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James said. “I didn’t think we could get the package where it was a school program, if so it would be welcome. However I don’t know about the ambassador title, we don’t want that much notice, but some might if there was a way it was offered and not assigned.” He opened his book and shook his head. “So did any of you get that bit about Gervaty whoever? I have no idea what he was going on about at the end there.”

Yuma shook her head. “Not me, I got lost when he brought up the tv show. Was there anything relevant there? It all went over my head. I don’t get half the stuff he says.”

Warne said. “It was simply a tangent, as they got a fairy life cycle wrong. However it was nothing even remotely contacted to the class so you don’t need to worry about it. However it wouldn’t kill either of you at least look at the shows now and then. You should know by now that there will be reference to them.”

Yuma shook her head. “It is bad enough that I have to hear about fairies in class I am not going to watch a show about them.” A couple of the others laughed. “They are just annoying little pests. Yes I know there are a dozen of them around here and likely at least one understood me. However that doesn’t change the fact that they are pests. I truly don’t get the attraction to them. They do far more damage than the gnomes and elves. Like cats they can’t stay out of anything or leave items alone. I didn’t think the class would deal so heavily with them. They are not the only magical being that we have dealings with, yet she seems to think so. I do wonder why I let you all talk me into this one.”

Robert said. “You like it or you wouldn’t get in so many debates. Though I will agree the number of times he manages to work fairies in does get grading. Just what was that about a slang term? He sure shut it down fast, and was a bit flushed.”

Yuma coughed. “Well um, it is an old taunt for homosexuals. I am not too sure just why it was found to be upsetting then, but it seems it was thought to be hate speech at one point. It was one of the taunts shorted as the legalization and acceptances movements were gaining steam. Or I think it was, there is so much on the whole issue that blocked that trying to sort any of it out is imposable. That was before the sleeping devil gene work, and brought with it the reappearance of the magic beings. So the only fairies they knew were the cartoony things, but I still don’t get the slang team.”

Robert coughed. “I don’t think I want to know how you know that, but thank you. That does explain why he was so upset. Dr. Varguas is one of the ones calling for harsh penalties, asking that those crimes be taken out of the Church hands and be made public.”

Yuma shook her head. “I didn’t know he was a part, but it clears a few things up.” So he is the one that did that to Shannon, likely set up the rape to. No wonder she refused to report it. I am so glad that the fund was able to help her relocate. I hope it helped, at least she should be safer. “I am writing a term paper on the diagnoses and cure of HIV, which was first considered to just infect homosexuals or those that had contact with them. So the slang terms come up the research.”

Robert said. “Nope, not going to say a word about that. I can just hear them. Tulip must not have found out yet or I am sure I would have heard. Dan is very upset that you are studying dragons and in biology. It is not something that is fit for any girl to be in and he can’t see why the school would ever allow it. It was down right indecent , the items that they expected Tulip to study in her class and that was a low level one, to think of what you are seeing. And that can go on for hours when the folks aren’t there to here. Luckily I can usually get away from him, but it is scary. Is it truly a thing or just him?”

Joe said. “I offered to trade, but she refused. At least she did get her computer so that is why you haven’t heard of it. However as she bought it I get to hear how unfair it is that she has it and Tulip is expected to use her allowance to get one because Yuma neglected her duty and used hers to get one. Really, that is what Alice said, loudly and angrily as apparently it is my fault. It seems that as we are engaged I somehow have a right to say what Yuma does or doesn’t do. I am also to talk her into agreeing to stay with History and stop the discussion unfeminine behaviors. Sadly Mother seems to agree that it isn’t right for any lady to take so much since as the boys need the places they are taking up. She also feels that it is my place to talk to Yuma about it and encourage her to make better, more fitting, choices. So yes, sadly, it is a thing.”

Yuma nodded. “That is the majority of the pokes at me, if it is not my outdated fashion it is that I am not behaving as a lady should. It seems that it is becoming unfit for women for wealthy families to have a paying job, that in doing so we are depriving the men. I fear it is going to get even bigger and cause a larger divide between the classes. Likewise any men that wish to stay home are looked down on for not being a real man and supporting his family. It is, well it is like they want to turn back the clock to the time when it was normal to refuse education and fair pay to females do simply to their gender. It is also spilling over into other areas. Mother was telling me how it wasn’t proper to express a strong opinion that disagreed with Father’s, that I needed to be sure and support the men in my life. Disagreements should be kept in the home only.” She shook her head a bit. “This is not getting any work done. What was that history thing you needed help with?”

