Four, Not One (The Scholomance)

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Fandom: The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik

Summary: The gradual, unlikely, inevitable and very necessary coming together of El, Aadhya, Liu and Chloe — as observed by the one most invested in their success.

Characters: El Higgins, Aadhya, Yi Liu, Chloe Rasmussen, the Scholomance

Words: 400

Notes: For Aishuu, for chocolateboxcomm 2022.


Read on AO3, or here below:

 

The Powerful One, for all her abilities, could not have done it on her own.

And so I watched; for nearly three years I watched.

It was impossible to know, in those early years, if she was the one I had been waiting for. There was potential there, oh, yes: raw power, angry defiance, and such hunger. The hunger in this one was not for wealth or influence. It was a hunger for setting the world to rights, and that boded well. But only time would tell what she might become.

I kept still and I waited and I watched.

 

 

The Insightful One brought them together. I was not surprised. I’d kept my eye on this one, watching through classroom walls and feeling the vibrations as she walked my corridors. I’d wondered if she might be a catalyst, for she paid attention and she was practical, and she recognized the Powerful One long before the others did. She saw the potential there, although she didn’t yet know what it was for.

What I couldn’t have predicted was that the Powerful One, grudgingly, gradually, began to like and trust her.

Perhaps she was learning. Perhaps she would yet become the one.

 

 

The Determined One came in quietly and made herself indispensable. She had the will to survive, always the first requirement. But she also possessed a kindness few knew how to find within themselves. She cared for animals; she cared for small cousins. She did this not for personal gain, but because their loss would be her loss. And she taught this sense of devotion by the power of her example.

Just as her hair strung the lute, so too this one bound together the alliance. With her steady presence she transformed these individuals, with their disparate desires, into a team.

 

 

The Persistent One might have seemed an unlikely fourth to this unusual grouping, but I never doubted her. Despite the power and privilege she carried, this one didn’t let ego stand in the way of good sense. She was the counterbalance the Powerful One needed, although neither of them would ever have admitted it. This daughter of an enclave shared what was hers to share and served as power broker for what wasn’t; she offered worthwhile skills but also knew when to let others lead.

With her, my alliance was complete. My plan could unfold.

The final term could begin.
 

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