…
Several weeks later, Tecna walked down the hall to battle strategy class. As much as she wanted to do well in her classes, her grades have been slipping as of late. Dark bags were prominent under her eyes from lack of sleep. She was having recurring dreams of her mother's death as the Day of the Rose got closer.
The Day of the Rose is what people on Earth would call Mother's Day. It is simply a way to show the woman who raised you how much you appreciate her love and sacrifice.
"Are you listening Tecna," Timmy asked while they were busy working on their group project.
"I'm sorry, what was that Timmy," she replied apologetically.
Timmy had been growing more and more concerned about her every day. Her grades were slipping, she hardly spoke, and he wasn't sure when was the last full meal she ate. He had an idea why she might be feeling this way, but he wasn't sure.
Timmy finished the project and suggested, "Tec, I was thinking about going to White Horse Restaurant for lunch today. I was wondering if you would join me? You seem to have a lot on your mind."
Tecna looked down at their project and realized he had put the whole thing together himself. She took the worksheet from him and said, "I'm sorry, Timmy. I am a bit out of it today. Let me do this part of the project at least."
She started to fill out the paper, and he added with a small smile, "That still doesn't answer my question."
She looked up at him and repeated the words in her head, "Oh, sure. That sounds nice."
…
After class, they checked out of school and rode to Magix for lunch.
It was crowded, so they grabbed a table outside the restaurant. Timmy noticed the sound of the waves seemed to calm Tecna slightly.
After placing their orders, Timmy decided to get straight to the point, "What's bothering you, Tecna? You're not acting like yourself."
Tecna shook her head and replied, "It's nothing that can be fixed, Timmy."
Timmy instantly knew that he was right; she missed her mother.
Having someone you love die is like having your heart ripped violently from your chest and being forced to watch it beat… You know you can't be alive, yet you continue to see each sunrise and sunset without them by your side.
After seeing his mother's death, he needed to be put on anxiety medication to function. So he put his hand on hers and said, "If you need someone to talk to, Tecna, I'm here."
Tecna shook her head and looked at him sadly. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it… I cant. I realize that she's gone, but I still expect her to call at exactly 5:30 to ask about my day. I still have urges to talk to her about things that I can't discuss with you or the other guys. I still expect to see news articles showing what she wore to various fundraising events. She would always choose the most beautiful dresses. And when she spoke to you, no matter what your rank was, you were the most important person in the world for those few moments. She was a good and honest queen. I can only hope to be half the woman she was…."
She looked up at Timmy and added, "I guess the best way to describe it would be, I'm homesick for a place that no longer exists." Tecna
swallowed hard and said, "Timmy, I am going to tell you something, but please do not repeat it."
Timmy was silent, knowing his chances of her being this open with him again were slim to none. "Codatorta has been good to me, and I know that he wants to have a father-daughter relationship. But, I'm scared… I don't want to be hurt again," she concluded.
Timmy bit his lip and said, "Look, Tecna, I don't know how you would feel about this, but why don't you and Codatorta come to celebrate part of the Day of the Rose with my family. We usually eat lunch together before participating in the races."
Tecna looked away from him and said, "I don't know, Timmy. I want to, but I don't want to intrude. And I have no idea what Codatorta has planned either... It sure would take a lot of the pressure off that day, though..."
Timmy looked slightly disappointed and said, "Go ahead and ask him; if he has nothing planned, the offer will still be open."
After eating, a woman walked over to their table and greeted, "Hey Timmy, long time no see. Who's your guest."
Timmy smiled at the older woman, "Hey Aunt Greta, this is Tecna. We go to Red Fountain together."
"Hello," Tecna greeted with a shy smile.
Greta frowned and asked, "Are you going to be competing this year, Timmy? Your dad has been itching to have you try out those new upgrades to the wind rider. He's been talking nonstop about it."
Timmy noticed how his Aunt brushed off Tecna but figured she didn't do it on purpose. The race was the event of the year for his family, and she was probably just excited. "Of course, I wouldn't miss it. Will we see you at the family dinner?" he asked.
'We,' Greta thought to herself. She gritted her teeth, "I'll be there," she replied curtly. When she left in seemingly a lousy mood, Timmy couldn't help but wonder if she was upset with his dad again. He shrugged it off and decided to enjoy his time with Tecna.
…
As they rode back to the school on the hovercraft. Timmy noticed she seemed to be holding onto him a little tighter than usual and asked, "Am I going too fast?" He slowed his board down and looked at her. She shook her head no and looked away from him.
Timmy frowned; he knew something was wrong, so he pulled his hoverboard over and lied, "I think I heard my board do something funny."
While he pretended to be checking his hoverboard for problems, he noticed her wrapping her arms around herself. That's when he realized she was cold.
Timmy took his green sweater off, which made Tecna step back nervously, "Timmy, what are you doing?" she asked skeptically.
He handed her the sweater and said, "Here, I have a thermal undershirt. There is no reason for you to freeze to death."
Now that he knew the problem, he closed the door to his boards' motherboard and said, "Alright, let's head back."
He smiled when he saw how oversized the sweater was on her. It was big on him, so it was practically a dress on her. He held his hand out to her and helped her on before steering it back to the school.
When they checked back in, Codatorta was coming out of his office. He was furious. "What's wrong?" Tecna asked him as she saw him slam his fist on the printer.
"That spineless king put a bounty on your head. He's telling the media that you hired someone to bewitch him into murdering his wife. Most people don't believe it, but some will still come after you considering a 50,000 Zenithian coin bounty on your head. I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to try to hurt you here, but you can no longer go anywhere alone. Do you understand?" Codatorta asked.
