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It had been three days. Days since Beatrix had been missing, and days since Stella had cried and shouted and locked herself away in her suite. She’d sent voicemail after voicemail to Beatrix, hoping for an answer. Eventually, she’d started to call just to hear that familiar sound of Beatrix saying, ‘I cannot imagine why you’d be calling and not texting.’
Was she pathetic? Perhaps. She’d started to believe it to be true when after three days of searching for Beatrix, she had still turned up nothing. Beatrix was out there in who knows what kind of state, and she can’t help but feel that she was to blame. If she had just stepped away from the suite, away from Bloom, away from all of those problems and looked at what was in front of her, maybe she would have seen someone who didn’t want to be alone. Maybe she would have answered, just as Beatrix had only days before.
She sits at her desk with a stack of books hoping there were answers in there. Bloom and the others were working with Sebastian for clues but it wasn’t fast enough. It never was.
So she writes endless notes and pins them against the wall, searching for a pattern, any pattern.
When that fails, she seeks out the last person she wanted to. Someone who would act with her instead of sticking their nose into a book while Beatrix slips away from them.
She grits her teeth and walks down the hall, waving her suitemates goodbye, who were all far too distracted with Sebastian.
She enters the specialist quarters and seeks him out. Eventually, she finds him talking amongst a few of the specialists.
‘Andreas,’ she calls out.
Andreas turns, with a raised brow. ‘Princess. I wasn’t expecting a visit from you.’ He waves off the specialists and walks over to her side, lowering his voice to a whisper. ‘Is there something I should know?’
Stella sighs and tugs at the hem of her shirt. How she wished she had something to say. ‘No,’ she tugs harder. ‘Yes.’
A small smile forms on Andreas’ face. ‘If you’re worried about your mother, I won’t tell her, ‘less it’s something dangerous.’
She considers not telling him. The last thing she needed was for her mother to try and put another gem into her back. Or worse, make the one she already had dig that bit deeper until it wasn’t just a cage for invisibility, but a complete lack of magic.
She takes a deep breath. ‘We need to find Beatrix.’ When he opens his mouth to speak, she cuts him off, pointing towards the outer grounds of Alfea. ‘I don’t mean here, in Alfea. She’s out there!’ She feels tears prick in the corner of her eyes and looks down to wipe them away, feeling embarrassed by her lack of control.
She feels a hand on her shoulder and looks up. Andreas purses his lips, and despite how much he tries to hide it, Stella can detect the water in his eyes. ‘Rosalind disagrees with the search.’
Stella feels her lip wobble and her tears fall. ‘Are you really going to listen to her? Beatrix calls you her dad. Shouldn’t you be there for her now more than ever?’
Andreas reaches forward and grips her wrist pulling her through the specialist quarters and into a small room that looked to be his office. Once they’re inside and the door is shut, she releases her arm. ‘Sorry.’ He paces around the room and runs his hand through his hair. ‘I’m not trying to hurt you, I just-’ He sighs and stops pacing. ‘She’s like a daughter to me.’
Stella bites her lip, looking him over. ‘Perhaps we can work together then.’
Andreas raises a brow. ‘What can you offer? I’ve already heard about your little gem from Rosalind.’
Stella huffs. She was well aware of her little torturous accessory. ‘I’m a princess, remember? All the knowledge you need will be at your disposal.’
Andreas tucks his hands into his pants pockets. ‘Right, right, that’s good.’ A smirk forms on his face that was so similar to Beatrix’s, Stella feels her heart start to ache. ‘Think you can get your princess hands on a map of the area? I doubt those blood witches are smart enough to get her out of here.’
Stella smiles. ‘Now that, I can do.’ She offers out her hand which he shakes with an amused smile. ‘A pleasure to work with you.’
Andreas rolls his eyes. ‘Sure, princess.’
It takes her a few hours to procure the map. With the already close scrutiny of Rosalind and her followers being increased and a lack of invisibility magic, it wasn’t easy.
