Chapter 4
Stella, Aisha and Tecna all slowly flew towards their destination.
"This is the place," Tecna announced as the stared at the mansion, towering before them.
The decrepit buildings walls held cracks while vines draped from one end of the building to the other, it looked as if they were the ones pulling the stone walls to pieces.
Stella swallowed the building saliva in her mouth.
"I don't like the look of this place." Stella commented.
"Well we have to check it out, so come on," Aisha announced waving them forwards and through the two front wooden doors.
Inside tables and chairs were covered in dust, cobwebs streamed between the stair banisters on their right and left, statues before them crumbled, some missing their heads.
Each step they could hear the boards they were stepping on creaking. The sound of something collapsing from somewhere caused the girls to jump from the sound suddenly before moving over to find its cause. One of the doors had partially fallen off of the hinges. Tecna placed her left hand on the door cautiously but as soon as her fingers touched it, the door fell to a heap on the ground. The three girls coughed from the amount of dust that flew up from the impact. When they could finally see into the room they all noticed that it was some type of study.
As the girls slowly entered the room they could see the shadows of trees from outside saying from the small amount of wind through the single window and holes in the wall, sending a shiver up the girl's spines. Each girl slowly entered the study and went to different parts of the room. As Stella picked up a book off of one of the shelves she could feel something tickling her shoulder, causing the hair on the back of her neck, to stand on end. Her eyes widened in surprise before she dared to turn her head to investigate the cause.
Stella turned to her left to see Tecna reading one of the books in the room. She slowly turned to look over her right shoulder to see that Aisha checking a book herself. As she started to turn back to the book that she was reading the tickling feeling started to move across her back from her right shoulder to her left.
"Um girls have either of you seen anything moving in this room?" Stella asked as she stood still.
"No Stella," Tecna said without looking up from the book that she was reading.
"Are you sure?" Stella asked again with some fear in her voice.
"Yes Stella." Aisha said without looking at her friend.
When Stella felt something tickling the left side of her neck she turned to see a small creature with glowing orange eyes. As she looked at the orange eyes, a pair of small glowing red eyes opened up below the first two eyes. Stella started to open her mouth when the strength in her legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor with two loud thuds.
Tecna and Aisha quickly turned to see what caused the sounds and saw that Stella was laying on the floor. Tecna was the first to arrive and dropped down to the ground to begin to examine her friend. She was breathing but unconscious. A few moments later Aisha arrived next to Tecna and looked at her blonde haired friend on the floor.
"Is she alright Tecna?" Aisha asked as she placed a hand on Tecna's shoulder.
"She should be." Tecna answered as she looked up at Aisha.
At that moment Stella began to move and slowly open her eyes. After Stella had opened her eyes fully Tecna could see that they were glazed over and told her friend to stop moving.
"What happened, Stella?" Tecna asked.
"Something was crawling on me." Stella said as she shook her head slightly.
"What do you mean?" Aisha asked.
"I had felt something touch my right shoulder," Stella explained, "The thing what ever it was moved along my back to my left shoulder. It then tickled my neck. When I looked at it I could see a pair of orange eyes before a pair of red eyes opened. That's when I felt my legs give out."
Tecna and Aisha looked around the room after Stella had finished and saw nothing in the room. Tecna pulled out a small personal computer and began to scan for any life forms in the room with them. When the scan was finished Tecna looked back at Stella.
"There's nothing here Stella." Tecna replied as she put her computer away.
"Since there's nothing here can we leave?" Stella asked as she stood up.
The other two girls nodded their heads and all three of them made their way out of the mansion. They flew off in the direction that the others had gone but Aisha turned when they reached the half way point. The fires could be seen from where they were flying and she had to go and help put them out.
A few moments later Aisha arrived at the city and saw that there were still massive fires everywhere. She used her fairy dust to put out the largest flames in the forest that she could see. After asking a person named Jerome where she could find the Specialists. After the fires where at a point that the rest of the people there could handle Aisha told the guys that she was heading to where Bloom and the others had gone.
They all took off toward the other building that they knew was where the person that they were look for was at. As Aisha flew along the path something caught her attention out of the corner of her eyes. When she turned to look she thought that she saw someone that looked like Flora but just shook her head and continued on.
They all arrived at the other building to find Stella and Tecna on the ground near two other people. Aisha and the Specialists rushed over to see that it was Musa and Bloom laying on the ground breathing but unconscious.
"Bloom!" Sky yelled out as he ran toward where Stella was.
"Musa!" Riven screamed as he ran toward the area near Tecna.