Joe smiled a bit. “See if you just come with us to Oxford you can get away from it all and hide.” However he did push the flyers aside and open his book as well, and with that they did shift focus for a time.

After a time one of them got board and reached for the flyers. The one he got hold of should a small apartment done in pinks. It was basically one room and a bath, the kitchen was in a corner. Clearly they didn’t expect much cooking to be done there. The guy had to laugh. “Yuma did you see this one? I do hope they are not all this bad. Who would ever want that much pink? I can see the size, it’s about the same as a dorm room really.”

Yuma said. “That one is the smallest of them but sadly not the brightest paint job. It is one of them I am going to show Tulip. She wanted to her room to be pink once, she never got it and I don’t think she still wants it. Yet I have to show her I found one that is. I can’t imagine living in that. Someone must like it though.”

Robert shook his head but was watching here a bit. He needed to say something, but wasn’t sure just how to. Je was right she needed to come into the woods with them, and needed to start learning about her gifts. Yet he was finding it a bit hard to believe. Yuma hid so much that he didn’t know her only Tulip, for all Walter had told him she was cool, it was strange to see her like this. She was surprising in a lot of ways. “I am glad that they are not all like that, or we might not be able to get you talked into going. You need to, someone needs to be able to speak for them in the season besides the Ambassador.” She looked at him and he said. “You will do better than me, my family is a good deal lower than yours. We are servile generations removed from the National branch, I don’t think that they even know who I am. Can you say the same?” He knew she couldn’t as her Uncle had taken her for a month each summer. Granted he had only heard Tulip’s versions of those visits, but even that was enough to convince him that Yuma would know how to be heard, who to talk to. For all she seemed to be shy and avoid everything at the balls. He could tell that there was more to her then he had thought, just getting the edges of her thoughts.

Yuma  said. “Come on that’s not fair. It’s not my fault that my father’s brother took a job at the capital, and brought us to Uncle Craig’s attention. Nor is it my fault you insisted that Dan take the turn as page in your place, for all I will agree he is a much better fit then you would be. Still you could have made more of an effort to be noticed. There is to much pushing at me as it is, without that added complication. Truly I just don’t know what is the better course, there is going to be talk no matter where I go.”

Richard nodded. “I know and I have to stop hiding, that will take a bit of the attention off you. However I first have to find the time to tell my folks.” Yuma shook her head and the others looked at him. “I know, but well it was just easy to find reasons not to say anything, but I need to before long. It will be worse if the Family is in town. So Yuma when Dan calls, be braced for the yelling.”

Yuma said. “I do wonder how bad the reaction is going to be. I was wondering why she hadn’t said anything. I wonder if that will make them feel it is more fitting that I go there and not to one of the others.”

Richard said. “We will see, but no matter which you need to be there. It will be good for you, yes it is scary, but you need to see for yourself just what it is like to be around in a place where magic isn’t shunned, where beings aren’t labeled as evil just because they use it.”

Joe took a flyer and blinked. “Wow I need sunglasses just to look at the picture. You have to show Tulip this one. In fact I am going to take a picture and send it to Alice. She thought the one I was looking at was two bright, it is dull to this one. However it is a nice size, if they repaint it wouldn’t be too bad.”

Yuma shook her head. “I don’t think they would repaint. Each of the buildings has a theme to it. That one is rightly called Nightmares. I truly don’t know just why anyone would find that to be what they wanted. I find the rest of the pictures of the building to be just as creepy, if not as bright.”

Joe laughed. “I said the room wouldn’t be bad, not that the building wouldn’t. though I will admit that the gargoyles in the corners are a bit to demented.”

Mark squinted at it. “There are gargoyles? How can you even see them in that neon mess? I thought the pink was bad, but it looks good now.”

Joe pointed at the picture. “See right there is an eye ant that is a tooth.”

Mark shook his head, but James coughed. “Um, you missed the body below it. You have your hand on a crime scene.”

