I was not expecting you guys to like the Flora/Riven friendship that much! Rest assured, there will be more of them :)
Chapter 9: A Date?
The grass tickled at Musa's legs as she sat cross-legged under one of the trees on Alfea's campus. She leaned back, trying to find a comfortable spot against the tree bark. It was a gorgeous day for mid-October, sunny with a light breeze that made the trees sing. The Winx had just left Faragonda's class – a mandatory one for all second-year students – on complex magic. The new topic: convergence. Or more simply: mixing two magical energies to work in harmony. Convergence, Faragonda had explained, required the two users to be completely in sync. Even the smallest inconsistency in their mindset could cause the convergence to fail, sometimes with serious consequences.
Their first assignment was an easy one: open a box. Musa had been partnered with Aisha – and she was fine with that. They hadn't spoken much since the showcase at Red Fountain two weeks earlier, but Musa liked the princess well enough. She seemed nice, well grounded. It was a shame she was so shy, though. Aisha had mostly kept to herself since coming to Alfea, almost like she didn't know how to interact with them. When a conversation was started by someone else, she was funny. She just didn't start conversations herself.
"Opening a box doesn't seem too hard an assignment" Musa commented as the girls sat down. Aisha sat beside her, dropping her notebook open to the page from today's class along with the assignment booklet Faragonda had given them. Next to Aisha, Tecna flipped through the booklet, brows furrowed and mouth downturned. "I think Flora and I are in for quite the challenge. Nature and technology are not exactly compatible."
"Can we puh-lease STOP talking about school all the freaking time?!" Stella snapped. She took a bite of her cookie with far more viciousness than the giant soft chocolate chip cookie from the cafeteria required. "When's the last time we talked about something that wasn't school or homework?"
"Uh... this morning? We were talking about that new movie starring what's-his-face" Flora pointed out, snapping her fingers as she tried to remember who the actor was.
"Don't you want to win the trip, Stel?" Bloom asked between sips of her water. She'd had a bad migraine all day. Both Flora and Stella had insisted she hydrate more, so the poor girl had been drinking so much water that she'd had to be excused at least once from every class to go pee. Griselda had almost burned holes in her when she'd asked to go pee for the third time during their two-hour long magical defense class.
"Yeah, it would be super cool to go on a vacation with you girls, but it's so much work."
"Stella, you should be applying yourself in school anyways."
Stella repeated Tecna's words mockingly earning herself a glare from the technological fairy. Tecna turned to Flora, suggesting sending an electric shock through one of her vines. Musa tuned them out and turned to Aisha beside her. The princess wore her dark, curly hair in a high ponytail with loose tendrils framing her face. She played with one of those tendrils mindlessly, observing Tecna and Flora as they debated whether that would work. Musa nudged her, capturing Aisha's attention. "Any ideas?"
"I... I'm not sure. I've never dealt with sound-based powers before, so I don't know what you can do."
"Do not even thinking of asking me!" Stella proclaimed loudly, holding her hand up in a stop sign to Bloom. "My brain is still completely overloaded from Faragonda's class. I can't possibly think of how we're supposed to open a box right now."
Bloom laughed loudly as she scooted herself closer to Stella, her loose blue pants shifting tighter around her legs as she moved. Her arm wrapped around Stella's shoulders as she leaned her head against Stella's temple. "Just think, Stella, that box might have jewelry in it."
"It is probably cheap costume jewelry if there is" Tecna pointed out, adding on that not everyone in their class is a fan of jewelry.
"I don't think Faragonda put jewelry – or anything – in the boxes. I think the only thing we're getting from this box is the joy of knowledge and the satisfaction of a job well done."
"Lame" Stella jested at Flora. "That sounded like something Faragonda would say in one of her cheesy inspirational speeches."
"I'm actually pretty sure I've heard her say those exact words" Musa pointed out with a laugh.
"She does love the inspirational speeches."
"She really does" Musa agreed. "It's like she gives one every other class."
And that wasn't an exaggeration – much. Faragonda really did love to inspire her students. Sometimes she even succeeded in making them feel hopeful and optimistic, but most of the time the speeches came off cheesy but sincere. One day, when she looked back on her time at Alfea, Faragonda would be somewhere in the background of her memories giving a motivational speech.
"Oh, c'mon guys. They're not so bad."
"Bloom, we're at one of the top schools in the dimension. We don't need speeches about the wonders of knowledge." Of course, for Musa, Alfea's standings in the dimension had only been a minor consideration when attending. Her main deciding factor had been her mother having come here, though Alfea's reputation for producing some of the most successful and renowned fairies did help sway her father into paying for the school.
"Yeah, everyone here except me-" Stella looked at Bloom uncertainly "-and maybe you is a huge nerd."
"And even you're kind of a nerd" the blonde added on.
"Hey!" "We're not nerds..." "What is wrong with that?" "Then why do you hang out with us?"
"Yes, you are. I still love you. Actually, dah-lings, it makes me love you even more; your nerdiness is somehow very endearing."
"How sweet" Bloom deadpanned. "Anyways, regardless of what you think of her speeches, I like Faragonda's classes. I think it's really cool that she takes the time to teach a class. I've never heard of a headmistress doing anything other than... head..mistress...ing?"
"Directing?" Aisha chuckled. Bloom laughed too, nodding her head at the Androsi princess.
"Apparently before she was headmistress, complex magic was her favourite subject to teach. I read somewhere that she had not wanted to let it go when she changed positions" Tecna informed them, picking the raisins out of the handful of trail mix she had taken from Flora. Flora held her hand out patiently as the technological fairy did so, laughing gently to herself and occasionally popping one of said raisins in her mouth.
"I wonder what she was like as a full-time teacher."
"She must have been great. I really enjoy her classes - cheesy speeches and all." Musa nodded in agreement with Aisha, as did Bloom. As cliché as the inspirational speeches were, Faragonda had a way of making even the most boring and complex chapters sound interesting. It was evident that she was still highly interested in the subject and teaching it. That was one of her favourite things about Alfea; all of the teachers were clearly passionate about educating and their respective subjects. Even Barbatea was obviously passionate about books even if she wasn't necessarily the best librarian. She did love sharing her love of books and was great if any of the students asked for reading recommendations though.
