The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Niles does not waste time in reaching the boiler house, guided by the student. But as he left the quad behind, he couldn't help but notice the urgency of another student, a girl, who ran in the opposite direction, towards the library... or the Headmistress's lodgings.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Although he does not slow his pace, Niles makes a mental note of the girl's appearence, wondering if she might be another messenger sent to request additional help.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Niles dismisses the girl from his thoughts as he reaches finally the boiler house. There he sees Oliver standing protectively about Christine, who seems in great suffering lying on the ground. There are a few working men around the two students, and one of them approaches the priest.

"Hello Father, this girl here, she seems to be in need of your help. Maybe you could look at her? If you need help, we're around, but we've got to get back to our work."

Although the man says so, he and the other don't give any air of hurrying to their post anytime soon.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Niles recognizes Oliver immediately. It takes him a moment longer to realize that the girl crying out in apparent distress is Christine, since her current demeanor is so unlike the confidence she had projected in their past interactions.

The deacon rushes to the side of the two students, ignoring the workers standing around. "What's amiss?" he asks Christine.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Christine seems not to notice when the father first arrives on the scene. She continues her distressed prayer and behavior until he finally approaches and then looks to him. Her face seems like a mixture of faint hope mixed with fearful hysterics at the moment as she looks up. She lowers the cross in her grasp as she gazes at him but holds it still tightly in her clenched fist.

"Father! Please... (sob) Father... I... I need your help! (sob) I... I... (hic) I need God's..." At this however she glances about at the workers and seems to tremble with her tear streaked fearful eyes while holding onto Oliver still. Christine desperately looks back to the holy man trying to keep her gaze locked on his once more. She almost seems happy between painful and fearful thoughts that are twisting her expression but not enough to relieve her it seems.

"I want... (hic,sob) I need to... (sob) But I... (sob)... Please! I can't! (sob, sob) Not here! (sob) Olly... Niles... Please! Father! (hic) Please!!!" Her voice is choking on the words but after desperately speaking them almost to the point of a strangled sounding shouting she buries her head in Oliver's shoulder again and continues to cry only some muffled words.

"Please... (sob) Not here..."
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Oliver easies Christine's head on his shoulder and in that position makes a subtle movement of his head in the direction of the men, prompting them to go away. A few of them return to their places, but the foreman stays about a little while more.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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"To be sure," Niles says soothingly in response to Christine's tearful words, "we can go somewhere more peaceful to discuss this. Perhaps we can all go to the chapel to sort out whatever has gone awry."

If Christine and Oliver agree, he gently leads them away, still bringing the older student along.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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"Yes father... Please... (sob) Thank you..."

Christine lets Oliver help her to rise as she leaned against him all the while trusting him to guide her. She clung to his arm and slowly limped besides him letting herself be led to the chapel. Crying into Oliver's shoulder still while they went, the sobbing muffled a bit, but trembling less she did not even seem to notice the other student.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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The group starts up the hill, and at last the workers go back to their business.
None of them seem to have had any chance of understanding what was going on.
While it seems that Christine's bluff paid off, her contentment is broken shortly after:
as they reach the top of the hill, they meet the Dean of Discipline Victoria Fairfax, her stern gaze frozen like an Icelandic statue.

Behind her, grinning with the mischievous look of a viper, stands Georgina Sargant.


"Hello Christine, had a wild night out, was it?",

the student spits wit disdain.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Christine looks up to see Lady Fairfax's cold gaze and then meets the gaze of Georgina and listens to her venomous words. She doesn't say anything directly in response but steps limping back and puts Oliver and father Niles between her and the two women. Only a shamed flinch is given to the words as she bites back her urge to defend herself.

She does not have to fake the shocked fear that the disciplinarian inspires nor does she hold back completely the indignation she feels at the other girls words though any sign of her true determination is kept from her face by will alone. The very fact that her sense of comfort vanished helped place her back into a similar mindset as she had put herself in when she started her act before.

Now she uses this to try and quickly fall back fully into her roll. She stays nervously trembling, glancing in a fearful manner between the two ladies as she blinks more tears out clinging close to Oliver's back and holding Niles sleeve.

"Please... No... Miss Fairfax, I... Don't! (Sob)... Please don't! Father! Olly! I... (hic, sob) Please..."

At this point her voice sounds as if it is begging but the incoherent sentence and the tone only match the near panic in her eyes. She glances rapidly between the two women as the rest of her body hides behind the two men before her.

OOC and rolls
VIEW CONTENT:
Die roll for Christines Perform Acting

Rolled on: Aug. 7, 2015, 9:33 p.m.
1d20+11 → [17,11] = (28)

Link
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4845026/
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Since he is not yet aware of the scandalous tale that Christine has used to cover up her true reasons for being outside school grounds, Niles assumes for a moment that Miss Fairfax is directing her angry gaze at the unknown student who has accompanied the group, either having somehow discovered his part in the student cabal or more likely having been given a false story by the group's leader.

Niles steps forward to defend the confessed student, although unsure what to say, since he does not know whether he will be countering the truth or a lie.

Then Miss Sparks makes a strange comment, implying that Christine is the guilty party.

As Christine bursts into tears, Niles improvises "The young lady was just to tell us her side of the story. If you'll give us an hour for her to calm down and relate what's happened, any misunderstanding should be cleared up, to be sure."
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Victoria returns

"I would very much like to hear this story myself, from their own lips. And what about Mr Eddisford there? I was not aware he had been out as well?"

At the call of his name, the student that was accompanying Niles blanches.

"I... uh... no, not I, I was in my room all night!"

"Well, Christine was not, that I can vouch for!" the venomous Georgina says.

But Victoria continues

"Is that true, Father Niles? What do you know about this?"
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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"This young man came at my request." Niles answers quickly. "He was in the midst of asking for guidance when the message came that there was an emergency at the Boiler House."

"As for Christine, she's been too distraught to give us a clear picture of what's happened thus far, but I'm told she asked for my help. If she's under any sort of suspicion, it may be she needed to share the truth with someone who knows her well enough to see her innocence.

"Perhaps you can give us a better idea of what's going on?" he adds, turning to Oliver.
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Oliver is angry at the young student, Georgina. Furious might be a better word, all their plans imperilled by her meddling.


"Perhaps I could, but not out here in the open where there are too many ears!"
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Re: The Halls of Medeia - Chapter 1

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Victoria nods at Oliver's curt answer.

"I see. Then I want to see you both in my office" she says to Christine and Oliver.

"Father, you should come as well, I want to understand what's happening here."
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