Chapter Text
Flora knows how common it is for magical powers to change and grow. She’s seen it herself, achieving her Charmix and her Enchantix, as well as with her friends. She’s seen the Magical Dimension turned upside down due to power shifts, and she’s seen it righted by those same shifts. Nothing is ever certain in magic.
But she’s certain about who she is and what her magic is meant to be. She is the fairy of nature, of everything green and growing. A fairy who often faces off against evil witches that seem to have everything to counter her. A fairy that is better off sitting on the sidelines than try to fight a losing battle. She excels in class, can take every assignment thrown at her and come out of it with a high mark. But put her on the battlefield, and she feels absolutely useless. Plants can only do so much when they’re frozen or ripped to shreds seconds after appearing.
It’s always so odd to her, how Helia doesn’t present with any magic but is able to read her perfectly. She can give him a single smile and he’ll know everything she’s done that day. Every word she’s read, every girl she’s waved to in the hallways, every plant she’s grown. He’s been the only person that Flora has taught how to communicate through plants, which makes it a much more reliable system than mailing letters back and forth. Her friends, as much as she loved them, could be very nosy and invasive (she was too, just not when it came to very personal messages between her and her boyfriend). Besides, there were always plants at Red Fountain.
Flora and Helia are currently sitting atop a hill halfway between their two schools, shaded under a large tree that Flora may or may not have been helping grow between their meetings. Helia is sketching a flower that she’s summoned, catching every detail of the petals while she leans against his side. They don’t usually say much when they get together. They don’t really have to. It’s enough to just be in each other’s presence, without any nosy fairies or Specialists trying to interrupt their time.
“I can hear your thought racing. Tell me what’s bothering you.” Helia says gently, looking from his sketch to Flora. She doesn’t know why she still tries to hide things from Helia. After everything they’ve been through together, facing villains like the Trix, Darkar, and Valtor, she should know better. She should just come out and say it. But it had taken so much courage to get his attention the first time, to admit to him everything she felt and how it had completely altered her life.
Flora sighed. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. About who I am, about who my magic is. Everything has changed so much in the last few years, including all of our friends. But I feel like I’m just…stuck. I’m the Fairy of Nature, and yet everyone we face is so much stronger than me. My plants don’t do much against ice or lightning, and flowers tend to shrivel up when faced with pure darkness. I’m advancing the same as everyone else, but they’re all so much stronger and able to take care of themselves. I’m not. I just don’t know how long I can go before I can’t do anything useful.”
Helia wrapped his arm around Flora’s shoulders, pressing a kiss to her head. “You’re not useless, Flora. And you’re not stuck, either. You’ve grown so much from when I first met you, and it’s been incredibly to watch you every step of the way. But I think you’re downplaying your abilities just a little bit.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said it yourself: you’re the Fairy of Nature. But nature isn’t just plants. Nature is the rain that waters the plants. The dirt it sits in. The crystals that hide within the rocks. The creeks and streams that completely reshape the land to them. The snow that makes the ground rest during winter. Plants are your specialty, that’s true. But I think there’s more power that you haven’t been taking advantage of.”
And there’s beautiful Helia again, making Flora realize yet another thing about herself. Beautiful, genius, talented Helia. So, she takes his advice. She doesn’t tell the others, nor does she perform any new magic in class, but she practices. Often at night, in a clearing just a short distance from Alfea. And it’s natural to her, just how easy the first rainstorm of the drought they were in appears. How she laughs when she realizes that it’s her rain, her gift to the Earth. The wind listens to her calls. The crystals she summons all come willingly, showing off dazzling colors in order to impress her. The rocks bend themselves in whatever shapes she commands, the ice forms and melts in her hands faster than she’s ever seen before. She even befriends some of the animals out there, chatting quietly to the birds and the squirrels that inhabit the trees. She’d even noticed the energy flowing through these things, gleaming lights that made perfect circles she could track. She feels so strong now, like she can actually take on a challenge.
It had been a peaceful semester at first, which should have put Flora on edge. They never got a peaceful year. Someone always wanted to take over the magic dimension, and it was no surprise when it was the Trix once again. Apparently, they were back for Alfea again, attacking students who had been sitting in the yard peacefully eating. Flora had been outside that day, had watched as Darcy started blasting down on innocent young fairies that had never been involved in the battle. It made her angry, ignited a spark she hadn’t ever felt before. It was time to figure out how far her training had come.
Her transformation immediately drew the attention of the Trix, who all smirked at her. Icy looked particularly pleased. “So, the little plant fairy is the only one who will face us. This should be an easy enough fight. Stormy, she’s all yours.”
“My pleasure.” The weather witch grinned, gathering dark clouds above the school. Flora could feel the lightning crackling in them, could see how each and every strike belonged to Stormy. But she wasn’t the same fairy she had been even a month ago.
Flora had found lately that she no longer had to announce her spells. The more she explored and expanded on who she was, the less she had to speak. She simply raised her hand, letting a blinding white light fill it as she closed it into a fist. A large crystal spire now filled the air, Stormy stuck in the middle of it with a shocked face. The other Trix shared the same expression, especially as Flora took off into the air. “What’s the matter? I thought you said this would be a simple fight.”
Icy grit her teeth, staring at Flora with what could only be described as absolute abhorrence. “Oh, I hate you fairies!”
“The feeling is mutual. But if it’s some weather you want, I can give you weather too.” The lightning disappeared from the clouds in a flash, heavy rain replacing it.
Darcy yelped as a thick vine wrapped around her waist, pulling her harshly to the ground. Flowers bloomed on the ground where she’d landed, a thick pink pollen surrounding her. “What is this?” She demanded, trying to push herself up before falling back to the ground.
“Sleep pollen. More effective when you breathe it is, but your dry skin is so desperate for water that it’s absorbing the pollen as well.” Flora giggled, flipping over the blast Icy sent her way.
“You little worm! There’s no way you’re doing this by yourself.” She snarled, sending blast after blast.
“This is all me, Icy. Your days of pushing me around are over.” Flora called over the wind, which was now pushing Icy to the ground. She was trying to fight it, trying to fly higher, but Flora was stronger. The ground opened up around Icy’s feet, the roots deep underground wrapping around her boots and pulling her into the new hole. It immediately closed around her shoulders, burying her up to her neck.
The clouds cleared as Flora landed on the ground, changing back from her Fairy form. She could hear a few of the teachers running up behind her, but she already had it handled. She felt strong. She had done it all by herself.
“Flora! Are you alright?” Stella asked, flying over and hugging Flora tightly.
She giggled, getting mobbed by the other girls as the followed Stella. “I’m fine! I can’t say the same for the Trix, though.”
“You had us worried sick! When the others came and told us you were facing the Trix all by yourself, we weren’t sure we’d make it in time.” Techna explained, looking over the incapacitated witches.
Griselda pushed her glasses up her nose, tapping her foot impatiently. “Well, Miss Flora, you have quite a lot of explaining to do. How did this happen?”
Flora smiled, turning to the small group of faculty. “Well, I’ve come to realize a lot about myself lately. I’ve been holding myself back for a very long time. I am not just the Fairy of Plants, I am the Fairy of Nature. All of Nature. When the Trix started attacking, I knew I couldn’t just sit around and let them attack innocent fairies. So, I faced them head on. I was only planning on buying time, but it wasn’t needed.”
Aisha whistled, elbowing Flora. “You’ve been holding out on us.”
Palladium was smiling happily, nodding to himself. “Well done, Flora. I think you’ve got a very bright future ahead of you.”