The house is so empty without Aunt Ellen. Iris should have expected it, should have known that the only thing she had keeping her from loneliness all these years was her aunt. But somehow… everything suddenly feels so much more real with this sudden reminder.
She runs a hand over every doorway and wall she passes, heart tight in her throat and worry running rampant. She gets to the atrium and lets herself slide to the floor.
Auriana was in Volta for the weekend, reconnecting with her family as they were getting freed and finally slowly coming back together. Talia was on a tense mission with Izira, both searching for the missing medallion. Lyna and Carissa had respectfully refused to come back to Earth, Ellen was rebuilding her home in Calix, and Iris' parents were rebuilding their castle and the lives of their subjects.
Nathaniel was Praxina's.
Iris was alone.
She pulls a flowerpot, the one that'd held Rosie in it before Talia insisted they unenchant the flower, and holds her hand in front of the bloom. She doesn't remember the spell she used, but when her hand shakily opens up a magic circle, Rosie comes back to life and starts whining.
It… isn't the same.
Rosie starts to rub her bud against Iris' hand, looking for affection, but all Iris can do is start sniffling as she pats the flower gently. It isn't enough, isn't the same as talking to her best friend or her aunt or any of her other friends.
But they were all gone, and she was stuck. Alone. Scared.
The barrier was still strong, so Praxina couldn't get in… but Nathaniel was probably still able. Iris had no real protection against him because she'd never needed it, but once Praxina got her clutches in him… Iris hadn't had any options.
Ugh, why hadn't she just found Praxina and attacked her? Made her stop the butterflies before she carried out her plot, before she turned the most important person in Iris' life against her? Why had Iris letting the villainess have time to grieve get turned so far against her? It wasn't fair and she was getting so frustrated and angry with herself over the whole thing.
There were other people she could reach out to, Doug and Kyle, Joanna, Lily, even Missy and her prissy best friends. But none of them were her friends, they'd chosen Nate.
They'd chosen Nate over her.
She didn't blame them.
Iris supposed she even deserved this whole mess. It was her fault that Mephisto had died, her fault that Gramorr had died, her fault that Praxina had turned to even worse measures. Just a few weeks before Praxina had proved that there was still good in her heart, and then Iris had gone and burnt it to a crisp. All that was left was ashes, hatred, and disgust for her, and she honestly couldn't blame the other girl. It was her fault.
Iris sets Rosie down and blindly closes the magic circle that'd been keeping the plant animated, accidentally sucking the life out of the rose in the process.
She claps a hand over her mouth when she realizes what she'd done, but it's too late.
A shard of dark pink crystal had slid up through the dirt and pierced the rosebud.
Iris…
She grabbed the pot and threw it at the far wall, cracking the glass there. The tears start to flow freely now in the wake of the flower-dog's death. When had her touch turned poisonous? What had she done wrong?
"I'm sorry." She whispers, face getting red and puffy as gross sobs start deep in her chest. She feels like all the plants are watching her, judging her, scared of her.
"I didn't mean to."
They don't accept her apologies, but then again… neither can Mephisto.
