Genius intellect, powerful spells, useful allies, noble title.. my greatest advantage in this world is that I know things. I need to keep that in mind. I keep letting opportunities pass me by because I just neglect to use my information to its most useful capacity.

  For example, the best student in our school's Lettering class is Sicimmi Safis. She's a thin and unassuming woman who is hard to get to know at first, but has an amazing capacity for snark, sarcasm and sardonic humor when you've chatted with her for a bit. Despite being less waifu-look than any other gal in the game, she's an ongoing fan favorite. Now, Nathan has been ignoring her because apparently he's obsessed with the most conventionally-attractive girls in his orbit- Curigi, Kurumi, Lachel, Lyric, and Delizabeth. And I haven't been pushing him towards Sicimmi because her endings don't help us at all.

  I have pushed him towards her a little bit because her early involvement is important to investigating the Blight, but- that's not my problem today.

  Today, I've enlisted her help for something quite different. I'm willing to learn a trick from other people, after all.

  "Can you do it or not?" I pressed, shoving the papers across at her.

  She blinked at me, and scrubbed at her eyes with her knuckles. It's the middle of the night and I have woken her up like an asshole because there's just no time. "You really want that?" she said.

  "Really and truly," I said. "It's important."

  "You know this is asking a lot," she said, and glanced over her shoulder. I don't know anything about her roommate, but there's no yelling so that's probably a good sign.

  "I know it is," I agreed. "And I'd tell you to name your price, except, ah, people tend to have a strange idea of what I can actually offer."

  She reached out and took the pages from my hands. She glanced from one to the other. "Why me?"

  "You've got the best hands in the Academy," I said.

  "Second best," she retorted.

  "Best," I said. "He's got better eyes and the second-best hands."

  "Oh, you know-" she looked up at me, and this time she actually looked at me. The shape of my jaw. The brows, nose, hairline. And my eyes. "You know Nathan," she said firmly.

  I held her gaze, intently. "And if I wanted him to know anything about this, I would have brought it to him. So because I'm bringing it to you-"

  "-in the middle of the night, like a lunatic-," she added.

  "- then it's because nobody can know about this," I insisted. "Look, a few hundred crowns, or a major song named after you, or city utilities interrupted on your schedule, or what. I don't know, I could get you a sit-down with Enefiat Trazom? A shopping spree? I literally don't know what you like in this world other than good artwork, good money, good dick, and good banter. I can't offer all of those, Do you have an enemy you want destroyed? Maybe one named Quinnifred?"

  Sicimmi startled. "How do you know about-"

  I grimaced. "Girl, it's too close to midnight to give you either an honest answer you'd understand or a lie you'd believe. I know, all right? Just accept that I know things and I can do what I say. Money? Fame? Revenge? I'm tired too."

  "Revenge," she said with only a bit of hesitation. "Get her to leave me alone, or make her suffer. I don't care. Either one."

  "Great," I said. "Results guaranteed within one week. Can you have this by tomorrow evening?"

  "Yeah."

  "Perfect," I said. I left her with the papers, and I went to bed. I had to sleep as hard as I could so I'd be as awake as possible when first bell hit in the morning. Was it enough? Not nearly! But I had to soldier on regardless.

  Day Two as the discredited sister, outshone by my genius brother. My response today is a lot different. Yesterday I was fuming, I was beyond pissed and I could barely conceal it. Today I'm amused by it, smirking at people who glared at me for imagined offenses against my brother. Some people still gave me warm glances, which I attribute to saving a dozen lives. and others give me cold shoulders, which I attribute to the rumors of my plagiarism.

  I was extra-amused that the reckoned-but-not-proven plagiarism seemed to net me a lot more reactions than the demonstrably-true self-sacrifice to save others.

  Overnight I had finally finished the full scoring for Welcome To The Black Parade, and I carried that parcel over to the campus post office to get stamped and sent off to Baroness Grancine. Channeling owls gave me a chance to eavesdrop without giving myself away.

  "There she is. Spent her whole life stealing her brother's ideas, and when she got caught she sued the school to get them to back her up."

  "Oh, I heard she knocked down the ceiling of the geo building just so she could catch those rocks so people would like her!"

  "Hm, it is really suspicious that she was able to do that, right? Just happened to have that spell?"

  "Someone said she's got friends in high places, and enemies too. She's at the school hiding from assassins!"

  "Well, all of you are missing out on the most important thing: everyone that fucks with her turns up dead. I'm not going near her!"

