Author Note: I did say I'm going to take creative liberty, and Alfea is a school after all so get ready for more classes. 

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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There was a slight screech sound as the class's door was shut closed and Amber turned to see a middle-aged woman staring at them as she walked towards the board.

"Welcome everyone," She greeted, her clear and loud voice quickly catching the attention of the room, "I'm Professor Duralor, and I'll be teaching you the History of the Otherworld. Now, I'm sure you've noticed there are more students in this classroom than usual, and that's because this class is mixed. It will be the only class this year where Fairies and Specialists learn together, and that's because our world's history was written and shaped together, each left a footprint that directed the course of history."

"Now, let us start with something everyone in this classroom already know. Some basics. There are seven known realms in the Otherworld: Solaria, Eraklyon, Linphea..." Amber looked around as students around her scribbled down the professor's words, letting out a quiet sigh.

The class passed by in a haze of boredom and Amber snapped back into attention when the student who sat next to her started to collect his things. Amber realized she hadn't even opened her notebook the entire class, not to mention took out a pen to write down her professor's name.

"Before you run to leave," The professor called loudly, causing the students to sit back in their seats, "You'll be given a project in this class. Row one, three, five, please turned around to the person behind you and say 'hello', because from now on, you are partners for this project."

There were murmurs of displeasure in the class and Amber let out a groan. This class was going to be a nightmare. She turned around to see Aisha sitting behind her. The dark-skinned girl gave her a tight smile, but the earth fairy could tell she wasn't exactly happy with the pairing. After last night, Amber wasn't either.

But then her eyes darted to the brunet sitting to Aisha's right. It was the rude boy who had bumped into her on the first day. He looked at Amber and the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk, mocking hostility dancing in his eyes. Suddenly, she was grateful for Aisha.

The professor wrote down each group and their names, briefly pausing as she wrote down Amber and Aisha's names. She then started to hand the groups their subject for the project, randomly picking a note for each. Amber stilled when she saw their chosen project. 'A Realm's ancestry,'

Aisha peeked behind her and read the subject, "That's great! We can choose Linphea or Eraklyon –"

"No." Amber interrupted, a bit too loudly. Hearing the disagreement, Professor Duralor made her way to the two girls.

"Is there any problem, Miss Rackley?" The professor asked Amber, looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Just discussing our project," Amber replied and the professor hummed before moving along to instruct the rest of the students.

The blonde girl turned to Aisha, "Did you forget the princess of Solaria is one of your suite mates? We can just ask, and we'll have all the answers we need."

"It's not very challenging," Aisha protested, looking at Amber with a puzzled look.

"Not everything has to be," Amber rolled her eyes, standing up and picking up her bag, "Besides, we'll finish faster and then you can have more time to splash and play in your swimming pool."

Aisha reluctantly agreed and they started to make their way to the next class, not noticing the brunet boy who was watching them with narrowed eyes.

~~~

As Musa was explaining the nature of her powers to Aisha, the water fairy spotted Amber and Stella talking on the other side of the room.

"What about Amber?" Aisha asked as Musa finished reading off the emotions of the people around her. There was something odd about Amber, and Aisha didn't think that just because the blonde girl had refused to help Bloom. There was just something... off about her.

Musa pursed her lips before she answered, "Not entirely sure about her, either. Last night I couldn't feel anything. Like she was completely void of any emotion. But this morning was different, there was something—But it felt like it was covered by something, and my magic couldn't reach it like it does with everyone. It did feel like she was angry, but I'm not really sure anymore at this point."

"Do you think it's because I woke her up early? Because it's not my fault she can listen to the floors." Aisha frowned and Musa chuckled.

"I don't know, but whatever it was I just could tell she was holding it back," Musa glanced at Amber from across the room, her eyes flashing purple, "It's back to nothing, again."

The two fairies glanced at each other before walking toward the table Bloom and Terra were sitting at.

Aisha sat down in front of Bloom and started, "So here's what we should do. Maybe we can make a list of emotional triggers..."

~~~

"I need to talk to you," Was all Stella said before grabbing Amber's arm without warning, pulling her to the distanced and more secluded area of the cafeteria.

"Could you let go?" Amber snatched her arm back, looking pointedly at Sky and Stella who teamed in front of her.

"Sorry for startling you," Sky apologized, but Stella glared at him.

"Leave the manners for later, we have more urgent things to take care of." Stella preached, "Sky and I have a plan on how to get the ring back, but we will need as much help as possible."

"Right, and how exactly that concerns me?" Amber replied, crossing her arms.

