Weeks went by and Alina managed to learn a great number of tricks that Theia thought would be useful for her.
Alina had mastered creating furniture and tools from the materials nature gave her. She also learned how to store items in the keepsake realm; this space was mainly used to store larger items that would take up too much space, such as, the marble bathtub that Alina bathed in on her first day staying at the willow tree. She also learned lessons outside at night. Only ever at night. Theia did not want to run the risk of Heartha finding out, for she could easily put a stop to Alina's education if she saw fit to do so.
Alina could see that Theia had lost hope in her ever getting her mother's true acceptance. She could also see within her Mama's demeanour that this truly bothered her. But, she refused to talk about it, and there were times when Alina wished her Mama would open up to her. She couldn't bear to see Theia's sad face.
On an evening much like any other within the willow tree, Alina sat at the open living room window. She watched the owls that she wished she could befriend, soar amongst the trees. She let her thoughts wander as she followed their graceful movements.
A quiet knock sounded on the willow tree's wooden door. It was such a light knock, one would think the knocker didn't truly want to bring genuine attention to oneself. Nevertheless, Alina heard Theia carefully set down her sweet tea, get up from her comfortable seat and answer the door.
"Sister, to what do I owe this pleasure?" Theia's voice reached Alina's ear. She fought against herself so to not listen in.
"Sister, I understand that my visit is overdue. However, it is time to discuss Carabosse's place."
Alina didn't dare look over her shoulder, she just let her ears burn as she watched the birds of prey swoop and sway in the air. They seemed to purposely fly close to her. It was as if they were drawn to her. She loved looking up at those glorious creatures; she dreamed of their freedom, of their carefree demeanour, their powerful movement, their sense of purpose. She still longed to fly amongst them. A longing that must never be acted upon, as long as she wanted to try and get into Mother's good books; that's what Theia kept saying, anyway. However, they both knew there was no space for her in her mother's so-called "good books".
That didn't stop her from wanting friends though. She wanted so badly for other fairies to accept her for who she was. No matter how different she looked or how her natural gifts in magic manifested. She yearned for that closeness with her peers, to be able to laugh with them, to connect with them.
Her one dream was to be accepted.
However, her reputation had tainted her from the very beginning and the other fairies avoided her.
This would indeed be the case, until now.
Mother made her exit - without saying a word to Alina. She left all the talking to her sister.
"Alina, you..." Theia felt so overwhelmed with the news, it took her a moment to gather her wits to carry on. "You have a place in magic school."
"What? How?" Alina squeaked out her questions in utter disbelief.
"Heartha's been persuaded by someone else it seems." Theia sparked her daughter's curiosity with a small smile.
"Who?"
"You mustn't worry about that! All that matters is that you have a place, and an opportunity to discover your true purpose. Isn't that wonderful?"
"It is! It is wonderful!" Alina said excitedly hopping up and down. "When do I start?"
"Tomorrow," Theia answered, without a beat of hesitation.
"I'll be able to make friends tomorrow?" Alina asked innocently.
"I don't..." Theia began, but stopped herself. The look of happiness that took over Alina's eyes touched Theia's heart. She didn't have the strength to put one single crack in her daughter's bright mood. "Who knows what tomorrow will bring." Was all she had the courage to say in response.
◇
After a long night of waiting in vain for sleep to come, the dawn of Alina's first day of school came. She couldn't wait to get going. She imagined all of the fairies that she would be learning with; the colours of their wings, the warmth of their smiles, their kind voices. She couldn't wait to get to know them all. To know their names, what they liked to read, what spell was their favourite to use. She felt ready to connect with other fairies.
She was ready to take on the world!
Mama flew with her to the Great Oak at the centre of the forest; where the school had been held for many centuries. Alina insisted that she could handle her first day on her own. Therefore, Theia, even though her heart fought against it, left her and returned home.
Alina entered the larger doorway into the hollowed oak tree's trunk. Inside were rows of chairs and desks that looked a lot like the furniture she was taught to create at home. Grown from the ground in twisted vines, decorated delicately with tiny green leaves, buttercups and daisies. They were surrounded by rounded walls that had ancient fairy symbols carved into them. Symbols made up of expertly curved lines, representing nature and its magical qualities. Everything within the large room seemed to be pointing towards a raised platform, which Alina would soon find out to be the designated place for the magic teacher to stand.
Alina found a seat in the centre row of desks and was joined by ten other fairies, who filed in around her. These fairies were all born around the same time as her.
She was the only fairy who was born crawling out of the earth amongst ash. The others were formed either from a blossoming flower or emerging from a babbling brook. Once magic had touched a birthplace a fairy's arrival was inevitable.
Alina's unique beginnings were no mystery amongst those attending school that day. They were all warned about her and looked over at her warily. Their prying eyes surrounded her, as well as pointing fingers and covered whispers.
"Good morning, everybody. Who is ready to begin?" The teacher of the school, of course, needed no introduction, for she was the mother of all who attended.
"I am ready, Mother," the other students spoke in perfect unison.
"...M-Mother..." Alina rushed to catch up, to be a part of the unified student body. However, her efforts only ended up with her receiving a disapproving scowl from her mother. The fairies that sat beside her giggled at her blunder.
After a quick clap of Mother's hands, silence fell upon the room within the hollow oak tree. Alina desperately tried to banish the heat of shame that threatened to colour her cheeks.
"You're okay, Mama told you, you're going to be okay," she whispered quietly to herself.
Thinking of her Mama helped her to calm her nerves.
