Mid-March, Rose exited her bedroom to find the Warrior Kingdom common room covered in flowers. None of them had a smell to them—which is how Rose knew they were illusioned—but they were nonetheless pretty to look at. Havi was upside down on the ceiling trying to install some kind of slab that was filled with Black Magic, and Galio was hanging up laurels of white flowers all over the walls.
"Uh," said Rose.
"Morning, sweetie," Havi greeted her, still fiddling with the slab.
The vampire princess looked up—down?—at Rose from her squatting on the ceiling. Her long hair was falling freely, and Rose was amazed she wasn't getting a blood rush.
"Um," said Rose again, looking utterly confused. "What's going on?"
"Flower Fall!" Galio exclaimed excitedly, a stone tail popping out behind him and wagging furiously like a dog. The gargoyle king looked beside himself with glee. "It's starting tomorrow!"
"Flower Fall?" Rose repeated, confused.
"It's a Community holiday," Havi explained for her, "where we honor the Elders. It's a three-day holiday. The first day is the day of celebration, the second day of competition, and the third is Flower Fall."
"That's the day Elder Wyrd and Sylvania bound their souls together," Galio explained. "It's said the binding was so pure and powerful that it rained flowers in the Fae Kingdom for an entire week."
"Queen Titania made it a national holiday for the Fae Kingdom. It was very close to the Spring Festival—the festival to honor the Elders victory during the Ilk War and their ascension to Elders—so eventually, the two holidays combined and thus, Flower Fall was made."
"S-so what do we do on these days?" Rose nervously asked, hoping it wasn't anything similar to the Dark Vigil.
Havi tucked her hair behind her ear, looking back down at the slab on the ceiling. "The first day is usually a massive festival in the big cities. A lot of stalls, games, and things of that nature are set up. At school, it's only a day off. Second day is when we host competitions in honor of each Elder. At school, we start off with Elder Wyrd's competition: a dueling tournament. Afterwards are Elder Sylvania and Elder Maylanna's tournaments: a Green and White Magic competition for Sylvania, and an art competition for Maylanna. In the evening, Elder Thatcher's tournament begins, which is a hunting competition."
"The school sets up a maze filled with booby traps for Thatcher's competition. It's wicked," Galio added, his tail wagging so hard it was creating a breeze.
Suddenly, the slab Havi was working on vanished from sight and red and black flower petals began to fall from the ceiling. Rose realized they were illusionary despite the faint fragrance coming from them—as they disappeared before they even reached her—and she was impressed by the magic.
Havi gave a triumphant grin. "There we go."
She jumped off from the ceiling, landing gracefully on the floor. She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "The third day—Flower Fall—is the day to honor relationships. Family, friends, mates… all of it is precious and cherished, and we make flower crowns and bracelets in their honor." Havi smiled warmly at Rose. "I'll help you make some to pass out if you'd like. I'm sure your friends would really like them."
"O-oh. Thank you," Rose said.
"There's also a dance on the evening of Flower Fall at school. In the cities, they play beautiful music and fill the sky with falling flowers," Havi sighed dreamily. "It's awfully romantic."
"In Atlantis, it's filled with people dancing on the streets," Galio added. "Can't go a meter without bumping into someone either dancing or confessing their love. It's nuts."
"In Under Rome, the canals are filled with flower lights and people sitting by each other on the street. It's so lovely." Havi's gaze drifted off, as if she were reliving a wondrous memory.
Rose scratched her cheek, wanting to contribute something. "I once saw a guy back home try to propose to this really nice lady at Church. But then this other guy body tackled the guy into the pond."
Galio and Havi stared at Rose in disbelief. Rose only shrugged. That was the most romantic thing she could think of that she had seen in person, even if it wasn't very romantic.
"Well, I'm sure you'll enjoy the dance," came the tactful reply of Havi. "Just be sure to stay clear of Galio on the dance floor, as he's an absolute menace."
"I'll be dancing on one of the floating islands this year, thank you," Galio retorted, a huge grin on his face. "I'll put a spotlight on me so everyone can see how great my dance moves are."
"Funny. I heard Deo was doing something similar."
Galio shiftily looked away. "There might be a dance off involved."
Havi sighed. "Lanna is going to kill you if you break Aella's collar bone again."
"One time! … Okay, actually three times, but still!" Galio protested in vain, his argument dying under Havi's stern look. "I'll be careful. Promise."
"Mm-hmm. If you hit me with that clumsy tail of yours again, I will help Lanna kill you."
"I promise I'll be careful," Galio insisted, his beaming smile back.
