your newfound popularity;
❛ BRINGER OF DEATH ❜ ↷ fate
❝ you should start choosing people you surround yourself with more carefully ❞

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Silva was gone. Sabrina was shocked to hear that he willingly stepped foot in Alfea. But then again, she knew that Sky would not leave the school to see him so Silva had to come to him instead. No one expected him to actually leave right after seeing Sky.

Despite how hard the other fairies have been working to find proof about Rosalind stealing powers from fairies, that was not Sabrina's main priority.

Riven refused to leave his bed. He also refused to tell anyone, including Sabrina, Sky, and Brandon, why he was acting that way. He was usually bad at expressing his feelings but, most of the time, he vented about his problems or took his anger out on somebody. Now, he refused to talk about anything.

Sky's father told him to get his, Sabrina's, and Riven's attitude in check. Katherine must have been complaining about her daughter refusing to talk to her because now she had Andreas on her ass too.

Sabrina rolled her eyes and ignored Sky's text. She had to get ready for the Alumni Banquet and had no time to drink and sulk with him and Riven. She had to help the girls take Rosalind down. The only problem was that it probably meant that she had to take down her mother too, since she and Rosalind were tied to the hip for ages.

"I think that's Duke Hammerström."

Bloom gave her a weird look, a piece of her red hair falling from her bun and onto her face. "Duke Hammer-who?"

"Hammerström." Aisha called over her shoulder and then looked away from the window to glare at Bloom.

Stella, who was busy doing Terra's makeup, spoke up from the doorway of the bathroom. "He's like, um...like a Solarian Jeff Bezos."

Sabrina snorted and continued to apply her pink lipstick with a purple undertone. She dabbed the access lipstick away and drowned out the sound of Aisha gushing about Hammerström. She was too big of an overachiever in Sabrina's opinion.

She thought that people who over-thought every single thing they did usually ended up failing which would lead to them getting nowhere after that. She chose not to voice her opinion, though. As much as she liked Aisha, she had no plans to argue with her about something that was not up to her.

"Whoa, you made note cards for the alums?" Flora gasped, a big smile that was practically glued to her face lighting up the room.

Aisha hummed. "They're conversation starters."

"I'm not entirely sure that's how conversations work." Flora chuckled and took the flashcard in her hand.

The water fairy narrowed her eyes at her and then tilted her chin in the air dramatically. "Ah, Aimee Leroy, so nice to meet you. Just the other day, I was making tea, and it reminded me of your breakthrough theory on elemental fluid mechanics." Sabrina cringed and Tecna snorted while the others gave her awkward smiles. Aisha rolled her eyes and admitted, "Yeah, they're not all winners. But we do have a few hours of mingling before we storm the East Wing, so..."

"I'm gonna hang with you and make sure we temper whatever nuggets are on these cards," Flora told her. "It's cute."

If Flora walked into Sabrina's life last year, before her life became too messy for more relationship drama, she could see herself having a crush on her. She was perfect, and comfortable, and made it impossible to not get close to her.

"So, is everyone who went to Alfra like Duke Hammer...ströng?" Bloom asked them. "Are there no normal jobs in the Otherworld? Like, no accountants or──"

Stella cut her off and handed Sabrina her hairbrush from the table. "Of course there are. It's just that most of them didn't go to Alfea. I mean, the reason why all the alums are so powerful is because this school is the best."

"Just like in the human world, knowledge and education means power and wealth," Sabrina explained to the fire fairy. "It's just that, in our world, being a lawyer or a doctor doesn't make you powerful. People who got somewhere in life here usually finished this school and had good connections."

There were multiple fairy schools in the magic world but no school was as great as Alfea.

"I think I found the best way into the East Wing." Bloom jumped, causing all eyes to turn to her. "And don't freak out, but I think it's easiest if I just go in by myself."

Sabrina scoffed. "Right."

"No way."

"What?"

"It's fine," Bloom assured them. Sabrina tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. The redhead rolled her eyes at her unconvinced look. "I'm...Plus, if I get caught, I can worm my way out with Rosalind."

"How long are you going to keep betting that she will get you out of everything?" Sabrina asked her with furrowed eyebrows. She swore that that girl would be dead last term if she did not have her.

