Chapter 7: Of Mysteries and Monoliths
A day passed after the girls' exciting adventure to the land down under. Visits to Ophelia followed by an actually pretty fun evening just chilling out had done wonders for Bloom, Stella and Aisha, not to mention how relaxing it had been for the redhead to finally interact with her beloved pet Kiko again. The pixies had gone off, getting temporary lodging with Concorda, which honestly irked Bloom a bit, as she would have loved to introduce the pixies to her other fairy friends. She would also have loved not to get an almost hour long phone call from her parents, were they had scolded her for being so reckless and careless, though they had still praised her for wanting to do the right thing. And then there was the punishment, which wasn't a particular duty like last time, but instead being first picks for any odd job the teachers felt they needed help with. Fortunately, both Bloom and Stella were saved from cleaning the halls the next day by Faragonda requesting their presence. They made their way to her office, where they ran into Musa, Flora, Aisha and Techna, before entering the headmistress' office.
"Hello girls. I hope you have recovered from your ordeals," the ageing fairy greeted them warmly. Bloom felt relieved that the headmistress had gone back to being warm and grandmotherly. She vastly preferred her that way.
"What did you want to see us for, headmistress?" Flora politely inquired.
"Numerous things," Faragonda stated. "Now, before I begin, I want you to know that I do not make a habit of elaborating on information like this for students. Not that this is secret knowledge, just a bit obscure, but we are teachers, not newscasters. The thing is, Bloom, Stella and especially Aisha have already been involved deeply with this matter. And since I've also been young once, I am fully aware that what I tell those three will get to the rest of you before long, so I might as well just tell you all. At least that way, I'm sure that nothing gets lost in translation".
"Hey, I am an impeccable gossiper," Stella insisted.
Aisha raised an eyebrow and asked: "You're a magazine?"
Techna turned and poked Stella, before asking: "Hey, do you have a sports section, Suntop?"
"Stop poking," Stella said and slapped the offending finger away. "And why did you think of a magazine, Aisha?"
"My dad says that magazines are filled with slanderous gossipers, so that just confused me," Aisha explained.
"So I imagine. And that is also relevant to something else I will be bringing up soon," Faragonda continued. "Also, I will allow myself to correct you, Stella. After all, you were the one that spread the rumour that Palladium had gotten together with a fun guy".
"I was just happy for him. How was I to know he had just been excited about getting a new batch of mushrooms?" the Solarian princess muttered while looking away.
"This information, is it something we should keep secret from our classmates?" Flora asked.
"You aren't under oath or anything. As I said, the information can be found, it has just been scattered across different sources. I'm merely adding some context to these scattered bits of information. But if you want to share with your classmates, I ask of you, please do it to inform and enlighten and not just to scare," the headmistress of Alfea said. "The situation is already capable of developing in very unfortunate ways without us having to worry about panicking students".
"Don't ya worry, Granny. We're not interesting in causing a stampede," Techna said reassuringly.
"Granny? Well, I should probably consider myself more fortunate than Ms. Griselda then," Faragonda mused with a smile.
"Grumpy was fitting IMO," Techna said with a shrug. "But then she just stopped calling me Techna and she only started again when I promised to not nickname her. Only managed to prove the grumpy thing, but 'ey, that's how it goes I guess".
"So to start off, I want to talk to you about Darkar," Faragonda said. "Or rather, the Shadow Phoenix. You see, while the name Darkar is new, the moniker Shadow Phoenix is not. Nor are the creatures he's associated with. Back when the Ancestral Witches were running amok, there was another great danger. Alexios the Apostate, also known as the Crusader of Darkfire, the Messiah of Blessed Annihilation, the Bringer of Final Purity and yes, the Shadow Phoenix. He gathered an army, both of the undead monstrosities you've encountered and fanatical followers, by promising to cleanse the universe of its sinfulness and create a utopian paradise. The attention of governments were split between both, as they rampaged across the worlds. It was a harsh time. I happen to know that Alexios was killed when an army lead by the nymph Wu Gong invaded the castle of Shadowhaunt, though it cost him his life. Few survived the assault, but the threat of the Shadow Phoenix was over. Or so we thought".