"Because you are going to come with us," The Solarian princess said simply, and Amber let out an incredulous laugh. Stella looked offended at the blonde's reaction. She grabbed Amber's left wrist, fingers trailing over the golden bangle, "You owe it to Solaria."

Once again, the earth fairy snatched her arm back from the girl's hold. "I owe to Solaria's Queen. And last I checked you're not quite there yet, are you?"

She could tell Stella was moments away from throwing a fit, but stopped herself from doing so and huffed, "I don't have time for this. Come on," And with that, Stella grabbed her arm for the third time and led her towards the table where their other suitemates were seated.

"So we have a plan to get my ring back," Stella informed as she approached the table along with Sky and Amber. She opened a map which Terra quickly revealed to be a map of Alfea.

"The little dotted line is the Barrier, and that's Crag Creek. Wind Meadow!" Terra exclaimed happily as she traced over certain locations on the map. "When I was a kid, I'd spend every..."

"Great story, Ter." Stella interrupted her words, but Terra was persistent.

"No, it's a really good story, listen. So I used to go and practice my magic by trying to swirl leaves into this little fab cyclone thing. And I noticed there was a ladybug on one of the leaves so I thought I could use my powers and create a whirlpool to help it get closer to an area with more plants and, you know, maybe it could have fun along the way there. So I used my powers and moved all the leaves, but then it disappeared. So I looked under the rocks and the ladybug wasn't there, because it was on my face. How funny is that?"

Amber found it hard to believe that she listened to Terra's entire story with more concertation than she had listened to any of that day's classes. But perhaps it was just because the charm was active and kept her more focused.

"Hilarious." Stella said, not truly caring, "Um, Sky? Where do you think they're keeping it again?"

"Um..." The specialist hesitated and Amber realized Stella was resting her hand over his arm in an almost possessive way. He quickly recovered and continued "Uh, there's only so many buildings outside the Barrier they can secure a creature like that. There's the barn and the mill."

"Oh, the barn would be my bet." Terra told them confidently, "My dad fortified the beams because he was chaining this wounded horse when I was little,"

"So, we just have to sneak in there and get my ring." Stella finalized, looking satisfied.

"Strange how casually you're tossing about the word 'we'." Aisha responded.

"Yeah, sounds more like a 'you' kinda deal." Musa added.

"Except I didn't lose it." Stella argued.

"When do we go?" Bloom asked and the fairies looked at each other with hesitation.

"Gonna be blunt. Sorry. Bloom, you have zero control over your magic." Aisha said, "That is, if you manage to channel it. Bad idea."

"I lost the ring. I'm gonna get it back." The redhead decided.

"Guys, maybe we should take a second..." Sky tried to calm down but Stella wasn't having it.

"I think everyone is making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be." Stella looked at Terra, "You said The Burned One's locked up, right?"

"Oh, and subdued." Terra added, "I'm pretty sure my dad is distilling this oil that'll subdue it. It's called Zanbaq. I could probably make some more."

"Thank you, Terra, for being helpful. And thank you, Bloom, for taking responsibility." Stella quickly turned to Amber, "See? Don't you appreciate it when friends are being loyal?"

"I'm not your friend," Amber was quick to reject, but with the pressing look Stella was sending her she knew the Princess of Solaria was fixated on the loyalty part rather than the friendship. The last thing Amber wanted to do is somehow mess up what already had been considered a delicate situation.

"Fine," Grumbled Amber, "I'll come,"

"Great." Stella replied, pleased, "And thank you, everyone else, for...nothing, I guess! Thanks for nothing."

"Let me know when you wanna do it." Bloom said and walked outside of the cafeteria. Sky was quick to follow her.

Amber furrowed her eyebrows as he left. She knew the two had talked the day before, and she saw him sitting next to Bloom and talking to her as Terra was telling her ladybug story, but still, it seemed more profound than that. Glancing at Stella, she asked, "Since when they got so close?"

