｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,Fuck Silva and Dowling, Irene is my priority.*:･ﾟ☆

Stella

"I just heard from Sky that they're moving the Burned One today." I announce as I enter my suite. "I don't know when but it's soon."

Bloom and Musa look up at me in shock from their places on the sofa, while Terra and Aisha appear from one of the bedrooms.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Terra's voice is nervous is rushed, "I saw them all working on something in the Greenhouse, it was char residue which is fascinating because they seemed to be getting different reactions in the tubes-"

"Terra." I cut her off with a forced smile, doing my best to hide my nerves. "Get to the point."

"They were having us distil more Zanbaq." She says slowly, looking between us all. "Lots of Zanbaq, they're expecting a large number of injuries."

"All the more reason to get the ring before it goes wrong." I state.

"I thought Octavia was handling this?" Musa asks, looking between us all hesitantly. "She said she had it covered."

"After what happened?" Bloom demands. "What she did to the General and Minister of Justice."

"No." Aisha interrupts. "I'm sorry but I'm not getting involved with Octavia again."

The others call after her as she quickly grabs her bag, muttering something about getting to class. Terra and Bloom share a concerned look while Musa continues to stare at me.

"What." I snap.

"You look so calm yet you're racked with fear." She states. "Spill."

I roll my eyes but when I look at the girls in front of me I realise I'm not getting out of this one so easily.

"Fine." I concede, "That ring in our possession would stop Octavia and my mother from using it to move troops."

"Why would you want to stop them moving troops?" Terra asks confused.

"Because I love my family." I snap and freeze when I realise my tone was too harsh.

Sighing heavily as I sit down I begin to wonder where it all went wrong for us.

"My mother would use the ring to move her troops to safety. She'd go on the defensive and wait for the Burned Ones to be on her doorstep before attacking." I toy with one of the rings on my finger. "My sister would go on the offensive. Use the ring to plan sneak attacks to take out the Burned Ones in small groups. She's strike before they could mobilise."

"But- they are both trained in defence, shouldn't-"

"They feed off of each other." My voice is gentle as I interrupt Musa. "Octavia gets more aggressive to compensate for my mother's mercy. While my mother fears the repercussions of my sister's actions and does her best to keep everyone on good terms to minimise the fallout."

"So it's not about military power." Bloom murmurs, an understanding dawning in her eyes. "It's a family drama played out on the largest scale."

"No." Musa and I snapped at the same time, both of us looking at each other in shock.

"It's not just my family, Bloom." I answer her, "There are politics at play and even more dangerous games of power are played during wars, I wish to keep my family safe from outside forces as well. Just until we have all united under one banner."

There's a tense silence as the girls mull over my words. Each one looks to another before taking a moment to think. Musa seems to be shaking her head, I can understand why, she is close to my sister. But I'm doing this to keep Octavia safe from herself. She's too eager for war to start so she no longer has to fear its arrival, but once it starts there's no stopping. We need to be more prepared. And if she want to go on the offensive she news to ensure we have the proper defences in place, which I know mother has begun to do.

If only they would actually talk to each other.

"We're in."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Beatrix

"Are you sure you should be coming with us?" I murmur quietly to Irene, toying with the strap on my armour. "If something goes wrong-"

"I'll be fine, Mikrí Kataigída. You worry needlessly." She whispers, nudging her leg against mine as I look out the car window. "We are merely moving the creature, and if something goes wrong then I can fall back on my specialist training even with my powers drained."

"Why did you insist on coming?" My voice is angry and petulant and I wince at the sound of her sharp intake of breath.

"Because Dowling knows," Her voice sounds defeated and all of a sudden I want that headmistress dead. "And I can't give her the satisfaction of seeing me weak."

I nod silently and we continue on. The drive over the fields is bumpy and rocky even when we reach the forest trail. I'm starting to understand why they have range rovers here instead of fancy cars. I sometimes forget that this was one of the main outposts during the war instead of a school. I wonder if it will go back to being that when this war breaks out.

"Just up here." Silva calls from in front of us.

He wasn't too pleased with my joining the group, but I honestly think that's because he wasn't allowed to bring Sky... and possibly Riven. What is it with the Silva clan and taking on protegees?

"We need to get it ready for transport as quickly as possible." Silva commands as we all get thrown around with the movements of the truck.

"Stop!" Silva commands suddenly and we come to a grinding halt.

I wince at the movement, worry flaring in me when Irene presses a hand to her stomach in discomfort at the movement. I knew I should have pushed harder for her to stay behind, to let me handle this for her. Though I doubt she would agree, trust is earned not handed out at the drop of a hat.

We watch in trepidation as Silva jumps out of the car, the rain quickly splattering his uniform. What did he see? I scan the forest for any sign of movement. Is it a Burned One? Or perhaps a student out of bounds. Either way, if it's a threat I need to get Irene out of here safely.

Fuck Silva and Dowling, Irene is my priority.

Silva begins looking around in worry and I spot a cloaked figure walking away in the forest. What the fuck? I do not have a good feeling about this. I quickly pull out my phone, ignoring the soldier's beside me incredulous look. Fuck off, I'm a teenage girl, of course I brought it with me.

