Chapter 03
Mirta now sits in Faragonda's office. With both the headmistress and Ms. Griselda present. The poor fairy was called up in the middle of class. Many of her classmates oohed at the thought that the witch was getting in trouble.
Griselda is the first to break the silence. "Do you understand why you're hear, Ms. Mirta?"
"I-I think so," she admits. "It's about the troll, isn't it?"
That is when Faragonda decided to speak up, "That is part of the reason. I want to know exactly what happened involving, young Drake."
"He saved me. What else is there to know?"
The head of discipline snaps at the fairy, "You know exactly what we are talking about!"
"I-I, uh…"
Faragonda turns to her fellow teacher to tell her, "That will be all, Griselda," then turns back to the student. "Now, Mirta, all I need to know is whether or not you told anyone."
The Fairy of Illusion shook her head. "No one. The only one's aware of the full story is Knut and Drake."
The headmistress sighs as she stands to walk over to the window and watches the various students and instructors walking about. "I don't like encouraging my students to lie or keep secrets. But Drake is a very special case given his condition," the older woman turns back to her student. "He was brought here in hopes of finding a cure. It was agreed that no one must know about what he is going through for his entire stay at Alfea. Other than the one's within this room that knows of his condition are Knut, Palladium, and Wizgiz, along with select few from Red Fountain. And now I must ask you not to speak of this to anyone. Not even your friends. Do you understand, Mirta?"
"Yes, Ms. Faragonda," the fairy hangs her head low, but it shoots right back up at Griselda's next words.
"You also must stay clear of that boy!"
Faragonda nods her head slowly, "I don't like the idea either, but I must agree with Griselda. Part of the idea of the boy being here is to keep a low profile and you being in his company is likely to attract more attention. Like what he received in the cafeteria yesterday."
"I-I…" Mirta tried to come up with an argument, but she is forced to concede wit the demands. "I understand."
"Thank you, Mirta. You may be dismissed."
With that the fairy returns to her class.
Griselda sighs, "I guess that's one problem down. However, there is another one."
Faragonda turns to her longtime friend, "What do you mean?"
"Knut has reported that he misplaced his key. I had to lend him the spare."
The headmistress thought for a moment before telling her. "I'm sure that it will turn up eventually, Griselda. He probably left it in his other pants again."
.oOo.
During study period, Mirta hides in the corner of the school's library as she examines the key. Taking a deep breath, the fairy pulls out her phone to call up her best friend.
"Hey, Lucy," she whispers.
"Mirta?" a voice from the other end answers. "Are the other fairies picking on you again?"
"No! I mean, no more than usual. I need to ask you something. You see, there's this boy—"
The fairy gets caught off by her friend. "Stop right there! I am the last person you should ask for dating advice."
"It's not like that!" the fairy unknowingly shouts. She receives a harsh shush from the librarian. "Sorry," Mirta sheepishly smiles before returning to a whisper. "I am just curious about something, and I need advice on being wicked. Just this one time," the former witch examines the key again.
"Returning to the dark side I see," Lucy's laughter can be heard. "Tell me what you've got to work with, and I'll tell you how to use them."
.oOo.
Just as planned, right after midnight, the Fairy of Illusions managed to creep across Alfea and to the door where Drake should be. Mirta had a few close calls, one of which involved Griselda herself. Luckily, invisibility is one of her talents. So far, everything has gone just as planned. She needs to remember to thank Lucy later.
Mirta now stands in front of the large door wearing her red tee and black pajama bottoms. She examines the key one last time before taking a deep breath and unlocking the door. Runes suddenly appear across it and vanish just as fast before opening.
The young fairy cautiously tip toes through the opening. As soon as she was all the way in though, the door slams shut. Turning around, Mirta tries to open it only to find that it lacks a way to do so from this end. That is when she heard it. A low growl reaches the poor girl's ears from behind.
Mirta slowly turns around. Right on the other side of the room is a large dragon, silver in color. It growls at the fairy as it rises from its resting place to approach her. She immediately turns back to the door and starts banging on it. "Help! Someone, help!" the poor girl freezes as she feels the dragon's hot breath. The illusion fairy once again turns to face the dragon. Seeing how close it is, she backs up against the door. Somehow, hoping that the door would magically open.
Never has Mirta thought that she would be this close to a dragon. Head nearly as big as her and teeth as long as her fingers. She knows that you are not supposed to do it, but the poor fairy finds herself staring straight into its piercing yellow snake-like slit eyes. She barely notices that its ears are folded back enforcing what the fairy knew, this dragon is angry.
As the dragon opens its maw, Mirta tightens her eyes and finds herself doing what she usually does when she gets frightened. The fairy starts singing. After a single verse, the girl realizes that nothing is happening. Cracking an eye open, instead of an angry beast, she is meet with a sight that can only be described as adorable. The dragon's head is tilted to the side, its ears are now pointed up, and the slits in its eyes have widen. The behavior is more like a curious cat. The Dragon uses its snout to nudge her middle, as if it was telling Mirta to continue. Unsure what else to do, the fairy continues the song. At one point, she gained the courage to start petting the dragon upon its snout. As this was done, it leans into her touch, closing its eyes, and starts purring.
