Quarrels and Quills Outpost 2

Cambria Morehouse

Cambria turned away from the window to face Rosemary. Her eyes were puffy and red, but no tears were falling. She did her best to hold her voice steady.

"They were alright when I left - physically, at least. Bale is confused, and his mind will take some time to recover after having his memories erased so many times. Eve... I honestly don't know, Rosemary. She isn't acting like herself. She's not usually..."

She was going to say 'not usually cruel,' but was Eve the one being cruel here? Perhaps Cambria truly had transgressed. Perhaps she'd misperceived the situation, misinterpreted polite interest as... another kind of interest, from someone who would never feel that way about her. It wouldn't be the first time something like that had happened to her...

No time for such speculation. Not with Darren still at large and people still in danger.

"She's not acting like she usually does. But she did hit her head on that column. She may need to recover too. I'm not sure how she is at the moment. She... she wanted me to leave. Demanded it. So I..."

Cambria shrugged helplessly. What else could she have done? But even if Eve truly hated her, Cambria still cared about Eve. She couldn't help it.

Rosemary Bain

Cambria was holding herself apart, trying to hold herself together. Her heart twisted inside her. For her friend's obvious pain, yes, but also as she began to realize just how big the issue was.

"That doesn't sound like Eve. She really only seems comfortable when she's around you. I ... I also found out some news from Liam. Apparently Eve's been there for 45 minutes and was very surprised by Liam and Shishguk's relationship. That...also doesn't sound like Eve. Cambria. We need to get back to hospital wing and make sure that really is Eve in there with Bale."

How could she have been so stupid. This situation was completely out of control...but hopefully still salvageable.

Cambria Morehouse

One semi-clear thought finally managed to pierce through Cambria's befuddled brain.

"Forty-five minutes? That's too long. I saw her more recently than that. She can't have...?"

She can't have gotten all the way to London in that time. Even if Eve was well enough to travel - which was doubtful, after that head injury, especially relying on a broomstick - there was no way she had spent forty-five minutes in the city.

"There have to be two people, Rosemary. That's the only explanation. But which one is Darren?"

The Eve in the hospital wing certainly wasn't acting like herself. But neither was the Eve in London. How would they know?

Cambria remembered a suggestion Eve had proposed what seemed like a lifetime ago but had really only been a couple of hours at most: Polyjuice only lasted for an hour, so if they watched someone for an hour and they didn't drink anything or change shape, they were presumably who they appeared to be.

"You're right, Rosemary. We need to go to the hospital wing and check."

When they arrived, Eve was predictably unhappy to see them. "Get out!" she shrieked at Cambria. "I told you to leave. Stop bothering me. I'm going to report you to the headmistress for harassment..."

This time, though, the words just washed over Cambria, because she had noticed something else... tiny, fresh wounds shaped like crescents all over Eve's hands. They hadn't been there when she had left a short time ago.

"Eve, what happened to your hands...?" Cambria asked, but even as she spoke the words, she realized she already knew. They were fingernail marks.

Eve met Cambria's gaze with suddenly wide, terrified eyes. "Protect... Liam..." she gasped softly, fighting for breath, fighting for every word. Then abruptly, her eyes shuttered again and became flat and lifeless. "Get out!" she screeched again, and hurled a water glass, which shattered against the wall a foot from Cambria's head.