Chapter 10

"Welcome to Hero Camp." Two identical Fairies with pink and blue hair greeted them when the six Heroes were dropped off by their carriages in front of a gold gate.

Servants front the interior had rushed out to take their luggages to the respective rooms while the identical Fairies who could only be differentiated by their different colors of hair directed them elsewhere.

"Follow us to the Captain, he will debrief you on your next step." They continued to say simultaneously, in a way that was almost creepy to Daisy.

The Fairies names were Lichen and Lotus, the caretakers of the Camp, according to the name tags on their uniforms, if what they were wearing could count as a uniform. Lichen had pink hair and Lotus had blue, they even wore the same little frilly dresses and walked simultaneously.

"Am I the only one who finds them weird?" Eden leaned over to whisper in Poppy's ear but Poppy doesn't hear her, already caught up in cooing over the caretakers.

Eden just rolled her eyes. "If you weren't a Hero I'd have gladly left you behind." She muttered under her breath when her blue haired friend started letting out audible 'awwing' sounds over Lichen and Lotus.

The journey through the camp was a little tense as the Heroes didn't know each other yet.

The Camp itself was very grand and a little unnecessary for just Six Heroes, there was a spacious garden immediately they entered into the high, golden gate.

The place was for the Heroes to get acquainted anyway, Eden wasn't surprised to see that it looked like a resort. There were four buildings in all, the one that was at the west end, a little far off had to be the sleeping quarters, it looked big enough to house six rooms or more. 

Then the one directly in front of them had to be the kitchens, judging from the busy noises and sounds coming from it but they didn't head there. They went a little to the north and were ushered into a grand looking hallway, that led to a room that looked like a smaller version of the one at the West Council, so this was where they would receive instructions and information.

"We apologize for the hurry but the Captain would like to see you now, as soon as you're done there would be a short tour of the premises. Thank you!" The Caretakers bowed deeply in midair their wings fluttering, before they turned around smoothly like they choreographed it.

"Come in." A commanding voice from within calls out and Lily being the one in the lead pushed open the doors, they all flew in, taking in the room.

There were high windows that streamed in bright lights, green and vine-like protrusions crisscrossed the stained glass, giving it the aura of a glass leaf. The lower part however was solid wood, that was polished so that it almost glowed golden, twelve chairs were arranged around a sturdy table at the center of the room, a fireplace and a couple sofas to one side.

The Fairy Heroes lined up and bowed, trying to show respect to the Fairy in front of them.

Captain Evergreen was a huge Fairy and that was saying a lot, considering how tiny Fairies were, he easily towered over the rest even Aster who was pretty tall in his own right.

Bright green hair cut short and a Captain's ensemble which consisted of high boots, black, leather pants, a white shirt and a dark blue long jacket over it, his medals and proof of his station dangling off the front of his jacket.

He stood at the head of the table, stoic and unmoving, hands behind his back and legs spread, he really gave off and imposing air.

"Welcome Heroes, be at ease and do come in and have a seat." He invited them, sitting down. "I'm Captain Evergreen and I'll be the one in charge of Hero Camp."

They followed his orders and settled down on the seats closest to him, except Orchid who took the one at the far end, her legs propped on a table.

Whispers started up as the remaining Heroes looked at her questioningly.

"What?" Orchid looked up at them with her menacing red eyes. "Captain said we should be at ease."

The others shrugged and looked back at the Captain who had his legs in a similar fashion. "Indeed I said that, introduce yourselves Heroes." He commanded with a wave of his hand. "We are going to spend some time together."

Aster stood up and stoically faced the rest, not a splash of emotion of his handsome face. "Aster Maloy, Water Fairy." He said simply with clipped and dead tones, fluidly sliding back to his seat afterwards.

"Um, I-I'm…" Poppy cleared her throat after she got up, her hands constantly on her hair pin. "Sorry." She mumbled. "I'm Poppy, Forest Fairy." She finally said in a small voice, rushing to sit down again.

"Eden Mariach, Forest Fairy."

