Did he succeed or fail? Ash neither accepted him nor did she reject him. He was so determined to stop her from avoiding him but all he managed to do was pass the mantle to her. And now, the decision was in her hands. He was just beginning to realise what it meant to be mates. It wasn't just him making the decisions anymore. If he thought he could decide what they did or did not have to be, he was sourly wrong. With how much he had driven her and asked her and looked at her, the haze of confusion and uncertainty did not clear from her heart. There were bursts of fondness every now and then but that didn't deter her confusion. Vance even looked at her once, turning entirely but couldn't figure where her occasional smile came from.
"Why was she eavesdropping on us?" Dwera asked. Lady Bree dare not speak. Vots had already left after making initial introductions, stuttering through his all and glaring daggers at the dwarf. Tharin chose to remain while Arabella dropped by for a moment and was gone. None of them said anything.
"We will have to interrogate it to find out." Ash suggested. Vance stood up, "I will send her to the chancellor."
Ash frowned, "or I could just interrogate it."
Vance frowned right back, "we need a place to hold it and a place where it can be kept safetly while we investigate this matter."
Ash had the urge to laugh. She found it funny. "And who is going to do that? The chancellor. When the matter escalates, an advisory composed of some of the board members and moderator will be sitting in. If they make the same decision as before, what then? Whatever they decide goes? If we have any chance of exonerating Lady Bree, we better investigate ourselves first before we hand the matter over to some authorities. A moderator's word has more power over the entire board."
Ash didn't state the obvious but Vance stared at her for a while. None of them spoke. If Vance said they should hand things over to the chancellor, she had learned by now, no one was going to refute. It was up to her to let them all see other paths than the one Vance always suggested. She might like Vance but it didn't render her silly.e
Vance looked down at the fairy, whose entire black eyes stared right at him. Vance said, "we shouldn't."
No one else said anything. She looked at Bree who gave her a helpless expression. As expected, no one was behind her. Ash readied herself for a long debate with Vance when Vance spoke again, "the fairies are bound by contract to work for the institute. Only the institute had the right to interrogate them. If we do and the fairy says something about it, later, we will all be in trouble."
Ash wasn't expecting him to explain himself. That was unlike him. And by the looked of it. Drew, Karn, and Lady Bree all thought the same. Karlene said, "if we let the chancellor interrogate it, will it be possible for you to sit on it, as a moderator? Do you have you license?"
Ash nodded. "We can do that. The chancellor will support us about it and we will have to put in a formal request. Considering this..." Ash had another idea. "we can also put in an official request as the student council to have one of our representative sit in on the interrogation."
"They won't let B sit in on it."
Sven said, "they will likely call Ash as moderator. Or maybe Vance or Karn. Likely Karn since everyone knows Vance is close to B."
Akiye added, "the chancellor might not know the details we know. Once we have some clue, we can cross check it with what the fairy says."
Vance nodded, "it's settled then. We will hand the fairy over to the chancellor and discuss with him, the best course of action to stay in loop."
Lady Bree preceded over the meeting as Vance ran out of there. "Let's get back to the meeting."
Since Vance was gone, she said, "I just need to check one more thing before the meeting," and took out the disrty dentures wrapped in her shirt. She put it on the table and watched as everyone around to room gave her curious look. Everyone but Lady Bree.
"What is that?" Karlene drawled. Drew snickered but began before she could say anything. "I thought this was left there by a golem that passed but it was too dark to see from a distance and the mud on it is older and drier that a golem uses. I thought to check with everyone if someone knows what it is."
Akiye reached for it and Ash caught Akiye's wrist, wrapping her energy around the witch, hoping to sense something from her heard.
"do not touch. It was cursed and has released some white thing."
Bree shot out of her seat, "cursed? Did you touch it? did you get hurt?"
Ash felt her hands in Lady Bree's rough hands, gone from Akiye. Not only did she not feel anything from Akiye but as she wrapped her protection around Lady Bree, she sensed nothing either. "I am fine."
Lady Bree looked up and down, "do you feel sick somewhere? Unwell?"
Ash noticed the long shadows under the woman's eyes and wondered if Lady Bree had touched a cursed object instead of her. She smiled, tilting her head, making the atmosphere lighter, "aren't curses a witch's expertise. I didn't know Lady Bree was interested in them too."
Lady Bree's hands became lighter around her. "I..."
Ash caught her hand, hoping to feel something. Anything. Nothing came. "We will find whoever is behind this. Golem, fairy, witch, whoever."
Lady Bree gave her a solid look of confidence, "be careful."
They were all in their spots when Vance came back, "the chancellor says, he could let a moderator sit in on it."
Ash was relieved. She was getting worried about the fairy's suspicious movements around the chancellor's house as well. With this, she could drop in a few more questions without having to drag any of the students in it.
"Since that's settled, what do you think we can do for the electoral voting at the end of the month?"
Karlene, leaned forward with a suggestion when someone walked in, golem she didn't recognise, who shrunk into a human size with hands and feet as mud still, along with a siren Ash recognized, that bunked in Mayra's room.
The discussion continued as more and more people, some representative from other sections began to drop in. Once the table was full, Drew and Sven put away all the unnecessary paperwork on the other table with the help of some new arrivals. The more people arrived, the more suggestions they heard, someone wanted to have a special booth, one separate for all four years, while a few of them ralied for a single booth for every building and a varied paper distribution for each year.
Since they had fewer people to watch over the booths this year, Bree chose to have a single booth.
Two centaurs, a man and a woman she couldn't remember the name of from the Floodbreaker clan stood up, "let us know where we are assigned. Apologies that we will not be available for the rest of the month as we are each running our own campaigns for the election."
