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As Nina's Protector Camilla was seriously pissed off.
After waiting for Amber to leave the room after Nina's gran had gone to shower Nina clambered onto Camilla's bed, watching the female twin as she gathered her books for the day. Camilla didn't say anything whilst Nina explained her dream, nor did she say anything whilst the girl explained her fear of the spirit. No Camilla only spoke when Nina explained that the spirit threatened her life. Dropping the heavy magic book she had been reading before bed onto the old box that was at the end of her bed, causing a loud thud. She turned to Nina who for the first time understood the whispers that went round the school about Camilla being scary, her expression was one of fury one she had never seen before and there was a feeling of electricity in the air. Next to the bed, Camilla's lamp flickered. Catching the flickering light in her peripheral vision Camilla took a steadying breath before she spoke, "she threatened you?" she asked once again, getting a nod from Nina, causing Camilla to run a hand through her curled hair.
"Camilla it was just a creepy dream," Nina argued but Camilla knew deep down it was more than just a dream. Since Nina arrived at Anubis house nothing was ever as it seemed, and she knew this was the start of a whole new level of crazy.
"of all times not to share a dream..." Camilla paused as if she had realised something, "she must have blocked my connection to you..." Camilla muttered more to herself than Nina who didn't have a chance to ask any questions as her Gran came into the room smiling happily at the girls and asking if they wanted to go down to breakfast.
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After much whispered debated behind him at breakfast, Camilla finally persuaded Nina into telling Fabian her dream too. Fabian seemed to realise something was up between his girlfriend and his sister and he grabbed their arms and pulled them out the room to the empty hallway. Nina instantly started to explain the dream as Camilla sat down on the stairs, both her and Fabian glancing at the lights as Nina explained, the electric buzzing could be heard from them and after a worried glance, her way from Fabian Camilla knew she needed to get a better hold on her emotions. She was just so angry she almost failed at the first hurdle of being Nina's protector, because some stupid old creepy Egyptian spirit wanted something from 'The Chosen One'. Was this to be her life from now on, battling the gods and their creepy spirits?
"So," Fabian spoke up after a few moments telling Camilla Nina had finished explaining, "you took this cup downstairs after seeing this ghost or..."
"spirit Fabian, she saw a creepy Egyptian spirit," Camilla interrupted as she yawned, the girl had yet to have her tea so that probably wasn't helping with her mood. That was when she realised Fabian wasn't focusing on the big picture... Nina's life was threatened, no he was worried about the Cup of Ankh.
"Whatever..." Fabian waved off Camilla's comments.
"Yeah," Nina nodded as Fabian summarised the dream, "the next thing I remember was my alarm going off. It must have been a dream, but it felt so real." Nina told the twins who had identical looks of worry on their face.
"Chosen...." An eery voice echoed around the room causing Camilla and Nina to look to one another with eyes wide.
"Let's go back to breakfast..." Nina told Fabian nervously.
"Yeah, I need my tea. Like right now..." Camilla added getting to her feet and looking around, not leaving the bottom step until she knew Nina and Fabian were in the dining room and safe, for now.
Thankfully the two girls seemed to relax a little as they entered the chaos of breakfast, a little normality despite everything that had been discussed that morning.
"Did anybody hear that terrible noise in the night?" Trudy asked them all, Nina and Fabian pointing to Nina's Gran with smiles on their face.
Jerome, however, didn't smile as the joke as he took in Camilla's worried expression as she sat down next to him, "What was that all about Milly?" He asked quietly, referring to Fabian dragging her and Nina out the room. Camilla didn't respond as she grabbed her mug and drank her tea, Jerome seeing her knuckles going white as she gripped the mug. Gently he reached over and pulled her hand away from the mug, bringing it under the table where he started to massage it gently trying to relax the small girl. Camilla closed her eyes and let out a sigh, "Nina and me have had a bit of a disagreement about something, Fabian was trying to resolve it." She explained simply, looking over at him and seeing the disbelief in his eyes.
"There is defiantly more to it than that..." Jerome murmured too the girl.
