"It's fine, it'll be covered by my skirt anyway. Oh, have you seen it? I swear, they chose the ugliest design on purpose. It's ridiculous."

"Yeah, we've seen it. All the girls wear it. It's... sack-tastic, to put it nicely." Ronan said as he painted a large circle on the wall.

"I know! It's shapeless, ugly and excessively long. Seeing it almost made me choose another school."

"Hey, at least you get a nicer one in fifth year." Emrys said as he mimicked the carvings of one of her boxes that he had sitting beside him.

"True." Edith yawned. She wasn't really worried about the uniform. It was hideous, true, but she was more worried about the school itself. It was very far away from her primary school and, consequently, only one of her classmates was coming with her. The school focused on STEM and most students graduated with very high scores.

Her teachers had told her that secondary school was ten times as hard as primary school and she was dreading it. She didn't want to lose her status as 'the smart kid' but it seemed inevitable. She didn't want to be anything less than the best, but as her mother had always said that she never challenged herself, and Edith wanted to prove her wrong. She could settle for being in the top ten. Her ego could handle that.

Her eyes flicked over to Ronan to see him dipping his hand into the paint. She shot up and squeaked when he pressed his hand to the wall. Squid meowed but curled up in her lap and went back to sleep.

"What are you doing?" She whispered furiously.

Ronan grinned, "I thought we could all do it. See? I've left spots for you two."

"I don't think you realise how paint works. You're just going to make a mess." She hissed.

"Just do it. Write your name under one of the rings and go wild." Ronan said encouragingly. Edith thought he was desperately in need of a good night's sleep.

"No." She said sternly.

Ronan pouted, "Not even for me?"

"Not a chance."

"Emrys, you agree with me, right? It's a great idea."

Emrys startled. His eyes darted between her and Ronan. "Sure." He said confidently.

"See? Someone has the right idea."

Edith wilted, "Oh, alright." She sighed. "Hand me the brush."

Ronan smiled and pressed the brush into her hand. She plopped Squid on the floor, propped her arm on the wall and tried her best to make her name legible.

"Now stick your hand in the bucket."

Edith grimaced and swiped her hand over the surface then slapped the centre of the middle ring.

"There. Happy?" She grunted as she ran to the bathroom. The paint washed down her drain easily and she wiped a clean hand over her sweat-soaked forehead. Her room was freezing in the evening and she'd prefer not to be a popsicle. She pulled a blanket from the hot press, then another one to go under her, then another four for the boys.

Emrys dashed past her to the bathroom. She shrugged and dumped his blankets on the spot he was sitting in. She handed Ronan the other blankets. She saved the best ones for herself and spread one out on the floor, laid down and curled up with the second blanket on top of her.

"It's only nine!" Ronan exclaimed.

"Early to bed, early to rise." Edith grumbled. "And turn off the light, would you? The moths'll come swarming."

She could see him roll his eyes but he did as she asked. He laid out his blanket right next to her and laid down flat on his face.

"I probably should have brought pillows." Edith mused. Ronan grunted.

"Hey, Emrys! Grab us some pillows, would you? Half a dozen would do." She shouted. Moments later, Emrys came stumbling in and chucked two pillows at her face.

"You could have left the light on a bit longer." He grumbled as he made his bed on her other side. Edith snorted and tucked her pillows between her knees and under her chin. She burrowed under her blankets and was out like a light.

---÷---

The gentle tugging on her hair was what woke her, not the front door opening and closing or the smattering of voices. She snuggled into her pillow but stopped when that only worsened the pulling. She pried her eyes open and stared at the silhouette in front of her.

"Hey." The silhouette whispered. Ronan, definitely. He had a tendency to braid her hair whenever he could. She could only hope that he washed the paint off his hands first. He tied the ends off with a hair tie he'd produced from who-knows-where and started on the next section.

The door creaked open and light flooded the room. Edith squinted and stared at the new silhouette. It was Mrs. Lloyd who poked her head in.

"Hey kids. It's time to go." She whispered. Edith yawned and stretched, not-so-accidentally whacking Ronan in the face in the process.

"Bye." Edith said as she slipped back under the toasty blankets.

"You're coming too." Mrs. Lloyd stated as she made her way down the steps.

"Wha?" Edith said blearily as she trailed after the woman.

"Your mom had to go and the babysitter cancelled. She'll be back before midnight but until then you'll be with us. Here, she left you a note." Mrs. Lloyd said as she produced the aforementioned note from the breast pocket of her blouse.

Edith rubbed her eyes and unfolded it. It was her mother's writing, stating an extended version of what Mrs. Lloyd had told her, with the added info that Edward was with the O'Sullivan household, who lived just down the road. She folded up the note and placed it carefully behind a picture frame.

"Let's go." Edith sighed.

---÷---

She fell asleep in the car- multiple times. She was only a tiny bit bummed that she couldn't say goodbye to Ronan but she knew she would probably see him again in a matter of days.

