18. A New Friend

eighteen

A New Friend

*FLORA*

T he beings of light are in complete disarray, circling around the bud as if they want to speed up the process. Recently, I have been noticing a change in them; while I can still call them to support Elden, they don’t allow me to truly get into his mind anymore. Not that I want to ever breach his trust like that, but in case of an emergency it would be helpful.

They also don’t let me reach out to Vincent to that extent anymore.

I’m glad to see you so lively again, I say. I thought you were gone.

They circle around me now, playing with my hair.

We will never leave you, Flora.

We are part of you, Flora.

We only exist because of you, Flora.

Their voices swirl around me like butterflies surrounding me. But, why didn’t you let me reach out to Elden before?

We can’t, they say. We are here for you, and will help you and do what we can, but we cannot influence your closest bonds. That’s the only rule. We learned that now and need to abide by it or we can’t stay.

That’s a crap rule! I call out. Who decided on it?

The beings flutter around me anxiously. Can’t tell yet, can’t tell yet.

I’m used to them being vague, they always have been, and it never really got to me because it felt natural. They were with me from the first moment I can remember, and in a weird way I understand them as if they were truly part of me. But recently, there’s been a change, they have become stronger, they have started to talk about rules and giving me hints.

And I just want to know what the fuck is going on!

Unfortunately, throwing a tantrum doesn’t work on them. I have tried; I know for a fact.

Flora, Flora, Flora! They circle around me. It’s beginning, finally! It should have happened much sooner, but it couldn’t because the flower was almost dead when you found it.

What’s about to begin? I ask curiously, stepping even closer to the plant. I can feel Elden’s nerves, noticing how he steps closer to me to save me in case the flower attacks me. I guess you can never know where danger lurks.

We both gaze down at the big flower bud, watching how it opens slowly and-

“What…” Elden mutters in mere disbelief.

“Janice!” I whisper. “You need to see this!”

The others scoot closer, gathering around the flower and like in a sitcom they all gasp comically. “Is that real?” Vincent asks in disbelief.

I reach out my hand toward the flower. “Hello there, tiny person,” I say.

The beings of light circle the tiny, winged girl, nudging her softly. She looks around in confusion before her eyes lock onto me. “You are so pretty!” she blurts out.

“No, you are pretty,” I say.

She jumps onto my palm and stretches slightly. “That was a long sleep!” She grabs onto one of my fingers, patting it. “You saved me, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t just me,” I explain.

“But you nurtured me,” she explains, beaming at me. “I only survived because of your presence and the light in you. So magical,” she pauses. “I was supposed to wake up years ago. I was tired and hurt from a battle, and wanted to regain my strength,” she adds. “But they drained the strength out of the plant, and that’s that. Now I’m here, though!” She jumps up and flutters around my head. “I’m Trixie, by the way.”

Vincent clears his throat. “Can someone talk to me, please? At this point, I’m not sure what’s weirder: that little butterfly-”

“Fairy, I am a fairy!” Trixie exclaims.

“Right, that little fairy, or you guys not reacting to it at all.”

“Well,” Elden shrugs. “In hindsight, I find this outcome more logical than for the plant to attack us.”

“ In hindsight ?” Vincent mimics him.

“He is right,” Janice says. “It’s Flora.”

“It makes sense that something magical happens in her vicinity,” Jace adds.

“And if you think about it, she had the plant for nine or ten years. Had it been vicious, it would have attacked her sooner,” Elden points out.

“The way you are all trying to rationalize this makes it even weirder,” Vincent says while watching Trixie, who is currently fluttering around inspecting everything in my room.

“Grandma once told me fairies are real,” I tell Vincent.

“My mom said the same when I was five,” Vincent mutters. “But it was when she read a fairytale to me.”

“Yeah, but her grandma is different,” Jace points out. “What she says, she probably means.”

“It’s going to be easier for you if you just accept it,” Janice suggests. “Believe me. I went through the same.”

Vincent sighs. “Fine. It’s not like I have any other options.”

“Aren’t there others like you?” I ask Trixie.

“Yes, there are,” she says. “But I like it here for now.”

“And you can just do as you please?” Elden asks.

“Yep,” she flies towards him and bops his nose. “Fairy communes are always a group of equals.”

“Communes…” Vincent mutters.

“Don’t say it out loud!” Elden groans.

“Come on, dude, tell me you didn’t just think of weird, fairy group sex!”

Trixie, fortunately, ignores him. “We can do what we want as long as we don’t break our rules.”

“And what kind of rules?” Jace asks.

“Stay hidden from the humans,” she says.

We wait for her to say more, but when she doesn’t, Janice chuckles. “That’s it?”

“Yes, pretty easy, huh?” Trixie beams. “But human babies are so cute. Sometimes, we can’t help but visit them and play with them.”

“So actually, you have that one rule,” Elden analyzes. “But none of you sticks to it?”

“Exactly!”

Vincent snorts. “Now that I’m getting used to this, it’s kind of funny,” he admits.

The others are chatting and discussing what just happened while I turn my attention back to Trixie. Seems like I made a new friend. I feel an instant connection to her, maybe because she lived in my favorite flower for years, and I nurtured her back to health, as she called it.

“She is finally awake?” I hear grandma’s voice from behind me. I didn’t even notice she joined us.

She smiles when I turn to look at her. “You knew?”

