"And Maria," Faragonda began, unsure of her friend reaction, "I think it's time we talked about Bloom. She is your niece, after all."

Excuse me?

"Wh-what?" Maria asked, standing up from her seat, staring down at Faragonda." You don't know what you're talking about-"

"I'm afraid I do," Faragonda said, crossing her hands on her desk." Before the three Ancestral witches attacked Domino killing your brother and his family, Marion went into labour and had another daughter."

"This is impossible," Maria muttered, pacing the length of the room. "I-I would've known-Oritel would've told me if Marion was pregnant again-there's no way-"

"Maria, you know yourself and Oritel weren't on the best of terms after you left."

"Yes, but I couldn't come back, I had a life in Scotland-"

"You had a life here too!" Griselda said sharply, grabbing both fairies' attention. " Family, friends. You never called us, and now you show up here as nothing has changed! You left us, Maria."

"But I did call you for Julian and Amelia's funeral, and you never replied. You never came to my children's funeral!" Maria exclaimed, her eyes filling up with tears.

Faragonda was the first to speak after the silence, rushing to embrace Maria. With that, the tears started streaming down Maria's eyes as Griselda joined them in a group hug, all sobbing miserably.

"I'm so sorry, Maria, if we knew-" Griselda began, but Maria cut her off.

"No, I'm sorry! I should've made more of an effort to come back,"

Faragonda then looked up, wiping a stray tear away as she smiled feebly," Oh, look at us, bickering like school children. We're better than that, right, Lighty?"

"Of course, Gondy," Maria chuckled, wiping away her tears.

After a few moments, Maria spoke again to confirm this new information, wringing her hands, "So Bloom is my brother's daughter- my niece. I have two nieces now. Does Bloom know?"

"Yes... and no," Faragonda nodded, elaborating for the fairy, "After Oritel and Marion died, they sent Bloom to live in the mortal realm. I'm sorry Maria, I know this must all come as a shock; if I had told you, Bloom would have been in more danger, and Valtor would have found her in an instant. "

Maria didn't respond. Furrowing her eyebrows, she thought about all the information that had just been thrust upon her.

"Alright. I trust you, Faragonda- that you would do what was best for my family, and if this is it, then it's best if she doesn't know who I am, at least until the time is right."

After a few moments, Griselda spoke up, a sly smile creeping onto her face, "Enough of the heavy talk now because Maria ran into Palladium!"

The fairy in question blushed profusely, giving Griselda a sharp dig to her side. Looking up at Faragonda, Maria begged her with her eyes not to make a big deal about it, but alas, that's not what friends are for.

"I seem to remember you had a crush on Palladium when we were in school," Faragonda teased.

"She still does! Oh, you'd want to see how red her face went, Faragonda," Griselda added, a sly smile creeping onto her lips.

"Oh, shove off, the pair of you!" Maria rebutted with a grin," He did get rather handsome, didn't he?"

The trio burst into laughter as if they were sixteen again, sharing secrets and recalling school memories. They spent the rest of the day gossiping like schoolgirls, cross-legged on the carpet as the sun began to set.

"Oh, no, that wasn't it. The best prank we ever pulled was on the hag-witches," Maria argued.

"Griffin's hair was multicoloured for a month! Oh, that was not a good look on her," Griselda reminisced, laughing at the memory.

"I thought it was an improvement,"

Faragonda seemed astonished at Maria's comment, "Maria, you can't possibly hold a grudge against Griffin. After all these years?"

"I can, and I will. You've clearly forgotten what she put us through," she rebutted snarkily.

"That was nearly fifty years ago! We've moved on, and so should you."

Maria grumbled to herself, leaving an awkward tension between them.

"I'm sorry to cut the catch up short, but I've got rounds now. No doubt the students will try to sneak out," Griselda broke the silence, excusing herself.

As she went to open the door, someone began to knock from the other side. Faragonda rose from the floor, smoothing out her skirt and sat down at her desk.

"Griselda, would you mind showing Maria to her room? There are matters I must attend to," Faragonda asked, putting on her glasses.

The fairy said her goodbyes and followed Griselda out of the office, her eyes lingering on the hooded man waiting to enter. They locked eyes for a brief moment, and Maria was taken aback when an unsettling glint danced across his iris'. It shook her to her soul, only stepping back when the man closed the door behind him.

"Are you okay, Lightie?"

Shaking her head, Maria blinked her eyes hard and turned back to Griselda.

"You know Faragonda is only trying to do what's best," she explained, bringing the fairy down the corridor to the courtyard, checking each room on the way for any rule-breaking students.

"I know. I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was right," Maria retorted jokingly.

They stopped walking just as they reached the final door of the corridor. Making sure no one could see them, Griselda engulfed Maria in a smothering hug.

"Griselda-" Maria let out, cut off by the fairy.

"-You didn't forget about us. You came home. I'm just exhilarated that you came home."

Maria's heart tightened in her chest, rubbing the woman's back," I could never forget about you, Gondy. You're my best friend," she told her in a quiet tone, only letting go when Griselda pulled away.

Saying goodnight, Griselda left to complete her rounds, leaving Maria to settle for the night. For the first time in ages, Maria felt joy in her surroundings.

~~~~~~~

Hello! I'm not sure if I should continue these authors notes at the ends of each chapter; if you like them, let me know ;)

*The_lost_flower*