Villainess [4]: DeeDee’s Beauty Sleep
Red Pill [0]: Pawns, Friends
Back in Lady Graves’ office, she and DeeDee talked at length about Janet’s two affinities, the aether and the darkness, which progressed to the physical and psychical consequences of carrying two dominant aptitudes in one astral body. Specifically, DeeDee focused on Janet’s two fainting spells: once in the hallway on the third floor of Lassen Academy yesterday morning after Janet had confronted the Prince and the fake Rosalie with the help of her clones, and again in DeeDee’s old curiosity shop as she was having Janet’s clones read aloud the entries of their deaths from their profile book that afternoon. To both observations, Lady Graves added that the presence of Janet’s clones could have also subjected her psyche to their influence, specifically with the visions Janet had of their deaths. As such, DeeDee and Lady Graves shared the same conclusion: Janet’s fainting spells and intrusive psychic visions were a symptom of an imbalance of two dominant affinities in one astral body, in which one affinity was interfering with the other.
“But which one?” Lady Graves said.
“I think it’s the darkness affinity,” DeeDee said. “Since Janet inherited her mother’s affinity under such abominable circumstances, I had to intervene, but it came at a cost. I just hope I can correct it.”
So Lady Graves said, “What’ll you do?”
DeeDee remained silent, leaning back in her chair and looking up at the top shelf of Lady Graves’ bookcase, and weighed the pros and cons of an idea that she had been entertaining when she returned to Graves’ office.
“What’s on your mind, DeeDee?” Graves said.
“I’m thinking of repeating the same conditions that Janet experienced in the hallway yesterday,” DeeDee said. “And since we’re already inviting the others to the signing, we’ll kill two birds with one stone. I’ll use the others as controls to isolate and verify Janet’s case. As such, Janet will be the primary variable, and Janet’s clones will be the secondary variables, while Janet’s friends will be the controls. If my experiment affects Janet and her clones alike, then the problem is the aether affinity, so I’ll have to modify their contracts with me to help assuage Janet’s symptoms. But if my experiment affects only Janet and not her clones, then I’ll need your help for this. Will you help me if that’s the case?”
“Of course, I will,” Celeste said.
“Good,” she said. “That’s one thing off my mind.”
Then DeeDee switched topics to Janet’s automatic writing in her notebook and a possible sleeper spell on Baron Underwood. While talking about it with Celeste Graves, DeeDee received a vision of Janet turning around at the threshold of her dorm room, and DeeDee saw the very mirror she had sent to Janet yesterday standing between Janet’s armoire closet and vanity table. And before she knew it, DeeDee glimpsed into Janet’s mind as the wayward girl was thinking of a way to explain things without revealing DeeDee’s presence within earshot of the by-standers in the hallway.
Thus, faced with another of Janet’s intrusive thoughts, DeeDee leaned back in her chair and said, “Celeste, can you excuse me? Janet’s about to call me again.”
Celeste Graves smiled, her long locks swaying behind her shoulders, and said, “The work never ends, does it?”
“It’s like I’m her mother,” she said.
“Well,” Celeste Graves said, “since you’re the one who brought her back to life, you’ve become her fairy godmother. Only, you haven’t been able to do anything about it, till one Janet decided to go against the grain and off herself.”
“Please don’t remind me,” DeeDee said.
Then Janet’s thoughts flashed through her mind, which said, “DeeDee, what can I say?”
“Figure it out,” DeeDee said.
“Gee, you’re no help for once,” she said.
“I’m talking with Lady Graves at the moment,” DeeDee said, eyeing her companion smiling at her plight like an aunt smiling at her married sister, so DeeDee closed her eyes and put her fingers to her brows to massage away a lingering headache. “Can you excuse us for a bit?”
“Fine,” Janet said, and DeeDee glimpsed the girl looking back at the mirror in her room before turning back to face her friends, till the vision faded.
DeeDee opened her eyes and said, “Ugh, if I wasn’t a spirit to begin with, I’d be a hag right about now.”
