DAMN it, Viperine cursed mentally as soon as she set foot in the study. She should start paying more attention and not leave her belongings unattended in Alfea's numerous classrooms.

Not that it was such a bad thing to have to walk around, but the problem itself lay with the people—the person—she unfortunately always ran into when she had to go back to the greenhouse.

It was as if Terra didn't have a social life and spent all her time with her father there. Viperine didn't know where Harvey was. Probably with Director Silva, who was injured after the burn attack.

The attack, otherwise known to her as the day she was strangled. Or rather, that Anakin was strangled. What was done to the snake was reflected on Viperine's physical body. She should take Verena's advice and start letting her loose only in the bedroom...

But she had already done that. That must be why Principal Dowling had sent him to her office at the end of the day. The memory of it made Viperine's body shiver completely, not at all happy.

"Oh, I saved it for you," Terra said, barely letting Viperine say anything first. "You forgot your scarf here earlier. Why are you wearing a scarf today, by the way?"

"I'm cold," she replied coldly.

"It's 167 degrees outside," Terra laughed nervously. "And you're wearing a fuzzy coat... Is it faux fur? You're not hot, are you?"

Viperine clenched her fist, almost feeling her nails dig into her palm. She had always been an almost antisocial person. She couldn't stand people like the fairy in front of her. No day, no time, was good to test Viperine's explosive and limited patience.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep the monster's murderous instincts from creeping up on her.

"Hey, what's that?" asked Terra, pointing to her torso. Aren't those scuff marks? No, they look more like strangulation."

She was about to explode, turning the fairy into the coldest, hardest statue she'd ever made in her life.

"Let me see," Terra asked, stepping forward. "I think I can cure it with a little camphor."

"Keep your distance!" shouted Viperine, an inch from feeling Terra's hands touch her. "Do you know what personal space means or do I need to draw? No, you know what? I think I know why Dane uses you, because you're so weak and pathetic and..."

"Dane doesn't use me," Terra exclaimed, offended. "We are good friends. Yeah, we're friends. Best friends."

"Oh, so you mean, between you and me, he would choose you, Terra?" She teased, evil. Terra swallowed hard. "Open your eyes, girl. You try to play strong and confident, but you're just a fragile, scared little baby."

Terra's once happy features died. She was speechless, not knowing how to defend herself against Viperine's venomous offenses. She wondered if he'd ever done anything to her, but she only remembered him being nice and polite.

But she knew that Terra was the problem. It was exhausting to be too nice because people took advantage of you and used you mercilessly.

Terra didn't realize what had happened in the greenhouse until Viperine snatched the scarf from her hand and bolted out the door. All the plants, flowers, and roots in the study were dead.

Gods, what the hell was that?

Terra, frightened, walked towards a pale fern and begged for color—lifeless. Carefully, she flicked the long sheet, watching it break and crumble across the floor like carved marble.

She took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. The door to the greenhouse swung open, almost making her heart jump out of her chest cavity.

"Terra," her father Harvey called, as startled as she was at the sight of the well-kept greenhouse. "What happened?"

"I have no idea."

◈

◈

"WHY DOES SHE TELL US A TIME AND WON'T EVEN BE HERE?"

Viperine can barely attempt to answer Beatrix's question with any irony. In the same instant, her throat was crushed by invisible hands. They were being suffocated. Whether their senses were fading or not, it felt like they were being lifted off the ground.

Their heads ached, as if they were going to explode from the lack of circulation that was building up. In what little they saw, larger shadows were behind them, holding them. Was that Verena's hidden power? That certainly wasn't the full extent of it... Viperine had no desire to fully know him.

Verena's eyes were as black as night, darker than bat wings. Her hand was raised, power pouring out of her. In her eyes... If those two looked at them any longer, they would see their biggest fears, their biggest nightmares.

Viperine would faint.

Beatrix wrapped her hands around her neck, trying to relieve the pressure. The two called out Verena's name, but it was in vain.

The dome of darkness then completely disintegrated. The pressure in Viperine and Beatrix's throats eased instantly, but they both fell to the floor, coughing as they waited for their breathing to return to normal.

"What the fuck was that?" grunted Viperine, her voice hoarse.

"I hope you can explain the shit you've been doing," Verena said, ignoring Viperine. "You disobeyed me and released the burnt one. And now, Viperine, you've ruined the school and, with it, Silva's Zambak."

"It's easy to get Zambak," she pleaded, getting up too quickly, her head spinning. "I'm sure you've got more by now."

Verena crossed her arms, her lips in a straight line.

"It might be easy, but it won't come cheap," she replied through gritted teeth. "I'll have to go to the trouble of chasing after everything you've destroyed."

"Alfea has earth faeries, Verena," Beatrix interjected, her voice as husky as Viperine's.

"Novice fairies who don't know how to recover things on a grand scale," she said.

"So I don't know," Viperine complained, rolling her eyes. "Call little Luna and have more fairies brought."

It could have been irony, or sarcasm, or contempt for your royal majesty... Viperine couldn't say anymore. Only in her, not in Beatrix, did the inside of her body feel like it was on fire. She squirmed, holding back a cry of pain that was struggling to get out of the back of her throat. Ah, the pain of Hell again!

"I'm pretty pissed off already," growled Verena, the one causing the pain. "Then you better not provoke me. Because, believe me, I can make you see Hell."

She wished she could say, "I'm already in it."