"I wonder what a young Miss F looked like. Hopefully she dressed better. Nothing against her tastes, but that lavender pencil skirt suit is aging her."
"Stella, she's like 150 years old" Musa pointed out. "Everything is gonna age her – she's old."
"There must be old yearbooks in the library; you could probably find a picture there." Musa didn't mention that Tecna was right. She'd seen pictured of young – well, younger Faragonda last year while she was browsing through the yearbooks looking at pictures of her mom. She hadn't told the girls about her talk with the headmistress either. She hadn't really talked to the girls about her mother at all – or about that day in general. Brandon's news about Riven and Darcy had cracked her chest open every night for weeks after he'd told her and, now, knowing that Darcy had spelled him, it burned a fire deep in her.
"Stella, are you okay sweetie?" Musa looked over at the blonde; not catching whatever it was that had caught Flora's attention. Stella smoothed her long hair behind her ear and smiled at the nature fairy, insisting that she was fine. Flora didn't seem convinced, but Musa didn't hear what she said.
Behind Stella, a Red Fountain bike drove up to the school gate. Its rider hopped off and removed his helmet, shaking out his messy dark hair. He closed down the helmet and put it away, turning towards the gate just in time to catch her eye. He had broad shoulders and a tighter emerald sweater that showed off the body he worked so hard to maintain, but any wonder about him was brushed away and replaced by confusion when he waved at her. "Hey guys, do any of you recognize that guy?"
"I think I saw him at the exhibition, but no..." Flora replied as he started walking towards their group. Fuck's sake, Musa thought. Had just looking at him made him think she was interested in being hit on?
"No clue." "I have never seen him before." "Don't look at me, I barely know the people at this school."
Musa looked over at the blonde who had started fidgeting with the sleeve of her burnt orange shirt. "Stel?"
Stella smiled at her and Musa got a gut feeling that something that she didn't like was about to come out of the sun princess's mouth "He's, um... he's here for you."
"... Repeat that?"
Stella went on some long-winded story about how she'd met him at Red Fountain when she went to see Brandon and the specialist had a thing for her. Musa stared at her blankly for most of the story. She could feel her ears burning red with anger. She wanted to scream at the blonde for setting her up again – this time without even telling her about it! – but words escaped her. Stella gave her a smile that she supposed should be apologetic. Behind Stella, the boy approached the group slowly – nervously. Fucking hell.
"Shouldn't you have cleared that with Musa first?" Aisha asked, her voice coming through Musa's ears like she was speaking through a wall.
"Yes, it seems quite presumptuous of you."
"What if Musa doesn't want to go out with him?"
Flora's frustrated tone surprised Musa out of her haze of anger. "Yeah, what if?" she snapped.
"It's just a picnic. Totally casual!" Stella defended weakly. She shrugged as if it weren't such a big deal which only served to make Musa want to box her ears in further.
He'd made it to their group by that time. Musa hated to admit it, but he was cute from close. Big amber eyes that shone eagerly and a lopsided grin that made him seem lovable. He'd removed his sweater, holding it over his forearm, to reveal a baby blue t-shirt that hugged him just as tightly as the sweater had. From this close she could see that his hair was the same black-blue as her own. He greeted the whole group, his voice cracking with nerves on the first syllable then coming through clear. "I'm Jared."
Musa stared at the hand he'd stretched out in front of her; that he'd offered to her. Her eyes darted to Stella by his left leg, who silently urged her to take it. Out of the corner of her eye, Musa could see Flora glaring at Stella and she appreciated the nature fairy's shared outrage. "Stella, I need to talk to you. Alone."
Musa grabbed Stella's wrist roughly and nearly dragged her across the courtyard, the blonde hopping to keep up with the small fairy the whole time. Aisha remained seated beside Tecna, Flora and Bloom. The other three exchanged looks, but Aisha remained focused on the gesturing singer and the sun princess. Stella looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole; Musa looked like she might rip her hair out.
When she returned her attention to the group, she noticed that no one was speaking. None of them knew what to say. They all knew Stella was wrong to set Musa up without asking, but none of them said anything. She watched as Bloom fiddled awkwardly with her hands and Jared, standing beside the redhead, made a half-turn towards his bike likely wondering if he should just go. The expression on his face made him look like a kicked puppy and her heart went out to him.
"Are you... enjoying Red Fountain?" Aisha asked after a moment, finding herself thankful that she had been educated in the art of small talk even if she wasn't fond of it or comfortable with it.
"Oh, um, yeah. It's challenging, but I like it..." Jared's eyes trailed over to the two girls. He let out a deep sigh as he looked around at the four girls seated on the ground. He looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him whole more than Stella did. "I'm really sorry about this. Stella had told me she would ask Musa for me."
"Why didn't you just ask her yourself? Musa doesn't bite." Aisha looked back over to their friends – she still wasn't sure if they considered her a friend but she was starting to think they were. Flora was the nicest one; the one that made the most effort to make her feel like she belonged. Musa and Bloom were her next two favourites – Musa maybe edging Bloom out just a bit. Neither of them made the effort Flora made, but she felt comfortable with them most of the time, though she didn't speak to either that much. Stella and Tecna… well. Flora had told her not to take anything personally, but she wasn't sure. Tecna always came off cold to her, though Flora insisted that was just because Tecna wasn't the warmest person to begin with, but she was nice once you got to know her. Stella confused her because she was warm and bubbly but there always seemed to be some undercurrent during their interactions that left her uncertain.
Jared turned a bright red, mumbling something about Musa being so pretty and talented; that he didn't think she'd give him the time of day.
"You might be right there" Tecna replied with a snort, earning a crestfallen look from the boy.
"Tecna..." Flora whispered sharply.
Tecna righted herself, straightening her back. "I should clarify that you would be right mainly because of the way Stella handled it and not because you are..."
"She's sorry for that."
"Do not apologize for me. I do not-"
"It's okay" Jared shrugged, easily brushing off Tecna's offence. He bit his lower lip, eyes unfocused as he looked over at the two girls. Then he returned his attention to the group."Do you think she'd still be willing to help me with my assignment?"
