Hidden Truths // Riven

05

"Rest of us?" she remarked. "You're practically royalty a well... but I guess since your father died and you ran away for— "

"You chose how you speak, Stella," I warned. "Otherwise, it's going to get harder to try and date my brother."

Stella scoffed, and I followed her eyes down to my hands. I stepped back and then she said, "I will figure it all out after class, but for now, no one says anything to anyone. And can someone make sure Terra knows that? She can never keep her mouth shut."

Stella opened the door to our room. Inside, Terra was putting on her clothes. She stared at us awkwardly and held a thumbs up.

"Got it," Terra replied.

~

Bloom, Aisha, Musa, Terra, and I walked out of the building, then we followed the others down a trail. Finally arriving at what they called the Stone Circle, we waited for class to begin.

"What's that?" asked Bloom, pointing at the bowl atop a pedestal in the center.

"It's the Vessel," Terra explained, and as always, Terra began to give Bloom a history lesson.

Headmistress Dowling approached the center of the circle as the rest of us gathered in a ring around her. Many were waiting eagerly for the lesson to begin. It seemed like everybody wanted a chance to show off what they could do.

"Magic lives in the very fabric of nature," Dowling began. "And here in our circle of stone, it's magnified. The Vessel tests your ability to channel that magic. Further down the line, you may learn to connect with other elements – similar to Demetrie's power – but your first year is all about the element you were born with."

Dowling began calling the different elements. As she did, each fairy walked up to the Vessel to showcase their magic.

"Earth – soil, sand, rock, and all manner of plant life."

Terra had gone up to the Vessel. She put her hands onto the bowl, and then her eyes turned green. Almost instantly, leafy vines rose from the Vessel, twisting in a circle.

"Water – the lakes and oceans of the world, or the molecules that exist in all organisms around us."

Aisha had stepped up to put her hands on the Vessel. Her eyes glowed a deep blue, and a small whirlpool spun over the bowl.

"The mind – thoughts, memories, dreams."

When Musa touched the Vessel, her eyes turned purple. Then, there was a flash of crimson in the Vessel. Musa seemed to be focused and in the zone, either focusing on everyone or just herself.

"Air – speed, temperature, sound. It's power and electrical properties."

A girl named Beatrix stepped forward. She had this smirk on her face, as though she was the best, but I wasn't too impressed. When her eyes turned grey, however, I became more interested. It was refreshing to see her confidence.

"Now, soon you'll be able to learn the art of each element," said Dowling as I walked up to the Vessel. "Ice – it is a form of the elements water and air. Frost, temperature, snow, hail, and bodies of ice such as glaciers."

I put my hands over the Vessel and closed my eyes. Cold whisps of air had come off my hands and snowflakes began to appear, spinning like a snow globe.

"Whatever your element, the emotions underlying it are the same for all fairies," Dowling continued.

She nodded to Bloom and she stood up. She put her hands onto the Vessel and there was a faint orange-red light in her eyes.

"Open yourself up to the magic of the world around you. Push past your doubts."

There was a moment of complete silence. Not even the trees rustled as the wind blew. Then, I heard a pop of air and saw a spark of fire, but it had gone away soon after.

"Focus on clear, positive feelings."

"How about your parents?" Aisha suggested after nothing happened. "Focus on how much you love them?"

"It's not working," Bloom said, looking at Dowling.

"Stop thinking," she told her. "Magic comes from— "

"Emotions," Bloom finished irritably. "I've been listening. I know what I'm supposed to do."

"This is a disaster," Musa said to me in a quiet voice.

"It's not happening," said Bloom. "Can you please move on?"

I pretended to take notes during Dowling's lesson, but really, I was on my phone, scrolling through social media. I looked through my old classmates' posts and stories. They seemed to be having a fun time despite everything that happened.

"Yeah! Come visit soon, Demi! We miss you!" said one of my old friends in their story.

Moments later, I received a message. I opened it and saw a file was sent to me. I tapped the file, it loaded, and then I saw the pictures. They messaged me again.

"I know what you did."

I felt Musa nudge me, and I looked at her. Her eyes darted from me to the front, and a shadow covered my face. I looked up, staring at Miss Dowling.

"Phone, please," she said, and I gave it up. "Please pay attention, all of you. You must focus and be in touch with... "

"Stop it. You're making it snow," said Musa, her eyes glowing purple. "Oh... you can't stop it."

"Sorry," I muttered, scooting away from her.

~

During lunch, I sat down at an empty table away from the others. As a few people walked by, I could hear them whispering to each other. I just wanted peace.

"Did you hear? That's the daughter of Andreas, the famous war hero during the Burned One's existence," said one girl.

"She's not actually his daughter," said her friend. "He just looked after her since her real father died. She's more of an orphan if anything."

"After years, she shows her face," said another at a different table.

"Can't imagine how Silva must feel," a Specialist said. "They had said she died."

"Real question is why she came back," said Eva as she sat down. "I mean, something must have happened for her to come back here."

My vision was blocked by a figure – Terra – and she took a seat, greeting me as she did so.

"Oh, Bloom!" Terra said happily. "How were your classes?"

"Overwhelming," she answered, taking a seat beside me. "I thought we were learning magic, not the stuff on runes and history."

"Did you think Harry Potter was just learning magic?" I questioned with a small laugh. "Apparently, we've got to learn the history and the useless stuff."

Aisha and Musa had joined us, too, Aisha saying, "So here's what we should do. Maybe we can make a list of emotional triggers— "

"Aisha," Bloom began. "I appreciate what you're doing, but I can figure this out on my own."

"I'm sure," she replied. "I just think you might be in your head about the whole changeling stuff and overthinking."

"So everyone knows," Bloom responded.

"Is that why you freaked out at the Vessel?" asked Terra. "That makes more sense. That's gonna be the easiest assignment we'll have... and I'm making it worse."

Stella then approached the table with Sky. Lucky me. Stella laid down a map of Alfea, and I knew this was going to be about her ring.

"So we have a plan to get my ring back."

"And you can tell it to me after," I said to the four girls sitting down. "I'll take my leave."

"You barely touched your food," said Terra, looking at my full plate.

"Then you can take it," I said, giving them all a fake smile, glaring at Stella and Sky before walking out.