Stella transported the girls outside of Alfea, and they walked towards the front gates of the school as if one unit.
The experiences that the girls had shared had made them closer than one would have thought possible after knowing one another for less than twenty four hours. As they had all sat in the middle of the ancient magical forest, Bloom told them about Earth and the boy back home that she had loved, and they all sat with her as she choked out details about him and how she was forced to say goodbye. She told them how Stella had come stumbling into her life and brought her all sorts of chaos, and the girls were laughing through their tears as they joked about how crazy it all was. Bloom had a group of friends in High School, but she had never talked for hours about her hopes and sorrows like that before. She'd never had friends that she could laugh and cry with as she had done.
As the gates opened, Stella let out a soft curse as she beheld the figures right inside the gates.
Faragonda's arms were crossed over her chest, and Griselda had an evil sneer on her face with her hands resting on her hips. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Griselda said, annoyance lacing her tone.
"It's approximately 2:30.." Xenia whispered to the girls, who giggled.
That seemed to piss Griselda off even more. Her eyes darted to Bloom, making her cower slightly under Griselda's gaze. "We've been waiting for you all to return. Princess Veranda... Is there something you forgot to tell us?"
Bloom cringed. "Seems like you guys already know."
Griselda adjusted the glasses on her small nose. "So are you admitting that you falsified your identity to sneak into Alfea?"
The girls were silent, none of them even dared breathe. Bloom bit her lip as her eyes darted between the cold calculating woman and the gentle headmistress who stood beside her.
Bloom took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. "My real name is Bloom... Bloom Quinn." Her voice threatened to shake but she tried to keep it steady.
Griselda nodded. "Bloom, you need to pack your bags. We can't tolerate such blatant disrespect of this institution and its admission requirements. You may stay the night but you must travel home first thing in the morning."
Bloom pushed the tears down that threatened to spring to the surface. She breathed out desperately, "I can't go home. I've lost so much to get here."
Griselda shook her head. "Many of the young women here have."
Bloom's chest might have been caving in, she wasn't sure anymore. She blinked away tears as the world spun around her and slipped out from beneath her feet.
"Bloom is from Earth." One of the girls behind her blurted out. Musa stepped forward and stood behind Bloom, resting a hand on her shoulder. Bloom blinked a few times, reality re-centering itself around her. "She can't go home. She quite literally has nowhere else to go."
Griselda's eyes widened. "That's not possible...."
"We've already told you everything else," Stella said, jutting her hip out and crossing her arms over her chest. "Why would we lie about this?"
"I assume you played a role in Bloom's arrival here?" Griselda said, glaring daggers at the blonde princess. "Leave it to Stella Solari to disobey the most sacred of Interrealm Codes."
Stella opened her mouth to shoot back a snappy retort, but Faragonda stepped forwards with her hands out. "That's enough, ladies."
Faragonda glanced at Bloom, before turning to Griselda. "She must have magic, or the wards would have kept her out...." she paused for a moment. "Griselda is right, it shouldn't be possible." She cocked her head slightly as she observed the Earthling. "Girls, go off to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning." Faragonda said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. She turned to Griselda and they started discussing something softly, their faces suddenly grave. Bloom let her head drop and silently followed the other girls towards their suite.
As soon as they entered their room and closed the door, Bloom slumped onto the closest couch. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around herself before putting her head in her hands. "They're gonna kick me out."
"They won't. Griselda is all talk but no bite." Stella said, casually lounging across a nearby chair. She inspected her fingernails in the light of a nearby lamp.
"She kicked you out." Musa interjected, plopping herself down besides Bloom.
"Not helpful." Stella hissed. "Look, Bloom. You're gonna get up tomorrow morning, and go to class, okay? And if nothing happens, we're just gonna assume you're staying. Okay?"
Bloom groaned. "Fine." She stumbled to her feet, clutching the blanket and holding her braced arm against her chest. "I'm taking Advil and going to bed." She trudged into her bedroom, the blanket trailing behind her.
The next morning, the girls did exactly as Stella said. They got up for their 8 a.m. classes and got ready like it was any other day. The other girls in the room were excited about starting their classes, but all Bloom could think about was that she could be evicted at any moment's notice.
And if she wasn't, would that somehow be worse?
Could she go home and have a normal life? Was her power truly gone as she'd suspected? Or worse, what if Stella was wrong, and Bloom truly was a witch? Would she have to leave the friends she just met and get thrust into a new school when she wasn't even sure if she had magic? Would she turn out like the three witches that attacked her?
