𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒚𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒎 | Riven

𝟎𝟗

═━ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄━═

As the bell chimed softly behind them, Fallin followed Bloom and Aisha out of the little flower shop, arms loaded with bags filled with flowers for the banquet. The scent of fresh blooms filled the air around them, and the weight of her bags made her shift them slightly as they walked.

Aisha handed a particularly heavy package to Bloom, who raised an eyebrow. "Um, I swear you gave me all the heavy stuff," she remarked, her tone playfully exasperated. Fallin chuckled at that, as they started walking away. Aisha, unfaced, answered: "You volunteered for this."

Fallin chuckled, glancing between them. "Technically, we volunteered for a simple errand so we could get off campus and see Sebastian." She raised her brows at Aisha, giving her a teasing look.  Bloom nodded, as she put up her bags: "Then someone came up with additional ideas to make the banquet really sing."Aisha shook her head and explained: "The Alumni Banquet is a big deal. Every important Alfea grad from the past 50 years will be there."

Bloom let out a small laugh. "Oh, so you want them to know you picked out the centerpieces?" she teased, her tone light. Fallin nudged Aisha playfully, adding sincerely, "To be fair, Aisha, you really did pick out some gorgeous flowers."

Aisha smiled, glancing at the bags in their hands. "You really want to know why I'm going all out for this?" she asked, suddenly more serious. Bloom and Fallin exchanged glances, nodding with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah," Bloom said, her tone softening. Aisha paused, her tone turning a bit more serious as she started explaining. "Tonight was always step one of my 20-year plan. Headmistress Dowling would sing my praises to the alums. I'd intern for one of them at the Capitol, come back to Alfea to teach, work my way up. Eventually, at an Alumni Banquet, Dowling would step down, and I'd become headmistress."

Both Bloom and Fallin blinked, surprised at Aisha's ambition. Fallin admired her friend's determination and focus. "Wow," Fallin said, her voice filled with genuine admiration. "That's impressive." She shared a look with Bloom.

Aisha's expression turned sheepish. "That look's why I don't tell anyone about my 20-year plan," she muttered, turning away from their surprised stares.

Bloom hurried forward, adjusting her bags. "No! I guess I'm just... I'm realizing the furthest I've thought ahead is, like, lunch. To be honest, I'm wavering on that."

Fallin shook her head, amused as Bloom's words made Aisha look at her like she'd lost her mind. "You've never thought about your life after Alfea?"

Bloom thought for a moment before explaining, "I mean, back in Gardenia, all I wanted was to be out of high school, but... I dunno. Live a normal life. Be an artist or engineer. Then Alfea happened." She turned to Fallin, curiosity in her eyes. "What about you?"

Fallin shrugged lightly, looking down the road thoughtfully. "I just always thought I'd end up joining the army or become a healer. You know, help people."  Aisha nodded again, as they finally openened the door to Sebastian's store. "We've got ten minutes.", Aisha reminded them as they entered.

Sebastian greeted them with a warm smile, as they immediatly turned to the matters at hand, as Sebastian rolled out a map in front of them, showing Alfea. Fallin watched as Bloom leaned over, eyes focused on the markings.

"She must be keeping the fairies in the East Wing," Bloom said, her eyes tracing the lines around the area. Fallin's mind flashed back to earlier in the week. "That's why we couldn't go through it on our way back to the suite a few days ago. That must have been when she started this."

Bloom nodded, her tone grim. "Yeah, we looked for a way in. Rosalind has every entrance guarded."

Sebastian leaned forward, tapping the map thoughtfully. "Well, those guards are gonna have their hands full tonight. My fellow alums are quite the VIPs now. They're gonna need protecting."