forum Alfea College for Fairies [Elemental Fairies] (Closed)

Started December 03, 2022 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

Headmistress Dowling easily forced a smile to her features. Inside her pocket, however, her fingers were gripping her phone so tightly that blood pulled from her knuckles and turned them white. She realized how tightly she was holding onto it and briefly was afraid she might break the fragile device before she released her grip, slipped her hand out of her pocket, and clasped her hands in behind her back.

"Thank you, girls." Dowling noticed the sudden feelings of worry or curiosity the pair felt and decided in an instant it was best if they knew nothing for now. "Everything is alright, there's nothing to worry about," she assured them, although she wasn't even sure about that herself. "You best be getting back to the school now. You wouldn't want to be late for your first class of the term with Professor Harvey."

Penny almost sighed at the thought of class. Right. She would really have to hurry if she wanted to change, and she was not showing up in singed clothing. She did have a backup outfit ready so if she could get to her room she could quickly change and get to class. She doubted she had any shot of making it on time, but at least she would try not to be too late.

"Okay, well then see ya," Penny said, in a way that was probably too casual to talk to one's headmistress. And with that, she hurried off to go change, not waiting for Mia. If not for her incident, she may have waited for the other girl, but she was determined to both not show up extremely late and not show up in her current outfit.

She was thankfully able to get to her dorm this time, and quickly changed before she headed off to class. Though that would be a bit more difficult with her navigation skills, and as she walked there, she worried that she'd get lost.

“Oh! Of course.” Mila nodded, remembering her schedule. “Thank you again, Headmistress.” she smiled before quickly following Penny. At least until her roommate headed toward the dorms and Mila continued on to her class.

She wasn't sure if their schedules were the same or not but she was already planning to save a seat for Penny, just in case.

Headmistress Dowling watched the girls go, and once they were a considerable distance away, she allowed herself to feel the edge of panic that had appeared when she’d first read Saúl’s text.

She pulled out her phone and read the message again to be sure, then again because she still didn’t believe it. No, she thought as the words processed for the second time in her mind. No, it can’t be.

As soon as Mila and Penelope were completely out of sight, Farah pivoted on her heel and headed as quickly as she could to the edge of the Barrier. With every step, the closer she got, the more her heart raced. It was terrifying.

She reached where Barrier's edge met the forest, and she left safety behind her. The Barrier glowed blue around her as she pushed through it, but it didn't deter her in the slightest. She wove through the trees in the forest until she was able to see two familiar figures in the distance.

"Farah!" Saúl called when he saw her, and Ben turned to look at her as well.

Farah quickly hurried toward them. "Saúl. Ben," she addressed the men as she grew closer. "Please tell me this is a joke.”

"I wish we could," Ben answered before motioning to something on the ground, concealed by a bush. His eyes turned green, and with his earth magic, the greenery covering the object receded, giving the teachers a clear view of what it had been hiding. Farah slowly made her way around so she could see, and she gasped softly when she saw it.

The shepherd's corpse was bloody, having been lacerated in multiple places. Some of the blood had dried, indicating it had been at least a few hours since the attack. Along with the oozing red scratches that almost looked like claw-marks, bits of black char seemed to confirm something in Farah’s mind, and the other men’s as well.

“It’s fresh,” Saúl remarked decidedly.

While the trio had seen plenty of dead bodies in their lifetime, the chill of seeing one never seemed to leave Farah. She shuddered at the sight of the mangled body.

“Maybe a wolf?” she suggested, wanting so badly to believe it, but the evidence was firmly against her.

Seeming to sense her hopeful doubt, Saúl contributed as well. “Or a bear. He could have gone out to protect his herd. Got surprised.” His eyes met Farah’s for an instant then darted down to the shepherd's body as if the excuse was plausible.

“I’m happy to continue the guessing game,” Ben remarked as he knelt down and scraped a bit of the blackened area from one of the wounds. “But this is char residue.”

Farah inhaled sharply, stiffened, and lifted her nose into the air. No, she thought again. She knew what it meant. It could only mean one thing.

“How long since the last sighting?” Saúl asked, expectantly looking to Farah.

