Volume One: Secrets of the Dragon Flame

by gins-potter

Bloom Peters thought she was an ordinary teenager until she's thrown into a world full of fairies, witches, heroes, and magical creatures. Now she has to navigate a whole new world juggling magical classes, a trio of witches who seem out to get her as well as ordinary stuff like new friendships and hot guys. And she thought turning 16 was going to be boring. A Winx club retelling.

1. Chapter 1

Hi! I'm Jess and I'm really excited to be starting this project.

If this looks/sounds familiar that's because it probably is. After two attempts of posting this (with mildly successful results) I'm hoping the third time will be the charm.

The reason I'm writing this is because I love winx club, I grew up watching it and if I'm being honest I still love it now. But let's be real the dialogue can be cringy sometimes and the romance isn't up to what teen audiences enjoy. I know there are other fics out there like this, but I'd thought I'd try my hand at it.

So some housekeeping things:

- It will be a mixture of 4kids and RAI dialogue/storyline. While I grew up watching 4kids, I know that RAI kept to the original source a lot closer so I'll be doing a mixture to keep everyone happy.

- I'm not sure how often I'll be able to post. I usually like to keep a couple of chapters on deck and tend to post whenever I finish a new chapter. If this is confusing think of it like this: I'm posting chapter one today but I'm up to writing chapter five.

- No flames or trolls please. I LOVE constructive criticism but let's be real I'm not going to be able to please everyone and if I write something you don't like, take a moment to think before you comment. Maybe this fic won't be for you, there's plenty out there to keep you happy. BUT if you think you can comment without being nasty please, please, please, come talk to me... I love a good debate.

Ok I think that's it, I'll update you via notes as we go and the tags/rating may change depending on where I go with this story. I hope you enjoy :)

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It was sweltering. That was the only thought that passed through Bloom's sleep addled brain as she opened her eyes with a groan and unwillingly dragged herself from the sweet bliss of unconsciousness and into the muggy air of her dark room. It was hot and too early to be awake, she decided, rolling over and burying her face back into the pillow. But now all she could feel was the fabric uncomfortably warm beneath her cheek and she was too aware of the sheets sticking to her sweaty skin to get back to sleep. She groaned and reached blindly for the mobile on her nightstand.

It was mostly habit that had her clicking on the screen to check the time and her messages simultaneously. One was surprising, one was not. The lack of messages unfortunately did not surprise her in the least, although she couldn't say that it still didn't sting a little. But the time was a surprise; twelve o'clock and all Bloom could wonder was why hadn't her mother come in to chide her about wasting away another precious summer day or at least wake her before she'd left for the store. Figuring if it wasn't too early for such mysteries and definitely too hot, Bloom let it go and rolled onto her back, phone sliding from her hand and screen blinking back to black as it was neglected.

Neglect. It was the exact reason why Bloom didn't have any messages filling her phone screen from her friends, inviting her down to the beach or to a day at the mall. She'd seen them a little at the beginning of the summer, when the novelty of freedom hadn't yet worn off but those times had come and gone and eventually when Bloom had lost interest in doing the same sort of thing everyday, they'd stopped bothering to call at all. Bloom didn't take it personally; she knew they would be there after all, when they all returned to school, with a familiar eye roll and "what happened to you, Bloom?"

Thinking of this and the hours of the day still left stretching out before her, she rolled out of bed with a cacophony of reluctant noises, eyes catching on the calendar which was slowly but surely counting down the days before she went back to school a date that lay a mere week away. She shot it a particularly distasteful glare and set about getting ready for the day.

If Bloom had thought inside was hot, she was not prepared for the summer sun beating down on the brave citizens who dared the streets of Gardenia. As midday turned into afternoon Bloom joined the deserted streets, scooping up her bet bunny to bring along with her for a ride around town.

Her friends had been surprised at her excitement when she'd shown them the cherry rd bicycle that had been a surprise gift from her father, Mike. She knew that many of her other classmates would oon be buying and receiving cars as they each turned sixteen and got their licenses but Bloom couldn't bring herself to care. She loved the bike.

She found herself wishing however that the bike came with air-conditioning and shade as she pedalled along, sparing a hand occasionally to shield her eyes from the sun. Sweet trickled down her back as her muscles burned with the effort and Bloom knew she'd most likely be soaked by the time she got to the park but there was there was a sense of accomplishment as she moved; the feeling of the warm wind blowing back her hair, and the strain in her legs.

A familiar face grinned at her from under the shade of a storefront as she rolled down the main street. Mr Genero, the fruit shop owner was leaning lazily against a display of watermelons, watching her approach. As he reached up to wipe the sweat away from his brow he gave her a wave and called out a greeting.

"Hot enough for ya, love? Make sure to say hello to your mother for me."

She shot a grin of her own over her shoulder as she passed him. "Will do, Mr Genero."

Bloom pulled out onto the road to cross the street, dodging cars and the rare pedestrian expertly, all the while keeping an eye on her bunny in the basket on the front of her bike, who was dozing in what shade he could find. She'd had Kiko since she was in middle school and he was the closest thing she had to a best friend.

If you were to ask her, the sixteen year old would most likely say that her life was ordinary enough. According to her, she was just another face in the crowd of teenagers that filled the halls of her school. Gardenia, the small coastal town in which she'd been brought up was small enough that everyone knew just about everyone else but was a popular tourist destination with it's pretty beaches and city just a half hour drive away.

Bloom's life was simple and - in her opinion - just a little bit boring. She had two adoring parents whose sizable incomes allowed her a nice home and a comfortable life. Sometimes she thought the most interesting thing about her was the fact that she was adopted, and even then that was nowhere near as exciting as anyone ever thought. It was something she supposed she should be grateful for, having a life that she knew even some of her classmates would kill for. But she couldn't help it if sometimes she longed for something, some small event or firework that would break the monotony that was her life.

She could have no way of knowing, you understand, that she was so much more than she knew, and had already been put through more than others faced in a lifetime, or even that that small spark she was waiting for was just around the corner.

Before long she had made it to the park, finding solace from the searing sun under the canopy of tree branches. Bloom hopped from her bike as she entered the park gates, wary of the runners and stray children on the track and wheeled it along instead, using a free hand to scoop Kiko from the basket and deposit him on the ground. He skittered around her feet for a few moments, snuffling around in the leaves before bounding off.

Keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't wander too far, Bloom found herself a solid tree nearby to lean her bike up against before sliding to the ground to sit, leaning up against it. Reaching up with one hand she withdrew the apple she had brought with her and took a bite from the shiny red skin. She'd brought a sketchpad along with her as well but for the moment she was content to simply sit and enjoy the cool shade and the crisp taste of her snack.

She was almost halfway through her apple before Kiko came scurrying back to her, little noises of distress emanating from him. Lazy from the afternoon heat, Bloom blinked down at him slowly.

"What, did you see one of those scary squirrels again?" she joked.

