Lunch Date (Estella Restaurant)

[Natalie Grey]

It was surprisingly pleasant to talk about Belizna with someone she was not trying to manipulate to her cause. The physical renovations took up great swathes of her time, the planning, networking, and carefully laid groundwork even more so. But though Natalie’s ambitions ran deep, she only ever intended to pull the strings from behind the scenes – especially once the school opened its doors. She had little love of the spotlight despite the notoriety attached to her family name. None of this was about the accolade which would inevitably come with such an endeavour, nor even really about doing something good. When she spoke about it Natalie usually sold the dream she knew others wanted to hear in order to win support, but rarely revealed her own motivations.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t figure it out,” she said thoughtfully, tone low with sincerity. Emily grew quiet for a moment, and Natalie let the moment pass undisturbed. The other woman seemed burdened, though she bounced back quickly enough. Natalie didn’t pry this time, though she lingered a moment longer in her own pensive contemplation. Emily was perfect, of course, but Natalie was wary of mixing business with true friendship. It felt disingenuous, even if it wasn’t, and she didn't want Emily to feel she had been manipulated.

“The Channeling Consulate has tech to visualise weaves, and I’m sure they could adapt it easily to a basic teaching aid. If not the government, sooner or later someone will roll it out in a handy app – and make millions off it, I’m sure. But Belizna isn’t to compete with that.” Her voice grew softer, though she wasn’t about to say anything that would matter should it be overheard. Rather the softness was a gentle earnestness, the words of someone for whom the stakes were greater than purely business. She’d told Adrian Kane the school wasn’t for financial gain (to his general disdain), which was true of course, but she’d never allowed him to see that it meant something to her. “No tech can replace community.”

She didn’t say any more, not in a busy restaurant, and Natalie was hardly one for saccharine declarations either, whatever she truly felt. Girls sparked young and often in isolation. If they survived, it was to be hunted for what they were. And not just by Atharim. Now that channelers were known to the world, there were already those mobilising exploitation of a new and valuable commodity. She’d seen it. There was protection in a community; not just for the girls they’d teach to save themselves, but for the women who needed somewhere to belong. Strength in numbers they might one day need, for the power held by even a single channeler was terrible in the wrong hands.

She took Rachel’s contact with a nod, then for once was taken off guard by a modicum of surprise when Emily produced the gift. “Fuck,” she muttered, unapologetic for the bad language in such an opulent setting. Despite her refined accent, she rarely bowed to those sorts of conventions. “Is it that close to Christmas already?” Absent-mindedness was not in her nature; rather, it was more that tradition was so low in her priorities. She couldn’t recall the last Christmas she’d celebrated – it was usually a time for avoiding the overtures of her familial obligations, and usually spent alone. Beneath the perfect veneer the Northbrooks had been in shambles ever since her father’s betrayal and incarceration, at least as far as Natalie was concerned. She could act with the best of them, but she wouldn’t pretend at lies.

“By which I mean thank you, obviously.” She glanced up with a warm smirk. “Should I open it now?”