She didn’t return his gaze and instead kept her eyes locked on the char Ben had scraped up. While she did open her lips to answer, it was Ben who spoke first.

“About two decades,” he said, turning his attention back to the corpse.

“Sixteen years,” Farah cut in sharply. Her tone indicated absolute certainty. Neither of the men contradicted her. “Rosalind was relentless,” she quietly added.

“It could have been hiding in the mountains,” Saúl attempted to justify it. “Waiting—“

Before he could continue, Farah aggressively cut him off. “She killed all the Burned Ones.”

“We thought she did,” Ben came to Saúl’s defense, turning from the body again to face his colleagues and friends.

“Ben what we think is irrelevant.”

Any soft side of Farah Dowling had temporarily vanished. At this moment, she was solely the Headmistress of Alfea, and her commanding presence forced both Saúl and Ben to respect her and her authority.

“The Barrier’s doing its job.” Headmistress Dowling inhaled deeply and looked from the corpse to Professor Harvey to Specialist Headmaster Silva. “Until we know something for sure, let’s get this cleaned up before gossip starts.”

With that, Farah turned and headed back to the school, exhaling a deep, worried sigh as she walked. This was bound to be her most eventful year as headmistress yet.

—

Though the schedule said Professor Ben Harvey, the woman at the front of the classroom was definitely not him. Professor Aimee LeRoy greeted the students with a warm smile.

“Hello, students! I’m sorry, but something urgent came up that Professor Harvey needed to see to. I’ll be here until he gets back, which should be shortly. In the meantime, he wanted me to pass out the list of materials needed for this term,” Professor LeRoy explained, passing out green sheets of paper to each student on her walk back through the desk rows set up in the greenhouse.

(We can skip to the next day before lessons, if you guys want to :))

(Perfect!)

The next afternoon, after a long day of teaching classes, Farah retreated back to her office for a brief minute of sanctuary. She was currently sitting at her desk, perusing a long document.

Saúl was out training the first-year Specialists. According to him, they were considerably failing at mastering the training regimen, so he was taking time to give them extra lessons in the basics of Specialist training. Farah was sure the students would be thrilled. Meanwhile, Ben was busy teaching a beginning alchemy class in the greenhouse for the first and second years.

The business of her friends meant Farah finally had uninterrupted time for herself to get her excess work done. She often considered teaching to be the easiest part of her job – handling out-of-control students tended to be a bit more exciting than hours of paperwork.

Still, it needed to be done, so there she was, relinquishing hours of her life away to filing and doing a job meant for her assistant. While Callum was a good man, from what Farah could tell, he did have his shortcomings, and one of them was the ability to keep well-organized and understandable records.

As her mind strayed to the potential task of hiring a new assistant for her office, the headmistress sighed longingly. She was nearly finished, but the way Callum had organized this final report was making it impossible to interpret. Farah used her magic to open the door and called out to her secretary. "Callum!"

Callum jumped up from his desk and approached her. "Yes, Ms. Dowling?"

She beckoned him over, letting her annoyance show freely on her face. At least if she fired him, she could say he had it coming.

"What in the Otherworld is this?" she questioned, gesturing to the files before her.

As soon as she finished her question, the three clocks on Farah’s desk chimed in harmony, signaling the beginning of a new hour. Glancing at the clock in the middle, which showed the Solarian time, she knew Ben’s class would be letting out, and Mila and Penny would be arriving shortly for their first private training session. Their lesson was prepared, and Farah was subtly eager to see how the girls would fare.

As Callum bent over beside her, Farah began to point out the discrepancies she found. Callum hurried to correct them, and the headmistress shot another glance at the clock. Nearly time for their lesson, she thought to herself. Could they get here any faster?

–

“Next class we will continue to learn uses for herbal supplements. Don’t lose your notes!”

Professor Harvey’s final words of caution were easily tuned out by the anxious fairies waiting to be dismissed. As soon as he finished speaking, the students shot up from their desks and filed quickly out the door.

The professor shook his head with a sigh and cleaned up his workspace to make way for a personal project the headmistress had requested after yesterday’s discovery.

