Meanwhile, in the shade of one of the trees in the Courtyard of the Academy, there were two girls seeking shelter from the sun around a picnic table in a quiet area.

One of them, a girl younger than most in the yard, sat happily as she let the sun grace her face where the light didn’t break at the branches. Her eyes closed, she sighed in content knowing that life was brought back to the school she held so dear.

The other one, on the other hand, had made herself comfortable as close to the tree as possible as to not let the sun touch her pale skin even in the slightest. Caught in a book she had been reading for a while, it seemed as though she didn’t even notice any of the things going on around her- and she couldn’t bring herself to care about it.

‘You two seem to be enjoying yourselves.’

The younger girl jolted upright. ‘Professor Followers!’ she exclaimed excitedly, followed by a slight bow. ‘Welcome back.’

The Professor returned the favour. ‘Chi, LeGrimm. It’s good to see you again.’ Her words came to a halt when she took a good look around. ‘Where’s Muñoz? Isn’t she with you?’

The girl shook her head. ‘She hasn’t returned from Caldor yet.’ She explained to the professor, before doubtfully adding: ‘She should be here in a couple of minutes, I think. Would you care to join us?’

‘If you insist.’ She replied before hopping on the edge of the table. Seeing the smile it brought to her face, Followers couldn’t help but to smirk at the easily blissed out young fairy.

‘Hey girls!’, it sounded from across the field of grass right next to their spot. ‘How much have I missed?’

The young girl jumped up again, right after sitting back down, with as much - if not even more - enthusiasm as when the professor had joined their little group. ‘Muñoz! You’re right on time!’

‘Sorry it took me so long. My parents wouldn’t let me leave, I had to look after my sister ‘till they got back.’

Professor Followers made way for the third young fairy to join her at the table. ‘Don’t worry. You haven’t missed all that much, the platforms have only just appeared.’

‘Great.’ She sighed in relief as she put her leg against the tree to support her weight, next to the still reading girl.

‘I was afraid I’d missed the whole thing. Wouldn’t want to miss out on scouting our new roommate. Have you seen anything interesting yet?’

The both of them shook their heads.

‘I still don’t understand why we’re going through with this.’

They all turned their heads to their remaining companion, who had only now put her book down on the table and joined in on their conversation.

Muñoz let out a deep, heavy sigh. ‘Mae, you know why. We've been one member short ever since- you know...’

‘I know! But-’

‘No buts.’ Professor Followers hopped off the table. As she gave a comforting pat on LeGrimm’s shoulder, she continued with: ‘It would be a good thing for you girls to move on. What happened last cycle happened last cycle, this one will be different. Besides, you might find some fairy who’s going through the Initiation to be quite interesting.’

‘It’s not like we’ll get to see anything as interesting as Chi’s Initiation.’

‘LeGrimm!’ The young girl, Chi, exclaimed, surprised that her Initiation was suddenly brought up again and maybe a little annoyed that it was- she’d rather forget about it altogether.

Professor Followers meddled in: ‘What happened to Chi at the Initiation?’

‘Well, you see,’ LeGrimm’s pout turned to a slight smirk, ‘as the platforms started lifting, this little crybaby over here’, she nodded in Chi’s direction, who protested immediately:

‘Eh!’

She started waving her arms in an attempt to bring a halt to this bypass the conversation was taking, but Lestrange continued tirelessly:

‘-this crybaby started screaming and wouldn’t stop ‘till we were-’

Muñoz wasn’t even listening anymore, the noises made by her friends and professor were fading away as her attention was caught by something completely different.

In the little pool of Magic projecting the events of the Initiation on their table, a blonde girl had appeared, hands trembling in front of her. Upon seeing tiny magical sparks appearing and disappearing again between her hands, Muñoz came to an alarming conclusion. ‘She doesn’t know…’ She whispered.

‘Huh?’ Chi turned to Muñoz, forgetting all about her inconvenient situation.

Muñoz took a step closer to the table, pushing herself away from the tree, and went to inspect the pool more clearly to see what was going on. ‘She doesn’t know how to activate her Magic…’

This resulted in a confused look in her direction from her companions at the table. They silently blinked at her for a while until Muñoz herself decided to break the silence:

‘Girls, I think I’ve found our new roommate.’