  A good spread, really. I'll take it. We're less than two months in and I've already got a hornet's nest buzzing everywhere I go. The post office in the administration complex was easy to find, but the service was surly and slow. Naturally this motivated me to be extra-chipper and upbeat just to annoy the clerk a little. Not really pestering her, but just a little "too early for this" energy. I grabbed a newspaper - sorry, a broadsheet- (funny how some phrases take longer than others to drill out of your vocabulary) and checked notices on the walls. New laws going into effect, new regulations in the stonecutting industries. A top-ten most wanted criminals list that I smirked at. Some day, I vowed.

  After fifteen years I still have to fight with myself not to say "okay" at least once per hour. I have worked long and hard to train that habit out and it still shows up in my thoughts, and occasionally slips out. And yet, I have never had trouble keeping myself from quoting memes. That was the easiest thing to let go of. I think it's because I'm not the kind of person that references memes in front of my grandparents, and every single person in this world feels a little bit like one of my grandparents, at least in that way. A whole world where nobody is quite cool enough to get my jokes so I might as well keep that shit to myself.

  The most recent notice affixed to the walls, bright like the ink was still wet, was a notice restricting travel to Meadowtam. I glanced from it down to the broadsheet in my hands and started flipping pages, looking for references.

  "Nah, won't find it there," said the lethargic postal clerk. "The papers get finalized at midnight, printed in the early hours, so they can be be cut, folded and delivered by first bell. This notice went official about an hour ago."

  I looked at the notice more carefully, reading it over.

  POSTED NOTICE: TRAVEL TO MEADOWTAM DUCHY RESTRICTED

  By order of the Crown and the Throne, ratified by the High Council, merchant commutes to and from the duchy of Meadowtam are under strict regulation. No caravans of more than one wagon, and no wagon may carry more than a tun of goods weighing no more than a single tonne. All drovers and teamsters must carry effective armament and be accompanied by one man-at-arms or soldier per pack animal or yoked animal. No livestock for consumption are to be permitted out, no fruits are to be permitted out, and no woven baskets. To discourage smuggling, all trade goods of value in excess of ten golden coat-of-arms coins are restricted from passage into Meadowtam. Each crossing at highway borders is to be inspected by Crown guards, paid at the regulation wage. All persons traveling out of Meadowtam are to be inspected for contraband, and a fee assessed for the wages of guards based on the length of the inspection. All contraband goods relevant to this notice or any other regulations are subject to forfeiture and seizure and further fines and penalties as indicated on the Dangerous Contraband notice issued. All crossings of the border that circumvent the highway inspections are subject to seizure and forfeiture of all goods. This proclamation was made in good faith with the safety and protection of the people of the kingdom in mind. As such the Safety-Protection powers are invoked and the mandatory review period is suspended, the terms of this proclamation are effective as of the time of posting. The High Council would like to commend the members of Freckentop House and Harigold House in cooperation for their role in revealing the dangers of the ongoing blight.

  "What the fuck?" I murmured, staring. "What happened?"

  This was new. This never happened before.

  And it was going to be a complete disaster for Meadowtam. Every line of that sign was some new disaster. Outlawing caravans of more than one wagon? That would cause the major merchant routes to just stop immediately, and would make it more dangerous for the smaller businesses to operate while bandits were roving the roads. Restricting the amount of goods to under a tun of volume and a tonne of weight meant that they were particularly difficult for low-density goods like bread and hay and textiles, and high-weight items like metalworks and guild-crafts. It would require farmers carrying foods to markets to buy a hilted dagger or sword instead of their traditional belt-knives. And one additional man-at-arms per animal? Hugely expensive, and impossible for any trader who was not pushing a high margin of profit. Even still, it would require almost everyone to restrict their carts to a single ox or horse, which would slow traffic down and delay shipments. The restriction was not just on berries but on all fruits, even apples and melons which would be unaffected. No livestock animals at all? Not just a restriction on trough feeders or free-feeders but all livestock. So, no shepherds or cattle drives, those would all need to be slaughtered inside Meadowtam and then carried out by wagon. And woven baskets?... I had to wonder about that. What justification? It would be devastating to many merchants who used baskets to transport their goods. Anything that was needed more care than to be thrown into a bag but did not justify a planked crate would usually go in a basket. The restriction on trade goods was baffling, except that the definition of "trade goods" was very open to interpretation and the Crown and Throne are currently embroiled in a trade war against Meadowtam. The fact that the fees for travel were not posted and were subject to abuse- probably quite intentional. Ten guards hassling a farmer for an hour could demand ten coops in tolls as "payment" for "inspection". The longer the inspection took and the more invasive it was, the more expensive. A perfect posting for corrupt bullies. Also, it meant that all contraband items, from this or any other notice, were all subject to the Dangerous Contraband terms. So, banned books, banana bread, or a single wool blanket over the weight limit would all be subject to penalties as if smuggling texts on necromancy, or odorless poisons, or seditious literature, or human slaves. Lots of jail time for those. Also, it entirely closed all the borders of the duchy except for highway crossings: technically a farmer following a cow across the wrong pasture would be subject to- oh, seizure and forfeiture of all goods. So, the cow, their clothes, their cottage and their carpets. Holy shit. This was bypassing the normal restrictions on oppressive executive orders and would not be subject to review by committee, so good luck challenging it in court.

