Unfinished Heraldry {Complete}

Chapter forty-two (Blake)

Jacob reached out and discreetly slipped his hand into Sebastian's grasp, taking a small breath of anxiety from what Joshua was suggesting.

Sebastian stared back at his boyfriend with sorrow, feeling the others intense fear.

"Please god..." Elise hugged her friend close, almost immediately blinking tears. "Malcolm and Cole, they died like his."

She met the eyes of Cassandra, breaking away and then pulling her close again. "Cassandra, I'm so sorry."

She shook her head, not even a tear dropped from her face or emotion. "No Elise, I'm sorry for passing it off with everything that's happened. It would have solved the problem if I had reported it earlier."

Miss Birling was remarkably silent, her hands shaking uncontrollably as she continued to face out towards the rose garden.

"Firstly..." Miss Birling spoke up, not even facing the crowd. "We must keep the rest of the Academy unaware of what's happened it will only deepen panic. Cassandra, everyone in this room has permission to not attend lessons to help with the search for the missing children, so be at ease knowing that no stone will be left unturned."

Cassandra murmured back, her eyes dead and tired. "Did Cullen do this Miss Birling?"

There was a hesitant pause from everyone on this note.

I coughed as I stepped forward to remind everyone about a key detail. "Mr Smith has been locked in his dormitory all this time so it couldn't have been him."

The Headmistress turned around, her face unconvinced. "That is very true, and on that note you all can go, please do all you can to find the missing boys. Unless it is too dangerous, then you must report back to me or a tutor for assistance."

"What about you Miss Birling?" Humphrey asked. "Should I go back to Cullen's confines?"

The headmistress shook her head and was the first to stride towards the door.

Her heels tapped along the floor as if she was on a mission. "No Humphrey, I'll be dealing with Mr Smith personally."

Just like that, she vanished from the room.

"Well, that was something frightening." Mr Greymeddow pondered. "As you were, we will take it all from here."

So we all filed out of the room, filled with doubt, disappointment and fear.

Georgina had slipped out of the room halfway through the emergency meeting.

I guessed she couldn't take it, everything she had believed and loved about her boyfriend was lies and fakery.

She was in the dance studio when I found her; we all started searching for different places so I started with the creative arts rooms.

Dancing alone, she was producing a routine which held a mixture of ballet and modern abstract dancing, like the type found in concerts or music videos.

The music blared with Lady Gaga's Applause while she performed a professional assortment of moves to herself facing the mirrors pinned to the walls.

She was very good at it, dancing I mean.

When she noticed me peeking around the door, she stopped the music with a slam.

"What do you want Blake?" She cautioned.

I waved my hands through my hair. "I was just checking on you Georgina, you've been avoiding everyone for days."

She shook her head with a positive sneer. "Don't lie, Blake, you never wanted to check on me."

"Okay, maybe I was sent to snoop around the place," I admitted, coming clean. "But I have noticed you have been avoiding everyone... do you want to talk about it?"