“Awww,” Celeste Graves said. “Does the Guardian of the Aether need her beauty sleep?”
DeeDee glared, making Celeste Graves’ long locks scurry behind their owner’s shoulders, but then DeeDee said, “Don’t make light of your elders just because I happen to be one of the more charitable ones.”
So Celeste Graves raised her hands, saying, “All right, back to business then. Let’s just hope things settle down after tonight.”
“That won’t be the case,” DeeDee said. “After tonight, the real work starts. Now where was I?”
“The automatic writing part,” Celeste said.
“Ah, yes,” DeeDee said. “Lord Underwood said Janet didn’t know about the automatic writing, till he pointed it out to her in her notebook. That could mean that the spell used on him dulls the minds of his students, even those that manage to stay awake like Janet. Do you have anything to say to that?”
“I do, actually,” Celeste said.
“What is it?”
Lady Graves paused for a moment as if collecting her thoughts on the matter, rolling it through her mind, and said, “During my saintess candidacy, I’ve seen something similar in the demeanor of all my professors at the time. Their demeanor towards me varied from sheer ignorance to outright sabotage, but they all had the effect of overlooking the harassment I’ve had to endure up until my death. Only then did they seem to snap out of it, but by then it was too late for me.”
“Your observation,” DeeDee said, “sounds a lot like what’s been happening with Prince Blaise.”
“Does it?” Celeste said.
DeeDee nodded and added, “I think Lady Dorian must’ve tampered with the Prince’s profile book in a way that allows her to implant thoughts into his mind. That’s why he’s been so dead-set on doubting whatever Janet says about Rosalie, a.k.a., Lady Dorian. After talking with one of Janet’s clones present at the Prince’s summons, I’ve also looked into the profile books of the others present at the summons, and I’ve confirmed from their entries that they think the same thing.”
“And what were they thinking?” Celeste said.
“That Prince Blaise is a ‘pawn’ in someone else’s intrigue,” DeeDee said, “and that Rosalie Edgeworth is involved in that intrigue, though nobody at the summons has connected it to Lady Dorian yet.”
Again Lady Graves paused for a spell, then said, “Do you think Baron Underwood is another ‘pawn’ in her intrigue?”
“An unwitting one, yes,” DeeDee said.
“If that’s the case,” Celeste said, “then instead of affecting Baron Underwood himself, the spell affects his students and makes them susceptible to the rumors about Janet without having either party realize it. It’s more subtle than my case, but the results are the same.”
“Then can you be a dear and review the entries for me,” DeeDee said, manifesting Janet and Rowena Fleming’s profile books in her hands and placing them atop Celeste’s desk. “I need another pair of eyes to spot whatever I might have missed. Can you do that for me?”
“I’ll try,” Celeste said.
“That’s all I ask,” DeeDee said and stood up.
“Where are you going?” Celeste said, her hair locks peeking at DeeDee over Celeste’s shoulders.
“To the dorms to pick up two boys,” DeeDee said, “but it’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Are you sure about that?” Celeste said, smiling again. “I can keep a secret, you know.”
“I’m not picking them up and bringing them here for you to ogle at,” DeeDee said, “and don’t forget to write up that contract. Time’s a-ticking.”
“I know, I know,” Celeste said. “Get out of here.”
So DeeDee walked out of Lady Graves’ office—
“And close the doors, will you?”
—and did as requested, closing the double doors on her way out before following the rows of wall sconces lighting up the third-floor hallway with blue ghost flames, then descending the half-turn stairs into the second floor and walking all the way down to the other end of the hallway and greeting John Day and Sir Abram guarding the double doors to her new headquarters, then descending the half-turn stairs into the first floor hallway and traversing it all the way out of the double-door entrance of Elba House.
(Along the way, DeeDee thought of letting the eldest of her younger sisters know of her plans tonight, so she said in her mind, “RuRu, wake up. I’ve got some work for you.” DeeDee then waited for a response, but when all she heard was snoring, she imagined her sister sleeping on the job, hugging a big bottle of spirits to her ample bosom like the lout she was. So DeeDee yelled through her mind, saying, “Wake up, you sluggard, or I’m keeping your wine for a month!”