Mila quickly finished her last notes and gathered her papers and books. Alchemy was an interesting class but she did like Mr. Harvey. He was a good teacher and a nice guy but some of the stuff he taught was… a little over her head at times.

“You ready for our private lesson?” she asked Penny as she stood up, ready to lead the way to Ms. Dowling’s office. Though she had to keep brushing her hair down as her power betrayed her own excitement.

Penny had accidentally zoned out, having started doodling on her notes and then concentrating so hard on making the little flowers into a full field that she forgot to finish up her notes until her roommate was standing right next to her. She blinked, reorienting herself with the world before quickly shoving her notes straight into her backpack without even shutting the notebook. Hopefully Mia hadn't noticed that, though Penny would probably have to ask to see her notes late anyway. She looked up at the blonde girl as she stood, swinging her backpack onto her back in one fluid motion. Unsurprisingly, she was among the last of the class to stand up.

"Yeah, guess so," she replied, tugging on her shirt. It was a nervous habit of hers to mess with her clothing or whatever was in her hands at the time, something that she figured Mia would soon learn. She released her grip on the shirt self-consciously, beginning to move towards the door. She assumed that Mia would be coming with her, seeing as they were going to the same place.

Man, for a lesson that she hadn't originally even wanted to take part in, Penny was getting anxious. She really did want to do well, despite what she would tell people. She often acted nonchalant, though for some reason she found herself wanting to impress the headmistress. Weird. She didn't usually care about her teachers' opinions beyond getting good marks.

Mila sighed, still smiling as she noticed Penny’s habit. “It’ll be ok. You don't have to be nervous.” she assured despite being a bit nervous herself. She trusted Ms. Dowling and had enough experience to base that trust on. “Come on. I can show you where Ms. Dowling’s office is.” she encouraged, eager to actually get started.

(sorry, i was a bit busy the past couple days!)

Penny narrowed her eyes a bit, not wanting her anxiety to be acknowledged. Sure, she was nervous, but she didn't want anyone else to know that. Were her nervous habits that obvious? She would have to find a less assuming nervous habit from now on. Mia was also quite eager to get this started, and Penny wasn't sure how to feel about that. She was a little excited, sure, but also starting to wonder if this was the best decision. She didn't know the headmistress as well as her roommate seemed to, and she generally wasn't the best around new people, especially authority figures. Especially those who were mind fairies and could likely sense this sort of thing.

"Alright," Penny grunted, following behind the blonde. "I'm not nervous though. Just curious, or whatever."

“Really?” Mia asked, not making fun of Penny though she wasn't sure if she entirely believed her. “I was pretty nervous the first time Ms. Dowling had me come to her office. I thought I was going to shock myself on the doorknob.” she admitted with a laugh. “But she was very understanding and gave me some good advice on how to control my magic as well as some practices to use over the summer.” she said, remembering Ms. Dowling mentioned that last part when she and Penny first met.

Eventually, Farah dismissed Callum back to his desk. She decided that she could fix the remainder of the mistakes on her own. She was about halfway finished when she heard a knock on her door. Her eyes darted up in confusion. It was too soon for Penny and Mila to be arriving. Saul was teaching. Ben should be working on the potion she'd instructed him to make.

Then she heard Callum's voice through the door saying, "Excuse me?"

A younger female voice responded with an air of confidence. "I'll just take a water. Room temp. Thanks, love."

Farah rose from her desk and approached the door as Callum was protesting. "If the door is closed, it means she doesn't want–"

The headmistress interrupted him by opening the door and taking in the scene. Callum had risen from his desk and was moving around it to head off a girl who had knocked. Farah took in her pale skin and dark clothes. The girl's brown-reddish hair was pulled into a tight-looking French braid down her back.

"Headmistress Dowling!" the girl exclaimed, her brown eyes widening slightly when she saw Farah. Callum froze midstep, obviously surprised to see Farah opening the door. "I'm Beatrix," the girl continued without skipping a beat, "and I'm probably going to sound like an arsehole right now, but I'm literally your biggest fan." She paused a moment as if replaying what she'd just said over again in her head. "Probably shouldn't have said 'arsehole' in front of the headmistress. Bollocks. Shit!"