"Mm-hmm. Rose, honey, do you have a dress?"
"Nope," Rose said with great confidence.
She didn't like to wear dresses. It was hard to hike in the forest in a dress because it didn't protect her legs, and it always snagged on something. Jean shorts with long thick socks were always better. Long jeans weren't allowed in the summer because they were too masculine, according to Mother Mara.
Havi clicked her teeth at that. "Well, let's go remedy that, shall we? Come along."
"Uh—"
"Come along," Havi insisted, grabbing Rose's arm and dragging the dragon towards her bedroom.
There was a glint in Havi's eye that Rose definitely didn't like. It was the same look some of the Sisters got when they had to take Rose shopping for clothes.
Rose gulped.
...🌹...
The morning of the first day during Flower Fall was an odd one.
Rose got up, did her morning routine, and wasn't too surprised to find most of her kingmates gathered in the common room. Being told they would have breakfast together since it was the first day of the holiday wasn't surprising, either.
No, what was odd was that during their travel to the cafeteria, the entire castle had changed overnight.
Ever since the Dark Vigil, the school had dulled down in color and life, as if someone had wiped away the joy and genuine happiness from the school itself. The castle mourned with the students over the Dark Vigil, and it reflected that emotion grimly upon itself. Every day, Rose hoped normalcy would return to the students and castle, and it seemed bit by bit that it had.
Now, though? Now someone had breathed life back into the corpse of a castle. There was laughter in the hallways, warmth, and a feeling of genuine wonder and happiness. Rose was at a complete loss over the transformation.
Months. They had spent months in a dreary school, and now it was back to this? In one night?
It was like a curse was lifted, a complete and total transformation. Rose could scarcely believe this was the same school from December.
When they entered the cafeteria, Rose audibly gasped at the number of cheerful students. Some even waved at her!
What is going on? Rose thought in disbelief as she ate her breakfast, half expecting something dark and foul to jump out and attack her.
Truly, it was unbelievable.
After breakfast, Rose excused herself to go see Doctor Basileus. Havi and Philip walked with her halfway before they had to part. Rose simply couldn't wrap her mind around how utterly happy everything was now.
Every person she passed by on her way to Doctor Basileus's office even gave her a small smile. Rose reflexively smiled back at each of them, starting to hope perhaps things would finally return to normal. She didn't come across any members of the Hero Kingdom, so she wouldn't place her hopes too high, though. When she reached the doctor's office, she poked her head inside.
She didn't see the doctor, but she could faintly hear noises coming from his back office. She quietly moved towards the door, wondering if she should knock or wait instead. She didn't have plans for the day, but a part of her was hoping that maybe Doctor Basileus would let her experiment with his potions again. Hopefully.
Rose raised her hand several times, as if about to knock, before losing the nerve and lowering it. She didn't think Doctor Basileus would treat her rudely—he had only ever been nice to her, after all—but she still felt unexplainably anxious. Her toes curled, and she shifted her weight to rock on the balls of her heels.
The choice was taken from her only a couple minutes later when the man in question opened his door, took one look at her, and gave her a smile. "If it isn't my little helper. Care to see if we can make a rainbow cleaning slime today?"
Rose's lips turned up in a genuine smile. "Yes, please."
Doctor Basileus reached out and ruffled the top of her head. "Have you eaten, yet?"
Rose nodded.
A streak of light in Rose's peripheral vision caught her attention, and she turned towards Doctor Basileus's window. His office overlooked the gardens and greenhouses, so it was a very pretty view. It was high enough in the castle that the very edge of the grounds could be seen, before disappearing into vast skies.
The sun was starting to rise above the horizon, yellowish light pouring over the lands. There were numerous storm clouds, however, that hung around the castle, partially blocking the sunrise. It was still bright outside, though, and it hadn't yet rained. Another streak of lightning flashed, illuminating the dark clouds with a brilliant flash of white.
"Pretty," Rose commented, admiring the contrasting views. She always thought "sunny storms" were pretty.
"Do you like storms?" Doctor Basileus asked.
"I didn't mind them for a while, but lately I've got a better appreciation for them," Rose replied, thinking back to her first outing with Lanna and Aella. "I like flying in them."
For some reason, that made Doctor Basileus chuckle. He waved his hand and the windows to his office opened up, letting in the cool spring breeze. The damp smell of the storm felt refreshing when Rose breathed it in.
Doctor Basileus stretched his arms up in the air, and Rose could hear his back pop. "Ah. Well, let's get started then, shall we?"