"Are they going to be ok?" Timmy asked as he walked up to the others.
"They should be," Tecna answered, "They just seem to have been hit with a strong attack."
"Um, where is Flora?" Helia asked as he looked around the area.
"I think that she might still be inside." Stella said as she turned to look at Helia.
Helia and Brandon quickly rushed toward the building and leaned up against the outside wall. They both slowly crept to one of the holes to look inside and saw a person laying on the ground with a robe covering his head. They both slowly entered through the hole and moved their way over to the person laying on the ground. Brandon leaned down and lifted the top of the robe to reveal the missing person from Alfea.
"What happened here?" Brandon asked before he noticed Helia taking off running in the direction that they had just come from.
When he had finished turning his gaze in the same direction Brandon noticed Flora chained to a wall limp. Helia turned to look at Brandon with a worried face. Brandon moved over and checked to see if there was anything wrong with the nature fairy. After a few moments he nodded to Helia and they both picked the locks of the chains that were holding Flora up.
After they had released her from the chains Helia caught Flora before she could fall to the ground. He carefully placed her down on the ground before looking out the hole to see that Bloom and Musa had started to move. Brandon placed a hand on his friends shoulder before he exited back out to where the others were.
"What happened?" Sky asked.
"The person that we were searching for cast a spell," Musa replied, "When he was finished a massive light just started to glow and then the next thing I know is waking up with all of you."
"Where's Flora?" Bloom asked.
"She's inside." Brandon said, "Me and Helia found her chained to a wall. We also found Palladium."
"How are they?" Stella asked.
"Not good." Brandon answered.
Stella and Sky helped Bloom up off of the ground while Riven and Timmy helped Musa up. With help everyone made their way inside the building to see Palladium laying on the ground. Tecna and Timmy began to make their way over to their teacher but were stopped by Brandon.
"He's already gone." Brandon said.
Everyone made their way over to where Flora and Helia were still at before dropping down to the ground near them. He just shook his head before anyone could ask anything. The girls could see that she was breathing but as they looked they could see that her eyes were rapidly moving. After about an hour Flora began to slowly open her eyes.
"Flora!" Bloom yelled when she noticed.
"Please don't yell Bloom." Flora said groggily.
"Sorry." Bloom replied, "What happened?"
"I was able to open my eyes slightly when that light was still so bright," Flora answered, "I saw both of you get hit by attacks and then everything blacked out."
Flora sat up as she started to look around the room, when she noticed the person that was wearing the robe she tried to move towards him. Helia stopped her by wrapping his arms around her.
"Why are we just sitting here when the person that was attacking my home is right there?" Flora yelled as she tried to get away from Helia.
"He's dead already." Aisha said as she placed a hand on Flora's shoulder.
Flora looked up and saw that there was sadness in Aisha's face; she turned to see the same sadness in each of the other faces around her.
"Who is he?" Flora asked.
"Palladium." Riven answered as he stood near one of the walls.
"No!" Flora exclaimed as she finally broke free from Helia.
Flora quickly moved over to where Palladium laid. She turned to look at the others before a gust of wind caused his hair to move revealing that his throat had been crushed. The guys walked over and dug a small hole in the ground before slowly placing the once teacher into it.
It took the group about another hour to reach the city. As they were walking down one of the streets Flora saw Tethys. She called out to her and when she saw her friend drop down to the ground she and the others ran as fast as they could over to her friend.
"How…How could you?" Tethys asked with a shaky voice as the group neared.
"How could I what?" Flora asked as she slowly moved a hand out and placed it on her friends shoulder.
"How could you kill Jerome?" Tethys asked as she turned to look at Flora with pure hatred in her eyes.
"Jerome's dead!" Flora yelled as she took a step back from her friend, "What happened?"
"You should know!" Tethys yelled, "You're the one that killed him with his own sword."
"Flora could not have hurt anyone." Helia said as he walked over to the young woman who was still shedding tears.
"You would defend her," Tethys said with venom in her voice as she turned to look at Helia, "She is your girlfriend."
"But we just got back from the dark forest." Bloom stated.
Tethys looked down at the ground and everyone could see the tears dropping to the ground below her.
"Flora we have been friends since we were young," Tethys said without looking up, "But our friendship is over." Tethys turned her face to look at Flora, "I never want to see you again."
Those last words broke Flora's heart in two. She and Tethys had been friends since they were young, nothing had ever driven them apart, and now she was loosing them. First Jerome and now her. Helia stepped forwards, hoping to offer some kind of comfort but the words never came. Tears flowed free from her eyes as her shoulders shivered and her breathing hitched.