With dirtied shoes from having to take a slightly hazardous path towards the library area where she knew the maps were being held, she finds herself victorious. She was able to negotiate a deal with the librarian and walk away with it in hand.
She knocks on Andreas’ door at midday and he’s quick to pull her in after checking that she hasn’t been followed.
They set the map down on his small desk, part of it flowing off the edges. He pushes it around until he finds the area he was looking for.
He points his finger at a largely forested area. ‘Here.’
Stella squints, trying to work out where exactly “here” was. ‘I admit, I’m not sure what you’re seeing.’
Andreas shakes his head and slides his finger along the map, leading back towards Alfea. ‘I remember this area. I’ve scouted it more times than I can count.’ He taps his finger against the map again. ‘It’s ah, some sort of abandoned building. I can’t be sure what it was supposed to be, but, if I was trying to set a trap, there’d be no better place.’
Stella places her hands against the map and looks up at him. ‘A trap? Are you sure?’
Andreas nods, a low laugh falling from his lips. ‘Kid, if there’s anything I’ve learnt from years of running and duty and running again, it’s that the villains always love a good trap.’
Stella drums her fingers against the desk. ‘Alright. So, what are we going to do?’
Andreas smirks. ‘We’re going to fall for it, of course.’
Stella blinks. Perhaps this is where the similarities between him and Beatrix end. Willingly entering a trap without any knowledge of what it is? She couldn’t imagine Beatrix ever doing so. She certainly didn’t do so last term.
She indulges him regardless. Her desire to get Beatrix back far outweighed her doubts about him. ‘Elaborate, please.’
‘They want my daughter for their game?’ He narrows his eyes. ‘We’ll give ‘em a game they’ll never forget.’
Stella was starting to doubt her decision but, she supposes he was right. They needed to sell the idea that they’d fallen for the trap.
The next hour is spent planning it out. Stella almost laughed in her disbelief when Andreas conceded that he’d need Saul’s help if he wanted to pull off the plan. He’d act foolish and enraged and capture the Blood Witch's attention.
Stella would monitor from afar, her phone becoming a lifeline more so than ever before.
It’s put into action with Riven, Musa, and Sky joining the fight. Stella wishes she could join. She cared little about what injuries she’d sustain, every bump, bruise, and scrape was worth it if it meant she could see Beatrix alive.
Could? Would. Would see Beatrix alive. She had to be.
The hours pass agonisingly slow. The blood witch sent falls for Andreas’ act and leads them right to Beatrix. Andreas plays the pitiful specialist that would sell his soul to the Blood Witches and they eat it up.
The battle is long and hard but everyone returns unscathed, having got out before the scrapers could get to them, with Saul and Andreas carving a path out of the building.
It seemed like the perfect ending. But when Stella sits beside Beatrix’s bed and clutches her limp hand, the marks of the scrapers lining her chest, Stella having tried to clean the blood, she couldn’t have felt worst about it.
It was only the first day. Terra and Flora had assured her that Beatrix would wake, but she needed time to rest. She feels her tears fall. What she needed was a friend. A friend who would be there for her and stop her from getting hurt.
Stella had clearly done a dismal job at that. She lets those tears fall, wetting the collar of her shirt.
She spends another hour at Beatrix’s side. Beatrix doesn’t move, doesn’t squeeze her hand, or do anything that indicates she was close to waking. She was alive but she looked so lifeless it had Stella terrified.
She hears a voice behind her break her melancholy silence. ‘Hey kid, I’m uh, happy to take over watching her.’
Andreas. Stella hastily wipes her tears away and offers one last squeeze to Beatrix’s hand. ‘Oh, of course, yes, you can be with your daughter.’
She moves to leave the room and Andreas catches her arm just as she reaches for the door handle. ‘Are you alright?’
Stella sniffs. What a painfully obtuse question to ask. She knows he can see how red her eyes are. More than that, he likely saw her holding Beatrix’s hand. Still, she appreciates it. ‘I’ll be fine.’
