Time passed as it always did. Rose was correct, in a sense.
The bullying—while not entirely gone—died down to a significant degree by the time February rolled in. The oppressing Dark Vigil had brought out the worst in many of the students, and a good portion of the school had lashed out against Rose because of it. As time passed and the rawness of the Dark Vigil faded from everyone's minds, the incidents became less frequent (also largely thanks to her backpack, she suspected).
Rose still received her fair share of stares and whispers. The Hero Kingdom gave her wide berth, and on the chance that she ever encountered one of their kingmates—the exception being Aella—they glared at her hatefully.
Her friends and kingmates remained by her side through this, which helped a great deal. Keinan still insisted she should retaliate, but Chester and Rose were of the same belief that things would die down and they would lose interest in Rose soon enough.
Besides, if they kept up at the same pace as before, the odds were that a teacher would catch them in the act, or they'd be able to get proper evidence against one of the students.
Though unfortunately, they didn't lose interest. And now that Rose's supplies were protected, they resorted to more drastic measures.
A week into February, Rose woke up feeling queasy, like something slimy and icky was inside her. Chills settled over her and the girl wondered if she was just feeling anxious for her presentation in Professor Laye's class later that day. She had never given a speech in front of a group of people before, so she was definitely nervous about it. Rose knew she had a tendency to slur her words together when she was excited or anxious—a habit Mother Mara did her best to break, but at times only exacerbated it—so she hoped she wouldn't be laughed at for it.
She was on decent terms with most of the students in her class. No one seemed to resent her like the older kingmates, at least.
But she could equally imagine the snarky remarks Mortem would give her if she started slurring her entire speech. That was something Rose wanted to avoid.
With great reluctance and extreme care, Rose rolled out of her bed. Her head was swimming and her stomach rolled with each movement, but she pressed on. She was sure she would feel better after her presentation on Unity—their assigned topic—in class today.
Besides, she thought she did a rather good job writing her speech. Everyone in class got to choose a department in Unity to discuss. There were thirty departments to choose from—although five of those were actual kingdoms, not departments, and literal kings and queens sat on the Unity—so there was plenty to pick from. Each department had a representative—or leader—that would be on Unity. Since Unity was the government of the Community, these people were pretty important.
Chester worked on the High Justicar, a rie named Arie La Highreaver. The Justicar was the person who judged crimes and ruled over the law enforcement. Although there was a High Observer and High Enforcer, the High Justicar was the supreme leader over law enforcement.
Keinan's presentation was on the Restorer of the Lost: a droodomin named Mull Malice. That entire department was dedicated to restoring worlds—literal worlds—that were destroyed during the Warring, Ilk, and Dark eras.
Mortem chose the High Vanguard: a valkyrie named Valerie Vas Dawn. The Vanguard were the Community's elite soldiers and the High Vanguard would take up the position of General should the Community ever go to war. They did a whole bunch of top-secret stuff, so not much was known about them. Their only consistent long-term mission was that they were the guards of Desoul.
Oddly enough, the High Vanguard, Valerie Vas Dawn, went missing over a decade ago. The vanguards refused to appoint a new High, however. Rose thought that was silly but considering how long most members of the Community lived, they might have thought a decade was nothing.
Rose's presentation was on the Protector of Humanity, Hazel Hum Heather. Nearly the entire department was comprised of Neheburs with human parentage, and the leader was a witch.
Witches were humans with magical parentage and able to wield Wild Magic as their own. They didn't have magical cores like the rest of the Community members. There were even some witches who were born completely human but eventually developed the ability to see past the Curtain.
Hazel's department—Humanity's Protection—monitored humanity as a whole. While the Elders were adamant about the Community allowing humanity to live on their own in peace, Neheburs still couldn't resist watching over them. There were a few times when the Community chose to step in to save humans—such as something about polio—but those were rare occurrences.
It was such a neat thing to Rose, like humans had their own little guardian angel watching over them. She really enjoyed learning about that department, and thought Hazel was a remarkable witch.
She was proud of what she put in her speech about it. She thought she'd do a decent job…
If only her stomach would settle down now.
The discomforting sensation persisted throughout Rose's morning and she ended up skipping breakfast and lunch. Since Chester was in a similar situation—he detested public speaking—there wasn't much comment on it. When it was time for their Community class, it was met with mixed relief and anxiety. Chester had paled to such a degree that Rose thought he'd turned into a ghost.
"Afternoon, c-class," Professor Laye greeted everyone. "Let's jump right to it, sh-shall we? An-any volunteers?"
No one volunteered. If anything, people sunk further into their seats and refused to meet Professor Laye's look.
