CHAPTER XIX:
❄︎ VICTORY ❄︎
"We did it together. I wasn't alone any longer"
___________
•
I headed towards the pillar I had seen Stella behind. She had been with Aisha and Bloom. They looked like they had a plan. I trusted Bloom – no matter how reckless she could be. I could partially trust Stella – she was a better person.
I stared at Aisha and crossed my arms. If she hadn't sold us out, we wouldn't have been in this mess. Bloom wouldn't have gone with Rosalind alone, we would have never been locked in the suite, and Sam may not have gotten injured by the Burned One. Maybe, just maybe, I would have been with Riven.
"Is she the bait in this plan or— "
"Very funny," she said back. "Look, I'm sorry. I'm willing to do whatever I can to help."
There were more growls and snarls, and then a loud screech. The noise was closer than before.
"Come on, we don't have much time," said Bloom, walking away.
We passed the infirmary station. We sneaked behind a table that was being used to create more Zanbaq. There was a trapdoor on the ground and we had snuck out, undetected.
We traveled through the school – towards Dowling's office, and down the secret corridor. The trap had already been sprung so there was no need to do it again.
We traveled down the long corridor underground. The lights were out in the tunnels, too, so Stella had to light the way. We passed the door that had held Rosalind. Further down, we came out from a door to the old cemetery.
"Come on," said Bloom. "We have to make sure the Burned Ones are following me."
I had to walk at a fast pace, partly because the Burned Ones were following Bloom, meaning they were following us, meaning that if they did get to us, we'd be killed, and partly to catch up to Bloom who was walking fast.
We crossed the great lawns of the school, away from the building. This was the time to start asking the important questions.
"My mum's going to be here soon," Stella reminded her and added on, "With an actual army."
"They won't be here in time, Stella," Bloom responded. "The Burned Ones are after me. They have always been after me. Rosalind taught me how to stop them, but I have to draw more magic than ever before, and... I don't know what's going to happen when I do."
"It's okay," Aisha assured. "We'll make sure we're safe, and that you are, too. I can surround you with water in case the flames get too big."
"Except I don't see how you'll draw water here," I told Aisha. "And no offense, but weren't you struggling a bit with your magic?"
"You're a Water and an Air Fairy," Aisha told me, rolling her eyes. "Her flames can melt your ice and, boom, we get water."
"Right," I nodded.
Bloom smiled gratefully and said, "Rosalind wants me to believe she's the person I need to get through this. She's not."
Bloom stepped forward and us back. To give us some time, I created a light fog surrounding us.
Then, ice crystals made their way up from the ground, making a dome around Bloom. Stella had placed her hands on our shoulders and I assumed we disappeared from view. The Burned Ones wouldn't be able to see us so we would be safe.
Soon enough, I could see the bright red flames from inside the dome. The ice melted into water and Aisha began to manipulate it to surround her. Then, the flames seemed to have died down.
Aisha then disposed of the water. Bloom had landed on the ground. Sprouting from her back, there were wings made from fire. They were awesome and she looked like a badass Fire Fairy as her eyes glowed red-orange.
The Burned Ones circled her. She extended her hand out and a streak of fire came at one. It killed it with one blow. Her magic was more powerful than I had ever seen it, and with so much control, too. She had killed each Burned One one by one.
And then, something unexpected happened. The charred residue on the Burned Ones fell off, and the creatures turned into humans.
We came back into view as Stella took her hands off us. I stuck out my hands, bringing back the fog I had created. We ran towards Bloom. Dowling had arrived as well. And then Bloom stumbled into Dowling's arms.
"Is she okay?" Stella asked quickly.
"She's okay," Dowling assured. "Maybe you girls want to take her back into her room?"
"We did it," Bloom said weakly as we helped her walk.
"Yeah, we did."
Riven
The lights had flickered back on in the greenhouse. It was a sign that everything was good now, and that they were safe.
"We should get back," said Riven, sitting up.
"We should," Dane agreed.
"Rosalind will be here soon," Beatrix told them, and they stopped. "Hear her out. Her and my dad have a plan the two of you can be a part of it. We can bring Demetrie along. She'd be more than willing, I'm sure. This doesn't have to end."
"Hang on," Dane began. "Your dad was the one who sent you in here?"
"Technically, he's not my dad," Beatrix said. "But he'll know what to do."
The door opened. Beatrix turned around. An older woman had come inside, her hair in a tight bun. Her eyes glowed a silvery white.
"Beatrix."
"Rosalind," she greeted. "They're friends. Both of them."
