''Friends don't treat me like you do''
It was early December and the air felt cool against Rose's skin as she walked around the forest. A gust of wind passed by her, causing her to pull her jacket tighter around her body.
The third week of the second trimester had just started and today, professor Harvey had given them the assignment to gather different herbs and plants from the forest. The aim of the assignment was to get more familiar with the forest, its plants and its other inhabitants. For the last two weeks they had only talked about it in class, but now it was time to put that knowledge to action.
While Rose moved along the paths, she noticed for the first time how strong the magic was surrounding her. At first, Rose hadn't been too excited that the assignment had to be carried out individually, but at the moment, she was enjoying the peace that the soft sounds, produced by the forest, brought her. Besides, she wasn't alone. All around her was life.
As a fire fairy, Rose had never really been drawn to the forest. To Rose, the forest was green and alive and she kind of felt like her magic was a danger to it. Just like it was when she had been practicing magic with Bloom. But this time, she felt different. Professor Harvey had told her to open up her magic, to let it communicate and it seemed to work. It no longer felt like she was an intruder or an enemy as the forest seemed to guide her to the right spots by clearing pathways and revealing the hiding spots of different plants. It was like the forest could sense what she was looking for.
The herbs and plants they had to collect had different purposes. Some could be used to make potions, some could be used for their healing properties and others could be used for spells. Only one plant was left on Rose's list, and she was sure that she had spotted it near the barrier the last time she was there with Aisha and Bloom. However, in class, they had been told that the forest is never exactly the same. It's always growing, always changing, causing the paths to change with it. It would explain why Rose didn't recognize anything, though on the other hand, her sense of direction had never been great.
She decided to keep following the path, believing that it would eventually guide her to the edge of the barrier. As Rose followed a bend, she was surprised to be met with a large body of water. Remembering that the plant could also be found near water, she decided to start her search there.
-
'You're late.', headmaster Silva remarked in an annoyed voice as Riven reached the edge of the forest.
'Yes, I know, I got held up by-.', Riven started but headmaster Silva quickly cut him off.
'I'm not interested in the why. I will see you this afternoon for some extra sparring rounds, but for now, you can join the other specialists in the forest. The first-year fairies have been given the assignment to gather plants and you, along with a few other specialists, will be patrolling the forest in case something might go wrong.'
'So, what, we're babysitters now?', Riven scoffed.
Right after Riven let out the words, a vine shot out of the ground and enclosed around his ankle. It kept growing higher and higher, taking Riven with it until he was dangling with his head just above the ground.
'You would do well to remember that even though we are inside the barrier, there's always a danger to magic.', Professor Harvey spoke as he came to stand beside headmaster Silva. 'The forest is bursting with magic and controlling their own magic is a big enough task for the first-year fairies already.'
'You're a warrior Riven, and this is part of your training.', Headmaster Silva added after he had crouched down in front of him.
Riven wanted to roll his eyes in reaction to headmaster Silva's words, but his attention was caught by Professor Harvey as the latter closed his hand, retracting his magic, causing Riven to fall flat on his stomach. There was no denying that this was a discussion he was bound to lose.
'Got it.', Riven grumbled as he got up and stalked off into the forest.
Part of my training my arse, Riven thought to himself. He was convinced headmaster Silva was punishing him for his mediocre performance of the last two weeks. You see, Riven had been selected by headmaster Silva himself when he was only twelve years old. At that young age, Riven already showcased an extraordinary level of physical strength and combat skills. His training had begun right after he was selected and that is how he met Sky, they've been training together ever since.
If only I had performed like I have for the last two weeks at the time of the selection, I wouldn't even have to be in this hell hole at all, Riven continued his stream of thought.
He had pulled out his twin swords and was angrily making his way through the forest by cutting down all the branches that were in his way but what he hadn't counted on, was that the forest would show it's discontent with his actions.
The tree that was just to his right, started to move and Riven let out a pained groan as the branches hit him right in the stomach. 'For fucks sake, I've had it with magic today.', he muttered angrily to himself while he clutched onto his middle.
As he stood bent over, a look of surprise flashed over riven's face as he spotted movement in the distance.