✿

At around the same time, high up in the air, one of the young fairies stood arms wide on her platform, eyes closed, waiting for it to disappear from underneath her feet.

As soon as she felt it fading, she let herself fall head-first, without thinking, as though it was second nature. Her curls took to dancing rapidly in the wind and- as she neared the ground- the corners of her mouth curled up to form a faint smile.

When the sound of rustling leaves caught her ears, she opened her eyes, eyes that were glowing like the reflection of the moon on a dark lake in the middle of the night- and a bluish glow soon took over her entire body. Where once had been a long purple skirt and a matching top accompanied by tingling bracelets, it now all seemed to burn away to leave only the glowing silhouette of a being halfway through a magically induced change.

In an instance, wings sprouted from her back while newly created fabric covered her then-naked body.

She landed most gracefully- a slight bit of fluttering was enough to make her gain her balance again. When her feet touched the ground, she looked up to where the sun still shone through the thick layers of branches, as though in anticipation of someone.

Not long after, that certain someone came hopping down the trees, dashing from one to another. She grabbed the lowest branch to swing and land right in front of the tall girl already on the ground. As she landed, the dirt beneath her magically moved up to catch her.

‘Seems we’re partners, Ab.’ She grinned after landing. She held her hand out to the fairy in front of her as soon as the dirt had found its way back into the ground again.

The taller girl moved her hand up to grab hers- but held still midway. She tilted her head to her left side, quietly, listening. She put her finger in front of her lips. Then she looked back.

‘Ra!’ was all she needed to say, for her companion understood quite clearly. The both of them needed as little as a short glance to know just what to do.

The shorter one quickly assumed a steady stance, one foot in front of the other. She moved her weight from the back to the front as she flung her arms downward and up again. Her hands started glowing, red as a ruby, like the Circle of Magic beneath her feet. The earth around her began to shake, for it was now under the will of the young fairy, and her command forced it up.

When she gave a quick nod, the taller fairy flew up into the air, putting two fingers of the same hand to rest on her forehead, her other hand serving as support. As the lines of her Magic Circle became visible in the air, the wind in the forest increased its force. Swirling, faster and faster, harder and harder, the wind formed a small tornado, catching a few stray leaves here and there that before long were dancing along with it. Just in time.

✿

‘She’s coming to.’ was the first thing I heard after realizing the platform was fading. I must’ve lost consciousness at any point between then and the next thing I remember, for when light struck my vision again, I was already on the ground.

I took an effort to blink away the sunlight until it became acceptable to my eyes, and as my sight adjusted to the sudden burst of colour, I noticed someone was looking at me.

As the blur faded, the image of a fairy presented itself in front of me. It was truly a magical sight to behold- how the sun graced her skin in a way that held me reminiscent of beams of light behind an oaken tree, while at the same time shining through her glittering wings.

While I imagine I must’ve been oddly gaping at her, I was met with a graceful smile and an outreaching hand. ‘Are you still in one piece?’

I checked to see if I could move. I was feeling a bit sore, but other than that…? ‘Y-yes- At least, I think so.’

Her hand enveloped mine almost gracefully, her touch feeling gentle even though her hands were thin and slightly bony. ‘Thank goodness you’re all right, sugar, I was worried for a good moment.’ She said as she helped me up.

I brushed the dirt off my skirt. ‘Thanks for catching me.’

‘Yer welcome.’

I looked over to the sound of the second voice. It sounded familiar- and when I saw whom it belonged to, I knew why. I had seen her before, when headmistress Faewood was giving a speech, just for a second- right before the platforms had appeared.

The girl had been distractedly looking up at the sky up until then, facing away from me, but now she came over and stretched her hand. I took hers, she shook mine firmly, pulling me closer in the process.

‘The name’s Ra,’ she continued, ‘whadda we call you?’

‘Oh- uh…’ I looked over at the taller girl. I opened my mouth, ready to answer, but words seemed stuck- and before long, they escaped me.

‘Ra, you’re startling her.’ The fairy said in a slightly muted tone. She put a hand on her companion’s shoulder. ‘My name is Abena Abrish- and this is Rama Iklím.’ She gestured to the girl who had just introduced herself as Ra and who now crossed her arms impatiently, before she reverted her attention back to me. ‘What do you go by, sweetie?’