Mirta smiles, wondering how was she afraid of this thing. The fairy glances up and for the first time, notices a rough scar over the dragon's right eye. "Drake?" she spoke. At the sound of that name the dragon's eyes shot open and it backs away from her. "Drake, is that you?" the girl approaches the dragon.
The dragon turns his head away from Mirta as if afraid to confirm it. Suddenly, the dragon opens its maw and faster than what the fairy can register moves at the fairy. She lets out a scream before realizing that the maw has not closed around her. The dragon has grabbed her by the back of her tee instead. He lifts her off the ground and strides back over to the side of the room he was lying down at. The dragon turns in circles a few times before setting Mirta down while wrapping its body around the girl. He finishes by setting his head on her lap.
Mirta has no idea what to make of her situation. Many questions go through her mind. The fairy is brought out of her trance by a nudge to her middle. The girl looks down and finds the dragon's big eyes staring into hers in a pleading manner. She lets out a soft giggle before resuming her song.
She is unsure how much time has passed, but the dragon finally fell asleep. Mirta then lets out a sigh as she realizes that she is stuck. Even if the door was not locked, the dragon's head is too heavy for her to move; not that she wants to risk waking him. The fairy is going to be in so much trouble in the morning. Mirta has no choice but to accept her fate and leans back a bit. The dragon's hide is surprisingly comfortable and after a few moments, she realizes that his heartbeat can be heard. There was something calming about it. Soon, the young girl to was in dreamland.
.oOo.
Faragonda was pouring herself a cup of tea, only to end up spilling it all over her desk when Knut barges through her office doors.
"Ms. Faragonda!" the ogre runs up to her desk.
The headmistress sighs and asks, "What seems to be the problem, Knut?" as she uses a napkin to clean the mess.
"Remember how I misplaced the key?" the ogre reminds her and receives a nod. "Well, I think I found it."
"Ah, so you've come to return the spare?" the woman assumes and holds her hand out.
"Actually, I think there's something you should see."
.oOo.
When Mirta was stirred from her sleep, the first thing she registered was that she is not in her dorm room. The second, there is an arm wrapped over her. She was about to freak out before remembering what happened last night.
The fairy grabs the arm and carefully removes it. She then sits up and faces what was a slumbering dragon when she fell asleep. In the dragon's place is indeed Drake wearing a dark grey tee and black shorts. This confirms Mirta's suspicions.
Not knowing what came over her, the Illusion Fairy leans over him and runs a hand through his hair. This stirs him. Drake's eyes crack open, and the corner of his mouth turns up slightly as he mumbles "Pumpkin Girl," he closes his eyes as if intending to go back to sleep. They shoot back open as he realizes what is going on and quickly sits up without thinking. This causes his forehead to meet Mirta's. Both shout "Ouch!" and rub their heads. The boy looks over to the fairy, "Mirta!? What are you doing here?"
Before the young fairy could answer, the door finally opens. Standing there in the entrance is Faragonda with her brows raised, Griselda with a stern glare, and a worried Knut.
Drake looks at them, then at Mirta, and then back over at them. "I swear I have no idea what's going on!"
.oOo.
The two teens now stand in Faragonda's office. Mirta in her usual attire, and Drake back in his jumpsuit. In the office with them is Faragonda, Griselda, and Knut.
Faragonda tells them, "I am very disappointed. Especially in you, Mirta. I'm curious as to how you got into Drake's room."
Griselda nods. "That's exactly what I want to know."
Mirta refused to meet anyone's eyes. Especially Drake. She reaches into her pocket to reveal the key and sets it on the desk.
The head of discipline slams a hand on the desk. "You stole from a faculty member!"
"Technically no!" she twiddles her thumbs a bit. "I actually found it. In front of his room."
"You expect us to believe that?"
"It's true. I saw Knut locking Drake up. He put the key away, but it must have fallen out. I think there might be a hole in his pocket."
The ogre reaches into his pockets and pulls them inside out. Finding the assumed hole. "Would you look at that."
Faragonda turns back to the girl. "Then why did you not return it?"
The young fairy shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I was just curious. There's this guy who seems like one of the nicest people and here he is with all these harsh restrictions. And when something goes wrong and he's involved, Griselda just assumes that he must be at fault," she looks down at her boots. "I know that it's no excuse and I'm sorry. I'll accept whatever punishment. Just please don't kick Drake out of the school. He really didn't do anything wrong."
The boy just stares at the fairy, not believing that she's sticking up for him.
The headmistress leans on her desk, thinking exactly how to play this. "Before I make my final decision, I have one last question," Faragonda address Mirta. "How are you unharmed? Whenever Drake had shifted before, he lashed out at everything in sight."
Mirta thought for a moment, but she could not come up with a proper answer. So, she tells them what she knows. "I'm not sure. I walked in Drake's room there as a dragon. At first, all I saw in his eyes were pure hatred. Not too different from what I've seen in the Trix. Then, he was calm. After that, he insisted I stay."
