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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟓
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐍

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A million thoughts bounced around in Savannah's head as she sparred with Dane, and most of those thoughts concerned her father. He had been up and about for the last week with the help of a staff to keep his balance, which was great considering he could barely move when his daughter found him. But despite his mobility, Saul seemed to get worse by the second. He was always seen limping and his eyes never returned to normal. But every time she asked him how he was feeling, Saul simply brushed her off. Savannah knew it was because her father didn't want to worry her, but just watching him walk around the campus in pain terrified her.

The Silva girl felt her father's eyes on her as they sparred. She blocked his punches and returned them with some of her one, but he was able to easily defend himself. It wasn't long after that when the Mallory boy swept his leg across the mat, knocking Savannah's feet out from under her. Shock coursed through her veins as her back slammed against the mat. The Silva girl just stared up at the sky until Dane came into view, offering a hand to her. A small smile appeared on her lips as she took his hand, allowing him to help her to her feet. But that moment of joy soon vanished when Saul's voice greeted her ears.

"Nicely done, Dane. I can tell Savannah's been an excellent teacher," the Silva man said before limping up the stairs to watch Sky and Riven spar.

"Are you alright?" Dane asked, drawing her attention toward him. After receiving a blank stare from Savannah, the Mallory boy continued speaking. "This is the second time I've bested you today. I know I've improved, but I haven't gotten that much better."

The Silva girl just stared at her training partner for a moment longer before looking back over where her father stood. "Does he seem worse to you?"

"He was attacked by the Burned One," Dane responded after watching Riven take down Sky, something that was also very unusual, "I don't expect him to be moving around like he usually does."

"But it's been a week since he was infected. He should be getting better," Savannah said before letting out a long sigh, "or maybe I'm just overreacting."

"Professor Harvey still has him on the Zanbaq, right?" the Mallory boy questioned as he and Savannah began packing up their things.

The Silva girl couldn't help but hesitate, unsure of how he would know about that. Then she remembered how he and Terra were talking more. The Harvey girl was probably giving him all the information they learned. "The Zanbaq just manages his symptoms. He won't fully recover until they kill the Burned One that attacked him."

"Well, you're lucky that there are a ton of fairies and Specialists looking for it in the Otherworld. It can't hide forever," Dane told his training partner as they walked side-by-side toward the archery targets, "I know we aren't really friends, but I'm around if you ever wanna talk about it."

Savannah's smile soon returned to her lips before she glanced over at the Mallory boy. "Thank you, Dane. And I don't know where you heard that from, but we are friends."

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Lunch had come and Savannah found herself sitting in the cafeteria with Bloom and Musa. As much as she cared for her father, it was nice to finally get away so she wouldn't have to see him walking around in pain. But even though she wasn't witnessing him walking around, the Silva girl's thoughts were only on Saul. She knew he was currently getting treated by Professor Harvey in the greenhouse and it took all of her willpower to force herself in there. Savannah knew her father wouldn't want her there, he hated when she saw him in pain.

"It's just strange not seeing Aisha get something right," Bloom said, drawing Savannah out of her thoughts and back to the world around her.

"Agreed," Musa responded before her eyes flashed purple, "not sure why that makes you feel so obnoxiously guilty though."

"I know that you have to feel everyone's emotions, but you don't have to broadcast them," the Peters girl retaliated while Savannah laughed under her breath. However, the Specialist's chuckles soon faded when she saw a more serious look appear on Bloom's features. "Aisha's tired. My parents think that Alfea's in Switzerland, so they Skype me at 9:00 am Switzerland time every morning-"

"Which is 2:00 am our time," the Silva girl interrupted, earning a slightly confused look from the Fire Fairy, "we can all hear you, Bloom."

A shocked look instantly appeared on the Peters girl's face as her eyes flashed between her friends. "Am I being loud? I'm trying to be quiet."

"Like an old lady unwrapping sweets in the cinema," Musa declared with a teasing smile on her face. However, when she saw Bloom's concerned face, the Mind Fairy returned to a more serious tone. "But we're doing fine at school, and so is Terra."

Not even a second after she finished speaking passed when the Zimri girl's eyes flashed purple once again. Her attention soon turned to her left before a smile appeared on her lips. Savannah quickly followed her gaze, only for a matching smile to appear on her own face. Sam and Royce were walking and talking together as they walked through the cafeteria together. The Silva girl's smile wasn't just about seeing the Darnell boy, who always seemed to brighten her day. But she was also over the moon that he was finally associating with someone instead of being the school's loner. And what made it even better was that the person he was becoming friends with was Sam.

Unknown to both her friends, Bloom was watching them with a large smile on her lips. She was delighted to see that both of them had found people to make them happy. After all, the Peters girl believed that both of them deserved that happiness more than anyone else in the world.

"Where'd you guys go?" the Fire Fairy called out to them, drawing her friends' attention back to her, "is it my turn to broadcast your emotions?"

"I would appreciate it if you kept my emotions to yourself," Savannah told her friend, earning a slightly confused look from Bloom in response, "Sky and Riven have this thing against Royce and it's extremely annoying. I would prefer not to get another lecture from them."

"Understandable. Your secret's safe with me," the Peters girl responded before both of them looked over at Musa.

"My emotions are developing, plus there are complications," the Mind Fairy muttered under her breath while Bloom and Savannah continued to smile at her, "do me a favor. Don't broadcast them in front of Ter-"

"I have a question. Since when was it cool to be a nerd?" the Harvey girl interrupted after slamming her tray on the table and taking one of the empty seats, "I mean, don't get me wrong. It's great. Amazing. Power to the nerds. But like, now it's cool to talk about fairy history?"

