Untamed Spirits - KOTLC - (DISCONTINUED)

Ten

Final Exams were closing in, and Noreh couldn't hail anyone for help, since she'd whacked her Imparter—unknowingly—with a mallet.

Long story. All that was relevant was that they were coming up soon, and she was pretty sure she was flunking all her classes. To be fair, she wasn't even trying to pass.

But Lord Cassius and Lady Gisela were pressing her for better grades, and if she wanted to have a stable life, she needed to pass—better with flying colors. And since she'd smashed her Imparter with a mallet (again, long story), she didn't have anyone to tutor her.

No way was she going to ask Lady Gisela for help, and Keefe wasn't the greatest teacher, so. . . she was going to pay a surprise visit to Sophie for the first time. She'd never actually been to Havenfield, but she figured it would happen sooner or later.

She leaped to the glittery mansion and knocked on the door, admiring the pastures with the feathery T-rex. The door opened and a girl with blonde hair and brown eyes stood in front of her.

Sophie gasped. "Noreh!"

Noreh tried for a smile. "Hey, sis."

Sophie hugged her. "Why haven't you come by? Or hailed me? It's like you've been avoiding me at Foxfire, too."

"I didn't mean to," Noreh told her. "I made a friend and I sat next to her at lunch. And I whacked my Imparter with a mallet—"

"Why would you do that? And where did you find a mallet?"

Noreh smirked. "Keefe's room. I got bored one day and decided to poke around. You would not believe how much pranking supplies he has—well, had. I took some. And set them against him. Also, that guy has a lot of hair products. And I didn't know it was an Imparter at the time."

Sophie nodded slowly. "I have a feeling you didn't come here to be social."

"Good assumption," Noreh said. "So I'm not doing all that great at Foxfire—"

"You want me to tutor you," Sophie said. "Sure. But why not Keefe?"

"Oh, I tried. Don't tell him, but he is a terrible teacher." She looked around the mansion. "Where's Grady and Edaline?"

"They, uh, went out," Sophie mumbled. "What do you need help with?"

Sophie and Noreh spent the next few hours going through everything. They hadn't noticed that it got dark until the mansion's door opened and Grady and Edaline came home.

"I should probably get back to Candleshade," Noreh said. "Keefe might start to wonder where I am."

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Sophie asked, closing the Universe book.

"Sure thing," Noreh said, packing up her things.

She left Sophie in the kitchen and headed to the door, bumping into Grady along the way. He looked at her confused, probably wondering why there was a random girl in his house.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice neutral.

"I'm Noreh," she said. "Sophie's sister."

He nodded. "Is Sophie in the kitchen?"

"She is." Noreh turned the knob of the door but turned back. "Thank you for taking care of her. I know you guys mean a lot to her."

Him and Edaline looked pained, but Grady snapped out of it first and gave her a grim smile. Noreh couldn't help but worry and wonder that something was wrong, but she felt like she'd overstayed her welcome. She opened the door and leaped home from the little light that was left.

But when she got back to Candleshade, Lady Gisela and Lord Cassius were waiting for her. And they were not happy.

"You're late again," Lord Cassius said. "And your grades haven't increased at all. If anything, they've gotten worse. Your scores are in the seventies."

"I went to see my sister—"

"Instead of studying?"

"I went to see Sophie because—"

"No excuses!" Lord Cassius growled. "You are expected to be better! Your grades are unacceptable! From now on, you will be coming home straight after your sessions at Foxfire and will be studying with Lady Gisela. There will be no more going to the Vackers, and no more seeing your sister. Is that clear?"

Noreh's jaw tightened and she glared at him. "I don't have to do what you tell me," she said coldly.

He stalked closer and she stumbled back a step. "Is that clear?"

She looked at the ground. "Very."

"What are you guys doing?" Keefe asked, walking into the room.

Noreh fled from the scene and ran to her room. She locked the doors and collapsed against her bed, not sure how to feel. She was angry, upset, sad, unsure, and just really, really wanted to cry for not understanding her emotions.

She hated being vulnerable and letting Cassius do this to her, but she couldn't help it. Something inside her suddenly just snapped, and she burst into tears. She ignored the knocking on her door and shot ice to keep it closed when Keefe tried to pick the lock. She didn't feel like talking.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, but eventually sunlight streamed through her windows and she got ready for Foxfire. Instead of heading downstairs for breakfast, she went straight to the school, getting to her class early. She sat by herself at Study Hall and lunch, ignoring everyone's looks.

But Sophie had had enough of it. She marched up to Noreh as everyone was beginning to leave and demanded what was wrong. Noreh tried to act like nothing was wrong and she was just tired, but she knew Sophie saw straight through that. Surprisingly she let Noreh go with that excuse, told her to hail her, and leaped home.

"Noreh!" Keefe said, catching up to her. "Hey. What did my folks say to you last night?"

She shook her head. "It's fine, Keefe."

"No, it's not. I heard you crying through the door," he said. "You don't have to listen to them, you know. Come with me to the Vackers. Don't worry about whatever they said, okay?"

She smiled sadly. "Thanks, Keefe. But I just want to be by myself for a little bit, okay? It's not just what they said, either. I need to sort some things out."

He looked at her worriedly. "If you say so."