"It is always nice to have friends," Rosalind smiled. "I expect they want to know what happens next."
Demi
I left Bloom with Stella and Aisha. I roamed the school, looking for Riven. I had searched and searched, but I never found him. With a sad heart, I went back to the dorm.
They were all still up. They were gathered in Bloom's room. I walked inside and smiled at Stella who had acknowledged me.
"Are you guys sure Sam is okay?" Bloom asked.
"Yeah," Terra said happily. "Thanks to you and Musa."
"Please, you should have seen Terra," Musa said with a smile. "She'll be operating on all of us by the end of next week. As practice. Even if we don't need it."
"Have to say I'm quite disappointed to have missed the wings," Terra said to Bloom. "Were they like full-on Tinker Bell style?"
"They were much cooler than that," Stella told her.
"Cooler?" she said, half in disbelief. "I love Tinker Bell."
Stella smiled saying, "Of course you do."
Bloom's phone rang. Aisha grabbed it. It was her parents.
"You rest. I'll cover," Aisha said. "I'll call it my allocated lie of the month." She answered it and stood up saying, "Mr. and Mrs. Peters. Hey. No, Bloom's fine. It's been a pretty rough week. Exams are killer... "
Musa looked at me, her eyes glowing violet, and then she said, "You're awfully quiet."
"What did Silva tell you earlier?" Stella asked.
"You're making it snow again," Terra pointed out.
Suddenly, Aisha threw a pillow at my face. She smiled saying, "You need to lighten up. Come on, then."
~
Once again, I couldn't sleep. I twisted and turned, never finding the right position. Every time I closed my eyes, I pictured it – Silva stabbing my father. I know Silva had a reason, but I couldn't get over the fact he kept it away from us for sixteen years. And I hadn't seen Sky either. I didn't know how he was handling it.
My mind then went to Beatrix. How the hell she knew? I had no idea. She was one of the few who told the truth, though her methods were questionable. I still didn't know what to think of her.
Where Riven had gone was a mystery to me. I hadn't seen him anywhere, nor did he text me back. I tried convincing myself there was a reason, but I sort of hoped he'd drop all of that to find me. Then again, he wasn't a boyfriend like Sky was to Stella or Bloom. I just couldn't let my insecurities surface in my mind, so I tried pushing them away.
I heard a loud groan from the other side. I sat up. It was snowing over Stella's bed.
"Sorry... " I said sheepishly.
She sighed and walked over to my bed. I scooted over as she sat down saying, "I take it as a bad sign. Want to talk about it?"
"You know," I began. "they always talk about trust and duty, the loyalty to your people, but... "
"You find trusting anyone isn't easy?" Stella finished and I nodded.
"Recap: turns out Beatrix was conspiring with Rosalind, but she says the time we spent together was real. You know, at one point I did think of her as a sister... "
"And I couldn't find Riven after everything... " I confessed. "I have no idea where he is... and a part of me feels like he could be with Beatrix or Dane somewhere doing... whatever the hell knows what.
"And Silva... " I trailed off.
"What about him?" she asked. "What did you talk about?"
"You can't tell anyone," I told her
"I won't," she nodded.
"Earlier tonight, I learned about what happened at Aster Dell – what Sky's father was doing there."
"That was the battle he died in?" she questioned.
"No... no," I said. "That's the thing. Silva lied about Andreas. He told us he died as a hero, but he... He helped Rosalind kill all those people and what's more, is... the battle he was fighting wasn't with Burned Ones or something.
"It was with Silva. Beatrix was right. Silva killed our father. But the fact he lied about it all... I feel like I can't trust anyone."
~
We left Alfea on a short leave with permission from Dowling. We left for Gardenia, California where Bloom lived. She walked to the front first. Behind the white-picket fence, I could see them smiling, relieved.
"Girls?"
"Lovely to meet you!" Terra greeted them as we walked toward them.
"Hello," Mrs. Peters smiled.
"Uh, can my friends crash here
this weekend?" Bloom asked.
She looked at her husband and looked back at Bloom saying, "Sure."
"Cool," Bloom smiled. "They're gonna go chill in my room for a while 'cause, um, we need to talk."
"Okay... "
That week must have been one of the best. Bloom's parents had accepted it, just as Aisha and I had predicted. We even showcased our powers to them to which they were overwhelmed, but amazed.
We played, we shopped at the mall, baked, and cooked – or at least tried to cook. We laughed and smiled, with no drama whatsoever. It was a break to destress from everything that had happened days prior.
But at that time, we didn't know what would happen next. What kind of school we would come back to and the people I never thought I'd see.