Destroying A Legacy

Chapter Three: Lafew

While he was waiting for his friends after he'd tried to get into the headmaster's office, and failed, Lafew was looking at the walls. 

A modern three-story housing, Thyssen favoured dark and rich colours. There wasn't as much to swipe and clean as if it'd been an older building. The rooms were covered in wallpapers and velvet. The predominant colours were burgundy, green and maroon.

Lafew had made it his duty to notice what the school looked like because he'd heard Peretti had asked the greatest designers to help restore it and bring it back to greatness. It always warmed Lafew's, heart to see how much the Regent cared about his school.

"Oh, hello, Ralph and Viola," Lafew said absent-mindedly. "I called you here to tell you I want to talk to Peretti, but he isn't in his office. Silvius and Ariel told me of the Hero line --- it seemed that there is a questing beast inside of it."

The Professor hadn't told the students the details of what he'd discovered, yet, but Lafew had thought it too important not to mention it.

"I'm happy you're getting to spend more time with Silvius and Ariel, really," Viola told Lafew. "I know you consider the couple like the parents you never had. "But... well, nevermind."

"What Viola is too polite to say, is that we've barely talked to you since school started," Ralph said, always more blunt than his friend. He arched one of his black eyebrows.

Lafew couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry. There will be plenty of time for that later. Though, this year, no misbehaving. No doing things behind teachers' backs, following clues, being kidnapped while on holiday..."

What Lafew meant was, of course, that Ralph and Viola wouldn't have to do any of that. He would have to, to protect the Regent.

"Heck no!" Ralph complained out loud, giving Lafew a little smack on the arm. "Are you serious? And how are we supposed to have fun?"

Viola looked at him critically, and Lafew lowered his eyes. "Aw, Ralph. Do you really think of the last year as fun?"

"I was joking," Ralph hurried to reply. "Mostly."

Lafew did really spend more time with Ariel and Silvius. The first week of school he'd made a point to visit them nearly everyday. He'd figured that the children who didn't grow up as parentless saw their mother and father everyday, so why couldn't he?

That day, Ariel kept repeating the same words. "It doesn't make any sense... it doesn't make any sense..."

"What doesn't?" Silvius asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You could as well ask what does," Ariel said. "But what Tranio told us doesn't make any sense."

Some other time Lafew would have asked whether they were sure that Tranio wasn't only leading them on, but this time he didn't feel like saying it. Tranio was a friend, and Lafew trusted him. Not on all accounts, but the Seer certainly wouldn't do something like that.

"He says Driscoll has been to their house," Ariel explained. "For dinner."

Silvius' eyes went very wide.

"And when he was there... Well, he talked to his followers. Tried to make them reason. He didn't act and didn't look like Peretti and the council always said. He was very much like a weak man. But there's more. Tranio said that he would look possessed, if such a thing existed. He often talked about events that happened before him as if he had been there."

That was the moment Lafew noticed Tranio was there too, sitting in a corner as if he'd been trying to hide. The Seer rolled his eyes, and said, "I also told you that I'm pretty sure he does it only to impress the Rebellion."