Chapter Text
Five weeks and three days. That’s how long Beatrix had been gone. The first few days weren’t even the hardest, because everything had been a swift blur, but after a good two weeks, though, it had all started to hit Stella.
It began with the good memories, which quickly turned into flashes of bad memories; memories where she sat kneeled down next to Beatrix’s lifeless body, memories of the last words they’d spoken, memories of standing over Beatrix’s grave with the realization that the air fairy would never come back.
After those two weeks, Stella’s daily routine existed of lying in bed, visiting Beatrix’s grave, sleeping, telling Flora, Terra or whoever came to check on her to go away and sleep more.
And that’s what every single day looked like for five weeks in a row.
As if losing Beatrix wasn’t already enough, they also still hadn’t received any sign of life from Bloom, which did not help at all.
But as time passed, changes came with it. Today was the arrival of the new headmaster; which meant her daily depression routine had to come to a stop. If her mother saw her like this, she’d speak of a disgrace.
She forced herself to wake up early that morning, just before the others did. She took her time to get ready, knowing that putting on that façade for an entire day was going to be hard enough.
This gave her the time to prepare.
When she walked back into the bedroom she shared with Flora, the brunette had just woken up. With sleepy eyes, she gave Stella a confused look. “Am I seeing this right?”
Stella shot her a glare in return. “What?”
“You, out of bed, dressed up and ready?” Flora said, throwing her duvet to the end of the bed as she sat upright. “You haven’t done that in weeks.”
Stella rolled her eyes, not in the mood to have this conversation. She walked out of the bedroom and flopped down on the sofa by the window. It wasn’t until fifteen minutes later when the next person walked into the room.
Aisha looked just as confused as Flora did, but like her contained personality, the confusion made way for a small smile as she sat down on the other side of the sofa. “Good to see you up.”
“Thank you.” Stella managed to produce a smile back at her.
After what felt like an eternity, the others entered the room too. The confused looks kept on being thrown at her, but unlike Flora, no one else decided to get into it and Stella appreciated that.
The students had been told to gather in the central courtyard after breakfast to await the arrival of the new headmaster. No one had a clue who it was; the only information Stella received was that after two headmistresses, it would now be a man.
All the seats were perfectly placed in rows and a silence fell over the courtyard once Stella’s mom was the first one to enter the school, escorted by two Solarian Guards who left her side when she was ready to address all the students. “Students of Alfea, after the tragic loss of Rosalind Hale, there have been multiple briefings about her successor. I, along with several other respected individuals of the Otherworld, have decided that change was a necessity.” Stella could feel her mother’s gaze on her, before she continued. “I am very please to welcome your new headmaster, Lloyd Darcan.”
From the sides, a tall white man took her place. His dark curls matched with his thick beard. The small round glasses he wore made him look like a professor. He nodded at the Queen. “Thank you, your Majesty.” He then faced the students. “Many of you won’t know who I am, but here’s what you need to know. I graduated from Alfea about twenty years ago and went to Earth. It’s only until last week when I finally returned to Solaria after hearing about the recent unfortunate events that have taken place. I volunteered myself as a candidate to be the new headmaster of Alfea and I want to thank you all for choosing me and putting your trust in me.” He spoke with his hands up, like he was some sort of preacher. “I am here to make sure Alfea will honor its name and legacy. I am here to help you become your best selves, to watch you thrive and succeed.”
It was quiet after his speech, but after a soft applause came from the front row, everyone applauded the new headmaster. Everyone but Stella.
Something didn’t feel right. Maybe it was his weird background story, maybe it was the way her mother approved so fondly of him or maybe it was just this feeling in her gut.
Once everything and everyone was cleared out, Stella was just about to go outside, until her mother prevented her from doing so. “Stella.”
Stella let out a deep sigh and turned around to face her mother. “Mum. What do you want?”
“Language,” the Queen spoke sternly, before moving closer. “Make sure to get in his good graces. You need him on your side.”
“Do you even know who he is?” Stella retorted, raising a brow at her mother.
“You heard him. He was our best candidate and his vision is what’s best for Alfea,” she answered, looking her daughter up and down. “You look awful, get yourself together.”
And with that, her mother made her way to the car, not sparing her another glance as she drove off.
Stella shook her head with a scoff and made her way to the pond behind the school. As she was staring off into the distance, she heard a voice.
“So…” she immediately recognized it to be Flora, who stood next to her a moment later. “Can we talk?”
“About what?” Stella asked, averting her gaze to her roommate.
Flora shrugged, both hands in the pockets of her jacket. “This morning, maybe?”
“The new headmaster?” Stella assumed, laughing ironically. “Yeah, I don’t trust him.”
“Yeah… me neither,” Flora agreed, before continuing. “But that’s not the part I was referring to.”
“Look,” Stella started. “If this is about me not lying in bed all day, then I’m sorry to disappoint you, because when I get back to our suite later, I’ll be doing the exact opposite again.”
Stella wanted to walk away, but Flora grabbed her arm, worry in her eyes. “You know you can talk to me, right? We all went through some traumatic stuff, it’s good to let out your feelings.”