Bloom sighed as she sat in her first class of the day. She should have been excited, but she just felt hopeless.
"For those of you who haven't met me yet, my name is professor Wiskies." A small man stood on the desk, barely more than three feet tall with long pointed ears and brown hair. Bloom couldn't help but think that her professor reminded her of a leprechaun, and the red clover that was pinned onto his lapel didn't help convince her otherwise. "My magic manifests as metamorphosis, the art of changing the way you look." In a flash, the small professor disappeared. Right where he was once standing, Griselda sat across the desk, one leg crossed over the other and her head resting in her hand.
Bloom couldn't find a single thing out of place in the imposter Griselda that would cue her into the illusion. They even spoke like Griselda. "Though not all of your magic will manifest as shapeshifting, you can manipulate your magic to allude attackers, whether it's through optical illusion by manipulating light..." they motioned to Stella with a look that was much too kind to have come from Griselda.
Stella leaned over to Bloom and whispered, "The real Griselda would have tried to snap my head off already."
Bloom hid her smile by casually bringing her relaxed hand up to her cheek and tilting her head to the side.
The professor continued, "Or disorienting someone with noise," Griselda motioned to Musa.
"Or, we even have a faerie of illusion in our midst." The professor said, drawing the class' attention to a dark haired girl in the front. Bloom couldn't see her face from where she sat, but she saw the tips of her ears get so red that Bloom was certain the faerie was in full-fledged blushing mode.
The imposter Griselda disappeared, and was replaced once again by the professor. Bloom wondered if that was really his true form.
"But for most of us," he said, winking again at the faerie of illusion, "that's some pretty advanced magic. Right now, we will be focusing on creating illusions with ordinary objects."
Professor Wiskies snapped and a small figurine appeared on everybody's desk. "Faeries wield a type of magic called raw magic. You all draw power from something specific, like an element, for example, and that will be the default, and strongest, manifestation of your magic. But raw magic can theoretically be wielded into anything." He hopped up to a student's desk and faced the class. "It can be used to create optical illusions, for example. These illusions are called glamours. I want each of you to really try to focus your magic on changing the color of the figurine on your desk. Pull gently, and mold it to create a coat around your object." He hopped down and made his way up to the side of the room and leapt up onto the windowsill gracefully. "You'll have to visualize. Go ahead and give it a try."
Bloom turned her attention towards the small figurine of a fish with lots of feathers coming out of its face. It was an ugly little thing. She closed her eyes and tried to "pull gently" as the professor had said. She reached down inside of her, trying to find something to pull as she had been instructed. There was nothing. Just emptiness. She peeked out of one eye to see at least half of the girls successfully change the colors of their various animal figurines. She peeked over at Stella to find her switching between colors at a fast pace, as if she was unable to choose her favorite. Bloom furrowed her brows as she continued to reach downwards, looking for something, anything.
"Just focus, Bloom." Stella said beside her. Bloom grit her teeth, and shook her head slightly.
"That's all I'm doing, Stella: focusing." She grunted out. "I told you, I haven't felt anything since after I touched that stupid scepter."
Stella cringed as if Bloom had struck her. "Do not call the most powerful relic of Solariea a stupid scepter."
"Sorry." Bloom said, resting her head on the desk. "I'm just frustrated."
"What's going on Bloom?" a male voice addressed her out of nowhere, scaring her. Bloom jumped slightly. "Are you having trouble?" Bloom lifted her head to find her professor there, observing her.
"She didn't know she even had magic until this week." Stella answered before Bloom could say anything. "So she's struggling a bit."
Bloom just shrugged with a sheepish smile. Her professor nodded. "Looks like you have some catching up to do. Why don't you just focus on feeling the magic in the room today? Try to identify and differentiate the different tangs and colors for now, tracing them back to their sources. When you finish classes today, do some practice. I can give you some magical items if you would like to practice with them." He waved his hand and a handheld mirror appeared on Bloom's desk. She smelled the metallic tang of the magic that radiated from it. "Sometimes using items to channel magic can help you identify the magic and find its source within you. This mirror allows you to change the appearance of your reflection, and your magic won't alter anything outside of the glass. Get some practice with it." He said, before walking away.
Bloom picked up the object and felt a soft thrumming from it. It was nothing like Stella's scepter, which hit her like a wave and made her knees buckle. It was more of a gentle lull, but it didn't awaken anything within her.
Bloom wondered if whatever was within her would ever awaken again.
After her first class, Bloom had a break so she went to Faragonda's office. She knew that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't avoid the inevitable. She needed to talk to her.
