The Early Days

***Joint writing project with Todd. Peg and Vera near the beginning of their time together at the AC.***
 
Margarete had only been at the school a few weeks. It was all so new and she was still getting her bearings. Sitting in class wasn’t her favorite, but the topics were interesting and the teachers weren’t as harsh as she was used to. Maybe it was going to be okay here. She opened the door to her dorm room–it was still strange to live away from home and with someone else–and set down her books on the table.
 
Vera was sitting at the main table, with her work sprawled out across it. She was a messy teen, and seemed to spread her mess wherever she was able like a goldfish filling its bowl. Her current obsession was calligraphy, and half-used papers with deranged script comprised most of the mess, while blots of ink covered in sand made for sneaky traps for the unwary in those precious leftover spots.
 
“Hello, Vera!” Peg waves cheerfully, as she comes in. She looks over the table with wide eyes. “You have…a lot going on here. What are you doing?”
 
She makes a farting noise out from behind her mask, exhaling and deflating. “Working on calligraphy. I’m sure I will eventually have servants to do it, but I need to know what looks right. Right? Right.” Vera looks over at Peg. “Classes went well?”
 
She laughs brightly. “They did. The teachers are nice here. Your mother didn’t teach you calligraphy?”
 
“Probably. I’ve forgotten again though. So I’m relearning it. What do you think?” She holds up a page showing a rather ghoulish rendition of Master Techlan rather than letters. “I call it Novandrian Classical.”
 
Peg grimaces a little as she looks at it. “It is…unique.” She offers. “You’ve mentioned forgetting a lot. You had an accident, right?”
 
“Oh, yea. I guess I didn’t tell you. I assumed everyone knew or that you had heard through gossip,” Her voice takes on a slightly more cautious tone, as if not wanting to give too much information if Peg doesn’t want to hear.
 
“I can give a concise summary if you’d like? Your hair looks really pretty today.”
 
“Thank you. I am trying to remember to do it up like my mother would.” Peg takes a seat by Vera. “I don’t like gossip too much. You never know what people might say that’s mean or just not true. I’d rather hear what you’d like to tell me about it.”
 
Vera taps her finger to her lips clumsily, like she is practicing the maneuver still. Then she gets up from the table and takes a seat at one of the couches. “The trip to here from Ruskovich was by airship. It was one of the first ones that my father had built. It was considered a source of great pride. He could now deliver his eldest to Novandria without worrying about highwaymen or robbers to attend the prestigious Academia Cassus.”
 
“But there was a mistake, or an error. That is what I have been told. At the border between Eisen and Patlov, one of the ele-engines failed. It did so in a rather spectacular way from what I am told. The entire ship exploded, raining down debris. I was the only survivor. I consider myself lucky. Others wonder if I’m a bad luck charm instead.” She shrugs. “That is where I got my scars from.”
 
Peg shudders a bit as she listens. “That’s horrifying, Vera! How awful. Everyone else died? How did they find you? That’s why you don’t remember a lot. And you aren’t a bad luck charm. You ended up here with me bringing me good luck!”
 
A young elven woman of about 19 years of age steps out of her room. “Oh yes, such luck. A hexblood and a masked freak. I still can’t believe they wouldn’t accept my request for room change.”
 
Vera looks over at Eridi, “Please be nice to Margarete. She is still new and trying to learn how to fit in.” Vera looks back over at Peg. “I bet she will become very popular like you, Eridi. She is smart and beautiful.”
 
Eridi huffs, “She may not know the rules, but you do. You are not to speak unless spoken to. So shut it, Vee ra.” She rolls her eyes and comes over to put out her own work on the table, pushing Vera’s stuff onto the floor.
 
 
Peg’s eyes flash with her anger and her features darken. She shoves Eridi’s things off the table. “Vera was already working here. Get your own space.”
 
Eridi looks at her with utter disdain. “How cute. One little freak standing up for the other. Adorable.” As she bends over to pick her things up from the floor, a tendril of shadowy energy emanates from Peg’s hand and slams Eridi’s head into the table. Another pushes her back and she hits the floor with a thud, looking up at Peg with terror.
 
