Twenty-One
~~Hope's Point Of View~~
Scanning around the base of the tree, my hand clenching the small little gardener shovel. "Where did the journal say exactly the ashes were?"
Gilliett chuckled as he came over and knelt down to one spot. "Right here where I said yesterday."
I sat down beside him and looked to the spot that was between a root that split into two. The ground wasn't clear as I would expect. Growing up from the soil was a single flower. A strange looking flower with sun yellow tips and a blood red center.
"This is an ash flower. It only grows over the ashes of a phoenix that never rises again. The flower never fades after it blooms the first time."
"Will it die if we take some of the ashes?"
He shook his head turning and sitting on the other side of the root next to the flower. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a small flower pot. "I thought you might like to have it for your room."
"But I couldn't take it."
He placed the pot down and gestured to the flower. "Another will grow in its place and a newly risen phoenix loves the smell of an ash flower. It's like the scent of a mother or father to them. The comfort of home."
I looked back at the flower and touched the orchid like flower. With one last pause, I started to remove the flower from the soil. Gilliett helped me tend to the plant and place it into the little pot he brought for it. The flower looking just as healthy in the pot as it had in the ground.
Then Gilliett smirked. "When you have your phoenix, don't be shocked it goes to the bathroom in the soil. It's only natural for it." He chuckled at the look on my face. "You'll never have to water or fertilize this little flower because your phoenix will do that instinctually for you. As you and your phoenix will have a bond, t will also bond to this flower because it knows where part of itself came from. Right here."
"Oh. So there's more to this beautiful flower than at first glance."
"Didn't you read about this from your ancestor's journal?"
I shook my head. "Not yet. That's on my agenda for the next month. I want to be fully ready to care for my phoenix when I create her."
He helped me unearth the ashes below the soil. "Now you don't need much, just a small vial of the ashes. Don't want to fully break the enchantments that are still tied to these ashes."
I nodded pulling out a small glass potions bottle. It wouldn't hold more than ten drops of any liquid which made it perfect for holding Melerick's late phoenix's ashes. I hadn't used t for anything yet, and had no plans for it so this worked out. I needed a fresh bottle that was untouched and I had one.
We covered up the remaining ashes with the now disturbed soil. A few sprinkles of water and we were completely done. Gilliett held the flower as we walked back. The small bottle in my hand.
"Have you thought about a name for your phoenix?"
I smiled shaking my head. "I don't want to think of just coming up with a name. I want to look into my phoenix's eyes and have her tell me what her name should be." Looking at him, he was smiling back down at me. "That's how Melerick did it, and I like that tradition."
He held out his hand. "Here, lets put the bottle with the flower. It'll keep the bottle safe and you'll be the only one to retrieve it." When I gave him the ashes, he placed it on a leaf of the flower. It curled it's leaf around the tiny bottle and tucked it next to the stem.
"That was so cute."
Gilliett laughed. "I knew you'd like that."
We started up the stairs and I couldn't stop smiling at the little flower. To know that it came from Melerick's phoenix's ashes, I felt a bit more connected to him and it. Not that I didn't feel connected before. This little plant just made what I'm gong to do even more real for me and that I will be able to create my very own phoenix.
Nearly at the second floor of the dorms, my sight darkened for a moment before it felt like someone wrapped their arm around my throat and pulled me backwards. Twisting me slightly as if to keep themselves from falling with me. I didn't even have time to brace myself before the first hit came. A hit that made the world go black and pain shoot through the side of my head.
~~Gilliett's Point Of View~~
I turned just in time to see Hope hit the first step. We were at the very top of the stairs and my heart clenched seeing her falling. I didn't even see how it happened.
Quickly placing the flower pot down and the rest of the stuff, I lifted a hand up. Calling my air element to my aid. The wind rushed passed me and I felt it wrap around Hope. My heart pounding as I guided her body to lay down on the landing.
Flying down the stairs, I fell to my knees and turned her to find blood running down her temple. Pulling off my shirt, I pressed it to the large cut across her forehead. Quickly I managed to tie my shirt to her forehead before I scooped her up into my arms rushing down the stairs and to the clinic.