A wave of confusion washed over Savannah as she looked over at Bloom and Musa, who looked equally as lost as she was. It didn't take long for Terra to notice their looks, causing her to continue speaking. "Well, like, you know, I like school. I like getting good grades and reading alone with a cup of chamomile, but no one shares an apple with me, even though...gross."

Before Savannah could ask what Terra was talking about, she noticed Sky standing in the corner of the cafeteria. Initially, she thought he was searching for Bloom or Stella. However, she soon realized he was staring directly at her. It wasn't long before the Ekon boy knew he had his sister's attention when he waved her over. That was all it took for the Silva girl to excuse herself from the table and walk over to him.

"Hey. What's going on?" Savannah asked as soon as she saw the hint of worry in his eyes.

"I was gonna go check on Silva. Wanted to see if you'd like to join me," Sky responded without any emotion in his voice, making her realize he was just as worried as she was.

The Silva girl simply responded with a small nod before following the blonde boy out of the cafeteria. Both of them were completely unaware of the person watching them from across the room as they left. Neither of them said a word as they walked side-by-side through the halls. Savannah wasn't sure what to expect when they reached the greenhouse, she was actually quite terrified about going there. But she wasn't about to let Sky go on his own. He didn't deserve to face what was coming alone.

What felt like an eternity passed before they finally reached their destination. Savannah just stared at the door in front of her, tempted to turn around and go back to the cafeteria. However, all those thoughts were forced away when Sky wrapped his arm around her shoulder and opened the door. The Silva girl couldn't help but wrap her arm around the Ekon boy's waist as they walked into the greenhouse. It didn't take them long to find Saul, who was sitting on a bench struggling to put his arm through his shirt's sleeve. The two teens just watched the Silva man in silence until Sky forced himself to break it.

"How bad is it? Is Professor Harvey gonna up your dose of Zanbaq?" the blonde boy asked, drawing Saul's attention toward them. When the Headmaster of the Specialists didn't respond, Sky let out an irritated sigh and continued speaking. "He said it would keep the wounds at bay until-"

"Until it can't anymore," Saul interrupted as he looked up at his children for the first time since they entered the greenhouse.

It wasn't long after that when the Headmaster of the Specialists slowly got to his feet, causing a painful groan to escape him. That was all it took to make Savannah's fear grow beyond what she thought was possible. "Sky and I can run the first year spars. That way you can take it easy and get your rest. At least until the battalion gets to the Burned Ones. What's the status on that?"

"They've tracked it forty kilometers north of here," the Silva man explained through labored breaths, "they'll engage it soon."

"And when they do, are they gonna-"

"I have every confidence they will complete the mission. They will kill it," Saul interrupted Sky while trying and failing to hide his exhaustion, "the only question is when."

"What do you mean by that?" Savannah questioned, earning nothing but silence from her father, "Dad, what do you mean?"

The Silva man hesitated for a moment before forcing himself to look up at Savannah and Sky. "The infection is spreading quickly now. When it reaches my heart..."

"How long do you have?"

"I don't know," Saul responded before looking away from the teens and to the floor beneath his feet, "I don't know. Not long."

"So what do we do?" Sky asked without bothering to hide the fear and panic in his voice, emotions that Savannah was also having a hard time masking.

"Well, I've spoken to my seconds about the plans for your trainings, and Dowling is aware of my wishes for your futures," the Headmaster of the Specialists explained while getting to his feet and moving to stand in front of his children.

The Ekon boy just stared at the man who raised him in silence before finding the courage to break it. "I asked you a question."

"And I'm answering it," Saul retaliated with tears in his eyes. He quickly looked away from them as he took in another deep breath and gathered his thoughts. It wasn't long after that when his eyes met theirs once again. "Soldiers have to have these conversations with the people that matter. We make a plan. That's what we can do."

"I already lost one father. I can't lose another," Sky muttered under his breath without taking his eyes off the man in front of him.

"There has to be something else we can do," Savannah said to her father as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

A small, forced smile appeared on Saul's lips while reaching up to wipe the tear from his daughter's cheek. "I will keep you both updated on the battalion's progress. Do you understand?"

The Silva girl simply nodded in response before turning and walking out the door. Despite wanting to spend more time with her father, she couldn't bear to continue that conversation any longer. Savannah tried her best to mask her emotions as she walked through the halls, not wanting to draw unwanted attention to herself. But she could feel her walls breaking by the second. She just wanted to get back to her dorm before they crumbled completely.

A wave of relief washed over Savannah when she finally made it to Fairy Hall. She picked up her pace as she walked down the corridor, eager to get behind her bedroom door. However, the Silva girl was halfway down the hall when someone exited their room. Savannah slammed right into them, causing her to stumble backward. Luckily, whoever she ran into grabbed her forearms just in time to steady her. When Savannah looked up, she found Royce smiling down at her.

"Is this how we greet each other now?" the Darnell boy teased, only for his smile to fall when he noticed the unshed tears in Savannah's eyes, "is everything alright?"

The Silva girl opened her mouth to respond, but only a sob passed over her lips. Royce didn't hesitate to pull her into his dorm room before closing his door, wanting to keep her away from prying eyes. The Darnell boy then wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for a comforting hug, something that Savannah desperately needed. The only other person in the room was Sam, who had recently become Royce's new roommate. The Harvey boy had always been there for the Silva girl in her time of need, but he never saw her that distraught before. Even though she didn't tell them what caused such a state, it was obvious that it had everything to do with her father. Neither of the fairies said a word as they let Savannah cry to her heart's content, knowing there was nothing else they could do to make her feel better at that moment.

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