Poor, unfortunate Emrys had to haul her up the many flights of stairs as she resolutely refused to use the elevator. There was already a makeshift bed set up on Emrys' floor so she dove in head-first and did not come back up.

---÷---

Edith's socked feet barely made a whisper as she tiptoed across the hardwood floor. Emrys, not so much. He was about as graceful as an angry hippopotamus. But luckily the adults' conversation covered up the bulk of his fumblings, and the rest were presumably attributed to each other.

His hand circled her wrist and he yanked her into the shadows he was so familiar with. Edith swung around to stare at him but he just held his finger to his lips.

Moments later, the door to the Lloyd's office swung open and out stepped her mother and his parents. Edith's breath caught as she tried to stay very, very still.

"Of course it's not a problem, Angelica. The more the merrier, I'd say." Emrys' dad said as the three of them paused outside the open door.

"I- thank you. I know this is a big ask, I didn't expect you to be willing to take her so often. You don't know how much this means to me." Her mother said with tears in her eyes. Edith quickly looked away and focused on the warmth of Emrys on her back.

"But... I'd like if this could stay quiet." She sighed, "If he hears that I'm not with her for every moment from sun up to sun down, he'll throw a fit and push for full custody again. It probably wouldn't work, but on the off chance it does..."

Emrys' hand squeezed hers and she forced herself to unclench her jaw. God, just the possibility of her dad getting full custody...

It wouldn't be pretty.

"We won't say a word. Do you want us to pick her up from school on those days?" His mother said seriously.

"That would be great." Her mother's voice was filled with relief.

"How long will your degree take?" His dad said conversationally as the trio started walking.

"Three years." Her mother sighed. Edith dragged Emrys behind her as they slunk through the shadows.

"That's fine. We can take her most nights. We probably won't be able to do all, but we'll let you know well in advance. Jieun probably could take her those days." Emrys' mother said casually. Her mother's head snapped to the other woman and Edith stilled.

"I wasn't asking for such an unreasonable thing. I only want you to watch her for this school year." Her mother said hurriedly as they climbed the narrow steps.

"It's in no way unreasonable. We'd be happy to do it as long as you need, even if it extends past your graduation." His mother said incredulously. Emrys pointed out the squeaky steps as they trailed behind.

"There's also her extracurriculars..."

"Oh?"

"She has singing lessons Tuesday and Thursday evenings."

"And does she like them?" His dad asked.

"Loves 'em. Her teacher is phenomenal." Her mother gushed.

"Do you think it would be a good idea to sign Emrys up too?" His mother asked.

"I could ask her if she could do dual lessons? So you wouldn't be making two trips?" Her mother said hesitantly.

"That would be perfect." His mother said.

The adults fell into a lull and Edith held her breath and slid her hand over Emrys' mouth.

"Just to confirm, it'll be school nights except for Wednesdays, every other week?" His dad inquired.

"Yes, and some other days that I'll have mandatory events, though those won't be frequent."

"That's really not that much, just eight days a month." He paused, "Will she still come over as often as she does now or...?" He said. Edith's mother was silent and she couldn't see her face at all. Edith hunched over in the shadows.

"You do know she's over here nearly every single day of her dad's custody time, right?" His mother said offhandedly. Edith cringed.

Her mother stumbled over her own feet, "I- what?" She said breathlessly. Edith slowed down until Emrys was firmly in front of her.

"I thought you knew? Edith said she had your permission." His mother said. Edith squeezed her hands together.

"No, no, certainly not. I'm so sorry. I didn't realize."

"It's not a problem. There must be something going on, she's over here so often..." He paused, "Make sure she knows she's always welcome."

"He never mentioned it... She didn't either..." Her mother whispered. Nothing more was said before the trio and the unnoticed duo came to a hallway directly facing a streetlight. The kids hung back as there were no more shadows to hide in, while the adults marched on.

Emrys tilted his head at her. Edith looked away.

"Come on, there's a route that will let us beat them to the room." He sighed as he slipped his fingers through hers. He led her through a skinny door even more hidden in the shadows that even she, at barely twelve years old, could barely squeeze through. Emrys, the beanpole, had no such problems.

As she walked sideways, feeling like a crab, she vaugely remembered Emrys telling her all about the rich history of the building, and a little bit about the numerous hidden servant's corridors. She hadn't even been aware that such a rich-person thing could ever have been built in her podunk town. But, apparently it was.

The pair slipped into his room with not a moment to spare. They managed to get into vaugely believable positions in the time between the adults knocking on his door and them opening it.

"Hello, mother. How was your... evening?" Edith said stiffly.

Her mother's eyes narrowed, "Spiffing." She drawled.

"Emrys, go to bed. It's time for them to go home." His mother ordered. Emrys pouted but got under the covers anyway. Her mother held her hand out and Edith slipped hers into it. It had been a long day, and even with her naps she was very, very tired.