Farah arched her eyebrows, slightly amused while remaining wary of this girl. "On a winning streak, I see," she remarked plainly.

"Sorry," Beatrix apologized. "For all of it. It's just I've waited my whole life for this, to be here. I'm obsessed with this place. Its history." She made intense eye contact with Farah, and the headmistress didn't blink, unintimidated. "Your history."

"Noted," Farah replied shortly. She looked over Beatrix's shoulder and shot her assistant a look. Callum widened his eyes and shook his head in return. Farah turned her attention back to Beatrix. "Perhaps you'd like to study that history in the library? I have work to do."

"Everyone here seems to worship her," Penny commented to that, already on the defensive. "Is she really that great?" Of course, the headmistress had been nothing but kind to her so far, but she was still wary. And yes, she was a little excited about this whole meeting, but she wasn't about to just admit that. It was true she'd made a fool of herself more than once in Mia's vicinity already, but she realized that she was still quite determined to maintain her tough exterior. She really didn't want her possible misjudgment of this headmistress to ruin that. What if the reason everyone loved her so much was because of some sort of mind fairy magic?

No, Penny was just being stupid. People probably loved Headmistress Dowling because she was kind and helpful. But Penny was stubborn. She didn't want to give herself up that easily. She liked being mysterious, even if she hated being labeled a troublemaker. But she wasn't the nice, happy sort of person that generally became popular, and she didn't want to pretend to be. She was a cynical, suspicious, and combative sort of person, and she was going to let others know that. Sure, she wanted friends, but she didn't want to fake her entire personality to get them. Maybe once she became better friends with Mia, the other girl would get to see another side of Penny, but she still barely knew her roommate.

Mia couldn't help but wince at Penny’s observation. “I… don't think “worship” is the right word. At least not for me.” she admitted. “I respect her. Very much. Mostly because of how much she’s helped me. But, let’s be honest, Ms. Dowling is one of the most powerful fairies alive. Not only is she a mind fairy but she also has some degree of control over all the other types of fairy magic. And the fact that she was also a graduate of Alfea…” she tried to explain though she knew she didn't know everything about Ms. Dowling. Most of the information she just shared was a rather abridged version of what was readily available in the library. “I guess it is kinda hard not to see her as up on a pedestal. But she's very personable and seems like she genuinely wants to help all the students here that she can.”

Penny listened, a skeptical expression on her face. She knew that the headmistress was very powerful; any idiot could see that. Besides, she hadn't applied to Alfea without at least knowing the bare minimum about the school. Perhaps she could find some reading material that talked about Headmistress Dowling, which should be interesting. Maybe it would give a Penny a leg up in their future encounters. Either way, it certainly seemed like Mia was enamored with the older fairy. However, everything that Mia said appeared to be true, at least from Penny's experience.

"I guess so," Penny admitted, glancing ahead of her to see how close they were getting.
"Still, how much do you actually know about her anyway?"

She brushed a stray hair out of her face; her hair was styled down today. The red locks were spilling down to her shoulders, a slight natural wave tousling it. Her lip gloss was less of a statement today, being clear instead of a vivid color and her eye makeup was smokier. That and the cute sweater-skirt combo she was wearing helped prepare her for meeting the headmistress. Fashion was her metaphorical armor, and she was dressed for battle.

“Do you mean her past?” Mila asked, raising a brow at her roommate. “Honestly, not very much. Ms. Dowling is kinda private about that. But I don't think that someone’s past is always as important as what they’re doing now.” she explained. Though, of course, she wasn't naive and knew that there were exceptions to that line of thought. But she thought that she was a pretty good judge of character and would be able to spot the more dangerous types of people.

Being private about one's past was something that Penny understood, but it did make her wonder. Then again, the headmistress could just have a rough past before she got to where she was now. That wasn't any reason to write her off. But Penny still couldn't help but being a bit skeptical of any authority figure, even the nice-seeming ones.

"I guess you're right," Penny acquiesced. "Someone's past isn't as important as their present and their recent actions. People can change and all that shit."

