The plan was made. Tecna would transport them to Andros using her dimensial passage creator and they would return to Alfea Saturday morning. Stella would stay behind to cover for them while also trying to find a way to get rid of Countess Cassandra. Bloom wanted to stay on Andros until Sunday evening but that would have been too suspicious.
Samara was nervous and highly doubting the whole idea but Layla seemed to get more and more high spirited the closer Friday came. And out of nowhere it was there.
"And don't forget to work in teams to discover your own bad habits." Professor Dufour said as the class began to pack up. "It is very important for a fairy to work on yourself, improve your powers but also your personality!"
"This will be easy for you Bloom, I don't have any bad habits!" Stella said as they walked into the corridor.
"Yeah, I'm writing that one down…" Bloom said as she marked her paper with a frown.
The red haired fairy looked around and when no one else was close she whispered.
"Let's get going right away."
"No we should go to dinner, let the teachers see us there." Tecna said.
"I should talk to Palladium, if he doesn't hear from me for a long time he might get suspicious." Samara said.
They went down to the dining hall, which was already crowded. Lots of girls were discussing their plans over the weekend. Samara walked to side as she spotted Palladium sitting alone.
"Not joining the other teachers?" She asked as she sat down opposite from him.
"I'd rather spend some time with you." He said with a warming smile.
He offered her some chicken and rice which she gladly accepted.
"Now tell me, how was your first week of classes?"
"Pretty tough to be honest."
Palladium laughed. "Yes senior year is no walk in the park I'm afraid."
They ate in silence for a while.
"We could take a walk through the forest this evening."
Samara swallowed her rice a bit too fast.
"Ahum…I'm sorry buy I already have plans." "The girls and me are heading to a party."
"Oh that sounds fun, it is good to rewind after a hectic week."
Palladiums honest enthusiasm to Samara's lie made her stomach churn.
"Yeah some kind of concert, we want to distract Layla as much as we can."
"Yes it is horrible what is happening on Andros."
A dark look spread over the elf's face.
"Do you know anything about that Valtor Layla mentioned?"
Amber colored eyes shot towards green ones.
"I heard stories, he is a dark wizard and bad news that's for sure."
Samara was taken aback by the serious tone of his voice.
"We better hope he will be defeated soon." "Just promise that you and the Winx will not get caught into this."
"What do you mean?" Samara squeeked, trying to keep her voice steady.
"I know you, promise me that you stay away from all this."
Samara stared at Palladium's face for a second, seeing no way out of this but to lie.
"I…I promise."
"Good…" Palladium sighed. "I'm sorry but I can't stand the idea of losing you, not after everything we already had to deal with."
Samara took a large gulp of her juice, franticly searching for another subject. But she didn't need to as Palladium started to talk again.
"Are you going to Eraklion next weekend?"
The question was asked with caution. The fairy sighed deeply.
"I feel like I have to." She said, relieved that she didn't have to lie anymore. "If I want to become the guardian fairy of Eraklion and reconnect my people with magic, they have to know me first."
Palladium nodded approvingly as he resumed his dinner.
"Will you come with me?"
The scoop of rice that the elf wanted to put in his mouth fell back onto the plate.
"You want me to join you?"
"You don't have to if you don't want to!"
"No no, I would be honored, just what…how would your parents react?"
Samara sighed. "I don't know, but I am tired of hiding." "I love you and the whole world can know about it."
She reached out and took Palladiums hand in hers. The elf smiled and squeezed slightly.
Out of the corner of her eyes Samara spotted Musa, who gestured for her to come.
"I should go, I need to change before we leave."
"Have fun, how about taking our stroll tomorrow evening then?"
"It's a date."
She leaned towards him and gave him a quick kiss. Palladium watched her leave the hall with her friends and frowned. Something was off with her, but if she wouldn't tell it herself he just had to wait until she was ready. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of giggeling near him. He looked to the left to see a group of second years staring at him. He recognised one of them as Edith.
"Anything I can help you with ladies?" He asked loudly.
They jumped.
"Uh no professor we're good." One of them said.
The other girls started to laugh again as they quickly left. Palladium sighed as he stood up and slowly made his way towards his room, trying to ignore all the other whispers around him.