𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒚𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 | Riven

𝟎𝟒

═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 ━═

Fallin and Bloom walked through the bustling cafeteria, trays in hand, the usual laughter and chatter of students swirling around them. But today felt different—heavy. Ever since the party, where someone had impulsively revealed that Bloom was a changeling, the atmosphere had shifted. Whispers followed them like shadows, eyes flickering in Blooms direction as they moved through the crowd.

Fallin glanced at Bloom, who held her head high, but the tension in her shoulders betrayed her. She hated that her friend had to endure this. "Don't worry about them," Fallin said, trying to keep her tone light. "Let's just focus on finding something about your past."

Bloom offered a small smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah, thanks."

◇

"You haven't found anything?" Bloom asked impatiently, pacing around the Headmistress Assistant's office while Fallin sat at the desk, sifting through files of old students.

"I've only been at Callum's desk for two days, Bloom. Also, I'm kinda doing you a favor, so maybe try being grateful?" Aisha shot back sarcastically, her eyebrows raised.

"Oh, come on. You didn't take Callum's job for my sake," Bloom replied, smirking as she plopped down on a chair. "Weird, 'cause I remember you—" "Making a helpful suggestion?" Bloom finished Aisha's sentence with a teasing grin. Aisha looked at her, a smirk forming on her lips as she corrected, "...begging me to volunteer so I could snoop for info on your past."

"Yeah, that sounds like something I might do," Bloom admitted, rolling her eyes. "But you also might jump at the chance to earn brownie points with Miss Dowling."

Fallin faked a cough. "Suck-up!" she chimed in, which earned her a judgmental glance from Aisha and a chuckle from Bloom. Hearing Bloom laugh, Aisha turned to her, shaking her head. "Suck-up? Really? Suddenly, I've lost the ability to read the files," she quipped, plopping down at the table in front of her lunch. Bloom, smiling innocently, replied, "Wait, did she say, uh, suck-up? I thought she said such a good friend who's smart. And beautiful, and..."

"...isn't sure she can help?" Aisha finished, a teasing glint in her eyes. Bloom's amusement faded as she stared at Aisha. "Okay, these files seem to go back to Miss Dowling's start as headmistress. Everything else must be archived somewhere," Aisha explained, her tone shifting to serious. Fallin picked up her food, stating, "So we just have to find out where that somewhere is."

"Or maybe it's shredded because Dowling loves withholding information," Bloom said, frustration creeping into her voice.

Fallin sighed, putting her fork down and defending the woman who was like family to her. "Dowling is doing what she thinks is best for you, Bloom." "Well, she doesn't get to decide that," Bloom retorted, her eyes flashing with determination. "Even if I can find a little bit about Alfea back then, I might piece together why Rosalind left me in the first place."

Aisha placed a hand on the files, speaking with her mouth full, "I'll keep looking. Promise. I have to read all the files in this place anyway."

Fallin eyed the full shelves and mentally noted that she never wanted to be an assistant. "Thanks for this, by the way. I mean, since you're using it as an excuse not to eat in the canteen, it's the least you could do," Aisha said.

Bloom took a bite of her food, trying to brush off the discomfort. "So people are talking about me being a changeling. So what? It's not the weirdest thing about me." Aisha jumped up at that, "Mm. True. They don't know how bad you snore." Bloom retaliated by throwing a grape at her, laughter breaking through the tension, just as the door opened.