"Appropriately for his nickname, he rose again," Musa commented.
"Indeed. And going through older texts shows that a Shadow Phoenix pops up quite often, usually a couple of times per century. Sometimes he is quickly defeated, sometimes he becomes a larger threat. He never wears the same face, the same name or the same mannerism. But they all share the same moniker, the same strange powers and the same goal".
"And that goal would be?" Bloom asked.
"I'm sorry, but that is a secret. One that I have sworn to keep, for everyone's safety," Faragonda replied.
"That is okay. We understand that some information has to remain limited," Flora said diplomatically.
"Thank you. That is all of what I can tell you about the Shadow Phoenix. If you remain curious, I do hope you've learned how to use the library by now," Faragonda stated.
"What about Icy, Stormy and Darcy?" Bloom asked. "We had a run in with them while in Shadowhaunt".
"Yes. Darkar freed them from Lightrock Monastery," Faragonda explained. "If you want to know how they could possibly develop new powers so quickly, I'm sorry to say that I simply don't know. Old texts do mention something referred to as The Phoenix's Gift. Something about the Shadow Phoenix's champions always developing unusual abilities, but I am not aware of the details. All I know is that it allowed them to overwhelm several trained guards when they escaped Lightrock. Now then, as for the next thing I have to discuss with you..." She clapped her hands and into the room flew Glim, Piff, Tune, Amore and Livy. "Concorda doesn't have the room for both her assistants and these guests. And they cannot go home".
"Why?" Aisha questioned.
"Because Darkar is searching for Pixie Village," Faragonda explained. "As long as the village remain hidden, they'll be safe. But Darkar has an uncanny ability to sniff out information. If they go back, we risk them leading him right to it. Therefore, they will stay in Alfea until further notice. On that note, they have expressed an interest in using your common room, since they are already acquainted with some of you. If you want them, that is".
Piff started giving the girls big wet puppy eyes accompanied by a quivering lip, while Amore was now wearing typical baby clothes, with a sign on front saying 'Please give this pixie a good home'. Tune stared at the two as if she was utterly convinced they had gone stark raving mad, while Glim pinched her nose in frustration and Livy was too busy investigating a rather large dust bunny to form an opinion on the pixies' theatrics.
Then Bloom and Stella joined in on the whole puppy eyes thing, sending their cluster-mates long, pleading looks.
"I'm almost tempted to say no just to see what would happen," Musa mused.
"You'd probably get to wake up to those mugs for the rest of your time in Alfea," Techna said. "Just with an extra side dish of 'How could you?'".
"Right, not worth it," Musa said. "Well, I don't see any issues then".
"Me neither. It will most likely be an enlightening experience," Flora stated.
"AND WE'RE IN, EVERYBODY!" Piff jubilantly exclaimed, while Amore marched around with a big drum and a party horn, making quite the racket.
"Well, I do suppose there's nothing wrong with a little excitement over your generosity," Tune politely, but loudly stated in order to be heard. "Of course, despite their diminutive size, nothing they do can ever really be called 'little'".
"Wow, thanks for the warning," Musa dryly added, glaring at the grinning Bloom and Stella.
"Don't know what your problem is, Cacophony. You make plenty of noise yourself with all that blowing you do," Techna said.
"You intentionally worded that to sound bad, didn't you?" the black-haired girl asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Eyup," came the cheerful reply.
"Alright, settle down everybody, I still have more news to share," Faragonda said, finally bringing calm back to the office. "Now then, Aisha, your father called me after he got my message and we've been talking".
"Yes?" the brunette princess asked.
"And after a rather long and frustrating conversation, I managed to make him see that much of what happened was a result of isolation and a general lack of knowledge about the worlds at large," Faragonda explained. "He's agreed to let you enrol on Alfea in order to get you more experience with life outside the castle, though he wanted me to inform you that you can cancel your enrolment here any time you want".
"Weird. They always said I've learned so much," came Aisha's puzzled reply.
"Right, but they probably mean stuff like... Remember when I was hungry and I talked about eating raw roos?" Bloom asked. "You said we would need a chef, but not only could we have made our own food, if the roo is raw, that would mean it hadn't been prepared".
