The Crimson Peak Academy was in chaos.
The news had arrived an hour ago. The fleet. The ships. The immortal. The headmistress taken. The students, gathered in the main courtyard, were buzzing. Rumors flew. Whispers spread. The teachers, their faces carefully composed, tried to maintain order. They failed.
Lau stood at the edge of the courtyard. His plain academy robes, gray and unadorned, hung loose on his thin frame. His brown hair, unremarkable, was slightly disheveled. His brown eyes, usually dull, usually hidden, were sharp. Alert. The eyes of a young man who was trying very hard to control his temper.
'Can't she just stay here? Why did she have to go? Why did she have to go and greet the immortal? She's the headmistress, she had to go, but why I feel worry.... Why did she have to be the one...'
His hands, in his pockets, clenched.
