Chapter 6
That morning, Cathy made it to school before Anne. She bid farewell to Catalina and waited by the bench that was below the steps leading up to the school.
It didn’t take long for Anne to arrive, giving a careful goodbye to a very familiar girl in pink before rushing over to Cathy. Immediately upon reaching Cathy, Anne began talking.
“Hey, I got the same app as you! The one that took us to the Music Hall!”
Oh. So that’s what Igor meant…
“I also had some weird dreams…” Anne continued, keeping the conversation going. She did look rather tired, and if Cathy looked close enough, she could notice some red marks poking out from behind the choker. “A nightmare, really… all of it felt so real.”
Cathy felt her eyes widen. “You… did you die in the dream?”
“Yeah. Yeah I was…” Anne paused, a distant look appearing in her eyes. “Uh… beheaded. Like my namesake.”
“I had a dream too… I think I died of childbirth, or sickness… like my namesake too…”
Cathy quickly thought back to everything.
The visions. How it was the life of her namesake. Anne having the same dreams with her own namesake. The scar around Anne’s neck. History repeating itself.
And suddenly, everything clicked. It wasn’t their namesakes they were dreaming of. It was themselves. “Reincarnation.” It felt too damn obvious.
Anne looked at her in confusion. “What?”
“What if we’ve been reincarnated?” Cathy asked, staring wide eyed at her hand.
That realization brought a million different thoughts to her head. And also suddenly made her lives much easier to sort through.
And oh god that brought many many depressing thoughts. Elizabeth, almost dying, just how cruel Thomas turned out to be.
… In this life and the last.
It felt like her heart had been stabbed and suddenly, it was all so clear. Reincarnation was the answer.
She was Catherine Parr. Queen who managed to survive Henry, reincarnated into teenage Catherine Parr who is on probation and discovering a strange world.
It seemed Anne was having the same thoughts.
“Holy shit...” Anne whispered. She too suddenly saw it all clearly. She was the beheaded second queen, now a rumor bound teenager who can summon a Greek goddess. She was still having the visions, but it was almost pieced together.
“First that weird world, a talking cat, and Personas.” Anne shook her head. “And now… we’ve been reincarnated. What the fuck...”
Both of them stood there in silence. It was too much to comprehend. And really, they gained a bit of a headache. As if their body was accepting the truth just as much as they were.
“Maybe we can talk more later?” Anne suggested, shaking her head. “I would love to keep talking about this, but we have to get to class right now or we’ll be late! Are we still on for the investigation?”
“Yeah, meet in front of the school. I’ll see you later.”
~~||~~||~~
Through getting ready for gym class, Cathy continued with her thoughts. It was as if the realization of reincarnation had clicked everything into place. And now? Cathy was regretting a lot of stuff from her past life…
Elizabeth was the most prominent one. She had supported Thomas in it out of fear and submission. She was not a good person. And now, she was a friend of that child’s mother, who was reincarnated just like Cathy herself.
She wanted to break down. Cry and scream and just punch something. Anything to stop the rush of emotions and pain. She wanted to make herself pay for playing along. But she didn’t allow herself that luxury.
It was also clear to her that she had her autism in that past life as well. Henry and Thomas’s yelling and anger over her ticks coming back full force. If anything… it supported her theory that her quirks and just herself were weird...
Those thoughts were pushed to the back of her mind as she stepped into the gym from the locker room. Cathy was never good at gym, and the outfit always made her a little uncomfortable, even this new one. She definitely saw this going horribly.
And she was right.
Cathy tried to stay out of everyone’s sight, remaining in the back, towards the wall as everyone was given a free day. Students moved to gather basketballs, frisbees, and other equipment. But Cathy remained where she was.
Unfortunately, someone saw her. And promptly made their way over. It was a boy, and the second he reached her he began mocking her.
“Well look here, the delinquent transfer. Can’t do anything in such a crowded place, huh?”
Cathy decidedly kept her head down.
“Oh come on! It’s Catherine Parr right? Why don’t you tell me what you did? Our little secret?”
“I didn’t do anything…” Cathy muttered, gaze still trained on the floor.
“You and I both know that’s a lie! Come on, what did you do? I know it’s assault, but I want the story!”
Cathy clenched her fists. She remained silent. The boy only became more irritated.
“What’s the matter, queenie?” The boy sneered. “What, did you do what your namesake did? Helped someone commit rape?”