I eased up a little. ‘Pleased to meet you- Abrish, Iklím-’

‘Ra’s fine.’

‘Uhm- Abrish, Rama.’ I gave both of them a small nod. ‘I’m Ehrynn Frostthorn.’

Iklím uncrossed her arms, suddenly more than eager to hear me out. ‘Frostthorn, ye say? Sounds like yer from E’ergreen.’ I could hear a hint of excitement in her voice, and while I was wondering what that was all about, I took note of her speech. The way she pronounced Evergreen exposed an accent to me I couldn’t exactly pinpoint. I’d noticed it before, but it hadn’t been clear to me up until then.

‘I am,’ I began, delighted by her recognition, yet I couldn’t help but pull back right after, ‘I mean, well, I’m Silvean, sort of… It’s… hard to explain.’

Well, it wasn’t, really. But trying to explain my situation would undoubtedly lead to questions- questions I did not have answers to. And I wasn’t sure I was ready to talk about it again, most certainly not to these girls I’d just met.

Maybe I couldn’t answer, shouldn’t- or that was the lie I told myself. But I didn’t have to, as the conversation took a different turn.

‘Rama and I are from Aetherius.’

I gave her a confused look, trying to recall whether I’d ever heard of that place before.

‘-That’s in the opposing direction of the Realm of Magic. Say, is this your first time visiting-?’ She was interrupted by Iklím.

‘I’d love to hear all ‘bout that later, but I suggest we get out of this cursed forest first.’

‘Language, Ra.’

‘Yeah yeah.’

‘Don’t you “yeah yeah” me, I’m quite serious-’

The two broke into a little “argument”, if you could even call it that. Iklím did raise her voice, something I normally would have flinched at, but the way Abrish adjusted her posture and let her head down sideways with a silly grin on her face had me convinced there was no ill will to it, rather a- what was the word- friendliness? Perhaps something close to that?-

While they were bickering, I let my gaze flow from one to the other and then to the forest around me, trailing off into thoughts long postponed by the journey here.

The sight of the seemingly endless rows of trees took its hold upon me. I felt my mind getting pulled deep into the forest as my gaze got caught by a single leaf dangling from the tiniest branch slightly above me- sunlight engulfing it through the layers of branches up above.

In a way, it brought me back to Silvea, to Evergreen- and I could not again shake off the thoughts I had just brushed off. As I believe I’ve mentioned before, the nature of my origins was yet unbeknownst to me. I had been told I came from Earth- or rather, as we call it here, Terra- a planet so far from the Realm of Magic it is nearly impossible for any magical creatures to reside there- let alone originate there. See my dilemma?

I’d intended to be straight up and honest about my unusual origins upon meeting my fairy partner, but just now the words seemed stuck, something that tended to happen every time the subject was brought up. And now my inability to talk about it was something I could not let go and it somehow left me staring blankly at this one barely notable leaf- completely missing out on the conversation.

‘...-thorn? Frostthorn? Are you all right?’

Abrish’ voice pulled me back to the present moment. I stared at her hazily, unaware of what had passed while I was in thought. ‘Uh- yeah? Just in- thought… that’s all.’

Iklím furrowed her eyebrow. ‘Ah, yer still with us at least. Ye seemed far gone…? But ne’ermind that. Ey, eh, ye said ye were from Silvea?’

‘Would we be right in presuming you are a nature fairy?’

I chuckled slightly. ‘That wouldn’t be too weird an assumption. I wish I could help you out here, but I don’t exactly…’- a silent break followed while I was looking for the right word- ‘know.’

This only made Iklím furrow more. ‘Why, yer a mysterious one. Can’t save yerself from falling, don’t have a clue ‘bout yer source apparently, there anything you do know?’

Before I could respond, Abrish came in between: ‘Well, well, I say we take a different approach. How about we help this youngling out a bit until we can find her a fairy partner of her own and see if we can figure it out together in the meantime.’ Despite her phrasing, her words towards Iklím didn’t even vaguely sound like a question. She just proceeded to turn to me. ‘What do you say?’

