Lily Flower

White Lily: origins

And the witches were worshipped as kindly deities, ingrained into history and myth as the epitome of holiness and grace.

What a load of bullshit.

Now focus on a specific point in time. There, that's the memory I seek.

Once upon a time, there was a school. Young cookies everywhere were enrolled in this school at the suggestions and machinations of their parents, to learn the basics of cookie anatomy, alchemy, magic, mathematics, and every other conceivable course one could imagine. The appeal for attending was clear. The Institute had the largest collection of knowledge in the world, organized impeccably by the resident bookkeeper. Rabid cookies attempted to secure positions as teachers, just to look upon the grand library. As a result of the constant influx of overly desperate academics, the academy maintained high-quality education and staff.

The beauty of the school can not be understated either. Lush gardens full of nightshade and viguiera flowers bracketed the school grounds. The Institute itself sported stained glass windows overlooking the outside world and toches made from blue will-o-wisp. An observatory sat on the edge of the grounds, and a mysterious staircase broke away from the telescope overlook that was rumored to lead to the stars.

It was only natural for someone like her to reside in such a beautiful place. Though her foul and corrupted form would no longer feel at home within the abandoned recesses of the academy, it suited its purpose in her life. White Lily loved her school, and the Dark Enchantress cared little. She did, however, see the worth that her former self ascribed to all the academy represented, and understood that.

The young girl, of course, had no such hindsight. She used the school as a means to an end. Only later, what little of the mage's residue that still pulsed in the enchantress's shriveled heart could realize what fond memories she made there.

White Lily did not have many friends in the institute. She had a naturally reclusive nature, but that was not the only reason. She had little interest in forming friendships among the other students. It may sound horrible, but they just weren't on the same level as her. Her intellect, ambition, and interests rarely aligned with other children, and trying to connect with no foundation would be ultimately a pointless and tiresome endeavor. The professors, too, had trouble making heads or tails out of her, and eventually resigned to leaving her alone since she still scored top marks.

This multitude of factors ensured that she could experiment undisturbed; teachers liked her well enough, and students sought to be her yet did not approach her. She stood as a cold, unreachable idol to the rest of the school, a physical embodiment of the Institute's success and prestige. A genius beyond her years, set apart from the rest of their kind, destined for greatness even in childhood.

Thanks to this reputation, she could get away with a lot more than her peers. This included skipping classes to pursue her own research. This ultimately led to her near-complete isolation from all the other people within the school.

Well, there was a single other student who managed to worm his way into her heart.

"Why do choose to stay with me?" she inquired.

"It's boring without you. I'd rather spend time with my best friend than stay in the classroom," he replied mischievously.

How did she manage to get the honor of being his best friend? The boy had no sense, choosing to hang out with a loner even though he had so many friends and admirers. He was somewhat of a hypocrite, she told him, for acting like such a studious and loving person and then casting the others away just for her. He laughed, then lightly agreed.

Even so, she felt a bit of happiness.

Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Literature. All that makes the world in the physical sense, the place of cookies within Earthbread.