Cathy froze. And suddenly, centuries worth of pain came crashing into her skull. She felt herself stumble and she nearly went crashing to the floor. Everything felt numb as memories came rushing in.
Suddenly, someone was rushing to Cathy’s side, shoving the boy as they went.
“What the fuck, Cleves?!” The boy shrieked, having fallen to the floor.
“Back off! She doesn’t want to deal with your bullshit, and those rumors are false anyways you bloody idiot!” Anna didn’t even give the boy a chance to reply, whisking Cathy away.
Cathy was still in her meltdown as Anna sat her down somewhere safer. The only thing she could think of was Elizabeth.
She had been a coward. A coward too scared to speak out because of pregnancy, an arrest warrant, and being under the control of men.
And oh god… Anne. How would she react if she learned of it. Did she somehow already know?
“Hey, I need you to breathe with me. Okay?”
Cathy felt someone take a gentle hold of her hands, pulling them away from her hair. She tried to pull back but the grip remained gentle yet tight. The grip began rubbing soothing circles into the back of her hands. Cathy felt herself unconsciously relax at the grip. She began swaying in her spot and listening as the voice, two voices actually, asked her to breathe with them and she listened.
Cathy slowly opened her eyes. She was seated in the corner of the gym’s bleachers. The rest of the class was on the court, playing and seeming to have fun. Two people she recognized were in front of her. They perked up as Cathy’s eyes cracked open.
“Hi there.” Kat said with a smile.
“Oh thank god, you’re okay.” Anna breathed.
Cathy blinked back, still trying to calm down and also a bit confused. Why did they help her?
Before shoving it into the back of her mind, Cathy allowed herself one last thought on the Elizabeth matter.
And that thought was that she had a second chance now. And she refused to let people suffer or be oppressed like Elizabeth and herself had been so long ago.
With that thought setting her resolve towards stopping Mannox, Cathy turned her attention back to the two girls.
“Thank you.” She said simply. Kat’s smile got a little wider and Anna let out a small laugh.
“I wasn’t going to let him get away with that.”
“We both know those rumors are false. Maybe your arrest is true, but we doubt you actually did something like assault.” Kat explained.
Cathy actually felt taken aback by that. So far, Catalina and Anne had been the only ones she hadn’t heard spreading rumors about her. But now she’s met two more people.
“They are…” Cathy mumbled, still looking at them in surprise.
“Then that’s all we need to know!” Anna gave her a wide smile. “Now, it’s Catherine Parr, right?”
Cathy nodded and Anna beamed. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, fellow queen! I’m Anna Cleves and this is Katherine Howard!”
“Hello again.” Kat greeted with an apologizing smile. “Sorry we didn’t get to fully greet each other. You can call me Kat.”
“It’s fine… it’s nice to meet both of you.” Cathy murmured, now much calmer than before. She glanced up at both of their faces.
“You’re in Anna’s class right? So you’re a junior?” Kat asked gently, trying to pick up conversation.
“That’s right.”
“I’m a junior and Kätzchen here is a sophomore!” Anna said, pointing to herself and Kat.
“You’re a sophomore? Then how are you in this class?”
“Principal Cromwell decided to merge the grades into different gym classes.” Anna rolled her eyes. “None of us know why.”
“Mhm, it means I get to be with Anna. And now you too, for at least one class.” Kat perked up, a bit of light returning in her eyes. Cathy didn’t notice, even after the light returned, that even while being happy and relieved for Cathy, there was a haunted look to Kat’s eyes.
“I see…”
The three descended into a comfortable silence. Cathy found herself pondering if these two had been reincarnated. And what about Catalina? And even Jane Seymour, although Cathy hasn’t met her yet.
What about Henry and Thomas?
Sickness pooled in her stomach at that thought. If they were saying the same things, old life and new… maybe that meant they were definitely right about her…
“Hey, thank you for befriending Annie.”
Cathy jolted back to reality and gave Kat a small smile. “Your cousin is a good friend. There’s no need to thank me.”
“I know… but still. She’s the happiest I’ve seen her in a while. And I think that it’s you I have to thank for that.” Kat explained carefully. The three girls sat there for a moment, regarding each other.
“Hey, I’m going to go play basketball for a bit. Will you two be okay on your own?” Anna asked with genuine concern.
Cathy nodded and Kat laughed, her laugh was rather muted. “We’ll be fine, Anna. Go have some fun.”