"Aha. H-hard way, then?" Professor Laye joked, amused by their reactions. "Then w-we'll start with the first row. M-Miss Rose?"
Urk.
The sliminess in Rose's stomach tightened into a dense ball, and a wave of nausea hit the warrior hard. She stumbled on her way to the front of the classroom, briefly clutching at her stomach before forcing herself to straighten up.
Get it over with. You'll feel better afterwards, Rose coached herself. Despite such words, her hands trembled and her legs started to feel weak. The nausea was growing stronger, and the ickiness inside her was becoming more prominent.
"You m-may begin when y-you're ready, M-Miss Rose," Professor Laye said gently.
Rose opened her mouth, about to begin with 'Hello', but then a coppery-tasting liquid spilled out of her mouth. Rose choked and doubled over as pools of blood tumbled out of her mouth. Her vision blurred and her knees buckled as she retched foul-smelling, crimson liquid.
"Miss Rose!"
"Rose?!"
"Oh my God!"
Rose shook, feelings of mortification and disgust welling inside of her. Every time she tried to speak, more blood spilled out of her mouth. Finally, she shut her mouth tight and shakily looked up. Professor Laye had moved to kneel beside her, a hand hovering over her back and his twig-wand glowing a faint soft white. Her classmates had all stood up from their seats and moved to stand around her, Mortem, Chester, and Keinan at the forefront.
"Are you okay?" Chester asked her in a worried tone.
Rose opened her mouth to respond with 'I don't know', but more blood spilled out.
"M-Miss Rose is afflicted with a hex," Professor Laye said, white smoky magic rolled off him like a fog. The magic gently wrapped around Rose and lifted her into the air. "Class, please remain s-seated. No one t-touch the blood. I shall escort M-Miss Rose to the good doctor."
"I will accompany you," Mortem said coldly, his tone piercing through the air like a dagger.
Professor Laye jumped at that, big eyes widening as he looked at the student in brief horror. Then the fear was gone and replaced with worry. Tendrils of shadows snapped out from underneath Mortem, wrapping around Rose and gently picking her up. They spread out like a blanket, and it felt like Rose was resting inside a hammock. Mortem straightened up, and Professor Laye moved to stand beside the two of them.
Professor Laye said, "I-if you think that's best. Mr. Chester, p-please inform your brother of wh-what has happened."
Chester grimaced at the request but nodded.
With the shadows carrying Rose, Mortem and Professor Laye moved rapidly out of the classroom and down the hallway. Poor Professor Laye looked so sickly and pale that Rose honestly wondered if he was about to double over and lose his lunch.
Mortem on the other hand seemed to be as closed off and distant as glacier. Even though he had volunteered to carry Rose to Doctor Basileus, he didn't appear concerned. If anything, Rose thought he seemed angry.
Her stomach didn't appreciate how fast he was moving, and more blood tumbled out of her mouth like a waterfall. Her clothes were thoroughly soaked in the blood, and Rose was starting to feel dizzy.
How much blood do dragons have? Rose thought.
"It's pulling blood from your true form," Mortem said, looking over at her.
"This is dragon blood, not from her human skin?" Professor Laye questioned sharply, his eyes widening.
Rose wanted to ask how he knew that, but she figured it out pretty quick when her blood started to sizzle and then catch on fire before evaporating. It did it in puffs along the way, burning off her clothes and leaving behind a black stain.
Whoa, Rose thought, fascinated by the process.
Rose opened her mouth to apologize for the trouble she was causing, but that proved to be a mistake.
"Keep your mouth shut until we tell you it's safe, moron," Mortem snapped. "Dragons may be big, but they don't have an indefinite amount of blood."
Rose promptly covered her mouth with her hands, her fire burning away the blood surrounding her mouth. Since it was her own fire, it didn't hurt her in the slightest bit, it rather tickled her skin.
Going up stairs proved to be an issue since each bump made blood spill out of her. By the time the trio reached Doctor Basileus, Rose was barely staying awake. She was consumed by the feeling of her head being so light it could float off her neck at any second. Coupled with her stomach throwing a massive temper tantrum, the poor dragon only wanted to slip away into sleep.
As it were, it was getting harder to listen.
"Oh—" Doctor Basileus took Rose in his arms, carrying her over to one of the beds.
He said something to Rose but all she could hear was ringing. She stared at him in confusion and he repeated himself with a smile, "It's going to be okay now."
Mortem said something next and it made Doctor Basileus hiss out something, his face pale. Mortem said something again, his tone definitely not nice.
