The Education Resistance 

The students volunteered to fight against the Elitists with such gusto that, in lieu of holding classes, Lavinia split the meetings into five separate events starting early the next morning. Mildred’s eyes shot around the bleak stone room packed to the brim with bodies, taking in the weak torchlight that cast shadows on all their determined faces.

“I found this room while exploring the other day,” Lavinia said, craning her head back to peer into the dark eaves swabbed with cobwebs. Her nose wrinkled. “It’s not the cleanest place, but it will hold many more witches than a single classroom will.”

Nearly a hundred witches waited for the meeting to start with the collective murmur of anticipation that came with a crowd. Todd stood by the front doors, flanked by several other kitchen workers and Marten, who spoke with them in quiet conversation. Mildred studied all the familiar faces in the crowd with worry. She knew all of these witches like family. If they meant to carry this Resistance out underneath Evelyn’s nose, they’d have to act with caution. She wouldn’t stand for any loss of life, and she wasn’t confident that Evelyn would refrain from murder.

“This will be a perfect meeting place, Lavinia,” Mildred said, forcing her grim thoughts away. “Thank you for finding it.”

Lavinia beamed. “Anything for you, Council Member. We’d follow you anywhere.”

“Let’s get started. I don’t like congregating in a big group like this at the castle. I don’t want any risk taken that doesn’t have to be.”

“Marten pulled the Head of Guardians into our plan, didn’t he?” Lavinia asked, wringing her hands. “Won’t Dolph help protect the hallways?”

“Yes.” Mildred squirmed all the same, recalling the feel of Evelyn’s power slamming her into the wall. “But it still makes me nervous.”

Mildred signaled for Marten to close and seal the door, transformed a discarded piece of wood into a sturdy box to stand on, and climbed on top.

“Quiet! Attention, please. Thank you for coming,” Mildred called above the din, waving her arms to catch their gaze. “Let’s begin.”

Accustomed to Mildred’s strict discipline in class, the crowd fell into a respectful silence.

“We know why we’re here, so I won’t go into the messy details of the closure of the common schools yesterday and the reign of the Elitists. But we need to talk about what we’re going to do about it.”

A chorus of supportive whistles pealed through the air, easing Mildred’s anxiety. She didn’t know if she had what it took to lead them to victory, but at least they showed heart.

“We’ve already built up a family of witches that have proven the Elitists wrong,” she said. “And they don’t even know that we exist, which is just the way we want it for now. All of you are just as smart and capable as the Elitists are. We know that. Now let’s show them.”

Mildred held up her hands for silence when applause rippled through the room.

“Marten, Dolph, Stella, and I met last night to discuss the matter, and we believe that Evelyn intends to overthrow the Network when Donovan dies and establish a law of her own. If that’s the case, we only have as long as Donovan has life left. We must get to work immediately.”

“What do we do?” a voice cried from the back.

“Marten, Dolph, and I will be working out a definite plan tonight. Lavinia and I will also put together an education schedule to teach Protective and Defensive Magic classes. We’ll meet together like this once a week to keep you informed and check on your progress. You must learn how to fight and defend yourselves. Do all you can to streamline this process. Learn the lessons we teach. Educate your friends and family. Do for them what the Network won’t do for you.”

“If you agree to this and we are caught, you could be charged with establishing an opposition against the Network,” Marten said. “Which is why everyone will take a vow of silence before they leave.”

Mildred unleashed her sternest glare on the room. “Our lives depend on secrecy. We’ll be operating under Evelyn’s very nose. I trust our Resistance’s four hundred and twenty-six members implicitly.”

“What if Evelyn has already destroyed the Esmelda Scrolls and instituted her own law?” Alice asked from the very front. “What if it’s too late?”

“The Esmelda Scrolls will appear to Evelyn as soon as Donovan dies and she becomes Highest Witch. Under Esmelda’s law, a High Priest or Priestess cannot kill their co-ruler, which means Evelyn can’t act on her own. Once Donovan dies, the scrolls will be in her care. Until then, even though she’s taken over Donovan’s position as Highest Witch, she does not have access to them. Are there any more questions?”

No hands rose. Mildred paused, uncertain of how to proceed. They wouldn’t expect any kind of emotional, rousing speech from her, but she should encourage them.

“Then let me just say that it is an honor and a privilege to stand before you as your friend, teacher, and mentor. All of you make me proud and are worth ten times any Elitist that stands in power today.”

The raucous cheer that followed her words nearly shook the ground. She silenced it with an incantation, but their mouths remained opened in silent screams, and smattering bursts of applause echoed through the cavernous room. Despite her fear they’d be caught, Mildred couldn’t help the welling up of pride in her chest. Once they calmed down, she removed the incantation, and the room filled with excited murmurs.

“What are we calling this?” Todd asked above the din. “Every good movement needs a name. You know, for the history books.”

Mildred looked at Stella and Marten. “We’ll call it what it is,” she said, running her eyes over the congregation. “The Education Resistance.”

“No!” Lavinia countered, her shrill voice rising above the rest. “This is Mildred’s Resistance!”

“How are you doing?” Stella asked two days later, sending Mildred a sharp, appraising look over her desk.

“Fine. Why?”