  And... it was thanking in particular the cooperation between Freckentop and Harigold. I don't know every Harigold relative in Hearstcliff, just the few closest to the core family. But I don't think many of us really cooperate with the Freckentops to any degree. There is a notable exception however.

  I turned to the postal clerk who was readying my parcel for delivery. "Do you have another copy of that Meadowtam notice?"

  Nathan had about a hundred people crowded around him at breakfast, and his presence had them captivated. They were pressed in so close that if I was going to get a word with him I would need to throw people out of the way. I was really tempted to do that. Instead I went to get breakfast and tried to distract myself somehow. Vancy was moaning about her math teacher, and just to occupy my mind I took the girl's workbook from her hands and grabbed a charcoal, then quickly filled in all of the answers for the rest of the month's assignments. It kept my thoughts off my problems just enough. Vancy was practically in tears with gratitude, and I shared a sweet but brief hug with her just as the bell rang for first classes.

  He was going to be surrounded by people in homeroom too. So my opportunity needed to be between classes. So halfway between the Student Center and the mathematics building I waited, arms crossed, clutching the printed notice. There were only four sycophants walking with him and their expressions turned from joy and reverence to suspicion and resentment as the spotted me power-stancing in the middle of the path.

  "Why don't you all give me a minute to chat with my brother," I said without taking my eyes off of his.

  One of the bootlickers found a spine. "I don't know if we should leave you two alone," she said, chin raised.

  I took my eyes from him and turned to her, fixing her with a glare. "Carefully evaluate whether this is a fight you're willing to see through," I said coldly.

  Quite often, having a face that shows all your emotions is a real liability. But sometimes, when you're genuinely prepared to kill someone stone dead in front of witnesses just for being in your way, it's actually an asset. It's normally very intimidating. But this woman was reacting too slowly, and I started reaching for my spells.

  Nathan cleared his throat. "I don't think it will be a problem this time, Tharlene," he said. The lackeys split away, and I returned my glare to my brother. He seemed a lot more comfortable now that Tharlene and the others were gone. He was really afraid I'd kill one of them. He was really comfortable that I would not harm him. Today, I'm less certain of that than he is.

  "Can you tell me that you had nothing to do with this?" I asked, holding out the printed page.

  He took it and read it quickly. "I certainly can. You had everything to do with this."

  "What?"

  "Well, nobody in Hearstcliff would know about those spider-monsters for weeks if you hadn't shown me. So I reported it. That's what a law-abiding citizen is supposed to do! I did not have a way to reach the trade minister myself so I got Lachel-"

  "Princess Lachel Freckentop," I growled, and I had to avert my face, glaring down at the ground.

  "Yes, her," he said smoothly. "And she listened to what I had to say, and we went to the trade minister. He asked me if the blight was carried in fruits, I said yes. He asked if I knew exactly which ones, and I said no. He asked if those spiders could easily hide in baskets, I said yes. Was it carried by livestock animals? Some of them, yes. Was this a danger to the safety of the kingdom? Of course, this is monsters in the Central Duchies. Has the area had trouble with banditry? Yes, for years now. Things like that."

  Fuck, of course this is her fault somehow.

  I took the page back from him and jabbed a finger at it. "Nathan, were you even paying attention? This- this is a dagger straight into the kidneys of Meadowtam's economy! People are going to starve in their homes, people are going to lose their homes, people won't even be able to afford to leave the duchy for somewhere safer! This is not help! This is a double-cross!"

  "Well, what did you expect when you showed me monsters and told me to do the right thing!" he retorted, angry now. "Gods, Natalie, please think this out! We have to work with people! You told me to build connections!"

  "I told you to follow up the investigations and find out how this got started! I told you that your friends here in the school would be able to help you! I've told you to -"

  He jabbed the air with a flat palm. "You've also told me that you were going to have to do plenty of disreputable things and that I should be ready to distance myself. Which is it, Natalie? Trust you or don't trust you? Follow you or avoid you? You say so many things and all I get is mixed messages!" He shook his hand away, and visibly calmed himself, the same way that I often do, with a sharp long breath. "Maybe from your perspective all this makes sense. What you know, what you're thinking. But for everyone else, it's baffling. I'm doing what I need to. You're going to do whatever it is you want to do. Nobody understands your rules but you, Natalie, but at least none of the rest of us need to play your game."

  And I was still standing open-mouthed when he walked away from me.