filling in canon: sge oneshots

shampain

The first Agatha knew of Sophie's latest attack on Good was the screams of Evergirls outside.

Aghast, she staggered out of bed and rammed her door open. What now?, she wondered desperately, half-falling down the Purity stairs. It was a weekend, there hadn't even been classes today to provoke it. What had Sophie come up with? Had she finally crossed the line from cruel pranks to full-on attacks? Had she hurt someone? Killed them?

Agatha sped up, heart jackrabbiting– she fumbled across the hall, down the steps, and into a sea of Evergirls outside, quivering in a haphazard crowd around her. They were all still in their nightdresses; long, gauzy things that whipped around their ankles. Some girls still had curlers in, or sleep masks shoved haphazardly onto their foreheads, or hair wraps. Only a few had thought to bring cloaks. Millicent was wearing fluffy slippers shaped like rabbits.

And they were all staring in one direction. Nervous, Agatha shoved her way through, vaguely able to hear someone crying–

Her foot caught something, and she looked down to find a piece of muddied fabric snagging her ankle. She bent down and unhooked it, not sure what it was. It looked a little like the arm of a blouse...?

Then what was actually being said, amongst all the hysterics, came to her.

"My clothes! My things!"

Oh.

In front of the terrified herd of Evergirls, Beatrix was filthy up to her elbows, hunched on her knees in the muddy grass. Arrayed in tangled, destroyed heaps, in a wide spread were, presumably, all of her clothes.

"Oh my god. " said Agatha, as the rest of the Charity girls from the highest rooms finally caught up, and joined in the caterwauling. Kiko, who had sidled up beside her, seemed to mistake her mild exasperation for sympathy.

"It's just Beatrix's things." she whispered at Agatha's elbow, teeth chattering. "Sophie targeted her specifically... oh, isn't it awful... they were in our rooms! And no one noticed!"

It was a chilling thought, but Agatha was distracted from it, for once. She thought she knew what the motivation for this highly specific attack was.

A new rumour that Tedros had already asked Beatrix to the ball had spread over the past two days, and clearly Sophie had gotten wind of it. But what she had apparently not heard, was that it wasn't true. Because even Beatrix had denied it– insisting that each girl had to wait until the Circus, no matter how strong the feelings between her and her partner, or how certain she was of a proposal...

(At this, Tedros had started pitching cricket balls with far more aggression, and accidentally winded Tarquin.)

So no, it wasn't true. Not that it mattered.

As a warning, it quite sufficed.

The clattering of boots and sword belts behind them heralded the late appearance of the Everboys, and attention shifted, slightly, since they were either wearing unlaced nightshirts, or no shirts at all. Typically, Tedros was in the second camp. Agatha wondered how many more times in her life she'd have to endure the presence of his bare chest. Unfortunately, at least a few more were likely.

Flavia went running over to fill them in, and swords and weapons lowered. For the most part, they looked as underwhelmed as Agatha; Agatha saw them exchange disappointed glances and eye-rolls, before they sheathed their swords and went to pretend to be sympathetic, in order to look good in front of their desired ball dates. Agatha couldn't say she blamed them. She was struggling for sympathy herself.