Chapter 3:
As pointless as that meeting had been there was no way that she could admit defeat. She would simply have to ask her parents about this.
She took out her orb and pressed in the runes that would access her father, Malachi.
As always, it took an incredibly long time to get him to answer.
"Hello, Laz- Oh, Myrcella. I did not expect to hear from you so soon. Are you settling in well?"
"Well actuall-"
"I'll admit I was hesitant to let you share a dorm, but your mother assured me that you're far more personable than Lazarus. And when I heard about the family of your roommate... I know you will do our family well and assure us of an alliance. Sirens are powerful allies."
So this wasn't carelessness on her parents' part. This was a mission where she was far more capable than Lazarus. She couldn't let them down.
"Of course, Father. I've already made contact. She is already ecstatic to meet me."
"That's good to hear. Do be cautious. Sirens can be incredibly manipulative and dangerous. I should be in contact with her family soon."
"Of course, Father."
That conversation went nowhere. Part of her suspected her mother must have rigged the roommate assigned to her. Sirens studied water magic or dolphin language courses. Myrcella was on the umbramancy track. They'd be useless to each other.
Her parents were never wrong, though. That meant that she had to take his words seriously. Still, Sephora hardly seemed manipulative, let alone dangerous.
Her classes hadn't begun, but she already knew this was going to be the most important year of her life. Her father trusted her to strengthen an alliance.
She headed back to her dorm room. She certainly hoped that she had a chance to catch her breath befo-
"Myrcie! You're back already!" ...those little arms attached themselves to her.
Myrcella looked down into those massive blue orbs and sighed as she pried Sephora off of her. "My name is Myrcella."
Lucretia chuckled, a bit nervously, and pulled Sephora closer to her. "Sephy is one for nicknames."
Myrcella looked at the two of them before walking towards her desk. "It would appear that this rooming arrangement is inescapable. So since we will be living together we shou-"
Sephora clapped and nodded. "Yes! You're absolutely right! Lulu and I were talking while you were gone." She walked closer and smiled. "Don't feel bad at all. Just because Lu and I can't be roomies, that doesn't mean we have to be sad at all! We should make the best of it and go for ice cream!"
Myrcella looked at her. "What I was going to say is that we should establish ground rules."
Sephora nodded, "Alright. Want to talk about 'em over ice cream?"
Myrcella shook her head, "No thank you, as long as we respect each other's personal space, we should be fine."
Lucretia took Sephora's hand. "Come on, Seph, Myrcella has work to do. We should go now if we want to miss the rush."
Sephora nodded and was rushed out the door before she could say anything else.
Sephora hummed softly the whole walk through the campus. Near the front entrance portal of the school, there were several small shops to give the students a variety. There was, of course, the student store, but nearby there was a small diner with an attached candy store that also sold ice cream and soda. It was a popular hangout spot for many of the younger students, but older students usually ventured out of the school's pocket dimension to mingle with mortals.
Lucretia carefully perused the ice cream flavors, asking the bored employee behind the counter for samples of almost half of the available flavors. She risked getting full-on samples before settling on two scoops of mint chocolate chip, placed responsibly in a cup.
Sephora, on the other hand, raced to place her order, picking flavors she'd never even heard of. "Ooh! I want a scoop of Aquatic Delight, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and then, hmmm... Let's just go crazy and try the Peanut Butter Bubblegum Goulash. Yeah, that'll do it. In a cone. A chocolate-dipped cone. Ooh, and gummy bears. No, wait! I won't fall for that again, sprinkles. Lots of sprinkles. "
After he had finished scribbling down her order, the clerk raised a brow as he held the cone and scoop near the Peanut Butter Bubblegum Goulash. "Are you sure? No one has ever ordered it." He leaned in and whispered, "It's just what the owner likes..."
A voice shouted from the back, "You didn't believe me, but I told ya Beanie! I knew it'd be a hit."
"Yeah, it's a hit! I'll keep it!"
Lucretia shrugged at the clerk and began to count out her axia. She knew Sephora's order would be much more expensive but it made Sephy happy and that's all that mattered.
Once the girls had their ice cream, they sat down and started eating. Lucretia took small bites of her ice cream and smiled in satisfaction. Sephora took long licks from bottom to top, making a little face at the bizarre flavor profile she had chosen for herself.
"You know, I really think this Goulash is gonna take off. Wanna try some?"
"No, I'm fine. Sephora, we have to talk about Myrcella."
"Isn't she great? I think she really likes me." Sephora's face twisted into a grimace before she laughed. "Don't tell the owner but I still like Aquatic Delight best."
"Sephy, please. Be serious for a second. I don't think she's as nice as you think she is." Lucretia shook her head slightly at Sephora's nonchalance.
"You need evidence, Lady, before ya start swingin' accusations left and right! That's a lotta tough talk from a small fry!" Sephora giggled and covered one eye. "Yarr!!"
"That's a terrible pirate impression, you lil' stinker. But fine, if you need evidence... I knew the name "Ira" sounded familiar, and as we crossed the quad I realized why. Look over there." Lucretia pointed out the window towards one of the buildings on campus, a spartan and somewhat bleak beige structure. In front of the building was a concrete slab with dark engraved letters. "Ira Hall. I never have to go in there because I think it's just for umbramancy but I pass the building basically every day."
"Okay?" Sephora continued to eat her ice cream. "So her parents are loaded and funded the shadow magic department. What's the problem?"
"Shadow magic people are insane! They're always like... capturing people and... I dunno... kidnapping them... She's bad news! Stay away from Myrcella."
Sephora had a really smug look on her face, with a raised eyebrow and a hand on her hip even though she was sitting down. She held her ice cream a little higher and gently licked it, as though it made her seem more refined. "Well, it'll be a lil hard to stay away if we're roomies. You're being so silly."
A boy was sitting near them with a massive sundae in front of him, especially compared to his small frame. He turned his chair around suddenly. "Are you talking about Myrcella Ira?"
Lucretia nodded, "Yes, Sephora is her new roommate. I'm trying to explain why-"
The boy abruptly picked up his sundae and plopped it on their table, leaving little room for either girl. He turned to Sephora. "What? You need to get out of there. Change your name if you have to! She's the scariest person I've ever met and my stepdad is literally an ogre. I'm Toby, by the way."
Sephora extended a hand to Toby with a big smile. "I'm Sephora, that's Lucretia. Very nice to meet you. What do you mean she's scary, bub? We hugged and you can't hug scary people. That's just a fact."
Lucretia smiled. "I'm really proud of you for not adding Jack to the end of that, but let's just hear him out. What did she do to you?"
"Well, she didn't do anything to me, per se. In high school, I had an elective with her and her older brother Lazarus. Debate... I took it to become more self-confident, but it quickly just turned into me and the other students trying to survive. I guess I blame the teacher a little bit too. She was kind of chaotic herself and just let those two go wild. Some people just like to watch the world burn and all that. Those two only debated each other and Lazarus would say maybe a sentence or two that would dismantle Myrcella's entire argument and then the shadows went flying throughout the room. I think I only actually went on the podium maybe one time."
Sephora frowned. "Well, that sounds awful. But we have to be a little empathetic. Some people are sore losers... maybe we can help her get better."
Lucretia sighed. "Or we can just do our best to limit all of your interactions with her. I don't want you hurt."
Sephora shook her head. "No, it's time for Plan Become Besties with Myrcella to take full effect!"