"Oh," Aisha said a bit surprised. "I... I haven't really made food before. The chef just sends it to us three times a day".
"And Alfea will help you learn such things while advancing your magical studies and giving you the opportunity to bond with people outside your usual social circles," Faragonda explained. "If you want to, of course".
"If you could convince my dad of it, I will not doubt his wisdom. I accept enrolment," Aisha stated.
"Good. I've arranged for you to share student apartment with Stella," the headmistress said. "I trust it won't be a problem".
"It won't. Well then, is there anything else?" Stella questioned.
"Yes, but that is a matter between me and Bloom. So I'll see the rest of you around," Faragonda said.
Goodbyes were said as everyone but the princess of Domino left.
"Is something wrong?" Bloom asked after the door to the office had been closed again.
"There is an issue, but nothing that can't be fixed," Faragonda said and walked over to a closet. "But we'll get to that part soon enough". She opened the closet and withdrew from it a massive burlap sack full of letters, one heavy enough to even cause the headmistress trouble. "These are for you," she wheezed as she put the sack down on a chair, causing the poor furniture to creak from the weight. "These all arrived while you were gone".
"And here I though the amount was finally starting to lessen," Bloom sighed. "I'm almost tempted to go back to Underland, just to escape the mail".
"Never works in the long run," Faragonda sagely advised. "Now, I respect you enough to refrain from opening them, even though they are scanned for potential curses and enchantments as per usual Alfea policy. But I'm pretty sure I can guess what a majority of them are about".
"Why would you scan for enchantments? Aren't they usually helpful?" Bloom asked.
"You wouldn't think so if somebody had sent you a letter to 'helpfully' upgrade your bust size," Faragonda stated dryly.
"Oh. I see," Bloom stated delicately, suddenly eyeing the letters with a degree of suspicion.
"Back to the subject, do you remember being interviewed by a journalist while on a trip to Magicalis shortly before your expedition?" Faragonda asked.
"Hmm, don't think so," the redhead mumbled.
"Asked you about who was taking care of you," Faragonda added helpfully.
"Right. It was while Aisha was still in the hospital wing. I remember," Bloom recollected. "Though I wouldn't call it an interview. It was more of a quick chat, really".
"That's not how he saw it," Faragonda said and pulled a newspaper from a drawer in her table. "And I suspect many nobles have reacted to these... Well, lacking a proper term, news".
Bloom glared at the newspaper, more specifically, the big black headline. "Newly found princess of Domino practically an orphan," she read aloud as she studied the article. "Adoptive parents currently completely incapable of providing for her due to almost complete non-contact with Earth. How will this carelessness affect the future ruler?" The newspaper crinkled as Bloom's grip on it tightened. "Headmistress, am I allowed to set fire to this guy?"
"You'll have to wait until you're queen," Faragonda jokingly replied. "Still, there is a point buried in there, no matter how much he didn't intend to make one. Your guardians are far away from this world, not even officially recognised by the authorities due to the complete non-contact with your planet. And that makes you seem, well, vulnerable. So many people, celebrities, royals and politicians have probably offered to become your legal guardians until you are ready to become queen. Some are probably well meant, others cynical attempts to gain power over you".
"And I'm supposed to sort through those offers?" Bloom asked, eyeing the sack with dread.
"I have an alternative solution," Faragonda kindly said. "I talked it over with your parents when I told them about your little escapade. I can become your legal guardian until your time in Alfea is over. I consider myself very apolitical, though nobody truly is I suppose," the ageing headmistress briefly mused. "We also agreed to leave the choice to you".
"That would make things a lot easier," Bloom said with a relieved smile. "And I've never had reason to think you'd want to manipulate me. In fact, you've done everything possible to help me. So if you'd be my guardian until I'm done here at Alfea, I'd be grateful".
"Then I will get the paperwork in order. Though you will probably also have to tell it to the press at some point," Faragonda said, before she shifted to a much more stern voice: "Also, if you ever do anything as reckless as that unannounced field trip again, I will not hesitate to punish you as if you'd been my own child. I happen to know how to make spells that will ensure no TV will turn on near you for weeks".