Her amusement faded however when Kiko began to nibble insistently at the leg of her jeans and she noticed that he was shaking. Bloom scooped up the shivering rabbit and held him close to her chest, wandering off in the direction he'd come from, not motivated to hurry after the long bike ride despite Kiko's fear. She wove between the trees wondering idly what she was supposed to be looking for, not noticing as she got further and further away from the few others populating the park. As she moved deeper into the forest, the trees got closer together and the light receded as the canopy grew thicker overhead.

Then a shout sounded in the distance, freezing Bloom in place for a moment as she decided whether she should turn back or see what was going on. Finally her morality won out and she crept on, reasoning that if someone was in trouble she couldn't just turn around and leave them. Up ahead the trees began to thin and a large sunlit clearing sat, which Bloom headed towards curiously. She ducked behind a tree instincitvely however when she heard another shout followed by a grunt of exertion.

"Back off," she heard an unfamiliar voice shout suddenly, causing her to start violently. Her hand shot to immediately to the phone in her pocket, wondering if someone was in trouble and needed the police.

While her hand hovered hesitantly over the outline of her phone in her jeans pocket she couldn't help but peer out from behind the tree just in time to see an orange boot connect with a small, strange creature, unlike anything Bloom had seen before. The boots looked heavy and were certainly dangerous if the way they sent the creature sprawling was anything to go by.

Bloom's eyes travelled up the boots and the long tanned legs they belonged to and scanned all the way up to the face face girl who couldn't be much older than she was. At first glance, Bloom would have said that the girl would have fit right in, in the small California town; she was all tanned skin, long blonde hair and exposed midriff. Then Bloom took a second look and realised that was where the similarities stopped. Her clothes weren't all that unusual, small orange shorts and a tiny tank top that showed the teenager's midriff, and would not have been all that out of the place in the summer weather; it was the way they sparkled unnaturally when she moved, as though someone had scooped up all the stars of the night sky and used them in her outfit. Mostly though, it was the long, thin sceptre the girl clutched like a weapon and the small pair of wings that sat between the girl's shoulder blades.

"What the hell?" Bloom muttered out loud but internally she was already rationalising what she was seeing. Convinced it was some performance or cosplaying event Bloom watched as the girl, unaware of her audience continued to battle the small creatures that were leaping at her.

She obviously had done this before, her feet were sure as she moved, the muscles of her thighs and arms bunched and shifted with power and her hits struck home everytime. And she wasn't at all put off by the things she was fighting against unlike Bloom who at the mere sight of them felt her mouth go dry and shied away. She didn't even know what to call them, the only word coming to mind being 'ghoul'. They were small but spindly creatures, their skin tough and leathery and covered in bumps and their eyes were little and mean, shining with malice as they took in their opponent.

Then the girl did something that even Bloom couldn't explain away: she lifted a hand calmly and pointed it at the nearest approaching ghoul and commanded in a loud voice, "Rising Sun Burst!" an eruption of blinding light seemingly coming from her very palm.

Bloom jerked away and covered her face instinctively but she still caught sight of the other-wordly light and black spots covered her vision for a few moments. Finally they cleared but she didn't look back at the sight but turned back to the forest that lead the way back to her bike and apparently her sanity.

"Fairies aren't real," she gritted out between her teeth, pinching herself, hard, and she half expected to wake up in her bed. But nothing changed and she remained standing in the forest, sounds of the battle at hr back and trying to come up with an excuse, any excuse to explain what she'd just seen. But nothing came to mind and clenching her jaw she reluctantly turned back to the fight.

And her eyes immediately fell on a great hulking figure standing in the shadows at the other side of the clearing. He had to be twice as Bloom was tall and almost four times as wide. But the girl didn't seem to notice him as she snarled at the creatures and continued to use her fists and knees to batter back the growling ghouls.

Two of them snarled viciously and started to advance on her but surprisingly the girl merely closed her eyes like she was concentrating hard. Bloom was about to call out a warning because fairy or not, real or fake, those things looked dangerous and were getting closer by the minute. But then the girl began to emit a soft light that surrounded her from the toes of her orange boots to the tips of her long blonde hair and the words stuck in Bloom's throat. Because there was something so otherworldly about her, something so completely other about her that Bloom somehow knew that this couldn't be a trick. She raised her sceptre above her head, both hands clutched around it tightly, and a sudden wind swept up from nowhere blowing the teenager's hair around.

"Solar Wind Blast," she declared bringing her sceptre down with a bang that shouldn't have been possible given the grass underfoot. Sparks exploded from where the sceptre had hit the ground, sending the little ghouls flying in all directions, landing with painful looking thumps. One however zipped straight towards the huge figure and with a speed that was surprising for such a large figure, a hand shot out to catch it. It's fury was evident as the giant hand - larger than Bloom's head - squeezed the struggling creature, crushing it until it exploded with a yelp.

Bloom swallowed roughly. Up until then it had all been a harmless trick playing with her eyes and her mind but now it was clear there was more at stake than just her sanity and Bloom wasn't planning on sticking around if it meant ending up like that ghoul. She took a step back, straight onto a twig that cracked under her weight with a loud snap. Grimacing Bloom glanced worriedly back to the clearing, hoping she hadn't been heard.

The figure had emerged from the shadows with an angry grunt revealing that he was not a man as Bloom had assumed but a ginormous and horrific yellow ogre, with arms and legs as thick as tree trunks and mean eyes that glowed slightly. His skin was as leathry as the ghouls he was surrounded by and Bloom caught a whiff of a disgusting odour. Thankfully he wore a pair of tatty and dirty overalls.

The fairy however didn't look phased at all as she scanned his form up and down coolly. "Now that's a face only a mother could love," she quipped, throwing her sceptre from hand to hand casually. "Ready to kneel before the power of Solaria?"

Solaria? Bloom had never heard the term before, though if she had to guess it sounded like it might be a place, but she had long since stopped trying to see the logic in the scene before her.

The ogre, obviously enraged by the girl's flippancy burst into a run, heavy footfalls seeming to make the very ground tremble. The girl didn't so much as flinch however, though Bloom did see her tawny eyes narrow threateningly.

"You're the one who's going to get flattened, Princess," the ogre rasped, voice hoarse and little more than a grunt. Again his speed surprised Bloom, and the other girl must have been similarly caught off guard because as they collided Bloom saw her flinch for the first time and she was sent sprawling backwards. She waited with bated breath for the girl to get back up, to laugh and declare the game over, for them to reveal that they were simply human. But none of that happened as the ghouls crept towards the girl's stunned form, surrounding her.

The ogre laughed menacingly, glaring down at the cowering girl. "You're finished little fairy."

"Oh shit," Bloom muttered dancing from foot to foot, caught between wanting to run and save her herself and helping the poor girl. Even if she stayed though, Bloom had doubts whether she could do anything useful anyway. If the girl - because Bloom still refused to even consider the word fairy - had been knocked around like that, Bloom didn't stand much chance.

"Bring me her sceptre," the ogre grunted and on his order the ghouls advanced, little yellow eyes narrowing fiercely. They pinned the girl's arms and legs to the ground and Bloom shuddered imagining what their claws would feel like.