𝕾𝖍𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖜 𝕼𝖚𝖊𝖊𝖓

𝒲𝑒 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝒶 𝓅𝓇𝑜𝒷𝓁𝑒𝓂, 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝑜𝓃𝑒 𝒾𝓈 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓊𝓈.

𝐼 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝓈𝑜𝓂𝑒𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓈 𝓌𝓇𝑜𝓃𝑔.

I shut off my phone, quickly sliding it away as I scan the forest once more. I go to move out of the car, freezing when a screech that can only be a Burned One echoes through the forest. Silva slowly moves away from his position next to the car door and I can see the horror in his eyes as he releases what's just happened.

We're fucked.

"Irene." I whisper.

"Inside each Burned One there is a cinder." Her voice is soothing and controlled as she opens the car door. "Focus your magic on destroying the cinder, and if you can't ... then keep it subdued long enough for us to take it down."

I nod quickly and follow her out of the car, doing my best to trample down my fear. I've done this before with Andreas and Octavia. Granted we had access to some of Rosalind's power gems but I've done this before.

I can do it again.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Stella

"What exactly have you been teaching Bloom?" Musa asks as we walk through the hallways.

"I need her on the top of her game, Musa." I answer defensively. "It's not a permanent solution, just enough to stop us all from dying."

"Why is Bloom so important to you?" Her eyes glow purple for a second and I fight the urge to snap at her.

"Because she can rival my sister's power." I answer quietly.

"You want to go against Octavia."

She stops suddenly, looking at me in apprehension. I quickly step closer to her, wary of the watchful eyes of the students.

"No. Well, yes. But not in the way you think." I rush out, she raises her brows in question. "You know about my sister's-"

"Her shadows?" I nod. "Yeah, they're quite cute."

"Yeah, well. They weren't at the beginning." I snarl. "Nearly drove her mad when she was a child, and I can't have her go through that again so I need something against the shadows should she chose to go against them."

"Ah... I'm not sure that's your choice." Musa replies hesitantly.

"No." I sigh, "It's not. But I want her to have it as an option."

"I guess that's-"

She cuts off as her eyes begin to glow.

"What?"

"There he is." She murmurs, "Mystery boy."

"Mystery who?" I sound incredulous and petty to my own ears.

Musa rolls her eyes at me. "He's got a quiet aura, I can't feel his emotions as much."

"Ah." I nod "Where is he?"

"Every time I turn to find him he's not there." She complains, "There he is again, behind me."

"There's no one-"

Sam Harvey walks through one of the walls. Of course.

"Ah, mystery solved." I smirk, "he's an earth fairy."

"I'm not superficial, but eh-." Musa fights a blushing smirk. "Is he cute?"

"Sam!" I call, and grin when the Harvey boy turns to look at me. "This is Musa,"

I ignore her complaints and questions.

"Musa has been stalking you."

"Lucky me." He murmurs with a grin.

"Dead." Muse whispers to me before briefly closing her eyes as she turns to face the earth fairy.

"Hi Musa," He smiles.

"Bye Musa." I call as I walk away from the couple.

They'd make a pretty cute pair. My thoughts drift to Brandon and I can't stop the small blush that rises at the thought. I pull out my phone to read through our last texts, he's near Alfea for business and wants to know if we could meet up. If I can get this Burned One drama sorted then I might take him up on his offer. I've been wanting to take him to that little coffee shop in the village for ages.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Octavia

I look through the Burned One reports again, glancing at the residue listings. All of these are found deep in the caves, some near a water source, other's more akin to desert life. I smile when I hear Riv laugh behind me, the smell of vape drifting down as he gets high on his bed. I roll my eyes and continue to lay out the reports in front of me onto the coffee table.

"Really? Homophobic gay bashing by gif," I drawl to Riv when he shows me his phone. "Truly you have reached your peak clever."

"Look, whatever. One, I don't think he's full gay." I hear him shift to face me at the end of the sofa. "Probably, mostly, but two, I don't care. Just because he's gay doesn't mean he has to be lame."

"I thought you didn't like him?" I ask with an accusatory lilt.

"I don't, but he's got his eye on Terra. Stopped by when you were doing your Burned One residue thing with Beatrix. Which was an interesting form of foreplay for the two of you."

I scoff at him.

"What?" He questions, "I just need to make sure he's straight and cool before Ter gets her hopes up."

"So you're going to help him by making him feel bad about himself?" I question, with an annoyed frown. "A well intentioned bully?"

"Something like that."

"And the Terra part." I murmur quietly, losing my teasing lilt. "She's not Olivia Riv."

"But she could be." He snaps, but looks guilty a second later. "Sorry. She's just..."

"What Olivia could have been with time." I answer quietly for him.

He nods quietly and I reach up to link my pinkie through his, it's an awkward angle on my arm but I can't bring myself to care.

"So your plan is to keep the symbolic representation of your sister safe by bullying first years?" My tone is light as I attempt to brighten his mood.

He gives me a little grin. "Why? Is that a confusing Archetype for you?"

I smirk at him, reaching up to take the vape from his offered arm. The door opens and I can't stop the smile from breaking out on my face at the sight of my mate. Damn he looks good today.