Her question was answered with an exaggerated eye roll and a quiet huff. Yep, Stella didn't like a single thing about it. That might have been one of the few things they had in common.

~~~

The greenhouse was a lot smaller than it looked on the outside, but maybe it was the number of plants that caused the false sense of tightness. About a dozen fairies sat around a big table in the middle of the greenhouse, Amber included.

"I suppose you ask yourselves why this class is only mandatory for earth fairies," Professor Harvey, who Amber quickly learned was Terra's dad, started, and placed a booklet in front of every student. "The answer is very simple—we don't want you to summon the wrong plant as some could be quite dangerous. Moreover, the better you understand nature, the better you can connect to it with your magic."

The Botany teacher went on and on about the type of flowers and Amber tried her best to listen, but she couldn't help but feel a tug of annoyance at the pit of her stomach. She shouldn't be in this class.

"Are you okay?" Terra, who was sitting next to her, asked quietly as she noticed the slightly distressed look on the blonde's face. "It's really not a hard class, I promise. My dad even told me I didn't have to take it since it's so basic, but I thought it would be cool to be here anyway. A class where earth fairies like us can bond together."

Yes. Earth fairies who could manipulate florae and make flowers bloom. Amber was neither.

"So, do you wanna be partners?" Terra asked after Professor Harvey gave them an assignment in pairs.

"Sure," Amber replied, sliding her booklet towards the brunette, "If you're fine with doing all the work for the both of us."

Terra was dumbfounded, "Well I was actually thinking—"

"Look, I don't know flowers. You clearly do, a bit too much even. So if you don't mind—go on,"

Unfortunately, Professor Harvey didn't see eye to eye with Amber's opinions and insisted they both have to put effort into the assignment, or he would fail them (Which Amber highly doubted since it meant he would fail his own daughter, but she didn't argue).

"It's quite simple, really," Terra tried to encourage her, "I could show you the fundamentals!"

Amber watched silently as Terra walked to grab a pot with soil and a small pouch with seeds in it. She planted a seed in the soil, covering it gently and placing it in front of Amber. Amber sent her a puzzled look.

Terra smiled and said, "Give it a try,"

"Terra, I can't! I'm not that kind of earth fairy. It just doesn't work for me no matter how much I try," Amber told her, pushing down the anger that was slowly rising and threatening to drown her.

"Look, you are an earth fairy, so whether you like it or not you're already connected to nature. Maybe you just need to find the right rhythm for what you want."

"Rhythm?"

"Yeah. It's like when you're playing music and find the rhythm that puts you in the right mood. Whatever works for you."

Amber rolled her eyes dismissively at the idea, "Can't say I have any nature songs for that in mind,"

"It doesn't have to be actual music," The brunette girl tried to convince, "When I was six my brother and I went to play near Crag Creek. It was just after the leaves started to fall so, we were surrounded by them. I remember the wind blowing them everywhere around us, like it was playing a cute game with us. Anyway, I was so focused on the sound of the leaves rustling beneath my feet, and before I even noticed I was surrounded by a circle of blooming flowers. Flowers I made grow."

Raising an eyebrow, Amber was still looking skeptical, but Terra continued, "What I'm trying to say is maybe try to find your rhythm in the nature."

Pursing her lips as Terra's eyes were almost pleading her to just give it a try, Amber fixed her glance on the pot on the table. She took in a deep breath and tried to find the rhythm Terra was talking about; The wind was gently knocking on the edge of the greenhouse, but that wasn't strong enough. A bird was chirping from outside, but that was too jarring.

Something did start to happen, though. The seed began to sprout, growing slowly.

And then she heard it, a clash of swords ringing in her ears. The greenhouse wasn't so far away from the yard the specialist trained.

Faster than Amber could blink, the sprout wilted, quick as a raindrop in a storm. And the storm always left damage behind – The pot was shaking and then shattered, soil smearing her clothes and neck. Her chair squeaked loudly as she got up, trying to dust off the remains of the poor plant.

"Girls, is everything alright?!", Professor Harvey exclaimed worriedly, rushing towards their side. "What happened here?"

"Nothing! We're okay!" Terra was quick to answer, turning to Amber to help her but Amber took a sharp step back, a silent warning in her eyes for the brunette to stay away.

Terra, slightly taken back, glanced at her father with an apologetic expression, "We made a little bit of a mess but at least we didn't summon a deadly plant, right?" After Terra assured him everything was fine, and that they would take care of the mess, she tried to approach Amber again, "I'm so sorry if I upset you, I didn't think—"

"Don't bother," Amber cut her off, eyes glowering. Without waiting for the end of the class, Amber grabbed her bag and left the class, ignoring Terra's calls.

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Author Note: So I'll keep it spoiler free, but I just watched season 2 and I loved it even more than the first one!!! What's even more excited that my ideas for this book have the potential to flow perfecly with season 2 and I'm already planning! 

Tell me your thoughts about this chapter! I might also release another chapter just because I'm high on this Fate energy but let me know if I should lol

Also, if you want to talk about season 2, send a message :)