Soul Fire

3.1

Stella transported the girls outside of Alfea, and they walked towards the front gates of the school as if one unit.

The experiences that the girls had shared had made them closer than one would have thought possible after knowing one another for less than twenty four hours. As they had all sat in the middle of the ancient magical forest, Bloom told them about Earth and the boy back home that she had loved, and they all sat with her as she choked out details about him and how she was forced to say goodbye. She told them how Stella had come stumbling into her life and brought her all sorts of chaos, and the girls were laughing through their tears as they joked about how crazy it all was. Bloom had a group of friends in High School, but she had never talked for hours about her hopes and sorrows like that before. She'd never had friends that she could laugh and cry with as she had done.

As the gates opened, Stella let out a soft curse as she beheld the figures right inside the gates.

Faragonda's arms were crossed over her chest, and Griselda had an evil sneer on her face with her hands resting on her hips. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" Griselda said, annoyance lacing her tone.

"It's approximately 2:30.." Xenia whispered to the girls, who giggled.

That seemed to piss Griselda off even more. Her eyes darted to Bloom, making her cower slightly under Griselda's gaze. "We've been waiting for you all to return. Princess Veranda... Is there something you forgot to tell us?"

Bloom cringed. "Seems like you guys already know."

Griselda adjusted the glasses on her small nose. "So are you admitting that you falsified your identity to sneak into Alfea?"

The girls were silent, none of them even dared breathe. Bloom bit her lip as her eyes darted between the cold calculating woman and the gentle headmistress who stood beside her.

Bloom took a deep breath, and squared her shoulders. "My real name is Bloom... Bloom Quinn." Her voice threatened to shake but she tried to keep it steady.

Griselda nodded. "Bloom, you need to pack your bags. We can't tolerate such blatant disrespect of this institution and its admission requirements. You may stay the night but you must travel home first thing in the morning."

Bloom pushed the tears down that threatened to spring to the surface. She breathed out desperately, "I can't go home. I've lost so much to get here."

Griselda shook her head. "Many of the young women here have."

Bloom's chest might have been caving in, she wasn't sure anymore. She blinked away tears as the world spun around her and slipped out from beneath her feet.

"Bloom is from Earth." One of the girls behind her blurted out. Musa stepped forward and stood behind Bloom, resting a hand on her shoulder. Bloom blinked a few times, reality re-centering itself around her. "She can't go home. She quite literally has nowhere else to go."

Griselda's eyes widened. "That's not possible...."

"We've already told you everything else," Stella said, jutting her hip out and crossing her arms over her chest. "Why would we lie about this?"

"I assume you played a role in Bloom's arrival here?" Griselda said, glaring daggers at the blonde princess. "Leave it to Stella Solari to disobey the most sacred of Interrealm Codes."

Stella opened her mouth to shoot back a snappy retort, but Faragonda stepped forwards with her hands out. "That's enough, ladies."

Faragonda glanced at Bloom, before turning to Griselda. "She must have magic, or the wards would have kept her out...." she paused for a moment. "Griselda is right, it shouldn't be possible." She cocked her head slightly as she observed the Earthling. "Girls, go off to bed. We'll discuss this in the morning." Faragonda said, dismissing them with a wave of her hand. She turned to Griselda and they started discussing something softly, their faces suddenly grave. Bloom let her head drop and silently followed the other girls towards their suite.