Bridgeport

The cheerful bell jingled at the shop door. A customer- no, a pair of customers walked in.

Little Dimitri immediately ran behind the counter. "Gil! Gil Gil Gil! We got you a sandwich!"

Ana set the little paper food bag down on the counter. "I hope we aren't intruding dear. It's just the two of us tonight, your father is off on a house call."

Gil was really looking the part on this occasion, long flowing robes and long heavy medallions left him teetering on the border between looking like someone in fancy dress and looking like a capable and powerful magic user. As he began to nom on his sub sandwich, the dial moved a little further into "fancy dress" territory.

"You are always welcome! Especially if you bring me food", he said through big bites. As much as Gil hated to admit it, he'd never taken care of himself before. Washing, cooking, cleaning, it was all new territory and he was struggling more than he wanted to admit.

"I just hope you're not going to be bored. I've got some movies we could watch or something. And I can show Dimitri this amazing slime I made."

"I think we'll be fine, dear. Do you need anything? I know you're an adult on your own now but while I'm here I do have to ask."

Dimitri interrupted with a loud gasp. "SLIME! YOU made slime? Show me! Show me!" The youngster abandoned any of his usual politeness. He missed Gil more than he was happy to talk about.

Ana only rolled her eyes. "I was actually hoping to bump into someone here if that's ok. She's probably someone who has shopped here before."

"It is the BEST slime," Gil explained to the excited Dimitri, half reluctant to tear himself away and back to the more grown-up conversation with Ana. The truth was that he'd been missing his brother too.

"Meet someone? Who?"

Before Ana could answer the bell rang again and a petite figure stepped into the room. Despite the whole building being full of a cocktail of interesting scents, Gil could swear he could detect a whiff of floral perfume above it all. He knew exactly who he was before she spoke. His number one customer.

"Hello everyone! I didn't realise you were Ana's son, young man!" Rosa said chirpily, "Although perhaps I should have guessed, providing Bridgeport with such a wonderful little shop. You have no idea how excited I was when you opened! I've brought my niece along. Well, she's my brother's wife's sister's daughter, that's a niece, isn't it?"

"Um. Hello," said the incredibly frightened young woman. Gil hadn't ever met her, but he knew who she was. The girl with only one eye - Dimitri's erstwhile thrall.

"Oh. Uhh... hi?" Gil said slowly. The last time he'd seen her, she'd been pleading for her husband's life. He was starting to suspect that this wasn't an entirely casual gathering. "Do you want to sit down? I have a little lounge upstairs. It has a sofa, anyway."

"Rosa, thank you for meeting with me. Given our family history I know this must be uncomfortable for both of you." She greeted them with a polite smile.

"I would appreciate that, Gilgamesh. Can you show Dimitri your slime tricks and distract him for a bit? I have something business related to talk about with our guests if you don't mind."

"Oh no dear, it's fine! Not uncomfortable!" Rosa smiled. Miranda tried very hard to smile too and utterly failed through her abject fear. It was difficult to hide behind a woman who was even smaller than she was, but she still seemed to be using Rosa as a bit of a shield.

"Just go straight up the stairs and make yourselves at home, Dimitri and I can stay down here and I'll show him my cool dead bugs. Which I keep for alchemical purposes", Gil said, pleased that he'd recently tidied up in his living area.

Rosa made her way up the stairs as directed giving Gil an appreciative nod as she went, which was entirely lost on him. Miranda stayed close by her side. Gil spoke to her gently as she passed him.

"Your husband, is he alright?"

"Yes. He's... adjusting. Thank you for asking", she replied, relaxing slightly.

Ana ushered the little troupe into the modest sitting room. It wasn't ideal. Typically she wanted these types of discussions to take place somewhere more formal. But Dimitri had insisted on visiting Gil, and really... the two women behind her didn't seem the overly formal type.

"Thank you for meeting me here. Especially you, Miranda. I know you are probably quite sick of me and my kind." She said coolly. Even if Miranda was, if she was a shrewd businesswoman she wouldn't say so.

"But I assure you, I only bite when bitten first." She sat down primly and instantly made her little wooden chair look like a throne.

"Rosa tells me you have a business venture that pertains to my interests. I am ready to hear your pitch."

Rosa and Miranda sat down, the former eyeing up the gorgeously crocheted cushions with interest and the latter sitting stiffly on the edge of Gil's sofa.

"Oh. Um. Of course," Miranda said, surprised. She hadn't expected things would get down to brass tax so quickly. Still, she was relieved that outside of the context of kidnapping her or tormenting her family, Ana seemed... surprisingly normal, in Miranda's new definition of the word at least.

"The thing is, I've realised lately that there are lots of children in Bridgeport who are unable to be part of the mainstream education system because they are... well, unusual. Not entirely human. They have special needs and considerations, and putting them in school would endanger them. But they deserve a good education and an opportunity to socialise with others."

Miranda took a deep breath.

"I am proposing to create a small school for those children. I could just run it from my home, but it would be ideal to secure a specialist space. Then there is money required for equipment and materials, text books. And... um. Well, to pay for a teacher."

Ana listened politely, as content to gloss over the more unpleasant aspects of their previous meetings as Miranda was.

She leaned in with interest and subtly nodded her head.

"I see. I agree with your premise, it is a noble goal and a grievous vaccuum that needs to be filled." She crossed her legs and combed her hair with her claws, deep in consideration.