Stella’s eyes went from the hand on her arm to meeting Flora's gaze. She hesitated, but eventually figured talking to Flora wouldn’t hurt. So, she nodded ahead of them, as if to tell the brunette they could go for a walk.
And that’s exactly what they did.
“Have your wounds healed yet?” Stella asked as they wandered through the woods.
“Most of them have,” Flora responded, before standing still.
Stella frowned at the sudden stop. “What are you doing?”
Flora then zipped her jacket open and unbuttoned the first few buttons on her blouse. Bewilderment struck Stella, until Flora revealed the enormous scar above the left side of her chest. The bewilderment was replaced my sympathy.
“My God, Flora…” Stella let out. “Did the Scrapers do that to you?”
Flora nodded, quickly covering the scar back up again, before they continued their walk. “It’s a constant reminder of that day, of the pain, of that fear. It’s like you grieving Beatrix and visiting her grave every single day. It’s there and you can’t escape it.”
Flora knew. Of course, Flora knew. That girl noticed everything. “So, you know?”
Flora raised a brow. “That the only time you leave your bed is to visit Beatrix’s grave? Yes, I do.” She let out a small sigh. “I’m sorry about what happened, I didn’t know she meant that much to you.”
Stella finally felt like opening up. “Neither did I, until she was actually gone. I finally had someone who understood me, who didn’t pity me, but made me want to own my shit instead. I keep on thinking that if only I had just been there for her, she wouldn’t have sacrificed herself.”
“Hey, you don’t know that,” Flora spoke softly. “You shouldn’t feel guilty for something you had no control over.”
“But that’s the point, isn’t it?” Stella said, shaking her head. “I should’ve been there. Now she’s gone and all I can feel is guilt, emptiness and pain.”
“Look,” Flora started, stopping in her tracks once again. “I know nothing I say now will make all of that go away, but if you ever need to just… talk, like this, or need a hug or something, I’m here. Take the time to heal.”
Stella felt a genuine smile form on her lips. “Thank you. And if you ever need any of that, I’m here for you too.”
Flora smiled back at her and opened her arms, welcoming Stella into a comforting hug. As she pulled away, Stella had one final thing to say. “I’m sorry for being a bitch this morning.”
Flora let out a laugh and shrugged. “I can take it.”
The rest of Stella’s day consisted of class, asking if there was any sign of Bloom – which there wasn’t, a quick visit at Beatrix’s grave and spending every other second in her room. Yes, she knew it was bad, it didn’t help and all it did was make her feel worse, but at least she’d been out of her room for longer today than all those other days together.
Stella sat on her bed, already drifting away into her thought again, until Musa peeked around the corner. “We’re going out, want to tag along?”
“I think I’ll pass,” Stella responded, forcing a closemouthed smile.
Musa nodded in understanding. The mind fairy had been like that ever since what happened and it would make sense, if it weren’t for the fact that she wore the bracelets that restrained her from using her power. But still, Stella appreciated it.
“Call me if you need anything, okay?” Musa then said, looking at her with that nod if you understand look.
Stella answered with a firm nod and watched as Musa took off, hearing her tell the others that she’d stay behind. It was only a moment later when she heard the door shut and she was all alone again.
Her eyes wandered off to her desk, looking at a note that stuck out from under a pile of paper. She suddenly remembered what the note said.
ISOBEL AND D'ARCY DANIELS
9A TEWKSBERY
DIAMOND HILL
Maybe this was how she could get rid of all that guilt, emptiness and pain. She needed to find Beatrix's sisters, she at least owed her that. It’s what she would’ve wanted.
Suddenly, a few loud bangs sounded on the door of the suite. Feeling like an emotional wreck, Stella tried to pull herself together and walked towards the door.
Another loud knock came from the other side, making Stella go from emotional to irritated. “Stop banging on the door!”
With that, she opened the door. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
She expected one the girls.
Maybe Sky.
Even Bloom would’ve been a more realistic option.
Yet, it were none of them.
Beatrix. She was right there. Alive. Beatrix.
Stella had her mouth open, not being able to produce a single word as Beatrix stood there in the doorway, confusion all over her face.
“Can I come in?” Beatrix spoke in an unamused tone as she felt the back of her head, wincing in pain. “Or are you just going to stand there?”
Stella moved away from the door, her eyes following the girl as she walked in and closed the door behind her. This was a dream, this had to be a dream.
“I woke up on the ground with the most unbearable headache. It was so strange…”
“Beatrix?”
The air fairy ignored Stella and wandered around the room. “Where is everyone?”
“Beatrix…”
She then finally turned to face Stella. “What?”
Stella stood there, still shaken up as nothing seemed to make sense anymore. She walked up to Beatrix, who looked too real for this all to be a dream or illusion.
Carefully, she reached out and placed her hand over the spot where her heart was supposed to be. She closed her eyes at the feeling of a strong heartbeat.
As confused as Beatrix was, she grabbed Stella’s hand and slowly moved it away. “Stella, what are you doing?”
Stella swallowed lightly, before meeting the girl’s brown eyes. “You’re supposed to be dead.”