Weeks had passed since the girls had found Silva in the woods and brought him back to Alfea, where they were able to safely extract the burned one's poison before it was too late. Silva still wasn't too lucky as they hadn't managed to kill the burned one that attacked him, meaning he was on the clock.
During this time, Enola had also been spending more and more time with Sam, who she definitely liked as more than a friend. She, of course, hadn't told Terra, which was putting a damper to her entire first relationship thing. The mind fairy would be lying, however, if she said she didn't like sneaking around with Sam. It made things fun, and he was willing to go with it.
Or at least Enola thinks he is? She had honestly been really lucky with them not bumping into each other whenever Terra was around, and Sam hadn't mentioned his sister at all, which led Enola to assume that he was aware that Terra didn't know, but that might also be Enola's wishful thinking.
The honey-haired girl sighed as she looked up from her textbook at Terra, who was asking Dowling about the assignment they had in class today. The topic of the class was to learn to hone one's powers. Something that Enola was not good at.
"So it is the perfect pear. right?" Terra began as Dowling looked over her shoulder at the girl in indifference, listening as she continued, "So you know how when you always want to eat a pear, it is rock solid, so you wait, and you wait, and it is still a rock. And then you touch it one second later, and it's all rotten mush?"
She sat in the last row with Beatrix, who was practically glowing at the idea of doing such an easy task. She could hear the fairy's thoughts from a mile away. They were so loud, as she bragged to herself about how easy the school was.
"Of course the earth fairy wants to walk about fruit," Beatrix mumbled, "oh, what fun."
Enola just ignored her as she continued to listen to the class, as Dowling looked at Terra in interest, "Your magic connects you to living things. Feel how they communicate to you. the subtle signals of nature."
Terra reached over to her pot of dirt as she began to pull a bright yellow flower from the soil. Enola watched with a smile, relishing in the beauty of the plant.
"Pheremones, vibrations," Dowling continued, "You can give life, but there is such a thing as giving too much."
Enola smiled as she spoke to herself, "Too much is kind of her thing."
Beatrix laughed at her comment before nudging her foot, "I don't think I have formally introduced myself. My name is Beatrix."
"Nice to meet you," Enola smiled, looking over at the girl before trying to focus back on what Dowling was telling students. She needed to excel at Alfea, or else she would never learn how to silence her powers.
Dowling had now moved to stand at Bloom and Aisha's table, "Can you light a single piece of kindling and leave the others untouched, Bloom?"
"I hear that you are mental," Beatrix whispered, despite Enola's attempts to focus on the lesson, "hearing voices."
Trying to not let the fairy get to her, Enola continued to listen to the lesson. She knew that people were talking about her, obviously, it came with the territory. It wasn't uncommon for rumors to spread about her mental fragility or if she was truly telepathic. Telepaths were rare in the Otherworld so it was a phenomenon to see one let alone go to the same school as one. Enola never felt rare however, she felt more like a zoo animal constantly only display for the entertainment of others.
Enola scratched her neck as she irritatingly turned to look at Beatrix, "I read minds."
"Can you tell what he is thinking about," Beatrix smiled, pointing over to some kid in the front of the class, who seemed extremely nervous Enola's eyes flicked pink as her unwanted thought crept into her mind despite her wish for it not to. It was mainly focused on bullying their classmates.
"Shit," Beatrix laughed, watching her eyes flicker back to green, "they weren't kidding."
"All I can hear is that it would be nice if I could focus on class rather than listen to some air fairy," Enola snapped, trying to focus back on what Dowling was saying to Bloom.
Of course, Beatrix had other plans as she continued to speak. It was, to Enola, as if the fairy wanted to make sure she wasn't paying attention or at least to annoy her.
"Why are you so tense," Beatrix laughed as she looked forward, her eyes flickering as a small energy ball formed in front of her, "this class is so easy."
"Good job, Beatrix. Keep up the good work," Dowling impressively nodded her head as she looked over at the air fairy. Enola tried to hide her jealousy at how quickly Beatrix created the spark. She wasn't even focusing on it, but it still remained.
"Got it, Miss D," Beatrix tried, before quickly changing to, "Miss Dowling."