The girl struggled against her restraints, yelling at the ogre. "I'm warning you," she spat, eyes dark with fury. "You'll never get away with this." A ghoul growled back threateningly and grabbed the blue sceptre from the foliage beside the girl and took it to it's master.

The ogre snorted, a disgusting sound that had Bloom shuddering yet again. "I think I just did," he said nastily. "Your sceptre's mine now. And if you're not careful you'll be history soon enough." With four precise steps the ogre stalked forward and bent down, putting them face to face.

The girl laughed, trying to seem casual but even Bloom could see the fear in her eyes. "Stealing my sceptre would be one thing. But you really think you could kill me and not bring the power of Solaria down on your pathetic, miserable life?" she snarled.

Upon hearing that Bloom knew she had to act. No matter how scared she was, or how a small part of her still clung to the belief that this was all fake or a dream, she knew she couldn't just stand by if there was even a chance the girl might get hurt. So she put Kiko down on a nearby tree stump and mouth dry and heart thudding in her ears she stepped from behind the tree and into the clearing.

"Hey!" she called, ignoring how her voice wavered and her stomach rolled. "I don't know what the hell this is, or what you're doing but you'd better leave her alone right now!"

All eyes turned on her and Bloom fought against the instinct to turn tail and run back into the forest. Hope flared momentarily in the girl's brown eyes but she didn't say anything. The ogre slowly straightened and pinned her in place with a furious gaze.

"Oh yeah?" he taunted in his hoarse, rasping voice. He grinned threateningly, showing rows of brown teeth and Bloom's stomach lurched. "And how are you going to make me do that?"

"I've called the police," Bloom lied desperately, wishing she'd had the forethought to actually do it. "They'll be here any second."

But that just made the ogre laugh and the momentary hope in the girl's eyes dimmed.

"Human police," the ogre cackled. "I'm so scared!"

"Get out of here!" the girl suddenly yelled, eyes full of sympathy - for her, Bloom realised with a jolt, because the girl was worried about her - before the ogre was turning, mirth gone now and kicking her hard in the ribs to shut her up. He needn't have worried though because Bloom wasn't going anywhere. She wasn't going to abandon that girl.

Even as the ogre came striding towards her and every instinct in her body screamed at her to run Bloom held her ground. She only let out a gasp of fear before that gigantic hand was back and swinging out to grab her arms, hoisting her in the air. Bloom went kicking and screaming, legs flying out to try and pummel the ogre's tough skin.

"You should learn to mind your own business," he advised, spit flying from his mouth and making Bloom cringe away. "Or one day something meaner than me is going to find you and do things that you don't even want to imagine. Or maybe," he continued, considering now. "You won't even make it that far. Me and my ghouls are very hungry, you know."

Bloom continued to squirm, closing her eyes and trying not to imagine what it would do to her parents if she were to go missing. But it was no use and all she could see was their worried faces as they waited for her to get home that night, their distress as they called everyone in town and then finally the police, their hopefulness as they looked for a daughter who was never coming home to them. As the images passed through her brain like a movie demanding her attention she could feel something building in the pit of her stomach, boiling and bubbling before finally as she imagined them finally giving up hope the feeling burst from her along with a surge of white-hot energy, consuming her and everyone around her.

Bloom didn't know how much time had passed before she was finally able to open her eyes, but the sun was still in the sky, her throat felt raw as though she had been yelling, her hands were tingling, and the ogre were nowhere in sight.

Bloom didn't have time to analyse what had just happened because the ghouls might have been down but they certainly weren't out and two of them were running at her. It was pure instinct that had her raising her hands hoping that the strange energy would make another appearance. No such luck and she was forced to take them down the old fashioned way with a nearby branch.

Having proven herself as a force to be reckoned with the rest of the ghouls were smart enough to keep their distance and with the ogre still down for the count, the stranger stumbled to her feet, sweeping her fallen sceptre off the ground as she went. She made her way over to a panting Bloom, who was still holding up her branch ready to strike. She didn't think that the girl would hurt her but it was better to be safe than sorry. A pain-filled smile spread across the stranger's face, though it looked more like a grimace, as she limped closer.

"Wow, and to think I thought you were a human. Nice going with that ogre by the way."

Bloom frowned. "But- but I am a human. You aren't…?"

It was the girl's turn to frown in confusion but before they could interrogate each other, the ogre was lumbering to his feet, chuckling darkly. The stranger glared back, cast Bloom a protective glance before stepping in front of her and slipping into a defensive crouch. But from the weary set of her shoulders and her laboured panting Bloom could tell the girl was exhausted from the fight and what little energy she had was slipping away fast. Bloom readied her branch.

"Laugh all you want," the girl sneered. "You're going down." Without any warning, a light appeared from the gem set into the circle of her sceptre, blasting the ogre back off his feet. "I suggest you get the hell out of this realm," she continued, trying to sound fierce despite her exhaustion.

Her attention was firmly fixed on the ogre which was how she didn't see the ghouls which were sneaking around behind her unguarded back. Luckily for her, Bloom caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, and spun around, putting her back to back with the stranger even though Bloom wasn't sure she could completely trust her; the girl seemed like the lesser of two evils in the moment. The position meant she could feel the girl's wings against her own back; they were silky but sturdy, a contrast that sent shivers down Bloom's back. She tried not to think about how weird this all was and focussed on the ghouls.

"Incoming," Bloom said, nudging at the girl's ribs.

The girl glanced around and leapt into action, swiping her sceptre through the air, making the ghouls disappear. Despite her weary smile, she twirled her sceptre around triumphantly. Unfortunately neither of them noticed the final ghoul that had escaped her attack and was leaping towards Bloom. It's mouth closed around her ankle and pain exploded up her leg as it's teeth bit in deeply. The girl held up her hand like she was readying herself to blast it away while Bloom shook her leg frantically but before either of them could do anything further the ghoul ripped itself away, taking a large chunk of Bloom's leg with it and scampered back to it's master.

The ogre had gotten to his feet once more but didn't attack as a purple light slowly enveloped him, his final word echoing around the glade as he disappeared. "Don't think this is over, Princess Stella. I'll be back and then your sceptre will be mine."

The girl - Princess Stella - swayed slightly on the spot. "Can't say I'm looking forward to that," she murmured as if the snarky response was instinctual before dropping to the ground with a soft "oh".

Bloom dropped to her knees and hurriedly turned the girl over. The girl's - Stella, Bloom thought firmly - tanned skin had paled and was littered with bruises, scratches, and bite marks that Bloom hadn't noticed before. Evidently the adrenaline that had been keeping her on her feet was gone and exhaustion had taken it's place.

Between one blink of her eyes and the next the girl's clothing changed from the glimmering top and shorts combo to a different midriff and maxi skirt with wedge heels, an outfit that looked like it would fit in on the runways of fashion week rather than the streets of Gardenia. Her precious sceptre was now strapped to her back and her headband had transformed into a small platinum tiara. Given all the odd things Bloom had seen in the past half hour or so this sudden change of clothing didn't even phase her.