Barging in, I scanned to see the school nurse flirting with one of my colleagues. We all knew they've been into each other, but now I was about to interrupt them. "I need help!"
They both snapped their heads my way and then as if one, ran over to me as I set Hope down. "What happened?"
I shook my head. "I don't fully know. One moment we were walking up the stairs and then she was pulled back down the stairs. There was no one around. When I turned, I saw her hit her head one of the steps. All I could do was prevent her from getting any more hurt."
Millian, whom we all call Milly among all the staff, slowly pulled my shirt from Hope's forehead. The blood smearing and then then flowing again unheeded. "The gash is nasty. We'll have to keep her out for the rest of the day."
Jared set a tray down for Milly. He was the professor of Runes and Symbology, the study of symbols. His class isn't as involved like my class is, but it does help our students under stand there is so much in our world and helps with magic work. He even gets out of working the challenges most of the time. Not that he wasn't strong magically, but because not all the professors are needed during the battles. He doesn't seem to mind one bit by the look of things before I pulled them away.
After he turned away from Milly, he left for a heart beat before he appeared next to me when a shirt. "Thanks."
He gave me a tight smile as he sat down next to me on the clinic bed that was next to Hope's. "Just didn't want a shirtless guy distracting Milly."
I chuckled and then sighed. "How could I not see anything when it happened? I made a promise to myself to make sure Hope isn't hurt this year, but now she's bleeding."
Jared frowned at me. "I bet there wasn't anything you could do. Maybe you should go tell Headmistress Alexi. She'll investigate what happened."
"But I want to make sure nothing else happens to Hope."
He hopped up and then yanked me away from the girls. Just outside the door to the clinic, he turned to me and searched my eyes. "You're a little too attached to a student."
I looked back into the clinic seeing Milly place a vine on Hope's cut. The vine had tiny little tentacles that grip the skin and pull it closed. What the vine feeds on is the smallest amount of blood on a person's skin. The vine also excretes a toxin that actually speeds up the healing process of the skin.
"Wait a minute..." I turned to him and he's gawking at me. "You're falling for her."
I shook my head. "I care about her, yes. But there's no way I'm falling for Hope."
He crossed his arms. "Are you sure about that?"
"Positive. You didn't see her last year like I did. I tried everything I could do to keep her from what happened." I scrubbed my face. "Even with everything, I failed and she nearly died."
"I think you maybe a little too close."
I shook my head. "Headmistress Alexi and Theo don't think so. They both understand that Hope is a unique case." I smiled. "Theo has been talking with Hope even more than I do a times. I think if anyone has fallen for our Hope, I think it would be him as he tends to think of her as his daughter."
Sighing, I looked back at Hope to see Milly was done fixing her up and placed a blanket over her. "I'll go inform our Headmistress who i bet will most likely go into labor the second I tell her."
Jared chuckled. "She is blooming nicely." He padded my shoulder and walked back into the clinic toward Milly.
With one last look at Hope, I made my way to the field and to Headmistress Alexi. My heart pounding as I did. A little bit of fear at her reaction to what happened. I used what little time I had before I was in front of both Theo and Alexi.
In front of the headmistress, I knelt down. "Headmistress..." I swallowed when she placed a hand over heart and a look of agony slipped into her eyes. "Something has happened."
Before I could blink, Theo was up out of his seat and rushing toward the school building. Alexi placed her hand in both mine. "Tell me what happened."
With a much larger swallow, I told her everything. The feeling of guilt and upset twisted my stomach, but I stopped them from being sen by anyone. After I was done, she requested to be taken to where Hope had fallen. She was on her phone as we made our way talking animately to someone on the other end. From what I gathered, it was a guardian that she was getting to come out to investigate.
At the stairwell, I told her everything after I retrieved the ash flower. I was going to make sure the flower was possibly the first thing Hope saw when she came to. I just hope we could solve what happened on the stairwell and prevent it from happening again.
Please let nothing else happen to Hope. It's all I could pray for from now on as I had last year. Maybe now that pray could be answered unlike last year.