Joe looked and dropped the flyer, suddenly a bit pale. “Ok that is enough, moving on. I do hope the next one isn’t so gruesome. I just realized what the red was. Now I’m wishing I hadn’t sent that picture.”

Yuma laughed. “I don’t think they will look at it close enough to make out that there is um, a crime scene on the wall, in that garish paint. I must say they didn’t do too bad a job, form what I was able to make out. It could be that the art work would be useful for studying anatomy.”

Joe shook his head. “I think they did too well on it. I change my mind. I wouldn’t want to be in that room no matter how it was painted.” He picked up the next one and smiled. “This is your! It is perfect. You are going to live in a wing. I can just hear them. It is going to be great. You have to take this one. I can just hear Alice yelling about you living in a dragon.” They all looked at him oddly, and he realized just how crazy it sounded so he sat the flyer in the middle of the table. “See the Dragon Apartments. The building is molded after a dragon’s wing and each room is designed to take after a type of dragon. It is in the edge of that forested land, so is surrounded by trees. It was built for her.”

“Nice, it does look good, but what about the apartment. Some dragons are brightly colored, and that wouldn’t do at all.” Joe taped then next picture and Walter laughed. “Yap, that is perfect. They pegged you with this one Yuma, it looks just like what you designed for that class.”

Yuma said. “I will agree that it is a nice looking place, and I love that it is in the forest, but I am not committing to going. There are still some answers I need. It is not that easy. I can’t go there just because they have an apartment I like the looks of on paper.”

James said. “You are going, this just seals it. No way that you are going to pass on the chance to tell your relatives that you are living in a dragon. So someone look up the address and see how far it is from ours. We need to show them to her anyway. She needs to be able to find us easily.” That lead to a few laptop coming out and a bit of joking over who was going to look for what. By the time Yuma had to leave they had showed her theirs and found more pictures of hers.

Chapter 11 Wednesday Courthouse moving

Yuma got up the next morning and smiled a bit, as she looked at the bags she had backed the night before. She had used a suitcase as well as the pack, for there were some extra books she wanted, otherwise the pack alone would have been fine as her father had said to just pack two weeks of clothes. One normal and one fancy, likely she wouldn’t need them all, but it would be best to have them if she did. It should all be done by the opening ball, for all that was after everyone was here. I wonder just how much longer Richard is going to wait? He is cutting it close, as I bet his family starts showing up next week as mine will. She shook her head and got ready for her day then went down stairs. Only to find another letter from Oxford waiting, that made four she had from them. Each with a bit they felt she needed to know, they had added a scholarship to cover the housing and a listing of car services, plus the bus routes and a transit pass. She sighed a bit and opened it to see what they had added this time, only to shake her head, for it was informing her that she been approved for forests rights, off trail or on, just as she had here. There had been no problems with the background check. If anything the foresters were just as eager for her to get there as they were, they felt sure that she would be able to answer a number of their questions about how the wild lands were handle over there and looked forward to answering hers. That hadn’t been what she had intended, she just wanted to know how much of the forest by the apartment was open. It was getting silly she had to get those papers sent in before they came up with more things to offer.

Samuel said. “So what is it this time? Surely they can’t have found something more to add to it? Not that I can think of what it would be, after all that transit pass covers the compete European continent.”

Yuma said. “Well there is a bit of forest land at one end of campus and when I was talking to the housing office about some of the apartments I asked if it was open or closed. That somehow seems to have led to me now having rights to be in the wild lands.”

He shook his head and might have said something, but Tulip said, loudly. “He What? No!” Samuel and Yuma both jumped then looked at each other before they could react the next shout came. “When? Just why ever?” There was another pause, then. “I just don’t see how he could do that. It is unbelievable. Has he no idea how much something like this needs to be managed? It is a disaster! Yes of course. I am sure Mother will be over after breakfast. Not a word out. I will do what I can to see to it. None should leak yet, but there just isn’t time to set it right. What was he thinking? He should have at least seen there was time for a story to manage it.” Another pause. “I fully agree he is being outrageous, even for him. Don’t worry Dan, it will be bad, but at least there is a bit of time. I am so glad he didn’t wait any longer. Don’t worry it won’t leak tell the stage is set. What a mess! I must go explain, talk to you soon, try not to kill him. It isn’t his fault he can’t see the damage. Some are just clueless.”

