Chapter Text
The queen remains silent for a moment, quietly sipping her steaming tea. It is time to confess to Ben what is in her heart and to tell him her vision for the future.
"I'm sorry I was tough on you when you didn't deserve it," she apologises sadly. "I doubted you and I was so obsessed with trying to make Alfea the most excellent school that I didn't even realise that the best teacher was right in front of me. I'm ashamed of myself, Ben, you deserve so much better than to stay here far from your home."
He smiles at her with an amused expression, without any resentment, and, with his usual bonhomie, sits down next to her.
"So you think I'm a good teacher?"
"Of course, the best teacher of botany and potions, actually," she assures him with conviction. "That's why I'd like to ask you a favour."
Her friend gives her a surprised look as he hands her the crackers.
"What kind of favour?" he inquired, both doubtful and happy to be able to help her.
"Well, since the new teacher arrived, Stella's grades have dropped, and she's no longer interested in lessons, just like her fellow students," the queen admits with an embarrassed gaze. "And that's not all, because in her last potions class she blew up part of the laboratory room because of a bad instruction...and she hasn't been allowed in attending class since. I want her to do well on exams, to learn things, to be proud of herself. I don't think this can be done without you. I propose that you come to my place every Saturday to give her private lessons...and if you have to spend the whole day there, there's no problem, you'll be paid accordingly."
He adjusts the plaid with a smile and rubs her stomach vigorously, touched by her proposal and by the students' distress. He already knows what answer to give her, when it comes to helping other people, Ben is always up for it, and he sees it as an opportunity to get to know her better.
"I'm sorry it happened this way," he regrets, shaking his head. "I want you to know that I accept your offer. I would hate to see a student as brilliant as your daughter fail because of bad teaching."
Luna's eyes come to life and start to glow, as if awakened from a long torpor.
"Thank you, Ben, I'm so glad!" she exclaims, grabbing his arm tightly with delight. "I can't wait to start...well, for Stella to start."
The fairy blushes violently and lowers her head, realising the blunder she has just made. Because if she asked him this favour, it's not only to help her daughter, but also to spend more time with the botany teacher.
The latter, who has noticed her embarrassment, takes the opportunity to tease her gently:
"I'm looking forward to starting too...if you want, I can also give you some private lessons."
She blushes harder and turns crimson as her hand slides to her friend's.
"Even if you already give me the benefit of your medical skills, I wouldn't mind if you taught me some naturopathy and herbal medicine," she suggests before biting into a cracker, already energized.
He looks at her, moved by her shyness, well hidden under her mask of a strong woman, as well as by her thirst for knowledge.
"I'm sure you'll be an excellent student, if not the best...each brilliant teacher needs a brilliant student!"
She laughs, flattered by his compliment, ready to make her second proposal.
"Ben, may I ask you a slightly private question?" she interrogates him, growing serious again.
He seems to hesitate for a moment before being reassured by her sincerity.
"Come on."
"How do you feel about the school? Is everything all right? Don't you miss Alfea too much?"
He runs his hand over his chin, which is covered with a two-day growth of beard. She has just asked him this question with softness and real empathy.
"Well, let's just say it's complicated here, I have Sam, but I don't feel as good as I used to at Alfea...," he confides to her with melancholy and spite. "And I miss my daughter and Flora, and my students too. I left because of Rosalind and the atmosphere there, it was very difficult to leave. But now that I've been here for a while, I feel a bit better, I've settled in, and life goes on."
He frowns, suddenly curious to know what's going on in her mind, before adding, arms crossed, sceptical:
"Why do you ask?"
The light fairy puts her cup down on the coffee table and thinks about how she is going to make her proposal. She knows that Ben is very attached to his son and probably won't be too keen on returning to Alfea without him and leaving him here alone.
"In fact, I was wondering if you shouldn't take the exam to become the Headmaster of Fairies at Alfea," she advises him confidently. "We haven't found anyone yet, not many people are applying and the only candidates didn't fit the criteria."
Professor Harvey gives a little laugh, both amused and bitter, as he thinks of his late friend and sworn enemy, who also died in the conditions she deserved.
"You want me to take Farah's place, stolen by Rosalind?" he retorts, sarcastic. "Wouldn't you be secretly trying to have my ass? When you see the disastrous fate that has befallen the previous headmistresses, I can understand why this job has had so little success..."
She laughs at his joke and clasps his hand in hers to show her support, feeling a little guilty about Farah's death.
"I don't think that fate is specific to this job, Ben, and I know that you have all the qualities required to apply," she encourages him with aplomb, determined to convince him to try. "You're willing, competent, patient, caring, a passionate professor, you have the authority to run a school. "
She looks away slightly to hide her confusion at the effect this man is having on her, which she is well aware of, before continuing in all honesty:
"You've taken care of me today, I'm not about to forget it. I see all these qualities in you, you deserve to be headmaster, and the students deserve you, you bring value to the school."