Aisha questioned what he meant and Jared explained that he'd been made to write an essay about simulation chambers after interrupting class one too many times. Aisha had the brief thought that maybe he and Stella would be good friends with how many jokes the blonde made in class. "That's what this started as: Stella volunteering Musa to help me, but then she told me to pack a picnic too..."
That was cute. It would have been much cuter if Stella had had the idea approved by Musa. She pictured the two sitting on a blanket somewhere in the woods – maybe in a cute clearing similar to Pixie Village. Did Musa like picnics? She couldn't tell. Flora would be an obvious yes, Tecna would be an obvious no. Bloom, a yes. Stella… in theory? Not so much in practice, Aisha assumed. Musa, she decided, would probably enjoy picnics.
"Musa would be great help there; she aced the simulation room" Tecna commented offhandedly, her attention having returned to the game she'd been playing earlier. Aisha had known these girls for a little over a month and it still amazed her how good Tecna was at splitting her attention and still kicking ass at her game. She'd seen the technological fairy answer complex questions fully and correctly without so much as a glance away from her screen or a single slip-up.
"All of us except Aisha have been in it and did well."
"Well?" Bloom questioned incredulously. "Are you forgetting that I was ambushed?"
Aisha blinked away her confusion. She'd never been in a simulation chamber, but she'd had to study them extensively – her applied magics tutor had had something of a fascination with them and that, for some inexplicable reason, meant that young Aisha should too. Never in her studies had she come across someone being ambushed while in the chamber; she wasn't even sure how that would happen. Aisha opened her mouth to ask, but Flora responded before she could.
"And you did quite well, all things considered..."
"She broke the chamber." Bloom motioned to Tecna dramatically. Aisha's eyes widened and she had to force herself to remember to blink. First getting ambushed, now breaking the chamber – a chamber created of a mix of the most powerful illusionary magic and state-of-the-art technology. And Bloom – anxious, liked to cuddle up with her bunny and watch animated movies while they binged on sweets that a rabbit should definitely not be eating – had broken it.
Jared's expression, she assumed, mirrored her own: one of shock and awe. She knew Bloom was powerful since, well, Dragon Flame and all, but there's no way she'd been that powerful when she barely knew how to work her magic. Then again, there were many stories of magically-inclined people losing control; grief, fear or anger causing them to lose control of their powers and unleashing forces beyond their normal abilities. Just last year in Coralis, Andros' capital city, a 4-year-old girl had drowned a man that tried to kidnap her in the park near her house by summoning a tidal wave from thin air that had knocked him off his feet and settled over his face, keeping him down long enough for a woman to find and calm the girl, and call the police.
"Wow" Jared gasped eventually. Flora giggled.
"Like physically broke it?" Aisha thought that maybe she'd broken a piece of it or the ambush situation, but much to her surprise, Bloom confirmed that she had indeed, broke the whole chamber. "Like cracks in the ceiling, yeah" the redhead nodded, chuckling in disbelief at the sheer insanity of it.
"Also, Stella barely passed."
"But she did pass" Flora replied matter-of-factly to Tecna's point. The purple-haired fairy shrugged it off, insisting that Stella got lucky; she hadn't applied herself enough in the class. From what Aisha could see, it didn't seem like Stella applied herself in many of her classes. More than once she'd noticed Stella absent-mindedly staring out the window or doodling some people.
"I'd love to interview all of you, if you wouldn't mind. The more first person accounts I have, the better."
"Why didn't you just come ask people at Alfea in the first place?"
Bloom's question was met with a blank look from the specialist. She laughed a bit at the surprised expression. "I... don't know. I guess I didn't think of it" he answered, laughing alongside her. "It seems so obvious now."
"We-" Flora started, getting cut off when Musa and Stella walked up. Musa looked less like she wanted to set Stella on fire, which Aisha supposed was a good thing. Arson on a fellow student would likely get her expelled from Alfea, and Musa seemed to take her grades seriously. Stella, though, wore the resigned expression that Aisha knew all too well; the perfect princess who was most certainly feeling very many not so positive things. She would almost empathize with Stella if she hadn't brought those feelings on herself.
Musa turned to the waiting specialist; his expression one of hope and optimism. Aisha had grown to like him well enough in the last few minutes. He seemed open and expressive; easy-going and happy. She found herself on the fence as to whether or not she was hoping it worked out for the best.
"Let's go." Musa didn't wait for him to lead the way. She stalked past him, shooting daggers at the blonde as she passed. Jared smiled dopily and followed after her the way a puppy follows its owner when treats are promised.
"What the fuck, Stella?" Musa shouted as Stella rubbed her wrist where Musa's iron grip had held her. The petite fairy built up a sound bubble around them – a trick she'd recently perfected. It would be very practical for private conversations - or arguments in public.
"Jared has a huge crush on you, and he seemed sweet. And he's cute, right?"
Musa fixed her with a glare that could send the toughest of soldiers cowering into the loving arms of their mother. The hopeful smile Stella had offered her fell. Musa rolled her eyes. "Whether or not he's cute is not important. You can't just set me up without even telling me about it!"
"I told you I would be keeping an eye out for -" Stella started to point out, but she was cut off by the musical fairy.
"And I told you that I didn't want you to, but you don't seem to give a fuck what I have to say."
Stella stepped back in shock. People could say a lot of bad things about her – that she was superficial, impulsive, airheaded – and, on some days she'd be inclined to believe them. Never could they say she didn't care about her friends. If there was one thing she cared about more than her realm and her people, it was her friends. And, yes, maybe not telling Musa was a poor choice, but she'd tried to. It was just never a good moment. It was either that Musa was busy or Stella was busy or everyone else was around. They'd not gotten any one on one time since Stella had met Jared, and then before she knew it, it was too late and Jared was there. She saw the frustration coming, but she hadn't been expecting full-blown anger.
Musa's face twisted in anger and Stella debated between shrinking back and apologizing or arguing. She didn't see why Musa was so pissed; she was just trying to do something nice for her. Was it so wrong for her to want her friend to have love? And Jared was clearly over the moon for her.
Ultimately, she decided to fall back. Her gut told her that this was more than mindless bickering – one of her favourite activities to do with the singer. This could break their friendship if the smoke coming out of Musa's ears was anything to go by.
"Sorry..." she sighed earnestly. Seeing Musa's face and body language soften, she decided to press her luck – this is where her haters would call her a tad reckless. "But Jared is here, and he's sweet and he needs help with his homework."