Bloom gulped and said: "Understood, headmistress".
"Now go. I'm sure your friends are waiting for you," the ageing headmistress said and lightly ruffled Bloom's hair.
...
"Welcome to your new home," Stella happily said to the pixies, as she lead them into the common room. "I'm, like, not really sure how this will work, but we'll tots figure it out in time".
"I could probably build something for them," Techna said. "Just have to finish putting the new cooling system together. I've almost got it. Just need to straighten out a few kinks".
"Then it's not too late for me to reserve a room in the downstairs bunker," Musa snarked.
As soon as the door to the common room was closed, Stella eagerly turned to pixies and asked: "By the by, do any of you pixies know what Darkar wants from Pixie Village?"
"I thought Faragonda said that was a secret," Flora said sternly.
"She said she had sworn to keep it secret," Stella pointed out.
"Yeah, for everyone's safety," Musa added.
"Then let's, like, hope she doesn't say anything," Stella replied, before returning her attention to the pixies. "Now, spill the beans".
"Sorry, I'm drawing a blank," Piff replied. "There's things hidden in Pixie Village, but that's for the elders to concern themselves about".
"And don't let Tune's hair fool you, she isn't any older than the rest of us," Amore added.
"Maybe, but I am fortunately much more mature," Tune huffed.
"Also known as being stuffy," Piff singsonged, earning her a glare from the grey-haired pixie.
"These guys are a riot," Techna said happily. "Now I'm even sadder that I didn't get to join you on your little underworld trip".
"You wouldn't have liked it," Amore said. "We were chased through a town by a pack of ravenous tunnel wyrms".
"Wha... What?" Techna said, before turning to Bloom and accusingly saying, while giving her the pointy finger: "Why you... You didn't even mention that".
"Would it have changed your mind?" Bloom asked.
"Changed it? Now I regret not coming along even more," the scarred girl moaned. "That's, like, something out of an action movie".
"Everybody's crazy," Glim groaned while rolling her eyes.
...
Meanwhile, in the restricted library, Concorda sat down and waited. Not soon after, bluish shapes formed, soon resembling three other pixies. One was Discorda from Cloud Tower. The two others were respectively a pixie with long flowing hair wearing a toga and a robe-clad pixie with unruly hair and a staff.
"Ah, Concorda. I take it that you finally have some information for us," the pixie in robes said.
"Indeed I do, Ninfea," Concorda confirmed. "And it's not good news. By all accounts, this Shadow Phoenix is much like the last one in regards to his powers. And is quite possible after the same goal".
"Is there a reason to suspect he knows where they all are?" Discorda asked.
"They haven't been moved and he knew where they were the last time," Concorda said.
"That would explain why he's going after Pixie Village," the toga-clad pixie said. "We also need to keep in mind that Red Fountain is still quite vulnerable after last year's great conflict. We were fortunate that the Usurpers did not know of its existence last year or they would surely have taken it".
"Right, but what should we do?" Discorda asked.
"I will shut off Pixie Village completely," Ninfea declared. "He must never find them all and sealing off Pixie Village is the best way to ensure that at least one remains outside his grasp".
"Then the rest of us must warn the staff of our schools and be on guard," Concorda sighed. "Let us hope he stays put".
"I doubt it. The guy attacked Lightrock Monastery," Discorda reminded them. "And he got away with it too".
"This has the potential to become just as bad as last time," the toga-clad pixie muttered.
"Not really, no," Concorda corrected her. "Fortunately for us, nothing akin to the Ancestral Witches are spreading chaos and destruction across the worlds this time around".
"In that case, should warnings be sent out to other countries?" the toga-clad pixie pondered.
"Possibly. I suggest we convene with the respective leaders of the schools, as they are a bit more in touch with those things," Concorda advised.
"You do that. I shall keep Pixie Village hidden until the threat has passed once more," Ninfea said and vanished.
"I do not approve of the council of elders' strategy of playing the turtle," the toga pixie muttered annoyed.
"What would you have them do, Athena? Pixie Village doesn't have anything even resembling an army," Discorda questioned.
