Getting to Vivian Hearth's office was easier this time around. This section of the school was still a bit of a maze. I found the door closed and after a few seconds to steady myself I knocked on the door with two rapid knocks.

The door swung open and I heard her voice inside.

"Please come in."

I stepped inside the office to see Vivian hearth had a visitor.

"Is this a bad time Professor?" I asked.

Why was Professor Gorgon here?

"Not at all. Gorgon and I were just going over some particulars you might be interested in. You might actually be able to help sort this out," she said to me.

"I'll help in any way that I can," I told them both. I doubted I was going to be much help in anything but no reason to be rude to either of them.

She gave me a soft smile and then turned a hard and cold look to Gorgon. "Why don't you start with detailing how paperwork for a duel between yourself and Representative Anubis landed on my desk?"

Ah. That. Yeah I kind of figured that was the reason she called me here in the first place.

Oh right, Gorgon was Kraken Tower's Head.

I took a breath the steady myself. "Fethris Nightcall and myself were walking back to Dragon Tower. I had intended to do some research with some of the books we have that the library doesn't." I was looking at and rubbing my hand over my cursed wrist as I spoke.

I hoped that Professor Hearth caught on to what I was talking about. I didn't want to have to clarify with Gorgon right there.

"Anubis was waiting outside. I asked her very politely what she wanted and she mentioned wanting to talk to you. I told her I had no idea where you were at that time." Why was I so nervous? "She called me useless and informed me she intended to convince you to make someone else take the job of Representative."

Which in reality I might have been fine with. If not for the way Anubis acted. But I doubted voicing those thoughts out loud would do me any good. At least my filter was working again.

"I then asked politely to be let into my Tower and that's when she challenged me to a Duel of Vis," I swallowed and then continued, "her terms were that I would have to surrender the job of Representative if I lost."

I looked up to see Vivian Hearth look tense and even a little angry.

I glanced back down. Was she angry at me or was she angry at the situation? She was one of the few who understood why I couldn't do it. And I intended to keep it that way.

"I tried to ask details and she told me three on Saturday. Except I have plans at that time. I tried to explain this and got called a lying coward for it. I didn't know how to defuse the situation and panicked. I offered a second to duel in my place and both parties in question agreed."

I rushed out the last half. But it was still the truth. I vaguely remembered there being a truth potion that exists and if they wanted me to take some I would.

I mustered up the courage to look up to see Vivian Hearth give Gorgon a hard stare that made me want to flinch and hide.

"That's a bit different than the story Representative Anubis told me," Vivian Hearth explained.

"So who do we believe?" Gorgon commented.

Vivian tapped her fingers on her desk, her nails clicked against the wood. "Miss Stewart, Mister Set also felt the need to send me a message. Can you guess what it said?"

I shrugged, "I have no idea."

"He expressed concern that Anubis was bullying you into it," Vivian said while looking between me and Gorgon.

I paused while trying to find a way to be both truthful and diplomatic about this. "I mean…I can understand why he might think that. She did spend the entire Representative Council meeting being rude to me, but I don't know if 'bullying' is the right term either. Maybe 'very insistent' would be more accurate." Why didn't they pick someone with a little more tact?

Gorgon turned his stony cold gaze on me. It felt different now than it had back in class.

The tiredness from before was seeping back into my body.

I know I hadn't exactly helped the situation, but if I was good with people I would probably be back in Massachusetts. And in either case Anubis had started it. There were seven other people there in that meeting who could attest.

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Vivian sat up impossibly straighter in her chair and picked up a pen that had been sitting flat on her desk. "Miss Stewart, whatever the specifics may be at this time you are the challenged party. Your Saturday is blocked out. Sealie insists that you shouldn't be doing anything strenuous after I am done helping you work on solving the problem with your magic."

I was very glad she hadn't said I was cursed out loud.

Gorgon turned back to Vivian Hearth, "Problem?"

"Nothing that concerns you, nor does it seem to be affecting her performance in your class. But for transparency's sake Miss Stewart will be busy likely all Saturdays for the foreseeable future."

Fun.

I sighed, "For the record, since rumors about it are making the rounds, I can't cast. At all. That's what Professor Hearth is helping me with. Something is interfering with my mana's ability to leave my body."

"And yet you're able to use runes in my class," He commented with a doubtful expression.

"No, I'm not. I just have a very accommodating partner in Celica," I explained.

He narrowed his eyes at me. I could practically taste the judgement and doubt in the air.

"It's as she says," Vivian Hearth spoke again cutting the tension in the air with a sharp reprimanding tone. "Between both you being unavailable at the selected time and incapable of dueling for yourself I can't say I am surprised you claimed a second."