Bloom had no idea where she was going, but she stopped and asked a group of faeries in the hallway who looked fairly at ease and were chatting softly. They were surprisingly friendly to her.
Eventually, after a wrong turn or two, Bloom found the headmistress' office. She stood outside, holding her hand up to knock, but hesitated slightly. She could faintly hear voices from inside, and she didn't want to interrupt. Perhaps she could just come back later.
As she turned to leave, she heard her name, and paused. She could barely make out the words at all, and nearly stuck her ear up to the door.
"We can't send her back to Earth. For better or for worse, she passed through the wards. Sending her back would be sending her to her death, with no way to protect herself or others."
"The Order may not-"
"They went through the gate, Griselda. They'll be watching it from now on."
The voices stopped, and Bloom decided to knock, lest they notice her standing there eavesdropping. She didn't know whether their magic would tell them something like that.
The door opened moments later. "Bloom." Faragonda breathed out. "I was hoping you'd stop by. Please, come in."
Bloom did as requested, and sat down in a chair in front of the desk in Faragonda's office. It was a nice size, with a fire crackling softly in the fireplace, with two couches in front of it. Across from the door was a large window, near which was a desk that Faragonda sat in.
Griselda was there too, but after saying good morning to Bloom, she excused herself.
"So Bloom, I'm sure you can understand that I have many questions."
Bloom nodded.
"Why don't we start from the beginning?"
Bloom couldn't help but ask the question that had been gnawing at her. "Will I be expelled?"
"Well, technically, you aren't even enrolled. I will make my decision once I understand how you ended up here."
Bloom nodded.
"How did you meet Stella?"
Bloom knew this question was coming. But she decided to be honest, with the full truth. "It was an accident. Stella was chased to Earth by some monsters trying to steal her scepter. I happened to be at that park when she was there fighting them, and somehow she knew I had magic."
"You were involved in this fight as well?"
Bloom nodded. "An ogre thing cornered me in the park, and Stella tried to fight him but he got the upper hand on her. She.. threw me her scepter, and that's how she knew I had magic. Because I was able to use it."
"And did anything else happen?"
Bloom wasn't sure if she should tell Faragonda about the incident at her house, how she almost killed her parents, or that the specialists were there.
Faragonda continued, "I received a report today that a group of Specialists from a nearby school tracked an ogre that had travelled to Earth and discreetly disposed of it. They did not implicate neither you nor Stella in their report, but I suspect that you were both involved. For whatever reason, they decided to protect you so that you would not be scrutinized by the Council."
Bloom didn't even realize that this would be a problem for her, but of course it would. Of course the governments here would also be strict about enforcing the laws barring magic wielders from Earth.
"They helped us, yes. And we returned here with them. I'm not sure, but I think Stella called them."
She nodded. "And you really truly had no idea?"
Bloom shook her head. "None. My parents didn't either. Do you think they could have passed this down to me and not even known?"
Faragonda quirked her lips. "Perhaps there is magic that has been repressed for generations, only to be activated when contact with a magical object is made. I've never heard about anything like this before, but surely there are hidden magic-wielders on Earth, so it could be possible."
Bloom nodded thoughtfully. "I think it's gone again though."
Faragonda's brows furrowed. "What is gone?"
"The magic. I can't access it anymore, so maybe... Maybe I could go back. Maybe it's repressed again."
Faragonda gave Bloom a sad look. "Bloom, I don't know when you will be able to go back. Perhaps someday, but not right now. Let's give your magic time and see."
...
Stella took a seat on Bloom's bed as Bloom stared fiercely into the mirror. "Any luck?"
Bloom shook her head. "I've been staring into it for an hour. And nothing."
"Okay, close your eyes." Stella instructed. "Focus on the feature you would like to change. What does it look like? what does it feel like? Imagine it, and then try to pull the image out of you, and imagine you're putting it into the mirror."
Bloom did as instructed, and opened her eyes. She frowned. "It didn't work."
"Okay, well how do you identify the core of your power?"
"I don't have one." Bloom looked at Stella and set the mirror in her lap.
Stella gave her deadpan look. "Bloom. Yes you do."
Bloom shrugged.
"A helpful analogy," Stella continued, her head resting in a perfectly manicured hand, "is that it kind of feels like a thread that lives within you. It changes when you breathe, or move, like an extension of yourself. It might hum."
Bloom turned her attention inwards, looking for a thread. She shook her head. "I don't feel anything."