"Flora," Helia finally spoke but it was too late, she already took off down the street away from them.
Helia began to chase after Flora but was stopped by Bloom placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned around and she could see the sadness in his face.
"She needs to be alone for the moment," Bloom said as she looked at Helia.
"No!" Helia yelled with anger in his voice, "She needs me now more then ever."
"Helia we need to figure out what happened." Aisha said as she tried to reason with Helia.
"You can all go and figure out what happened," Helia said as he turned away from the group.
Before anyone else could say anything else he took off running in the same direction as Flora. After Helia turned a corner everyone else turned to look at Tethys.
"Where did this happen?" Musa asked looking at Tethys.
"Just go that way," Tethys said with venom in her voice as she pointed down the street, "You'll see what your friend did."
Everyone left the broken fairy where she was and made their way down the street in the direction that they were told to go. When they arrived at a house down the street they all noticed that the front door was wide open. When they slowly entered the door they could see the doctor still up against the wall where his head had been smashed.
As they all entered the bedroom and saw Jerome laying there with his sword sticking through his chest, Stella dropped to the ground with a squeal.
"How could anyone do this?" Musa asked as she looked at the body in front of her.
"Let alone Flora," Bloom said as she looked around the room, "She would never hurt anyone."
Tecna walked over near the bed and pulled out her personal computer. The small little ladybug flew out and began to scan the body and sword after it had finished the small ladybug landed back in the docking port of the computer and a few moments later she looked at the others with a shocked look on her face.
"Is everything okay Tecna?" Timmy asked with a worried voice.
Tecna just shook her head before handing the computer to Timmy. After he looked at the screen everyone else could tell that something was wrong.
"What is it Timmy?" Sky asked.
"Flora's fingerprints are on the sword." Tecna answered for Timmy.
"What are you talking about?" Aisha asked as she looked at the two people near the bed.
"With this evidence Tethys is right about Flora." Timmy said sadly.
"What the hell is wrong with you, how can you say that?" Aisha yelled with anger in her voice, "Flora's innocent and you know it!"
"I'm sorry Aisha but maybe we should look at this objectively," Bloom said as she looked at her friend, "All the evidence points to her being guilty." A few tears started to escape from Bloom's eyes, "Let's go and find Flora."
Everyone left the home and took off in the direction that Helia and Flora had gone. When they neared the edge of town they could see Helia sitting under a tree with Flora near by. She had her head buried into her legs as she wrapped them with her arms. Aisha and Musa were the first two to approach and could hear Flora crying.
"Helia I'm scared." Flora said without looking up, "What if I did kill Jerome?"
"Why would you say that?" Helia asked with a shocked voice.
"I mean, I don't remember anything after Bloom and Musa were attacked, it's all a blur." Flora said with sadness in her voice, "Maybe I did go and see him and I killed him."
"Flora you and I both know that you would never do anything like that." Helia said as he wrapped his arms around Flora.
As Aisha and Musa neared their friends Helia turned to look at them. He nodded when he saw the rest of the group behind them and they all approached the two people sitting on the ground.
"Flora I am not sure how to tell you this but everything points to you killing Jerome." Tecna said.
When she heard this Flora curled her arms around her legs tighter then they were.
"How could you say that?" Helia yelled as he looked at Tecna.
"I still don't think it was Flora." Aisha said as she sat down next to her friends.
"Why do you say that?" Nabu asked.
"I don't know," Aisha answered, "It's just something in my heart that is telling me that she did not do it."
"Well either way I think we should try and sort this out tomorrow, it's been a long day. How about we crash at Flora's place for the night and think about this in the morning with fresh eyes," Musa suggested.
With Helia's help Flora and the others made their way through the small city to Flora's home. When they entered the door a small girl welcomed them with a smile on her face. She looked up at Flora with her jade colored eyes and could see the sadness in her face.
"Is everything okay?" Miele asked after everyone entered into the house.
"It's been a rough day for us all," Riven answered as he gave a small smile.
"Okay," Miele said, "I was going to go and see Jerome and Tethys tomorrow to see how they were doing." Miele could see a shocked face appear on Flora's face.
"I don't think that would be a good idea," Flora said as she looked at the ground.
"Why not?" Miele asked.
"He was not feeling that good when I saw him earlier today." Flora answered.
"Why not tell her the truth?" A voice asked from outside the house.
Everyone turned to see Tethys standing outside with police standing behind her.
"Why don't you tell her that you killed Jerome?" Tethys asked with anger in her voice.
"Flora you are under arrest for the murder of Jerome." One of the police men said as he started to walk into the house.
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