”What do we do now? If the Coven is that dedicated to keeping an eye on us, those guys won’t be easy to get rid of.” Ella asked.
“And they’re from a powerful family, so you can’t just make them go missing either. We will go talk to the Headmistress and see what can be done.” Professor Ashcroft decided.
The Headmistress was a very busy woman today, rearranging rooms for everyone who had gained an “assistant,” but once she read the official message from the council, she made time to hear the Witches’ opinion on the matter of these surprise grooms to be.
But by the time she could do that, both brothers had arrived to make their requests, along with a woman that Wolfe didn’t recognize as part of the staff.
“Good, everyone is in one place. Madam Isabel, it seems your son’s advances were not well received.” The Headmistress began.
“Well received or not, it is the will of the Coven. Give them a month to accept reality, and I am certain that they will be perfectly happy with our arrangements.” The middle-aged Witch known as Madam Isabel replied.
“After our encounter in the classroom, I do not feel safe alone around that man. Headmistress, I ask you to place him elsewhere for the sake of my safety and mental health.” Cassie requested, receiving a disgusted look from Madam Isabel.
It was easy to see where Gerry got his opinion of Commoners from, and now somewhat more surprising that Stephen wasn’t the same way.
“Stephen and Ella, let’s hear your thoughts on the matter.” The Headmistress requested.
“It is the will of the Coven, and she seems like a lovely young lady. I have no objections.” Stephen smiled at the Headmistress.
“Though I have no intentions of marrying a strange man, the letter that came with him suggests it would be unsafe for my family if I refused him outright, so I am willing to entertain his attempts at courtship, but preferably not with him sleeping in my room.” Ella sighed, handing the letter from her father to the Headmistress.
“You know how Commoners are, always getting panicked over little things. Surely they aren’t accusing the Coven of anything nefarious?” Madam Isabel asked.
Headmistress Peach smiled at the Councilwoman. “Certainly not. But they don’t understand your intentions, and the Mariel family are simple craftsmen, so they could only equate the Isabel Family’s generosity with the local crime lords who try to take pretty daughters for marriage by intimidation.”
The Headmistress was good at spinning things in her favour and definitely on their side in this situation. Wolfe was gaining a new respect for the leader of the Academy, though it was clear that when it came to matters involving the Coven, her authority was not as extensive as the Headmistress would have preferred it to be.
“Aren’t you afraid of them doing the same to your family?” Ella whispered to Cassie, who smirked in response.
“You’re from higher up in the city, so you probably don’t know. In the mid and lower levels, the Coven doesn’t do the policing. The Crime Families do.
If they took out the Noxus Family, the fight for their territory would destabilize at least four floors, and their replacement would make it nearly impossible for the Coven to function until they were rewarded with a commoner Witch, at the very minimum, and a Family who had previously had a witch would hold out for a lower Noble to be married into their line.” Cassie explained, and the noble Witches nearby all frowned.
“Surely it is not that bad?” Stephen asked.
“Then how did you travel to go meet my family?” Wolfe retorted with a smirk.
Everyone on the lower floors wanted to be a Noble for the money and the power, but nobody wanted to be a target of the Coven. In fact, nobody in the lower levels wanted to deal with them at all until they had a Noble Witch in the family to back them up. So, the Coven didn’t just casually come to their territory for a chat.
“The standard lower floor convoy, four Armored vehicles with guards and a Witch.” Gerry shrugged, being accustomed to travelling that way.
“If it took four Armored vehicles to arrive at their compound safely, how many do you think it would take to leave safely if you attacked them?” Wolfe elaborated.
The children of Nobles who were waiting in the auditorium for new room assignments were all listening intently now. They knew the lower city was dangerous, but putting it out in the open like that made the abstract concept they had only heard about before into a very real danger in their minds.
Images of armed thugs in cheap suits on every street corner and balding mob bosses with foreign accents filled their minds and would have made both Wolfe and Cassie burst into laughter if they had known that the nobles really thought that the lower levels were like bad mobster movies.
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“The Coven’s decree stands. Put them where you like, but this is going to happen, and the sooner everyone accepts it, the better.” Madam Isabel demanded.
“We understand, Madam Councilwoman. Your sons will be assigned a room in the employee area and will be free to court their choice of Witch as long as it doesn’t interfere with the student’s class work.
The council might have forgotten, but this is a place of learning, not a dating event for idle Nobles.” The Headmistress must have hit a nerve with that last comment because the Councilwoman turned away from her to the two young men.
“I will bring in your baggage. Don’t forget your duty to the family.”
Professor Ashcroft smiled at that. “Fortunately, that won’t be necessary. Outside items are prohibited this year to prevent some of the lethal accidents our students have suffered in the past. You may return them with you or leave them with the staff, and they will be secured until the end of term break.”
Madam Isabel just stomped away in a rather unladylike fashion, leaving behind Gerry and Stephen while the students who were in the area all whispered rumours about what the Councilwoman’s visit really meant. Most of it was not flattering, especially from the witches that were born into higher noble families, but it all silenced quickly when Gerry turned to glare around the room.
Wolfe was considering what to do about these disturbances in his peaceful life when the helpful Imp Familiar they met in the training room came by to say hello while his Witch registered her new assistant and got a room change.
“Since everyone will be moving around at the end of the day, why don’t we all go swimming? My mistress has been whining about the lack of exercise all week. Bring the idiots, and they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves. Or dig a hole they’ll never climb out of.” The Imp suggested.
That was a great idea and could let Wolfe look like a better man while finding his enemies’ weaknesses.