Then, Anna was off, leaving Kat and Cathy alone. They sat on the bleachers, watching everyone play and mess around. They noticed Anna looking back at them every so often from where she joined the game of basketball.
While thinking, Kat looked down to the bruise on her wrist, just one of many she hid. She began to think about Mannox. About how she had to go to actual class in an hour or two, and then the private lesson that evening. She couldn’t get out of it, she was stuck. Just like she has been since towards the ends of freshman year.
Cathy had been watching her closely. She took notice of the bruises and recalled everything she had seen in the palace.
Cathy couldn’t stop herself from asking a question. “Was it Mannox?”
Kat jolted at the question, clearly not expecting it. “I… I don’t…”
Cathy gently shook her head. “It’s alright… you don’t have to tell me anything.”
Throughout the rest of gym class, Kat couldn’t stop thinking about how Cathy knew the problem. Despite being there for only two days.
~~||~~||~~
After gym class, Cathy and Anna bid farewell to Kat and made their way to their own class.
The rest of Cathy’s classes went smoothly and she soon found herself sitting in front of the school, hunched over and avoiding people’s looks as she clicked at her fidget cube.
Finally, Anne came walking up, joining her on the bench with a groan. Cathy blinked at the noise and watched as Anne rubbed at her choker, which hid the scar.
“Are you alright?”
“Yeah… realizing that you were literally beheaded… it doesn’t feel good, unsurprisingly.”
Cathy paused. “We’re okay now…”
“I know. And I’m thankful that at least we have each other for this.” Anne chuckled, but it wasn’t filled with usual energy. “You had the visions throughout class too, right?”
“I did. They’re memories…”
“Yeah. I’ve noticed.” Anne hissed out a breath. “Your reincarnation theory? Yeah, that’s becoming a whole lot more true the more I think about it. And damn, it sure brings some trauma…”
Both of them knew it was the truth. There was no denying it at this point. Reincarnation was the only suitable answer as to what was happening. I felt too right not to be.
But with that came questions and realizations.
One such realization? They died. They died and became historical figures. Only now, they’re teenagers. They suddenly became teens who were mentally much older, yet physically and emotionally they were still teenagers.
Now, they also had centuries of grief to sort through. Death and agony to accept.
“So we both agree, that it’s the truth?” Cathy asked carefully.
“Yeah… it’s like something just… clicked in my nod when you said that. I was struggling with the visions and stuff, but suddenly, it all became so much easier to think through. And it just… makes too much sense.” Anne took a deep breath. “Where the hell do we go from here?”
“I think… nothing at the moment.” Cathy slowly shook her head. “We have a lot of memories and… grief to sort through. But I don’t know what we can do with the knowledge besides help each other heal…”
“Well… at least we know. And now, we can make ourselves a better life. I refuse to repeat last time.” Anne scowled at the air, clearly remembering everything that took place.
“And look, something else connecting us.” Cathy said with a small chuckle.
“Yeah… I actually wonder if the other four are reincarnated.” Anne hummed, glancing back at the building. “And those assholes...”
Anne knew pretty solidly that Kat was reincarnated. She had the same exact scar… but Cathy didn’t need to know just yet. There was the smallest of chances that she was wrong anyways. Besides, they had Mannox to deal with.
“Hm, good question. But maybe we should focus on Mannox for now.” Cathy suggested, finishing off her coffee that had been hidden away in a familiar blue thermos.
“Agreed. But after all of this. We will be talking more about it.” Anne declared. “At least I don’t have to worry about what happened after my death… thanks school.”
This realization. These memories and the realization do just how wrong some things had been.
New found trauma…
Once Mannox was dealt with, both of them knew that this topic would come back up almost immediately. Beheadings, abuse, physical and mental pains. It was something that refused to be pushed to the background.
But maybe, focusing a bit more on Mannox would give them time to sort through everything. And really, neither of them knew what to do from here when it came to reincarnation.
But Mannox? They knew exactly what the plan for that was. They needed to talk to some students.
“Alright!” Anne stood up, rubbing at her neck one last time to dull the ache. “Let’s get to work.”
Cathy joined her and the two made their way back up the school.
It turned out to be much easier said than done.
They stuck together, seeing how Cathy wasn’t too big a fan of talking to strangers. Especially strangers who assumed the worst of her. But every person they tried talking to, everyone part of Mannox’s classes who had cuts and bruises, deflected them.
“Wh-what?! I didn’t get these from Mannox, I got them from falling in the park!”
