Frigid fingers trembled slightly in the cold of the high altitude air as the short, small figure flitted through the skies. Pale white puffs of air were flying into her her face which prompted and irritated groan from the cloak swaddled figure. 'Should I have just walked instead?,' Jalett thought bitterly as she wiped away the pieces of ice forming on her lips. She wanted nothing more but for this dreaded winter to be gone and make way for the spring warmth. Her uncharacteristic admiration for the season of life was something she was rather ashamed about but she looked forward to it nonetheless. 

Lost in her thoughts, it was no surprise that she had noticed just how quickly she has arrived back at the school. As she made her swift descend towards one of the open windows a delicate voice rang out to her from the remains of what used to be Sophie's walkway. There on the slightly unkept black and red themed runway stood a small figure, waving and calling out to her. A puff of fluffy white and ice blue among the black marble and red silk of the luxurious style path. "Jalett! Jalett! Come down here! It's me! Asoen!" 

With a sigh she guided herself carefully to approach the figure of her brother, almost smothered in his winter coat. "You didn't need to yell," she huffed as she hovered just above the ledge. The young man's expression scrunched into one of concern as he grabbed her thin wrist and pulled her down to face him. "You would've ignored me otherwise, no?," he retaliated with a mischievous smile, his concern once again masked behind his charming persona. Jalett rolled her eyes and retracted her hand from his hold. "I can't believe you're the Good one." Asoen cackled at that, slapping her shoulder feverishly. 

"Ow! Brother! That hurts! Get your beefy arms off of me!" As Jalett attempted to scratch and claw away the taller male's hand off her shoulders Asoen ended his laughing and gazed at her with a smile. "You look like you're in a good mood. Did you find them? Did it go well?" Jalett snarled venomously at his remark and questions. "Good mood, my ass! The amount of trouble I have to go through for that blasted orb! May it break by viper venom and Hell's fire!" Asoen raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at her fuming. "Why did you accept it from that witch anyways?" His sister snorted and crossed her arms in a gesture of defensiveness. "Learn to take an opportunity when it comes." 

Asoen's smile waned just a twinge as he held her hand in his and walked her back towards the entrance of the tower which would lead them down to the rest of the school. "Where did you find them?" He asked once more as he sat across from her on the velvet couch, golden tip of his boot shoving away stray pieces of burnt wood from the hearth. Jalett raised a questioning brow at him over the rim of her cup, eyes sparking with curiosity. "Why does it matter to you?," she replied vaguely. Asoen frowned at that but continued to stare into the fire. It flickered and waned under his gaze. He dug his nails into his palms and gritted his teeth. "I'm a school master to you know? We are both equal halves of the same power." 

Jalett hummed in response as she sucked on the spoon she had previously been using to devour the sugary cake which is now missing from her plate. She smirked and side eyed her distracted brother. His dark brown hair a strong contrast against the bright colours of his white and blue prince suit. 'I wonder if it truly is equal,' she thought curiously as she made her way to him. As she draped her arm over his stiff shoulder she ruffled his hair with an affectionate chuckle. "Worry not, brother. I can ensure you that our reign will not end so soon. And definitely not because of something as small and minuscule as this." 

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Hort continued to sulk by his desk as he bitterly scratched cross after cross onto several sheets of paper, with no second glance given. He was emanating a pathetic sullen aura that someone could basically smell as soon as they stepped into the confines of the moldy wall of the room. 'Unbelievable! After all this! Isn't this basically our efforts wasted! I should tell someone shouldn't I? Yeah! I should! We can plan before he att-' 

"Do not even think of it Professor Hort." The suave voice that sounded from the hallway had shocked him to the point of screeching and spell casting, which resulted in him of course being paralysed to the floor as Jalett retaliated and spelled back. "You! Despicable child!," he screamed as Jalett squatted next to him with a disapproving look. "I'm not child," she gritted out as she created a small current of silver lighting and zapped the helpless man on the floor with it. "Eek! Stop that! You! Can you read minds?," he furiously writhed on the floor as she loosened the grip of her spell. She frowned. "You were mumbling Mr. Hort," she replied with a sneer before fully releasing her hold on him. Her eyes gleamed red for the briefest moments Hort thought he had imagined it. She flashes him her teeth once more before straightening up and running a hand through her hair. 

"Oh by the way Mr. Hort! Don't you even think of te-" As soon as she turned her back Hort had launched himself off of the floor and onto the shorter woman's back, pinning her arms behind her and cornering her into a chokehold. In an attempt to free herself Jalett spun around quickly in his arms, misbalancing the both of them and causing them to both tumble to the floor. Jalett whined loudly as pain began to spread on her elbows and Hort's weight pressed down onto her chest. "You're underestimating me a little too much Ms. Schoolmaster," Hort whispered against her ear, his arm tightening its grip which was now around her waist. 

