I'm headed straight for the castle

“that checks out. it’s the kind of leadership that bore us, so .. does that indicate anything or would we have thrived under the kind of leadership laura has?” it was the final night, after all. there wasn’t a lot of things she thought she needed to tiptoe around. while it was no use comparing or criticizing sutton, she felt free - or more free now - to openly say it. for a second, she lets out a small laugh. “right, yes. i keep forgetting, we’re also allowed to suffer. forgive me if i seem..off when it comes to that.” and while she can argue that it was just who she is as a person, lisanna would keep that to herself. she nods, “she seemed like she is. i saw her mingling with some friends and by the roulette. have you played any of the games yet?”

“Who knows? It was such a different time and we were young,” Cora mused with a small sigh. But while Headmistress Brady had been strict, what Cora did know looking back on it was that she had made all of her students strong and ready for the world ahead of them and that was what mattered most. Cora could only hope that the students graduating the next day were just that. “Now I haven’t,” she answered. “Never have found myself too lucky when it comes to the tables and I tend to away from things unless I am sure that I will win.” 

It feels weird, having a big fancy party just days after the fire, but he’d come to expect little else from Gallagher Academy. In a way it almost felt fitting. An extravagant, expensive victory lap that Miles couldn’t help but hope wasn’t premature. “I’ve been to parties hosted by rich bigwigs that weren’t this fancy.” He replied, taking a sip of his drink. Definitely nothing like this while he’d been at Blackthorne, that’s for sure. “Someone around here sure knows how to throw a party, that’s for sure. Actually managed to get some of these kids to clean up nice.”

“Yes it seems Laura let them spare no expense,” Cora replied. The party couldn’t really compare to those that she had been to at Buckingham or Kensington but it was impressive for something put better by a small group of young people. “Fancy clothes and drinks makes somethings easier to forget I suppose.” Things like murders and attacks and fires. But the students deserved to put all of that behind them.

Cora was so genuine that Ria didn’t even mean being called dear. It didn’t feel patronizing either, it just felt comforting. “I’ve been staring at the dresses in my closet for months, it’s not the same wearing them on a normal day.” Sure, she didn’t land an internship or a coveted future job from Cora (not that it mattered as a second year). She got something better, affirmation, a role model, something to aspire to - even if she wouldn’t tell Cora that. It was refreshing to see a woman who used her Gallagher education in a way that was more than just boring old heist missions. “Are we allowed to keep in touch with the alumni? Is that against the rules?” Enjoying was one word to describe it, she was enjoying pockets of time. “Mostly, yes.”

Though they had met a few times in the past week, Cora still wasn’t sure what to make of the young girl in front of her.  She seemed a little lost to her, trying to find her way while striving for perfection and Cora didn’t envy her for it. One thing that came with age was certainty and she was glad to have it in her own life. “I don’t see why it could be,” she replied. What would the point of mentoring be if she never spoke to any of the students again? “Well don’t have too much. Did you come with someone?” 

      “I… Wouldn’t know.” Calypso smiles hesitantly. “I mean, I’m sure we’re lucky, but I have no context – I never went to a prep school or anything. But I am grateful for a lot of things, like this, and Berlin.”

“Well Berlin is a wonderful city. Full of culture and history. And I know many people in the German intelligence agency. They’ll help you very much,” Cora assured the younger girl. She was slightly jealous of the opportunity they were getting. She never got an international internship in her day. 

jack takes a sip of his drink, letting the question sit in the air for a moment. “ yeah, ” is all he feels like saying on the topic, but he figures it won’t hurt to share a few more details. “ close this case, tie up some loose ends, ” he says in a tone that sounds similar to ‘yada yada’. another sip. “ what about you? ”

Cora leaned back against her desk, resting against it as she crossed her ankles in front of her. Not the most ladylike of stances but too much had happened in the last few months for her to care at the moment. “I decided to put off returning to London for a little while. We have a family villa on the Amalfi Coast I’ll be going to for a holiday instead,” she told him. It was going to sunshine and clear blue water and Aperol Spritz’s for her for a few weeks. “Plenty of room if anyone wishes to join,” she joked with a small chuckle as she sipped at her whiskey. 

Roman laughed in earnest at her tone of voice. “You mean you girls weren’t dying to see us every chance you got? Lining up at the door?” he asked, a playful smirk on his lips. He knew he was definitely risking getting Cora to punch him, but he simply didn’t care enough to stop himself. At her comment on his drink of choice, Roman scoffed, knowing he was a man of simple taste. And when it came to alcohol, that was sweet. “Just be thankful I’m not a beer person, Heartfield.”