"As Drake or the dragon?"
The fairy turns to the boy. "The dragon, I guess. But they're the same. Aren't they?"
"We are still trying to figure that out ourselves," Faragonda admits.
"Am, am I expelled?" Mirta swallowed. She loves this school and the thought of leaving scares her.
Before the headmistress answered, Griselda speaks to Drake, "Perhaps you should take your medication?"
Scales are becoming visible on his face, and he quickly takes a dose of the liquid. He looks at the bottle and glances up at the two women. "I'll need to get some more from Palladium."
Faragonda was the only one to notice that the young man was clutching his fists just as he started to shift. She gives him a nod. "I'll let him know," then she turns back to the young fairy. "You are not expelled, Mirta. However! You are in some serious trouble, young lady. You've snuck out after curfew and stolen from a school faculty member. You have shown me that you have no respect and lack responsibility to properly use magic," she raises her hands, a green light leaves her body, and envelopes Mirta. "I hereby strip you of your magic until is see fit that you've earned it back."
The young fairy wraps her arms around herself. She has never been without magic before. Without it, the girl feels so exposed.
This time Griselda speaks up. "To add to your punishment. Starting this evening, you will be assisting Knut with his custodian duties. Have I made myself clear?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Mirta answers as she tightens her self hug. Then, Drake puts a hand on her shoulder causing the girl to look at him with a small smile and she loosens her hug.
Faragonda tells them, "If you wish to know more about Drake's condition, I'll leave that up to him to decide whether or not to tell you. You are dismissed." And the teens leave the office along with Knut.
Griselda turns to her friend, "I understand not expelling, Ms. Mirta given that this is a first offence. But why let that boy stay? He could have seriously harmed that poor girl."
"But he didn't. In truth, Drake has done absolutely nothing wrong since he arrived. He may push his limits at times, but he means no harm."
It was at that moment her office doors open and in walks Barbatea the librarian pushing a cart full of books. "I've brought everything we have on dragons, Ms. Faragonda."
"Thank you, Barbatea. That'll be all," the headmistress tells her and the librarian leaves. Faragonda looks over the cart and sighs, "There's a lot of reading to do," waves a hand and brings one of the books to herself and Griselda does the same.
.oOo.
Mirta finds herself being escorted to her next class by Drake and Knut.
Drake sighs, "Sorry I got you in trouble."
The fairy turns to him. "Don't be. Everything that happened was my own doing."
"Yeah! But if I wasn't here, then you would not have done anything."
"Maybe. It doesn't change the fact that you did not force me to do anything. However," the fairy pauses for a moment. "If you feel so bad, then maybe you can make it up to me by telling me exactly what's going on?"
The boy thought for a moment, "Sure, but preferably not out in the open."
"I know this wonderful café in Magix," she suggests. "After class, we can go grab a bite to eat, and then go somewhere more private."
"Can't!" Drake tells her causing her to shut up. "I'm not allowed in the city unsupervised and besides, we have a job to do this evening."
The former witch slouches. "That's true."
Seeing both of his friends upset, Knut thought for a moment. "You know, all you need to go to the city is someone that knows about your problem. They also need to carry a spare dose of your medicine."
The teens looked at each other before turning back to the ogre and Drake asks, "What about our job, Big Guy?"
"The way I see it, Little Buddy, I am your boss," he says in a matter-of-factly way. "And as your boss, I say you get the evening off. Now, this is a onetime thing and tomorrow we will be doing double the work," he crosses his arms to try and look serious, but the cracked open eye and the edge of his mouth turned up fails it.
The teens smile at the ogre. The boy turns towards the fairy. "I guess I'll see you this evening?"
Mirta claps her hands again, "It's a date!" she faulters in her steps as the girl realize what she said. "I-I meant that we have a date. No, actually we have a date set. I mean, ooh!" she fumbles over her words. "I'll see you later," the fairy tells him as they finally reached the door to her first class. As she enters, the girl tries using a hand to hide the fact that her face is almost as red as a tomato.
Drake turns to the ogre. "Did I miss something?" in response, Knut only smiles at his buddy and pats him on the back.
.oOo.
Within a holding cell at Red Fountain, sits the troll chained to the wall. A guard passes to check up on it to confirm that it remains there. The guard walks away to reveal a tall man was unknowingly standing behind him stirring a small glass of wine.
This man wears a fine tux with a blue rose in the shirt pocket and covering his face is a silver devil mask with half of it's face melted. "Bout time. Thought he'd never leave," he then walks through the cells barriers and holds the glass towards the troll. "Need a drink?" he receives no answer. "Suit yourself. So, we found it. Problem is, there's no control yet," the man sighs. "As much as I despise the idea, I'll need to wait until it has ripened properly. You've outlived your usefulness. Bye-bye." With a snape of his fingers, the troll vanishes. "Soon, all will be mine."
The guard came back and finds the cell completely empty and shouts "The prisoner has escaped!"