The Day of the Femmes, Page 1
I. Ancelin
The name was old French and Latin, meaning "handmaid," and she was probably its only bearer that day in 1999. Ancelin Lawson tossed several books, notebooks, and the odd pen and pencil into her ruby red leather backpack. It was her first day of school at the newly built Cattia Academy, and she didn’t want to be late.
Her black wavy hair, with wine colored highlights, was soft, having been washed and brushed but an hour before. It was also still damp, drying in sausage curls envied by the entire Cattia District of New York City. Her face was pale beige, with odd dark maroon eyes, just a hint of champagne eyeshadow and golden eyeliner, and the deepest cranberry lipstick in her collection. She was tall and thin, and the white blouse and blue skirt uniform of Cattia Academy looked nice on her. The only thing that wasn’t part of the uniform was the garnet necklace around Ancelin’s neck. It had been a gift from her grandmother, and she hardly ever took it off, not even in the shower or the pool.
With all the self-assurance that Ancelin’s 5’8" conveyed, the girl of sixteen was hardly one of the cool crowd. In fact, at her last school, she was considered a loner because she never seemed to make friends with the students, choosing the company of the teachers instead. She was a great student and a better dancer, artist, and musician, but she just couldn’t make friends. Her attitude had gotten so bad that her parents were forced to send her to the Cattia Academy instead of the Gemmine Finishing School, in the hope that she would make new friends.
So that Monday morning, September 3, 1999, saw Ancelin Lawson off to a new school and a new beginning, although she could never have imagined what would happen to her that fateful September day.
II. Lali
Another year, another school, that’s how Lali la Faerie’s life had progressed. She was only a half-fairy, and the grandchild of the Fairy Queen Gillian, but there was still a need to protect her from the public eye. After all, there had never been a half-fairy before that fateful day, sixteen and a half years ago. Now that there was proof that they could exist, the media was going wild, spotlighting every new fairy-human romance that sprung up. Secluded, quiet Cattia Academy was the right place for Lali.
Unlike her ancestors, Lali had more of an Indian look to her. A golden-brown tan that stayed year-round, topaz eyes, and straight black hair all complemented each other. Lali’s customary outfit was a white gauzy gown, great on her short figure, but she still had to wear the uniform at school. Blue and white together were not her best colors, but they would have to do until she could go home and change. Golden bracelets and a gold and topaz choker played off her features nicely.
She had a woolen backpack with gold threads woven in. The best books and notebooks rested inside, a gull feather dipped in gold, and the finest ink from Calcutta, her hometown. She looked every inch a princess. But there was one tiny discrepancy.
No princess she knew had fold-out wings.
III. Fiona
An Irish green headband and emerald choker were all Fiona needed to top off the ensemble she’d put together for school. She was a good girl and so she wore the socks, shoes, jumper, and blouse her mother picked out for that momentous first day at school. Her green nylon bag was filled with everything she would need for school, and her lunch money was tucked safely in her handkerchief along with her house key.
Fiona was what one would think was the definition of a mischievous redhead. But she was a shining example of good behavior. She went to Mass every Sunday, did charity work every Wednesday, and kept her room cleaner than previously thought possible. Fiona’s sparkling green eyes were always happy, her red hair bouncing on her shoulders. Energetic and full of happy energy was Fiona MacNeil.
There was nothing wrong with Fiona, at least, nothing that would keep her out of a local school. But the teachers had asked her there as a good example, and her parents had agreed to the idea of their daughter being a model student. So off to Cattia Academy she went, off to her weirdest adventure ever at only fifteen.
IV. Sassafras
Sassafras "Sassy" Rubell took a good look at her surroundings and decided that this school year was going to be the worst yet. There were at least five do-gooders standing in the doorways of different classrooms at Cattia Academy. At seventeen, she was among the oldest. This place was really more of a reform school than anything to her.
Sassy casually leaned against a locker. Her shoulder length black hair was streaked with brilliant red and dotted with several sapphire hair gems. They were fake, but the ring on Sassy’s finger sure wasn’t. It was a ruby, and it had belonged to several different owners before her grandmother had passed it on to her. The most notable owner was USK Queen Kit MacMiran.
She was tall enough to see over the heads of most of the kiddies in school but shorter than a lot of the guys at nearby Topaz Hall. That was where her rival, Rusty Linden, was stuck until the day’s end each boring week. Someday she’d beat him for leadership of their gang. Until then she had to wait and plot Rusty’s unfortunate demise.
Suddenly Sassy stood bolt upright. Over by the other entrance was someone else as tall as she, maybe even taller. A button on Sassy’s blouse picked that moment to pop off and roll into the crowd. She sighed, putting aside her curiosity in favor of finding that lost button. But her black eyes glittered in anticipation of meeting this newcomer.