"And maybe that's part of the problem," Athena replied. "We can't just sit on our asses and expect the rest of the multiverse to come rescue us. Need I remind you how close we got to failing at our task last time?"
"Right. But Pixie Village managed to keep theirs, exactly because they remained hidden," Discorda argued.
"It doesn't matter," Concorda sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see. This Shadow Phoenix might not be so dangerous this time around".
"Lightrock Monastery," Discorda repeated ominously.
...
Days passed and turned into weeks, which turned into months. The weather began changing, as did the local foliage, slowly going from the green of spring to the brown of autumn. It was one such autumn day, with dark clouds covering the sky and rain pelting against the windows while the wind howled fiercely, that the girls were sitting in the common room, wasting time until the next class. And then Livy flew into the room, a letter on her back and a big smile on her face.
"Well, somebody's in a good mood," Stella commented as she stopped painting her nails for a second. "What's up, Livy?"
"Faragonda agreed to make me internal messenger of Alfea," the pixie messenger said proudly.
"Good," Glim said in a mixture of relief and congratulations.
"Does that mean you'll refrain from jumping and racing all over the room all the time?" Tune asked. "Because that was rather annoying".
"She's just been anxious because she didn't have anything to do," Bloom interjected.
"Oh, and I've already got my first assignment. A letter for all of you," Livy said happily and threw the letter on the table. "Well, everyone but Stella and us pixies, of course".
"Intriguing. Let us have a look," Flora said and opened the message. "It says that the next class in general spellcasting has been moved outside".
Musa stared at the brunette, before throwing a glance outside and sarcastically said: "They really couldn't have chosen a better day for it".
"Does it say why?" Aisha asked.
"It does not," Flora replied. "Only that we should go to the nearby river. And bring appropriate clothes".
"In this weather, that would mean bringing a snorkel and a bathing suit," Bloom commented. "Heck, I think I saw some fish swim by the window earlier".
"What I want to know is, why do Suntop here get to sit this one out?" Techna questioned.
"Because we're not in the same grade," Stella said happily. "So I get to stay in here, where it's warm and dry".
"Rub it in, why don't you," Musa said and rolled her eyes.
"What do we need to learn that can't be done in the classroom?" Bloom pondered for herself. "Did you do anything like this last year, Stella?"
"Maybe," came the smug reply.
...
"Well... That didn't use to be there," Musa stated
"Maybe we can touch it and see that it's full of stars," Bloom joked.
"Awhat?" Techna asked confused.
"Nevermind, pop culture reference," the redhead replied.
They had all dressed in waterproof gear, except Aisha, who dressed in fine clothes and compensated by using her magic to shield herself from the rain, and gone outside, where they quickly ran into other classmates. All of them walked through the dreadful autumn weather down to the river, where Faragonda awaited them. Not that many even noticed her at first, what with the enormous black monolith that sat in the middle of the river. It was easily as tall as Alfea and would have cast quite the imposing shadow in better weather.
"What is that?" a student asked.
"Your next lesson in general spellcasting," Faragonda explained. "The task is simple. All other classes today and tomorrow have been cancelled. You have twenty-four hours to destroy the monolith".
"Is this one of those tests were the answer is to not destroy the monolith?" Bloom asked.
"An intriguing idea, but no. The monolith is to be destroyed," Faragonda confirmed.
"Why?" another student asked.
"All such questions will be answered at the end of this class," Faragonda said as she began walking away. "Best of luck to you all".
A couple of moments passed, before the students began pelting the black stone with a wide variety of spells.
...
"I am starting to suspect that this monolith is not made from any ordinary material," Flora mused.
"Gee, what gave you the hint," Musa breathed heavily. "The fact that we've had an entire class of faeries hurling everything, up to and including the kitchen sink, at this blasted thing for over an hour?"
"That and the fact that you have not been able to mark it in any way," Flora added.
The assembled students had made neither dent nor scratch in the things' obsidian surface. The only evidence of their sustained attack was the occasional bits of ice or mud that clung to its surface, only to easily be washed away by the downpour.
"Hang on. I think I got a dohickey for this," Techna said and dug through her backpack. "Here. A mineral scanner. With wings".