Which caused a flurry of movement and the thud of something heavy on the floor, which was picked up and placed on a flat surface, maybe a table. Then a woman’s voice said, “Ugh, you know I’ve got a hangover, DeeDee. What is it?”
“I’ve got work for you,” DeeDee said.
“What kind of work?”
So DeeDee told RuRu her plans for tonight, detailing Lady Graves’ involvement in helping Lady Fleming take back her own darkness affinity with Marchioness Fleming’s help. When RuRu asked if Lady Fleming was the one DeeDee had saved, she said Janet was that same girl. As such, when RuRu asked her what she was to do in this little escapade, DeeDee added, “You are to reawaken Janet’s affinity.”
“How many glasses do you think it’ll take?”
“Well, since there’s one hundred and sixteen clones of her,” DeeDee said, “it’s going to be much more than usual.”
“Can Lady Fleming handle all of that?” RuRu said.
“I’m sure she can,” DeeDee said. “She’s got more than enough potential to be a saintess candidate.”
“Are you serious?”
“I am,” DeeDee said. “What do you say?”
“I don’t know,” RuRu said. “My track record for saintess candidates is the worst.”
“Lady Graves is backing her,” DeeDee said.
“You’re kidding!”
“I’m not,” DeeDee said.
“But the last time Lady Graves sponsored anyone,” RuRu said, “that two-timing King Blaise broke Lady Bartleby’s engagement! Not to mention she was branded the Wicked Witch of Bartleby and later died in prison, my God!”
“Trust me, I know what you mean,” DeeDee said, “but I’m backing her, too. Janet will have two major affinities after tonight. Are you in?”
There was a pause on the other end.
“RuRu,” DeeDee said. “Are you in? Or are you out?”
“Count me in, Big Sis!” she said.
“Good! Now hop to it,” DeeDee said as she passed the double doors, nudging them shut behind her.)
Once outside, DeeDee viewed the last bit of the sinking sun setting the Western sky ablaze in darkening oranges and golden yellows and shielded her eyes against its glare over the roofs of the dorm houses. She then left the side street along the perimeter wall, passing by Mariana House, and stalked her way towards the Garrison Quarters on the other side of the juniper-lined boulevard bisecting the Academy courtyard. Upon entering the walkway leading towards the entrance of Jeremy House that housed Lassen Academy’s male knights, she approached the two guards with fluttering hair and green moé-like eyes.
The guardsmen nodded and whistled.
“Are you here for someone?” one guard said.
“Yes,” DeeDee said. “I’m here to see one of the knight cadets here named Sir Kevin Sydney.”
“Ah, I’ve seen him before,” the other guard said. “He hangs out with a duke’s son, I think.”
“That’s him,” DeeDee said. “Can you be a dear and let him know I’m here?”
He said, “Will do, Miss . . . ?”
“Marionette,” DeeDee said. “DeeDee Marionette.”
“Okay, Miss Marionette,” he said. “Just wait right here, and I’ll go fetch him,” and he opened the double doors and passed through the foyer into the hallway full of voices from knight cadets visiting fellow cadets in each others’ dorms and chatting up a storm of curse words and knight jargon. DeeDee eyed the guard going down the hallway towards the half-turn stairs, looking on either side of the hallway at the nameplates by each dorm. Then he halted, turned about face, and rapped on the doors with three stern knocks.
There was a muffled exchange of words.
Then the guard stood there waiting for a time.
Then the doors opened, and Kevin Sydney stepped into the hallway in his school uniform, and with him stepped three of Janet’s clones beside the two men. At once, Kevin and the unseen clones accompanied the guard towards the foyer in lockstep, two knights and three ghosts matching each other from the swing of their arms to the gait of their steps like a five-person marching band, till they reached the foyer and halted just past the double-door entrance with a one-two click of their shoes upon the paving stones of the walkway entrance.
