'Cause she is a radiant warmth

Everything became a blur as she slipped out of the suite, her mind far too occupied to shut the door behind her. The princess sprinted down the corridor and turned left into the canteen, only for her body to slam into someone, knocking the tray of food the person had in their hand right out of their grasp. A younger fairy, perhaps one of the first years, stared back at her with an annoyed expression that quickly turned into one of shock and hesitancy.

She was taken aback by the princess of Solaria standing before her with tears streaming down her face, instantly sputtering her words, trying to find a way to ask if she were okay. The rest of the students within the room had turned their heads towards the commotion, the look on the light fairy's face catching their attention.

Without a second thought, Stella rushed past the fairy, muttering out a very quiet apology, and slipped out of the school in an attempt to get away from the numerous stares of her peers.

Once she reached the gravel pathway leading toward the specialist training grounds, she ran past it and sought out the safety of the forest. The trees that once held leaves shades of green were now covered in a thick blanket of snow on their branches. It was a place she visited often to escape the overwhelming pressure that rested on her shoulders. Pressure from her mother, her training, and her duties as the princess.

It was a beautiful area with a pond that was currently frozen over due to the weather. The ice looked solid, perhaps strong enough for a few people to skate on, though her eyes were likely not as reliable as testing the strength of the ice itself. The flowers had wilted with the sudden temperature drop and the leaves had fallen much earlier than what was expected. Everything around the pond seemed to have died overnight, or flat out left.

She wished she could have left, too.

Her lungs burned from the unexpected amount of exercise, heaving as she pressed the palm of her hand against the bark of a nearby tree. The light fairy only stopped running once she reached the edge of the pond. An involuntary sob left her lips almost instantly, and the tears began to flow with ease.

The wind's breeze brushed against her face, thus causing her eyes to burn. The tips of her ears, nose, and cheeks had all turned to a similar shade of pink. Her jacket provided very little warmth from the winter air; her hands stuffed into the pockets of it in an attempt to keep them warm.

Her mind drifted back to the reason she had left the school in the first place— Beatrix.

Every moment of playfulness, all the flirting, the longing stares seemed to play on repeat as she cried. Their almost kiss… the two of them constantly finding an excuse to be within close proximity of one another… Stella was so sure that Beatrix felt the same way as she did.

Though, perhaps it was all a foolish sense of hope. One that she never should have allowed herself in the first place; for neither of them would be where they were now. Stella would still be in the air fairy's suite, laughing and joking with the redhead while they both sipped on a bottle of whiskey. She wouldn't have run and forced herself to stand out in the sudden, and very unbearably cold weather.

Of course, being in a relationship with Beatrix wouldn't ever be possible. Not in Solaria at least. Not with Queen Luna keeping such a close watch on Stella. She had been monitoring her every move since the moment Stella threatened to give up her title as princess for the sake of her friendships. There was no chance of her mother accepting her relationship, especially not with Beatrix. Stella was expected to be with a man; one who held honour and respect. Someone of royal status within one of the neighbouring realms.

Beatrix may be smart and cunning, and of course, insanely attractive, but she was no royalty. She held no honourable status, aside from being a student of one of the most respected prestigious schools in the Otherworld. She was no prince. She was not a part of the royal guard— she was nothing but a girl. An interesting enigma of a woman. She was Beatrix.

She had been standing by the pond for approximately ten minutes before the sound of snow crunching behind her caught her attention. It was the familiar sound of footsteps approaching beside her. It hadn't taken long before the person joined her by the pond, standing with just a foot between them; Stella could see their hands buried within the pockets of a thick black coat.

Stella didn't have to look at the person to realise who it was.

A few moments of silence passed by, the two of them staying quiet and listening to the faint chirping of the birds that had stuck around. It was then, though, that the person had decided to speak.

"Stella? What is going on right now?" The air fairy spoke quietly, a mixture of both confusion and worry lingering in the tone of her voice.

Stella stayed quiet, too afraid to speak her mind. The truth wasn't something that she was ready to face, not yet anyways. Not after what occurred just over twenty minutes prior. The mere thought of Beatrix with someone who wasn't her simply made her heart, body, and chest physically ache.

How was she supposed to tell Beatrix that she did not want her seeing anyone; that the idea of it made her feel physically ill. This was Beatrix they were talking about. She was allowed to do whatever she pleased, and there was nothing Stella could do (or would do) to stop it.

After a few seconds of silence, the light fairy finally whispered out a very weak, "I'm sorry,” while choking back tears.

She couldn't help it when they proceeded to fall from her eyes, wiping away at them almost instantly as she inhaled sharply. A hand gently grabbed her arm which prompted her to lift her head. She was met with a soft look on Beatrix's face, one of curiosity and confusion. Beatrix had turned to meet her gaze. "Why are you apologising, Stella?"

It was such a simple question, one that she should have been able to answer with ease, but instead found herself falling short of an answer.

There were so many reasons and so many different things she wanted to apologise for. Yet, she was too afraid to mention them, for the fact that they all felt silly, small, and pathetic. And if she spoke the truth, if she admitted that she had feelings for the charming, fearless redhead, her best friend that saved her warmth and affection for Stella only, there was a huge risk of judgement. Of course, Beatrix was hardly ever the one to judge, but there was still a chance for her to do so.