He makes an awkward grumbling sound but releases her. Just as she exits the door, he calls out her name. ‘Stella!’
Stella spins on her heel and faces him. ‘Yes?’
Andreas rubs the back of his neck. ‘Thanks for, uh, watching out for her.’
Stella sniffs to stop her tears. She offers no words, just a sharp nod of her head before turning around and leaving. She didn’t deserve the praise. She should have done more.
Still, in spite of what she believes, she sits beside Beatrix’s bed the next day. This time, she brings lunch and a trashy romance novel she knows Beatrix would absolutely hate. She reads it aloud, hoping to wake her and she’d called out the characters and tells Stella that she can find her books that weren’t so garbage.
She gets halfway through the book, her face stuck in a grimace when Andreas enters.
He looks painfully amused. ‘Good book?’
Stella shrugs, a smile on her face. ‘Beatrix would hate it.’
Andreas laughs. ‘That she would.’
So begins their weird almost-friendship. Stella would always be there first and eventually, Andreas would enter, sometimes with some snacks for her that he thought were cool with the kids, other times with a few awkward words a goodbye.
She had thought Andreas to be a terrible man with how he’d treated Sky. But now? She thinks that just maybe, Sky would find the same father Beatrix had.
On the fourth day, Andreas does the same switchover. Though, Stella can see the same tiredness reflected in his eyes that she saw in her own. They just wanted Beatrix to wake.
She sits in her suite common room with her suitemates scrolling through her phone without any particular goal in mind, counting down the hours.
She almost falls off the couch in her surprise when an hour later, Andreas slams their suite door open with wide eyes and a smile and turns to Stella, ‘She’s awake.’
Stella gasps, trying to process his words. She turns to him with an incredulous look that he responds to with a nod.
Beatrix was awake.
She waves off her shocked suitemates that look between the two of them trying to work out what had changed in their relationship. Stella would explain it all. Just not now. Not when she could see Beatrix.
She rushes out the door behind Andreas. She recovers when they reach Beatrix’s suite’s door and turns to face him. ‘Did you really rush out of the room when your daughter woke up?’
Andreas smiles sheepishly. ‘Uh, maybe. Does it matter? you’re here now. She’d probably want to see you first.’
Stella and not her father? Unlikely.
Still, she enters the room behind him and catches Beatrix’s bleary but very much open eyes. She feels her face flush as Beatrix speaks, ‘Stella.’
She looks over at Andreas who just smiles and pats her back. ‘I’ll just be outside. Take your time, I’ll be waiting.’ With those words, he exits the suite, leaving Stella and Beatrix alone.
She rushes over to Beatrix’s side and grips her hand. ‘Beatrix.’
Beatrix coughs and repeats her name. ‘Stella?’
Stella nods with tears in her eyes. ‘I’m here.’
When Beatrix asks her what happened, Stella tries to explain it all. She mentions the blood witches, tells her how long she’s been unconscious and admits that she and Andreas had worked together to find her.
‘You and Andreas?’ Beatrix questions, a small smirk on her face. ‘Who would have thought.’
Stella sniffs. ‘I had a good motivator to try.’ She clutches Beatrix’s hands tighter as her tears fall. ‘But none of that matters. I should have been there. I shouldn’t have shut the door on you.’ She sniffs, ‘I was so cruel and oblivious and, and-’
Beatrix squeezes her hand back. ‘I don’t hate you, Stella.’
Stella hears how pitiful her voice sounds but can’t bring herself to care. ‘You don’t?’
Beatrix shakes her head. ‘No.’ She tugs at Stella’s hand and pulls her onto the bed beside her, their legs tangling together. ‘Thank you for keeping Andreas out of trouble.’
Stella smiles. ‘He kept me out of trouble too. I may have kept trying to get through the border of Alfea until either I or it caved otherwise.’
Beatrix snorts, taking a sharp breath. ‘That would be much too cliché princess of you.’
