Moon Flowers (Book 1 of the Flower Trilogy) #Wattys2016 #Featured

CHAPTER FOURTEEN - PHI (Edited)

PHI'S POV

I flew down from my nest to the ground. As light as a feather. The wind caressed my face, played in my hair.

I still couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing. This world. This new reality. It was something I had always hoped for. My heart was so light I felt I was having the most beautiful dream.

And it was only going to get better. Today, I was going to be taught the powers of the ancients.

I opened the Tisannieres' door and joined the other students who were all sitting on large white flowers, waiting for the class to start.

"I have been teaching myself to grow flowers and make them gigantic," Urach explained to Tönx. "Want me to grow one for you?"

She made a small flower grow in size, but failed to grab the water spirit's admiration. Probably because it had nothing to do with water. Or because he, like me, could not stand her pretentious ways.

"I've taught myself something too," he told her.

He blew on her eyelids and I saw the arrogant fairy swoon. She was caught by her friends, who laid her on a large flower and before long she was snoring loudly.

I could not stop myself from laughing. Her friends sneered at me.

"That's a good trick," I congratulated Tönx.

Halia arrived shortly after. She was wearing the green dress I had made her and had decorated her hair with pearls, a reminder that she was a water nymph – and perhaps also a green fairy?

The other students fell silent as she sat on a flower by my side. They stared at her. In their homes, they had all been talking about how unusual a fairy Halia was. She had been the first and only fairy to ever have been sick. And, apart from the royals, the first fairy to potentially have two elements. To be both a water and an earth fairy.

If she was indeed both a nymph and a Tisanniere, it meant that, one day, she would become a very powerful fairy. And truth be told, even I was feeling a little envious of her for that.

The fame never went to Halia's head, however, and so, soon enough, I noticed her cheeks turning red, as they so often did.

*

"For today's first lesson," one of the Tisanniere said, "you'll create a feast for tonight's dinner. By the end of the afternoon, I expect our table to be covered with tarts sweets, light pastries topped with wild fruit jellies, and fresh fruit like apples and berries—"

"What's that?" Urach complained, now fully awake again. "We'll be cooking? That's what you'll be teaching us? If I wanted to cook, I would have cooked at home."

"Eating is a basic need," the Tisanniere replied. "You might as well learn how to use your powers to help you out in even common ways."

"Cooking requires using all the elements," another Tisanniere explained. "You need to know the secrets of the earth to find out which plants are comestible and their use; you need to know the secrets of fire to cook it, the water to boil it or steam it; you need to know the secrets of air to elevate the doughs you bake."

"The tricky thing is that you will all have to create the recipe from scratch," added the third Tisanniere. "You will have to magically grow the plants, collect the water, boil the water with fire, and use the air to ferment and raise your baked goods."

"As you know, some of you are thought to have control over more than one element," the first Tisanniere said. All eyes turned to Halia again. "You will all be tested on all the elements—this way we will find out if anyone else has more than one power."

"I'll go first," Urach said.

She did not need for the green fairies to tell her what to do. She took one of the seeds the Tisanniere held out to her, planted it in the soil, and hovering her hand over it for a few seconds, she grew some wheat.

"Very good, Urach," one of the Tisanniere said, clapping her hands.

For me, there was nothing surprising there. Most fairies were earth fairies, anyway.

"I guess we all want to know if Halia will be as talented," said another Tisanniere, looking directly at my friend.

Halia gave the green fairy a timid smile, left her flower, and tiptoed to the front of the class.

Go for it! I mentally sent her positive thoughts.

"Here you go, dear," said the Tisanniere, handing her a seed.

Just like Urach had done before her, Halia planted the seed in the soil. She was better than her counterpart, however. No need to hover her hand over it. Already, a large cherry tree grew in the middle of the Tisannieres' hut.

That proved that Halia was indeed a Tisanniere and Urach turned yellow with envy.

"Lovely!" said a green fairy, enchanted. "I've always wanted to have a tree in my house!"

Urach rolled her eyes. I felt I needed to set her straight, and strangely, I felt that although my element was air, I could also do this.

I took the seed and planted it. I remembered how Urach had wanted to impress Tönx just moments before when she made a plant grow in size. I knew I was raising the stakes high, but I thought of seaweeds when I hovered my hand over the planted seed.

"It's seaweed!" Tönx said as the plant grew out of the soil. "That's amazing."

Now, the eyes were no longer on Halia. They were on me. I liked it.

By the end of the afternoon, Halia and Tönx had brought a rain cloud in the green fairies' home. Halia was even able to focus the cloud over the big cauldron to fill it up and make the rain cease.

"Very good!" said the Tisannieres. "Doing all that after only her first try!" I knew it was not the case. Halia had confessed to me she had had powers in the alley. I had promised I would not tell anyone, and I never did. "How about fire?" the green fairies added. "Who wants to try first?"

I raised my hand and strolled to the front of the room. I extended my hand towards the cauldron, where the water sat that Halia had collected. It didn't take long before flames started appearing.

"She has three elements!" I heard the others whisper. My chest swelled.

They tried to do the same, but none of them could control the flames. I was the only one. The only one who could master fire. The only one who had control over three elements.

I am one of the most powerful fairies. Only royals are more powerful than me. Only they have control over all four elements. I smiled at Urach and she looked down at her feet. Hah!