Guide Me

[Adara Snow]

Adara did not know where else to go. It was late in the afternoon now, and she did not know where to find Emilian's Michael, nor did she know that he had the power to help her. So she sought guidance in the only place, other than Emilian's arms, that she felt comfortable doing so.

Adara had worked with the Headmistress before, had been involved in the planning of the masquerade. The connection was neither deep nor personal, but Adara wanted the ear, and hopefully advice, of someone in a position of authority. Someone other than her father.

Adara knocked on the Headmistress's door and waited to be called in. Her fingers smoothed over the silver Occamy feather quill in her hands without feeling the gleaming strands. Her mind was elsewhere, still working to sort her thoughts.

[Headmistress Hells]

Upon hearing the knock, Hells rose from her chair and opened the door herself. Outside her office stood Adara. Hells was surprised to see the intelligent student there and was curious as to what she wanted. Stepping back, she motioned the girl to come in with a sweep of her hand. "Hello Adara" she began, closing the door once Adara was inside her office. "What brings you to me?"

[Adara Snow]

Adara chewed her lip a moment, worry more than evident on her face; she was only just holding on. She didn't know how the Headmistress could help, but this was her best chance. "I have...a personal problem, which I can see no solution for," Adara said, the cool words belied by the tension beneath the softness. Her hands clutched at the quill she held. Adara forced herself to go on.

"My father has come, and he wishes me to marry an associate of his, a man I barely know except for very brief meetings through my childhood." An old man, and an unkind one. But how could Adara possibly explain the depths of her father's power over her? The depth of his control over everything he surveyed? Arranged marriages still occurred in the old families, but they were uncommon, and normally more suited to age, at the least.

Adara went on, not knowing if the Headmistress would even understand. "He has said that, if I do not do as he wishes, Emilian will suffer for it." And this was the one thing that Adara knew, even if she were able to explain, she would not likely be believed. She and Emilian had a relationship so indescribably deep and intense that no one who knew his past would think the present more than a dark fairy tale.

[Headmistress Hells]

Hells walked over to her desk, pulling out a chair to allow Adara to sit. Matters of the family were a difficult situation for Hells. Normally she would not, could not intervene, but the dispair on Adara's face plucked at Hells' heart strings. "I'm not sure how much help I can be Adara." She stated, wanting the young student to realise that she had no control over this problem. "Yet, I can speak with your father. Advise him that your classes are going well, you are doing well as Head Prefect. As for Emilian." Hells paused as she glanced at the thin blue veins on the back of her hands. "I can put a charm on his abode to protect him, but outside his shop he'll be vunerable. However, I will be making it clear to your father that I don't expect anything to happen here as it does in your home town."

[Adara Snow]

Adara's heart nearly stopped at the Headmistress's offer, and her dark eyes glistened with the threat of tears. "You would protect Emilian?" she asked, sinking into the chair the headmistress had offered. It was more than she had hoped for. Knowing that Emilian had been expelled, knowing why, she had expected no help on that front in the least, only a knowing ear and some words of wisdom.

The Headmistress had offered her relief from her greatest fears. If Emilian was safe inside his shop, and her father could not enter the school, then they were safe. Miserable without one another, but safe. The rest of the Headmistress's words penetrated Adara's mind, but they paled against the thought of Emilian being safe from her father.

[Headmistress Hells]

"I am doing this for you Adara." Hells began, perching herself on the edge of the desk. "No matter what he did in the pass, I can not allow for your father to harm him in any way. Again he'll have no protection outside his shop, but inside, I shall do my best. When will you see your father again?" Hells asked, her hands folded in her lap.

[Adara Snow]

Adara was near ecstatic with the thread of hope the Headmistress had given her, and it was all she could do not to cry with relief. Her hands smoothed compulsively at her skirt as she replied. "I do not know," she said. "I am to wait for his decision, wait for him to summon me." At which point, if all the Headmistress said was true, Adara would simply refuse to leave the castle. It was a terrible defiance, but she would not leave and risk his having decided to take her home to Schneewittchen.

[Headmistress Hells]

"In that case, I shall send word to him. I'll request his presence and discuss everything with him. Do not worry Adara, I shall not mention that you have come to see me. I have already heard on the grapevine what your father has been doing in Hogsmede and as far as he is concerned that is what we will discuss. Your father may act in secrecy, however his lackey doesn't. If you wish protection from your father, you may stay within the castle walls, but remember that Emilian cannot be allowed back in the school. I know this is hard for you, but I must keep to my word." She looked at Adara with some sadness in her eyes. "I will do my best for you Adara, but how much say I have over your future I do not yet know."

[Adara Snow]

What your father has been doing in Hogsmeade... Adara did not know what that meant, and could not begin to guess. Her father was simply omnipotent in her mind; she had never questioned how he knew things, or how he accomplished things. However, the Headmistress's words put a seed of doubt in the back of Adara's mind, and left her curious. Still, she said nothing, trusting that things would be revealed to her in time. "Thank you, Headmistress," she said. "You have already given more than I had hoped for."

[Headmistress Hells]

"You are welcome Adara." Hells said, pushing herself up from the desk. "Now continue with your daily routine as normal. I shall send note to your father that I wish to speak to him. I shall not make a reference to our meeting today, although should he find out, I shall let him know it was to do with your Head Girl duties. Before you go, is there anything else I can help you with?"

[Adara Snow]

Adara stood as well, one hand smoothing out her skirt as the other clutched at the silver quill. "No, thank you, Headmistress," she breathed, excitement and a return to hope swelling through her. Adara made her goodbyes and slipped out of the Headmistress's office.