Two
That night, snow fell.
Sitting at the table by the window in the common room and staring into the darkness outside, she could see small snowflakes drifting in the wind, illuminated by the light from her dorm hearth. It hadn’t been a long day at all—there was ample time to watch the other classes fight while sitting comfortably on the benches behind the department heads, and some of her students even opted to leave early to pack for home, seeing as there was no real obligation to be at the Academy anymore.
Ty had stayed with the rest of her students to watch Class 1-B beat 1-C and 1-E beat the class on reserve, 1-D.
There had been nothing but the feeling of hollowness as she watched the others. Asking herself what all this amounted to, how effective this all was. Playing games instead of fighting. Waiting to be good enough to face the real world.
Back at the dorms, the rest had a small supper together: Ty, Theo, Faris, Callie, and Elias. None of them had anywhere urgent to be, and that was a relief to the timid tactician—to feel like she was not an obligation to be around. It had certainly felt that way months ago, when the semester first started.
And now here she sat, by the window in the middle of the night, her notebook in front of her with Faris and Elias’s names checked off. Callie had no home to go to and was staying at the Academy, and Theo—well, that was unquestionably her fault. Ty didn’t want Callie to be alone so soon after their class exam, and Theo didn’t want to leave before Ty did, so the two had decided to leave in the morning.
Ty continued to stare out into the darkness, watching the snow fall, waiting.
Knock. Knock.
She closed her notebook, pushed her chair back quietly, and walked over to the door.
She opened it.
“Hi, Ty,” greeted the Headmistress softly, her dark eyes glistening in the flickering candlelight, full of unease.
“Hi,” the tactician replied coldly, intent on giving her nothing.
“How are you doing?”
“Good.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Pause. “Are you going back home tomorrow?”
“Yes, in the morning.”
“Well, I’ve got your class report here. Your class did well. Sorry for delivering this so late, I got to the other classes first since I heard you were leaving later.”
“It’s no problem. Thank you.”
More silence.
“You never came to see me.”
“I know.”
“I wanted to give you this.”
It was a package wrapped in decorated parchment, about the size of a book.
“What is it?”
“It’s a gift.”
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“A gift for what?”
“It was meant to be for your birthday.”
Ty did not reach for the package, instead meeting the Headmistress’s soft gaze. “Why are you doing this?”
“It’s a gift, Ty.”
She still did not take it.
“I think you’ll want to know what it is.”
She took another look at the package before analyzing the Headmistress again, trying to figure out what her goal was, what game she was trying to play this time. “Do you give gifts to other students as well?”
“Open it and see.”
Ty took a deep breath and put the class report she had just been handed onto the small stand by the door before accepting the gift.
“Nate told me that you’d appreciate…it.”
She gently tore the wrapping paper, letting it fall to the ground.
“Who’s the girl you wrote about in the report?” she asked quietly as she stared at the leather box inside. Always remembering the first report whenever the Headmistress was concerned. A red, bloody CLEAR.
“My daughter.”
The tactician looked up. “Your daughter?”
“Yes, my daughter.”
Ty turned away. “Was she the tactician that Halle spoke about?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
Silence.
“Is time being reversed because of your daughter?”
“Yes.”
Her heart felt like it was in her throat as she steadied her shaking hands, swallowing though her mouth felt dry. The box, still unopened. “Because she dies?”
“Yes.”
“We’re living through the war over and over again because you can’t find a way to keep her alive. Even if it hurts everyone else.”
“Yes.”
“This time…this time, are you going to do the same thing if she dies?”
There was no reply. Just the wind blowing the snow ever so gently in the night air, making shuffling sounds as if the ghosts of the past were gathering around.
“What if she needs to die for the war to end?”
After asking the damning question, Ty tore her eyes away from the box and looked up to the Headmistress, whose face was now turned away.
“She needs to die for the war to end, doesn’t she?” the tactician whispered.
The silence answered her question.
“That’s why Theo dies?”
When there was again no answer, Ty, with shaking hands, fumbled with the box, feeling an indescribable weight in her chest as she dropped the rest of the inconsequential packaging and held only a thick sheet of paper embossed with several official seals.
“Nate said you would want to know,” admitted the Headmistress softly.
Ty dropped the page as soon as she saw what it was. As soon as she read the first two names listed on it. She stepped back, whispering, “That’s why.”
As soon as the Headmistress felt Ty move back, she darted to the falling page, scrambling to grab it before it touched the ground like a child reaching for a runaway balloon. Her eyes were wild, desperate.
“It was…this was…” The Headmistress tried to smile as she lovingly placed the page back into the box before stacking it on top of the class report. “It was the second item Min—I mean, Levyarn—wanted to show you. That she took from me.”
“Is there a reason why she left me those books?” Ty asked quietly.
“They want you to understand why you have to leave.” The words were piercing, wiping the small smile off her face. “And Nate said…you’d find out anyway, if you went home. I…I wanted to tell you myself.”
Ty dug her fingernails into her palms. “Am I Class 1-A’s tactician because of you?”
Hearing this, the Headmistress’s wild, pathetic look softened into a fond smile, and her voice returned to its usual gentle tone. “No, you made it in on your own merit, that you can be sure. Joanie—your…your mother—is a fantastic teacher.”
The tactician couldn’t even nod as the Headmistress exhaled loudly, smiling her forced smile, all the traces of weakness purged. “I’m sorry, I should return to my nightly rounds. Have a good night.”
And then she bowed deeply, her hands clasped in front of her like a maid dismissing herself.
The door shut.
“What was that?”
Ty spun around and saw Theo standing by the dorm entryway. There was a concerned look on his face.
“How much of…” she began, voice choking. She hadn’t heard him come in.
“Just the last few words. Did the Headmistress drop off the class report?”
Without even thinking, Ty lifted an unsteady hand and pointed to the small table beside the door. “She…gave me something else.”
Theo walked over to Ty, curiosity piqued. “Wrapped and all. What’s inside?”
She let her arm drop. “Look,” she whispered.
Wordlessly, he walked over to the table and lifted the box’s lid, putting it to the side as he picked up the piece of paper, reading the page thoroughly unlike Ty, even flipping it over to see if there was anything else on the back.
Her heart was still pounding in her ears, her head light as Theo finished reading through it all and stared at her, eyes wide.
“You’re the Headmistress’s daughter.”
The winter break of their first year, Callie was among friends, as Ty told Theo everything on that dark, snowy night. The decision had been easy after that—they would make the most of their time left together. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else even came close.