I nodded blankly. ‘Su-sure.’

‘All right, sugar, hold that thought for a bit while I go take a look up above.’ She said as her wings started fluttering and instantly took her up into the air.

What was left was silence- apart from a slight breeze that made the leaves rustle- until it was broken.

‘So, eh- Frostthorn, was it?’ Iklím looked straight at me.

‘Yeah… uh…’ I tried to look back but averted my eyes when hers met mine. Should I say something?

To ease myself down a little, I fingered my necklace and fidgeted by quietly circling the foot I wasn’t standing on.

And so silence returned.

✿

It took a while before Abrish joined us again down in the calmth of the forest. Her skirt fell down elegantly when her feet met with the ground- and the moment she did she turned back to her original form, discarding the wings that had just carried her in flight.

‘I could see the Academy from up there, it’s in that direction,’ she gestured vaguely and somewhat frivolously to indicate our heading, ‘but actually getting there might prove to be a problem. From what I could see, the forests are quite thick and I do not believe it will be easy to get through without knowing exactly where we’re going. But no need to get hung up on that at this point. Right now, I suggest we head in first and hope we take the right path. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll just have to rely on Ra’s sense of direction.’

Her remark led to an unamused look from Iklím, but it was quite clear to me they were both holding back a laugh, which, weirdly enough, caused me to ease up a bit. Enough so to ask them a question I’d been meaning to ask, at least.

‘If I may ask- did you two previously know each other? Before coming here, I mean- to the Academy.’

Abrish simply nodded as she started walking- and as both Iklím and I followed her example, I received a short explanation from the latter.

‘Ab and I- we basically grew up together. Decided to come to the Academy together, too. Never really had plans to do so, but Ab convinced me otherwise.’

‘How so?’

Iklím just shrugged.

‘Well…’ Abrish chimed in- and before we knew it, we found ourselves deep in conversation, both about our coming to the Academy as well as our plans for the cycles ahead. That was, until Iklím suddenly stopped walking.

‘Ye know, I hate to break it to ye, but I think we’re lost.’

‘Lost?’ Abrish’s voice sounded surprisingly high for a split moment, but she soon regained herself. ‘You might be right, we’ve been walking for hours, we should have encountered the Academy by now.’

‘Don’t think ye can fly up again, can ye now?’

Abrish looked up and closed her eyes, but then shook her head. ‘It’s no use, I haven’t been able to rest and recover my energy since the journey here.’ She turned to me, her tone serious. ‘We might actually need to utilize your source now, Frostthorn.’

‘Mine?’ I asked in surprise, tensing up at the sudden spike in attention towards me.

Iklím took a deep breath and rubbed her forehead. ‘If yer truly a nature fairy, ye should have a way with forests, nay?’

I looked down at my hands. ‘I suppose…’

A hand placed itself on my shoulder, which quite honestly made me jump a bit until I realized it belonged to Abrish. ‘Come on, honey, just try- we’ll help you through it.’

I mulled it over for a brief moment, then decided there was little harm in trying, so I took a couple of steps forward until I was facing one of the trees.

Tracing the lines as I raised my hand, allowing myself to take in the texture of the bark and the fuzzy feel of moss still damp from the last patch of rain, I tried to access my Magic again, a little uncertain yet surprisingly steady.

I took a deep breath, allowing moments to pass in little more than just one as the energy of the tree linked to my own. I could feel its pulse, its rhythm- and then the elocation following my touch as the tree pulled me from my spot and into the embrace of the connectedness of nature- a sensation both gentle and numbing as well as utterly terrifying. It placed a tightness on my chest. My breath became heavier, erratic, shocking- and I pulled back before I’d even started glowing again, not having moved at all- in all actuality.

‘I- I can’t. I can’t… I don’t know what to do…- and I… I…’

Abrish and Iklím looked at each other, their faces riddled with confusion. I’d already opened my mouth to try and explain- but couldn’t get the words out yet again. So I sighed.

‘I’m sorry…’

Abrish walked over to me. The way she stood tall before me made me shrink even more than I already did. I don’t believe I had reason to presume she would, but I half expected her to lash out at me- or to belittle my efforts. In any case, I didn’t expect her to give me a soft pat on my head.

