A collection of side stories and headcanons from "A Phoenix's Heart"

Bachelorette party part 2

Mereoleona's point of view

"Hey Dorothy. Since you are so rarely awake, can we play 20 questions with you?"

"No. No," said Dorothy, shaking her head. "I mean I don't mind but this is Mereoleona's day. Let's keep the center of attention in her."

"No thanks," I reply. "Besides, I have some questions myself. Tell us everything! Start from the beginning."

"The beginning? Well... It started when I was about 13 years old. I snuck out of the witch's forest to the nearest town. I was exploring the market when I saw him. In the witch's forest, we are taught to hate men to an extent but he was the most handsome beautiful boy I'd ever seen. He was asking around about curses and the queen of witches. I jumped at the opportunity to help him but was too nervous to talk to him and ran away. I ended up following him around and got him the books and answers he was looking for. I thought I was being sneaky but on his last day in town, he approached me and thanked me for being so helpful but asked that next time I don't stalk him. I was so embarrassed."

I laugh quietly to myself as I sip my wine. She was one of Nozel's stalkers. The ones she was talking about. That's so funny.

"That's so cute!" squeals Noelle. "What happened next?"

"Well after a few months, I wanted to see him again so I ran away to the Clover kingdom. That's when I found out she was a prince. I figured I would never run into him. I traveled around the Clover Kingdom training and adventures until I got my Grimoire. Oh, but I did send him a condolence card to him when your mother died, apologizing for not being of more help. I don't think he ever received it or at least he has never mentioned receive..."

"Yes, he did," cheers Nebra. "He kept it in a treasure box. I vaguely remember him trying to reply but every letter was returned without ever reaching you."

Dorothy's face turns beet red. "I I....Really? Should Should I have stayed in one place more? uhh. umm. Anyways. I joined the Magic Knights, the Coral Peacocks were the only squad interested in me. Joining the magic was the best decision I've ever made besides running away to the Clover Kingdom. I had so much fun running around saving people and training to become stronger. After a few years, I ran into Nozel again. He was already a vice-captain. Oh, I was so embarrassed when I first saw him again. I was acting like an obsessed fangirl," Dorothy whines burying her head in her hands only for her nail tech to smack her telling her not to move. "Around the time I got my grimoire, I started sleepwalking as part of my powers. It took years of practice to be as aware of my surroundings when I'm asleep as I am now. Apparently, that wasn't my first time running into Nozel but it was the first time I was awake. I was happy to see him again but he was cold and distant".

"Oh. I was there for that," I interrupt. "He was about 20 and you would have been 18ish. He may have looked cold on the outside but on the inside, he was pretty frazzled. He recognized you the second he saw you the first time and was really concerned about you heading into battle while asleep. He was so happy to see you awake. Your nervousness made him nervous. He practically sprinted away from you," I laughed.

"He was worried about me?"

"Is that why he always hoovers around Dorothy when she's asleep? I've never seen Nozel standing or sitting more than a few feet away from Dorothy if she's asleep while conducting official business," comments Mimosa.

"Yep."

The girls all 'ooh' and 'aww' at this. Nozel was so obvious with his affection for both Dorothy and his siblings. Of course, I was pretty oblivious to all these signs until recently. Looking back, there were many.