As if taking their cue, another selkie left and another witch left, pulling Arabella and Akiye subtly, who refused to leave. Ash didn't know what to make of Akiye. If Akiye was in the room, there was no need for anyone else to eavesdrop on them.
Bree addressed them all, "now that everyone who is ready to help is here, we will start dividing duties for the election and divide basic tasks to be carried out over the weekend."
Putting the matter aside for now, Ash focused on the list of tasks in front of her. Drew called, "I will make the banners with Vance."
Vance looked at Drew once and said, "I will scout booths across the campus. Take Karn, his art is as good as mine."
Drew looked at Karn, disgrunted but unable to argue. Ash only realised then, she was paying attention. He looked at her and asked, "ho wants to come with me?"
Before Ash's mouth could move, Tharin beside her jumped up, "me. I will do the scouting. We can leave after the meeting and finish scouting before my work starts. This cannot hinder with my work or sleep. Naturally, I might not be able to attend all meetings but I will come when I can."
Ash knew they still needed to talk but for now, the matter had to take a rest. She opned her bag and pulled out the map she had been carrying everywhere and slid it to Tharin. "Take this. Mark the spots that you pick. That way you won't have to be the one to set up the booths personally."
Vance put his hand out and Tharin passed the map to him. Ash tried to hide her amusement behind her smile and looked around the table to keep the discussion going. Lady Bree added, "someone has to go into town to order printing of voting forms and banners."
Ash said, "Do we have a form with us?"
"The printing house in the city has always been doing it, so they have the format we use every year." Dwera and a the acquianted siren with two others took the task. Bree clapped her hands, " Now onto bigger things."
Ash looked down on the list. Drew parroted, "tents, about five of them and two waterproof ones for Kelpies and Nixies."
Arabella said to her siren friend, "they are getting messier and rowdier with each year. This is not their local school where they can go around doing what they want."
Karlene smiled, "some people just like to roughen it."
Arabella shook her head, "it's not a temprament thing for kelpies. Nixies are mischevious by nature so, it is still excusable at times but not for kelpies. They, like us, can stay in humane domain for as long as they like but have a tendency to rebel and force the issue in the opposite direction for no reason at times."
The siren nodded, "they don't want to stay in human form and then come and mock us for it. If so jealous, just change form already."
Lady Bree cleared her throat, "back to the subject. Do we have any details on what they are doing this year?"
None of them spoke up. Dwera said, "I will find what the kelpies and centaurs plan to do."
Ash said. "I will ask about goblins. I might even have to organise for them. I somehow got involved in the elections."
Tharin said, "do ours too. The dwarfs will talk to you more easily."
Ash smiled, "I'll need some help."
Karn said, "I'll help."
Ash paused, "are you not running for class representative?"
"I am running for overall representative. Sven is running for class representative."
Bree said, "since we can't be on our own booths, pick a booth, one of you will watch over. As for tents, tables and chairs, Ash and Karn can do it that along with the volunteers."
Lady B paused, "Vance and Drew. You help them out."
Drew eyes widened. Arabella asked, "what about us?"
Akiye said, "I always take care of the troubles. Nixies are going to be a handful. We also have werewolves who get either too drunk or too rowdy or both. You can still with me. Whatever witches volunteer for it, I will send them with you to help."
Ash asked her, "aren't you running for class rep?"
Arabella shook her head. "I... don't get along with much of my class to be voted in. I'd rather be registered as a volunteer in the council."
Ash looked at them all. "I thought all of you were reps except me."
Lady Bree shook her head but it was Vance, suprisingly, who spoke. "It doesn't have to be. The council has its own work and can get anyone as member. We decided it was best to get some reps into the council to promote a closer interracial relationship. Otherwise they are useless. See B taking any work? She can't. She is swamped with work as the class rep right now. Then she is also the overall rep and council prez."
"Only until the next person wins election. then, I will only gave council work to finish before I hand that over to you."
Vance didn't say anything. No one said anything. Ash spoke, "is the meeting over then?"
Lady Bree nodded, "yes. Yes. I forgot you still keep some of your sleep schedule."
Ash dismissed that, "I have some things to discuss other than the council."
She had their immediate attention. A few others looked confused. Once the council was dispersed, Lady Bree said, "take Tharin and get things done before his work hours start."
Vance took Tharin out.
Karn immediately leaned on the table, "Karlene said she could do it."
Ash looked at her. Karlene smiled at her proudly, "all of you should have told me first thing. If not me then who would you have hacking into the system?"
It reminded her of C. Though the cyclops had never done something illegal, if it was for her, he'd agree. Though she thought it better if she didn't have to.
Ash said, "don't make us accomplises. We know nothing."
Karlene glared at her and Karn's brows pulled slightly but Lady Bree nodded quickly, "I know nothing either."
Karn and Karlene left the room with Sven tagging behind them. Akiye said, "I want to go with them. Maybe I will be able to identify a few witches."
Ash thought the lie was to bland but she didn't say anything. Dwera stood up and left the room silently, unwilling to participate. Arabella wasn't here or there, simply listening.
When they were gone, Lady Bree smiled at her, "you always rear your horns at Vance. I didn't think you would think of a straight route, like him."
Ash smiled back. "I am not unreasonable. Vance convinced me on this one."
Lady Bree's brows pulled together. She wasn't believing a word. "what did the two of you talk about in that tunnel?"
"Nothing." Ash denied quickly. Too quickly perhaps. Lady Bree smiled and Ash noticed the crows feet at the corner of her eyes, something that hadn't been there before.