Mother explained the course's durance and schedule. They would be learning three main magics within the next three weeks; growing and shrinking, building magic and summoning magic. Alina smiled as she heard words that were already familiar to her. She was so worried that she may be overwhelmed at school. But it seemed that learning from her Mama had given her a positive advantage.
"If you manage to complete all the lessons within these three magics and successfully carry out the difficult tasks that I give you on the fourth week you'll then graduate to working in nature." Mother's eyes were focused upon Alina the whole time she said this and Alina noticed that she put a strange emphasis on the word "manage". It was as if she was trying to communicate a secret message to her and her alone.
She quickly dismissed the doubt that loomed at the corner of her mind and straightened her back as tall as she could. She was trying to match the confident posture of the two fairies that sat beside her. However, the weight of her wings still caused a slight curve to appear within her shoulders.
"A handful of you may even get offered the chance to become a wish-granter or, what the humans like to call - Fairy Godmother," Mother continued, this time making eye contact with the beautiful shining fairy that sat to Alina's right. Her hair fell gracefully to her shoulders in golden ringlets. Her red silk dress framed her physique perfectly matching a pair of delicately made ballet shoes. Her wings sparkled in the rays of light that shone through the cracks within the oak tree. Like perfectly painted butterfly wings, they displayed beautiful swirls of rose red amongst shining gold lines. She wiggled delightedly in her seat as though she was getting her own secret message from Mother. A message that could only fill one with unshakable self-confidence.
During the theoretical part of the lesson, Alina found out that that fairy's name was Cezanne. She also came to know names of the other fairies learning beside her. A fairy called Fleurine almost looked identical to Cezanne but where Cezanne displayed the colour red, she was dressed to match her own butterfly wings' colour - English rose pink. These two were nicknamed the "Rosebush Twins" for the rosebush was their shared birthplace. They were similar in many ways, not only in looks.
Behind her was a water-birthed fairy, named Margot. She had dark hair that flowed in the air as though she was sitting under water that very moment. Her blue, transparent wings gave a good backdrop for one to believe that was indeed the case. Beside her, was a bright yellow fairy called Audette.
The names of the others that sat further away on either side, were also uttered. However, Alina found it difficult to memorise every single name during her first day. Just the names of those who truly stood out stuck in her mind.
Remembering these four names in particular may have been caused by the cruel words they lashed her way within the practical part of that day's lesson. Seeing her succeed within magic practices, where they struggled, caused outrage and jealousy to scorch inside them.
"You do realise, that Mother has to praise good work on its surface level," Cezanne hissed at Alina with a sneer.
"Yeah, there is no use showing off!" Fleurine added, matching her sister's disdain.
"We all know that she sees you as only the dark fairy!" Cezanne declared, pointing a sharp finger at Alina's unguarded chest.
"That's not what I am," Alina echoed her Mama's beliefs. "I am Alina, that means light."
"Who are you trying to fool here? Look at you, you are no light fairy! Audette is a light fairy," Cezanne argued, pointing at the bright yellow beauty that sat behind her.
"Yeah! How can you possibly be a light fairy! Audette was born from light and that is obvious in her form," Fleurine backed up her twin's claim.
"You were born from ash!" Margot piped up after listening in.
"Yes, and nothing bright or good can come from ash!" Cezanne spat out her words as if she intended for them to hit Alina like a physical blow. Alina jumped to her feet instinctively. Green flames burned her irises.
"No, no, I mustn't let them get to me. Quench the fire. Fire quench!" Alina silently recited the words her Mama taught her to say when she felt the fire. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she didn't realise that she was the only one standing.
"Carabosse!" Mother yelled after she turned around. The sharpness of her voice made Alina's, now calmed, eyes to open wide in shock. "Sit down! Now!"
Alina obeyed, the whole class sniggered at her as she did. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.
"Cara-bosse, born from ash..." Cezanne chanted under her breath.
"Cara-bosse, born from ash," Fleurine and Margot joined in.
"Carabosse, born from ash!" All the class began to chant too, whilst drumming a steady beat upon their wooden desks.
The sounds of their venom filled voices and the harsh raps of wood pierced through Alina like knives from all directions. She felt torn inside out. She hid her face as she felt tears spiking at her eyes.
"Look at me, Carabosse!" Alina fought every part of her being to argue with her mother. Theia had warned her that she may use her old name and that she must ignore it if she does. However, this was proven to be easier said than done.
She wrestled with her feelings, but didn't dare to look up from her hands.
"I said look at me!" Mother demanded angrily. When Alina failed to look up fast enough, she grabbed her painfully by the hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to look into her angry lilac eyes.
Black tears stained lines down Alina's quivering cheeks, and a look of horror swept over Mother's face.
"Class dismissed..." she said quietly turning away from Alina and from the rest of the class. All the fairies packed up their wands and spell books and left the oak tree. All but Alina, who didn't dare to move.
Her gaze followed her Mother, who eventually turned around and scowled at the sight of her.
"I said, class dismissed!" she barked. Causing Alina to scrabble to her feet and leave in a hurry.
She flew straight home. She didn't dare to look to her left or right- she didn't want to catch anyone's eye.
When she reached the willow tree, she made her way straight to her room, passing her bewildered Mama without a greeting. She flung herself upon her moss bed and let out all the tears that she managed to hold back.
Only minutes passed before Theia came to her side. She pulled Alina into a firm embrace and rocked her gently in silence.
No explanations were required.
All she needed, at that moment, was a warm hug from her Mama, to help her shattered heart to heal.