Today is one of the most important moments in Rachel Griffin’s life, though she won't recognize it until later.
Here is the moment, as recorded in The Raven, the Elf, and Rachel:
Setup: Rachel is sitting in a seldom -used hallway with Evil Rumor Monger #1 … er, her new boyfriend, Gaius Valiant, who has just recovered from being turned into a sheep. (He lost a duel of magic to upperclassman Vladimir Von Dread—the Crown Prince of Bavaria and Gaius’s boss—who had ordered him to stop dating Rachel, due to her being so young.)
“Some good things came from last night,”offered Rachel. “I found out that Zoë Forrest is willing to help us save the world.”
She shook her head in astonishment. “I don’t understand my friends. Siggy doesn’t seem to care—or at least he doesn’t keep the details straight—and the princess! She thinks we’re running a social club.”
Even as she spoke, Rachel realized that, while Zoë had offered to help, she had showed no real interest in saving the world, asked no questions. She just wanted to be helpful. Glumly, Rachel leaned back and watched the driving rain sluice against the round window.
“I care! I want to help,”cried Gaius. “William and I both. We’ll do everything we can!”
A joyful little smile tugged at her lips. They were kindred spirits, she and Gaius Valiant.
“You and William?”she asked curiously. “Not Mr. Von Dread?”
Gaius’s voice became lower. “Vlad’s different.”
“How so?”
Rachel leaned forward eagerly. Did Von Dread want the world to end? Was he as wicked as Nastasia and her brother Peter believed? Was he really the foremost evil boy? If so, her friend the princess was right not to want to marry him.
“He thinks the world’s actually under attack,”Gaius said, “as in literally.”
Two things happened to Rachel simultaneously. The first was crushing disappointment. If Gaius thought the danger was figurative, not an actual threat, he did not see what she saw after all. He was not her longed-for “somebody else who understood.”
The second was surprise—as startling as the thunderclap that shook the campus. Vladimir Von Dread understood the world needed saving? And he wanted it saved—not destroyed? She felt an unexpected sense of kinship with the grim older boy.
Maybe she should marry Dread.