"Shoo. Let's give Miss Rose some room. Professor, I'm sure you have a class to reassure, and Mortem, I'm sure you have some child to taunt somewhere," Doctor Basileus said in return, an edge in his voice.
Mortem sneered. "Unfortunately, the child is playing doctor right now and I'd hate to interrupt."
"Then let the child work in peace before it throws a temper tantrum."
"If—"
Whatever Mortem was going to say was cut off when Professor Laye cut in, exasperated, "Children. You are b-both children. Let's l-leave the g-good doctor alone, Master M-Mortem."
Mortem said something else, but Rose unwillingly slipped away into dreams of napping on top of Lanna and Aella on a dark, stormy ocean.
...🌹...
Rose came to maybe an hour later. The first thing she noticed was that she was not wearing her scorched clothes—she could feel her favorite fluffy pajamas—and the second was that her head wasn't topsy-turvy anymore. Which was appreciated.
As Rose sat up, her stomach lurched, but the nausea was nowhere near as severe as before. Next, she noticed Doctor Basileus sitting beside her, closing his book with a sharp snap.
Rose gave Doctor Basileus a tentative smile. The doctor returned it charmingly, making her feel a bit better.
"This will take a while to heal," he told her kindly, "so I think it would be best if you stayed here for the rest of the week. I'll be sure to let the professors know."
Rose nodded, accepting such.
"When you feel better, are you okay if I ask you some questions? It's certainly not every day we see such a thing," Doctor Basileus said. "Ah, you probably want to know what that was? It was a hex. A very nasty piece of work, and it will take a few days to properly remove. You'll be kept in quarantine with me until I can confirm it's nothing contagious. Understand, Miss Rose?"
Again, Rose nodded.
His smile widened. "What a good girl. Why don't you rest for a bit longer? I gave you a potion a couple hours ago and it will need a few more hours to work its magic. Afterwards, we'll get some food in you. Once we've gotten some food in you, if you're up for it, you can help me experiment with my potions again."
Rose couldn't resist giving him a splitting grin at that.
Doctor Basileus reached forward and patted the top of her head. "Lay back down, Miss Rose. Keep dreaming of the ocean."
Rose did as told, closing her eyes and remembering the salty taste of the ocean, and how surprisingly gentle it could be.
...🌹...
Rose woke up feeling much better than she did yesterday. She was still thoroughly embarrassed by throwing up in front of her entire class—if she allowed her thoughts to linger for more than a few seconds on that fact, her face turned beet red and she had to resist the urge to hide under her covers—but the sting was no longer at the forefront. She had a lot of fun brewing potions with Doctor Basileus yesterday, and even though her friends couldn't come in to visit—in case the hex was contagious—the fact that they tried to visit her meant a lot to the girl.
She wasn't hungry when she woke up—which was odd for her normally but made sense since she was hexed—and instead sat up in her bed and watched the clouds roll over outside from the massive window in front of her.
Doctor Basileus came in from the backroom—Rose figured out pretty quick that he had private quarters in the back of the potions room—greeting her with a jovial wave before running his fingers through his thick, curly brown hair.
He did a quick examination of Rose and made a 'hmm' sound before heading over to his desk and rummaging through some paperwork.
Doctor Basileus glanced up from his desk over at Rose. "Miss Rose, would you care to help me with something?"
Bored from having to rest all day—and she didn't even have any of her books to entertain her—Rose eagerly nodded.
The handsome man got up from his seat and headed into the backroom for a couple minutes before he returned with a decent sized wicker basket. He placed the basket on a chair and rolled the chair over to Rose's bedside. Upon opening the basket, Rose found it was filled to the brim with leaves, flowers, and plants.
"Would you mind sorting these? Your draconic nose is second to none," Doctor Basileus said.
Rose gestured towards the plants, tilting her head in confusion. She felt nervous to try speaking again so soon, worried that more blood would escape her.
"They're for potions, of course," the doctor chuckled. "We haven't had a chance to experiment much, but most potions use magical herbs. Slimes are the exception to this rule, as herbs can sometimes react poorly with slime's base."
Rose reached inside of the basket, pulling out a white and black leaf covered in hair and sniffing it. It smelled like a zebra… or what Rose thought a zebra ought to smell like.
"When you're done, if you'd like, I can go over each of them with you and tell you what they do for potions," Doctor Basileus offered, golden eyes sparkling with warmth.
Rose beamed in response, her curiosity piqued.
"Excellent," he declared. "Do let me know if you need help. I'll be at my desk getting caught up on my current paper."
Rose gave him a thumbs up and set to work. Sorting herbs wasn't the most entertaining thing to do, but she found some enjoyment in it. Some of them smelled delightful and Rose sniffed at them for a minute longer than necessary while some were so foul, she nearly retched. It became a game to her, trying to accurately guess what it would smell like from appearances alone.