Caught off guard, unsure of how to react to this request and all these compliments, he withdraws his hand from Luna's, who seems pained by this abrupt gesture. Thanking people in this way, exposing herself as she has just done and being so kind is not in the Queen's habits. Ben abruptly feels privileged but is torn between coming back to Alfea, his home, to his daughter and niece, and staying at this relatively austere school with his son.
"Your offer is very attractive, but my life is here now, I have my students, my son who will soon finish his studies, I can't just move here and there, especially during the year, even if going back to Alfea would be tempting despite the painful memories that remain, notably Rose's disappearance and Farah's death," he gently refuses, very annoyed at the idea of disappointing her.
She nods and smiles so as not to show her disillusionment. Deep down, she regrets not having opposed his transfer. Now it is too late, she can only blame herself for not believing in him and trusting him earlier. He may never come back to Alfea, although he was one of the best teachers there.
"Fine, but think about that, think about everything I've told you," she insists sweetly, playing her last card. "Will you do it?"
He gives her a knowing wink and smiles as he holds out his hand, which she shakes, understandingly and cordially, perked up.
"Absolutely, it's a deal, Majesty," he says enthusiastically.
For long seconds, their hands remain sealed, tied together, as if the world no longer exists. Ben's eyes are lost in his friend's azure ones, which never cease to stare at him, both piercing and warm. The cheeks of both fairies turn pink as their hands slide into each other, until only their fingers clasp. Like two teenagers discovering their first emotions, they smile almost stupidly, their hearts beating wildly as one, feeling, in their guts, the chrysalises becoming butterflies.
Noticing that they both have thumbs up, suddenly gripped by a surge of childhood nostalgia, Stella's mother makes a rather disconcerting suggestion:
"Thumb wrestling?"
"If you want," he agrees, a little astonished to see the bold queen engaging in this kind of activity.
She lifts her chin with a defiant gleam in her eye, ready to make her conditions, implacable.
"If I win, you agree to take the exam to become a headmaster."
Dubiously, he pushes his glasses further up his nose with a mischievous look.
"I don't think it's really fair, my dear," he protests, before making his own conditions. "But with respect for the principle, that's okay, and if I win, I'll ask you to stay and rest until the evening, until you regain your strength."
The light fairy lends herself to the game and nods her head in approval:
"Well, no problem, let's do it this way, then."
Her friend lifts an eyebrow, mocking, ready to fight with this queen who intrigues him and arouses his interest, but who also keeps staring at him.
"Except that I'm going to win, you don't stand a chance," he teases her to motivate her and titillate her sometimes misplaced pride.
This does not fail to strike a chord in Luna's mind, who tends to be a sore loser, defeat and failure not being part of her vocabulary.
"We'll see about that, Headmaster Harvey, if I were you, I wouldn't build castles in the sky," she replies in a tone of voice so suave and threatening it would have made Rosalind collapse.
He giggles, flattered by this appellation. She really wants him to be the Headmaster of Fairies at Alfea, and she doesn't seem to want to give up.
With a solemn air, he raises his left hand to start a countdown with his fingers.
"Three...two...one...go!"
A fierce thumb battle ensues, mingled with the innocent laughter of the two fairies who, like children, try to get the upper hand, hoping to win the game. The level is high, the thumbs move at lightning speed, moving like sunlight through the trees. Ben tries to pin Luna's thumb, who dodges and attacks back, so much so that the botany teacher is forced to retreat. She wants him to take a chance, she won't let him go.
However, she is not the only one dreaming of victory. Ben would also like to win, especially to be able to keep her with him for two more hours, because since she arrived, he hasn't seen the time pass, and he knows that she is going to leave a pretty big gap. He loves Luna, he can't deny it, and he doesn't care about the mistakes of the past. He is determined to spend more time with her, and to do so, he is willing to try everything. When she least expects it, he manages to gently pin her thumb and immobilise it.
She shrieks, surprised by his speed.
"I warned you, my dear, I've won, and you have gained two extra hours in my company," he gloats with a falsely pretentious air.
Pulled between the displeasure of having lost and the joy of staying with him a little longer, his friend holds back her laughter, feigning pain in order to play a joke on him.
"Ouch, I think you've broken my thumb," she lectures him in a rather dry tone.
Immediately, as she expected, his smile fades and his face becomes worried as he wraps his hand around hers and bends over the supposedly injured thumb.
"I'm sorry I hurt you, let me take a closer look..."
She doesn't give him time to examine her finger as she can't contain a chuckle, amused and moved by the attention he is showing.
"Just kidding, it was a joke."
Ben looks up into the Queen's mocking face and laughs as he gives her a loving hug. Satisfied with the idea of spending the end of the day with him, she joins in the laughter and welcomes the embrace, happy to have him in her life. It's been so long since they've known such happiness, and this precious moment is full of simplicity: a conversation, a caress, a thumb war, a giggle, a hug, but it's also the purest truth.
It's all about the alchemy between two people snuggling in each other's arms, just waiting to blossom.