"Honestly there might be but there might not be..." Camilla told him with a small smile, "I might be jumping to the worst-case scenario in my mind but I've got too you know." She added, knowing Jerome knew about the bond she and Nina had and how she was the one to protect her. Jerome frowned as he glanced from the stressed-out looking Camilla to Nina and Fabian who were smiling at Nina's gran, but he didn't say anything else – it was one of those few times where Camilla couldn't read what he was thinking, and she wasn't sure if she wanted too or not.
Camilla was the first one to leave the breakfast table that day, Nina's little direction had stopped her from fully packing all her books – plus she had to ply up the secret floorboard where she was storing her personal Grimoire.
As she was heading out Nina rushed in, picking up her blazer revealing the bottom of her camp bed, which for some reason the Cup of Ankh was just casually sitting under.
"Nina..." Camilla muttered from the door.
"Hmm..." Nina asked from Amber's vanity where she was putting on lip-gloss.
"What is that?"
Nina turned to look where Camilla was pointing her eyes widening as she realised the same thing as Camilla. Her dream wasn't a dream at all.
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Fabian Rutter was hopeless in the way of love, not from his own doing he just was too nice a person to really know how to be assertive around girls. Which was why Camilla was happy the Gods had all but given him Nina, his perfect match in her personal opinion. Once the two got together she thought it be plain sailing for them – until you know the pep talk into getting Fabian to propose but she didn't think that was going to be for a while.
So, as she and Nina raced down the stairs to inform Fabian of their discovery, she didn't think much of it. She'd hang back after and allow the couple to have a little me time and walk over with one of her boys.
"It wasn't a dream!" Camilla informed her brother as they reached the bottom of the stairs.
"Look!" Nina added as Fabian turned to them, opening her bag to show him the cup. "it was under my bed!"
"Maybe you were sleepwalking," Fabian whispered to her.
"Oh, come on Fabian, in this house? After last year?" Camilla scoffed at him.
"Sleepwalking?" Nina asked in a disbelief tone nodding her head with Camilla. That seemed like the least likely answer considering everything they knew.
Nina paced a little in front of the twins as she thought, "she mentioned tears of gold, just like in the dream with Victor and just like the doll said! Okay!"
"That can't be a coincidence," Camilla added looking to her brother in confusion they had come to him with major news and he kept glancing up at the stairs as if he expected someone to come running down them.
"Maybe you dreamt it because you heard the doll say it?" Fabian asked, Camilla hearing fear in his tone before he looked up at the stairs again. "I really don't want to be late and..."
"Fabian?!" Joy's voice could be heard from the top of the stairs and Camilla had to look away to stop herself from laughing as she realised the situation her brother had gotten himself into. Clearly, he needed a lot more help than she and Amber initially realised.
Nina backed away from Fabian as she saw Joy running down the stairs, Joy sharing the same unhappy look as Nina, Camilla decided to use this as her chance to help her brother out.
"For once brother of mine, I'm going to save you from this situation," Camilla whispered in Fabian's ear as she walked around him, before putting on the fakest smile she had ever put on, "Sorry girls," she said loudly taking Fabian's arm in hers and smiling between the two, "I'm walking over with Fabian because we are in desperate need of twin time!" With that she all but dragged her brother from the room, seeing a grateful smile cross his face the moment they had left Anubis house.
"I need help, I don't know how to navigate girls..." Fabian mumbled to Camilla.
"You need to grow a backbone," Camilla muttered, making sure not to let go of his arm seeing Joy and Nina awkwardly walking behind them both glaring at Camilla. "How did you of all people manage to get two girls fighting over you. I expect this drama from Jerome or Mick, not you."
"Honestly Cam, I have no idea." The pure innocence of his tone caused Camilla to burst out laughing.
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Magic classes weren't progressing as well or as fast as either Victor or Camilla had hoped. Camilla knew more than the average person about Egyptian mythology and history, but all her knowledge came from the minds of those who didn't believe that magic was real. So it was a long process of re-learning everything for Camilla and re-training her brain to think in a new way.
"Maybe some Protectors can control their magic!" Camilla argued to the man as the two walked back to the main building of the school. Victor and Mr Sweet had some announcement or something, so it was easier for them to walk back together, "but I am barely keeping it together on a good day."
"I felt the buzz of electricity in the house this morning," Victor commented softly.