"My own son, Dimitrius, relies on my own tutoring for his education. But I have often said, it isn't ideal. He needs to be with others of his own persuasion. The level of isolation he lives in is not conducive to a well rounded individual."

She mused. "But. I would like to hear more specifics you see, before throwing money into the venture. Do you have an idea of how much you need? Where your specialist space might go? And this teacher, do you have one lined up? Would I have the opportunity to meet them?"

She tilted her head. "Of course you know an investment also requires some return. Are you hoping this venture will make money, or is it a charitable pursuit?"

"I have... um... costings," Miranda replied, rummaging in a satchel which she had been carrying. She produced several ring bound files and handed them to Ana, full of carefully laid out spreadsheets containing meticulously researched projected expenses and running costs. If there was one thing Miranda had learned growing up as Ariadne Negrelli's surrogate daughter, it was how to do her accounts.

"Of course you'll probably want to look at them in detail in your own time. I don't um... see this as being a profit-making venture. Many of the children who would need this school are from families who would struggle to pay large fees. I'm just trying to cover running costs. Your return would be somewhere your son could attend, and..."

Miranda trailed off, glancing over at Rosa as if she expected some kind of support.

"I don't just want money, I'd like your help as a trustee. A p-partner, even. Your input as a mother is vital. As for a teacher, I um... I thought perhaps I could teach. At first. Until we find someone else."

Ana looked over the binders quietly and listened to her spiel. When the phrase 'partner' came up, she snapped to attention.

"A partner you say?" She sounded surprised.

"I am flattered and more than a little surprised to hear it. I was under the impression that your clan and mine were forever at odds. Except for Rosa of course, who could get along with anyone." She smiled and nodded to her friend.

"Do you think you could be a good teacher and partner to a pack of vampires? Dimitrius and yourself have a bit of a history. Can you bring yourself to be a fair leader to him?"

"I think so," Miranda said, quietly but definitely. "I still care for him, but the supernatural connection between us no longer exists, and... well, I have my own little boy now.

I can't lie, your... um. Your husband scares me. He nearly killed my Tucker. In the end it worked out for the best, but he couldn't have known that when he... did what he did. But he did it to protect his son. That's what keeps happening, we keep trying to protect those we love and hurting each other in the process. I think working together might be the only way to make that stop."

"Absolutely!" Rosa chimed in, nearly applauding.

"I see." She nodded quietly.

"Our fates often cross in the worst of ways. I have tried very hard to steer our little pack away from being killers. But nature is a hard thing to fight."

She looked down and away in thought. "However, I will need you to do better than 'think so.' Dimitrius needs good human role models if he is to see them as peers instead of prey. I do believe you have the potential to be one of those role models but I need to be sure."

She looked Miranda in the eye. "I am sure you understand that due to our past- my family's past with humanity as a whole- I must be cautious. Do you wish to meet with him? He is down stairs."

"Yes, I would love to," Miranda said, matching Ana's gaze without any hint of the soft dreamy glaze of someone entranced. She got to her feet, brushing down her skirt.

"He has to be happy with the arrangement too. If he would rather not have anything more to do with me, I'd completely understand."

"Of course. Dimitrius?" She called out.

"Can you come up for a moment?"

There was a pause, and then a nervous young boy peeked around the corner into the room. There were a lot of adults here. This couldn't be good.

"Dimitri, come in and say hello to miss Miranda. She's agreed to be your new tutor."

"Hello Dimitri," Miranda said quickly, warmly. She found it difficult to judge whether his nerves were just because she was a grown-up, or whether his previous anxieties and fears surrounding her were in place with even greater force after everything that had happened between them.

"I was discussing an idea with your mother, to create a little school for supernatural children like you, who might find it difficult to go to a mainstream school. How would you feel about that? And having me as your teacher?"

Dimitri's eyes flicked quickly between Miranda and his mother. Ana, usually very ready to help her son in these sorts of scary moments, was uncharacteristically stony and silent.

He had to decide.

"I... uh. Um." He stuttered.

"I wanna go to school!" He sounded like he might cry. "I wanna go to school but... are you mad at me?"

He had grown in height since their unfortunate history, but still retained childhood shyness. An angry authority figure wilted him. She didn't seem mad. But grown ups aren't always honest.

"I don't want my teacher to hate me."

"Hate you? Goodness, no!"

Miranda shook her head with a sad smile, remembering why she'd liked this funny-looking boy so much in the first place, discounting his supernatural sway.

"I'm not mad at you. What happened was an accident, and there's no point being angry about an accident, is there? I think we've both learned a lot since then. Do you understand your abilities better now?"

"I think so." He said shyly.

"I practice now. I make people think I look normal. Is that ok?" He asked quietly, now suddenly aware that some people might think that was a problem.

"You won't need to at school." Ana waved her hand. "You will be among your peers. You won't need to hide from them. And there won't be any bullying tolerated for your appearance."

She said it to Dimitri, but also to Miranda. The shadow of a mother bear was just beneath her polite surface.

"There will be absolutely no bullying", Miranda said firmly, glancing at Ana as she did.

"The school will be for lots of different children with lots of different abilities, and it won't work if anyone is being bullied for who and what they are. Anyone who does that sort of thing will be told they can't attend any more. And likewise, you'll have to get used to being around other children who might be unusual. I'll be counting on you to set a good example."