Prologue: In Medias Res

This wasn’t supposed to be how prom ended.

No, it was supposed to end in romance and fireworks. Flora Bee had counted on it, selecting a strapless dress and a loose and curly half bun. Her date, Jon, had been appropriately wowed by her sartorial choices, and she had been certain her reservation for a post-prom room at the Windfall Inn would pay off.

But that was before the ballroom blitz. Instead, her dress had been reduced to scraps and ashes, and her painfully curled hair had been scorched off. She had escaped the gym narrowly, leaving Jon cowering inside. He was unharmed, she was sure. Because as always, the focus of the night--and the violence--was her twin sister. Her supernaturally gifted, incredibly powered witch of a sister.

A howl pierced through the roar of the flames, followed by a shriek. A creak emanated from the roof of Nature and Nurture Learning Academy, no doubt a sign the beams were beginning to buckle. Flora sighed as she pulled herself up from the ground. By morning, the front half of the school would be nothing more than ash. She would be gone by then.

Her home was only a block away, but it felt like miles. Every movement of her blistered and cracked limbs was agony. Somehow, she made it down the street and up the stairs into her home.

Despite the pain, most of the burns seemed to be superficial. Once settled into a cold bath, Flora breathed a sigh of relief. The soot washed off, revealing mostly untouched skin. It hadn’t been as bad as she thought, at least in terms of scarring or maiming.

Her hair, on the other hand--a glance in the mirror proved how bad it truly was. Flora grimaced at her reflection. Her once mid-back length hair was barely past her ears, and significantly thinner. She pinched at the ends and sighed. she thought.

Despite the chaos only a block away, the Bee house was empty. Thus, there was some amount of peace as Flora gathered her belongings. She had a few hundred simoleons stuffed into a sock, gathered over several years of birthday cards from her grandparents. Her twin sister had a nearly equivalent amount, hidden in an equally obvious spot. She stuffed all the money she could find in her backpack, alongside her most practical clothes.

“You’re leaving.” Flora cringed at the voice. It was like hearing herself talk. Behind her stood her twin sister, Fauna, immaculately dressed and made up.

Flora’s shoulders tensed. “Yes,” she said as she turned around.

“Why?” Fauna asked, “I--I don’t understand. I protected you.”

“Are you serious?” Flora’s voice broke, “You lit me on fire!”

“The spell was meant for the hunter,” Fauna protested, “I miscast it. That’s all.”

“It doesn’t matter who it was meant for,” Flora snapped, “Look at me, Faun--I have boy hair and burns on my arms.”

“I was trying to protect you! The hunter was--”

“Do you hear yourself?” Flora spat, “The hunter. Everything is so dramatic with you--hunter, witch, fairy, the netherworld, the abyss. This isn’t how normal people talk, and I can’t stand it any longer.”

Fauna’s nose twitched. “This is serious. Our lives are in danger.”

“No, your life is in danger. You’re the one that’s always at the center of this bullshit. I’m just the dopey, non-magical one who gets dragged into it.”

“You’re not a dope--Flora, you’re my sister. You can’t leave. Please don’t leave.”

“Fauna, I’ve been lit on fire. Our brother turns into a werewolf every month, and Raven nearly burned the school down once before. Too bad dad wasn’t there to stop you from burning it down.”

“Well you’re safe now,” Fauna sneered, “you ingrate.”

“Oh, am I being ungrateful? I’m sorry, I didn’t even realize! Thank you, Faun. Thank you for burning my hair off and ruining my dress. Thank you for scaring Jon off so he’ll never call me again. Thank you for these burns, too. They’re super great--my absolute favorite part of the evening,” Flora smacked her lips, mimicking a chef kiss. “Thanks to you, I’ll get to remember this night forever. There, is that enough thanks?”

“You’re right,” Fauna said through a quivering lip, “I ruined your night. And I hurt you. I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter if you’re sorry or not,” Flora replied, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “I deserve better than immolation. Goodbye, Fauna. And good luck. You’ll need it.”

“Wait,” Fauna slipped her wand out of her dress. “I could make you stay. I could wipe your memory.”

Flora’s response was flat. “You won’t, though.” She slipped out of the door, down the stairs, and into the night. The fire was still burning, and she had a choice to make. There were two cars in front of the house. Flora opted for the vintage truck, her father’s. It would be easy for them to find the next day, easier than her mom’s nondescript SUV.

Despite her confidence, she had never driven by herself. The truck was a little harder to handle without her dad gently reminding her when to shift gears. Somehow, she managed to navigate it to the small, one terminal airport at the north end of the island. In the morning, Fauna and her father would discover his truck in the parking lot. Flora’s flight--booked under the surname Trémaux--would be long gone.

***

Eight hours later, Flora Trémaux arrived in Hidden Springs. She was the sole passenger of a Cessna 172, piloted by a man tasked with bringing supplies to the village’s small military base. It had been a bumpy flight, and she didn’t get to choose the destination, but it only cost her 200 simoleons. She made sure to take it out of Fauna’s half.

This is it, Flora thought. It hardly felt different from her native Aurora Skies--perhaps a bit warmer, a bit brighter. She knew she would be far enough south she wouldn’t be able to see auroras anymore. The smell of pine was a little overpowering, too. But at least here, she would have an ocean between her and her family.

She breathed in a deep breath. My future is in front of me. Then she exhaled. My past behind me. She inhaled again.

And then felt sick rise into her mouth.

Flora gagged, but managed to swallow it back. Clearing her throat, she made her way to the terminal. As she entered the building, she came to the end of her plan. She didn’t know what awaited her outside the airport.

So she settled into a bench in the airport lobby. It had been a long night. She would find her way after a nap.

***

Author's Note: Welcome to a new legacy! I probably should've released two chapters since this is a prologue, but I wanted to make at least one post in 2019 to ring in the new year. I decided to start a low key legacy with one of the spares from gen 3 of my last legacy, and Flora was the most enticing since she was basically an oops baby. I rolled equestrian for her, so we'll get to meet her horse in the next chapter. I also plan on having very few posed scenes, despite this chapter--I have a ton of screenshots already that I think will make for a fun gameplay oriented legacy.

PS I do want to continue the Bee Legacy, so this isn't a nail in that coffin.

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