"Why is it always lights that go?" Camilla turned so she was walking backwards to ask him what she wanted to know. "other than for dramatic flair..."
"the magic of Egypt always came from earthly roots, it's the flow of energy from one thing into another," Victor explained his voice lowering slightly though no one could hear all students where still in class, though if any decided to look through their classroom's windows they'd probably be confused by the sight of the two having a leisurely stroll across the grass towards the school. "So, the elements, however, some Mage's of old decided to practice in the footsteps of the gods... who weren't bound by the same earthly limitations."
"What's that to do with us?" Camilla asked.
"That practice was banned in the ancient Egyptian times, but what we call our magic, is a mix of both earthly elemental magic and the footsteps of in our case Isis. So to answer your question, your magic connects with the electricity as an immediate source of energy for spells without sapping that from you or the earth."
"but the energy within is limited so that's why they flicker and then smash." Camilla concluded being rewarded by a smile. "will any of this get easier for me?"
"There will come a time when your emotions won't control your magic but you yourself do, but it will take a lot of self-discipline to get there," Victor reassured her.
Camilla scoffed as she turned to push open the front doors, lowering her voice, "I don't know if you realised this Victor but I am a teenage girl... we have no control over our emotions, plus it doesn't help I am the most screwed up person I know, that does wonders for the self-esteem and self-discipline."
Victor paused for a split second as clearly the young girl didn't think he heard her but he did. Thinking over her words he understood why she would feel the way she did, she had powers that no one else did, she was the go-to person for everyone else but when she needed a person she felt she didn't have anyone, her parents didn't care much for her, on top of that she had a grand quest to complete – not that she knew that yet. The world piled a lot onto one young girls' shoulders and Victor swore at that moment he would try to have her be as normal a teenager as he could help, given he was her magic teacher.
Victor and Camilla split as she noticed movement from the drama classroom, Victor shaking his head as he and Camilla saw Alfie and Jerome messing around with a camera, he moved off leaving Camilla with her friends. Camilla stayed by the door and laughed as she watched her friends, Jerome shouting words of encouragement as Alfie posed – this was his attempt as getting onto a magazine. Alfie did some kind of high kick at the camera pushing Jerome to the floor. The boys both looked at one another in shock before Jerome exclaimed, "That was the best one yet!"
That was the moment they both heard the familiar laughter of Camilla and they both turned to see her shaking with laughter at the door. A smile graced Jerome's face instantly as he saw the girl laughing, it was a huge contrast to how she was that morning and to think it was he and Alfie who had brought that change on honestly made him the happiest he felt in weeks.
"You two are my favourite idiots in the school," was all she could say to them both with a huge smile. Alfie jumping off the stage and taking off the karate costume to reveal his uniform underneath, Jerome jumping off and putting the camera into his bag before pulling out a chocolate bar and throwing it at Camilla.
"We were told by Fabian to always have chocolate on us," he explained at her confused look, "he said your extra class drained your energy, and chocolate helped."
"Where you going to tell us about your magic classes at some point?" Alfie pipped up causing Camilla to roll her eyes. Of course, the only way Fabian could make sure she wasn't draining her energy was to tell tweedle dee and tweedle dumb about her magic classes. Point one to Fabian for being paranoid.
"Sure I was gonna tell you," Camilla shrugged as she opened the chocolate and took a bite, "when all the boring history stuff is out the way... I've been taught no magic! I know the theory of it all, but that's it." Before either boy could ask anything more the bell rang, "come on, we have class." She said simply as the boys rushed to the door so they could all walk to class together, Camilla trying to eat the chocolate bar before getting there – Mr Sweet not being a big fan of food in his biology class.
As Camilla settled herself in her seat between Alfie and Fabian, she couldn't help but poke her brother in the cheek. He had a book out and was writing notes in it as if his life depended on it. "What are you doing?" she couldn't help but ask as he pushed her finger away for the third time.
"I'm thinking," Fabian absentmindedly told her.
"You know how bad that is for you," came Camilla's instantly response getting a small giggle from Nina and an exasperated look from Fabian.
The boy then turned back to Nina and both their faces turned serious again, clearly, they were discussing something Camilla needed to be apart of, "Was there any mention by the doll of the Mask of Anubis?" Fabian asked.
