"She- she
is?" Susie sputtered, panic overtaking her. She'd wasted too much time! Would Juniper yell at her? Would she tell her parents about Susie's misbehavior? "I- I was just talking to- I mean, I was stopped, and..."
It'd only taken a few minutes to reach their destination, and soon Susie was standing in front of recreation room. Taking a deep breath, the girl hesitated for a moment before slowly pushing open the door and peeking inside. The room was full of students playing
Monster Mash, all of whom seemed to be having much more fun than than she was. Kana and Liam were playing with weird boy with the pillow hat, and for a brief moment Susie thought she'd been led to the wrong room- until she spotted her patron hovering over them.
"He's the Justicier's son, isn't he?" she realized, slinking quietly through the door.
"They're probably discussing nobility stuff..." Meekly making her way to where they were standing, Susie cleared her throat. "Um... Mistress Whitechalk?"
Juniper's head turned at the sound of the redhead's voice, face brightening considerably. Immediately she shooed away the Clearwater boy, who quickly scambled away. After staring at her for a few moments, the teenager moved floatily towards the girl and locked her in a tight embrace. "Susie!" she cooed gently. "It's
good to see you!"
"Um- ah, hello!" Susie squeaked, feeling rather uncomfortable. She hesitated, then reciprocated the hug awkwardly. "You... You aren't mad at me?"
The noblewoman pulled away, a curious expression on her face. "Of
course not, dear." she said flatly. She suddenly ran her fingers down Susie's hair, her head tilted to the side as she tugged at the child's ponytail. "You changed your hair."
"Ow! I- I mean, yeah." The girl winced, shifting uncomfortably. "Is... is that okay? Do- do you want me to change it back?"
Juniper merely shrugged in response. "Dunno. Come on, it's too crowded here for my liking." Susie flinched as her patron took her by the shoulder and begun lead her back out the door. The noblewoman seemed to make a point of ignoring the apprentice who'd brought her there, steering Susie past him without so much as a glance...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Ex... Extra work?"
Susie stared at her patron, mouth agape. The two had settled in the outer courtyard, a dusting of snow falling gently around them. "But... but, I had gotten into a
routine!" she whined, balling her fists in frustration. She could barely finish her homework as it was!
Juniper pursed her lips slightly. "Susie, I don't want to hear any buts. If you want to reach your fullest potential, you
must push yourself."
"But- but I
do-"
"Susie! What did I just say?"
The redhead went quiet, looking as if she was about to cry. "No buts." she said said softly, voice barely audible above the sound of snowfall. "A-Alright. I guess I can try..."
Juniper smiled. "There's a good girl. You'll do wonderfully- I have faith in you." The teenager put a finger on her chin, putting on a mock expression of wonder. "Now... Why don't you show me that trick you do with the dust? I
bet you've gotten
much better at it since the last time I saw you."
Susie froze- both because of nerves, and the fact that her school robe didn't offer much protection from the elements. It should be simple to show her, right? She had just made a huge leap of pregress, but what if Juniper was only interested in the dust part? Would she be disappointed of it wasn't the same as before? "Um, well, the trick is different no-"
"Show me!"
The young woman bit her lip impatiently, and Susie folded. Drawing her wand from her pocket, she pointed it at the ground and did her best to imagine her house back in Altas Verde...
There was a sound like static electricity, and a small model house materialized in the snow. It was smaller than the castle, and a bit shakier- as if it'd been assembled by somebody with a shaky hand. Juniper stared at the girl's creation intently, like a cat who'd just caught a particularly fat mouse. "That's perfect." she said breathily, squeezing the redhead's shoulder gently. "
Very good job."
Susie breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank
goodness." she said, relaxing her shoulders. She scooped the model up in her arms, brushing the snow off the bottom. "I didn't know if you'd like it..."
The noblewoman smiled. "Of course I like it. You needn't worry yourself like that." She stretched her arms, snow gently falling off her shoulders. "Come on, I'll take you to dinner."
"...At the Centra Hall?"
Juniper furrowed her brow, a strange grin plastered onto her face. Taking Susie by the hand, she would lead the girl towards the outer gates. "No, child. At the inn I'm lodging at. Fiorina's a wonderful cook, so long as you can get her to turn on the stove."
"Are- are you sure this is okay?" Susie asked nervously. "I won't get in trouble?"
"You'll be back before school curfew." Juniper assured her. "You know... I may have a gift waiting there for you."
Susie's face perked up, and together the two made their out the school gate and towards Juniper's carriage...
~fin~
