the girl, Alyssa's eyes widened slightly, surprised curiosity at the information she'd just heard.

"Well, in that case, as much as I would love to play catch up guide to you at the moment, I have a meeting that I need to attend to. I'm already late and—"

"Oh, no worries Grand Magus Stone, I completely understand why you may be running late. I won't hold it against you at all." This time the girl threw in a taunting wink that Vera couldn't ignore if she wanted to.

"Why exactly would you be holding anything against me?"

Aracelia reached behind herself to her back pocket, pulling a folded sheet of paper forward. As she began to unfold it, she progressed into the reliquary, passing the still curious blond beside her and slipping the page before Vera with a wide smile. "Well, Chancellor, I'm your 2:30 meeting. I've decided to transfer from Hainesworth University to Belgrave."

Vera lifted the appointment notice as if looking closer would change any of the words on it. Still, after several blinks and a silent verification spell, she found that the words remained the same. She took a breath, handing the letter back to Aracelia stiffly, a wooden smile crossing her lips as she spoke. "Well, in that case, I suppose I don't have to leave her at all than do I?" She looked passed the young brunette to Alyssa still in the doorway and gave her a curt nod. "Thank you for bringing her to me, Miss Drake, I can take over from here. Please shut the doors behind you and be sure that no one interrupts us, yes?"

"Yes, Grand Magus," Alyssa agreed with a nod, grabbing the doors on either side of her and disappearing behind them.

Vera silently gestured to a chair opposite her own, watching as Aracelia winced at it before sitting. She took another breath, clearing her mind before speaking any further.

"So, Miss Marin, why may I ask are you transferring to us here? From my understanding, you were a shoe in for next Temple Magus."

"If and when my sister decided to give up the title, yes," Aracelia sighed dramatically, not seeming as bothered as Vera would've expected. "Something that she has no intentions of actually doing, I'm sure you know. Even if she were, it wouldn't matter to me. I don't want to be Temple Magus; I don't want that much responsibility. It just seems stressful and causes premature wrinkles. I don't go through my nightly face care regime just to have it destroyed by other forces, thank you very much."

"I'm hearing a lot of words and yet none of which seem to answer my question. Why are you transferring here to Belgrave?" Vera kept her eyes fixed on the girl calmly as she settled into her own seat, hands crossed delicately over her lap.

She and Rosario Marin had a tense acquaintance with each other as a result of both vying for the attentions of Edward Coventry. Both women did nearly everything he asked of them, though Vera had more sense to think the larger asks through before attempting them. Rosario's blind faith in the man and unfailing loyalty, in light of the most recent events, was enough to make Vera suspicious of the sudden appearance of her younger sister. With the rest of the Order informed of Edward's death, she couldn't help but put the two together.

It wouldn't surprise Vera if Rosario had suspicions and wished to avenge her one-time lover.

Aracelia sighed her own annoyance, rolling her eyes too. "If you ask my sister, I'm transferring because I got into a little...altercation at a party at Hainesworth. But, in reality, the reason I got into that 'altercation' resulting in a need to transfer was to get away from her and the rest of my family. They were all smothering me, wanting me to live up to the name she'd set for herself in the community, blah blah blah. I'm over it. I just want to be Aracelia, not Rosario number 2. I'm my own person and I want to be viewed that way. That wasn't going to happen at Hainesworth. Everyone who looked at me only saw my family name; only saw my sister. I couldn't take it anymore." Her words and tone were sincere, catching Vera off guard.

In a matter of minutes, she'd become guilty of the very thing the girl wished to escape. She felt a slight pang of pity for the girl but still held on to her suspicions in the back of her mind. If she'd learned anything in the past few months it was that everyone had an agenda.

"So why transfer here? You could've transferred anywhere," Vera said.

"I actually visited Belgrave when I had been applying to schools," Aracelia answered. "I liked the campus; especially that giant chess board on the lawn by the library. It was originally my first choice, but of course my parents couldn't allow me to come here when Hainesworth was a done deal. But, since I had to leave, I decided I could start my college life the way I was meant to from the beginning. And of course when my parents' found out that our new Grand Magus was also stationed here..."

"They thought I could mentor you as Edward did with Rosario?" Vera finished, earning a scrunching of her nose from Aracelia.

"I mean, I hope not exactly as he did, given the unfortunate thing I walked in on in the reliquary once, but yeah, generally."

Vera couldn't help but snort a laugh, earning a pleased smile from Aracelia. The young Magistratus raised her head slightly, proud, and the woman leaned forward in her seat, hands before her on the desk. "As far as your transfer is concerned, the paperwork is done and the University welcomes you. As for our chapter of the Order, we also welcome you gladly into our ranks. But, when it comes to mentoring, I will not be showing you any more interest than I do any other member here. Not unless you prove yourself worthy of my time, just like anyone else. You wish to be viewed as your own person, separate from your former Temple Magus, and I will abide that. Show me something worthy in you and I will help you meet everything you could ever be capable of. Don't, and...well, you'll be nothing more than the transfer you are today. Is that agreeable to you?"

"Completely," Aracelia confirmed, rising from her seat and beginning to leave. "Thank you Grand Magus, for this opportunity. It means more than you could know."

"For your sake, Miss Marin, I hope it does not mean more than it should. If I find that your motives are more problematic and untoward than you inferred here, you will wish that I hadn't given you the chance at all."

For a split second, Vera thought she saw anger flash across the girl's face before being replaced by the smile thrown her way. Without another word from either side, she watched as Aracelia made her way beyond the reliquary doors and out into her new place on campus.