Musa's expression went from exasperation to sheer confusion in the blink of an eye. "... What?"
Stella wanted to laugh at how quickly Musa's entire body language had changed and the way her eyes darted around as if trying to figure out if Stella was messing with her somehow. Still, she managed to keep her composure. Her father would be proud of the straight face that she held as she explained about Jared wanting first-person accounts for his essay.
Her face stayed neutral, but the hope was desperate to bubble over as Musa's gaze flicked over to the specialist. Stella bit back words as Musa watched him talk to the girls. Finally, the musical fairy's eyes landed back on her. "Fine," she spat. "But you need to stay the fuck out of my love life."
"Yeah, okay." Stella nodded honestly. She took the hand Musa had poked in her face, grasping it tightly with both of her hands. "But please give Jared a genuine chance. He seems to be really into you. And if it's a dud, it's a dud and you got free food."
"I'm not gonna punish him because you... whatever, yeah." Musa still sounded annoyed, but Stella could see the edges of her lips curling upwards. "Just, seriously, stay the fuck out of my love life."
"I will" Stella chuckled.
"I'm not joking, Stella. I love you to bits, but you pull this shit one more time -"
"I know" Stella interrupted, throwing her arms around Musa. The singer returned the hug, wrapping the arm that wasn't trapped between their bodies around Stella's waist. "I promise I won't, just please don't hate me" Stella whispered into Musa's hair, the reality that she'd almost lost one of her closest friends creeping up on her. Musa sighed, pulling her arm free to wrap it around Stella's shoulder and stroke her hair.
"I don't hate you" Musa assured her as she squeezed Stella tightly. They pulled away after a few seconds. Stella followed behind as Musa dropped the sound barrier and led them back to the group. Jared, it seemed, had waited around further cementing Stella's belief that he really wanted to go out with Musa. If it were her – though she'd never be in the position (she didn't ask guys out, she got asked) – she would never have waited to see if someone was willing to give her a chance.
"We-" Flora stopped as they stepped up to the group. Jared smiled at Musa – a shy, soft smile full of hope. Musa returned a strained, insincere smile.
Once the two had left, Stella sat down with the rest of the girls. She could sense the tension in the group, from the way Flora sat tight-lipped and rigid to Bloom and Tecna glaring at her. "So I was thinking we should go out for milkshakes tomorrow. It's supposed to be super hot. Like abnormal for this time of year on Magix."
"What the fuck, Stella?"
"No milkshakes?" Stella questioned innocently, pulling out her best doe eyes. "Ice cream?"
"You know that's not what I'm talking about" Bloom said plainly. She sat there – they all did – giving her an expectant look.
"I was just trying to help... I want her to be happy."
Bloom's expression softened to one of understanding. She smiled at Stella, which Stella returned. She knew if she could count on anyone to get it – to get that her intentions were good – it would be Bloom.
"I believe she would be happier if you stopped setting her up" Tecna replied in a snarky tone. She crossed her arms over her chest, giving Stella that ilook/i, the one she gave people when she couldn't believe how wrong they were. As if wanting to do something nice for her friend was on the same level as not knowing how to calculate the amount of force needed in a spell to the tenth decimal place.
"I just thought that since she's over..." Stella paused, looking around. She might be a self-admitted gossip – and sure, everyone and their monkey knew about Musa's crush on Riven – but she didn't gossip about friends. "You-know, she'd be open to casual dating. It's fun!"
"Who?" Aisha questioned.
"She's not over him, Stella." Flora sighed deeply before reaching over to grab a sip of Bloom's water. Bloom furrowed her brows at the nature fairy, snatching back the bottle as Flora returned it.
"Who are we talking about?"
"He's not over her either" continued Flora, ignoring Aisha's questioning.
Stella regarded Flora with a skeptical look. She wanted to believe that Riven was head over heels for Musa – a small part of her did – but he had done nothing to show it, so she had given up on that. Now with Musa being over him, regardless of what Flora said, it didn't matter. "He has feelings for her? Really?" Stella challenged. "Cause he's garbage at showing them and Musa deserves better than that."
Flora looked away from her, shaking her head. "You really need to start seeing beyond your own nose, Stella."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Her tone was sharp and demanding. Stella couldn't figure out why on Magix Flora was being such a bitch. Sure, setting Musa up without asking first was an accidental misstep, but it had no effect on Flora, so why should she get so uppity about it? And why was she so pushy about Riven and Musa? It's not like she was all that invested in either of them. If she really was, she would probably do well to actually try to help them get together.
"Okay, maybe we should change the subject. What's happened has happened and that's it." Bloom shuffled between Stella and Flora, flipping her fixed gaze between the two of them. "Let's move on. We can talk about…um… Tec, Aisha help me out."
"The weather?" "Polite small talk? Politics?"
"None of those are good options" Bloom laughed.
"That's not it!" Flora snapped, raising her voice to a level Stella didn't know Flora could. It wasn't close to yelling, but she'd never even heard Flora sound more than stern – except that one time her plants had almost ruined Stella's clothes, but Flora then did get defensive about her plants. "Stella keeps meddling in Musa's love life by force. We all know that Musa wouldn't be dating all these people if Stella didn't insist on setting her up. All because she accepted it once."
"Twice" Stella pointed out. "And I'm just trying to help."
"Maybe you should help by staying out of it. Musa and Riven have genuine feelings for each other and we just need to give them time. They're both..." Flora trailed off, cupping her face and running her fingers along her forehead to her temples. Eyes closed, she took a deep breath. "They'll get there eventually. Just stop."
"Riven? Really?" Aisha said in disbelief. If it weren't for Flora still staring at her, nostrils flared, ears fuming, Stella would have agreed with Aisha. It didn't matter that it had been over a year, she still had trouble believing someone as amazing as Musa could fall for a bottom of the barrel ticking time bomb.
"I was told-"
"It doesn't matter what you were told!" Flora snapped, cutting her off. "You need to back off and let them be!"
"Yeah, I get that." She was starting to get impatient. Flora was a goddamn broken record at this point. "I'm just trying to tell you-"
"You know what? It doesn't even matter. I'm just-" The nature fairy got up before any of them could try to calm her. She stormed off, fists clenched, towards the school gate. Stella watched in confused shock as Flora got to the gate, looked around and chose a decision into the woods.