Bloom did not get the opportunity to give her an answer (lucky her) because somebody knocked on the door.

"Hold that thought." Sabrina huffed and got up to open the door. Much to her displeasure, Beatrix was the one standing on the other side. She immediately glared at her. "What are you doing here?"

Beatrix gave her a hopeful smile but Sabrina was not going to fall for it that time. She showed her the bottle of alcohol in her hand and offered, "Nicked this from Rosalind's office. Fancy a quick pre-drinks pre-drink?"

"You went through Riven's things and ratted him out to Rosalind," Sabrina told her in a deadpan voice. "Why the fuck do you think that I want anything to do with you?"

"I wanted to gain Rosalind's trust." Beatrix defended herself but it only made Sabrina more disgusted.

She had spent the previous night by Riven's side. Rosalind almost killed him and he was in complete shock. She also had to physically stop him from murdering Beatrix because of it.

"Where did that get you?" Sabrina mocked her. She knew that Rosalind never cared about Beatrix. Everyone could see it. In the beginning, Sabrina actually felt sorry for Beatrix because all she wanted was for her mother figure to love her. She was disgusted by the lengths she went to gain that love.

Beatrix pursed her lips and looked down at the floor. That was enough of an answer for Sabrina.

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Sabrina quickly finished getting ready and then she headed toward Sky and Riven's room to get a little tipsy before their big operation. She had to take something to ease her nerves.

She laid on Riven's bed while he sat in his chair next to her and Sky laid on his own bed on the opposite side of the room. Each one of them had a bottle in their hand.

Riven accidentally spilled some champagne on his undershirt. Sabrina snorted and he gave her a playful glare. He pointed a finger at her, although her smile only caused his grin to grow. "No mocking. Karma is going to bite you in the ass later." He leaned back. "It's a nice bottle of champers."

"Nice enough to make up for the fact that you burned my house down?" Sky deadpanned but there was a hint of amusement in his voice. They all knew that he had no choice.

"Ah, your house wasn't that great anyway." Riven teased him. He took another swing and then raised his hand before saying, "At least you got a bit of use out of your old bed, though. I'm surprised the place wasn't in flames when I got there." Sabrina muffled her laugh with a pillow. "What happened? Couldn't find her pilot light?"

"Curious, bud." Sky gave him a sarcastic smile. "Do you think that's funny?"

Riven grinned and pointed at the girl dying of laughter on his bed. "No, but she thinks it's hilarious." He looked at her over his shoulder. "Don't you, love?" Sabrina snorted and covered her face with the pillow once again. Riven breathed out a laugh and looked back at Sky. "She is wasted. I forget how much of a lightweight she is sometimes."

"Depends on what she is drinking, really." Sky said thoughtfully. "I think we should just stop giving her champagne."

"Good idea." Riven chuckled and got up to take the bottle from her grasp. Sabrina glared at him and held it tighter. He met her glare with a heatless one. "Give me the bottle, darling. You have an hour to sober up."

Sabrina loosened her grip and Riven set the bottle down on the table. He got up and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and placed it next to her on the bed. "We should let her sleep it off for a couple of minutes."

Sky nodded and the two sat together in comfortable silence for a couple of moments. Eventually, Sky spoke up. "Do you really not remember anything?"

"No." Riven shook his head. "The only thing I remember is being served up on a platter by Beatrix and Rosalind mind-fucking me."

He took another sip from the bottle and Sky asked, "What did Rosalind want?"

Riven shrugged. "No idea. But Katherine is in on it. That evil bitch hates me."

Sky perked up at that information and gave him a surprised look. "Katherine? Did you tell Sabrina?"

"Of course I did." Riven looked offended that Sky even asked. "She will know what to do about it. She always does."

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Sabrina managed to sober up just as the banquet started. She brushed off any wrinkles on her baby green dress and followed her friends inside. She linked her hands with Tecna in case she was not as sober as she thought and tripped on her nose in her heels.

"Don't you all look lovely?" Rosalind exclaimed, announcing her and Katherine's presence and making Sabrina almost have a heart attack.

