As Eira walked side by side with Fleur along the quiet, winding path leading back to Ombrelune's dormitory, she couldn't help but notice Fleur's uncharacteristic silence. Normally talkative, Fleur had barely said a word since they left the Val Enchanté. But before Eira could ask what was wrong, a sudden sound echoed in her mind.
[Ding]. 🛎️
She stopped in her tracks.
The familiar chime startled her—not because of its sound, but because she hadn't expected to hear it again. After her last confrontation with the World's Will, she had assumed the system had been taken from her. The confrontation had been final, cold, and left Eira with the feeling that she was no longer someone needed by the World's Will since she defied it. That the so-called "Will" of the world no longer saw her as someone to guide, or to help.
And yet… here it was again.
A faint thrill of anticipation shot through her. She turned quickly to Fleur and said, "I'll catch up with you later—I need to use the bathroom."
Fleur looked at her and nodded. "Go ahead. I'll take a walk in the garden."
Eira gave a small smile. "Alright. See you in a bit," she said, and quickly turned toward Ombrelune House, her footsteps growing faster with every thought of what the system might show her this time.
Left alone in the courtyard garden, Fleur watched her go.
The soft rustling of the wind stirred the leaves above, casting swaying shadows across Fleur's face. Her lips curved into a sad, bittersweet smile as she whispered to herself, "I wish you were my age, Eira… Maybe then I would've had the courage to tell you how I feel."
She took a step forward, but stopped again, the words pressing heavier against her chest.
"At the beginning, I thought what I felt for you was just friendship. After all… you were the first person to treat me like something other than a lustful object or a trophy. The only girl, besides my sister, who didn't look at me with disgust or envy. You just… cared."
Fleur sighed and lowered herself onto a marble bench by the roses, resting her hand over her heart.
"I thought maybe that's why I felt so close to you—because you were kind. But it's not just that. The more time I spent with you… the more I saw you for who you really are. And now, I can't imagine a single day without seeing you. When I do, it feels like my heart burns. Like it's hard to breathe or being strangled."
She closed her eyes, and her mother's voice echoed in her mind—words spoken during Christmas break , laced with both wisdom and warning.
"Eira is still a child, Fleur. She isn't mature enough to understand the weight of love. She might feel Attraction, maybe. But love? That's something deeper. Something far rarer. Attraction changes since everyone has an attraction. It shifts with the wind. But love…"
"Love stays. Love drives you mad if you're kept apart from it for too long, so there's a big difference between love and attraction. Give her time. Let her grow. Experience life and experience different perspectives of people with different attractions. But don't let her forget you. Stay in her life. Be someone who matters to her."
Fleur opened her eyes, blinking away the tightness forming there.
She didn't fully understand why she had fallen in love with Eira. Was it just kindness? No—there were many kind people in the world. Was it her beauty? That certainly wasn't rare in Beauxbâtons, well ok she is beautiful but still . Was it her mysterious nature—her icy poise, the way she could be both distant and warm, cruel and gentle in the same breath?
Or was it something else entirely?
Something Fleur couldn't name.
She shook her head gently, brushing her hair back as she rose to her feet. "I don't even know why I love you," she whispered into the garden air. "At first, I wasn't even attracted to girls. But you… even though you are one, I'm drawn to you in a way I can't explain." Her voice trembled. "And maybe that's what scares me the most."
A breeze swept past her, lifting the hem of her coat. The question still lingered in her mind.
Why Eira?
And so, Fleur made a quiet decision to herself: she would find out. Whether by speaking to her mother again or seeking the answer within herself, she would learn why her heart beat faster at the sight of that girl. Whether it was love, or something else, Fleur needed to understand it.
Because once she knew, maybe then she'd be able to decide what to do with it.