MORE THAN CAPABLE | Riven

17

Chapter Seventeen
A Friendship Sundered

With no thought to knock, Luella barged into Miss Dowl— Rosalinds' office. Taking no notice of the minor details of the removed items Miss Dowling once possessed and replaced with new, unworthy items that certainly did not belong in Alfea.

She eyed Bloom, but her rages turned to Rosalind. Her ruling as headmistress had changed Alfea completely. Guards in every corridor. Higher alert. Her father. Arrested.

"My anger is one to build and I have had enough," Luella declared looking the headmistress straight dead in the eyes like it was a staring contest. Rosalind's eyes were full of nothing while her head was filled with everything. Rosalind's master plan.
Not if Luella could have it.

"Luella, I'd appreciate it if you were not to interrupt our conversation," Rosalind excused calmly

"Sorry," Luella apologised. "Would you like to me to book an appointment while you butter Bloom up?"

"Luella," Bloom cautiously warned. They planned to lay low.

The ice fairy sighed, her voice becoming more relaxed as she spoke again. "You have no idea how hard it been to stop my brother from coming to Alfea. Daniel is not one to shut up — and if he found out that our dad has been arrested for no particular reason other than false evidence, he'd be angrier than me."

"Your father was arrested for the attempted murder of Andreas."

Luella couldn't believe it when she found out who that face belonged to the moment she came back to Alfea. Sky's father, the war hero, was alive in flesh and blood, breathing and standing on two feet.

Her dad had lied. He'd kept the lie for years. But what Rosalind was saying — attempted murder? Luella had not known anyone better than the loyalty of what was right. He wouldn't almost kill his friend. She refused to believe it.

"Your father and Miss Dowling," Rosalind began, eyeing Bloom as well. "Were unqualified. The old regime is gone, girls."

Bloom's eyes stared elsewhere trying to think of what to say. "But Silva is..."

"Saul Silva is being brought to trial at this very moment for his crimes," Rosalind interrupted as Luella scoffed. "So, at the risk of repeating myself, the old regime is gone. It's time to embrace the new one.

"And as for your brother, Luella, we'll keep him in the dark, as you wish."

Luella smiled sarcastically in thanks, "Don't try to butter me up too, headmistress."

-

"You know, as for as I'm concerned, Miss Dowling is still headmistress," Bloom stated as they walked down a corridor with Aisha.

"She definitely likes the title though," Luella added. "Not to mention all the swears that's coming out her mouth. It's kind of funny." The girls laughed lightly.

"I think we go on a road trip this weekend and we hit a few towns nearby," Bloom brought up, pointing her fingers. "Maybe see if anyone saw her."

They came to a stop as Aisha replied, "Bloom, I wanna find Dowling just as badly as you do but the entire Solarian have been searching for her... for months."

"And?" Bloomed question rhetorically, shrugging her shoulders while holding an ice pack because of their lessons earlier today. She had to hold back her powers but that meant getting a little hurt. "What if she's still in hiding somewhere? Look all I'm saying is this, motioning to the area around the girls, is temporary. All of it."