Forbidden Fruit

Chapter 5: Goal, Reason

Professor Wizgiz's class... This is the first one, and I already know that I won't be doing too great. So far, we've had a potion class with professor Palladium, which I'm totally confident about, since it doesn't require any use of magic... most of it doesn't at least. Some special potions require fairy magic, but that's just for extra credits. He seemed very satisfied with my work anyway.

After a lengthy lecture about Metamorphosimbiosis, he snaps his fingers and a mirror appears in front of each of us.

"Alright girls, time for your first exercise! Take the mirror in front of you and look at your reflection. Now, close your eyes and imagine your hair in a different colour. Concentrate your magic and your hair will really change into the colour you imagined. This is a very basic exercise, and I expect you all to easily do it."

Well, it's worth a try. I take the mirror in front of me and look at myself. That pale face... that pitch black hair and eyes to match... I'm not an ugly girl, but I'm an ugly Ankelon. Anyway, no time to think about that. I close my eyes, and the first hair colour that I see myself in is white. Pure white, just like the Light Ankelons. I concentrate my magic and... I hear a loud shatter that snaps my eyes open. I instinctively bring my hand to my face, and feel sharp objects penetrate my skin. I lower my injured hand and find pieces of glass piercing it. The mirror completely shattered. Everyone is looking at me. Professor Wizgiz runs towards me.

"Are you alright there, Onyx? I think you should go to the infirmary right away. Stella, you accompany her, okay?"

"Yes, of course!"

Stella hurriedly gets up and we head out of the classroom.

"Onyx, are you alright? You're bleeding so much!"

"Don't worry Stella. I'm just glad nothing went on my face or in my eyes."

I've always had really fast reflexes. Before I'm even conscious of it, my body always moves to protect me.

"Yeah, let's hurry to the infirmary before you bleed out."

When we get to the school infirmary, Stella opens the door right away.

"Professor Palladium! We have an injured student here!"

I go in after Stella. So Professor Palladium is in charge of the infirmary too? Well Elves do have very good healing powers, so I guess it makes sense. Besides, he's probably not the only infirmary staff.

"Oh my, what happened here? Come sit down on this bed, Onyx. You can go back to class, Stella."

Stella leaves after giving me a sad puppy face. I sit down on the bed and Professor Palladium comes and sits in front of me, on a chair.

"Let's see now... We have to get these glass shards out first. If you don't mind..."

He takes my arm and hovers his other hand on top of my wounds. The glass shards then all come out and go onto a metal plate on a nearby table.

"Mind telling me how this happened?"

"It's a bit embarrassing, to be honest..."

"You can tell me. This might sting a bit."

He then starts wiping the blood with cotton ball that was dabbed in alcohol. It does sting, but nothing I can't handle... I guess I do owe him an explanation.

"In Professor Wizgiz's class, we had a Metamorphosimbiosis exercise."

"The one where you change your hair colour?"

"How did you know?"

"Haha, well he always starts off with that one."

His laugh brings a smile to my face. During the Potionology class, he didn't really seem like a very confident teacher. He delivered the subject well, but with no confidence. Right now, he seems much less nervous.

"Yeah, instead of changing my hair colour, I ended up shattering the mirror instead."

"Is that what usually happens when you use your magic?"

"That's right... I've never been able to cause anything else but destruction."

Professor Palladium closes up my wounds with his magic, then lets go of my arm. That part that he was holding is still warm from his hand.

"Destruction is just destruction. It's how you use it that defines whether it's good or bad. As far as I know, you're a very hardworking and honest person, Onyx."

"Professor..."

"Well, your arm is all better now. You should head back to class. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to come see me. I believe our next class together is tomorrow. So, I'll see you then."

"Yes, sir."

I get up and head back to class. He's a very nice and thoughtful person. I might... come see him when I'm feeling a bit down about things.

After classes end, we all go back to our dorms.

"Why can't I get this?!"

"Don't worry about it Bloom. You just need to concentrate."

Stella has been coaching Bloom through the hair colour transformation exercise ever since we got back to the dorm. It seems like I'm not the only one who couldn't do it. I'd help, but I have no clue how fairy magic works. Since my results were so violent anyway, I'm exempted from this exercise.

Flora, seeing how down Bloom looks after failing so many times, goes and sits next to her.

"Bloom, what's your reason for being here?"

"Reason?"

"Yes, for example, I'm attending Alfea because I want to learn more about the different wonders of nature. I want to keep learning about natural magic and become a strong fairy of nature."

Reason, huh...

"Do you have one, Stella?"

I look at Stella and ask her.

"Me? Well, I'm the Princess of Solaria. I have to be strong enough to take over my father's place."

"Once you find the reason why you're here, you'll be able to persevere and work towards your goal, without giving up."

Flora's right about that. I also need to find my goal... my reason. Once I do, maybe I'll finally come to terms with myself and my race. I'll be able to find the place where I really belong.