She had a decent track record of guessing correctly, but even when she thought it would smell foul, it didn't prepare her for how foul it was.
That being said, she could definitely see why a good nose was necessary. A lot of them looked very similar to one another, but each one had their own distinct smell.
By the time noon rolled around, Rose had finished sorting the entire basket, satisfied with her work. She looked up expectantly at Doctor Basileus and found that he had brought over a glass filled with something vividly green.
"Sorry my dear," Doctor Basileus apologized off-handedly. "Nothing but nasty potions for you until the last bit of that hex is cured."
Rose grimaced, reluctantly accepting the bottled potion that smelled like cut grass. It tasted like it, too. Chester would probably like it since he liked vegetables.
"Yuck indeed," Doctor Basileus agreed easily. "But it'll give you the essential nutrients while we fix you right up. Once you drink it all, you should be okay to talk again."
Reluctantly, Rose did as instructed and drank the entire nasty potion. Grudgingly, she had to admit the putrid thing took the edge off her nausea, and she cleared her throat.
"How did I even get hexed?" Rose asked.
"A question that will require investigation. Hexes are things that build over time," Doctor Basileus said, gold eyes narrowing as he looked over at Rose. "Someone would have had to repeatedly curse you until it had built up enough power to turn into the desired hex. Have you noticed anyone… using their magic on you?"
Rose recalled all the times 'monster' was scrawled on her things, her backpack was destroyed, and times where she tripped over air. She opened her mouth to tell Doctor Basileus, but then abruptly closed it.
That stuff all happened earlier on, and things have been dying down, Rose thought to herself. If I bring it up now, they might start back up again.
Rose anxiously fiddled with her hands, uncertain on how to answer Doctor Basileus's question. The teachers at Gardenia seemed decent, and Rose felt like if she asked for help, they would help her.
But a good girl doesn't need—
Rose shook Mother Mara's words out of her head.
"To be honest, I haven't seen anyone use magic on me," Rose answered honestly. "Not in a while, at least."
"Hmm," was all he said.
There was a knock at the door. Both turned to look over and were met with Professor Laye, standing hesitantly at the doorway.
"Good morning, Professor."
"Good morning, D-Doctor."
"I'm pleased to declare that Miss Rose's hex is not contagious. When you're done visiting her, I'm sure she'd appreciate it if you let her friends know," Doctor Basileus murmured.
Professor Laye gave a small nod. "Yes, o-of course. Miss Rose, m-might I have a word with you?"
"Uh-huh?" Rose responded, her stomach clenching tightly momentarily. At least she could speak without blood spilling out, but she was still notably nauseous and tired.
Professor Laye had pulled up a chair beside her bed, and had his hands neatly folded in his lap. In the same instance, Doctor Basileus stood up and headed into his backroom. The sickly-looking man offered Rose a wane smile.
"Good m-morning, Miss Rose. H-how are you t-today?"
Rose slowly shifted in the bed, assessing how her stomach flip-flopped at the sensation. "'M'okay."
"Th-that's good to h-hear. Your cl-classmates were very c-concerned."
"I'm sorry about my presentation," Rose apologized. "I—"
Professor Laye waved his hands quickly, paling. "No, no, no, Miss R-Rose. I'm here to a-apologize t-to you. I should h-have noticed the hex."
Professor Laye then stood up and gave Rose a low, formal bow. It was such an odd sight—an adult bowing to a child?—to Rose that she was utterly at a loss at what to say or do. How did one accept such an apology? Adults—teachers especially—didn't apologize to children. Certainly not with such sincerity as Rose was currently seeing. She had never imagined it possible.
"Um," Rose struggled to respond, her cheeks turning redder than the flower she was named after. She anxiously shifted in the bed, "Pl-please don't worry about it. It's fine. I'm fine."
Professor Laye straightened out, pale eyes looking at her dubiously. "The a-apology is w-warranted, Miss Rose. I-I am your teacher, y-you are my responsibility. Ensuring y-your health remains good goes w-without saying,"
"Th-thank you," Rose stumbled over her answer, genuinely disturbed by these strange turns of events.
Professor Laye gave her a fleeting smile, twirling the twig in his hands. Desperate to change the subject, Rose gestured towards his twig.
"Is that how you control your magic?"
"It h-helps me," Professor Laye said. "I d-do not need to use it, but it's my foci."
"Foci?"
"Foci are m-magical tools that c-can be used to channel and direct magic," Professor Laye explained. "Y-you are familiar with the concept of w-wands and witches?"