‘It’s okay, sweetie, you’ve got nothing to apologize for.’

I let my shoulders down again, allowing my sight to go up to her face for the first time since our meeting- and breaking my frown into a fragile smile, until-

‘Ye’ve got a grounding problem.’

It caught me off guard a little, but both Abrish and I turned to our remaining companion, silently- awaiting her explanation.

‘Hate to break the moment, but uh- ye do have a grounding problem. The way ye called on yer Magic just now… Have no idea what ye were doing but I think I can- uh- help ya with that.’

Abrish smiled at me reassuringly. ‘You don’t have to try again if you really don’t wish to- but I think you’ll do just fine, honey.’

I stared blankly for a bit. My gaze went from one to the other. Breathing in and out again, eventually nodding a couple times. ‘Okay…’

We sat down cross-legged, facing one another. Iklím’s sturdier hands found mine and, as we both got enveloped by a glow, a magical bond was formed between us. Our Magic Circles, dancing on the ground, intertwined and before long merged lines until they unified in a way I had never experienced before.

Iklím gave me an affirming nod. ‘Whatever ye did just now, do it again. Ye can use me as an anchor.’ She reassured me.

Then her eyes closed. So did mine. It took a while for me to connect to the forest again.

When I did and the feelings of distress took hold of me again, I squeezed Iklím’s hand and took comfort in the steadiness her magical presence emanated. As soon as I’d pushed through the barriers, the overwhelming sensations came back and took their hold upon me a second time. I tensed up. My hands started shaking and I would have almost pulled back again had I not felt the gentle touch of a thin hand breaking the grasp between my right hand and Iklím’s and taking it in her own to reestablish the link.

Now sharing in the magical presence of two fairies, the fuzz made way for a tranquil calmth. With eyes closed, I could see the forest around me lighting up slowly, revealing a path that led to the ivy I had seen on the Academy walls before.

I let out an unsteady sigh and noticed, when I opened my eyes, that a tear had rolled down my cheek. I loosened my grip around their hands and wiped the tear away while two pairs of eyes were looking at me in anticipation.

But my gaze was caught by something completely different, for behind the two young fairies in front of me, I could now see the Academy again between the rows of trees, not too far away- even though I was sure it hadn’t been there before.

‘I think I… know where we need to go.’ I eased into a smile.

The two took a quick glance behind them, and then exchanged a look before Iklím asked: ‘Are ye sure ye’ve never used Magic before? Like, absolutely sure? ‘Cause what you did just there- that sure as all hexes don’t look like it.’

I shook my head furiously. ‘Honestly, no, but it’s a rather complicated story…’

‘How about we discuss that over a nice warm cup of tea? You’ve got me curious, sugar.’

I smiled faintly. ‘That sounds just fine.’

Abrish helped me up again and we continued our way towards the Academy, this time conversing a little more lively- and in all honesty I was a little overrun by all the questions I got.

‘So- are you or are you not Silvean?’

‘Not sure… I-’ I started before getting interrupted.

‘Come to think of it, what are ye wearing? That don’t look Silvean at all. Not that I know at least.’

‘Oh… uh… It’s Bythrithian- it was made in emulation of-’

‘From Bythrith? Isn’t that on the outskirts of the Realm of Magic? How did you end up there?’

‘It’s a long story…’

✿

When we arrived back at our point of departure, we found headmistress Faewood and Miss Stirling awaiting us. They seemed to be deep in conversation with one of the older students- at least, I presumed she was an older student. I hadn’t seen her in the crowd before, as far as I could recall.

As soon as we came close enough, all eyes turned to us.

‘I see you’ve made your way back here?’ Stirling took a couple of notes on her list- and then stopped to take a look at us again, a little bewildered. ‘Why, exactly, are there three of you?’

‘The group’s uneven, ma’am.’ explained Iklím.

‘Uneven?’ Stirling’s voice skipped slightly. ‘The group’s never been uneven before.’ She started vigorously looking through her folder, rapidly turning over page after page, perhaps in an effort to find the student records. ‘I can’t possibly have missed such an important thing?’

Faewood shook her head silently. ‘You didn’t miss anything. I can explain this.’ She said as she walked up to me. ‘I made an exception this cycle when I sent out an Invitation to miss Frostthorn.’