I nodded, "Fethris Nightcall. He's agreed to indulge Representative Anubis in my place. It seemed fair since he placed second in the voting for Dragon Tower Representative."

Vivian Hearth was writing something down. "I've been informed that the condition for you losing is stepping down from your current position. However tradition dictates that you are also allowed to pick a winning condition."

Gorgon somehow looked stiffer.

Crap. "Uh…do I have to?" I asked.

I got confused looks from both of them.

"Look, can I be honest for a second? I don't want this. I don't want any of this. Fethris shouldn't have to fight a battle for me and I don't want conflict with the other Representatives. Anything I ask for if he wins, anything, is just going to cause me more problems. You're asking for a 'win' condition, but there is no winning in this situation. Not for me." I was shaking, I could feel it.

Deep breaths Serafina. Deep breaths.

They weren't helping.

"Would you like me to decline this duel?" Vivian Hearth asked. "You have the right to say no."

Did I though? "I tried to say no before," I told her exasperated. "And what, you turn it down and then I have to sit there once a week and listen to how I don't belong there or that I shouldn't even be in this school?"

I couldn't stand still anymore. I started pacing in the room.

"Who told you that?" She asked.

"No one," I admitted, "Not directly. But people talk. And I have to hear it." I gripped my cursed wrist tightly.

"You could ask for a written apology," Vivian Hearth suggested.

I stopped pacing and started to laugh, "Right. Of course. Ask for a formal written apology she won't mean and then be back here in two weeks when she thinks she can get away with it again."

The snark wasn't called for, but the curse was starting to act up again. A pins and needles like sensation was spreading out from the mark.

I turned back to both her and Professor Gorgon. I had an idea. "Okay. Here's my win condition; if Fethris defeats her in this duel she is not allowed to file any formal requests or complaints to or about my Tower unless it's an emergency or someone is in some kind of physical danger. Is that something I can request?"

I couldn't stop her from disliking me. I couldn't stop her from voicing that dislike. But at least I could give her more red tape to prevent actions.

At the very least I wouldn't have to deal with another duel. From her. But considering she seemed to have the most open animosity towards me I would take what I could get.

"You suspect she'll file against you or your Tower that much?" Gorgon asked.

I had almost forgotten he was there.

"I have been Tower Representative for all of two days and she's already trying to get me removed. Forgive me for not trusting that she won't try other stuff to get what she wants should this attempt fail."

I probably shouldn't be talking to one of my professors this way. But it wasn't like I was his favorite anyway.

"If you're certain," Vivian Hearth said. "Then that is an acceptable condition."

"I'm as certain as I'm ever going to be."

Which was not at all by the way.

But what option did I have?

The pins and needles sensation hadn't stopped spreading, it had reached the tips of my fingers at that point.

I was glad I was done with classes for today.

"That's everything for now then," Vivian Hearth said. "Gorgon you may leave, Miss Stewart if you still have time I would like you to stay."

Gorgon didn't bother walking out, instead he vanished in a small flash of purple light. It reminded me of the flash of a camera.

"Am I in trouble?" I asked after a few seconds.

"No, not with me in any case."

I moved closer to her desk and she pointed to the chair across from her.

I sat down and had to hold down the urge to tuck my legs to my chest.

"Then what's this about?"

She fidgeted with her pen for a few seconds, "Tell me, what are you worried about the most?"

I blinked at her, I had no idea where this was going or coming from. "Like, in general or at this moment or about this whole duel thing?"

"Any of them."

I sighed. "I don't know," I told her. "I can only worry about so many things at a time and it's not like I can do anything about most of the things that have gone wrong so far. Of course the curse is taking up a lot of my energy."

Both emotionally and literally judging from the tiredness that had made its grand return.

"But I have classes and schoolwork to do still. And now I have to manage Representative duties, which I still don't know the full scope of what those even are. And navigate a social environment that ranges from cold to hostile."

"You think your peers are hostile?" She commented.

"Most of them. I mean yeah, the other Dragons and Angelina are alright but let's not pretend I'm fitting right in with everyone else."

And the only people I really trusted were three thousand miles away.

"But to be honest with you, I don't mind it all that much. I'd rather just have a smaller group of friends. I don't need or want everyone to like me. I just need to be able to go about my day."

There was a strange look on her face. I couldn't identify it.

Then she started to laugh.

"I need to start reminding myself that you have two parents, not just Lucinda," she explained. Except that didn't explain anything.

"Was there anything else you needed from me?" I asked.

"No. That's it for now. I'll let you get back to your studies. Or maybe get some rest, you look exhausted."

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