"Yeah."
"A f-foci is like a wand," Professor Laye went on. "It makes it e-easier to c-cast spells."
Rose brightened, wondering if she could get one. If it makes it easier, then maybe she could use it to get a hang on her Blue Magic?
"Where can I get one?"
"F-foci can't be used in your f-first three years," Professor Laye warned her. "It's i-important you know how to control y-your magic without a tool. Furthermore, f-foci are incredibly difficult t-to make, and consequently a-are very expensive. O-only elite members of a g-guild or high-tier he-healers typically ha-have a foci. Foci are usually u-used for more delicate, o-or dangerous work that r-requires the most precise touch."
Rose looked down at Professor Laye's twig—sorry, foci—and then asked, "Then how come you have one?"
"This w-was given to me b-by Lord Chronos," Professor Laye said proudly, holding out his twig. "Before I c-came to teach at G-Gardenia, I w-worked w-with the Community a-acting as ambassador f-for Lord Chronos."
"Who's Lord Chronos?"
"The Guardian of Time," Professor Laye said, an uncharacteristic shine in his eyes. "B-but that is a lecture f-for another day, Miss Rose. The Guardians h-have a vast history, a-and there are things you n-need to understand before y-you learn about them."
"Okay," Rose said even as she mentally promised herself to immediately look up the Guardians on her next trip to the library.
"Well," Professor Laye said softly, standing up from his seat. "I-I will allow you to get some rest. I'll be s-sure to let your friends know how you are doing. G-good day, Miss Rose, Doctor."
"Good day," Doctor Basileus returned with a murmur, inclining his head as he entered the room again.
Rose waved goodbye as her Community professor left. Doctor Basileus took his place beside her and grinned at her. "Want to know what these herbs do?"
Rose excitedly nodded, and the doctor began his lecture. Once he had described all twenty-five and what they did, he gathered them back up and placed them in separate glass jars. He used his magic to make the jars float and he carried them into his backroom.
While he was away, Mortem entered the doctor's office, bringing along a couple of adventure novels. He dumped them on her nightstand, and she was relieved to find they were all some of her favorites to reread. She gave him a faint smile at them, thanking him quietly.
"How are you feeling?" Mortem asked her, taking a seat on her bed.
"A little tired," Rose admitted. "Professor Laye visited me earlier. He apologized to me. Isn't that odd?"
"Why is it odd?" Mortem asked her.
"Aren't children supposed to apologize to adults?" Rose asked, her eyes wide.
"If they were in the wrong," Mortem said slowly, "but adults must also take responsibility. It was correct of him to apologize."
"Oh," Rose said, her brow furrowed as she thought about it. She didn't entirely believe him, but she didn't want to argue about it. "Okay."
Mortem patted the top of her hand. "Want to hear Bassy—I mean—Doctor Basileus scream?"
"Oh, gosh, I don't—"
Mortem waved his left hand and suddenly the entire office was covered in baby basilisks. Rose recognized the illusion to be Mortem's first organic illusion that he worked on beside Rose last semester. She remembered him saying that he chose a baby basilisk because he knew it would annoy Basileus because he was a basilisk.
The door to the backroom opened and the good doctor entered the room with a whistle and a skip in his step… until he saw his office covered in baby basilisks that suddenly started swarming towards him and cooing. He let out a shout of surprise, stumbling backwards and tripping over his own feet before falling flat on his butt.
"Freckled hag, Mortem!"
Rose tried to suppress her giggle at Doctor Basileus's fall, but she didn't do a very good job.
"But I made her laugh," Mortem said, as if that was reason enough for his actions.
Doctor Basileus waved his own hand, golden mist flowing off it, before all the baby snakes turned into puppies. The puppies turned around and sprinted over towards Rose, jumping onto her bed and showering her with kisses and yips of glee. Rose was surprised they were illusions—she could feel the magic inside them that told her so—because she could also feel their warmth and soft fur, she could even smell their puppy smell. Rose couldn't resist giggling in delight under the sweet puppy assault.
"I can make her laugh, too," Basileus retorted, standing back up and straightening out his lab coat.
Mortem made a rude gesture that Doctor Basileus pretended to ignore. Instead, the doctor smiled at Rose, dismissing the illusionary puppies and saying, "Feeling better, Miss Rose?"
"Yeah," Rose said. "Can I eat solid food now?"
"Not yet, I'm afraid. Mortem, you'll have to go ahead and take your leave now. Miss Rose ought to get some sleep in before lunch and she'll have an easier time of that if you aren't there to pester her."
Mortem grunted and stood up. "Okay. Get some rest, Miss Rose."