“I hurt myself on the instruments, that’s all…”
“I got mugged…”
So they headed back towards the front and stood in the school’s entrance hall, watching everyone leave for the day.
That was when Cathy felt a nudge from Anne. She looked questioningly to the other ex-queen and Anne nodded her head in the direction of something.
A small blonde was seated on a bench by the lockers, hunched over a computer, a concentrated look on her face. She looked to have more bruises than the other students they talked to, even being very noticeable on her face. Anne was quickly making her way over, Cathy right behind.
“Hey! It’s Joan, right?” Anne was asking.
The blonde’s head jolted up and she quickly nodded. “Uhm… yes. You’re Anne Boleyn… right?”
Anne snorted. “Yep, the one from the rumors, blah blah! You have music class with Mannox, right?” Anne asked, glancing to the bruises on Joan’s face.
Joan paused, paling slightly. “I… yes, I do.”
“Has he hurt you?” Cathy spoke up next.
If anything, Joan shrunk further. “You’re the transfer student…” she murmured.
“Hey, hey. Those rumors aren’t true.” Anne said immediately, eyes narrowing slightly. “She’s a good person who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Joan opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a very familiar face rounded the corner.
Mannox.
His eyes narrowed upon seeing Anne and Cathy talking to Joan. He was quickly stepping over to them. “I hope you two aren’t threatening a student.”
“I should be saying that to you.” Anne growled back, speaking before thinking. Cathy tensed, keeping her gaze on Mannox. Joan had stood from the bench and was watching the scene warily.
Mannox’s face quickly shifted into a scowl. “Joan, head home.”
Joan paused and gave both sides one last glance. Mannox turned his glare on her and Joan was swiftly walking away. But she didn’t leave the building.
Then, he turned his attention back to Anne. “I don’t know what you’re implying, Boleyn.”
“You know exactly what I’m implying…” Anne matched his glare with ease.
“Whatever you and your little outcast friend are trying to prove? You can’t.” Mannox snarled in a low tone. “You have no evidence and I have this entire damn school under my thumb.”
“Perhaps.” Cathy finally spoke up. “But at least we know the truth about you.”
Mannox barked out a laugh. “Maybe you do… but who would believe the two troublemakers surrounded by rumors and assault?” Mannox turned his glare onto Cathy. “You especially should watch yourself, Parr. It would be too damn easy to get your delinquent self out of here.”
“Is that a threat?!” Anne stepped in front of Cathy slightly. Both of them stared defiantly back at the music teacher. Anne stared Mannox right in the eyes, Cathy’s gaze remained trained on his forehead.
“No. It’s a promise.” Mannox tilted his head. “You two stay out of my way, and you’ll both get through this year in one piece. You were told to stay in line, Parr. I suggest you keep it that way.”
With that, Mannox turned around and stalked off.
~~||~~||~~
“Well, that didn’t help!”
They had gone back to that bench at the front of the school, everyone else having gone home for the day.
“At least we know it’s true.” Cathy said, shaking her head.
“Yeah, Yeah. I guess you're right. I just… agh, all of this sucks!” Anne let out. “Why are we the ones dealing with everything?! Mannox, reincarnation, this Metaverse thing!”
Cathy had a feeling she knew the answer to at least one of those things. Igor, the one who gave her the app in the first place.
But before Cathy could speak up about anything, a new, very familiar voice chimed in.
“I finally found you two!”
The two looked up and found a cat perched on the wall above them. It was a normal black and white cat, but the colors… were far too familiar, even the yellow collar around its neck. That wasn’t even mentioning the fact that they just heard it talk and that it was glaring right at the both of them.
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me…”
“Morgana?”
“That’s right!” The cat’s eyes narrowed at them. “I’m here to ensure that you two keep your promise!”
“Promise?!” Anne stared at him with narrowed eyes.
“To think about my deal!”
“Morgana. We told you we would come back.” Cathy sighed. God, she didn’t have enough coffee for this.
“But I had no idea if you were telling the truth or not! So I followed you to be sure!” Morgana’s tail was swishing angrily.
Anne threw her head back and let out a loud cry. “Thanks life! First Mannox, then reincarnation and the pain that that realization comes with, and now a talking fucking cat who wants to push us into a deal!”
“Reincarnation?” Morgana rose an eyebrow.
“We’re still trying to figure that out ourselves. Right now, Mannox is the focus.” Cathy told him. Morgana still looked very curious, but slowly nodded.
