Ravenrook Chronicles: The Mysterious Student

Chapter 7

Henry and Tim returned to Ravenrook Manor a few days after Tim had been inducted into the organisation. He still had a few months before he was field ready, but he stuck to his training and worked hard to better himself in that regard. Henry spent the rest of their week in London training Tim and preparing him for his new position. Tim was anxious at first, no doubt. He was freaked out by the prospect of messing up official documents. Henry was a good teacher though and he calmly helped Tim learn to dot his i's and cross his t's and make sure everything was in order. On their last day, Tim felt confident he knew what to do.

"Hey, Timmy," Henry called with a singsong voice

"Hey, Harry."

Henry gave a cheeky smile as he slid a brown envelope over to Tim. Tim regarded it with a furrowed brow before returning to meet Henry's excited gaze.

"Deployment orders, your first ones to boot."

Tim opened the envelope and pulled out a set of documents that he recognised. He and Henry sat all day issuing them, the day before. The deployment orders stated that Tim was to report to the Ravenrook Training Facility and complete an officer's course while assisting Lieutenant Colonel Henry Ravenrook.

Tim looked up at Henry, his eyes wandering, searching for a sign that this was a joke. Henry was responsible for his early induction into the organisation. Was this also his doing?

"I know what you're thinking and no," Henry said, as if reading Tim's mind, "I'd hate to

do this to you, but the higher-ups say my assistant needs to be a junior officer, at the very least."

"I'll do it, but I'll need your help."

" I wouldn't do this to you if I didn't need you."

***

When he was leaving London, he visited his mother to say his goodbyes and to tell her that he had been headhunted to work in a government organisation. He told her that he had accepted to work with them, but his Pactum Silentii wouldn't allow him to tell her who he was working with. Henry remarked how she swelled with pride hearing that her darling boy was in for the big leagues in politics, even if she was confused with how it may have come to pass. This caused Tim to turn bright red before getting back into the van. They had hitched a ride with Morgan, who was making her way to her new post at the academy.

The ride was long and tense. Tim knew that there was something that wasn't being said. Henry had received a letter from The Crown, the envelope was stamped "Classified" and Tim knew that something was up.

"By the way, congrats on joining The Crown, Tim," Morgan said, aiming to break the silence that had fallen on the car

Tim thanked her meekly and again the car returned to silence. The silence lasted until they entered the forest and Henry called the security team and told them to expect the van to arrive in five minutes.

Five minutes later, the van rolled to a halt in front of the gates to Ravenrook manor. They were finally home. The very next day, students received notice that class hours were to be extended. Tim found himself spread thinly. School and training during the day and paperwork at night until he fell asleep and repeated the process when he woke up. Henry was very supportive though and often helped him with the mountains of paperwork he had to do. He was responsible for tracking security operatives, both Crown and manor security teams, as well as planning meetings, wherein he acted as secretary and took down minutes. He had to file leave forms and transfer requests and ensure that all his assignments were completed on time. Luckily, Tim could entrust some of his duties to Morgan. Henry, Morgan and Tim soon became fast friends; his connection to Morgan felt different though, weaker, somehow.

At first, Tim struggled. His plate was always full and he always felt as though he was letting Henry down. He was good at what he did, methodical and clinical with the paperwork and diligent in the classroom. Over the next few months he became more confident and slowly it became the norm. He started being able to handle more and more responsibilities. Everyday Henry woke with a smile of pride. He loved watching Tim grow and become stronger. He still lacked overall confidence and allowed Matthew to walk all over him, but Henry was always there to back him up. Tim learned to look for weaknesses and formulate strategies against different Others during the officer's course, as well as the history of The Crown and the IOSC. He learnt that fiends were weak to religious symbols, and holy water, werewolves could not detect someone carrying aconite flowers using smell, and silver burns shifters. From that day Tim made a conscious note to carry a vial of holy water, just in case another demon tries to attack Henry.

He often had run-ins with William Reed, formerly known as Henry Thomas Ravenrook III. He was a secretive servant of the Henry's. He was a shifter, as Tim soon found out, when William attended Tim's first meeting as a slim, black-haired man with a long goatee. William wanted Tim to keep him apprised on the situation and changes to security. Tim was happy to do so and as such was treated with amnesty whenever his assignments were late, which was incredibly rare. Ultimately, life carried on as normal at Ravenrook.

***

At last, the end of the year rolled around. The students were rowdy and anxiously awaiting graduation and finally the day was at hand. The students were lined up in the foyer, as they were when they arrived. There were seven Crown agents lined up against the wall. In the same fashion the Ravenrook footmen dragged in the monitor and William appeared on the screen. Tim felt nostalgic, like he did back in London. He thought about how much all of them had grown, how much he now knew. He smiled to himself remembering how his life had changed that day.

- "Well done, students. Today is graduation. You all have been given a place in the

Crown Organisation, as of today you will work for The Crown. If any of you do not want to join this prestigious organisation, you may leave."

No one moved. The students were of one mind. They wanted to be a part of The Crown. They had heard of the perks and opportunities that The Crown offered, and they all wanted to join in.

- "Good, now for the entrance exam."

As a unit, the agents stepped forward and in one fluid motion the agents knocked the students out so that they could be taken to the test. William looked at Tim and smiled as the students were being removed from the room.

- "Remember, Timmy. North-west," William said smiling cunningly.

Tim felt a sharp pain in his neck and suddenly, the room went black.