Tecna nodded and said, "Yes, sir." If the bounty was that high, she had no doubt the Trix would soon be coming for her again.
He was about to return to his office when he noticed what she was wearing and asked, "Why the hell are you wearing Timmy's sweater."
Timmy froze, figuring this was one of those overprotective father moments that would likely get him killed.
Tecna stood tall despite her nerves and replied, "I was cold. Would you have rathered it if he let me freeze to death?"
Codatorta must have realized how ridiculous his reaction was because instead of responding, he walked into his office and shut the door.
…
Later that evening, Tecna met Riven in the field. He was going to be training her in hand-to-hand combat. After scrutinizing her body, he said, "I don't know why you're doing this to yourself. You're never going to beat anyone in a fight this way."
"And why not?" Tecna asked, crossing her arms irritably.
"Fairy bones are like bird bones; they're hollow. If too much pressure is put on them, they break easily. You are never going to be able to compete with a human who can snap you like a twig," Riven replied irritably.
As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Fairies were much more fragile than their human counterparts, the Specialists. That was the whole reason fairies started mating with humans thousands of years ago. "So, what do I do?" She asked, looking defeated.
"I am going to teach you several different moves to get out of someone's grasp. If you ever should get in trouble, your main goal would be to get away until you can find one of us. So instead of trying to beat me, try to escape instead." Before she could comprehend what was happening, he grabbed her wrists, forcing them above her head, and pinned her to a tree. She struggled to escape his grasp, and he said, "Think Tecna, you can't use your hands, but your legs aren't being held down."
He released her when she tried to knee him in the groin. She tried to run away, but he tackled her to the ground, this time pinning her wrist behind her back. He sat on her back, laughing now that he was sitting on top of her. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Like I said, you're never going to beat anyone in a fight."
Pissed, she slammed the back of her head into his nose. It started to bleed, and he cursed, "Damn it, why did you do that?" he screamed.
"To get away, that is what you said the main goal is right," she asked, standing up. Riven growled and stomped off. She let out an irritated sigh, knowing that he probably wouldn't agree to any more lessons. She hated how easily he could get under her skin.
When Tecna returned to the dorm, she found all the tenants seemed to be in good spirits… except for Riven, of course. Brandon put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Don't worry about him. Bishop saw your lesson with Riven and is spreading the news around that you broke Riven's nose after he told you fairies can't fight."
"He's been getting teased relentlessly," Timmy added.
"As if you're one to talk mainframe. You practically have a permanent kick me sign on your back," Riven said irritably.
"The funny part is I think the worst of the teasing came from this room," Sky proclaimed with a laugh. Riven threw his shoe at Sky and was irritated to see him catch it.
...
The following day, Tecna met Codatorta in his office to ask him about the Day of the Rose. She brought him a cup of coffee, figuring it might produce a better outcome.
"Good Morning, Tecna," Codatorta greeted in a seemingly good mood. She returned the greeting and handed him the coffee. He noticed she seemed on edge and asked, "What's wrong?"
Tecna shook her head and replied, "Nothing exactly. I was just wondering if we were doing anything for the Day of the Rose."
Codatorta leaned back in his chair, "I wish we could do something to honor your mother, but we're not welcome in Zenith. If you wanted to go out and eat or something, we could. What is it that you want to do exactly?"
"Well, Timmy invited us to have lunch with his family before the race, but I didn't want to accept if you already had plans," she explained.
"If that's what you want to do, I am fine with it. Just find out the details," Codatorta said, taking another sip of his coffee before saying, "You should probably head to the cafeteria for breakfast. The boys will be looking for you."
...
Tecna noticed Timmy sitting at the table with someone she didn't recognize. The man had ginger hair like Timmy but cold blue eyes. She walked up to the two, and Timmy smiled, "Dad, this is the girl I was telling you about, Tecna."
The man stood up and looked her over, "Hello, Tecna, my son mentioned that you might be joining us for lunch this weekend. Is that accurate?"
A cold chill traveled down Tecna's spine as she saw the way he was sizing her up. Finally, she nodded and replied, "Codatorta agreed to the arrangement... If the invitation is still open."
"Dad, you're making her nervous," Timmy said irritably.
Timmy's father then introduced, "My name is John Login. I used to attend Red Fountain with your father, Codatorta. He is a good man, so I am going to give you a chance." He then turned to Timmy and added, "I will see you at the race this weekend. Don't be late."
Riven walked up to the table with his tray in hand and asked, "Shesh, what's his problem, Timmy. He just treated Tecna like a suspect in a crime."
Timmy swallowed hard, "It's nothing... He's politically biased towards Zenithians... But, really, his assumptions towards the country are all horribly inaccurate."
Tecna looked like she just got slapped in the face, "Oh, Timmy, you mean to tell me that you invited me to an event that you know I won't be welcome. Timmy, what have you done?!"
Timmy argued, "But you are welcome, Tecna. My dad even said so..." (In his own asinine way).
"What exactly are these preconceived notions that your father has against Zenithian people anyway?" Helia asked.
Timmy pushed his glasses up on his face and said, "He believes Zenithians are cold and unfeeling people. He says that the Zenithian company he works for is filled with know-it-alls that can't admit when a computer is wrong."
"So he doesn't like people that are smart or emotionless... Tecna, you should get along with him really well," Riven joked.
Timmy glared at Riven while Tecna put her head in her hands. This was going to be a long day.