"I understand. Thank you, Sister." she said, calmly ending the phone call she was on. A hand moved to her glasses and took them off, while another balled into a fist. Finally, she turned her attention to the students before her.

"Anyone who isn't part of this incident should leave." she tucked her glasses into her shirt, hanging by the collar. Her blackened eyes perfectly visible. "Now."

Three of the five students did as she commanded. The remaining two began to fidget in their seats in anticipation of the punishment they were to receive. There was a silence in the air, and then-

"Really? Come on." she shook her head. She was still only about half a decade out of school herself, after all. "I get it. I do. Try and be a bit more stealthy alright? The Sisters aren't going to turn the same blind eye as me."

"Madame Chancellor?" One of them spoke up. The harsh look in the woman's eyes could burn holes through skin, but instead it seemed to look beyond them, as if desperately trying to burn a hole in something else.

"It isn't often students come see me for discipline. I personally requested to issue your punishment for a reason." she turned away from the two girls, her hair dancing along her shoulders as if part of some sort of creature all its own. "I did that so I could give you fair warning. Everybody who gets in trouble gets one warning from me before I leave you to your devices. Understood? If you're going to break the rules, do it better. I don't want to see any more stains on your names while you're here."

She turned back to them, the coldness in her eyes gone, and applied a wink.

"But as of this incident, I have no idea why you two are in my office. Please return to class."

_____________________________________________

That afternoon, she stayed in her office a little while longer. She tidied her desk up, and went over to a file cabinet in the corner of the room, which was laid out a lot like the Oval Office if it were more cozy. A smile found itself attached to her features as she admired the contents of the top drawer - A small bat stuffed animal with velcro on the tips of its wings. A gift from her beloved, the year before they graduated. She took a quick glance toward the door, and then wrapped it around her wrist before continuing further down the drawer.

Below the bat was a metal box labeled 'important documents' and she made no hesitation in opening it and sifting through the photographs inside it.

One of she and Chiyo, the day after they met, celebrating their room together. They drew a bat and a black cat on a whiteboard and put their names on it, attached that to their door, and took a selfie with it. Arceia herself had much shorter hair that day, nearly a decade ago now. Chiyo was also dolled up in a far more sinister attire, which clashed adorably with her cute face.

One after that from the day Chiyo came home from surgery to remove her appendix. She looked pale and didn't really seem to have her heart in the picture, but Ryoko had insisted they take it for 'later use.' It was only in her adult life that Arceia understood what that meant.

One of Arceia in a rather large pink sun hat, some bandages just barely visible from underneath it. She looked quite angry. Ah... Better not think about that too much.

A picture of Arceia at a funeral. This was for Ryoko. May she rest in peace.

Once more they were at the door. This time, they circled their names in a heart, and Arceia's cat had purple eyes to represent her new contacts. The heart was to symbolize the day they became a couple.

One depicting Arceia staring lazily into the distant twilight. She knew Chiyo had taken this one in secret, but kept it anyway. Why waste a good memory? It was the year she was Etoile - the necklace she had on proved that.

One of the ceremony in which they handed off their Etoile pendants. Sado Kagami and Kitsuki Sha, if she remembered correctly. This brought a tear to her eye that she quickly masked with a cough, allowing her an excuse to bring a hand to her face. Why did she mask it when nobody was present? Reflex, probably.

A final picture of the doorway, in which Chiyo and Arceia held erasers and took one final moment to enjoy their door board. This was the day they graduated - the day they moved out of their room together.

A picture of Arceia taking her final steps on Astraea Hill as a student, cap and gown and all. This time she didn't fight her tears back.

A picture of her first day as an English teacher, in which she stood proudly.

A picture of Drystan And Allistair Law Offices - her cousin was a defense attorney, and she was her assistant on top of being a teacher. The money was good enough that she didn't ever worry about her future.

A picture of her adopted daughter, the day they brought her to Astraea Hill. This one was paper-clipped to adoption papers. It was humorous, actually. The girl they adopted wasn't that much younger than Arceia herself - they looked more like sisters than mother and daughter.

Finally, a picture of her office as it is now. "Arceia Allistair-Aeducan - Le Rim Chancellor." she said out loud. "Who would have thought?"

She allowed herself a moment to cry. It was a mixture of joy at her past, longing to return to it, and pride at where she was now. The youngest Chancellor in Le Rim's short history. A loving wife. An unexpected but very loved daughter. Two jobs, both of which put her directly into the action of the working world. A wonderful collection of memories to fondly hold on to. And the cherry on top of it all...

She removed the bat from her arm, secured all of the items back where they belonged, and turned on her heel to be greeted by the very family she was thinking of. They waited for her to compose herself, as they knew what she was doing - she did things like this from time to time after all. Once composed, Arceia allowed herself a genuine smile, without any force or sarcasm or mask to it. A smile only her beloved and her daughter got to see.

The icing on the cake was knowing she would have these memories, but she would always be making more with the very same people from her older memories. A life spent with your first love. A world in which she was without fear, worry, or companionship. It was a perfect, if not very busy, life. And she wouldn't trade it for anything.

"What a beautiful mess." she shook her head wryly. "What a beautiful mess I'm in."