She wondered how close they were getting now, since it felt like they had been walking forever. Penny wasn't the best at any sort of measurement, though, time included. She glanced at Mia to see if she could find any hint in the other girl's face.

"We getting close or what?" she asked, looking around. She still didn't know the campus well yet so it still seemed vast and mysterious to her. Maybe she could wander around to learn more of the campus later, though she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to get home after exploring too far.

Mila smiled when Penny agreed with her points and hoped that it meant that she would give Ms. Dowling more of a chance. “Oh. Yeah.” she nodded at the question. “Her office is just ahead. We gotta go through an outer office with her assistant first but it's no big deal.”

Penny nodded. Of course they had to speak with Headmistress Dowling's assistant first before greeting her. She was the headmistress, so it only made sense. It was still a tad annoying though. She just wanted to get to this meeting already, to further assess the headmistress and to hopefully get some instruction to better her control of her magic. She knew she was powerful–many accidental fires had proved that to be true–but she needed to get a better handle on her powers. Of course, with practice she might even be able to get more powerful still, and then she would truly be a formidable opponent. Right now the only thing she could really do without losing control (at least for a moment or two) was to reheat food or create a small, match-sized flame. Anything that could actually be considered impressive led to her losing control and making a fool of herself. Especially if she was feeling some sort of emotion quite strongly, like anger or frustration.

She wondered if the headmistress had any tips on keeping her calm in those sort of situations as well. Penny did have a good poker face, but that wouldn't do anything for her magic abilities. Inside, she was a mess of emotions which were quite easily set off. Maybe she could try meditating or something. Whatever the case, she was not about to ask Headmistress Dowling for help with managing her emotions, because that was much more embarrassing to admit–and much less obvious at first glance–than her runaway powers.

"Interesting," Penny said in response to Mia's reply. She couldn't be bothered to say more. Small talk had never really been her strong suit.

After being shut out of the headmistress's office, Beatrix pivoted on her heel and stormed away. Any remnants of the sweet, starry-eyed girl who had just told the headmistress that she was "her biggest fan" were shattered. Her dark brown eyes were enhanced by the shadowy makeup that she wore, and they narrowed in a brief moment of rage when her back was to the headmistress's assistant.

"About that water?" Callum called after her, and Beatrix ignored him, bearing her teeth in annoyance as she walked out back into the hallway. Between him and the headmistress, one more antagonizing comment and she might just lose it.

Except that she wouldn't. Beatrix had more control than that. Her mentor – a much more powerful fairy than the weak Farah Dowling – had taught her everything she knew about magic and control. And her pseudo-father had filled in the gaps with the help of his own training. With their influences combined, Beatrix was much more talented than any other first-year, or likely any other student at Alfea for that matter. And her powers were only continuing to grow as she followed her mentor's teachings.

But now, as she put distance between herself and the pitiful excuse for a headmistress, the air fairy scoffed under her breath. The library? How infuriating. How offensive. Like Beatrix was going to find something good in those dusty old records. She'd been through them all already. Not for her own leisure, of course. All she'd found was Ms. Dowling's list of accomplishments as headmistress, a shortened list of her abilities, and some documents she'd written about runes, magical theory, and control while channeling. Maybe if she really wanted to look harder, she could find some old records about Dowling's time as a student at Alfea. But then again, maybe not.

Farah Dowling had attended under the previous headmistress, and all records of anything that happened under the previous headmistress had been removed from Alfea's public library. Everything that even contained the former headmistress's name was stricken from the shelves.

At Ms. Dowling's request, sixteen years ago.

Silva and Harvey were her creatures, and they did as she asked without questioning it. The thought made Beatrix's lip curl with disgust. Though if there was a single thing that she did admire about Ms. Dowling, it was her ability to keep the men under her thumb.

Beatrix was so enveloped in her thoughts that she wasn't paying much attention when she rounded the corner and walked smack into a pair of girls, presumably on their way to meet with Headmistress Dowling. After all, her office was the only note-worthy room down this corridor.