“Wait wait, Morgana! You’re still a cat here! And you talk too!” Anne pointed out, wide eyed now.
Morgana growled. “I’ve told you! I’m not a cat! This is just what happened when I came here! That doesn't matter! I went through a lot of trouble finding you two!”
“So wait… do you have a phone?” Cathy asked. She was doubtful, but she had to be sure. “You came to our world after all…”
Morgana snorted and looked very smug as he began licking a paw, turning his head away from them. “You don’t need one when you’re at MY level! I did get pretty lost making my escape though… that aside, I did hear you mention Mannox. It sounds like none of your tricks are working. But I could tell you a thing or two about what you can do about Mannox.”
Both Cathy and Anne actually looked interested. “If you’re trying to make another deal, you better be upfront about it this time.” Cathy told the cat simply.
Suddenly, two passersby walked past. “Did you hear a cat?”
“Yeah, I guess there’s one around here somewhere. Pretty chatty too, meow after meow!”
Their voices faded down the street and both teens looked back to Morgana.
“Wait… only the two of us can understand you?” Anne looked curiously at the ‘cat.’
“It looks like it.” Morgana nodded. “Although, I don’t know the reason.”
“Right, so only us can hear you.” Cathy redirected the conversation back to the original course. “You said you had ways to deal with Mannox.”
Morgana purred happily. “That’s right! Another way is to attack his music hall.”
“Attack the music hall?”
“That’s right! The music hall is how Mannox views the school, you know this.” Morgana explained. “Now, I told you he doesn’t realize what happens there. But, that music hall is still connected deeply to the depths of his heart. If that Palace was to disappear, it would naturally affect the real Mannox!”
“It would get rid of his desires, right? You said something about distorted desires.” Anne finished for him.
“That would stop the abuse?” Cathy also chimed in. Both were very interested in this plan now.
Morgana paced along the wall. “Correct you two! A Palace is a manifestation of a person’s distorted desires. If that castle was no more than those desires would vanish as well!”
“And that would for sure stop the abuse?” Anne double checked.
“Erasing a palace essentially means forcing the owner to have a change of heart. However, while the warped desire and wants disappear, those crimes they committed? Those are still there. Mannox wouldn’t be able to bear the weight of those crimes and would end up confessing to them himself.”
“He would turn himself in for everything…” Cathy was nodding along, looking very intrigued by this new reveal.
“And then the abuse would stop for good.” Anne was smirking now, arms crossed.
Morgana continued. “And since the Palace will no longer exist, everything we did there will have been forgotten. So we would bring Mannox down, but there wouldn’t be a single trace of our involvement in the matter!”
“You’re being a big help, Morgana!” Anne said eagerly. “How would we get rid of the palace?”
“By stealing the treasure held within.”
“Wait… treasure? Stealing?” Cathy spoke up. In the back of her mind, she remembered Igor and the twins calling her a thief. Is this what they meant?
“I’ll tell you more once you agree to go ahead. It’s my most valuable secret plan after all! If you want to help me with this, then I’ll gladly teach you.” Morgana surveyed both of them closely. “Well?”
Anne and Cathy looked to each other.
“We don’t have a better plan… here, we’d just get in trouble, expelled, or worse.” Anne spoke up.
“And we can’t just stand by…” Cathy agreed. They shared a nod before looking back to Morgana. “Are there any risks?” Cathy then asked cautiously. “This information is wonderful and all, but it seems a little too good to be true…”
“Ah, that’s right… I really should have mentioned this earlier.” Morgana paused for a moment. “If we erase a palace… there is no doubt that the person’s distorted desires will be erased as well. But desires? Those are what we need in order to survive… The will to eat, sleep, fall in love. Those sorts of things.”
“Wait… you’re not saying…?” Anne trailed off.
Morgana nodded almost solemnly, ears lowering. “If all of those desires were to vanish, they’d be no different from someone who has shut down entirely. There’s even a chance of death if they are not cared for properly.”
“You’re saying they could die.” Cathy said simply.
“Dammit... their deaths would be our fault.” Anne shook her head. “But you said it’s only a chance, right?”
“That’s right.” Then he tilted his head, watching both of them with a frown. “And aren’t you determined enough to face that risk?”
Both teens were silent, clearly debating.
“Somnolente, what are you thinking?” Anne asked, glancing over to the blue clad teen.