Beatrix, seeing Viperine about to faint from the pain, pleads:

"She already understands, Verena."

It was as if nothing had happened to Viperine. No marks were left on her body when Verena released her. Viperine allowed herself to remain sprawled on the ground, barely breathing as the shadows and wet grass soothed the burning spread through her body.

"The Viperine I know was out of a tantrum, since she can't be mature and accept an order," Verena commented thoughtfully. Viperine wished she had the strength to respond. "Now you, Beatrix, what was your motive?"

Beatrix exchanged glances with Viperine on the floor, swallowing hard before answering.

"Because we need to act fast. In your own way, we might take the whole year.

Verena took a deep breath, huffing.

"In a few days, more burns will reach the barrier," she warned her. "That would be the distraction."

"And you didn't think to tell us that before?" exclaimed Viperine, drawing strength from the earth.

"I was going to, but unfortunately your stupid decision didn't give me time," she pleaded. "And now I have dead soldiers and Silva infected. And to make matters worse, we no longer have Zambak at this school.

Viperine tried to get up, but only managed to sit up before another wave of dizziness and pain hit her hard.

"I can petrify Silva," she suggested. "Theoretically, it should stop the burn's poison in his bloodstream."

"Maybe because then Silva won't even have a bloodstream anymore," Beatrix countered, making Viperine roll her eyes in disgust.

Verena watched them closely, probably thinking about how childish they were. Maybe that would never change, at worst.

"I care about you two. And I hate hurting the people I care about," Verena said, clearly tired and irritated. "But I swear, if anything else happens to him because of you, I'll kill you."

Beatrix and Viperine swallowed hard. Neither of them had the courage or the chance to answer. Verena was already walking out of the maze, leaving the two behind.

The two girls looked at each other, thinking the same thing: they had to start walking the line, otherwise... Viperine didn't even want to think about it.

◈

VIPERINE STARED AT CALLUM, ignoring his existence as she climbed the few steps to Dowling's office. Callum stood up quickly and stated:

"Mistress Dowling is busy," he warned, his voice thicker than it used to be.

"I know, Cally, baby," she muttered, knocking on the door.

"Did you freak out?" she repeated. "You said Principal Dowling is busy."

But the door to the principal's office in Alfea was instantly opened. Dowling stared at Viperine and Callum, his assistant, who were staring at each other deathly. With the same cold, serious features as always, Dowling said:

"I told her to come see me, Callum."

Viperine smiled victoriously at him, seeing the human's grimace form with a certain distaste. She still glared at him, entering and closing the door as Dowling ordered.

The office was the same as it had been the time she and Riven had broken into it, and well... It was still the same. Viperine doubted it would ever be any different than that. With so many old, dusty books and artifacts, just the thought of dusting everything was nerve-racking.

"Sit down," Dowling instructed, pointing to the chairs in front of his desk. "I was looking at your school record. Viperine Gorgon, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am," Viperine agreed, sitting up uncomfortably.

"Gorgon," she repeated, testing the name. "Is it a Greek name?"

Viperine nodded, biting her lip anxiously.

"My father's side of the family," she explained.

Dowling stared at her, lowering his eyes as he searched for something in Viperine's well-crafted daughter. She looked up, staring at the wounds on the girl's torso. Oh, damn, Viperine had forgotten to change her shirt before going upstairs to the principal's office. Please don't ask. Please don't ask. Please...

"How did you get hurt?" Dowling asked, staring at her. "I haven't heard of students going to the infirmary with bruises like that."

"It's nothing," she denied, too quickly. "Anakin climbed up on a shelf in the bedroom and fell when he tried to get down. As I held him, he curled himself around me."

"It looks like too much injury for a snake to have caused," she hissed. "But since we're talking about Anakin, I've been getting complaints from your roommates about your pet."

Viperine swallowed hard.

"I read the rules and none of them said that animals were prohibited in Alfea."

"And they aren't, but we usually see more... How can I say that? Traditional animals."

"You mean cats and birds?" she presumed. "Director, with all due respect, Anakin might be a tiger snake, but he's docile and quiet. He doesn't usually attack people"—not without my command, she added mentally.

"I suppose that's true, Viperine," she agreed suspiciously. "But snakes make some people uncomfortable, and that's been the case with your suite."

Viperine crossed her arms, straightening her posture. Dowling watched her closely, looking for any sign of her power that might manifest.

"I can't send Anakin back home," she frantically denied.

"I figured it out," she commented. "That's why I'm moving you to another room. It turns out that Beatrix is in a suite by herself. And since you ladies seem to know each other, I thought you would have no problem sharing a dorm."

"No problem at all, Principal Dowling.

Viperine later breathed a sigh of relief. It was just that? She just had to change rooms because the pathetic fairies in her suite were afraid of Anakin. Had she known this for herself, she might have been able to create more victims. However, the last thing she wanted was Verena on her feet.

That night, as Anakin was draped over her shoulder and she carried a box of some clothes down the hall, she made a mental note to fetch the rest of her belongings from the old suite. That none of her former colleagues were involved...

Viperine knocked on Beatrix's suite door and now hers as well. The electricity fairy opened the door, her eyes widening at the sight of her with the snake and crumpled clothes that got on her nerves. If she had had anyone messier than Viperine, Beatrix was yet to find out.

"Hello, roommate," Viperine greeted, watching Beatrix's features fade. "I promise not to make too much of a mess."

"Oh no," Beatrix lamented.

━━━━━━

9.16.22

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