Her eyes flickered between her mother and her headmistress. She wanted to know what was so big that Rosalind had to call Katherine for help. She had been following her around like a shadow ever since she arrived. She was with her more often than even Beatrix was.

"Big night." Bloom hummed and flashed her a fake but charming smile.

Rosalind nodded. "Bigger than you know."

Katherine cooed at her daughter. "Sweetheart, you look gorgeous. Green is your colour I must admit that you look far nicer with your hair curled."

Sabrina did not even flinch. She refused to even falter at her comment. Katherine lost the right to her respect years ago and Sabrina was not going to fall down on her knees at the chance for her mother to love her. She was seventeen years too late.

Rosalind looked between Bloom and Sabrina. "Girls, walk with me."

Sabrina ignored the hand that her mother offered her and linked her hands with Bloom instead. The young fairies followed the women and shared a knowing look.

"Don't tell anyone, but I absolutely loathe these things," Rosalind admitted as they walked up the stairs. She greeted a fairy that walked past them with a smile that fell the second she was out of sight. Sabrina scoffed internally. Rosalind kept rambling, "Money and status. Status and money. What a dreadful existence."

Sabrina hummed, faking interest. "Tell me about it. But you need them to vote for you which explains the fakeness."

"I do. I do." Rosalind nodded. "Which is why I need all three of you by my side today. Katherine and I saved two seats for you at the banquet."

"I thought that only VIPs were invited to the banquet." Bloom said, confusion lacing her words.

"You two are the first fairies to transform in generations." Rosalind began. "And the only living twin flames besides Katherine and I. How much more IP can you get?"

Sabrina froze. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched. That meant that she needed Katherine to get herself even more power. She was there because something big was happening. She was just using Sabrina as an excuse and a cover-up to be there.

"The two of you are like us?" Sabrina asked in disbelief.

Rosalind looked at Katherine with narrowed eyes. "You didn't tell them?"

"She ran out on me before I had the chance to." Katherine gave her friend an apologetic look. "Well, now you know..."

Bloom glared at Katherine. She hated how ignorant she was of everything, especially Sabrina's feelings and fears. "What if we don't feel like being used?"

Rosalind nodded to the woman behind them and answered instead of Katherine, "That is Field Marshal Bavano Selvarajah, Commanding Officer of the Solarian Army. I wonder what she'd say if she knew that you and your friends attacked her caravan and broke out Saul Silva." Sabrina's jaw clenched in frustration. "I think she might be angry. Shall we find out?" She turned around to head in her direction just as she walked up to her. Rosalind smiled. "Field Marshal."

"Rosalind." The woman smiled back. She nodded at Katherine. "Katherine." Then, she looked between the teenage girls. "And who do we have here?"

"These are my star pupils." Rosalind grinned. "The twin flames and the fairies who transformed. This is Bloom and this is Sabrina."

Sabrina offered her the most charming smile she could muster. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you." Bloom choked out next to her. Her nerves were much more obvious but Field Marshal had no reason to be suspicious unless Rosalind said something. In her eyes, they were just two advanced teenage fairies. What harm could they possibly do?

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Sabrina always hated those kinds of events. She liked getting ready, putting makeup on, and dressing up but she could not stand to talk about her personal life openly with people that she did not even know.

She and Bloom must have repeated the story of their transformation and how they found out about their connection a thousand times. Sabrina wished that Riven never sobered her up. She would not have let him if she knew that she would be spending the night with her mother.

Their plan was not going well because neither Rosalind nor Katherine allowed them a moment alone. Sabrina could not even sneak off to use the toilet.

The second that the crowd of strangers walked away, Bloom reached into her purse for her phone. She took it out and Rosalind instantly leaned closer and threatened, "Turn it off or I'll fry it."

Bloom reluctantly did as she was told and shared a worried look with Sabrina before they followed Rosalind and Katherine down the hall.

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Just as Sabrina and Bloom were getting ready to enter the VIP section of the banquet, the former noticed Aisha and Flora going toward the East Wing. She relaxed a little after realizing the plan was still in motion.

"Hold your head up high and smile." Katherine whispered in her ear just as the curtains went up.

Sabrina swallowed but smiled and straightened her spine. She walked inside the gorgeous room and walked toward the big round table. She felt like a doll.