“I think… we have to take that risk.” Cathy finally spoke, staring at the wall. “People are being hurt... And Morgana told us we wouldn’t be traceable. I don’t like the thought of killing. But like you two said, it’s only a chance. And what if we manage to get the good side of that risk?”
“If we go around doing whatever we want… we’d be no better than Mannox.” Anne hissed. She agreed with Cathy. But there was no way in hell she wanted to stoop to Henry— no, Mannox’s level. She didn’t want to be like that, not after her experiences.
“This is our only option Anne. I hate it just as much as you do. I don’t want to kill and I don't want to be on his level. But are we going to let him get away with his abuse without trying something?” Cathy questioned.
She understood exactly where Anne was coming from. Henry, Thomas, Mannox. She had been on their level once. And she vowed to never do that again. But the possibility of stopping someone like that? It was a risk she was willing to take. Maybe… she could start atoning… it would be rehabilitation from the sin she had committed.
“Why don’t I come back later? I can tell both of you are conflicted about this.” Morgana said smoothly, ready to make his way down the wall. “Just make sure that you’ve made your decision by then.”
But before Morgana could leave, they noticed Anna Cleves, making her way down the school steps. She had an angry frown on her face.
Morgana was quickly hiding at the sight of someone new. But he didn’t leave, curiosity taking over. Anna spotted them and walked over, her frown vanishing.
“Hey, you two!” She greeted easily, a grin on her face. But that smile was shaky. “It’s nice to see you again.”
“Huh, you two know each other?” Anne looked a little surprised.
“We met in gym class.”
“Kat was there too.”
“Aw crap, guess I won’t get to introduce you two!” Anne gave Cathy a teasing grin.
“You wouldn’t have gotten to anyways.” Cathy said, a little confused. “I greeted her right before I met you.”
“Joke, Somnolente.” Anne said with a small laugh.
“Oh…” Cathy said a little sheepishly, but also chuckling herself.
Anna watched them interact with a small smile. “I’m glad you two are able to support each other.”
Anne gave Anna a wide smile and Cathy also wore a tiny smile. “We’ve got each other’s backs.”
Anne suddenly noticed something and her eyes narrowed.
“Hey speaking of her, where is Chaton?” Anne asked. Dread pooled in her stomach. “She’s usually with you…”
“She has lessons with Mannox.” Anna spat, clearly showing her hatred for the man. It seemed she had the same suspicions the other two did.
Anne paled significantly at that. “Alone?”
Anna watched her warily. “Yeah…”
Cathy was quickly reaching towards Anne, but before she could say or do anything, Anne had spun around. She was racing back into the school and quickly vanished into the doors. Cathy was quickly rushing right after her. Anna followed both, fear quickly grabbing her heart.
Anne knew Kat had private lessons. But now? She knew exactly what could be happening during them. And she made a promise to never let Kat be hurt by Mannox again.
Upon reaching the music room, Anne slammed the door open. Only to freeze in horror. Cathy and Anna were with her in seconds. Cathy’s gaze hardened and Anna looked just as horrified as Anne. Then simultaneously, Anne and Anna’s gazes switched into pure hatred and fury.
Kat and Mannox were on the floor.
Cathy silently thanked whatever god was out there that Mannox hadn’t gone the entire way before they reached them (although, Cathy had her suspicions of it already happening before now, she quickly shoved that thought away). Mannox was still in his pants, shirt off, and Kat was down to her underwear, Mannox working on her bra when the door had slammed open.
Mannox was quickly standing. He backed away from Kat as the teens stormed in.
“GET AWAY FROM HER!” Anna practically roared. Anne began spouting French curses, eyes narrowed into a stare that surpassed fury and rage.
While Anna and Anne faced off against Mannox, Cathy quickly made her way over to Kat. She was more concerned with the victim of the matter.
The girl had been whimpering while Mannox was over her, but hadn’t been fighting back. In fact, there was a blank look in Kat’s eyes. Like she had shut herself off completely from the world. As if she had been through this so many times that she began to simply black out form the world. That thought made Cathy’s heart ache.
Cathy was quickly kneeling beside her, keeping her eyes trained on the girl’s face as she covered her with her uniform jacket. Then, she quickly set about gathering Kat’s discarded clothing and trying to comfort the girl.
Meanwhile, Mannox was looking very unimpressed as he slipped his shirt back on. He observed the two very pissed off teenagers.
“What the hell do you think you're doing?” He asked, eyes narrowed threateningly.