“You swore almost fifty of your students’ family members into the Resistance last night, which means nearly five hundred witches draw from your magic when they use the silenda. Are you feeling the strain at all?”

Mildred frowned and looked at her hand. The silenda network had grown so slowly the past several years that she hadn’t noticed any drain. If anything had changed, she felt more powerful. She may have been a bit more tired than usual, but she had stayed up until three in the morning organizing new class schedules and curriculum.

“I didn’t even think about it,” she said, running the pad of her thumb over the lioness. “So I suppose my answer would be no. I’m not feeling any strain.”

“Perhaps your powers have increased after all these years that you’ve given your magic to others for such a selfless purpose.”

“Maybe,” Mildred said. “Have you heard from Lavinia? She’s supposed to bring the roster for tonight’s meeting.”

Stella had just shaken her head when an envelope popped into the air in front of Mildred. Her stomach clenched when she recognized Evelyn’s handwriting.

Dear Council Member,

Due to a recent change in leadership, I’ve decided to assign your office to Council Member Grant, who has demonstrated sufficient need for it. You will be relocated to one of the offices on the lower floors of the West Wing.

Vacate your office by this evening at six.

Sincerely,

High Priestess Evelyn Ringer

Mildred read the note, then glanced at the clock with a roll of her eyes. Four o’clock. “Childish, Evelyn. So very childish.”

Stella glanced up at the sound of Evelyn’s name. “What is it?” she asked. “You heard from Evelyn?”

The sudden spark of hope in her eyes broke Mildred’s heart. Poor Stella still couldn’t accept what had happened to Evelyn, and always looked for a glimmer of goodness in her. Mildred sent the message to Stella with a spell.

“Yes. It only took her three days to kick us out.”

Stella read it with a heavy, exasperated sigh and fell back under the melancholy that had surrounded her since Daniel’s death. “Oh, Evie,” she whispered, shaking her head, tears in her eyes. “What happened to you?”

Mildred sent Stella a sharp gaze. “Are you going to be able to come to terms with what we have to do?” she asked. “Evelyn is destroying herself and will ruin the Network if we don’t stop her.”

“I know,” Stella said. “I just . . . I just need time. I don’t know how you’re able to face the fact that we may have to kill our best friend.”

I’m not facing it. I’m thoroughly avoiding it.

Mildred said nothing more, but sent a message to Lavinia through the silenda to request her help.

After Mildred, Lavinia, and Stella had packed away all the belongings that Mildred wished to take, which only filled three wooden boxes, Lavinia led the way to the new office with the crates trailing behind them. They descended to a lower wing of the castle that Mildred had never seen. No one passed them in the halls, which held a few torches that sprang to life when they drew near. Their shoes left imprints in the layer of dust coating the floor.

“She didn’t assign you a specific room, so I found the one that looked the best. Here it is,” Lavinia said, gesturing to a door on the left carved with deep grooves. “Your new office. The Head of Housekeeping doesn’t send maids to clean this low. It’s just storage.”

Mildred liked the idea of being so far away that no one would bother her. She would accomplish so much more in the gloomy quiet. And since Evelyn would have a harder time tracking her appointments here, she felt this might have been the best thing to happen to her yet.

“This is it?” Mildred asked, glancing into a depressing gray room of grime and shadow. Lavinia bit her peeling bottom lip and nodded, batting away a cobweb that danced in the doorframe.

“I must apologize for the lack of . . . cleanliness, Council Member.”

“It’s not your fault, Lavinia,” Mildred said as she stepped inside. “You aren’t in charge yet.”

Mildred ran the tip of her finger along the edge of a sturdy desk, gathering a small pile of dust. She flicked it off her fingers and stared at a row of open slots, already mentally organizing the scrolls she’d place there.

“It will clean up just fine,” she declared. Three long, skinny windows leaked sunlight around a pair of heavy drapes. She grasped the nearest and jerked it to the side. Dust bloomed in the air, but Mildred didn’t even flinch. She opened the other two sets of drapes at once.

“Jikes,” Stella whispered. “It looks worse in the sunlight.”

It did look worse—much worse. Now, the few stray sun rays that made it through the windows, which were set halfway beneath the ground, highlighted its imperfections. When Mildred looked up, she couldn’t see anything but dirt from the window well. Turning away, she found a leather armchair with stuffing puffed out of the rips in the seat like fat from a flesh wound. She looked forward to filling the empty bookshelves above the small fireplace. The whole office was barely a fifth of the size of Stephan’s, and would be cramped with her and Stella.

“This will make it easier to run the Resistance, I think. We’ll continue sorting through messages and paperwork in the hallway while you find a few maids to clean it for me, Lavinia.”

“Yes,” Lavinia said, brushing off soot that had smeared her cheek during a brief inspection of the inside of the fireplace. “That’s a good idea. We can do this in a short time with many hands. I’ll go immediately.”

“Thank you.”

Once Lavinia transported away, Mildred folded her arms and surveyed the room again.

“It could use a tapestry or two to cheer it up,” she said, turning to the hall. “But it doesn’t feel like a dungeon. In the meantime, let’s get to work. We need to finish the tax forms for the month so we can grade homework tonight.”