The others stared at the contraption. It looked like the love-child of an old video-recorder and a model plane that had been puked on by the bargain bin of a hardware store.
"Is it aerodynamic?" Flora asked.
"Possibly," Techna said, before yelling to her classmates: "HEY, EVERYBODY, COOL IT WITH THE SPELLS FOR A MOMENT!"
The various students turned to watch the scarred girl.
"Alright, let's get a look," Techna said, as the thing buzzed off. It flew up to the dark stone, hovered by it for a few seconds and then returned to its owner. A screen popped up from its back, which Techna read while mumbling something. Then she picked up a random rock and had the machine analyse it too. "Well, this is new. According to the scanner, the monolith doesn't exist".
"Are you sure it isn't broken?" Musa asked.
"Completely. Even scanned a random rock to be sure," Techna replied. "The black thing of doom, whatever it is, doesn't exist. Or maybe it's enchanted to be unscannable".
"Alright, that was a bust," one of their classmates said. "Well, let's try blowing it up again. Jerry, check if heating it up will do anything".
"Faragonda has created quite the puzzle," Flora stated. "I suspect that this monolith is not just some enchanted piece of rock".
"But then what is it?" Bloom wondered while scratching her head. "Do you think drawing on the dragonflame will help?"
"No. I honestly think that brute force is out of the question," Flora said. "This is a much more cerebral challenge".
"Aisha, do you have any ideas?" Musa asked and turned to the brunette princess, who was watching the whole thing.
"Oh, no, not at all. My classmates seem to know what they're doing," Aisha said.
Musa looked back to their classmates, were Kim was once again trying to topple the monolith with a tidal wave. "Our classmates seem to be stuck in a holding pattern," the black-haired girl snarked.
"Back on Earth, they used to say that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over, while expecting different results each time," Bloom mused.
"In that case, most of our class is completely bonkers," Musa added.
"In any case, I will be returning to the school," Flora said. "Perhaps some research will cast some light over this conundrum".
"I'll come with you. I need a warm bath," Musa said and shuddered.
"Are you staying here?" Bloom asked Aisha.
"No, I'd rather go home. The wind is rather cold today," Aisha noted.
"Why not wear something warmer then?" Flora asked.
"I do not seem to have anything for such an occasion," Aisha admitted. "Something which I will have to correct soon enough".
As the girls left alongside a few of their classmates, they could hear the continued sound of the classmates that stayed behind battering the uncaring and unchanging surface of the black monolith.
...
A fair bit of distance away, at the military academy of Red Fountain, Sky looked out the window of the trailer he currently lived in. In the distance, the noise of construction equipment and machinery could be heard. The school was almost completely rebuilt, with facilities like the hangar and the kitchen already working. What hadn't been finished yet was what Saladin considered minor things, like the barracks for example. So all the students who weren't fortunate enough to have had their part of the barracks spared had to live in trailers that had been parked outside the school. This included Sky and his team.
The blond prince sighed and stared at his phone.
"Is that thing glued to your hand or what?" Riven asked. He and Timmy were currently playing a card game by the small kitchen table.
"I just don't get it. Why hasn't Bloom called back yet?" Sky pondered.
"Maybe, and this might sound incredible, she went out but forgot her phone in her room," Brandon suggested as he looked up from the newspaper. "Or maybe she's in class and can't take it".
"But it's getting late," Sky insisted.
"Techna hasn't responded to my attempts to chat with her either, but you don't see me get all unravelled over it," Timmy said as he put a card down. "Give it time, Sky. She'll call you once she's ready".
"Maybe she's just nervous because she wants to tell Sky that she's really not the princess of Domino, but instead she's been the princess' squire in disguise all along," Riven joked.
"Nah, that would be stupid," Timmy replied while drawing a card, while the Eraklian prince and squire both rolled their eyes.
...