Her surprise overtook her, and Beatrix quickly put back on her winning smile. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she apologized quickly, though every fiber of her being wanted to get back to her room and pour desperately over her instructions again. "I really should start watching where I'm going. Where are you headed?" It was a stupid question, obviously, but maybe she could get some information out of them.

Mila had raised a brow at Penny’s simple response but decided to drop the conversation since she felt that it was a good enough note to end on, and started focusing on controlling her magic. She couldn't deny that she was anxious about the lesson, as her nerves had caused a bit of a charged atmosphere around her, but she wanted to make a good impression. Ms. Dowling already knew her, of course, but she wanted to prove that she had been practicing. She had managed to refocus enough that she didn't think she would shock anyone when she felt someone crash into her.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” her apology nearly overlapping that of the other student. She giggled a little when she realized, reaching her hand up to her hair… Only to discover that the collision had caused her magic to backfire, resulting in a new “perm”. “Oh… Great.” she swore softly as she tried to fix her hair.

Penny blinked, surprised as well. Her mind had begun to wander as she and Mila had walked, so she hadn't noticed the other girl until it was too late. Her eyes narrowed, taking in the newcomer. Unlike the others, she didn't apologize, merely studying the stranger.

Penny answered the girl's question with another question, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "What do you think?" she asked, doubting that there was anything else interesting over here besides the headmistress's office. She crossed her arms, not making any attempt to be friendly. Too late, she reminded herself that she probably should be nice and actually try to make friends this year. But to be fair, the girl had bumped into her and Mila, not the other way around, Penny was certain of that. She didn't really have the patience for this.

Beatrix's eyes widened slightly. Not only from the blonde's insta-perm, but the difference in reactions between the two girls. She knew her bubbly persona would mesh well with the blonde girl, but the other? Well… Beatrix liked her style.

Her dark eyes studied the redhead just as intently as the girl was studying her. And it didn't take her long to realize that the stunning red color was most likely dyed. But between her clothes and her attitude, Beatrix hoped they would be able to talk one-on-one sometime soon.

She clicked her tongue against her teeth. "Obviously you're going to see the headmistress. The question I should have asked is why," she replied evenly, arching an eyebrow. "It's only the second day. Have you two gotten into trouble already?"

It was a thoughtful response: designed to jab with the intent of finding out more than the girls normally might say in an attempt to prove her wrong. Beatrix knew how to mold a conversation to her liking.

“No. Of course, we're not in trouble.” Mila answered defensively as she raised a brow at the pointed question. She wasn't sure why but something about this student made the hair on her arms stand on end. Or it could have been residual static from her magic “burst”. She cleared her throat and let out a slow breath. “I… Uhh, I didn't shock you or anything when we bumped into each other, did I?” she asked, trying to take the conversation away from why she and Penny were going to see Ms. Dowling.

Penny noticed the newcomer sizing her up, and studied her in return. This girl seemed bubbly enough, sure, but that gaze was intense. Something about her was a bit odd, but Penny couldn't quite put a finger on it. Maybe she was just that sort of person, the kind who acted one way but thought another. Penny had met quite a few people like that in her time: people who put on a friendly face to get others to like them, though they secretly didn't care for their so-called "friends" as much as they cared about their status or popularity or whatnot. Again, Penny tried to reign in her judgement a bit, but she couldn't help but be cautious.

At Mila's reaction to the question, Penny glanced at her roommate with a raised eyebrow. While what Mila said was technically true, Penny was still slightly uncertain on that note. She knew that Ms.Dowling seemed to truly be a kind woman, but being in the headmistress's office for any positive reason was not a familiar feeling for her. Still, she didn't want to give too much away to this complete stranger. Penny had the feeling that the girl was the type who could use any information as leverage, probably going to laugh about the two of them behind their backs with her little friends. No, Penny had to stop judging people she didn't know so harshly. This was not her high school. This was Alfea.

She didn't say anything as Mila kept talking, letting her guide the conversation. Most likely this girl was losing interest in them already and she would leave soon. Penny certainly hoped so; this girl seemed to be stressing out Mila, or at least the awkward collision had. Either way, Penny wanted this encounter to be over already.