“No we had far better things to do,” was Cora’s good-humored retort. Maybe it was because back in her days there had been no boys at all in Gallagher’s halls, and when they were out of sight and out of mind herself and the other students had been able to focus on far more important things like their training and their futures. “A small mercy,” she drawled out before turning to the bartender. “Give him a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to try.”

“ never claimed to, ” he says with a shrug. watching cora pour the drinks, jack almost protests mostly because he isn’t in the mood but he supposes he can make time for one drink. especially if it might be their last one for a while. “ to lasting the semester without killing each other? ” he asks, lifting his glass. 

Jack wasn’t a sentimental person, Cora knew that and she didn’t expect him to be just because their time at Gallagher was coming to an end. So his toast only brought an amused smirk to her lips. “To not killing each other,” she echoed before clinking their glasses together and taking a drink. “So any plans for the summer?”

– “DEFINITELY, ALL TO PRACTICE ASSIMILATION OR WHATEVER, but i really just wanted to dress nice and hang out with my friends. i think i talked to like, maybe two boys,” irene laughs, thinking of the way she and her friends would take to the dance floor on their own or find excuses to brush off the guys. “ yeah, it’s hard after…what happened this week, i’m still feeling unsettled. maybe that’s because elise and i were…old friends, ” she sighs. “ i know you can’t predict these things, but i do feel almost like a failure, for not noticing the signs. i think maybe i just didn’t want to. ” 

“I recall a moment when dancing with a boy he tried to put his hands where he shouldn’t. I believe I hit him right where he deserved it most and then left,” Cora told her with a laugh. She had been a little more feisty in her youth, her days in America helping her to forget her proper English upbringings for a few months. But propriety could always been thrown out the window when men were acting like animals. “We should not put that on our shoulders,” Cora insisted, though she felt the weight of it too. But how could they have known? “Unfortunately it’s impossible to get things right all the time.”

“It shouldn’t be a surprise. I should be predictable when it comes to certain things” he said and smiled as he looked at Cora. He wanted the few people he actually tolerated and liked to be able to read him. But he sometimes shut down even when it came to those select few. It was the curse of being sensitive and gentle in a world of violence and hate. “I would love to” taking her hand into his own, the smile never once left his lips.

“Well you know I wasn’t going to take no for an answer,” Cora chuckled under her breath as she took his hand and dragged him onto the floor. Along with her spy training, she had also been trained like a proper well-born lady and of course knew how to dance. Not that it would matter here. Looking out amongst the students Cora knew that none of them could be able to tell the difference between a viennese waltz and a tango. “Should we show these Americans how its done?”

      “Classical music? Seems…. Formal.” Calypso says, but she has no clue what the school would’ve been like back then. “Was everything more formal than it is now?” She can’t imagine going here if the classes were stricter.

“It was a....different standard,” Cora tried her best to explain. Thirteen years ago didn’t seem like all that many to some but to her it felt like a whole lifetime ago. “But like I said my Headmistress was a vey serious woman. You are all very lucky to have Laura as yours.”

𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝟎𝟎𝟗: 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 ft. Cora

Though her work is her life and her passion, Cora realized that she both needed and deserved a break and headed off to the Heartfield family villa on the Amalfi coast.

The villa is a large stone building, the architecture a mix of English and Italian, on private land right on the water.  There’s even a large English garden to walk through. It’s quiet and peaceful and it’s one of Cora’s favorite places to escape. 

She spends most of her days relaxing, getting a warm glow to her pale English skin, but of course she can’t leave London behind entirely and there is some work to be done.

She’s also out on the yacht as much as she can be. Cora loves being on the water and diving into the ocean whenever she gets hot, coming out only to enjoy an Aperol Spritz served to her by her staff.

Of course, there is also lots of wine that to be drunk and fresh fruit to be eaten. And maybe an Italian lover to be had.  

Though she’s driven around most of the time, Cora takes a vintage car out one day and takes a drive along the coast, taking time to actually enjoy the sights and “smell the roses.” 

After one glorious month, it’s back to London and back to work for Cora, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

      Calypso had spent a good portion of the evening on the sidelines, simply watching, as she had no clue how to play most of the games and was honestly a little self-pitying due to her lack of a date. So when she hears one of the alumni near her speak, she turns her attention completely towards them. “Oh really?” Calypso asks, genuinely interested. “What were they like?”

Cora was surprised that it was a student that replied to her. Most of them seemed to busy dancing or drinking or gambling, or all three at once somehow, to pay attention to the adults in the room. “Well the Headmistress when I was a student was a very serious woman. If we were to ever have a celebration there wasn’t usually a theme like this. And she always insisted on classical music being played. Said it was good for our minds and our training.”