She swung her long hair over her shoulder, looking back at the three remaining girls in disbelief. "What was that all about?"
Tecna ignored her, still watching the spot where Flora had stormed off. Aisha was in her own world, muttering to herself as she tapped the tips of her pointer fingers together. Bloom, though, looked at Stella uncomfortably. "She's not wrong, Stel. You need to let Musa be single if that's what she wants. And if she wants Riven, that's her prerogative."
Stella started to, once again, point out that Musa had told her she was over Riven. If she had been given faulty information, that wasn't on her. What was she supposed to do? Read Musa's mind?
"Seriously though. Riven?" Aisha questioned, her voice raising an octave in unending disbelief.
Flora loved Gloomy Wood Forest. The perfume of the trees and flowers, fresh wind blowing through her hair, birdsong chirping happily soothed her. The old beaten path that she followed took her through trees older than the realm of Linphea, tall as the clouds were high. Their leaves were already falling in bunches of reds and orange, crunching under her feet.
Try as it might, Gloomy Wood didn't quite work its magic to its usual level today. Flora kept dwelling on Stella's meddling. She knew it wasn't her business, but the romantic in her wanted Musa and Riven to work. The potential was there, and she knew deep in her bones that the feelings were too. It was obvious to her in the way the two would sneak glances at one another when no one was paying attention to them; in the way their eyes lingered longer than normal; in the way their expressions softened. They were in love with each other dammit and they just needed to get their heads out of the sand long enough to see it.
A tree root sticking out of the ground caught on her heel sending the nature fairy tumbling to the ground. Flora picked herself up and dusted off her legs and hands. When she looked up, she realized with horror and awe that she'd walked off the well-worn path she'd started on. Somehow, she'd found herself in an open clearing surrounded by trees.
The sun filtered through the trees, warming the grass in the center of the clearing and illuminating the pollen in the air. The trees around the edges were flowering vibrant pinks, blues and yellows, and small white flowers grew in the bushes on the ground. Flora walked around the perimeter taking in the sweet scent of the flowers, realizing as she did that a small pond could be found opposite where she'd emerged. A duckling floated on the water, popping its head into the water, its cute feathery butt poking into the air. She wandered into the center of the clearing before dropping herself a little too heavily unto the sun-warmed grass.
Flora took a few deep breaths, letting the fresh scent of the grass fill her senses. She let herself decompress, sinking into the soil beneath her as the blades of grass tickled lovingly at her arms and neck. The voice of the trees in the wind whispered to her that she was safe here, and she believed it. The voice of nature had never let her down before.
She didn't know how long she'd spent lying like a starfish in the grass, only that the sun had started to shift and her face was no longer in the warmth. She sat up, intending to move herself back into the sun. A wild hare at the edge of the trees caught her attention and she found herself watching as it nibbled at the bush.
The snap of a twig behind her scared her out of her trance. She turned with a startled jump, eyes opening wide as she spotted her companion. Long, dark hair spilled over his shoulder, kept tied loosely by a khaki hairband. He was tall and lean, wearing a simple pair of slacks and a loose cream linen shirt. He was flipping through the book in his hands, looking up in surprise at her gasp.
The switch in expressions would have been missed entirely if Flora hadn't been watching him so closely – embarrassingly so. He went from surprise to the prepared neutral face of a soldier to a friendly and open smile in a matter of seconds. "Flora? What are you doing here?"
Flora returned his smile, waving shyly at him. Her tongue felt like stone in her mouth. She could feel the thoughts slipping away, snaking their way into the recesses of her mind and leaving her without so much as a coherent thought.
Helia seemed completely unbothered by her non-vocal response. He walked over to her, the friendly smile still plastered on his face. "I think you're the first person I've ever come across here... Can I join you?" He motioned to the spot in front of her. Unable to find the voice to say you could and I would love that, but I'm afraid you make me feel all tingly and somehow that causes my brain to malfunction so I likely won't be great conversation, Flora simply nodded.
"It's a beautiful spot. One of my favourites." His tone was casual, easy. Flora hated it; she loved it. She loved the way his deep, low voice resonated through her, and the calm way that he spoke. He looked over at her as he leaned back on his hands, expecting her to reply.
Flora nodded, mentally accosting herself for not being able to say something as stupidly simple as yes, it is beautiful.
"I used to come here all the time when I was at Red Fountain – last time. I think I've drawn every angle of these trees and every plant, bug or animal I've spotted." He let out a small laugh and Flora felt like she had to physically stop her heart from leaping out of her chest and taking up permanent residence in his. "Have you been here before?"
Flora shook her head no.
"Ah! A first visit. Those are always the best ones. I've always believed you could fall in love at first sight with a place, especially one like this. People too." Flora's face turned bright red, she could feel it. Would he believe that she had a sunburn? No, she hadn't been this red a few moments ago. Besides, to blame the sun, she'd have to speak and that was clearly not happening. Helia looked back at her for a moment with a look she couldn't quite decipher, but she became acutely aware that her eyes hadn't left his face since he'd shown up. "That's what this place was for me," He continued, making no mention of her new tint. "Tell me, at a quick glance, what you find to be the most beautiful spot – flower, tree, whatever."
You.
Flora pulled her eyes away from his perfect face with its sharp cheekbones and porcelain skin. She looked around the clearing, having completely forgotten about its existence. The lovely flowers on the trees were the first thing to catch her eye, the pink ones in particular. In the late afternoon sun they'd looked bright pink, but at – Gods, what time was it? – they looked a soft pink speckled in white that she hadn't noticed the first time around. Flora pointed at them.
Helia followed her finger, leaning closer to her hand to get a more precise look at the direction she was pointing. She could feel the warmth radiating off him hot as the mid-day sun. "An excellent choice. Would you accompany me while I draw those flowers?"
He stood up, grabbing his sketchbook in one hand and offering her the other. She stared at the hand uncertainly. "Flora?" he questioned. She looked up, realizing that she had completely dazed out while he stood there expectantly. She flushed again.
