Bessie's second task

[Eleonora "Bessie" Pilot-Beskow]

Bessie had expected to meet her intermediary at the same spot where she'd met them the first time, outside behind the bleachers, and she was slightly disappointed to find that her meeting location had changed. Somehow, sneaking around inside the castle didn't feel as exhilarating as actually sneaking out.
Having realised how easy it was, Bessie had of course started to escape her dorm regularly. Often to go stargazing. Other times just to remind herself that she could. That she stayed of her own choice.


She arrived early and after having made sure that the room was empty, she donned her robes. She stood in a dark corner of the room and pulled the mask over her thick curls. It smelled faintly of earth and sweat, a reminder of the last time that she had worn it. The rip in her robe had yet to be mended, but with a dark sweater on underneath, it was only barely visible.

Being more aware of what was waiting, Bessie kept her wand in her pant pocket, not expecting to be attacked. Still, she breathed lightly, not wanting to make too much of a sound in the dark and empty room. She had left her watch in her dorm room and soon lost track of time. Ten minutes could have gone by, or thirty, and Bessie was starting to get impatient, picking up her wand to twirl it restlessly between her fingers. Wasn't it eight o'clock yet?

[Artemis]

The quad was probably the most dangerous of places to meet and held a high risk of being seen, with its large bonfire glowing brightly and couples still out, hoping to get some time in before curfew. Thankfully on this night, it was quiet, and no one was around, the sound of the bonfire crackling nearby, Artemis seemed to be born of the shadows.

"Hello initiate," she said. "I am Artemis and I shall be your intermediary for your task this evening." She pulled a silver chalice from her robes along with her wand. In a show of nonverbal magic, Artemis tapped the chalice and mysterious black flames began to burn. "Your task this evening is to take this chalice, and using a hover charm, place it on the head of James' statue. Once you have done so," she tapped the chalice again and the flames turned brilliant purple. "The fire will change color. You are then to retrieve the chalice and bring it back here to me."

"If you are spotted, you will fail this task. If you are caught by Pukwudgies, you will fail this task. You have until midnight," Artemis said as she turned the flames back to black with a tap of her wand. The task probably seemed simple, but the Pukwudgies had doubled their numbers tonight and were patrolling the grounds with keen eyes and poison-tipped arrows.

[Eleonora "Bessie" Pilot-Beskow]

Bessie took the chalice from the masked lord and turned on her heel. There was no time to waste if she wanted to succeed. The task may seem simple enough, but there would be patrols out who would be alerted to the bright flames. Bessie had, at first, found the pukwudgies adorable, but she had soon learned them to be fierce creatures. While she still found them intriguing, they, and their arrows, weren't to be messed with.

She carefully covered the burning chalice with her cloak as she stalked through the corridors. Finding a window that overlooked the entrance, she peeked out at the two statues that flanked the front doors. In the faint moonlight she could see a creature by Isolt's statue. Bessie cursed softly under her breath. There would be no chance of her escaping through there, not to mention getting the chalice up on James' head.

As she was considering how to get close enough to the statue to perform her task, she was too far off to be able to use her spells with any finesse, the pukwudgie walked off. Bessie held her breath. Could she be so lucky? Or was the creature simply off to take a whizz and would return for the rest of the night? She waited, feeling very much not like a thunderbird as she counted the seconds. Sure enough, the pukwudgie returned, again taking his place by Isolt's statue. He stood there for a while before walking off again. She watched the pukwudgie go on his rounds a couple more times. Just to make sure. As she saw the creature start moving again, she took off at a run. She only had minutes before he would be back again.

At the entrance she came to a stop and made sure that her candle was still alight. Softly, she opened the front doors, crossing her fingers and hoping that the doors wouldn't make a sound. Hoping that she wouldn't spend the rest of the night in the infirmary with a poisoned arrow in her heart. She pressed herself through the crack in the door before running once more. Bessie barely had time enough to throw herself behind some bushes before she heard the distinct sound of soft footsteps. She looked at the creature through the small gaps in the leafage, watching him gently polishing the smooth marble. 

When he walked off once more and disappeared into the darkness, Bessie took her chance. "Alohomora", she whispered, watching the chalice float through the air towards James' statue. Her heart was beating fast, urging her to go faster. But she had to be careful. Finally, it landed softly on James' head. The flames turned purple, shining so brightly that she was afraid that the entire patrol of pukwudgies would be alerted.  Still, she forced herself to remain calm. The summoning was new to her and she closed her eyes as she took a deep breath, before focusing her eyes in the chalice. There was no time to waste. "Accio chalice." The chalice flew into her hand, the flames billowing dangerously for a second before finally settling.

The purple flames would be much more difficult to hide, even underneath her cloak, and she quickly sprinted for the doors, knowing that she would only waste more time by thinking through her decision. 

The lack of shouting, as well as the lack of an arrow sticking out of her butt told her that she had made it. With barely half an hour left of her time Bessie entered the quad, thankful for the mask that hid her flushed face. She pulled the chalice from under her cloak and held it in front of her. Her smug smile would be hidden too.

[Artemis]

Once again Artemis was born from the shadows as the initiate approached with her purple flaming chalice. She checked her watch, finding that the initiate had completed her task with about a half hour to spare. She smiled behind her mask, a touch surprised that she had chosen to hide the chalice within her robes, which was dangerous enough without taking on Pukwudgie patrols. She reached out a black-gloved hand and took the outstretched chalice with a nod.

"Well done initiate," she said with an incline of her head. "We'll be in touch," she said as she seemed to fold back into the shadows, the purple flames suddenly disappearing completely as if they had been snuffed out suddenly. Artemis was there and then she wasn't, just an empty corner remained.

[Eleonora "Bessie" Pilot-Beskow]

Bessie snuck back to her dorm on soft feet, stopping in the dark corner of a hallway to remove her robe and mask. The cloak smelled strongly of smoke, but had been spared any burning, having only been used to hide the bright light she had kept fabric lifted off of the candel. She tucked the garments into her pants, reminding herself that she needed to learn the shrinking spell for her next task. Despite Artemis vague words, Bessie was confident that she would pass. She had been so careful. There was no way she could have been seen.