Her eyes widened when they landed on Sky. Bloom's face immediately brightened.

"I thought the two of you might like some company." Rosalind told them and Sabrina's eyebrows furrowed. She looked around the room, expecting to see──

"Sabrina." Regulus breathed out behind her. Her excitement was replaced by dread and disappointment. She turned around to see him looking at her with a love-struck smile. "You look beautiful."

Sabrina had forced many smiles that night but not one was less genuine than the one she offered to Regulus. She muttered, "Thanks."

She started making her way to her seat when her mother grabbed her wrist. She leaned a little closer and subtly whispered, "I like him more than that waste of space you hang out with so much. You should start choosing people you surround yourself with more carefully."

"And you are the one to talk?" Sabrina retorted louder, giving her a knowing look before brushing past her.

Bloom and Sabrina sat next to each other while their dates (if you could even call Regulus that) sat down next to them. Bloom and Sky talked amongst themselves while Sabrina looked across the table and wondered which of the three forks next to her she should stab herself with first.

"Sabrina? Bloom?" Stella asked, making her snap out of her thoughts. The blonde looked between her friends with wide and panicked eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"Rosalind invited us." Sabrina smiled and gave her a soft nod. "It isn't too much like I expected. It's okay."

Stella must have picked up on the meaning behind her words because the panic in her eyes dulled.

"Oh, thank God." Stella's uncle said, looking between Sabrina and Bloom in awe. "Someone with something to say. I want to hear it all." He looked down at the glass in his hand. "Now I wonder why this is empty?" The server behind them rushed to give him a refill and he thanked him before taking a seat.

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"The smallest." Sabrina subtly whispered to Bloom as the redhead stared between the three forks in confusion.

Bloom hummed and muttered a "thank you" before picking it up and starting her meal.

She attended multiple events with Stella or Sky as their plus one over the years. When both of them were invited to an event, they would sometimes invite her to come along. Even though she had usually been their last option because she hated balls, she still went several times and learned everything she needed to know from Stella.

Sabrina chewed on her meal and looked around the room, faltering when her eyes met Sebastian's.

"Do you know Sebastian?" Katherine asked her with narrowed eyes from her seat between Rosalind and Regulus.

Sabrina shrugged and swallowed. "I have seen him around."

"Such a disappointment," Katherine whispered to herself and shook her head. "He was going to become a specialist, but..."

"Blood from a stone." Andreas said from the other side of the table but it sounded muffled because his mouth was full of bread.

Stella's uncle sighed, "Andreas, one of these days, you must come to the Capitol and let Stella's old etiquette teacher give you a lesson. Cute little My Fair Lady moment." Sabrina hid her smile by taking a sip of water from her glass. Bloom's eyes widened when the echo of Andreas' setting his fork and knife down was the only thing heard. Arthur continued to ramble, "At least Sky was lucky enough to be raised by Saul, although talk about the blind leading the blind."

He laughed at his own joke and Stella awkwardly did the same. She scolded, "Uncle Arthur..."

"Oh, come on." He scoffed. "Now, you know it's true. I mean, no fault to you, but if you and my niece had stayed together...scandal!" Sabrina wished that the ground would swallow her whole. "Granted, you seem to have landed on your feet. Landed one of the fairies who transformed. Well done."

Sabrina looked at the pained look on Stella's face and then the aggravated one on Sky's.

"I didn't land anything." He tried to sound calm but he still sounded angry.

Stella requested some water for her clearly drunk uncle who rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, no, don't be that girl."

Rosalind excused herself and Bloom and Sabrina instantly shared a look. Only one of them could follow her so they would not make it obvious which was why Bloom quickly got up and followed their headmistress. Sabrina rolled her eyes, envious that Bloom got the opportunity to leave the awkward atmosphere at the table.

At least Regulus rarely made conversation with her. He must have sensed her lack of enthusiasm when she saw him.

"Everybody is just so delicate." Arthur complained and Sky snapped.

"No, you are just being a royal dick."

Sabrina choked on her drink. Stella's eyes widened. Regulus awkwardly coughed.

Arthur glared at him from across the table. "What did you just say to me?"