"Sh-sure" she replied, finally managing to find her voice, though it sounded small and uncertain. Flora slid her hand into his and let him help her to her feet. He let her hand slip out of his as he stepped away from her towards the flowers she'd pointed out. She mourned the loss momentarily before brushing off the grass and following after him.
She sat quietly at his side, watching as he expertly traced the trees and flowers onto his sketchpad. She tried to keep her eyes on the paper and the way his hand moved with graceful ease, but her eyes kept flicking up to his face. He chewed on his lip when he drew, his grey eyes piercing the page in concentration. He furrowed his brows when he didn't like his stroke, flipping his pencil over and brushing away the erroneous line.
"Here," he said, ripping the page out of his sketchbook and handing it to her. Flora startled. She had been so focused on his face and the way he looked when he drew that she hadn't noticed that he'd finished his sketch of the flower. He was looking at her with that darn smile again, still holding the paper out to her. "For you. To remember this place."
"I couldn't..." she mumbled shyly.
"I insist. It's already been ripped out of my book, so it's either you take it or it becomes a throw away" he laughed. Flora laughed shyly, accepting the paper with a whispered thank you.
She turned the page over in her hands, admiring the gentle lines as best she could in the dim light. Wait… dim light, Flora's brain questioned. She looked up, surprised to find that the sun was almost completely gone. The once gold-touched clearing was covered in shadows, the light pink flower shades of grey without the light. How long had they been here, Flora wondered. She'd realized when she laid down that her books – along with her phone – had been left with the girls back at Alfea. They must be wondering where she was… She hoped they hadn't worried too much.
"I should get back to Alfea, it's getting quite late..."
"Would you like me to walk you back?" He offered, standing up once again to offer her his hand. She accepted it, standing beside him. She craned her neck to look up at him, smiling appreciatively at the offer. As nervous as he made her – that was, nervous in the best possible way even if she hated how tongue-tied it made her – she also felt incredibly comfortable. Her gut told her Helia was a good person and she trusted her gut.
Still, she denied his offer to walk her back to school. What if she tripped over that branch at the clearing entrance again and he saw? Or what if she walked into a branch or said something stupid? No, she trusted the voice of nature would take her back to Alfea safely. If there was anything she trusted more than her gut, it was the voice of nature.
Helia wished her goodnight. She felt his eyes on her the entire walk back to the entrance of the clearing. Flora thanked the universe that she was walking away from him and that blushes weren't luminous. The feeling of him watching her made her turn, she was certain, brighter than the boldest red.
When she got back to Alfea, Tecna was the only one awake. She assured the technological fairy, who had nearly assaulted her for making them worry so much, that she was fine. Bloom, it seemed, had not been feeling well and had gone to bed after ensuring that Tecna would wake her if Flora wasn't back by midnight – it was only past ten. Aisha and Stella were in their room. The former had just come back from the library with a stack of books in hand. Stella, Tecna assumed, had gone to bed already. Musa, most surprisingly, was still out with Jared. "I guess it is going well" Tecna shrugged. "Are you okay? You were quite upset earlier."
"I'm good" Flora replied, insisting that she was tired and wanted to get some sleep. Tecna nodded, wishing her a good night and returning to her game to wait for Musa.
Flora slunk into her room, not wanting to wake Bloom. She quickly changed, washed her face and tucked herself into bed. Then, she picked up the picture she'd left on her bedside table and looked at it happily until she fell asleep.
Getting Aisha to stop asking about Musa's crush on Riven – something none of them spoke about except occasionally with each other – had been easy. All they'd had to do was tell her that it wasn't their business to talk about and she'd quickly accepted that logic. Bloom appreciated that. After having everyone try to get in her business now that it was known that she was the lost princess of Domino, she hated people who couldn't take it's not your business as an answer.
They'd also dropped the matter of Stella meddling into Musa's love life again after Flora's outburst. Bloom had to agree with her roommate, but she understood where Stella was coming from. The Solarian princess really only ever did want the best for her friends, and that, despite her occasionally somewhat cruel comments, she had a good heart. She just didn't always think things through. Not that Bloom could criticize her for that since she did blast the princess of another realm through a wall last year.
An hour and a half later, Flora still hadn't returned to the group. Aisha had suggested they call her, but they'd realized that her phone was under the books she'd left with them. In a moment that would make Flora proud, Bloom decided to ask the voice of nature. When the voice assured her Flora was fine, the girls got up and returned to their dorm – or the library in Aisha's case – to study – or not in Stella's case.
"Do you want me to join you?" Stella asked when Bloom told them she was going to try meditating again.
"Thanks, Stel, but no. I tried last night and I... sucked at it. Who knew sitting there thoughtless and breathing would be so hard? It seemed so much easier when Daphne was guiding me." She had thought it was tough when her freshman gym teacher had decided they would end every class by meditating; somehow the pressure of knowing that Avalon's plan working relied on her succeeded in her meditation just made it all the more stressful. "I just think that we'll get distracted and end up talking."
It was no different today. Try as she might to focus on her breathing, her mind wandered off to more interesting things. The first time around she broke her meditation by thinking about the convergence assignment and how she and Stella could open that little box by maybe joining their powers to melt the lock – though that might backfire and fuse the metal to the box and make it even harder to open. The second time she remembered that it had been a week since she'd called her parents and that she should do that soon. Next it was wondering if Musa was enjoying Jared's company and whether the musical fairy would get home and make Stella bald. Or deaf. Or bald iand/i deaf. After that she thought about asking Sky if he wanted to go see a movie with her that weekend. Then she cracked up laughing alone when she remembered that time her dad had taken her out of school to play hooky on his day off, only to get caught by her mother as she was running an errand. Finally, she gave up on meditating for the night when she found herself singing the jingle to some Solarian Western Moon themed restaurant.
Around the time she gave up on meditating – potentially forever given how frustrated she was with her failure to successfully meditate for fifteen straight seconds – Sky called. "Hi!" Her voice was brimming with joy – partly at hearing from her boyfriend, mostly for a reason to stop meditating that wasn't her giving up.
"I'm flattered to hear you sounding so happy to hear from me" Sky chuckled.