Bloom shook the Princess, not bothering to be gentle about it before dropping her head to the girl's chest to make sure she was still breathing. Only when she heard the familiar, comforting thud of the Princess' heart did she sit back on her heels thinking. She could feel the panic beginning to set in; she'd just witnessed a fight between not-a-fairy and definitely-not-an-ogre-and-his-ghoul-minions and now had an unconscious girl on her hands. How the hell had she'd gotten herself into this situation? She'd buried her face in her hands and was trying to think of what to do when she felt a nose poke her and sniffle. Bloom peeled her hands away to glance at Kiko and patted at his warm fur.

"What do you think?" She didn't usually talk to Kiko, at least not in public, but Bloom felt the situation warranted it.

The bunny scurried over and sniffed at the oblivious girl before promptly curling into a ball without a noise.

"Well, you're a lot of help," Bloom huffed, blowing hair out of her face.

Her eyes roved over the unconscious girl, the long orange skirt, the blue straps that circled her slim waist, the matching top, and most importantly the tiara sitting atop those golden locks.

"You are not a fairy," she said determinedly. It was the first time she'd said the word aloud and it sounded just as ridiculous as she'd feared. "You are not a princess," she continued but the gi- Stella just slept on oblivious. "You are a normal girl, just like me. Because I am just an ordinary girl who certainly did not use any powers at all today, no matter what it felt like, oh my god!" She was panting by the end of her tirade and Bloom scrubbed a hand over her eyes. "Ok, focus Bloom. Focus on what you know for sure."

And what she knew for sure was that even though she didn't know the girl in the slightest, she couldn't just leave her alone and unconscious in the park as the sun started to set. She knew for sure that she would have to get her home where the girl could sleep the battle off and then explain exactly what the hell Bloom had just witnessed.

Before she went anywhere however, Bloom knew that she had to take a look at her ankle which was still stinging painfully. She rolled up her jeans, tried not to mourn the rip in the leg, and took a look at the bite. It was deep certainly and would probably take a few weeks to heal completely but otherwise didn't look too bad and not unlike a dog bite. She made a note to ask Stella when the girl woke up if she should be worried and to put some antiseptic on it when she got home. She tugged her pant leg back down and set about getting the unconscious girl upright and back to her house.

It was an agonisingly long process, keeping the barely conscious girl upright as they both stumbled from exhaustion. They'd only just reached Bloom's bike again when she noticed that the sun was hovering dangerously close to the horizon. She leant the Princess against the tree, who slumped over with nothing more than a quiet whine and dug her phone out of her pocket, shooting off a quick text to her parents, saying that she had been hanging out with someone (not a lie) and that she was on her way home (not a lie) but would probably be home late (not a lie). She hated not being entirely truthful with them but figured whatever this was, it was probably best talked about in person, if at all. Bloom could only hope they were in bed by the time she got the Princess back to her house.

"Come on, uh- Princess?" she murmured, tugging the semi-conscious teenager away from the tree and looping a arm back around her waist.

"But mum, I don't wanna go to school today," she mumbled, leaning heavily against Bloom, who was struggling with the combined weight of the girl and the challenge of guiding her bike along with only one hand. She huffed a tired laugh at the Princess, continued out the gate of the deserted park and tried to ignore the looks she was receiving from nearby pedestrians.

By the time she was halfway home Bloom no longer felt like laughing. The girl was definitely not getting any lighter and the bike was being difficult, not going in a straight line for more than a few seconds at a time. She passed Mr Genero who looked at them worriedly as he packed away the leftover fruit.

"You alright there, Bloom?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," Bloom said, trying not to pant and hoping that he wouldn't be able to see either of their cuts and bruises in the dim light. "My friend isn't feeling the best, heat stroke I think but she'll be alright. Almost home now and then she can lie down."

Mr Genero didn't look convinced. "You don't look so good either Bloom. Is your ankle alright?"

"Fine, just fine," Bloom gasped, trying not to limp and hurried on before he could ask any more questions.

It took a while but Bloom finally made it home after the long journey. The air had grown cold and both girls were stumbling over the uneven pavement in the darkness. She let herself into the house flicking on the hall light as she went, taking it that her parents were asleep from the silence in the house. She laid the weak girl down on the bed in the spare room, carefully pulled off her shoes and tucked her in under the covers. Bloom watched the girl for a long moment just to make sure she was alright but the girl just turned over and fell back asleep so Bloom made her way back to the kitchen to scarf down the dinner her mother had left out for her.

Now that she didn't have the Princess' unrelenting weight on her shoulder she could further analyse the strange scene that she had witnessed. One part of her was steadfastly refusing to believe that something supernatural had occurred at the park despite everything she'd seen and heard but for the rest of her, well it was getting harder and harder to ignore the inevitable.

Suddenly unbearably tired Bloom finished her dinner, cleared away the dishes and returned to her room, moving quietly through the house. She got dressed quickly into her pyjamas and stumbled towards her bed, retrieving one of her favourite books from her childhood from the shelf as she passed. It was coated in a thin layer of dust - a testament to how long it had been since she'd read it - which Bloom wiped away. Dropping onto her bed was a relief on her tired muscles and Bloom thumbed through the thick book on fairies, trying not to yawn.

Finally she found the page she was looking for; a detailed drawing of a fairy. It was hard not to draw parallels between the drawing on the page and the girl she'd met in the park. While the girl in the book had big, flimsy butterfly-like wings, bright with colour, Stella's had been smaller, transparent but glittering and much stronger-looking. And where Stella had been wearing simple aero-dynamic clothing that hadn't inhabited her movements or flight the fairy in the book wore long skirts and billowing tops and scarves that had to get in the way and flowers woven into her floor length hair.

In her exhausted state Bloom allowed herself to think, just for a second that Stella might just be the supernatural creature that she'd been denying all afternoon long. Bloom wanted to stay up and read more of her book but before long her eyelids were drooping and staying shut for longer and longer, and soon enough the book had slipped from her hand and she'd given in to the persuasive pull of sleep.

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Bloom woke to the clattering of her mother, Vanessa drawing the curtains open and letting the sunlight spill into the room. She yawned and stretched as Vanessa puttered about, tutting at the dirty laundry decorating the floor and the discarded plates and cups Bloom taken out to the kitchen yet. Bloom took in her surroundings sleepily and smiled; the dream she'd been having had been an odd but a good one, and so vivid.

"I had the strangest dream," she told Vanessa, who was frowning down at the book lying carelessly beside her daughter's bed. It was an old one that she hadn't seen Bloom read in years. Vanessa picked it up, closed it and set it carefully down on Bloom's desk.

"Oh?" she heard Vanessa respond. "Does it happen to have anything to do with the girl downstairs in the guest room?"

Bloom's eyes flew open and she jerked upright with a gasp. She'd been so sure it had been a strange dream she'd thought up in her unconscious but if Stella was still downstairs and yesterday had actually happened - Bloom checked her calendar to confirm, then…

She glanced at Vanessa with a sly smile. "I can explain?" she tried hopefully.