“I knew you were doing something to her. I fucking knew it!” Anna hissed. “I never should have let her come to your fucking lessons alone!”
“She likes it!” Mannox huffed. “Why else would she keep coming?”
Everyone felt their jaws drop at that. One glance at Kat showed that was not the case at all. She was still very out of it and had unconsciously pressed herself closer to Cathy, hiding her face in the girl’s neck as Cathy quickly dressed her. Cathy readily allowed it, comforting the girl who had been so violated.
“SHE CLEARLY DOESN’T YOU BASTARD! SHE’S FORCED TO COME TO YOUR SO-CALLED LESSONS!”
“And what will you do about it?” Mannox sneered.
“I’ll kick your ass is what I’m going to do!” Anne shrieked, clearly half a second away from doing just that.
“And risk expulsion? Who would the authorities believe? The teacher who was assaulted over nothing, or the teenagers who attacked a defenseless teacher?”
Anne was shaking with rage. “You motherfucker!”
“You are worse than scum!” Anna snapped as well. She looked just as furious.
Mannox’s gaze drifted past everyone. They all turned to see Joan standing in the doorway, eyes wide with horror. “Ah, and here’s the girl who helped leak Miss Parr’s record! She’s definitely shitty with instruments, but she is a wonder with technology!”
Everyone paused.
Cathy felt her blood run cold. Her grip on Kat tightened a bit and she stared straight at Joan.
“It was you…?” Cathy managed to whisper out. Joan froze under the whispered words. A whimper escaped her lips and she looked ready to bolt.
“You know what, all of you have caused me too much trouble!” Mannox’s eyes narrowed at every single teenager in the room. “Especially two of you, who I warned just earlier today! I’m having you all expelled.”
“What?!” It was Anna who cried.
“That’s right, at the next teacher’s meeting in a month, I’ll bring it up, and then you can all say goodbye to your education.” His gaze flicked to Cathy and a wicked smirk stretched across his lips. “Oh, and Parr? Do tell me how Juvie goes.”
With that, Mannox turned his back on all of them.
Cathy was staring, wide eyed at Mannox. Her hands began shaking as one hand moved to clench at her arm, freeing a bit of blood.
Then, she felt something touch her arm. She snapped her gaze down to find Kat looking at her in worry. The glaze was still present, but much less so than it was earlier.
“You’re okay…” Kat mumbled, still half in her trance.
“I should be the one telling that to you…” Cathy said gently, calming down slightly. She needed to focus on the current events right now. And that was getting Kat out of here.
“Come on, let’s get her out of here.” Anna agreed with Cathy’s thoughts. Together, Anna and Cathy raised Kat and held her between them. Anne was with them immediately and gently cupping Kat’s face.
“Hey, Chaton… you’re okay now, I promise. You’re safe now…”
“Annie…” Kat whispered back, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks.
The group made their way outside, to the front for the school. Joan stayed with them too, giving all of them terrified and worried glances.
Once outside, Joan gave one last glance to Cathy. “He forced me… and I’m so, so sorry.” And then, under Cathy’s blank stare, she quickly left, vanishing around the corner at the end of the street.
But Cathy couldn’t bring herself to care about that just yet. She already made the assumption that Joan was forced. With Mannox, and how shy and afraid Joan was, Cathy could easily believe it. Mannox was the guilty one.
And right now, Kat and Mannox were much more important than Joan’s secret that Mannox let ‘slip.’ It was to get everyone’s attention away from him, Cathy knew that as well.
Anna had led Kat over to a bench and sat her down. She watched over the girl, who was starting to fully come out of her daze. Kat was curled in on herself, an almost dead look in her eyes. As if she came out of one trance to enter another.
Anne hovered as well, she looked beyond furious. She had made a promise that Mannox wouldn’t hurt Kat again, yet she witnessed him do it. This time, as far as Anne was concerned, Mannox wouldn’t get another chance.
Morgana had reappeared and balanced himself on the wall next to Cathy, taking in the scene. “What happened?”
“Mannox.” Was the only answer Cathy gave. But it was enough to tell the story. Morgana hissed, claws sheathing and unsheathing as he observed the broken down Kat and furious teenagers.
While Anna had Kat off to the side, Anne made her way over to Cathy. “What are we going to do?” She asked simply.
“For tonight? You need to take care of your cousin.” Something in Cathy’s gaze hardened. She glanced back at the school, and for a moment, she swore it turned into the music hall.
“Tomorrow, we’re going back to the Palace.”