What could have been - Fix-It Fanfiction

Out of place.

Terra caught her breath. The world felt surreal for a moment. A familiar and warm face looked at the earth fairy as honey brown eyes studied her surroundings. She still looked the way Terra remembered her. A long blue coat draped her delicate body, while her hair, shimmering gold in the light, was braided into an intricate bun. Almost 1 year had passed without a trace and yet she was standing right in front of her.

"Headmistress Dowling?!" Terra couldn't believe her eyes. Flora, who had just focused her powers on the ball of moss, rose from her chair at the desk, perplexed, and looked back and forth between her cousin and Farah Dowling. She tried to understand what had just happened. Did she bring the headmistress back from the dead?

But Terra sensed that something was different. Terra took a step towards the Headmistress. To Terra she was more than just Headmistress Dowling, to Terra she was always like an aunt - after all, she grew up around her and also knew the warm and loving person behind her profession. But right now she didn't know who was really standing in front of her. On closer inspection, she seemed fragile, out of this world. As if she was standing in front of them, but was still very far away.

Her throat felt dry and her senses had to get used to the new environment. It felt weird to suddenly be standing on both feet again - being pulled back into the world. The light blinded her, the sounds that reached her ears were loud, and her pulse was racing. Her thoughts circled around the fateful day over and over again. She didn't want and couldn't understand how careless she had been that day. It felt like yesterday when Rosalind killed her. Her body tingled as if every part of her body was waking up. Still, her body didn't feel right.

"Farah?" It wasn't often that Terra addressed her so-to-speak-aunt by her first name, but she hoped she could draw her attention back to herself. The glowing eyes turned back to the earth fairy. Terra smiled at her and carefully took Farah's hand. She startled when her warm hand touched Miss Dowling's cold skin. Apparently, her attempts helped. Headmistress Dowling's eye color turned back to her hazel brown eyes.

The woman in front of them cleared her throat. For a moment she looked around confused and now focused her full attention on the two earth fairies in front of her, who were still looking at her anxiously. A soft "thank you" escaped Farah's lips. But that was enough for Flora and Terra to relax. Terra also took a few steps back to give Miss Dowling her space.

"What just happened?!" Were all the words Terra could get out of her mouth. She still couldn't believe that Farah was really and truly standing in front of her. Now they could clear everything up and help Bloom. Emotions full of joy piled up in the little earth fairy and flooded her veins. With a big smile and tears in her eyes she ran to her aunt again and hugged her without another word. She wanted to snuggle up to her aunt's body and enjoy her amazing hugs, which even as a small child she couldn't get enough of. But the longer she held Farah, the faster her happy emotions dissipated into worry. Farah held her and had her head resting on Terra's. Yet it felt like Terra was embracing an empty shell.

Terra closed her eyes for a moment. The hug felt like a cold winter day. No warmth, just the icy cold of the snow, which froze your veins the longer you stayed outside. But Farah's hugs felt like hot chocolate after a winter walk. The earth fairy took a deep breath and focused her magic on Farah. Of course, Terra knew she couldn't do much with her earth magic. But at least Flora was able to bring her back somehow. So it had to mean something, right? Terra's magic caressed Farah's skin, leaving a warm feeling behind. She quickly realized that there was no heartbeat in Farah. Tears welled up in Terra's eyes and she pulled away from the hug. Farah looked down at Terra knowingly as their eyes met.

"I am sorry!" Farah Dowling whispered softly to her niece and student and wiped away the tear that made its way down Terra's cheek with her hand.

"You feel like a dying plant." Terra spoke those words in a trembling voice. The words were filled with so much pain that Farah had to swallow hard. She was sorry to see Terra so sad.