Vanessa arched a dark eyebrow and hummed, but there was a small smile playing around her mouth. "You'd better hope you can. Breakfast will be ready in ten," she said and left the room without another word.

Ten minutes later exactly, Bloom was hurrying down the stairs and after poking her head into the guest room to make sure Stella was still asleep, sliding into her place at the table. She started scooping scrambled eggs and rashers of bacon on her plate but paused when she felt two pairs of impatient eyes on her. She glanced up to find her parents looking at her expectantly.

"What?" she asked innocently, setting the pan of bacon back down.

Vanessa fought down a smile. "Bloom."

Bloom blinked. "Oh right, the girl." Bloom racked her brains. "Well you see… the thing is, I guess…." Finally she decided that the truth, or as close as she could get was the best way to go. "Ok, I met her yesterday in the park," Bloom said slowly.

"Oh jeez," Mike groaned while Vanessa looked scandalised and glanced down the hall towards the guest room.

"Bloom!"

"And she just looked really lost and had been through alot," Bloom continued hurriedly. "And I figured it was getting late so I'd let her crash here and work out what to do in the morning."

"Bloom!" Vanessa sighed again.

"What?" Bloom sighed back. "You're always telling me to think of my fellow neighbour and how I can help them."

"Not by inviting a stranger into our home without telling us," Mike sighed.

"I'm sorry ok," Bloom conceded. "But I didn't know what else to do and I couldn't just leave her there."

"It's alright, Bloom," Vanessa said after a moment, her eyes still on the hallway, though now they were soft and sympathetic. "Poor dear," she murmured. Then her eyes slid back to Bloom and they were stern once more. "When she wakes up I want to talk to her and ring her parents to make sure they know where she is." Bloom nodded, knowing better to argue. "And, you're getting the groceries this morning."

"Yes, Mum," Bloom replied meekly, knowing she'd gotten off easy.

Bloom rushed through the rest of her breakfast and ran from the house, wanting to get through the shopping as quickly as she could in case Stella woke up while she was gone and told her parents anything strange.

After a quick shop in the local supermarket, Bloom rode home slowly, careful of the bags hanging from her handlebars and Kiko in her basket. She glanced at her hands and frowned; she hadn't felt anything resembling the white hot energy of the day before and she didn't even know what to call that. Bloom sighed and pedalled on, eyes fixed firmly ahead.

She wasn't far from home when a nasally voice caught her attention. "Hey Bloom! Isn't it time to sell that two-wheeled relic to the junk pile?"

Bloom stiffened at the familiar voice and she slowly rolled to a stop, reluctantly glancing over her shoulder to see the sneering face of Mitzi Gaynor, leaning against a nearby fence. Mitzi and Bloom had never gotten along, mostly attributed to Mitzi's snobbish attitude and social ambition and Bloom's inability to care about her own social standing.

"There's nothing wrong with this bike," Bloom said tightly.

Mitzi pushed away from the wall and stalked towards her, looking uncannily like a tiger creeping towards it's prey. Mitzi faked a sympathetic look over her sunglasses. "Oh you poor girl. Of course, I don't mean poor as in not rich," she scoffed. "Not that you wouldn't think that with the way you dress," she continued with a sneer at Bloom's ratty jeans and well-worn converses.

Bloom's hands clenched into fists in anger but she refused to do anything stupid knowing it would just give Mitzi the satisfaction of seeing her snap. The teenager glanced over at her shoulder at two men lowering a shiny scooter onto the pavement outside Mitzi's house.

"Hey, careful with that!" she shrieked, striding off towards them and leaving Bloom without so much as a goodbye. "It's brand new, you know." The shrill tone of her voice made Bloom wince.

"Well, see you later Mitzi," Bloom said, forcing politeness and she took off on her bike before Mitzi could respond.

The ogre knew he was in trouble well before he stumbled into the misty clearing in the forest. He could heard other dark creatures prowling around nearby but that wasn't his concern. It was his mistresses that he really had to be wary of. He couldn't see them yet but that didn't necessarily mean they weren't there; sometimes he thought there was little they liked more than torturing him, aside from taking over the world that is. He waited an agonising five minutes before finally a voice spoke from the shadows.

"You seem to have failed us yet again, Knut." Her voice was a cold drawl but Knut knew that it was only the calm before the storm. Out of nowhere a sharp talon of a nail traced down his wide cheek, deceptively soft, though the woman's face remained in the shadows and it took all Knut had not to shrink back from the touch. Her next words were a harsh snarl, as expected, punctuated by those nails suddenly digging in. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I tried my best," he rasped, fighting the urge to jerk back from the pain. "I was so close this time, I swear."

Thankfully the nails withdrew and their owner prowled around him. "Really?" Knut wanted to shrink away from the voice but it was impossible to know where it was coming from know, she seemed to surround him.

"Then this human interrupted and- and I got distracted-"

"Did you just say human?" The tone was silky soft and oh so dangerous and, warning Knut to tread very carefully with his next words.

"Tell me he didn't," a second voice put in before Knut could explain and he shuddered, realising that all three of them were there.

"She wasn't an ordinary human. She had magic."

A third voice joined the conversation for the first time. "Knut, I understand that you barely have two brain cells to rub together but even you should know that humans don't have magic!" she said, ending in a screech that sent a nearby cluster of bats into the air in surprise.

"But she did I swear. She sent an energy blast that almost knocked me into another dimension."

The voices still didn't seem to believe him but they moved on regardless.

"Did you at least get a good look at her?" the first voice finally asked with a sigh.

Knut racked his brains trying to think in the blur of energy blasts and ghouls. "She had real pale skin," he said. "And bright red hair. And she was about sixteen years old."

"And you just described thousands of people on earth! How are we supposed to find her?!"

"Oh, I've already sorta started thinking of a plan," he grunted carefully, knowing that if they didn't like it they could make his life even more miserable than they already did. He pulled a piece of pant leg from his pocket and held it up or the three women to see. "One of my ghouls gabbed this. It's a piece of the human's pants and if we give it to a hunter troll, he'll be able to track her down."

There was a long pause as his three mistresses considered and Knut waited in nervous silence.

"Very well," the first voice finally said. "Go and find that meddling human and bring her and the sceptre back to us. And I swear, Knut, if you fail again…" She didn't finished the threat knowing that whatever Knut could imagine up in the silence would terrify him just as anything she could say would.

"Of course," he gasped. "Thank you, Mistresses." He bowed deeply before hurrying from the clearing.

The conversation when Stella - and she'd insisted on Stella and not Princess - finally woke up went just about how Bloom was expecting and was received just as well as she was expecting by her parents. She sighed and glanced out the window, watching the sun sink below the horizon while she tried to ignore the throbbing headache pounding at her temples. Stella had slept right through the day, neither Bloom nor her parents wanting to wake the obviously exhausted girl.