“Your lockstep’s better,” he said.
“Thanks,” Kevin said.
And the clones burst out laughing.
“Enjoy yourselves now,” the other guard said.
(“Oh, we will, sir,” one clone said.
“And when we do,” another clone said, “you’ll know about it.”
“That’s a promise,” a third clone said.
And all three laughed again.)
Then Kevin deflated from his rigid stance and said, “You bet, sir. See you later,” and he accompanied a flustered DeeDee down the walkway and cut across the lawn between Jeremy House and Leeds House, followed by the three pesky clones commenting on the weird difference between Kevin’s military stride and his current slouching pace. In the end, they just chalked it up to just wanting to show off to DeeDee.
(With one clone asking, “Were you impressed?”
“It was amusing,” DeeDee said. “It was like seeing a pair of automatons walking side by side, while three bratty nincompoops were copying them out of boredom.”
“Hey,” another clone said, “we were just trying to pass the time. This spying stuff is really boring.”
“Well, of course it is,” DeeDee said. “Real life isn’t like the dashing derring-do of gothic romance novels, but even so, no slouching off during your post.”
The girls complained.
“And no complaining either,” DeeDee said.
Now they complained over DeeDee’s added restriction, in addition to their boredom, saying something about being cooped up in a knight’s dorm all night and watching him pick his nose and scratch himself whenever he felt like it and his spontaneous burping and farting and stuff like that.)
Yet DeeDee ignored their plight as she followed Kevin up the walkway towards another pair of guards at the double-door entrance of Leeds House right next door to Jeremy House. All the while, DeeDee was thinking back to the time she first met the disembodied spirit of Sir Abram of the Gate before she had settled down in a disused section of the Student Commons Town. She got as far as her argument with Sir Abram over a toll tax to cross a bridge on her way to the Town, which turned into a dispute, which then turned into a fight . . .
When one of the guards approached them with a nod of his head and said, “Are you here for your friend, sir?”
“Yes, I am,” Kevin said.
“Good,” he said. “He’s been pacing around in the hallway like a madman, you know. I’ll go get him,” and the guard then nodded to DeeDee before heading back and opening the doors and stepping inside for a moment.
Then Ridley Woodberry stepped out through the doors, and with him stepped out three more of Janet’s clones bounding along with him with the same energetic stride.
“There you are,” Ridley said. “I was wondering when you’d arrive,” and he turned back and waved at the guards, both of whom nodded their evening salutations. And the three clones copied Ridley’s gesture before accompanying him and Kevin and their other kindred clones, the group of nine following DeeDee along the walkway back to Mariana House.
“Come along,” DeeDee said. “Everyone’s expecting us at Janet’s dorm,” and she crossed the boulevard for a moment, then turned around and saw the boys and the clones still loitering on the other side of the boulevard. “What is it?”
Kevin and Ridley waved her back over, and DeeDee walked back towards them, wondering what was on their minds.
“Before we go with you,” Ridley said, “you need to know about today’s . . . incident during lunch.”
“I’ve heard Janet’s side of it,” she said. “Is there anything you want to add to it?”
“Yeah,” Kevin said. “His demeanor has changed. Not just towards Janet but also towards me and Riddle. We’ve known Donny for almost as long as Janet has known him, but we have never seen him act like that.”
“Like what?” DeeDee said.
“Like a different person,” Ridley added. “It took some convincing from Janet to point it out, but the Donny we saw during lunch was not the one we knew.”
“How so?”
“He never used to be so pushy,” Ridley said, “and that’s putting it lightly.”
“Nor was he nasty or violent,” Kevin added. “I mean, I pushed him for hurting Janet like that, but then he called me a ‘third-rate knight’ and spat on my face. God, I never felt more like hitting him than I did then, and he threw me—”
“Thrashed,” Ridley said.
“Whatever!” Kevin said. “I mean, we’ve had our differences. We’ve even come to blows—”
“—which I’ve mediated,” Ridley said.