Orchid noisily pushed her chair backwards and Lily narrowed his eyes, irked by her actions.

"Orchid Oak, Fauna Fairy." She drawled.

Lily got up with a grim face. "Li Larue, Light Fairy." He said with a clear voice.

The Captain frowned but it was just for a split second, moving his attention to the last Hero.

"D-Daisy D-Dane, L-Light F-Fairy." The tiny Fairy whispered, stuttering over his words.

"That's the girl I'm telling you about." Poppy whispered to Eden.

Eden frowned and studied the Hero, she looked unimposing and gentle, in thigh high boots, pants and a loose top but something seemed off.

"Now that we're past pleasantries." The Captain said, sitting up straight. "You're going to be spending a month to six months at Hero Camp depending on how fast you improve." He said, going straight to the point.

The Heroes started, leaning forward in confusion.

"We were informed that this was going to be a simple get together that would span over two days." Li spoke up, his hazel eyes, narrowing.

"Indeed." The Captain got up now and placed both hands on the table. "I told the Council about this, you can't just pick up a couple of teenagers, special abilities aside and throw them into the wild."

Eden was getting irritated now. "Then why weren't we brought to the Hero Camp when we were much younger?"

"If Elves got a whiff of the possibility of Fairies that could be possibly stronger than them, what do you think they would do?"

"Well, it's not like they're letting us attack Elves anyway." Orchid shrugged. "Our sole Mission is to retrieve the Heart."

"True and if we aren't attacking them, they would have no idea of us." Poppy added.

"They know of the Heart of Flora and yet you think something as mundane as a Hero Camp could be kept a secret?" The Captain fired back. 

"It would be impossible and we would have been taken to the City of Mountains as prisoners." Aster said in his empty voice.

"The Water Hero is right so this is for your safety and nothing else, you are all still going to get your two days of socializing because you are going to be living, working and fighting together for a long time." He sat down once again as the uproar had calmed. "You might as well get acquired with each other."

The Heroes went quiet and just listened.

Captain Evergreen let out a small smile. "At the start of the new week, your intensive training begins. I'll be one of your teachers and the Caretakers also, I believe you met them. Two other teachers are on their way already to help you, utilize and build your abilities to absolute perfection." He concluded, looking around the faces at the table. "Any questions?"

"Are we going to go on our Mission as soon as the training is done?" Eden asked quietly, a calculating look in her dark green eyes.

"No, you cannot be ready for the Mission to retrieve the Heart even if we have trained you since birth. There shall be missions and after the end of each one, you'll all return to the Camp to regroup."

"After the end of a series of missions which will also include getting materials required for your main Mission then will you set out on your Quest to retrieve the Heart." The Captain explained patiently.

"Without any more questions, I'll draw this meeting to a close." Captain Evergreen stood up. "I believe your journeys must have been strenuous, plus you must settle in and get acquainted to be ready for tomorrow's activities which I believe the Caretakers will relay to you. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir!" The Heroes chorused.

"Dismissed."

The doors opened immediately like the Caretakers had been waiting outside for them to be done with their meeting.

"We'll direct you to your quarters." They both chorused.

"It's a house with six rooms." Lichen said, her voice slightly higher than her blue haired sister.

"Where you'll stay during the duration of your training and when you come back from your missions." Lily completed.

"What?" Orchid spluttered, she had been hoping to get her own space. It was bad enough having to share a room with four sisters but living in the same house with the other Heroes was just pushing it.

"Have a problem with that?" Li raised an eyebrow at her.

"No." She said tightly, walking ahead of him.

They were soon deposited in front of a big, beautiful house, with high ceilings and open spaces.

"Ooh! It's so pretty!" Poppy squealed without thinking.

Daisy was already thinking along those lines, the house was done in shades of the palest pinks and bluish-green. "Indeed." He smiled at her.

"Try to get settled in, dinner will be ready by seven." The Caretakers smiled after they had all entered into the Hero House. "There's a dining room so when it is time, servants will be by with food, you have the choice of the rooms you wish." They bowed at this point. "Enjoy your stay!"