The others hadn't even got there yet and I was already nervous. Mom was basically skipping and humming a tune. I couldn't name it, but I was certain I'd heard it before.

The toll of a bell would be less ominous.

Vivian seemed relaxed, which wasn't helping my nerves.

"You know, I've never been in here before," Mom said as she sat down in one of the chairs. The room was a bit bigger than normal and thus had more space.

"Did you ever interact with Representatives while you were at school?"

"A little, not much. Usually, it was when I had a duel and needed to go over the paperwork. Or the occasional detention. We didn't get involved in school activities much. Larae always had to drag Ruby to dances."

That must be where Celica got the idea from. Not that it worked out.

"And you just let her do that?"

"It was good for Ruby to socialize a little bit. Not that she ever danced much. I worried that her eye made it hard for her to get a date but Ruby never seemed that interested in romance. Not until Ignatius."

"Ruby was glad to not have the swarms of suitors vying for her attention," Vivian finally spoke up.

"Not being the Heir of Fire comes with a lot of perks," Mom said as she winked at me.

She and I needed to talk about that at some point.

"It's not all bad though," Vivian commented.

"Some parts were nice. It was a lot easier to keep Ruby out of trouble. But there was always a risk of lingering swamp smell."

Swamp smell? Right, Fethris mentioned something like that once. I suppose being an heir to anything would matter more to Kelpies. It was kind of their thing.

Was I going to have to deal with that after this? Oh no.

"Serafina!" Gregory Set's voice interrupted my thoughts. It was just him and Dellik.

Dellik glanced at my mother nervously as she waved.

Set, either unaware or uncaring, grinned and held out his hand to her. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Stewart. Serafina's been wonderful and very helpful on the council."

Weren't Pixies supposed to be bad at lying? What was he talking about?

Mom giggled, I was pretty sure it was fake. "My Serafina is full of surprises like that."

"She's a good person, and I'm happy to have the chance to work with her."

Mom tilted her head and looked between Set and me. She hummed and then smiled genuinely. "It's nice of you to say that."

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Dellik sighed in relief. I didn't blame him.

Set gasped and turned to Vivian, "Sorry Professor, it's nice to see you too."

Vivian waved him off. "It's fine, I'm a far more common sight at these meetings."

Whatever else happens now, at least things with Set were going to stay drama free. Mom had at least partially listened and was playing nice.

But then the king of drama decided to arrive. Thoth with Professor Telvis.

Mom's eyes narrowed for a moment just long enough for Dellik to flinch before she shifted to a very fake pleasant expression. I suddenly remembered that she had read that disastrous first school paper. The one Thoth was at least semi-responsible for.

Thoth looked at Mom and blinked. "You must be Serafina's mother. Nice to meet you."

Judging from the lack of fear or nervousness on Thoth's face, Telvis probably hadn't told him anything.

Oh boy.

"I am. Lucinda Stewart, but please you guys can call me Lucinda. No need for formalities, I'm not a professor anymore."

Thoth's expression didn't change, "Anymore? You used to teach?"

"I did, I taught Spellcraft a long time ago. About seventeen years, I think?"

Thoth's expression cracked just a bit, but he was still mostly calm. "Have you subscribed to our school paper?" The tone sounded well-practiced. Scripted probably.

Then again, he probably asks that of a lot of parents.

There was a slight shift in Vivian's expression too fast for me to read. But Mom's mouth twitched with a grin that almost made me feel bad for Thoth. Almost.

"I was. But that first one was such a mess I just had to cancel it."

That made Thoth flinch.

"But I suppose we all make mistakes," Mom looked up behind him to the door opening again for more of the council.

Ra, Osiris, Maat, and Bastet didn't seem to mind Mom's presence and she seemed pretty uninterested in them. Thankfully.

But then Horus arrived with Aetos. Who was looking a bit paler than when I had last seen him.

"You really are here," Aetos said. It sounded both scared and accusatory at the same time.

"Of course, I am, my baby is on the Representative council in her first year! I'm so proud of her," Mom poked me for emphasis.

Aetos looked between me and Vivian. If he knew about Mom he must have figured out the rest. And judging from the way he seemed to almost push Horus away from all of us, he'd had no idea until now.

Well, that's one problem maybe solved. I was still going through with the Creature Cage plan. Cover all our bases.

Mom let out a very real giggle.

Vivian gave her a look that made me suspect that there was a conversation I was missing.

Stupid curse.

Anubis and Gorgon were last.

Gorgon looked nervous and Anubis barely got a chance to look at my mother in surprise before Gorgon was getting her out of the line of fire.

Whatever faults they seemed to have, both Kelpie and Kraken Tower Heads were looking after their own. In their own ways, I supposed.

I sat down while Mom stayed silent.

Occasionally, her and Vivian would exchange a look while the others talked about the arrival windows of the rest of the parents tomorrow.

"We'll be using the Chaser field for the Creature Cage and the Coven Call," Vivian explained while reading from a set of notes.

Mom winked at me while nudging me with an elbow. I ignored her because giving her a reaction would only encourage her.

"In previous years we held both events in the morning, but due to the change of arrivals it will be pushed to later, you all will need to be there an hour earlier. Those of you participating in either will get special instructions then and there," Vivian continued.

I was proud of myself for not glaring at my mother then and there.

"For those of you who have parents arriving tomorrow, just follow the procedures as normal. Those of you who dealt with them today, your Tower Head may have tasks and duties assigned to them and they may call on you for assistance. In any case, make sure you go over all the rules and specifics for any members of your Tower that intend to participate in the Coven Contest."

That would be harder for me, who barely knew the rules. But we'd probably need a Tower meeting over it later. But that wouldn't be too much of a big deal. Especially since I apparently had a bit of free time tomorrow.

Hopefully, enough time to prepare myself for what I was going to do.

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