The Alchemist's Daughter

Chapter 9: Suspicions

Only one thing changed for Briar after the revelation that there was possibly an enemy agent at school. Fletcher Stone became even more unbearable.

His aloof derision morphed into full on paranoid suspicion of anything and anyone that dared cross his path. He would not flat out say he knew they were an agent of Capos, but he accused them of all sorts of misdeeds. A boy dropped his pencil in class? A secret code to cheat. A server in the dining room mixing up what he'd ordered? They were trying to add poison! Somehow Briar always ended up being the one to step between him and those he was accusing to cool the situation.

"We're supposed to be subtle about this!" She reprimanded him after pulling him out of the dining room by his elbow while he glared back at the hapless serving lad. "If you have a suspicion, take it to the headmaster!"

Fletcher had scowled down at her, huffing indignantly. "And let them poison me? I think not."

Briar had barely contained her eye roll and desire to shout 'Who would want to poison you?!' After thinking on it, probably half the school at this point.

But the one who had it the worst was his roommate, Milo. They hadn't yet come to blows again, but only just. Fletcher was following him like a tall, leering shadow, and Milo was clearly nearing the end of his tether.

"He is up to something, I am sure of it," Fletcher had hissed at Briar when she'd yanked him aside yet again. This time on the stairs for following Milo so closely he was in real danger of tripping over him and sending them both on a tumble.

"Well, go to the headmaster," Briar repeated, exasperated. Maybe she should go to the headmaster herself so that he could talk some sense into Fletcher...

"...I don't have any proof yet," Fletcher sniffed. "And now he's got away!"

Briar let go of his arm and shook her head as she watched him leap down the stairs three at a time after Milo. "You're going to break your ankle!" She shouted after him.

Professor Sharpe's class was canceled for the semester, and in its place they had independent study in the library. Briar wilted from the disappointment of it all. She'd thoroughly enjoyed Professor Sharpe's class, and elixirs were what she wanted to specialize in. But they needed time to find a replacement. She dragged her feet across the worn flagstones of the old converted cathedral, letting herself fall into one of the hard wooden benches at a study table.

"Thanks for this morning." It was Milo, suddenly sat beside her without her seeing him sit down. "I don't know what bee is in Stone's bonnet lately, but I wish he'd buzz off." He smiled one of his exhausted smiles at his own joke.

Briar gave him a worried smile of her own. His sunken dark eyes in his pale face looked even deeper than usual, reddish purple circles pooling in the creases beneath his lower lashes.

"...He'll get over it... Eventually..." Briar tried to reassure him. Once we find the real agent, she thought to herself. "Find any interesting reading lately?"

Milo nodded, leaning closer conspiratorially. "Oh yes, I think you'll like this one." He nudged her thigh with a hard corner of something under the table. "But don't read it here."

She looked at him curiously, reaching down under the table to take the small book from him where no one could see. "...Why not?"

"...Oh, it's from a little section we're not even supposed to have..." He winked at her, "But you are interested in elixirs, right? It's cutting edge stuff."

Briar pursed her lips, her cheeks burning hotly. A new secret study involving elixirs?! How could she pass that up?! But what if she was caught? She'd be expelled without even being exposed as a girl!