Camilla pulled a face as she had no clue, she didn't think so and Nina was on a similar wavelength, "no..." Nina muttered, "but just this tears of gold again... you don't think the two are linked?" Fabian looked to Camilla and instantly knew that she thought they did, but she wasn't saying anything to stop Nina from panicking too much.
Before either twin could say anything to Nina, Mr Sweet walked into the room with Victor on his heels, the man sending a small smile Camilla's way before his usual serious expression fell onto his face. Clearly, this was the important thing he had to come back to the school for. "Before we begin, I have an important announcement to make!" Mr Sweet told them all with an excited smile to them all. "We have been asked to present an official bid to host a prestigious exhibition!"
"Yes!" Victor butted in, "the touring Treasures of Egypt Exhibition," the twins looked to one another instantly, looks of unhappiness flooding through their faces as they realised this bid meant schmoozing Gustav Ziestack. "it is absolutely imperative that we win." This caused Camilla to look to Victor with a curious expression, he was pushing for this a little too hard.
Deciding to push her luck a little – because she knew she now could with Victor – Camilla groaned loudly and dramatically, "we just spent all summer there do I really need to petition to spend more time around mummies?!" Camilla asked Fabian. This caused a ripple of laughter from around the room and Victor shot Camilla a weary gaze which she simply smiled innocently at.
"Sooo..." Mr Sweet spoke loudly as the laugher deceased, "I need volunteers to help us prepare the bid." Mr Sweet asked the class at large.
Fabian and Mara, of course, were one of the first people whose hands went into the air causing Camilla to roll her eyes dramatically. Joy saw Fabian put his hand up and instantly put her hand up in the air too, along with Nina who was a little late and Mr Sweet didn't count her.
"We make a good team, don't we Fabes?" Joy innocently flirted with Fabian. "Must be all that stuff we've got in common."
Nina glanced over at Joy with a frown and Camilla leaned over Fabian to whisper, "Do you want me to talk to Joy? Because I will...?"
Nina sent Camilla a smile and shook her head, though clearly, she appreciated the gesture.
"First meeting!" Victor told the volunteers, "5 O'clock this afternoon at the Frobisher library. Thank you." With that Victor left the room, giving Camilla another unamused look causing a bright smile to appear on her face. she quite liked not getting in as much trouble anymore with Victor, oh how she could use this to her advantage.
"There is defiantly something Victor wants from that Exhibition," Nina muttered too the twins.
"Nina, Victor isn't all evil..." Camilla told the girl who ignored her and kept talking.
"I need to get on that team," Nina told the twins. Camilla was more than happy to let Nina do the work, she was sure she and Fabian were going to be paraded out due to the Rutter name when Gustav arrived and she was happy to do no work until then.
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If Camilla thought she was getting away with doing nothing for this bid, then she was sorely mistaken. The moment she got into Anubis house for the day (after a stop off at the lab for an old diary she had found and wanted to see if there was anything interesting to read – she was going cross-eyed reading hieroglyphs so English was a happy change) Victor all but turned her back and marched her to the library himself. She was sat cross-legged on one of the tables, using her hand as a headrest trying not to doze off, having said to Victor she would act nice when Gustav was there, but she didn't want to work so she wasn't going to work. Victor knew that this was one topic Camilla was going to be stubborn about and decided not to fight the girl on it. Of course, as people came piling into the library they gave the girl sat on the table behind Victor strange looks but no one said anything if it was just Victor or just Camilla they might have said something but together they were a force no one wanted to argue with.
Within minutes of it turning 5 O'clock Sweetie had them all but Camilla (she refused to work, and Victor told Mr Sweet not to argue) working. Camilla had moved from the table she was at on to the top steps of the spiral staircase where she could pretend, she was batman and watch them all work. Her eyes were focused on Joy who instantly spotted Fabian and 'casually' walked over to him, "we must be the first people to set foot in Frobisher Library for decades."
