Miss Hawkings’ Study

  Veronique wasn’t being a proper Lady as she vaguely listened to Miss Hawkings’ ranting in the background while she let her head rest on the table, not even looking at the board.

  Whatever the woman was saying it could be as well static noise to her in this moment as she started at an empty seat.

  Rhea wasn’t there, their lessons with Miss Hawkings would continue separately.

  Now Veronique had deal with those lessons first thing in the morning, while Rhea would now shadow Alexander in the mornings.

  Veronique knew this change was so she could have her private lessons with Mr Doppelganger in the afternoons, but her stupid head keep reaching a different conclusion.

  Was she really dangerous?

  News of the accident that had occurred during Ivan’s lesson had spread around the Estate by morning and Veronique found herself under another wave of scrutiny, which had previously been dwarfed by Ivan’s less then ideal arrival and the Banquette coming up.

  ‘Could they actually have a point? Maybe I do deserve to end up in an Asylum for the grater good’ Veronique had thought, her mood being an all time low even with her dogs company, which usually always cheered her up and with her low mood her hallucinations actually decided to stick close to her.

  She tried to distract herself by following the Checkers buds’ game, while she could see from the corner of her eye that Hanging Jaw was basically leaning over her shoulder ‘why did it take me to see the actual fire before I realized how dangerous I could be? Doctor Copperfold did say I could bust into flames, maybe it wasn’t a joke’

  “Whatever you are concerning with is not important” Miss Hawkings had suddenly said breaking that line of thought “Accidents while learning Skills are common practice, there is nothing to be ashamed of”

  “Aren’t you mad I disturbed your usual routine with Rhea?” Veronique had asked with caution “You can’t even observe her anymore”

  “Don’t be ridiculous I am professional I am not that rigid at my job, plus that step is not so important this far in” the woman had claimed “besides Lady Rhea had always wanted an excuse to hang out with her elder brother so you got no reason to be so mopey about it” Miss Hawkings was quick to refute such allegations

  “I am not being mopey” Veronique half heartily protested with a roll of her eyes

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  “Then are you jealous?” Miss Hawkings dared to tease her, which the redhead didn’t take too well, if the older woman was expecting a back and forward with Veronique denying such thing it wasn’t what she got

  “Alexander hates me, he could turn Rhea against me” Veronique had admitted her underline fear that came from those two hanging together, she didn’t want Rhea to hate her too.

  “Lady Rhea isn’t that gullible and she cares about you too much to get swayed so easily” Miss Hawkings had responded gently

  “She’s a child” Veronique rebutted knowing how easily children get brainwashed

  “So are you, yet sometimes you act so much like adult” the woman had said back

  “Isn’t that what’s required out of a noble?” the redhead retorted knowing there was no other way to respond to such words.

  Not one that would leave her out the crazy bin.

  “I suppose it is, but the way you act seems different” Miss Hawkings had agreed but there was doubt in her voice

  ‘Is she suspecting me?’ she lightly panicked

  “Different how?” Veronique dug at it ‘If I knew what gave that impression I could change my behaviour to blend in better’

  “It’s as if you actually got life experience, which seems utterly ridiculous” the woman had said with a huff

  “More ridiculous then killing a giant Scorpion with a kick? Mind telling about that?” there was no way for Miss Hawkings to know how right she was, so Veronique went fishing for something else even if she knew she would be unsuccessful it was worth a try.

  …and the conversation would distract Miss Hawkings from what they were talking about

  “I has promised to tell both you and Lady Rhea about my Skill after you passed my lessons” the woman had reminded her sternly at which Veronique tiled her head

  “Would you still say that if Rhea asked you?” she had asked

  “Of course I do, I don’t have favorites” Miss Hawkings was quick to deny

  ‘I highly doubt that’ it was hard for anyone to say no to Rhea.

  Their lesson resumed as intended with Veronique being able to focus.

  -

  Veronique had learned to catch the signs so she wasn’t that surprised when she felt the pull, most of the times she ended up straight in that Asylum’s room, but other times she visited other scenarios before her inevitable visit.

  Most of them were stuck in a time loop like the one with the Knight toy, then there were more elaborated ones.

  Those felt more solid and alive as she was literally either living them out or merely seeing them unfold before her eyes while she couldn’t interact at all.

  The latter was her favorite.

  For example she had ended up in futuristic submarine watching an idiotic crew chase some kind of sea monster down in the deeps leading to their moronic death as it turned out the gigantic creature they had been chasing, for no other reason then being fame seeking dicks, was a lost baby and Momma wasn’t happy about the harassment.

  She had ended up waking back at the Asylum once Momma sea monster had deliberately stuck their submarine in the deeps so they would all eventually die.

  Quite a sadistic kill if she could say.

  Thinking back to it Veronique had thought she was dreaming about some movie she had watched, but she couldn’t remember any underwater movie that had that kind of monster with that twist.

  Honestly the only thing that resembled it was a movie with a giant shark, but was nothing like what she had seen.

  Anyway it had been a good distraction and Veronique had hoped this one would be one as well as she had found herself in a simple modern house, right at the entrance.