There she was. The reason for his weak arse performance. Rose. She had been avoiding him ever since the night they had played the drinking game. Riven had to admit, he could've handled the situation better but what was the big deal? He was having fun and nothing in his behaviour suggested that that was going to change. But then why did he feel guilty and why had he been trying so hard to, coincidentally, walk into her to spend some time with her again. All his attempts had failed miserably as Rose always managed to dodge him. But here, now, he could just walk up to her.
Riven was watching how Rose was examining a plant near the water and had just worked up the courage to approach her as he noticed a change in her body language. She abruptly stood up straight and was staring into the distance.
He quickly stepped back behind a tree and tried to figure out what she was looking at, but he didn't notice anything. As Rose started to walk away in the direction she was looking at, Riven decided to follow her.
Though he had tried to be as quiet as possible, the snapping of twigs and the crunch of the fallen leaves underneath his shoes should've made Rose aware of his presence but she never turned back to look in the direction of the noise.
Riven watched as she moved towards the barrier and decided to step in when her hand reached out to breach it.
'What are you doing?', he asked loudly as he approached her.
Silence. She wasn't even responding and was halfway through the barrier when Riven grabbed her hand and pulled her back. He wanted to speak up again but got distracted by the look on her face. It seemed distant and her eyes had turned almost black, a grave contrast to the usual bright green.
'Rosalie?', he questioned as he put both arms on her shoulders.
At that, Rose looked up at him but Riven didn't get the response he had hoped for. He watched as her hands were starting to glow and he braced himself for the attack he was sure to come. He followed the movement of Rose's hands as she brought them up but it all went too quickly for him to act. Rose had forcefully shoved her hands against his chest, using her magic to send him hurling through the air.
'Fuck.', Riven groaned while he tried to sit up. More magic attacks, absolutely fantastic, he thought to himself.
Riven could tell that Rose wasn't even paying attention to him anymore as she had already directed her gaze back to the barrier. He quickly got up and sprinted after her, pulling her back again before she could get through. This time, he had used a lot more force, causing Rose to stumble back into him. Still hurt by Rose's attack, he failed to steady them both and they fell onto the ground.
As Riven looked to his right, he noticed that Rose was still lying down next to him. Whatever this state was, it made her slow. Strong, but slow. He quickly rolled on top of her, pinning her arms down beside her head and prayed that she wasn't going to attack him again.
'Rose!', he tried in a pleading tone, using the shortened version of her name to try to get her back to reality.
It didn't work. Riven watched how Rose directed her gaze to her right hand and immediately, a flame appeared. As the flame reached Riven's hand that was holding her down, he tried to keep it in place but eventually, he had to pull his hand back.
A shockwave of pain went through his body, and he let out a loud groan.
'Rose, please, wake up!', Riven desperately tried as he held his hand to his chest.
Rose's gaze seemed to follow his movement as she propped herself up to lean on her elbows. When her eyes landed on his injured hand, it seemed to reach her. She blinked a few times and her eyes turned back to their usual green.
'Oh my god, Riven, what are you doing here?', she exclaimed as she sat up straight and quickly scooted back so that there was more distance in between the two of them. 'Wha- what happened?', she asked in a concerned voice as she seemed to take in his appearance.
His first reaction would be to yell at her for attacking him, but noticing the worried expression on her face, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
'You were-', he started after he took a deep breath, but he didn't even know what had happened exactly himself. 'It was like you were in some sort of trance.'
Rose looked at him quizzically, but her attention was dragged back to his injured hand as Riven stood up. 'I did that, didn't I?', she asked as a shocked expression took over her facial features.
'It's fine, nothing the infirmary can't fix up.', Riven responded as he held his other hand out to help Rose back up.
'No, I hurt you.', she mumbled in a soft voice as she scooted further away.
Rose wouldn't meet his gaze but the pained expression on her face was obvious.
'Rosalie, it's fine, I promise.', He tried again and, this time, she hesitantly took his hand.
The feeling of her hand sent a wave of warmth through his body and Riven was sure the effect was showing on his face but Rose seemed too distracted to notice
'Why did I do that?', she questioned as she looked down at her hands.
'I don't know for sure, but in your trance, your mind seemed set on getting through the barrier.', Riven informed her.
'And I attacked you when you tried to stop me?', she guessed and Riven just nodded in return. 'How did I even attack you? How did we land on the ground?'
