The Accounts of An Ordinary Bookstore…

(His view)

Diing, don, diing, dong, the school bell chimed along with delight. diiing, don, diiing, do-

“I swear to every godforsaken royal in Fleur if these Maryjane’s won’t fit I’ll just go back home!” The school bell chimed behind the girl's frustration.

Constance Winthrop: A real proper lady who had been homeschooled because of an especially weak constitution.

At least… that’s who she should be, the boy thought, bending down to undo the buckle on the shoe she was attacking.

“I don’t ask for much but seriously, the redhead got some aristocrat murder case and ours is what? Standing in for a little miss perfect for a WHOLE semester?!”

He finished undoing the buckle as she rambled on and slipped into her argyle socks in the brand-new shoes making sure to tighten the buckle just enough, so he wouldn’t have to do it again soon. Pushing off his knees to stand up he narrowly avoided her flying arms as she kept on.

“I truly cannot fathom why this old guy wants me to pretend to be a dead girl instead of finding out what killed her, and anyway the fact that there just happened to be another man paying to pretend his son wasn’t skipping classes is just perfect.”

If they hadn’t been in a back alleyway straightening themselves off after the uncomfortable ride in the back of a local SELLERS associates wagon he would have found some way to stop her prattling so she didn’t reveal their whole life story to the Academy… Or maybe he wouldn’t have, he was just as annoyed since that old geezer Ed had practically handed it to them like a promotion. He straightened out his face as it had twisted in anger after remembering the conversation.

After showing them the brief file of Constance’s… incident he’d immediately shut it and said “Well, ordinarily we’d be asked to solve this, but no cigar” he’d mimed puffing one and shook his head.

“You see, what I need you to do is go to The Fleur Academy for the Esteemed and maybe…” He had paused, bringing out two school uniforms in dry cleaning bags. Looking back the boy should have known it would have been good at that point.

“Learn some new things, make friends, do whatever seems appropriate. Don’t work too hard or you might blow your cover just have fun so that no one starts asking where dear little Constance went.” When he had finished he glanced at the girl who he was clearly warning to stay out of the customer's business.

The boy had almost stood up and said a few choice words to the old man who had raised the girl to be a highly skilled member of the society yet suddenly decided to discard her whenever he wanted. No other team memorized the labyrinth of pathways when they had barely lost baby teeth but she did and as soon as she brought him in he had started learning as well.

Unfortunately, he was stopped, as always by her, and a quick stomp on his foot. The old man then pulled out another file that was simply one page. He had flicked it for good measure and looked up at the boy.

“You bear a resemblance don’t you think?” The boy had thought that Grandpa Ed could have shown any picture of a little kid and if they had similar hair and eye color of course they would look like him. The picture was of a child no older than Cami with a plain expression, it seemed whoever submitted it couldn’t even be bothered to send a current picture. After that, Grandpa Ed handed him the paper without explaining and went back to his usual completely light-hearted old-man act.

“…Back when I was in your shoes… get it because I gave you those shoes of mine? Oh, you don’t seem to be wearing them today but it doesn't matter. I was quite a ladies' man and….”

They both tuned the old man out for an additional fifteen minutes before finally taking their leave and walking silently back out to the old shop on Ainemerr Street.

He had stared down the whimpering deer who supposedly worked as the shop clerk and after she’d conveyed his little sister's message? Something of the sort that ended in him dragging her along so they could prepare.

So now they were sitting in the alley while she rambled on about solving actual issues and helping people, and here we go so you better not drag me down. Yes, here we… wait what?

He snapped back into motion and briskly walked to catch up with her. As they approached the golden metal gates they both froze for a second. Or so he thought they would but she kept walking so he did too. The main building had 5 huge spires and the castle-like structure was covered in aesthetically placed vines. The fountain bubbled with clear blue water and the courtyards bustled with students. In awe, he lamented his inability to adapt as fast as her and followed along closely. Maybe a bit too closely because all of a sudden she was the only thing he could see. Waving a hand in front of his face he could tell she was upset again

“Seriously, do you want to see my dorm room first or not?” She asked impatiently but he didn’t understand if she was asking because she wanted him to help her set up or because she wanted him to make sure the room was no less than what she expected from their home. Most partners lived together with two other groups as they did but it wasn’t as if they acknowledged each other at home and they were rarely home anyway so why would she be nervous about a new room? He was trying his best to choose his words wisely as she cut in.

“It’s never that serious but I’d suppose it’s needed, I mean you would need to know where to look for me if you gather any information in this prison”

As she’d been talking they made it to the girls' dormitory hall and he watched as she’d begun mindlessly tracing the wall with her hand, a habit from the tunnel hallways she frequented. Instead of reminding her that they were not supposed to “work too hard” or find out about Constance. He sighed and readjusted his hands on their suitcases.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m your roommate Elodi Beatrice!” An annoyingly sweet tone and a very refined appearance. He noticed her eyes darting between them before Lady Elodi spoke again although there wasn’t much of a gap between her flapping gums. At least that’s how he felt.

“Oh dear, where are my manners? You must be a very esteemed lady to have brought your very own butler. I don’t believe the rules say servants are permitted however…” her gabby jibber jatter was easily ignored by the girl so he figured he should remain calm as well… but would this blabbering butterbrained girl ever get a grip!

“Um I don’t mean to interrupt but I’d like to introduce myself if that’s okay.” Good grief at least she had stopped “Bellowdi” and her noise or he would have found a way to get it done.

Young lady Beatrice blinked a few times and then looked slightly embarrassed. “Go ahead please, I was just a bit nervous.” Although she smiled shyly after he failed to find this endearing as his partner later said it had been.