Stella tilted her head. Bloom looked away, her cheeks heating up. Bloom had never felt like this on earth- had never felt like she didn't belong before. The funny part was that this whole time, Bloom hadn't belonged on Earth. So how come she was the freak here, in this magical land, but not there?
A voice startled Bloom, and she looked up towards the faerie on the other side of the room. "When you get frustrated or angry, do you feel it in your chest?" Flora said from across the room. She didn't take her eyes off of the plant she was watering as she spoke.
Bloom nodded. "Well, yeah. I mean I feel my heart pounding and my lungs taking in air, but it's not a thread or anything. It's just... I don't know how to describe it."
Flora put the small watering can on the table. "But there's a presence there." It wasn't a question. Bloom nodded once. "Focus on that. See if you can breathe into it, feel it ebb and flow."
Bloom closed her eyes and did as instructed, focusing on the pressure in her chest. She felt her cheeks heat up as she prodded it, seeing what would take shape if she did so. Bloom realized that she had been searching in the wrong place. It was much deeper than she had suspected, blossoming within her chest rather than her gut. It wasn't a well, it was like a membrane. Within rather than down. She breathed into it and wondered if she had just imagined a small shimmer within her.
"Focus on changing your appearance now." Stella said softly. She picked the mirror up from Bloom's lap and placed it into her hand. Bloom focused on the soft humming of the mirror as she tried to pull from that pressure in her chest, and slowly held the mirror up.
She opened her eyes, and for a split second, she thought it didn't work. But then she saw the differences. Her features were almost identical, especially the nose and lips, but her face had no freckles, and her eyes were a light golden-brown color instead of the dazzling blue she was used to. Instead of flowing red hair, her hair was a lively blonde. Bloom gasped and dropped the mirror and it clattered to the floor. She'd seen that face before.
"Did it work?" Stella said, a smile blossoming across her lips. Bloom nodded.
She turned to face Stella and that pressure in her chest disappeared into oblivion. She poked for it, but it had buried itself deep again, as if hiding. She let out a deep breath and grimaced at the thought that it had taken her over an hour just to get there. Bloom wondered when the next time she'd be able to find it again would be.
Bloom had been surprised as the girls returned after their classes the next day to find that the board beside their room had been replaced. Instead of Veranda, the board now read Flora, Stella, Musa, Xenia, and Bloom. Stella bumped Bloom with her hip. "See? Told you!"
Bloom gave her friends a smile, and she didn't need to fake it that time.
...
That weekend, Flora took Bloom into town to buy her a realm-phone. Bloom had shrugged and said she had a lot of homework, but Flora linked her arm with Bloom's and basically dragged her out of the apartment.
As they stepped off of the bus, Bloom wrung her hands together, stressed out by the large city. Her last experiences here had been less than pleasant.
"I don't understand why I need a fancy new magic phone thing." Bloom mumbled. "I really don't even know what I'd say to my parents if I called them."
"Bloom, they're probably worried about you."
"I already called them using Xenia's phone and let them know that I made it and that I'll be really busy with orientation week." Bloom explained with a shrug. She let her eyes trail up towards the layers of the city. She spotted a man with feathered wings like an angel flying up towards one of the upper levels.
Flora grabbed both of Bloom's hands and stood in front of her. Bloom reluctantly moved her eyes to focus on the faerie. "Bloom, I know that this adjustment can't be easy for you." She gave Bloom a sad smile. "You'll be happier if you can still keep your family in your life."
Bloom sighed. "I have nothing to tell them."
"You can still tell them about your days, your professors... It just takes some editing. You can tell them about your friends too." Flora said with a wink.
Bloom barely smiled back.
Flora sighed and led Bloom towards the store. To be completely honest, Flora was worried about Bloom. Though she'd never say anything, Flora heard Bloom crying every night when Bloom thought she was asleep. Bloom had been smiling less and less, the excitement of a new place and new people wearing off. Bloom barely ate, and she barely came out of her room other than to go to class and go to the banquet hall. She looked frail, her cheeks sinking in and dark bags swallowing her eyes. And it had only been a week.
Bloom needed some cheering up, and fast.
Flora had also encouraged Bloom to submit a request to bring Kiko, her dog, on campus with her for the year. Griselda had given Bloom a scowl and said she would consider it. It wasn't a no, which was something.
Flora paid for the phone, as Bloom's Earth money had no value in the realm. Bloom promised she'd pay her back, and Flora said okay to appease her, but she'd never accept the money back. All she cared about was helping her friend adjust to a complete world-shift. And connecting her with her parents was the right thing to do.