"Oh, I'm sorry." Sky mocked him. "Would you like me to say it louder?"

Andreas laughed while Stella's uncle only got angrier. His glare heated. "You realize you are nothing. Yes? Less than nothing. I have household cleaning staff who are more important than you. You are an ex-prince who is the son of an ex-king who used to rule a kingdom that no longer exists."

"Don't talk to him like that." Stella hissed. "You cannot come here and disrespect my friends. Every comment out of your mouth has been a thinly, or not so thinly, veiled insult. And you are drunk. Yes, I am being that girl. Go get some water."

He got up and his chair almost fell in the process. "Your mom was right." He spat out like it was an insult. "You have changed." Stella gave him a sarcastic and unfazed smile. "What a shame. You really wanted that gem out too."

What gem? Sabrina's eyebrows furrowed when she watched the careless look on the face of her best friend falter. Their eyes met for a moment but Stella instantly looked away, only making Sabrina's worry grow.

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Bloom was still talking to Rosalind and the silence at the table was tense. Because everyone finally stopped arguing, Regulus took the oppressive to talk to Sabrina.

"Are you not glad I'm here?" He asked her with a soft kind of confusion that almost made her feel sorry for him. She had made it clear multiple times that they were just hooking up. But the fact that her mother or Rosalind invited him to be her date probably only confused him.

Sabrina sighed and admitted, "I didn't know that they were going to invite you." She frowned. "I'm sorry."

Regulus nodded, like he already knew what her answer was going to be but it still hurt. He expected it. "Do you want me to leave?"

"You don't have to." Sabrina assured him. "But I don't want you to think that anything serious is going to happen between us."

"Got it." He nodded and got up. "I'll see you around, Jackson."

His coldness made her falter. She did not even get a chance to stop him before he was walking outside. She sighed in frustration and leaned back against her seat.

She looked across the room to see Bloom staring at her with wide eyes and nodding toward the exit. Rosalind was no longer by her side which meant that it was time for them to move.

Sabrina got up but her mother calling her name quickly stopped her.

"Where do you think that you are going?" Katherine demanded with an annoyed and self-righteous voice.

"To the bathroom."

"You will miss dessert." Katherine tried to reason in the style of a typical manipulator. Sabrina knew that she was no saint.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm going to take a piss. I'm not traveling to the underworld." She grabbed her purse and patted Sky on the shoulder. "Have fun, soldier."

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Aisha and Flora found a magic snake in the East Wing. It did not respond to magic but they managed to burn it and then they took a picture of it for proof against Rosalind.

Tecna looked a little unimpressed by the video. She did not think it was big enough to take Rosalind down. She raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Stella nodded, confident that it was enough. "Yeah, we've got it."

"It looks like goo." Tecna squinted at the princess. "I don't think it proves anything."

"We have a video of Rosalind's literal dungeon in the East Wing. Plus the photos of that book. And let's not forget that Flora, Terra, and I saw what she did to Devin." Stella listed.

"Maybe we need more proof," Sabrina said, unsurely. "I mean, Rosalind is a master manipulator and we need one big thing that connects all of it. Let's not forget that we are a group of teenage girls and she is one of the most important and powerful fairies alive. Stella might be a princess but I don't think that's enough."

Stella sighed and gave her a sympathetic look. She understood her point but they did not have much time. "We can't wait, okay? We won't have the chance to have this many influential people together again."

"I know, but what if we are wrong?" Bloom pushed. Her eyes were wide and panicked. She was afraid that if they made one wrong move at the banquet it would all go up in flames and they would not get a chance to stop her again. Sabrina knew because she had the exact same fear.

Sabrina looked around to make sure that there was no one around. Then, she leaned her head closer to her friends and revealed, "Rosalind and Katherine know that we were the ones who broke Silva out."

Aisha's eyes widened. "Then we have to take her down."

"You don't get it," Sabrina shook her head. "She didn't tell anyone which means she has leverage against us. She will rat us out if we reveal this to everyone tonight and nobody believes us enough to remove her from the school."

"She said that she wouldn't tell anyone and I..." Bloom swallowed before admitting, "I believe her. I know that I shouldn't but I do." Stella let out a humorless laugh and the redhead sighed. "It's complicated."

