The Trial of Morrigan Crow Book 2; The Return of Morrigan Crow

Chapter 3 - The not-tattoo and the not-door

She turned to the nine children, who seemed somehow to have shrunk, their triumphant evening blighted by the dreadful news.

Her voice was like steel. "You are a unit now. You are responsible for each other. You are accountable to each other. Therefore, if anyone – anyone at all – is found to have broken our trust ..." Elder Quinn paused, her face grave. She looked at each one of them in turn, until finally her gaze landed on Morrigan. "... then all nine of you will face expulsion from Wunsoc. For life."

Morrigan met steadily with Elder Quinn's eyes, as if a silent agreement past through them.

When she woke the next morning, and found the golden tattoo on her right index finger.

"How many times do I have to tell you that it's not a tattoo," Jupiter insisted, pouring two glasses of juice while Morrigan lashed chaotic swirls of honey and sprinkles of cinnamon across a plate of toasted crumpets (a little burned from where she'd held them too close to the fire, but still edible). After the events of the night before, they'd both woken much too late for breakfast in the dining room and Jupiter had instead called for a tray to be sent to his study. The pair of them sat on either side of his desk, a miscellany of food spread between them ranging from the respectfully breakfast-like (smoked trout and scrambled eggs) to the unabashedly not (tomato soup and artichoke hearts – Jupiter had a craving). "Do you really think I'd let them give you a tattoo?"

Morrigan raised an eyebrow and considered for a second...when she suddenly emebred something....the earings that Squall gave...if Jupiter is not happy about tattoo, would he approve ear pierce?

"Uh...so, Jupiter...what do you think about ear pierce?"

Jupiter raised any eyebrow, "Well, if you do want to get one...I wouldn't mind ....it's not as bad as a tattoo. I mean, it's normal for girls to get earrings, right? But, I never thought you would be interested in getting them though."

"Ah, so in that case, you wouldn't mind about the earrings I got from Squall right?"

"No I wou-Wait, who did you say you got it from?"

Jupiter suddenly sat up straight, having his protective dad mode activated *crossout*.

"Well, Squall gave me this earing last year when we met in the south wing-"

"You met with Squall?! Last year?! South Wings?!"

"Jup-"

"Why would he give you a earing? And only one sided as well!"

"I-"

"Mog! It could be dangerous! We still don't know if we can trust hi-"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Sprightly old Kedgeree Burns popped his snowy head inside the study. "Message came back for you, sir. From the Celes—"

"Thank you, Kedge," Jupiter interrupted. He jumped up to take the note, and the concierge left, with a wink at Morrigan and a smart little click of his heels, shutting the door behind him.

The note was sealed with silver wax. Jupiter crossed the room and leaned on the mantelpiece, hunching down to read by the light of the fire. 

"I've got to go, Mog," said Jupiter suddenly. He turned from the fire, shoving the note into a trouser pocket, and snatched his coat from where it lay across the back of an armchair. "Sorry. Important errand...you know the missing people. Finish your breakfast. I'll see you later."

"And don't you even think that I forgot about the earings."

Jupiter suddenly turned around giving Morrigan a look. Morrigan sighed in desperation. She shouldn't have even told Jupiter in the first place.

.

A familiar door appeared over the night. Morrigan know it was the door leading to the station...the Unit 919 station.

"It doesn't even have a doorknob." Martha sat next to Morrigan on the end of her bed later that afternoon, staring at the brand-new, glossy black, ornate wooden door that had appeared in the opposite wall. "So it can't really be a door, can it?"

"I suppose not," said Morrigan.

Morrigan tried opening it, and as expected, she couldn't open it.

"Still," said Martha with a shrug, "it's not the weirdest thing this room's ever done, is it?" She cast a look at the octopus-shaped armchair in the corner, which gave a sinister flick of its tentacles. The maid shuddered. "I do wish you'd get rid of that thing. It's a nightmare to dust."

Jupiter hadn't returned by the time Morrigan went to bed. A note from the League of Explorers arrived on Sunday morning, advising the Deucalion staff that he'd been 'unavoidably delayed on an interrealm task' – a typically unhelpful message in both volume and detail. Jupiter did, at least, follow up the League's note with one of his own, addressed to Morrigan.

Mog,

Won't be back before your first day. I'm really sorry.

Forgot something important: UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES are you to travel anywhere outside of Wunsoc by yourself...I'll try to get back before it all starts... I mean it. I'm trusting you. Good luck! You will be great.

–JN

.

As expected, on the early morning of Monday, much, much earlier than she would have liked, she was woken by three knocks on the door.

Not her bedroom door.

But the door to the Unit 919 home station.

Sorry this one is short