The next day, an air of frustration hung over the class. The weather had improved a bit, with no rain and way less wind. But most students didn't care, their attentions grabbed by the enormous black hunk of rock that they had been ordered to annihilate. And now, it seemed like they wouldn't even be able to manage to chip a single piece of it off before class was over. Many of the students had given up, sitting down to wait for the time to run out. Others kept pelting the rock until they ran themselves ragged and tired and were forced to lie down by concerned classmates. Others had formed study groups, looking up various minerals, rock types, artefacts and the like, hoping to run across a set of instructions for how to topple imposing black monoliths.
"I'm starting to suspect that not being able to break it is somehow part of the point," Bloom speculated.
"Either that, or somebody screwed up and accidentally assigned us a final exam level task or something," Musa grumbled.
"Well, it ain't because it's immune to magic or anything," Techna said. "I tried with some regular explosives and they didn't work either".
"And now your eyebrows are missing," Bloom commented.
"Eh, they'll grow back," Techna replied while dusting some soot out of her hair.
"Well, the time is almost up. I look forward to having Faragonda reveal what we did wrong," Flora noted while watching her watch.
"Well, what do you think about the whole thing?" Bloom asked as she turned to Aisha.
"That I would never allow that thing in my garden," Aisha stated. "I don't care how indestructible it is, it would clash horribly with the flowers".
"As always, she's prioritising the important things in life," Musa sarcastically muttered.
Suddenly, murmurs spread amongst the students and the girls turned to look. Professor Avalon had suddenly appeared. Resolutely, paying no mind to the students, he marched to the river's edge. He pointed at the monolith, a look of intense concentration on his face. And then, rather suddenly, the black stone crumbled into dust. The paladin turned to the shocked students and asked: "Any questions?"
"Uh, yeah," Techna said. "I'd like to start with what? And then swiftly move on to the fuck?"
"Anyone have an actual question?" Avalon asked, scanning the students. "Jenny".
"Yes. What did you just do?" one fairy asked.
"I unravelled the enchantment with a counter spell," Avalon replied. "I see you're confused. Let me explain. What you took for a stone was actually an enchantment given a resemblance of a physical form. Despite this, it was still purely magical energy".
"That explains your readings, or rather, lack thereof," Flora said quietly to Techna.
"You're probably pondering what the point of all this was," Avalon continued. "To be honest, we never expected you to succeed. It would have been quite an accomplishment. No, this was a demonstration. As you may all have noticed, hurling your respective knacks at the monolith did not help. But I could destroy it with a simple spell. This will be the core of this year's spellcasting training. We will focus on general spells and metamagic. Respectively, the art of causing effects not linked to knacks and the art of affecting magic with magic. Now, I have trained in counterspells for years, so I made it seem easy. Even if you had known the stone's true nature and known what sort of counterspell to use, I doubt you could have broken Faragonda's magic. Now then, I think that covers the basics. Any more questions? Yes, Musa".
"Okay, fair enough with the demonstration, but why put us through this?" Musa asked. "Couldn't you just have said what you just said without the indestructible stone of annoyance?"
"Experience shows that people grow attached to their knacks," the paladin started. "They rely on them. Easy to understand why. Knacks are easy and come natural. They are a core part of you and you can quickly learn how to utilize all facets of them to create spectacular results. General spells are much harder and relies on training, focus, discipline and lots of hard work. So does metamagic. It is easy for magi to come to the assumption that general spells and metamagic are somehow inferior. This is simply not true. General spells allow you to branch out. All paladins train in several useful general spells. My ability to fly and armour myself instantaneously has nothing to do with my knack. Yes, Kim".
"Does that mean you will be teaching us again?" the fairy asked.
"Yes. Flora, you have a question,"" the paladin said.
"Just out of curiosity, what is you're knack?" Flora asked.
Avalon took a deep breath. Not as if he was ashamed of what he was about to say, but because he was well aware of what the reaction would be. He took a deep breath and said with as much dignity he could muster: "Bubbles".
To the faeries' credit, they managed to last eight seconds before widespread laughter broke out. Avalon weathered it with his usual stoicism.
Afterwards, the students began returning to Alfea, but Avalon caught up with Bloom as the redhead began the trek back.
"May I have a moment of your time?" the paladin requested.
"Sure. What is it, professor?" Bloom said.