Bloom settled herself into her pillows, resting her head lightly against the backboard of her bed and letting the multiple fluffy pillows support her neck. She smiled into the phone, silently agreeing that she was happy to hear from him. They were in a good place, though that was mostly because Bloom had accepted an, at best, passable apology for the way he'd acted before leaving for his mission. She was still annoyed by it, but he'd promised to try to be supportive –actually supportive – and she had missed him so much.
"You're a welcomed distraction."
"Distraction? Are you putting off homework? I thought you and the other had decided to try for the trip?"
They had. And Bloom was really hoping that, even with Stella not quite trying, Flora, Musa and Tecna's stellar grades combined with her and Aisha putting their best effort in would be enough to win them the trip. Although, now that she thought about it, she realized that she had no idea what Aisha's grades would be like. This was the Androsi princess's first time at a regular school, but she'd also had access to the very best private tutors the Andros royal family could afford.
"No, homework isn't the problem..." Bloom sighed, sinking further into her pillows. Kiko had hopped on the bed and was now curling up at her feet, settling himself on her foot. "I'm trying to meditate."
"Ah... I had a nanny as a kid that would insist on my meditating with her. It always ended with me running around and her chasing me to sit down."
Bloom laughed at the thought of a miniature version of her current Sky being chased by an exasperated woman dressed like Mary Poppins. "That's adorable."
"Hopefully your meditation is more successful."
"It's not."
Sky chuckled at her bluntness. Bloom turned over onto her stomach, disrupting Kiko who made his displeasure known. She tapped the small of her back and he hopped up, happily nuzzling into her, her transgression entirely forgotten by his little bunny mind.
"So why the decision to meditate?"
"Avalon? The unofficial homework he gave me? I told you about this when you got back."
"Oh..." he whispered.
"But you weren't listening" Bloom pushed herself up in her frustration, further upsetting the once again displaced rabbit. Kiko hopped in front of her and gave the bunny equivalent of a death glare before hopping away, as unhappy with Bloom as she was with Sky. Which was to say a lot.
"I -"
"What the fuck is going on Sky? I thought..." She could feel the frustration she'd felt before he'd left pushing to the front of her mind, elbowing any other thought or feeling out of its way. He'd promised to be supportive. Boyfriends were supposed to be supportive. Brandon would be. Andy would have been too.
"Bloom, I don't want to ta-"
"I don't care. Tell me what's going on" she demanded roughly. Sky sighed in surrender. She tapped her fingers against her crossed arms, waiting impatiently for him to say something. She could practically see him running his hand through his thick, silky blonde hair.
"It's just... you talk about him so much."
"Him?" Bloom questioned before realizing who he was talking about. "Avalon?"
"Yeah."
"No I don't."
"You spent 20 minutes talking about Avalon after we'd been out of contact for a week and a half. You spent a solid chunk of what little time we had during the exhibition talking about him and now you're talking about him again."
Bloom's head reeled with confusion. She has talked about Avalon because she was telling him what she'd been up to while he was away; because she was excited about the possibility of learning more about her birth family. "You asked!"
"I didn't know it would lead to you talking about him."
"I mentioned him once because you asked!" She shouted into the phone. Kiko, now laying in his bed on her side table raised his head. Bloom became aware of how much her voice had raised in the last few minutes, so she forced herself to take a deep breath. The embers crackled in her stomach and if she gave in to them, a fire would roar to life in her. "Why are you being like this? Avalon is trying to help me! As my boyfriend, you should be the most supportive instead of being a jealous asshole. I like you, not Avalon. YOU. So you need to get over this."
"And as my girlfriend, you should understand where I'm coming from. You wouldn't like me talking about Diaspro all the time."
She was going to kill him. She was going to rip his beautiful hair out in chunks and stuff them down his throat. She was going to gauge his eyes out and feed them to him. She was going to rip his fingernails off one by one, slowly. How fucking dare he! Avalon helping her with a personal project was not the same thing. Not even fucking close.
Any control of her anger she'd had faltered. She screamed into the phone: "I was never secretly engaged to Avalon and lying about my identity, Prince Sky."
"No, but the idea is the same."
"No, it really isn't."
"Bl-"He cut himself off with a deep sigh. Bloom fumed, ignoring Kiko as he tried to get her attention by tapping the top of his head against her thigh.
"Can we just talk in person?" he said finally.
"I'll come over tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to trying to meditate FOR AVALON because I would very much like to rip your pretty blond hair out of your pretty little head right now, so goodbye Sky." She threw her phone on the bed and crossed her arms as she seethed. Kiko was still trying to get her attention, so she pushed him away. She loved him dearly, but she wasn't really in the mood to pet him. What sounded really nice was a healthy dose of sitting in her bed and dwelling on how much she hated Sky right now and imagining yelling at him tomorrow.
A knock came at her door, followed by Tecna's uncertain voice asking if she could come in. Bloom exhaled, releasing some of the tension in her shoulders. She called for Tecna to come in, picking up Kiko and petting him a bit more roughly than he usually liked. Kiko objected but didn't notice.
Tecna stopped short just as she opened the door. "Bloom, why did you set Flora's plant on fire?"
"What?"
"Flora's plant" Tecna repeated, pointing behind the redhead towards the bathroom door. "It is on fire."
Bloom turned to look and, sure enough, one of the small trees that Flora kept on the wall along the bathroom was on fire. She tossed Kiko onto the bed carelessly and grabbed the water bottle on her nightstand, stumbling out of the bed rather clumsily.
The poor plant had turned into overdone BBQ. Formerly lush and green, it was now more charred than the turkey her mom had set on fire last Christmas. Bloom grimaced at Tecna, who hadn't moved from the doorway and was staring at her wide eyed. "Are you alright?"
Lying crossed her mind, but she knew Tecna had set herself up in the common room and therefore heard her screaming. She walked back to her bed, tossing her now-empty bottle onto it before sitting down. The bottle rolled towards her, knocking against her thigh. "No…"
"Yes, well… That sounded like quite the, um, conversation" Tecna fumbled. "Would you like to… talk about it?"
Bloom looked up at Tecna appreciatively. The girl was so obviously uncomfortable asking the question and the prospect of having to talk about emotions. For her friends, though, she was willing to shut up and do it. Because she was supportive. Unlike Sky.
"No. But…"
"Yes?"
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
Tecna raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. Why?"