"So you've been asleep all day because you're a fairy and you were healing from a battle you had with an ogre in the park?" Mike was saying kindly, but Bloom could hear the concern and disbelief underneath. "Don't you think that's all a little tough to swallow, love?"

Stella blinked and frowned. "Not at all. Your daughter, sorry I never got your name, she was there and saw it all."

"It's Bloom," she supplied, all too aware of the three pairs of eyes burning into the sides of her face but her own eyes never left the window. "And I don't know what I saw. Whatever it was, it was just a trick or an act. It wasn't real." She was repeating the lines she'd been telling herself all day and when she finally looked over at Stella, there was disappointment in her brown eyes. Bloom flushed and looked back to the window.

Stella's voice wasn't angry when she spoke however, but surprisingly gentle. "I'm not sure why you would think that Bloom, considering you knocked that ogre back with a hell of an energy blast."

Vanessa and dad turned to her, mouths and eyes wide open and Bloom let out a hysterical laugh. "But that wasn't… magic isn't real," she finally said weakly but her resolve was crumbling and Stella could see it. "Fairies aren't real. And ogres definitely aren't real."

Stella smiled. "Well yeah, not here. But in the Magical Dimension? Fairies are just one of the magical beings that exist."

"I'm calling Dr. Silverman," Mike said suddenly, standing from the chair beside the bed and heading for the phone on the other side of the room. "Maybe he'll come on a house call and explain why the two of you are seeing things that aren't there."

Stella watched him go with narrowed eyes and before Bloom could protest and assure Mike that she wasn't seeing things, Stella pursed her lips and pointed a finger at the phone turning it into a carrot and a head of lettuce. All three Peters gaped while Stella smothered giggles. "Still think I'm out of my mind?"

"Ok," Mike said sounding shocked and he came to sit back by the bed. "Just say we believe you and agree that magic is real, and I'm still not… anyway just say we believe you. What on earth makes you think that Bloom of all people has magic?"

Stella smiled, but then out of nowhere she looked over the side of the bed at Bloom's feet. "How's your ankle?"

Bloom frowned. It hadn't bothered her at all during the day and to be honest she'd actually forgotten about the bite after she'd put a bandage on it the night before. She put her foot up on the edge of the bed and peeled away the bandage. "Alright, I think. I meant to ask you about that…" Bloom broke off as she finally caught sight of her bare ankle for the first time. The ripped skin had healed, the scabs had disappeared and all that was left to show there had been an injury at all was a faint bruise. Stella's finger touched it lightly, her skin feeling unnaturally warm before drawing away again.

"And I'll bet that will be gone by morning."

Bloom could only gape for a moment. "But last night, it was mess." She caught sight of her parent's expectant looks. "Something bit me yesterday and it looked like it would take weeks to heal completely but…" She touched the bruise again.

Stella shrugged. "It's the magic in your blood. You're a fairy Bloom. Look at me," she said gesturing to herself and for the first time Bloom realised that all the cuts and bruises that had littered Stella's skin the day before had miraculously disappeared. "You won't heal anything major right away, not without a spell anyway, but a good night's sleep will heal most minor stuff."

Vanessa let out a sudden gasp that caught the entire room's attention. It was the first noise Bloom had heard from her in ages. "When Bloom was ten she broke her arm and it healed in two weeks, when it should have taken at least four. But the doctor said the break just wasn't as bad as they'd thought."

Stella shook her head. "Humans will rationalise anything."

"So how did you end up on Earth, honey?" Vanessa asked.

Mike looked shocked. "Vanessa! You're not saying you believe this, are you?"

"Mike, how can we not. You've seen and heard everything. What other explanation is there?"

Mike looked tired and rubbed at his eyes. "I guess. Why don't you start from the beginning."

"Well, I was coming from my kingdom of Solaria and heading to my school, Alfea on Magix, because orientation is tomorrow when this ogre attacked me out of nowhere. So I teleported out of there and I wasn't really concentrating which is how I ended up on Earth but the ogre had followed me. I would probably be long gone if Bloom hadn't found me."

"Maybe we should call your parents now? Let them know you're alright?" Vanessa suggested.

Stella laughed not unkindly. "I'm afraid that's easier said than done. Unless you have an interdimensional phone which I'm guessing you don't and I left mine in my bag at Alfea so no way to contact them. But, it's fine," she added quickly. "My parents think I'm safe at Alfea and Alfea isn't expecting me until tomorrow. Hey," Stella continued, eyes lighting up. "I just thought of a brilliant idea. You should totally think about coming to Alfea with me. It's the best school in the entire dimension and you're easily good enough to get in."

Bloom blinked. She'd gone from being a normal girl who'd gone through a strange encounter, to being a fairy with magical powers, to being invited to a boarding school in a whole other dimension that she hadn't known existed in the space of about ten minutes. Luckily Mike, who Bloom could see was nearing the end of his rope came to her rescue.

"Hold up, we're not just going to send our daughter off to a school we know nothing about in a whole other dimension just like that. This is- Vanessa? Bloom, I think me and your mum should talk about this for a bit alone. Why don't you guys head up to Bloom's room while we talk about all this."

Stella seemed to get that there was no use pushing him further and Bloom was still in shock so they left the guest room without an argument and headed upstairs while Mike and Vanessa reconvened in the kitchen. None of them knew however that trouble was brewing on the other side of town where Knut the ogre had just reappeared back up by a small army of ghouls and a hunter troll that would have no trouble tracking them down.

"So how do you think I ended up here if I'm supposedly magic?" Bloom wanted to know as they ascended the stairs.

Stella shrugged. "I've never heard of it happening before but it could be any number of ways. One of your ancestors could have had magic and it skipped your parents but appeared in you."

"But I'm adopted."

Stella looked at her with wide eyes. "Even better. Do you know anything about them." Bloom just shook her head and Stella shrugged again. "Your biological parents could have been magic but something happened or they got into some trouble and they had to give you up. I'm really not sure. Sorry Bloom"

Bloom waved away her apologies and they continued up, her mind spinning with possibilities. As they reached her room Bloom couldn't help but worry about the mess she knew she'd left her room in. She also knew her room, although decently sized mustn't compare to what a Princess what used to. She entered casting a partly fond and partly embarrassed glance over the peach coloured walls and white furniture; she had two desks, one that held her computer and sat against one wall and another, her drawing desk was tilted to its precise angle and overflowed with sketches and drawings, pens and pencils, and sat underneath the window on another wall. Dirty laundry and balled up drawing attempts littered the carpet and her stereo was heaped with CD cases. Bloom spotted a nearby bra she'd left on the floor and quickly kicked it under her bed before Stella could notice.

Her worried turned out to be unfounded however because Stella took one look around the room and broke into a smile. "Awesome room, Bloom. You really should consider taking it to Alfea with you," she said, walking over to Bloom's bed to inspect the bookshelves set into the wall above it. "A quick packing spell and most of this will fit into a handbag."

"If I even go to Alfea," Bloom said softly, more to herself than her new friend. She went to sit on the bed and Stella joined her.