"Do you want some?" I offer Sky the vape, grinning when he makes a face at it.

"No, thank you. no." I roll my eyes at Riv when he makes an annoyed noise.

I give him a look that clearly says, 'he's allowed to like what he likes' Riv rolls his eyes at me and I get the distinct impression that his answer look follows the lines of 'and what about Bloom'

"Daytime? Not smart guys." He complains, using a school folder to waft away the offending smoke but I can see the smile in his eyes. We're adorable, he can't resist us. "And did you even remember to have lunch? I thought that's why you guys were up here."

"I made Tavi lunch." Riv answers offended.

"And what did you have to eat Riven?" Sky demands and I can practically feel Riv's eyeroll.

Sky looks to me in question and I do my best to convey that I did try to get him to eat something. This Dane/Terra thing must have been on his mind since yesterday's Burned One analysis.... I feel kind of bad I didn't notice Dane was there.

Why didn't you tell me he was there.

Again. Darkling complains. He was  not a threat, a person of interest or doing anything even remotely funny that we could mock him for. What do you want me to  do? Narrate your entire life and everything, everyone is doing around you.

Shut up. I grumble.

"Alright, but I'm making you a chicken sandwich." Sky jabs a finger at Riv. "You can at least have some protein."

"Yeah, yeah." But I can practically feel him melt at Sky's words.

I wonder if that's a bond thing? It probably is but I never had much chance to research them as a princess or with Andreas. Sky probably knows, Riven most definitely has no clue. I smile at the thought, I really wasn't expecting Riv to be the one knowing the least.

"What are you grinning at." Riv murmurs in my ear and I blush as the heat of his breath hits my neck.

"You." I answer, voice slightly breathy.

"Absolutely not." Sky calls, and Riv and I part with an annoyed sigh. "We agreed to keep it PG-13 until-"

"Until we spent more time together and got to know each other, blah, blah"

"it 's not a joke Riv." Sky snaps as he walks over with the sandwich.

"Yeah," Riv states, snatching the plate. "I know. Do you?"

"Boys." I interrupt. "If you are going to fight, take it to the training mats."

I grin as I hear them both huff, and the sofa behind me shifts as Sky sits on the other end of the sofa to Riven. I wonder when the two of them will realise they are both crushing on the other?

Highly unlikely, Darkling murmurs. They have the emotional depth of a teaspoon.

I'm never letting you watch harry potter again.

Beatrix would disagree. He gripes back and I roll my eyes.

"Octa, your phone is blowing up with texts." Sky complains as Riv shuffles to sit directly behind me.

"What do they say?" I murmur, making note of each location the minerals come from in a large map that Irene sourced for me.

"I-" Sky pauses, "You want me to just read through- your phone?"

Why does he sound so incredulous? I ask Darkling

Clearly never had a stable relationship before. The shadow huffs

"The password is 0912." I answer, distracted as I notice the pattern beginning to form on the map... or maybe I'm distracted because Riven has started braiding my hair. Sue me, it's a soothing motion

There's a pause.

"You just-" I turn to look at Sky in question who looks at me with such shocked love that I blink "Nevermind, I'll check the texts."

I'm going to love the shit out of these boys. Welcome to my attempts at a healthy relationship. It will probably be shit since I've never had one but I'm going for it.

"You've got a text from Musa saying she has stuff to tell you about- 'mystery boy'." Sky says the last part with a questioning frown as he looks at me.

I roll my eyes, "Musa's crush."

"Ah." I jab my elbow into Riven's leg at his mocking noise of understanding.

"And she's says that the girls are still planning on going after the ring. Aisha backed out but the others are going after it."

"What? Why?" I glance up at Riv in confusion as he continues to braid my hair, he gives me a playful glare and pushes my head forward so he can continue. "I told them I would handle it."

"Yeah well, Stella appears to be trying to stop world war Solaria between you and your mother."

I groan in irritation. "For fucks sake Stel. She needs to stop doing this."

"Somethings wrong." Sky states so sharply that I jerk upright, and wince when it causes Riv to tug at my hair.

Riv mumbles his apologies but I wave him off to look at Sky who is scrolling through my phone with a sharp frown on his face.

"What is it?" I ask, voice thick with worry.

"Beatrix says something has gone wrong with the Burned One transfer."

"Beatrix?" Riv questions in shock, "Why was she-"

"She's with Irene." Sky interrupted, "Something about a mentor trainee thing gone wrong."

I sigh. "Bea asks Irene to help her with her magic, we were trained by a powerful fairy - Rosalind - for years so Dowling's lessons are like child's play to us. Beatrix wanted a challenge."

"Yeah, well. It seems my mother has taken her on as a protegee and brought her on the transfer."

"You said something went wrong." Riven asks Sky who has gone tense as he scrolls through my phone.

"Yeah, Bea mentioned Silva saw someone in the forest and-" Sky breaks off as a shocked gasp leaves his lips.

"What." I demand, scrambling up onto my knees to stare up at him.

"The Burned One escaped. Beatrix said there's more than one."

A/N: If Beatrix was Irene... then who do you think released the Burned One?