"Your grace," Beatrix rolled her eyes, as she looked over to Enola in annoyance. The air fairy was obviously only kissing Dowling's ass for the show as it was clear she didn't like the older woman, "She acts like she is so amazing."
"She does run the school," Enola mumbled as she began to take notes once again.
"Enola, could you please provide me Beatrix's thoughts," Dowling called, looking at the mind fairy expectantly, causing her to quickly nod.
Relaxing her shoulders, Enola worked on visualizing the thoughts in her mind once again, opening her eyes to see all the different streams of color spinning in her hand as they all whispered different things.
Dowling nodded her head, "Now, just Beatrix."
Enola nodded as she tried to listen to see which one was Beatrix's. Once she was able to find the elusive grey sound wave, she tried to pull it to the center as she lost focus on the others.
"Try to allow one thought to take center stage as the rest fall back," Dowling advised.
Enola began to feel her hands shake as she struggled to keep Beatrix's thought alone, without allowing the others to combine with it. It was like stretching a rubber band. The force pulling it back was stronger than the force exerted against it.
Enola had managed to harness Beatrix's thought in her hand, despite the fact it kept wavering in and out, but Dowling wanted it to be stronger.
"You need to focus on embracing one thought rather than silencing the others," Dowling directed, her voice growing louder to match the thoughts that began to overtake the room, "Or else-"
A loud snap occurred, causing the entire class to cover their ears, as a slight pain could be felt by their eardrums from how loud the thoughts had become before they poofed away. Enola sat in her chair shaking as she guiltily looked around the room at all the students who were trying to shake out the ringing noise. A few of her classmates were still holding their hands over their ears in pain.
She didn't have the same reaction as them as she was used to the voices becoming too loud, and her body was built to be able to withstand the noises. It didn't stop her from wanting to shrink out of existence, however, as the entire class's thoughts revolved around her mistake.
"That was interesting," Bloom whispered, looking at Enola in shock while Musa frowned. She knew that it was hard for her sister to control her powers, and this did not make things better.
The class was clearly over after that, as it was obvious that Dowling was not going to continue their studies. Everyone began to whisper amongst each other as they waited for Dowling to officially dismiss them.
"So, there is a party later on near the Specialist Hall," Beatrix began, moving so her body was facing Enola, "and you should definitely come," she smirked, her eyes holding a mischievous glint.
"I'm good," Enola weakly smiled, not interested in befriending Beatrix, "Parties aren't really my thing. Mind fairy and all."
"Funny," Beatrix scrunched her face up as she looked down at her nails, "I didn't know that mind fairies were such doorknobs."
"And I didn't know that air fairies were such sluts," Enola shot back before lightly laughing at herself, "But people can fool you."
"Excuse me," Beatrix scoffed before Enola innocently looked up at the ceiling, placing her finger to her lips in fake contemplation. As the rumors of her and Riven sleeping together filled her head. They were apparently the new thing to make a scene in the halls of Alfea.
"Sorry," Enola started, "Is it not true that you are Riven's new whore?"
Laughs could be heard from the table in front of them as both Bloom and Aisha burst into a fit of giggles from overhearing the girl's conversation. Everyone could agree that Beatrix being put in her place was a sight for all.
The fairy's entire face turned bright red as she was about to say something back to the girl before her expression changed to a more relaxed expression, "You are witty. I like you."
Enola scoffed as she was ready to comment on how she didn't care what Beatrix thought when her name was called from the front of the classroom.
"Enola," Mrs. Dowling calls from her desk, placing one of the spell textbooks on top of her desk, as she looked up at the petit fairy, "can I see you after class?"
Enola didn't move from her spot as she heard Beatrix mumble, "Shit," from her spot as she sent the honey-haired fairy a grin followed by a light nudge, "Dowling's up your arse now?"
The fairy just rolled her eyes at the girl; although Beatrix was nice to her, she knew it was for some end goal. And Enola was not fond of games. Beatrix's thoughts were too guarded for her to trust the fiery-haired girl anyways, she knew that not only was Beatrix hiding something, but she was a lot more well-learned than a first-year ought to be, making her dangerous.