"Could you come to Red Fountain with me? Sky and I are going to talk." Tecna hesitated. Understandably so; Tecna didn't do great with emotional or awkward situations to begin with and joining Bloom to have an awkward, emotional talk with her boyfriend was far out of the technological fairy's comfort zone. "Please, Tec. Lately we've argued almost every time we've spoken and-" Bloom forced tears back, not wanting to make Tecna more uncomfortable. "I don't want us to fight anymore. You're great at seeing to reason, so I thought maybe you would be a good neutral party…"
Tecna's taught frame slackened compassionately. She agreed to come with Bloom, though she requested the right to demand recess when it suited her, to which Bloom easily agreed. "Am I free of emotional conversation for tonight, then?" Tecna asked.
"Yes" Bloom chuckled. "Tonight I just want to go to bed early and forget the fight."
Bloom insisted that Tecna wake her if Flora hadn't returned by midnight. She trusted that the nature fairy could take care of herself, but knowing Flora's history, she couldn't help but worry. Midnight, she told herself, was late enough to worry without being told she was overreacting. Tecna agreed as she closed the door behind her, leaving Bloom and Kiko alone with an empty water bottle, a burnt plant and a broken heart.
"I really am sorry. It was really naïve of me not to see how badly letting someone else do the asking for me could go" Jared said for the third time as he laid down the blanket. The ride through the forest had helped Musa calm down and now she was determined to make the best of the situation. Jared was as much a victim of Stella's impulse as she was. So she would try to enjoy his company. After all, he couldn't be worse than that first asshole Stella had set her up with.
"It was, yeah" Musa agreed – again – as she moved to help him spread out the blanket. He'd clearly put a lot of work into this picnic. The spot he'd chosen was a gorgeous small field on the edge of the woods by Lake Roccaluce. He'd thought out a full spread of food: fruit, cheese, veggies and dip, chips, cookies, water, juice, soda, tea – she didn't even know if he'd thought about needing hot water for tea, but he'd brought it. He'd brought a blanket and some cards, as well as a mini projector and a fold-out screen.
"But it's not entirely your fault. Stella has a habit of sticking her nose where it doesn't belong."
"I get the feeling she means well, though."
"I know she does, it's just..." Musa rubbed her temples and shook her head. She knew Stella had good intentions – she was too nice to do something to a friend out of malice (and Musa didn't think she'd done anything to piss her off lately). It was that she didn't think her good intentions through. "Never mind."
"We can forget the date bit and just focus on the assignment if you prefer."
Musa smiled at him sadly. It was precious that he thought the date bit was still a thing. She felt kind of bad for him. He seemed really sweet – and nervous. He'd helped her onto and off his bike and carried the basket and backpack he'd packed down to the waterside despite her numerous offers to help. When she took a seat on the blanket, he offered her water before they started the interview.
"We can start there and see how that goes." She would approach this with an open mind even if, in the back of her mind that she tried to desperately to ignore, she wondered if Riven liked picnics. Or if he'd ever put this much effort into impressing her. While she'd rifled through the basket earlier, she noticed Jared had picked out an impressive – and likely expensive – spread. It looked good, she thought, looking over at the basket behind him as her stomach rumbled. "And maybe we can eat the picnic cause I am pretty hungry."
Jared laughed, reaching behind him to pull the basket forward. She picked out a tub of strawberries and her mind instantly went to violet eyes, that late night meeting last year, the almost kiss. It was a curse she'd carried with her since then – unable to pick up a fucking fruit without wondering what would have happened if they'd kissed. Would the year have gone differently?
She pushed the thought aside as Jared pulled out a tape recorder and a list of questions. The interview went well, and it turned out that Jared was as nice as he seemed. He was funny – like really funny – and expressive and charming. He asked all the right questions, prompting her for more information when needed and encouraging her to elaborate when he felt like she was holding back. His calm and open demeanor made him so easy to talk to. Not once did he say something just to get under her skin (even if she kind of liked when someone else did).
"You know, if ever the soldier thing doesn't work out for you," she told him once they'd finished, "I think you'd be a great journalist or interviewer or whatever."
"Yeah?" He smiled brightly, revealing that he'd wanted to go into journalism, but being from a family of knight's meant he was expected to attend Red Fountain. "Not that I don't like Red Fountain" he clarified quickly, as if Saladin would be standing in the bushes ready to jump out and expel him.
"I'm just gonna pack up and then I'll take you back to Alfea." Jared told her as he started closing up the containers of food.
Musa looked off towards where Alfea's campus would stand. The idea of returning to the dorm to Stella badgering her about what did she think of Jared and how did it go and was she going to see him again. Her eye drifted towards the mini projector and the thought that maybe a movie wasn't a bad idea. Jared seemed surprised that she'd suggested it but he quickly agreed.
She let him choose the movie – she didn't care what it was, she just wanted to kill time. He tried to subtly put his arm around her by yawning and reaching. Musa had tensed, but before she could tell him to remove his arm, he pulled it away with a mumbled apology. He didn't make another move on her for the rest of the movie.
When he dropped her off at Alfea, he didn't try to kiss her or ask if he could see her again. He did, however, surprise her by being very forward for someone that had gotten Stella to set him up with her. "Did I ever have a chance? If I'd gotten up the courage to ask you out myself, I mean."
Musa rubbed her arm awkwardly, unsure of what to say. The answer was no, but he was so sweet that she felt bad saying so. But he'd asked. "… no."
"There's someone else, isn't there?" Musa wondered if he was guessing in an attempt to make him feel better or if she was just that incredibly obvious. She nodded mutely, refusing to give him any information. He'd have to pry it out of her. Jared didn't ask, though. He merely nodded and said: "I hope he realizes how lucky he is."
Musa wished him a good night, refusing to broach the subject of her nonexistent relationship with Riven. She turned on her heel and walked away. As she stepped through Alfea's gate, she heard him shout good night behind her.
When she got to the dorm, Tecna was the only one there. Flora and Bloom were asleep, Stella and Aisha too she assumed. "I wanted to make sure you did not chop Stella's hair off as soon as you got back" Tecna deadpanned when asked why she was still awake. Musa assured her that there was no such thing in her immediate plans, but she was going out for a bit. There was no argument from the technological fairy, who merely insisted that Musa take a coat because it was supposed to get chilly through the night.