Arriving home

[Demeter]

: Wysteria stood near the gates to the train station. There was more to her daughter's letter then she was letting on. But she wouldn't pry into her daughter's affairs unless she deemed it absolutely necessary. She only hoped that Flora had remembered to bring an escort of some nature so she didn't hurt herself while getting off the train.

Her chocolate colored eyes drifted across the station before she caught sight of her daughter disembarking. She raised her long skirt up and ran over to her daughter, her bare feet barely touching the floor as she ran. "My little flower princess," she cooed softly, hugging her daughter when she approached her. "Are you all right?"

Flora turned her head and stared up at her mother with her sightless green eyes. "Asides from the whole not seeing? Yeah, I'm fine." She paused a moment and opened her compact slowly, hoping that the professor was still there.

: Wysteria's chocolate eyes widened when she saw the professor there and then she knew. "So, this is the dear friend you spoke about in your letter," she said. "And from what I remember, that looks like your professor. Now, I don't suppose I need to have your father play chaperone, Flora?" she gently teased.

Flora went crimson. "Mo~other."

[Palladium]

Palladium colored as he heard Flora's mother speak. Noticing that Flora too seem embarrassed, he quickly interjected, "Good day, madam; please, allow me to introduce myself as best as possible given the circumstances. I am Professor Palladium - Flora's Potionology teacher."

[Demeter]

: Wysteria smiled the smile all mothers get. "I know, we've met before. Of course, it was a long time ago. My daughter was just a small child."

Flora continued to blush embarrassedly. "Mo~other."

[Palladium]

Frowning slightly, he questioned, "Really? We've met before? Forgive me, but I do not remember . . ."

[Demeter]

: "Yes, the last name is very familiar. Flora was a small child and she had wandered off. Two young elves helped me find her. One was named Cora and the other's last name was Palladium." She smiled. "My daughter gave the male elf a small rose colored wildflower." She pulled out a small blossom and held it before the compact.

Flora was a lovely shade of crimson.

[Palladium]

Greatly disturbed by the fact that, according to Flora's mother, he had apparently met Flora many years ago, Palladium shook his head and the words "You must be mistaken" slipped out before he could stop them, even though he knew very well that she was not.

[Demeter]

: "My memory's quite clear," she said. "A mother never forgets the time her child vanishes and has to be found."

[Palladium]

Deciding that it was probably best to drop the subject, Palladium smiled briefly, "Yes, well regardless of whether Flora and I met years ago or not, I am certain that there are more important issues at hand to discuss - do you not agree?"

[Demeter]

: Wysteria nodded. "Yes, of course. But what I don't understand is... how did my daughter go blind? She said she had an accident... Do you know what kind?"

[Palladium]

"Flora didn't tell you?" Palladium asked, his voice concerned. Frowning, he shook his head, "Perhaps she wished to tell you in person?" Addressing Flora, he asked quietly, "Would you prefer to explain to your mother how all of this came about or shall I?"

[Demeter]

Flora "looked" at him. "I didn't quite know how to tell her," she breathed softly. "And.. please?"

: A thousand scenarios blossomed in Wysteria's head - and none of them were good. "All she said was she cast a forgotten spell and the price was her vision. Other then that, no, she didn't tell me much."

[Palladium]

"Let me try to explain this in the simplest way possible . . . a while back I was in my office at Alfea and a student came in and asked to speak with me. I allowed the student in and soon after she revealed herself to be a witch. Before I had time to react she had cast a spell and locked me in the mirror. Some time later, I'm not sure how much as I've basically lost my sense of time, Flora discovered that I was trapped. She couldn't find a spell to free me, but she managed to find one that would allow her to communicate with me, because you see, when she first discovered me, we could not speak with one another. To make a long story short, the spell she found was indeed forgotten magic and apparently it had a caveat that casting it came with a price. In Flora's case, this price was her vision."

[Demeter]

: Wysteria was silent for a long moment. Finally, she spoke. "When I get my hands on that witch, I will kill her. Slowly. Perhaps I'll invoke some of the old Linphean magic and merge her with a tree or something. How dare she do this!"

[Palladium]

Shaking his head sadly, he replied, "I fear that some of the blame rests with me. You see, I allowed Stormy, the witch, into my office, even though I didn't recognize the student she was disguised as. I have no justification for it - it was a moment of stupidity on my part, which has obviously turned into something of a much, much larger scale."

[Demeter]

: "One can't be expected to know all of one's students especially when a new school year is starting," Wysteria said, dismissing his attempts to blame himself. She shook her head. "Come, let's get home. We can discuss the trip to your home there."