The girl chuckled and said “Alright then my name is Constance Winthrop and this is my first year at the academy. As for him..” She turned to look at him and he changed his expression to a flat smile since she had said he was best at that. “Pf- ahem this young man is the heir to Flannerdam barony, Oswald Flannerdam.”

Whether it was his awkward expression or odd cover name, “Oswald” couldn't tell what had prompted her to laugh at the beginning but he tried his best to bow and greet her roommate. As the girls began chatting again he quickly lost interest and he felt Elodi must have noticed his general lack of intrigue in the conversation because she practically pushed him out of the room.

“I’ll take good care of Constance so you should find out your living situation!” With that, she slammed the door before “Constance” could give him a single glance.

He hardly cared whether his roommate was sociable or not, he thought as he approached his assigned quarters.

Bam-thunk-CRASH! Interrupting his thoughts was the door swinging wide open to reveal a boy with his hair pulled back in a long black braid and his long silk garments devouring him in a heaping mess. He looked up and offered a weak hand for a handshake. Shaking his hand and pulling him off the floor, the boy noticed numerous silk pieces that seemed to have escaped the bundle from which they had originally been allocated. Maybe he was an exchange student from the East?

“Thanks for your help, as you can see I may have overpacked, and then my sleeve was stuck in the door and.. well I’m sure you can see what a disarray we have.”

He swung his long braid over one shoulder and began cleaning but his intonation and word choice puzzled the boy. Surely, he wasn’t from Fleur but most people from different places had sought outdated text to learn the language which often resulted in slightly different styles of speech. He decided he didn’t care enough to ask and took a seat on the clean bed watching the boy clean.

“Oh right, what’s your name?” He looked up and “Oswald” found his face familiar. His eager expression was reminiscent of Grandpa Ed when he would tell them about his stories of youth. The boy guessed this was because he was probably happy to have someone who had no choice but to become his captive audience.

“I’m Oswald Flannerdam, and you?” He figured speaking less would in turn create fewer troubles.

Looking slightly amused, the boy said lightly, almost under his breath “So your Oswald…” Then louder “My name? Right, you can just call me…” He scrambled around before quickly scribbling out his name into a notebook and ripping out the page. As the paper was handed to him, Oswald looked down at the almost unintelligible writing with confusion.

“Your name is Aslow D.? Is D. a surname or…” Upset by his confusion Aslow snatched the paper and responded with a hint of combativeness.

“Call me whatever you like, I just wrote what I’m usually known as.” Oswald figured his colleague would not be too happy if he returned to her with an enemy created in less than a day so he put his confusion aside and began to open up the suitcase. It was not like he needed to make friends with everyone anyway.

After a few minutes of silence, Aslow D. spoke up “So why did you decide to come back to school Oswald?”

“Huh? I believe this is our first meeting, so what's the meaning behind such comments?” The boy stopped in his tracks and started to wonder if his cover was already exposed.

“....Are you not aware? You may not be from a large family but it isn’t like the average gossip cares. Everyone knows that you skipped school so much even the Headmaster started to think you didn’t exist.” Aslow D. said all this very dramatically as if retelling a story about some forbidden romance or a cruel murder.

Relieved, Oswald simply stated, “I ought to get an education at some point.”

“I see… by the way, I don’t mean to pry but is there a reason you have women's clothes or is that because you ought to try them out at some point.”

Whipping around to look at the suitcase he had partly opened, he realized it’s contents were overflowing and primarily composed of skirts, dresses, and lots of layering items to go with. He vaguely took note of his roommates' amusement before closing the case hurriedly and heading for the door.

While the school was hardly as eventful as their normal jobs the boy felt it was probably a safer position as well. The first day had gone off without any trouble and he was sure today would too.

Thunk. He looked up to see a girl with wavy, sandy blonde hair staring down at the books he knocked down. “I know you probably didn’t mean it, but you’ll get into trouble if you walk around without paying attention.”

Her smile seemed to insinuate this advice was genuine but her words and tone suggested otherwise. He didn’t have to do anything since his roommate helped the girl up and grabbed her books. He also apologized for both of them before the girl sashayed away.

“I honestly can’t tell if that means you're on good terms or not but I’m guessing she’s mad at you about something.” The boy had observed that Aslow D. always found a way to dramatize things and oddly enough since Oswald had always assumed him to be foreign, his information about everyone exceeded most others. He also found the roommate had a keen interest in being the one to share his information and enlighten the clueless.

“There's nothing for her to be so upset over since we have no connection whatsoever.” He was more focused on getting to the courtyard to see Constance and pass off his conversational duties.

“How could you not know her?! She’s Belladonna Winthrop? Like the cousin of the one and only girl you treat like a person?!”

With exasperation and pity that felt oddly insulting to Oswald, Aslow D. pat his shoulder patronizingly. “Pardon my surprise, I forgot that you would probably forget me too if we didn't share a room. Not to worry though you have me and I appreciate your silence.”

While he was sure he must have learned about this cousin somewhere along the line it hadn’t occurred to him that he might just bump into her without Constance. Honestly, it was already weird for his partner to pretend to be a dead girl but the employer had even stated that the girl needed to fool most of the extended family who hadn’t seen their ill relative in years. He felt both Constance and Oswald’s parents must have been obsessed with their appearances to an extreme degree to even consider hiring stand-ins for their children.

Whatever the case, because of their brief encounter, Oswald would now face a barrage of information regarding Belladonna as they headed out into the bright sparkling sunlight of the courtyard.