Yuma winced a bit. Well so much for it waiting until she was safely out of reach. I wonder if he include that he was sharing an apartment, best not to even bring it up. She did say softly. “It has to be Robert, I don’t know who else would have Dan upset this early.”

Tulip came in and fell onto her chair. “You will never guess what Robert just dropped on them. He is in that exchange program! He is fully committed, and told no one! He can’t see why it is a problem. He completely acted like it was no big deal. Even Yuma realized that going to Oxford was going to cause rumors to fly around for peat sakes! Mother I said you would go over to help come up with a way to minimize the fall out. I can’t believe he waited tell now.”

Martha said. “Yes of course. This is. I thought he had more sense. I know he goes out of his way to avoid everything he can, but I didn’t think he was that removed. Yes I will go see what we can do. I can’t believe he wouldn’t see the harm in it. It is going to fly all over. I don’t know just what ground work can be laid, be we can try.”

Yuma looked at her father and was realized that he looked as lost as she felt. Perhaps now was a good time. It might help a bit, or it might be worse, but she wouldn’t be here for a few weeks so she wouldn’t have to deal with it. “Perhaps it would work to say he was going to look after me? That would give another reason for him to go, it would also work that we are ambassadors. However that won’t do for Robert at all. He goes so far out of his way to avoid anything like that it would look more suspicious. Never mind it is what we are expected to do. I mean that we are to represent this country and show that we are not as backwards as the rumors paint us. I all ready expect that I will be at a number of the State events, but that isn’t Robert.”

They were all looking at her Tulip nodded a bit. “Yes, I like it. We can work with him being there to watch you. We might not be related, but they are a Family, and so it would work that he is going to help see that you are safe over there where you will be so far out of Society. The ambassador works for you, and it can work for Robert. He is being forced into the role over there so he can see why he needs to stop hiding from his duties. That will be the dirt, and is going to have just enough truth to it to combat the other don’t you think Mother?”

Martha nodded. “Yes, that will do just fine. You can start leaking the second one after the first one comes out. If Beth? agrees that is. However I do think she will like it. This of course locks you into going, but then everyone has expected that for weeks now. This is just the right way to let it out. You have handled it just fine, being so public in your debating the merits of it.”

Yuma smiled a bit, that was better than she had hoped. By telling it that way her Mother actually seemed a bit relived that she was going. She would have to thank Robert for it, and warn him. “I know it will get a lot of rumors, but the offer really is too good to pass on. I was trying, but none of the other would come close to it, just on the academics alone, little own the extras.”

Samuel said. “So is it an apartment or dorm?”

Yuma said. “It will defiantly be an apartment. The dorms just don’t sound good. I am not sure of which one, but I can show you two I know it won’t be.” She set the flyers on the table. “Just don’t look to closely at the bright one. However Tulip do you still want your pink room?”

Tulip shuddered. “Good grief those are terrible. I can’t imagine living in either of those. I can see why they are rejected. I was going for a light pink, not that. Just who would ever?”

Yuma said. “The apartment buildings all seem to have themes. The one with the pink room is called Fairytale House. I have no idea just how the pink fits in so it must be a story we don’t have. The bright one is in Nightmares, and it does fit very well. I don’t see how anyone could be in that brightly colored room and not have them.” Just don’t study it.

Tulip said. “Joe has seen these. Alice had that picture, thankful a bit blurred, but still it is horrendous. He would say what it was from, so we were a bit scared it was one he was looking at.”

Yuma laughed. “I didn’t know he didn’t say what it was. Do let her know that it was sent to me and that I vetoed it right away. Once I have decided I will show you the paper on the one I will be in, but I need a few more answers first. They are going to email me some better images.”

Samuel nodded. “Sounds good, now I will take your bags over and meet you in John’s office after school. I know it is going to be a bit odd, but it is going to easier on you to be there.”

Yuma nodded. “I will let Joe know that I will be missing the study group tonight. My bags are near the door, now there are a number of books in the pack. I am sorry for the weight, but with finales I just didn’t want to not have the one I needed, so put in a few extra.”

Samuel laughed. “I was expecting it, and yes it is best you have to many then not have the right one. However the runners can get you books from the library. So don’t worry about that. Now have a good day and remember if you see something say something.”