Stella nudges herself closer, her head resting against Beatrix’s pillow and laughs. ‘How dare I do such a thing.’
Beatrix hums and wraps her arms around Stella’s waist. ‘Indeed.’
Stella sighs into the embrace before she’s reminded of Andreas. ‘You know Andreas is out there waiting, right?’
Beatrix pulls her closer. ‘He’ll live.’
Stella’s cheeks flush as she settles her hands onto Beatrix’s shoulders. ‘He’s your father. I’d hardly be making a good impression if he walks in.’
Beatrix presses her face into Stella’s shoulder. ‘You’re such a princess.’
Stella pouts. ‘I am.’
That seems to spark laughter in Beatrix. Stella briefly catches the smirk on Beatrix’s face as she tugs Stella closer and loudly shouts, ‘Dad!’
Stella panics and tries to pull away, her cheeks flushed. ‘Wait-’
Andreas throws opens the door, his eyes wide with panic. ‘What is it? Are you-’ His eyes widen as he takes in the scene before him and promptly covers his eyes with one of his hands. ‘So, princess, that’s why you were visiting my daughter.’
Stella awkwardly laughs. ‘I- well, you see-’
Beatrix answers for her. ‘Yes. That’s exactly the reason she came to visit.’
Andreas clears his throat. There’s a smile on his face peeking out from under his hand. ‘Well then, I’m happy for you.’ He points his spare hand in their direction. ‘Remember, safety and all of that.’
Stella groans loudly as Beatrix says goodbye to him and he promptly leaves the room.
She turns to face Beatrix with a pout, her cheeks still burning. ‘Why did you say that?’
Beatrix smiles. ‘Because it’s true, isn’t it?’
Stella nods. Yes. It was true. She can’t deny that. Maybe, no, definitely, she had feelings for Beatrix. She had tried to ignore them but with every lingering touch and laugh from her, she felt herself falling deeper.
Beatrix bites her lip. ‘Perhaps it’s true for me too.’
‘What do you mean?’ Stella questions.
Beatrix removes her hands from Stella’s waist and slides them up to her cheeks. ‘What I mean is, that maybe I’m feeling the same way.’
Stella leans in, her lips inches away from Beatrix’s. ‘So what do we do about it?’
Beatrix smiles. ‘I have a few ideas.’ She pulls Stella in the rest of the way, her lips pressing against Stella’s. It takes Stella a moment to realise this wasn’t a dream and was very much real. She meets Beatrix kiss for kiss, keeping them gentle in order to protect her from further injury.
When they pull away, out of breath, Beatrix rubs her thumb against Stella’s lips. ‘That certainly confirmed it.’
Stella smiles widely, feeling her cheeks ache. It did. She rests her hand against Beatrix’s neck and speaks the words she’d been wanting to say for months. ‘I love you, Beatrix.’
She watches as Beatrix loses the fight against her own smile, her cheeks lightly flushed. ‘I love you too, Stella.’
Beatrix breaks the mood with a grin. ‘Almost as much as tormenting my father with it.’
Stella snorts and rolls her eyes. ‘Well, you’ll have plenty of that to do. We have to visit the infirmary to get you checked over.’
Beatrix groans loudly. ‘Oh, you’re no fun, princess.’
Stella grins and helps Beatrix out of bed, leading her into the shower. ‘Well, I am a princess after all.’
After a shower and plenty of complaining in between kisses, they take the journey to the infirmary. Andreas meets them there and offers Stella his hand. She shakes it with a raised brow.
Andreas shifts on his feet. ‘Thank you for helping and, I’m happy about your relationship.’
Stella smiles. ‘Thank you too.’
They release each other's hands and stand side-by-side as Beatrix is checked over. Out of all of the things she had expected to happen, it certainly wasn’t this. But, she was infinitely grateful it did.
She’s glad she took the chance on him and he did the same for her. She supposes love can bring all sorts of people together.