“But this was different,” Kevin said. “The more I think about it, the more he felt . . . off for some reason.”
DeeDee stayed silent for a spell, rolling their observations and replaying the scenes of Janet’s thoughts through her head, wondering where the divide happened between these two young men and their friend. “Be honest when I ask you this,” DeeDee said. “Do you still care about your friend?”
Both boys traded glances.
Then they nodded that they still did.
Then Ridley said, “Donny’s behavior had me worried yesterday. He and I saw Janet collapse in the hallway, but Donny thought she was playing the sympathy card. And when I checked on Janet and told him she had fainted, he wasn’t even fazed. In fact, he seemed more worried about Rosalie than about Janet, but the weirdest part was that I underestimated just how much he had changed, till Janet pointed it out after we saw Donny hurt her during lunch. I mean, Donny’s behavior yesterday had me worried, sure, but if Kevin and I hadn’t seen him hurt her with our own eyes, we still might not have believed her. Don’t you find that strange?”
“Yeah,” DeeDee said, thinking back to her conversation with Celeste Graves and connecting Celeste’s plight with Janet’s in that the professors in Celeste’s case and the students in Janet’s case had overlooked their plight and had scapegoated them for the actions of the real culprit. In Celeste’s case, in fact, it took her own murder in front of other people in Elba House for the truth to come to light.
“It’s like,” Ridley added, “we’ve been charmed to overlook anything happening to Janet.”
“I see what you mean,” DeeDee said, then to Kevin: “What about you?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Kevin said. “I’m still pissed at what he did, but I wanna know what’s wrong with him.”
DeeDee then reached out and grabbed their hands and pressed them together between her own, saying, “I’ll help you find out and allay your worries.”
“You promise?” they both said.
“I promise. Come on,” DeeDee said, turning around and leading the way back across the boulevard towards Mariana House. “Let’s not keep the rest waiting.”
And the two boys followed in tow, accompanied by Janet’s six clones tailing behind them and talking amongst themselves in whispers only DeeDee could hear in her mind. They were talking about the Prince’s demeanor during today’s lunch period, commenting on the way he seemed so hell-bent on incriminating Janet, but the eyewitness report of one clone present at the Prince’s summons left DeeDee in doubt. For all she knew, Prince Blaise may not have been complicit in any of Rosalie’s machinations till the very end, if at all, when Janet’s clones were about to die.
The only exception was Janet’s suicide clone, whose dive off the third-floor bannister at the Academy took even Prince Blaise by surprise, forcing him to go after her when it was too late. If Janet’s suicide clone hadn’t done that, would DeeDee have been involved in this matter? Even if she was aware something was off, would she have suspected anything wrong with the profile books in her shop if Janet and her clones hadn’t come in to see her the other day? In light of these questions, DeeDee thought of including Janet into the fold of another ongoing investigation that she hasn’t disclosed to even Lady Graves yet, for involving mortals into godly matters was serious business. She’d have to ask RuRu for a second opinion before she committed to that kind of risk.
DeeDee shook her head of such thoughts when she and the rest came up to the guards at Mariana House, and she said, “Will you let us in? We want to see if Lady Fleming is okay.”
“Are you her maid, mademoiselle?” one guard said.
DeeDee nodded and said, “Have you heard what happened?”
“Yeah, we’ve heard from the students at this dorm,” the other guard said, “but it’s so unbelievable. His Highness doing such a thing, it’s preposterous!”
“It’s true,” DeeDee said. “Me, Sir Sydney, Lord Woodberry, and several others: we all saw what he did.”
“It wasn’t bad, was it?”
“It was,” Kevin said. “Father Robinson advised her not to put weight on her foot till after five o’clock.”
Both guards winced and grimaced.
“I took her to the infirmary,” Ridley said. “When she came by, was she able to walk on her own?”
“Yes, she was,” the first guard said.
“When?” Ridley said.
“Well past five o’clock, so don’t worry,” the other guard said, and both guards opened the double doors for them and stepped aside.