“I had a feeling,” she admits. “But I didn’t know if she would survive. Another friend at your side, Flora. You have so many people around you now, people you can rely on. I’m relieved and happy.”

Something about the way she says it makes me sad, although I don’t understand why.

Later that evening, we all meet in the garden in front of our cottage. I snuggle up to Elden in his lap, while watching Trixie interact with Vincent, and Jace pretending he isn’t completely into Janice. I would love for them to hit it off. It would be fun if they turned out to be mates once they are both eighteen. To imagine that the four of us ended up being mated within our own little circle of friends would be beautiful.

But at the same time, I know Jace’s parents are terrible. I worry for him, and for Janice, if they turn out to be mates. They want him to take a chosen mate of their liking, someone his mom approves of, someone with a strong and pure bloodline.

Even thinking of it makes me cringe in disgust.

At least Alpha Caelum never stopped Elden from seeing me, though I do believe it’s thanks to the prophecy, and the fact that my father was of royal blood. I usually try not to think about him too much, as it still stings that he just left me behind. I know I’m privileged to have grown up in a loving environment, especially seeing how Elden is treated by his dad. He sometimes tries to hide it, and with Regis getting stronger and healing him faster, I don’t always spot the bruises on his face. But, whenever Caelum is in the pack, it only takes a couple of days for him to strike Elden.

And I hate it!

I hate this man for what he does to my mate. Elden is a genuinely good person, he is smart, fair, strong, dedicated and always tries to do the right thing. He never lazes off; he never allows himself a break. He trains and studies without a pause. He always puts me and his friends before himself. He is even respectful to Emilia although his dad tried to replace his mom with her.

That’s the type of person he is, and yet it’s not enough for Caelum. I think part of Elden blames himself for the lack of love his father has for him, and it just pisses me off so much that his dad makes him feel that way.

Can you stop? Celeste bursts through my trail of thoughts. I’m getting depressed.

But it’s true, I mutter. And we can’t do anything about it.

Yet, she says. We can’t do anything yet. Besides, I don’t think it’s true. Elden and Regis love us. We make them happy!

He has fear of abandonment and trust issues, I point out. How can you say we make him happy, if he is still struggling so much?

He has opened up to his beta, Celeste argues. And, he has Jace and Janice. That’s something, isn’t it? And Grandma treats him like family, too.

I’m not sure if I fully agree with her. I don’t think anyone can replace what Elden lost due to his mother’s death and his father constantly abandoning him. But she is right with one thing: he has us and we won’t abandon him. That’s a promise Celeste and I made to each other the moment we were able to interact.

I think about my own family again, my thoughts returning to my father. I’ve never met him, at least not that I know of. Grandma kept telling me that he just couldn’t handle being a single father, because Mom wasn’t able to stay with me, and my powers and the prophecy put a toll on his mind.

I still judge him for it. He left me, and never contacted me. Not even once!

I’ve come to terms with it now, but it still hurts sometimes, and I can’t say I’m not holding it against him.

“Flora,” Elden wraps an arm around my middle for balance, before showing me the folder he has been carrying around, since he came running to my cottage thinking I had been attacked. “I forgot to show you this.”

He opens it, revealing the photo of a young man. “Oh, is that the new guy?”

“Yes, Dad picked him,” Elden says, scrunching his nose. “Samuel gave me this folder today.”

I skim through the folder, reading through the collected information. “His gifts,” I mutter. “It’s crazy what he can do.”

“Normally, these are gifts that would rather be with someone who tested alpha,” Elden agrees. “I’m pretty sure Dad picked him due to his bloodline though.”

“Yeah, both parents are of royal heritage,” I say. “Not direct descendants like you, but still… nobility is in his blood. He also got the best education.”

“The extracurriculars and courses he took aside from his studies are pretty telling too,” Elden says. “He must be very ambitious, and he has a high IQ. He graduated his studies, summa cum laude, in Europe.”

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“It’s pretty much the highest level he could achieve,” Elden explains. “It means he had the highest grades throughout his education.”

“Wow,” I mutter. “That’s impressive.”

“It really is,” he admits.

“Are you going to meet him?” I ask.

“Yes, I have to,” he says. “Dad picked him, and Samuel already gave his okay. I can’t go against the council. I wish I had a real choice, but as it is, I need to make the best of it.”

“Please tell me you are taking Vincent along,” I say.

“Of course, that’s the first thing I told Samuel. He is going to set up a meeting. Knowing Samuel, it will be sooner rather than later.” He sighs. “Isn’t it weird how powerless we are sometimes? They keep emphasizing our bloodline, the prophecy, and our powers, yet they still try to play us like figures on a chessboard.”

“We’ll change it,” I say with conviction. “We will make sure to become good leaders and change the world.”

Elden smiles at me before he pulls me into a kiss. “That’s what I love so much about you, your unshakable optimism.”

He always says that, and I am happy he appreciates this about me.

“Thank you for not calling it naivety,” I say, pecking his nose.

“I don’t think you are na?ve,” he says. “In fact, I find you highly inspirational.”

“So,” I beam, deciding to take that as my cue. “Can your highly inspirational mate motivate you to do a birthday party?”

He groans. “Do I have to?”

“Just something small,” I reassure him. “I will organize it for you!”

“You know I can’t say no to you,” he mutters.

I wrap my arms around him, plastering him with kisses until he laughs.