Arthur Sheenhan’s musings were interrupted by one of his students, slamming her hands down on his desk with such intensity that his bottle of ink toppled over and he had to snatch his scrolls of parchment off the desk before the puddle could spread and damage the contents of the scrolls.272Please respect copyright.PENANAOJcUSJAlZk
“Miss Nuage.” He sighed after leaping to his feet. “Is there a problem?”
While he spoke softly to her, Sheehan picked up his coat off the arm of his chair and threw it over the now empty desk to absorb the spilled ink. She puffed out her red cheeks and arched her feathered wings out. Sheehan had known her long enough to know this was her way of displaying intense frustration. Dawn had lost control of something and she wanted answers.272Please respect copyright.PENANAFZgJtwSaXm
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Dawn Nuage was not intimidating by any means. She looked quite human with her hourglass figure, mahogany waist length curls, milky skin and deep green eyes. The only difference was her feathered wings in a mesmerising shade of purple that reminded Sheehan of deep purple flowers from his own world.272Please respect copyright.PENANASm2LtrNcjW
“WHY WOULD YOU PAIR A CHILD, MY SISTER, WITH A FORTY-YEAR-OLD MAN?!”272Please respect copyright.PENANAbtkCGIqZs8
“Miss Nuage, please. Fold your wings away before you break something or hurt someone.”272Please respect copyright.PENANARf4CVeiTbT
Dawn stomped her foot, scowled and folded her arms across her chest but she complied and folded her wings to rest covering her back.272Please respect copyright.PENANA3kpokTYeXn
“Now. Explain yourself.” He replied firmly, but without raising his voice.272Please respect copyright.PENANAYoEHSfLB0o
“Why is he forty years old?” Dawn spat through gritted teeth.272Please respect copyright.PENANAKtlOQxSo0t
“You didn’t know?”272Please respect copyright.PENANA1fZxf5Jcdp
“Not until she asked for help baking a cake for him. He’s…forty years old. I don’t know if you humans think differently, but that’s absolutely disgusting!”272Please respect copyright.PENANAYrd9lBMn1f
“I know it’s hard for you to believe, but not all of the pairings I make are based on romantic attraction, Miss Nuage.”272Please respect copyright.PENANAWz7t96PqMu
“He could take advantage of her! He could groom her…Hex her….Or worse! He- He-”272Please respect copyright.PENANAndTQwVvoWo
“Please relax. I promise you that Mr Pan has no intention of doing such things to your sister.”272Please respect copyright.PENANAMXxkHDsrLM
“How would YOU know? Short Snouts are disgusting little cretins!”272Please respect copyright.PENANAntvtoOvM2l
“Miss Nuage. Please don’t slander the man who looked after your sister all of these years while you were focused on your studies and career. Besides, if he tried anything like that, your sister is like you. She would fight back.”272Please respect copyright.PENANAZ7KZmurXTY
“She’s…a…child.” The shouting had turned into a whimper.272Please respect copyright.PENANARbK8RvnCaB
“I know you’re afraid. She is your little sister and all that you have left, but I promise you that she is safe in his care. Short Snouts are loyal if given a slice of bread and a bowl of milk. Imagine how loyal to your sister he is with all of the love that she has for him. Like a sister and a brother.”272Please respect copyright.PENANAPn9VMZAHti
“That THING will never be a brother to me.”272Please respect copyright.PENANAYJBUEeOnJj
“Then it’s a good thing that it’s not your approval that he needs.”272Please respect copyright.PENANA8Pe0oZ9V3b
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Dawn lost it. She kicked the desk so hard that Sheehan’s toes stung from empathy. As usual, the angel remained stone faced. The whole school probably knew the truth from her shouting. There was a knock at the door frame that made her turn her head.272Please respect copyright.PENANA99M403RELR
“Come in!” Sheehan called out as loudly as his old, withering throat would allow.272Please respect copyright.PENANAvE9GdHe0Of
In stepped the Silver Tongue that Sheehan delegated to her. A Halfling to be exact. Silver Tongues were the most common type of fairy. Followed by Halflings. Humans like Sheehan did not belong here. Randolph had the pasty skin, blonde hair, blue eyes of his father, but he inherited his mother’s gills, cheek fins, webbed hands and the fluked tail that swept behind him. Last of all, not forgetting that all Silver Tongues had a silver tongue that gave them their name.272Please respect copyright.PENANAG3NnjA9q72
Randolph bowed.272Please respect copyright.PENANACKRkcO7oRQ
“Dawn, it’s time for class. We’re going to be late if-”272Please respect copyright.PENANAUe4vtyhHv5
“This is NOT over!” Dawn snarled at Sheehan before striding after her boyfriend. 272Please respect copyright.PENANAoNEJtNOCeW
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“Please Lord- Never mind, my God cannot reach me here. I know that I should go to the shrine here in the castle and pray to one of your statues or all of them. It is awfully disrespectful to ask for something without offering food or burning a candle. I also know that none of you hold dominion over humans like me, but please, can one of you give me strength to deal with these boisterous children?” He prayed to the divine Pantheon in his mind. Dawn was no child, but she could behave like one. While he prayed, Sheehan folded his coat inside out and hung his now ink splattered coat over the arm of the chair before he returned the scrolls and quill to the now stained desk before he searched for a new ink bottle. As he learned when entering this world, most inks were made from animal blood - centaur or Nightmares depending on wealth class. At his school the ink was made from minerals and plants. Which kept Miss Lilith Kingsley busy.
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Genevieve took a bucket of water, a small piece of soaproot and rag with her to wash the windows in Sheehan’s office. Jumping clear as an angel stormed past her, followed by a Silver Tongue Halfling who gave her an apologetic look. She recognized the angel. Who wouldn’t? The Halfling knocked on the doorframe, dropped the soaproot into the water to dissolve and waited for Sheehan to call her into his office. As soon as he opened the door, Genevieve walked towards the windows behind his desk immediately and started to clean.
“Miss Lamb?”
“Yes? Sorry. My mind is wandering.” Genevieve apologized. Her large ears should have heard him sooner. “Could you please repeat that?”
“You’re not your happy self, Miss Lamb. Are you okay?”
“I’ve got a bad feeling, Mr Sheehan.” She said, placing her sudsy rag over the edge of the bucket.
The eleven-year-old excelled in the studies and practical applications of mana, but for her, there was nothing more gratifying than scrubbing windows by hand. Sheehan sighed at the way she addressed him. He told her countless times to use his first name.
“What should I do about it?”
“Listen to your gut. You’ve always excelled in clairvoyance.”
“Oh…okay.” The Halfling picked at her fingers with consideration no child should have had.
Sheehan knew what it was like to grow up before having a childhood. He too was an orphan before he ended up in the Other World. He did not want to imagine what unspeakable horrors a child raised by the Fomorians would endure. He patted her on the shoulder as he spoke to her.
“You will find the answer when the time is right. Everything happens for a reason, Genevieve. How is your sister?”
“You saw her?”
“Yes, I saw her. Was she trained to kill me, like you?”
“Was? I don’t know if she still is. She was unhappy hearing your name.”
“She has come a long way. She must be tired. I will speak to her in the morning. What is her name?”
“Suki, sir.”
“Miss Lamb. You should take the day off too.”
“That’s not necessary. This is not the first time we have surprised one another. We are even.”
The Halfling sisters did not part ways on the best of terms. Did Suki know that she tattled? Genevieve thought Suki perished at the bottom of the moat three years ago.
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