‘An ex- excep- ception? For- for me? Why?’

A slight smile appeared on Faewood’s face. ‘Oh, you just happened to bloom a little later than usual, dear. But now that you’re back here again anyway, I believe miss Muñoz has a little something to ask of you.’ She gestured to the student next to Stirling.

I wanted to ask another question, but swallowed it and turned my attention towards the student, who grinned and shook my hand.

‘Hi, I’m Ezra Muñoz, second class’ student here at Arthyrell. My friends and I share a dormitory here, but we’ve been down a member since last cycle’s finals and I’ve been looking for a new roommate since- with a little help from Faewood.’ She quickly eyed in the general direction of where the headmistress was, who nodded to encourage her to keep talking. ‘I saw your Initiation earlier today and thought you’d fit right in- can’t hurt to ask, at least. Would you be interested in filling the spot?’

I nodded absently, completely perplexed by the sudden change of plans- but then I shook my head and turned to Iklím and Abrish. ‘But what about you two? We passed the Initiation together and- I- I just...’

Abrish put her hand on my shoulder again. ‘Well, it looks like we’ve found you a fairy partner after all. That was what we set out to do, wasn’t it?’

Although she had straightened her back and lifted her head, her shoulders were hanging and I thought I heard a hint of disappointment in her voice. And Iklím was even less willing to accept it.

‘Nu-uh, I ain’t letting her go just now. I’m actually starting to like this gal.’ She turned directly to me. ‘Unless- unless ye really want to go, ‘course.’

I shook my head again. ‘I don’t want to leave you two, either.’

‘Who said anything about leaving them?’ Faewood put her hands together. ‘If we all put in some effort, I’m sure we can work something out. Right, Stirling?’

The professor made a questioning sound at the mention of her name. She stopped her search through notes and paperwork immediately. ‘Hm? Oh, uhm… no. I mean, yes. We can… figure something out. I think...’

‘Really?’ Iklím exclaimed astoundedly.

‘If everything’s all right with Muñoz, as well?’ Abrish asked.

Muñoz nodded. ‘I don’t see a problem with taking in a few extra members. It might get a little crowded in the dorm, but it’s big enough.’

Faewood clapped twice. ‘All right, then, that’s settled. Now, off you four go. Muñoz will show you the way to the dormitories.’

It was no sooner said than done. We only took a quick detour to fetch our bags- and while our small group made our way into the Academy, Stirling waited patiently until we were out of sight before she let out a deep, heavy sigh.

‘You are an administrative nightmare. You do realize that, don’t you?’

The headmistress tried to hold back a laugh. ‘It’s good to loosen up a bit at times. You should try it some time.’

Stirling gave her an unamused look, but smiled when she looked back to her paperwork.

‘May I ask something, though?’

‘Go ahead.’

‘Why go through such lengths to fulfil Muñoz’ request?’

Faewood looked out over the forests ahead of her, allowing the wind to breeze through her bushy hair as she relaxed her shoulders. ‘You of all our kin should know the importance of receiving a chance like this, Mirana. It’s not every day that you come across younglings so willing to give each other just that … Say, can I- leave the rest up to you for today?’

When Stirling gave an affirming nod, the headmistress turned around and took the first few steps up the stairs leading to the entrance, then held still midway. ‘Besides, I have other reasons to bring this group together.’

Without awaiting a response, she went on and closed the door behind her.

✿

While this conversation was taking place, our newly formed group had found its way to the dormitories- something I probably would have taken more note off had I not been completely exhausted by the three day journey and our walk that very morning.

Muñoz took the liberty to tell us a couple of things about the school grounds, about the teachers and about our fellow members- but most of it quite honestly just went by me- and I didn’t quite like the feeling of missing out on all this.

When we stood in front of the door leading to the dormitory we’d be sharing, I shook my head a couple times in an effort to bring myself out of my haze and shake off the feeling. I clutched my hand around the handle of my bag, nervously shifting my weight from one leg to the other and back again while Muñoz opened the door. And the moment she did and I saw the other members of our dorm, my eyes widened and I dropped my bag in disbelief.

‘You are the fairy from my dream.’

~❀~