"Yeah..." Fabian answered uncomfortably, glancing up at his sister to see if she would help, Camilla just raised an eyebrow at him and mouthed 'backbone'. She loved her brother, but he needed to learn the ways of girls sooner rather than later she didn't want to be guiding him through this part of life forever. "Joy, do you think I'm a pushover?" he asked as he looked away from Camilla. Camilla could see Joy shake her head but from Fabian's reaction it was sarcastic or something. "see Nina's gran thinks I need to step up my game... and I didn't even know I had a game to step up."
"Well if you ever need too... you know, practice your chat-up skills... you can always practice them out on me!" Joy told Fabian, in a fake innocent voice.
"Ughhh..." Camilla let out a loud noise and a shudder causing people's heads to turn her way including Fabian and Joy. At the attention, she pointed to the spider's webs, "web in my mouth... sorry." The lie slipped off her tongue with ease with only Fabian and Victor realising the girl had lied as Fabian used her noise as a way to escape the awkward situation with Joy.
"Thank you, everyone!" Mr Sweet said with a beaming smile. "Well, this is where we propose to host the exhibition... needs a bit of light cleaning," Mr Sweet joked. "now I was thinking along the lines of photographs and a speech about the history of the library and the estate!"
"shouldn't it be something more dynamic Mr Sweet? Like a film" Joy said, and Camilla couldn't help but agree with her. Gustav Ziestack knew a lot of people and had seen a lot of presentations in his time and they needed something flashy to stand out amongst the other bidders.
"Oh we haven't got the money for that kind of thing," Mr Sweet informed them.
Victor, however, had other ideas, "I'm sure we can re-allocate some money from somewhere," he told the headteacher.
"Well," Mr Sweet thought about it for a moment, "yes, I suppose a movie is quite a good idea."
"Sorry!" Came the voices of Mara and Nina as they rushed into the library about 5 minutes late.
"If you cannot turn up on time you may as well go now!" Victor shouted at the two, causing eye rolls from Camilla and Fabian.
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Camilla had done zero work so far – apart from the whole defending Nina thing – not from a lack of Victor trying, she just kept ignoring him as she sat back down on the spiral stairs. It wasn't until Joy wandered past did the girl move, "Joy, we need to have a chat..." she told the girl who to her defence turned and gave her an expression that said, give me your worst. "I know you like Fabian, I think everyone, but Fabian knows it. On a normal day, I'd encourage it, but things have changed from last year." Joy went to talk but Camilla held her hand up to stop her, "he is with Nina now, that is why I am so angry with you. He is taken and he is happy, and all I see is you messing with that. I love you, Joy, I really do, but heed my warning when I say, I will step in when you get in the way of Fabian's happiness. At the end of the day, we all know, I will always choose him over everyone and anyone." with that, she turned on her heel and climbed up the stairs to the second floor where she knew Nina and Fabian where. She didn't want to see Joy's reaction because she had said her say and there was nothing more to be said between them about the topic, they could go back to being friends.
Fabian was looking at some booklet and he and Nina smiled at Camilla when she arrived. "anything you recognise?" Camilla nodded to the booklet causing Fabian to laugh.
"Probably too many things, but to answer your actual question only 6 things donated by the Rutter's so far."
"Only four? We're losing our touch." Camilla teased causing a grin to form on Fabians face.
"Guys..." Nina spoke with a serious tone, pushing the book she was looking at under their noses, "look at this."
"The Mask of Anubis..." Camilla spoke in awe as she took in the photo.
"The Mask of Anubis was a mythical mask worn by the high priest Anubis at death." Nina read the start of the passage to them. "Legend has it that when worn at the funeral of Pharaoh's the mask used to weep tears of gold. Now, do you believe me?!" She asked Fabian as Camilla had believed her from the start. "How could I have known any of this? If Victor's after tears of gold, that means he needs the mask too..." This comment caused Camilla to roll her eyes once again, but she kept her opinions to herself as she knew she had a very different than most students did with Victor.
"Chosen One! Chosen One!" came the same voice as they heard at breakfast as Nina grabbed Camilla's hand the two girls looking around. "find it! Find it!"
"What is it?" Fabian asked worriedly. "What wrong?"
"it's me against Victor," Nina told the boy in a very dramatic fashion, "My life really is in danger..."
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WHAT? two chapters in one day....... Enjoy!
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Sarah xxx