Sabrina narrowed her eyes at her. "How can you be so naive after everything she did?"

"It's a cliche." Stella scowled at Bloom, looking almost disgusted. "You've been an outsider all your life and got the taste of the inner circle and can't get enough."

Sabrina let out a laugh of disbelief. "Can't get enough? Yes, because the dinner with your uncle was so educational. I cannot wait for us to repeat that."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Bloom defended herself.

"I know exactly what I'm talking about." Stella shot back. "I lived it. You seem to forget that this was my life. Your fifteen minutes are going to get people killed." Bloom scoffed and stared at her with her mouth agape in surprise. Stella ignored how hurt her friend looked and added, "So, if you won't do the right thing then I will."

Stella turned on her heel and started walking toward the dinner tables. Sabrina's eyes widened and she hissed, "Stella!"

The girls rushed after her and she never looked back. She entered the dining room and headed straight toward the table where they were sitting before. She turned to the rest of the room, her eyes filled with determination.

"Rosalind is not who she seems." Everybody grew quiet. Sabrina's heart was in her throat. Stella told them everything.

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"Rosalind let that student die in her office. Devin deserved better. Solaria deserves better." Stella finished her speech. When she did, her eyes met Sabrina's. Despite the nerves and the regret she felt, Sabrina offered her best friend a small smile. It took balls to do what she did.

"I hate to break protocol," Rosalind appeared in the room once again, making Sabrina's eyes widen. She looked at her smug face and was not surprised to find her mother by her side. "But there may be a few minor inconsistencies with her Highness' theory."

Devin appeared behind them with a solemn look on his face. What the everliving fuck?

Rosalind walked further into the area with a careless smile on her face. "About a month ago, my friend Mayor Quinn called me. Two fairies, recently released from their studies at Alfea, went missing in Blackbridge. They were found days later, catatonic. Bitten. I offered my help. But until we found answers, he swore me to secrecy. He didn't want to cause a panic. I have to admit, I was stumped until I borrowed a text from the Royal Archives, with Arthur's permission." Devin handed her the book and Sabrina felt herself flush from embarrassment. She had never been that wrong. "In it, I found an ancient creature called a scraper, a native of The Real of Darkness. It feeds on magic. I realized that's what happened to those poor fairies." A group of specialists brought out a big transparent box. Rosalind proudly gazed at the creature inside. "I've been studying a scraper here at the school since we captured it. It wasn't until Devin was found that I got the answers I needed. I was able to bring him back from near death. All thanks to Benjamin Harvey's daughter who discovered an amalgam that was able to revive all three fairies. I probed their minds and the picture became clear. The scrapers were being called upon by a Blood Witch." Gasps echoed through the room, even Sabrina's blood ran cold. "Our old foes have discovered how to steal our magic. If Blood Witches continue using scrapers, fairy magic, therefore fairies, will cease to exist. Clearly, despite my efforts to keep my investigation secret, some of you sensed danger and took action. Your courage will be needed in the coming days, as we face our real enemy."

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Sabrina was reluctant to leave Bloom alone with Rosalind at the banquet but she had no choice. She also had no time to go after Stella when she ran off.

Sabrina chuckled when she watched Aisha walk away with the guy who she had been obsessing over these last few days. Flora nudged her and nodded at somebody over Sabrina's shoulder. "You have a shadow."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she turned around to see Riven watching her. His face lit up into a grin when their eyes met and she smiled despite the terrible day that she had. She turned back to Flora and Tecna and pointed at Riven over her shoulder with an apologetic smile on her face. "I'm gonna..."

"Go get him, Brina." Flora smiled knowingly.

Sabrina shook her head to herself and walked over to Riven who was leaning against the wall of the school. "Hey."

"Hey, Nightmare." Riven offered her his flask. "Where have you been hiding all night? I was looking for you everywhere."

"Let's just say that I was doing too much." Sabrina laughed at herself and took a sip from the flask.

Riven nodded in the direction of the specialist dorms and suggested, "Want to tell me about it while we get high in my room?"

Sabrina linked their arms together and they immediately started walking toward his room. "Like you even have to ask, Riv."