Glowinx Club - We Shine On Our Own

22. A Hearty Welcome

Florence looked up as someone knocked on her office door in a fast pattern, making her frown. "Yes?"

The office door opened and Treasa, Alora and Jun walked in. Florence smiled at them, signaling them to come closer.

Treasa stepped forward once they were close enough. "We have to tell you something, and you're probably not gonna like it."

"Uhm, alright?" Florence blinked and stood up from her chair. Alora started explaining while side eyeing Jun for a second. "We might know who is behind the ruckus happening all over Alfea. We can only confirm it once another attack happens. This person has done us...wrong. All three of us. And then blurted out how she managed to fool us with magic."

The headmistress nodded. "Please let me know, we have to stop this person."

Treasa pursed her lips in unease. "It's Cécilia..."

There was a short silence before Florence began shaking her head. "My daughter? Your best friend?"

"Well, she sure as hell wasn't mine – but she was posing as Alora's best friend to gain her trust. Just like she did with Jun." Treasa spoke in a quiet voice and the older woman sighed, holding her jawline in thought. "Oh boy, she already has two strikes, you probably know."

Alora squinted at her teacher and headmistress shortly. "What do you mean, Miss Florence?"

She sighed again. "Didn't she tell you? Her first strike was when you guys went to the Ring National Park. As you know we were able to track the use of your magic. We found out Cilia sabotaged every group she wasn't part of so they'd get worse grades than her own group. That's also why your grade, Treasa, went up. We corrected our mistake." Treasa blinked while nodding, mumbling. "So that's why..."

"And the second strike?" Jun wondered and Florence continued. "At your Charmix vacation, as I mentioned, we sense your magic on trips like these on the designated areas and we noticed that Cilia, again, purposely sabotaged what wasn't her assignment. She hid the yellow marble deeds with magic so you wouldn't find it. I'm not even sure where she got all this knowledge from, these light incidence spells are only taught in higher semesters."

Alora wondered with a stern look. "But...I always thought she was my best friend. What would she gain from sabotaging homework? She used to always do things I would benefit from too."

Treasa shrugged. "All I can think of is that she wasn't in philosophy class, I think she knew that and used that. I don't think she cares for you at all – and I'm so sorry for that."

Florence cleared her throat, closing her eyes. "Cilia, she...she grew up mostly with her father. She's just like him and we actually wanted to get divorced but because of Cécilia we didn't and I don't think that does anything good to her. I always worked too much; I knew I'd be following my mother's footsteps so I trained very hard under her and...I-I think I neglected my own child. I think her behavior is my fault." Alora shook her head upon hearing that. "No, please, Miss Florence. Don't blame yourself for her actions. I also grew up with my mother working 24/7. I could've snapped at some point but I didn't...it has to do a lot with a strong will...It's not your fault, Ma'am."

"We'll be looking out for her, alright? And which action she might cause next, we still don't know if it was her after all. Whoever it is, we will be exposing this intruder. There...there's a little thing I'm scared of though."

All three students looked at each other before letting their opposite continue. "There's something coming and negative energy can be pulled from it. It's quite unknown so it hasn't been talked about as much. It's called the Blackmoon; it only happens at a specific time in a specific pattern. No one knows what or who caused it but it brings evil with it and it can be summoned for evil doings. Many unstable fairies and witches are known to date that misused the Blackmoon. Some just bring sacrifices for this moon but, yeah, some dark auras summon the power onto them, causing chaos and destruction. I'm sorry, I'll look out for more info on that, do you have anything more to say? It might not look like it but I really have to work."