"Yes, ma'am," Enola nodded her head as she watched the rest of her classmates stand from their stools as they collected their books together. By the time the bell had rung, they were all rushing out of the room for their next class.
"It isn't anything bad," Musa mumbled to her sister, squeezing her shoulder as she walked past Enola towards the door, "I think," she quickly added before leaving. Pulling Terra along with her, who would no doubt make things worse.
"Good luck," Bloom smiled as Aisha nodded, nervously looking over to their headmistress, before they waved goodbye, leaving the room as well. Once the girls left, Enola was alone with Dowling in the small classroom.
Enola was about to get up from her stool so she could walk up to Dowling but didn't move fast enough as the professor walked up to the student, first placing down an old iPod in front of her. The mind fairy didn't know how to react as she looked at the foreign object in confusion.
Why would Dowling give her an outdated pink iPod?
"I want you to listen to music," Dowling spoke as if she had managed to hear Enola's thoughts. Pointing to the iPod, the headmistress continued, "It'll help you with your powers."
"With all due respect," Enola hesitantly began as she picked up the device as if it were poisonous, "How does that help me with the control voices in my head?"
"The voices in your head, Miss Enola," Dowling corrected, "Are you reading people's minds. The music will help you learn how to adapt to separating the noise from your thoughts. You will learn focus."
Enola had no idea why Dowling was trying to help her with her focus. She was able to create the sound wave-like she asked, albeit not just the one, but that was what practice was for. So why was Dowling so serious that she perfect it so quickly.
"What do yo-"
"You could be a very powerful fairy, Enola," Dowling tilted her head in consideration before saying, "Perhaps even one of the most powerful mind fairies of your time, but not if you keep trying to subdue your power," she said in a condescending tone, causing Enola to shrink her seat.
Enola was so confused as to why Dowling was getting so upset about this, "But you didn't tell Musa-"
"Musa already can focus. I just want you to be able to do the same," Dowling calmly said, taking in a deep breath as she realized that she may be coming across as too harsh.
The mind fairy tried to hide her hurt expression at Dowling's words. She thought she did have focus. Or at least she was learning how to focus, but for the most part, she felt that her sister was at the same level as she.
"You need to do better than Musa," Dowling said, her eyes glowing light blue, indicating she had read the fairy's thoughts, "Your powers aren't the same, so your focus won't be either."
Enola felt slightly violated. Despite the fact she did it all day, it was different when someone else did it to you. It was an exposed feeling that she wasn't used to.
"Dowling moved to lean against the table Enola sat at as she explained, "You are barely scratching the surface of all that you can do with your ability. You think that reading minds is a lot, wait until you learn how to communicate through your mind. Or close your mind from others."
Enola opened her mouth, speechless, to all the abilities Dowling casually mentioned she would be able to do. The fairy honestly didn't want to learn how to do any of those things, however. She barely wanted to do what she could now.
"So you want me to basically torture myself," Enola began, putting together everything she was telling her, "By putting my mind into utter chaos so that I can be immune to the pain? All so I can ask Dinner lady Doris for extra fries for my burger through my mind?"
Enola laughed to herself as she shook her head, "Mrs. Dowling, I am sorry, but I think you have the wrong person."
Dowling brought her finger up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she tried to remain calm, "When will you realize that the voices aren't the issue but rather how you see them? You can't fear what you are, Enola."
Water began to line her eyes as Enola ignored her own harsh thoughts. Dowling didn't know how miserable it was hearing everyone's incessant buzzing all day. It didn't matter if it was nice or mean. She couldn't switch her powers off like Bloom or even Aisha. All she could do is hope that she can ignore them.
And god forbid if she succumbs to the peer pressure.
"Why do you care," Enola chewed her lip as she looked over at Dowling.
The headmistress sighed as she looked up at Enola, her eyes revealing how tired the woman was, "I wouldn't be telling you this if I knew you couldn't hear my thoughts," she began before confessing, "but I worry that there is something coming to Alfea that I won't be able to fight on my own and with you, we may have a chance."
Enola furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to make sense of what Dowling was alluding to, "A chance to win?"
"No. A chance to live."