"What's holding you back?"

Again Bloom felt a hysterical laugh bubble up from the pit of her stomach. "Aside from the fact my parents probably won't let me, I found out I was a fairy five minutes ago, a fact I can still hardly believe, and I have absolutely no control over my powers?"

Stella grinned as if to say is that all? "A). Even if they say no, you just can't take no for an answer, b). You better start believing it sister because you've got magic and c). That's why you're going to Alfea, to learn how to control your powers."

This time when Stella smiled it was like she was saying what else you got? But Bloom didn't bother to point how far behind she was going to be.

Instead she said, "What will happen to the ogre? It could still be out there."

Stella considered the question. "Technically Earth is no one realm's responsibility but if I report if at Magix they might send someone to take care of it. Odds are though the ogre's not even still on Earth. They don't enjoy it much here."

Bloom's head spun trying to understand it all. "Ok so what's the deal with all this realm stuff. And how are they different from planets? And how are ogres and things like that just allowed to walk around wherever they like."

Stella crossed her legs swiftly and turned completely to face Bloom. "Ok, this is probably going to be really confusing but I'll try my best and just let me know if you need me to slow down or explain anything."

Bloom similarly faced her and made sure she was listening.

"Ok, so as you know there is a magical dimension and a non-magic dimension and with the use of magic or magical technology you can move between them. Where in the non-magic dimension there is several planets but only one has human life, nearly all our planets can and do sustain life. Now some planets belong to just one people but others are split up which is why we use both the word 'planet' and 'realm'."

Bloom rubbed at her temples, already feeling the headache from before returning. "Ok so let me get this straight. A planet can have just one realm but not necessarily."

Stella grinned. "Exactly. Soon enough no one will be able to tell you weren't born in the magical dimension." Bloom couldn't help but smile back at that. "Ok, what else do you want to know?"

"Realms, who runs them?"

"Royal families, governments, or a mixture," Stella responded. "So some planets are ruled purely by their royal families. Then there are others like the planet Magix, that's the planet at the centre of the dimension by the way, that are run by a government full of representatives voted in by the people. Then there are others like my planet, Solaria where the royal family - that's me - rule the realm but we also work alongside representatives voted in by the people." Stella took a deep breath. "Understand?"

"Yep. Are fairies like the main… species or are there other things. Tell me everything."

Stella laughed. "That would be like me asking you to name every single animal on Earth but I'll try my best. So I guess the main four species ar fairies, witches, wizards and heroes. But then you also have-"

"Hang on, hold up," Bloom said holding up her hands. "Heroes?" The other three species sounded pretty self-explanatory but Bloom found herself confused by the generic term.

"Right, sorry. So heroes are usually born to fairies and other heroes and basically are considered magical beings but they don't possess the actual ability to use magic. Instead they're predisposed to certain traits like strength, intelligence, tactical thinking, control over magical beasts, that sort of thing so a lot of them go to these schools where they train to be specialists. There's actually a school for specialists right near us, Red Fountain and the boys there are so hot. All cute and muscly with ridiculous abs."

Bloom smothered a laugh at the longing in Stella's voice and tried to concentrate. "And what, do they all join their realm's army or something?"

"They can. But they can also be guards in the palace, work to protect their home realms or planets and sometimes they work in the government, it doesn't really restrict them that much hell, the King of Eraklyon is a hero."

"Wow. Ok so you also mentioned witches?"

"Right, witches. You could say they're like the opposite to fairies although I guess that's an unfair generalisation. Obviously there are bad fairies and specialists, and wizards tend to be a mixed bag and there are probably some alright witches out there but just like fairies are predisposed to doing good and specialists are predisposed to being protectors, witches are predisposed to evil and mischief. Their ancestors are fae - very different to fairies, always remember that - who are always getting into mischief so witches are like that but to the extreme."

"So they're evil but they're allowed to walk around doing bad things?" Bloom could hear the incredulity in her voice and apparently so could Stella because her lips twisted as she tried to explain.

"Yeah, it's complicated. Look each realm has their own laws but generally it's like this. Witches can do as they want to a certain extent, if we went around locking witches up every time they did something bad our prison system would be ridiculous. So as long as they don't kill anyone or try to take over the planet rulers generally leave them be.

"Plus they're a pretty isolated species. Most of the witch population are concentrated on their own planets. There are very few planets that have a mix of all four major species, Magix being one of them."

"Oh my god my brain," Bloom cried, only half joking as she clutched at her head.

"I know darling," Stella smiled, patting Bloom on the back. "And that's not even getting into the nitty gritty of the smaller species like ogres, and nymphs, and-"

"No, stop," Bloom laughed, flopping over and covering her ears.

Stella laughed, high and loud like twinkling bells. "Alright, I don't want to overwhelm you so one more question."

Bloom sat up swiftly, already knowing what she wanted to ask. "Powers," she said, and Stella's face relaxed in understanding, already nodding. "I noticed that all your sp- spells? Yeah, well they all seemed to revolve around the sun but mine felt like this white hot energy when I shot that ener- energy blast?"

"Look at you picking up the lingo! Anyway, yeah, your powers are made up of the essence of your realm and I come from Solaria which is the realm of the Sun and the Moon which is why all my magic is based on that. It's also why I'm always tanned and my skin's warm." Stella laughed but something had just occurred to Bloom.

"Wait if you're powers reflect where you're from can't you tell me-"

But Stella was already shaking her head apologetically. "Sorry, Bloom. But fire's not that uncommon and there's literally hundreds of planets. Really your power could come from Solaria or half a dozen other realms right off the top of my head. Sorry," she said again seeing the disappointment on Bloom's face.

Bloom smiled weakly and shook her head, feeling stupid at the disappointment rushing through her. A warm hand settled over hers and squeezed lightly.

"Hey," Stella said gently and Bloom blinked over at her. "We'll figure it out when we get to Alfea, I promise."

Bloom sighed and leaned over to rest her head on Stella's shoulder. "And if my parents don't let me go to another realm for school? Because let's face it, they'd have to be crazy to let me."

Stella was silent for a long moment. "Dimension," she finally said quietly.

Bloom sat back upright with a frown. "Huh?"

"Alfea's in another dimension."

It had the desired effect and Bloom couldn't contain her giggles and after a moment they were both rolling about Bloom's laughing. Eventually they caught their breath, both lying on their backs and staring up at the ceiling. After a moment Bloom lifted her hands above her and just stared at them as though she was waiting for them to do something extraordinary.

"And if I get there and it's all been a big mistake?"

Stella scoffed. "Power like that is no mistake."

"You keep saying that but I don't get what was so extraordinary about it. You were doing fine-"

"Exactly, I was doing fine," Stella said an odd tone to her voice. She sat up and stared across the room and after a moment Bloom also sat up. "I've been training with my powers since I was two years old and yeah I'm pretty powerful but even I've never done anything close to what you did yesterday." Bloom was quiet and Stella slid from the bed to wander absently about the room. "Honestly they're probably just rusty from not being used." Stella approached her desk and her fingers skimmed over the cover of her fairy book.