The princess was so tired of being judged. The stares of her classmates and teachers, the comments and rumours, and the expectations that rested upon her shoulders. It was absolutely exhausting.

She sniffled as she wiped away her tears, lowering her hand to fiddle with the edge of her jacket in an attempt to soothe her anxiety.

"I just..."

Stella's words cut off and a silence fell over them for a few moments, the light fairy finding it extremely hard to find the right words to share. She couldn't tell her the truth; for it had the possibility of destroying their friendship.

Before she could speak once more, Beatrix reached out to take a hold of Stella's hand. Her thumb brushed against the back of her hand in a soothing motion, and Stella knew it was to coax her and let her know Beatrix was here. A soft, cold hand pressed against her cheek, bringing Stella's gaze back towards Beatrix's amber-honey brown eyes. There was a gentle look upon Beatrix's face; one of encouragement and support.

"There there…" Beatrix soothed as her thumb gently brushed against the soft skin of cheek, just below her eye. “Please talk to me, Stel." The air fairy wiped away the tears with the edge of her jacket.

Stella couldn't help the way that her eyes welled up once more at the unexpected tenderness from her friend. A sickening wave of guilt settled deep within her chest. She knew it wasn't fair to be upset with Beatrix. Not for this. The air fairy was allowed to do as she pleased with whomever she wanted to. Her feelings regarding the matter wouldn't change a thing.

Without thinking twice, she leaned into Beatrix's gentle touch almost immediately, blue eyes softening and blinking back tears. "I shouldn't have reacted like that when I saw the two of you…” Stella bit her lip, thinking of what she could say that could possibly excuse her behaviour. But, she already knew there was nothing she could say. Not without saying it all. "It was not my place to kick him out— I just…” Beatrix's gaze never once wavered from hers, patiently waiting for her to finish.

"Seeing him with you made me enraged, Bea…” Stella's gaze shifted to stare at the snow below her feet, "And I know I shouldn't have been upset. I feel awful for it, but I—"
Beatrix cut her off immediately, her hand trailing from her cheek to rest her fingers underneath Stella's chin, lifting her head back up to meet her eyes. "Hey hey hey, you have nothing to apologise for, Stella. You cannot help the way you feel, and that is not your fault." Beatrix gave her a gentle smile, to which the light fairy offered a weak one in return.

The two of them had fallen quiet for a few moments, Beatrix's hand still resting against her face. Stella tried to focus on anything but the physical contact, her cheek aflame from both the sensation of Beatrix's touch, as well as the chilly winter air. She could hear the sounds of birds chirping in the distance and the water moving beneath the ice. There were the faintest sounds of people yelling back at the school, no doubt still playing around in the snow, reached her ears.

"Besides, you hadn't really interrupted anything that serious." Beatrix suddenly added, pulling her hand away from Stella, and tucking it back into her jacket pocket.

The princess frowned, tilting her head ever so slightly, "What do you mean?" How could that be labelled as anything but serious? It seemed as if the two of them had—

"We were just making out for awhile." Beatrix clarified, "It was nothing more than that."

Oh.

Oh!

Embarrassment flooded through Stella instantly, and the light fairy scratched nervously at the back of her neck. She could have sworn there was so much more to it than that. Beatrix's messy hair, the adjusting of her clothes… Okay, maybe she did jump to a very sudden conclusion. But in her defense, how was she supposed to know?

Stella glanced back towards Beatrix for confirmation, "So you two didn't–"

Beatrix was quick to cut her off with the shake of her head, followed by a slight chuckle. "No. No no. And we were never going to."

It was the truth too. Beatrix knew that she didn't want to take it that far. It was more for a personal experiment than anything else. A test, just to figure out her own feelings. Feelings that she wished she could just lock away permanently. It was never intended for Stella to walk in on them. But, she had, and now here they were.

Stella fell quiet as a sense of relief fell over her. She was thankful that it was nothing more, though she was still relatively irritated with the fact it happened to begin with. Why did he think he had the right to kiss her? To go to her suite and climb into her bed—

Unless…

Her head snapped toward her amber-haired best friend and she turned to get her attention, "Beatrix…"

The air fairy lifted her head to look back at the princess, "Yes?"

Stella shifted her weight onto her other leg, fully facing her friend with a hesitant look on her face. She knew that it may be a bit too personal of a question, but at the same time, she really just wanted to know. "Do you, uh… Do you have feelings for him?"

They fell into a quick silence; Beatrix's eyes widened slightly at the question, before she cracked a smile. She could hardly hold back the laugh that threatened to leave her lips, "As if!" She exclaimed with the shake of her head. "He is far from my type."

Stella's shoulders relaxed and she couldn't help but find herself more than a little relieved by this new information. The princess chuckled a little and offered a grin. "And what exactly would your type be?"

Beatrix rolled her eyes, a smirk on her face as she gently bumped her shoulder into Stella's. "Mm, wouldn't you like to know, Princess?"

This action sparked a laugh from Stella, the two of them shaking their heads. Of course Beatrix wouldn't answer such a question. But, it was good to know that her friend did not share feelings for the boy who was in her bed.