In reaction to her questions, Riven explained everything. Why he was there, where he found her and what happened after. As she seemed to be thinking it all over, he spoke up again.
'So, attacking me twice...', he started before trailing off. 'Felt kind of personal.'
He had tried to keep a light tone, tried to sound amused, but Rose was not picking up on it.
'That wasn't me. Not the real me. I would never want to attack you like that.', Rose rushed out, guilt clear in her voice.
The sad and confused look in her eyes was tugging at Riven's heart, but he wouldn't be the arsehole he was if he didn't take advantage of this situation to get some answers.
'But you have been avoiding me.', he pointed out.
'What? No, I haven't.', Rose muttered back as she turned around and started to walk away.
Riven wasn't going to let it go, though.
'You have, and you know it. Ever since the drinking game, you haven't been talking to me.', he said as he followed her. His usual I don't really care attitude was wavering as he sounded a little more frustrated than he had intended.
Riven almost crashed into her as she stopped walking abruptly.
'Ever since the drinking game?', she scoffed. 'That's what you think this is about?'
Of course, not. Riven knew it was about what had happened right after, but he couldn't admit that to her, so he chose to play dumb.
'Well, isn't it?', he retaliated while waving his arms, causing Rose to let out a sigh.
'Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have avoided you. I should've been honest, but I wasn't ready. I am now.', she said as she cast her eyes down at the ground and crossed her arms in front of her body.
The words caught Riven by surprise and by her closed off posture he could tell she was uncomfortable, but he was too curious to hear what she had to say to let it go.
'Okay, so you want to tell me, then?', he asked.
'I was a little hurt. You knew I was into you, you asked me that question. Being reminded that you're rather sleeping around with someone else, in that way, it was just confronting, I guess. I just think you could've been a little bit more sensitive about it.', Rose explained in a soft voice as she kept avoiding his gaze.
If he was looking for a sign to talk about his own feelings towards her, this was it. But, of course, Riven dismissed it. He also dismissed half of what she had just said.
'Are you talking about my question during the drinking game? I was joking, Rose, I didn't think you were actually into me.', Riven defended himself. 'We're so different.'
'What's that even supposed to mean?', Rose responded as she ran a hand through her hair in frustration.
Riven wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry and that he felt the same, but did he? Did he really? Probably, but he was just going to end up hurting her because he had never been serious about anything in his life. The thoughts were racing through his head as Rose spoke up again.
'Look, it doesn't matter. I was hurt, but now I'm okay, so I'm sorry.'
Her honesty was what left him feeling guilty, since he himself, was anything but and he cursed himself for feeling disappointed about the fact that she was doing okay again. He wanted her to have feelings for him even though he knew it was wrong.
'So, we're just-', riven started. Just what? Just friends?, he thought to himself. That was what he had wanted to say but even he couldn't fool himself. 'So, we're just good, then?', he questioned as he gave her an uncertain look.
'We are. Now, come on, I want to get out of the forest. Someone else can find that plant.', Rose stated as she turned around.
Riven couldn't place the tone in Rose's voice and he wanted to analyse the expression on her face but she had turned around too quickly so he decided to let it go.
They were heading back into the direction of the school in silence but Riven still felt like he needed to say something, give her something to show he wasn't the heartless dick he seemed to be.
'I did miss you, you know.', he revealed.
'You did?', Rose asked in surprise.
He felt a sense of relief as he noticed her eyes lit up in reaction to what he was saying. 'Yeah, I missed your bad sense of humour, your annoying excitement about the history of fire magic and the way you scold me when I'm being rude.', he summed up as he looked over at her. Though she seemed to fight it, he noticed the smile forming on her face. 'But most of all, I just want to be able to focus on my training again. Getting my arse kicked about fifty times a day is no fun.'
'So I have been on your mind a lot, then?', Rose bravely responded while grinning.
'I would be lying if I said you were not.', Riven simply remarked as he looked over at her.
It felt good to him that he had given her a little insight into what he was thinking, but at least for now, this was all he could give her.
'I missed you too, Riv.', Rose replied softly as she met his gaze, a shy smile playing around her lips.
***
~ Now you all know a bit more about what goes around in Riven's mind🤔 Thank you all so much for reading my story and for voting on it! ~