"Headmistress Faragonda has requested that I assist you in learning about, amongst other things, the politics of the multiverse that will no doubt affect your life as princess and queen," Avalon explained. "So if you're interested, come to my office this evening and we'll talk about how to arrange your royal studies in a non-intrusive way".
"I'd like that. I've heard snippets from the others, but getting a comprehensive overview is probably for the best," Bloom said.
"Most excellent. You have a good day now," the paladin replied.
...
That evening, under the cover of darkness, a determined Sky raced to Alfea on his aircycle, followed by Brandon who was at risk of wearing out his eyes from almost constantly rolling them. They parked not far from the school, were after Sky began using every single one of his stealth techniques to jump from shadow to shadow in order to approach the school.
Brandon just casually followed, shaking his head. "Remind me again how you came to this conclusion?" the squire finally inquired, as the two of the approached the open grounds behind the school
"Bloom hasn't called me back yet. And with all that's been going on, I need to ensure there's nothing wrong," Sky said as they made their way across the grounds. "That tree will be perfect". He athletically made his way up the plant, nimbly leaping from branch to branch.
"Did you ever think about perhaps coming over here in daytime and just asking her how things are going?" Brandon asked.
"If something is wrong, it might be best if I find out without anyone knowing," Sky replied. "Besides, if I ask her and nothing is wrong, I'll end up looking silly and stupid in front of her again".
"As opposed to looking silly and stupid in front of me," Brandon muttered, while the blond prince used binoculars to scout the school windows.
Meanwhile, inside the school itself, Avalon opened the door to his office and let Bloom in. The office was small and decorated with an eye towards being utilitarian, with everything but a desk for various pictures and such being of some practical use.
"Alright then, before we begin scheduling any additional meetings, I have a question for you," Avalon started. "You will be a queen, that is, you will be a leader. But what is a leader?"
"One who leads?" Bloom guessed, before mentally slapping herself for giving what had to be the dumbest possible reply.
"Correct. Now, what does that concept mean to you, Bloom?" Avalon asked. "What does it mean to lead? How should one lead?"
"I haven't really thought that much about it," Bloom admitted. "But I guess... I guess it means looking out for those you lead and trying to make decisions that benefit and help them".
"An excellent answer," Avalon approvingly replied. "But to become such a leader, you must be careful. You must be calm and rational, and capable of sorting facts while weighing options. You must know when to act and when to hold back. A people is a dangerously unbalanced entity, Bloom. If you want to be a good leader, expect a lot of hard work".
"You mean unlike the whole Underland thing," the redhead muttered.
"I did not wish to bring it up, but yes, such recklessness is dangerous in leaders," Avalon said. "Do not get the impression that a good leader is flawless. But you have to learn to take a deep breath and examine how to achieve a given objective".
"Alright. I'll try to do that then," Bloom said with determination.
Meanwhile, Sky still sat in a tree and loudly pondered: "Why is she hanging out with that teacher? Classes stopped hours ago".
"Look, I know Red Fountain runs a pretty tight ship, but other schools can be pretty flexible with their schedules," Brandon said.
"But then why is Bloom hanging out with that teacher all alone?" Sky asked.
"Maybe she's concerned about some homework. Maybe she failed a test and they're discussing what went wrong," Brandon guessed. "Or maybe, and hold on to your princely hair here, maybe you could frickin' ask her".
"But she hasn't called me back," Sky replied.
"And that's why you could, I don't know, maybe just visit her," Brandon suggested, starting to get a bit annoyed..
"But we aren't really dating or hanging that much at the moment. It would seem weird," Sky argued,
"How does it feel to be soaking in so much irony?" Brandon asked. "You're infiltrating the school at night in order to spy on the girl you've got a crush on, because she hasn't responded to your phone calls, because you want to ask her on a date and has gotten super paranoid. That isn't merely weird. That's super weird. And that makes you a super weirdo".
"Look, I'm just looking out for her..." Sky started, but was interrupted by a loud crack, as his weight finally beat the load bearing capacity of his chosen branch. His next word was a drawn out: "SHIT!" as he plummeted to the grass, followed by a broken: "Medic".
Brandon sighed and went to assist his fallen prince with a: "Just for the record, I do not feel sorry for you".