"What the hell are you doing you perverted old man?!," Jalett screamed frantically, squirming wildly and looking absolutely livid. She freed one her arms from underneath their bodies and frantically began to bonk Hort on the head repeatedly, all the while screeching, "get off! get off! get off! get o~ff me!" As the chaos continued to ensue the heavy sound of shoes signalled an approaching presence towards the sound filled room, until the door was nothing but blown off its frame. The loud explosion was followed by a cloud of bright purple smoke and the sound of a deep silky voice calling out to Jalett. "Schoolmaster! Schoolmaster!" The tall figure of a man no younger than 17 made itself known through the smoke as he desperately slashes through the smoke in an attempt to find the girl Hort was currently lying on top of. 

"Bothe! Free me this instant! Get this pervert off of me!," Jalett commanded once the man had made his way towards them. The vicious glare those red eyes sent was enough to make most people buckle at the knees. "Unhand the schoolmaster now!," he threatened venomously as he pointed a sharp purple glowing nail at him. Hort could feel the heat basically radiating off of the dormant spell lying on the man's fingertips and nearly hurled himself to the other side of the room. 

 Firm arms latched themselves under Jalett's elbows as her newly hired assistant pulled her up to her feet with a grunt. As the smoke cleared out and the air began to settle Hort could finally take a good look at this 'knight in shining armour' figure.

He was unbelievably tall and thin with extremely pale skin and long pointed nails on each of his fingers. His hand still oozed magic as he posed defensively in front of the frazzled girl, an odd black trail of smoke filtering through his teeth. He was dressed in a semi-formal ivory suit with purple and black corset vest draped across the front. A long lock of hair obscured one of his eyes from view and the white silk of his wide cape prevented Hort any view of the girl currently standing behind him. "What is the meaning of this?," he demanded firmly, as he began to stomp towards Hort with a killing aura. His back was now protruding over his shoulder in a hump and Hort could see something wriggling underneath the fabric of his cloak. Millions of tiny red eyes looked at him from within the shadow of the fabric the man's back, squirming and screaming viciously like they couldn't wait to devour him.

His posture was hunched and his knuckles were now dragging across the floor in a beastly manner. Hort could feel the beads of cold sweat dampen the collar of his dress shirt behind his neck. His hands shook with terrible fear as he pathetically aimed his finger glow at the creature now basically slithering towards him. Shutting his eyes in preparation of his death, Hort said his bitter goodbyes and apologised for all his wrongdoings to the Heaven's in a desperate attempt they would rest him somewhere beautiful and to make his death swift and painless.

He was but ready for death, saying a silent prayer to himself; shivering in the corner. A sharp whistle broke through the wrathful panting of the creature and his petrified whimpers as Jalett seemingly called her back to him like a dog. Hort watched and saw that the man's figure slowly morphed back to normal as he ran towards Jalett. She reaches up on her tip toes as he bends down and pats his head appreciatively, to which he responds with a satisfied hum. She fixes him with a smile before turning to Hort. 

Her expression turned from comical, to sour, to amusement and finally to resolve. "Mr. Hort, I will buy your silence as of now. However, if you try to make certain ends meet by yourself in this situation I am certain you are aware of your possible painful fate yes?" Hort gulped and nodded as he shakily began to rise off of the floor. Jalett casts one last apprehensive glance at him before turning around and walking towards the door, with that 'Bothe' guy trailing behind her; seemingly pre occupied by watching the contours of her back through the bare backed dress she was wearing. 

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As the door of her chambers were finally closed the previously rigid posture of the schoolmaster began to sag and she waddled her way towards the full body length mirror. The several layers of satin under her dress made it almost impossible to walk, the 'fish bone' cage which formed her petticoat is weighing and shifting around her waist making it sore and not to mention her inability to breathe properly with the tight corset layered under her clothing. The tired girl sighed and flopped unto the fluffy sheets of her bed, discarding only the hair accessories previously pinned in. 

She let Bothe's lanky figure roam around her room towards her bed and closed her eyes in bliss as he slowly peeled off her shoes and socks, massaging her sore ankles with soft motions. "What was that about?," the man snorted as he put aside her shoes and began to undo the ribbon around her waist. "It's a misunderstanding, Bothe.  A misunderstanding. Don't go killing my newly gained staff." Her companion chuckled, flawlessly removing her caging and outer dress layer leaving her warm and swaddled in soft satin on the swan feather comforter. His voice came out solemn and concerned. "Are things hard for you now?" 

Jalett could only give him a waning smile as comfort and a soft pat to the fore arm. "Yes but I have gone through worse." The man flashed her a sharp toothed grin, running his hands through her hair to fix its tangles and push it away from her smooth forehead. "You are very strong, Jalett." The girl chuckled at that and stroked his face as she focused her gaze on him. She drank in the growing glow in his eyes feeling the effect of the sleeping spell slowly creep onto her like a blanket growing thicker and softer. A small satisfied smile etched itself onto her as her eyelids drooped and her senses began to blur. 

"It's still nice to have a familiar face around Reznor." 

A/N

Finally! An update! Does anyone still read this? A 'familiar face' from the past? Who or what do you think Reznor Bothe is? I hope you will find out soon. 

-kakuke-