Vera lets out a small squeak, “Margarete?” She freezes, caught between terror and uncertainty.
 
Peg looks over to Vera and down to Eridi. Her eyes go wide. “No, no. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. Please.” She extends a hand to Eridi, but the elf doesn’t take it. “Get away from me!” She screams.
 
“You bumped your head, Eridi. You should make sure it doesn’t bruise,” Vera motions to Eridi's bedroom. “Go look in the mirror.”
 
“Margarete? Did you want company in your room?” she says timidly, picking up some of the debris on the floor.
 
Eridi’s eyes dart between the two of them, exhibiting an almost feral moment before Eridi decides that fleeing is better than taking them both on. She recoils from them and flees to her room, slamming the door behind her. The draft causes several of the papers around the room to flutter and shift. Then the room is quiet again except for the muffled crying coming from Eridi’s room.
 
Peg nods mutely at Vera, hurrying into her room. She grabs her doll from the shelf and holds it tightly against her as she sits down on the bed. “I’m so sorry, Veronika. I didn’t mean to. I just make everything worse. So stupid.”
 
Vera follows her into her room, closing the door softly. She turns and watches Peg for a moment before replying. When she does, she comes over to sit next to Peg on the bed, “I don’t think you are stupid.”
 
The two sit in silence for a moment, with Vera just sitting near Peg. Finally, Vera says, “I can’t believe Eridi was so clumsy. Throwing my work on the floor and then slipping on it? It is almost like divine retribution. Akmon certainly shows his disdain in silly ways sometimes, huh?”
 
She looks over at Vera in confusion. “Akmon? What…but I…oooh…” She takes a deep breath and sits up a little. “I am certain Akmon has reasons for showing displeasure in whatever way he chooses, don’t you agree?”
 
“Probably,” she giggles. “I certainly don’t know. I probably knew a lot about that.” She gives a whimsical shrug. “So who is that?” she points to the doll as she asks. If she notices the guards come back up, she doesn’t react. She hasn’t been in Peg’s room much, so she just seems to be enjoying the closeness.
 
She looks at the doll and smoothes its hair back. “This is Dolly. I’ve had her since I was young. She helps me feel better.” Peg smiles softly and then gets up to return Dolly to her shelf. “It’s silly.”
 
“Why do you think it is silly?” Vera watches her put the doll back in its place, but doesn’t stop her.
 
She smoothes her dress as she returns to sit on the edge of her bed. “It is a childish thing, dolls. I’m 16 now.”
 
“It’s hard leaving everything behind as you grow older. I think it’s like having to remake yourself completely, not being able to remind yourself of what you were. Each piece that you put to the side starts to belong to someone else, until you don’t really know who you are and you have to build up a new pile of things to understand yourself.” Vera babbles a bit, then looks over at the doll,” You could maybe keep something to help remind yourself? That seems responsible and adult.”
 
She listens thoughtfully and nods. “I guess you have had to figure that out a lot. What with the accident and all. You’re very brave and smart.”
 
“I have a brother and a sister at home. I don’t remember very much about them,” Vera says, looking up at the doll. “But in my lonely times, I think that we would have been close. I would have held them during storms, and let them creep into my bed when they heard the wolves howl. I wonder if I left a doll at home for them to hold when I left.” She pauses a moment, still watching the doll. “It seems like Dolly is doing a fine job, if you don’t need someone else to hold you when you feel bad. You should keep her. At least until you find someone who will hold you when she isn’t there.”
 
Peg listens thoughtfully to what Vera says. “I bet you were the best sister and that your siblings felt very safe and loved.” She looks over at Dolly. “You are right. She does take good care of me. And isn’t that better than always needing to go to Deiter?”
 
“With you living here, you probably won’t be able to see him as much in a different dorm. Dolly seems to be around more. I’m next door too, if you want,” she sits back so she can more easily see Peg through the mask.
 
Peg gives her a small, thankful smile and nods. Vera wraps her arms around the other girl in a hug before heading back to her own room.