This choice: Another, fatter, girl had decided that she wanted to date Phineas too! • Go Back...Chapter #5Margot Francois by: WTLamp   It took Margot Francois a while to put herself together in the mornings, which was the way she liked it. She liked to use her morning routine to help sort through the various problems and challenges she faced, and come to a solution. After all, who was going to sort her problems out if not herself?
She'd just gotten out of the bath and was styling her golden blonde hair as her mind turned towards one such problem that had been bothering her for a while. Like all children of the nobility who attended the Citadel Preparatory Academy, one of Margot's goals was to interface with the other children of important magical families in search of a marriage alliance. It was a surprisingly feudal way of matchmaking, but both Margot's parents had met during their schooling at the Citadel, so she supposed it worked.
Margot's problem was that her pedigree just happened to be one of the best in the school. The Francois family could trace its lineage all the way back to Francis of Normandy, who had been Court Wizard to the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. As such, many of the young men vying for Margot's hand were, quite frankly, not worth her time. Few students at the Academy were. There had been one she'd had her eye on, but just thinking about the memory brought a frown to Margot's face.
Antonio de Panettone had been in line to become the Duke of Milan when he'd begun his schooling at the Citadel, and had actually gotten the title when his father had unexpectedly died during his last year. Seeing the advantage of the match, Margot had spent much of her time at the Citadel trying to woo him, only to be beaten out by Cerulea de la Mar. Last she'd heard the two had gotten married right after graduation. Just the thought of having wasted all that time made Margot's blood boil.
Which brought her back to a display she'd seen last night, at the welcoming feast; the impromptu eating contest between Azul, Cerulea's little sister, and some peasant she hadn't bothered to learn the name of. An eating contest that had been judged by one Phineas Fortescue. The quiet young man could present an interesting opportunity.
The Fortescues were, after all, one of Europe's most illustrious magical families. No one could say that she'd be marrying down by marrying a Fortescue. She also knew that she'd have an easy time seducing him, if it came to it. Margot wasn't blind, after all. She always made sure to keep an eye on her surroundings, and had seen Phineas staring at the heavier girls in their year (herself included) when he thought no one would see him. Margot smirked as she ran a hand up her plush body. It would seem that her extra fluff was going to be nothing but an advantage for this latest scheme of hers.
But what made Margot truly decide to commit to her plan to seduce Phineas was that it was clear as day that Azul wanted him. The way that she'd deliberately plumped herself up over the summer and that gratuitous display at the welcoming ceremony left no doubt in Margot's mind. She couldn't directly get back at Cerulea, who had stolen the man she wanted, but nabbing the boy her little sister was interested in would be at least some kind of revenge, and Margot supposed she could be satisfied with that.
Finally, her preparations for the day were done. She was wearing a modest blouse with a skirt that was not quite short enough to be considered scandalous. Margot's green eyes twinkled as she flounced out of her room. She'd have Phineas eating out of her hand within a week.
* * * * *
Azul could tell that she and Ruby were in trouble right away. She'd just arrived at Advanced Animation with Phineas and Ruby (the three having coordinated their schedules so that they'd have the same classes), when Margot Francois entered the classroom. She walked right by where they'd been sitting, with a deliberate sway in her wide hips. Phineas had been awestruck, and only looked away after Ruby "accidentally" jostled him. Before sitting down, Margot looked directly at Azul and had shot her a smug smirk.
Azul frowned pensively. She was well aware of the animosity between Margot and her older sister. A big part of the reason she'd been forced to partner with Phineas and Ruby last year had been Margot's efforts to socially isolate her from the other noble children as an indirect way of lashing out at Cerulea. Not that Azul minded; she found that she liked the two people sitting near her much more than the many children of counts, dukes, and bankers that she'd interacted with for the majority of her school career. So Azul had been content to let Margot play her games, since they really had only made her life better once she'd gotten to know Phineas and Ruby better.
But now it looked like Margot was after Phineas, and that Azul couldn't allow. She looked back at her table mates. Phineas was staring down at his desk, muttering something to himself. Meanwhile, Ruby was shooting her a worried look; it looked like she'd reached the same conclusion that Azul had. Azul mouthed the word "Later," and Ruby nodded. There wasn't much they could do now with class starting. But something would have to be done, else Phineas might slip from their grasp forever before they had a chance to tell him how they felt.
The rest of that day proceeded much the same, with Margot never saying anything to the three, but always staying within eyesight. Always doing something that would keep Phineas's chubby chasing eyes on her, whether it be swaying her hips as she walked, surreptitiously pulling out a snack in the middle of class, or once or twice bending down to pick up a pen of hers that had "accidentally" fallen on the floor. It was a maddening experience for Azul, who really couldn't do much to stop the blonde's assault on Phineas's psyche.
Finally, though, classes were ended for the day, and there was some time until dinner. Phineas, Azul, and Ruby all headed off for different parts of the canvas, to try and figure out just what was going on after the day they'd had.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
| Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
<<-- Previous · Outline  · Recent Additions © Copyright 2025 WTLamp (UN: wtlamp at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
Elusive Wordsmith has granted Writing.Com, its affiliates and syndicates non-exclusive rights to display this work within this interactive story. Poster accepts all responsibility, legal and otherwise, for the content uploaded, submitted to and posted on Writing.Com. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
More by this author