Hating the serious direction their conversation had gone in Bloom decided to change the subject. "So are real fairies like the one's in that book?" It was hard not to snort at the paradox 'real fairies'.

Stella picked up the book and turned to sit on the edge of the desk, flicking through the pages lazily. After a moment she made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat. "Books like this give fairies a bad name," she muttered.

Bloom made a surprised noise and Stella glanced up.

"It's just they see the cutsy outfits and think we're a joke." She flipped through more pages and abruptly let out a chuckle and Bloom just knew she was looking at the picture of the fairy covered in flowers. Stella turned the book so Bloom could see and tapped a manicured nail on the page. "Only hippies dress like this."

They shared another laugh but Bloom's smile faded as she went back to staring at her hands.

"I think you need a bit of inspiration," Stella declared and pushed away from the desk. Bloom raised an eyebrow but didn't object. "Wanna go see Alfea for real?"

"But my parents…"

Stella waved a hand, unconcerned. "Don't worry, we won't stay long."

Bloom shrugged and rolled off the bed. "I'm game. But how do we get there?"

Stella grinned wide and mischievous before plucking an elegant ring from her finger and toying with it for a second. Still grinning, Stella held Bloom's gaze as the ring transformed in her hand; the band unrolled and lengthened and the circle set into the centre of the ring grew until the entire thing became a familiar looking sceptre.

Bloom managed not to gape this time and merely raised her eyebrows. "Neat trick."

Stella snorted but didn't say anything as she spun her sceptre a few times and then they were flying. Bloom's room melted away and for a moment there was only colour around them. Bloom's feet slammed into something solid and she might have buckled if it wasn't for the sudden arm looping around her waist. She wobbled for a moment as her blurry surroundings slowly sharpened and Stella's face swam into few.

"You good?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"You did well, considering it was your first time. Most people vomit."

"I wonder why," Bloom said faintly.

Stella smiled but was looking at her expectantly and when Bloom looked around, she understood what Stella had been waiting for.

Wow. She didn't say the words, couldn't quite manage it but her lips framed each letter. Because standing just a little way aways was the Alfea school in all it's majestic glory. It's structure was distinctly castle-like with it's towers and turrets rather than the typical high school. The entire was thing was made of sandstone with the barest pink tinge and with it's glass features it made quite the spectacle glittering in the late afternoon sun.

Stella caught her look and nodded knowingly. "It's very beautiful, isn't it?"

"So why come to a school that's out of your realm?"

"Well, it's the best in the entire dimension," Stella explained as they wandered closer. "So only the best from all over are accepted here to perfect their powers. Some Princess choose to come here, but mostly it's regular fairies, a couple of pixies and even gwyllions. Just across the enchanted forest is the Red Fountain School for Heroics and Bravery. But on the down side we're just down the lagoon from the creepiest place you'll ever go: the Cloud Tower School for Witches."

"This is such a big decision," Bloom said quietly, more to herself than anything. She glanced at Stella, a small smile on her face. "My parents are really going to miss me."

Stella's smile was brighter than the sun. "Does that mean what I think it means?" she asked hopefully before flinging herself at Bloom when her new friend nodded. "That's good because to help you make your decision I invited a couple of the Red Fountain boys over but now they can just help us celebrate," Stella said slyly, slipping a phone back into the pocket of her skirt.

"My parent will just love that. Besides I still need to convince them to let their only daughter go off with a girl they've known one day," she reminded Stella who just waved a hand like that would be the easiest thing.

"I am very responsible. We'd better get back though, they'll be here soon."

"What?" Bloom yelped, looking down at her plain jeans and t-shirt.

"You look great," Stella assured her before summoning her sceptre and sending them back into the other dimension.

Despite Stella's assurances the second their feet touched back down in Bloom's room, she was heading over to her wardrobe to change.

"I like this look," Stella said, lounging on her bed again and watching her feverishly go through her drawers. Bloom made a face as she looked at herself in the mirror, old Led Zeppelin concert shirt that she thought might have been Vanessa's back when she'd first been dating Mike and a pair of jeans so ripped and frayed that they showed almost as much skin as they covered. "It's like rocker chick chic," Stella continued as Bloom held up a top before chucking it aside. "Although I would love to see what you could do in a mini-skirt."

Bloom fought the urge to shudder at the idea of herself in a mini-skirt and all those miles of skin she usually liked to keep covered and glanced over her shoulder. "Do you always dress like that because you're going to give me a complex."

Stella smiled slightly and smoothed a hand down the orange fabric covering her thighs. She was wearing her outfit from yesterday and looked just as fabulous. Bloom felt a little ratty beside her.

"No, this is a little dressed up even for me. But you know first day back, had to make an impression. Who is Led Zeppelin, by the way?"

"A band?" Bloom said. "You've never been blessed with the sounds of Led Zeppelin?"

Stella shook her head and opened her mouth but before she could get a word out there was an almighty crash from downstairs. Stella sat upright and Bloom stepped away from her wardrobe, worry mirrored on each other's face.

"What was that?" Bloom whispered, feeling stupid for how spooked she was.

"I don't-" Stella was cut off by a wall-shuddering roar from downstairs.

Comprehension dawned on her face and the girls were up and moving towards the door in an instant. They slowed on the stairs at Stella's insistence and crept downstairs to find a trashed living room, two cowering parents, a familiar ogre and unfamiliar troll surrounded by ghouls. The ogre was yelling furiously at Bloom's terrified parents and hadn't noticed that they'd arrived.

"I thought you said the ogre would have gone back by now?" Bloom breathed.

"Looks like this one's holding a grudge," she said and Bloom noticed she'd summoned her sceptre. Stella's eye narrowed as she took in the hulking figure beside the ogre. "Hunter troll," she spat. "The ogre must have given it our scent and tracked us."

If Bloom had thought the ogre was ugly she was sorely mistaken because his new companion was bright blue, even taller, with a face that looked as though it had come into contact with a brick wall recently with scraggly black hair.

"Tell us where the girls are or you're done" the ogre suddenly bellowed.

"Turn around, sunshine," Stella suddenly called surprising not only the ogre and troll but also Bloom.

"It's them," the ogre rasped, fixing it's beady little eyes on them.

"I guess someone didn't learn their lesson."

Bloom wished she shared Stella's confidence as her friend transformed in front of her, glamorous clothing disappearing and replaced by the same shorts and top she'd worn the day before. A pair of wings sprouted from her back. She jumped from the steps and fluttered towards the troll and kicked him square in the face, before he could even blink.

The ogre grunted in annoyance as he watched the troll stumble backwards and roared a command at him. The troll snarled right back at Stella who didn't even flinch back.

"You mad, big guy?" she taunted, flying back just out of reach. "Why don't you do something about it, tall, blue, and gruesome."

Bloom stumbled down the steps and even though she was shaking, she took her place beside Stella.

"I'll take these two uglies," Stella said, eyes on the ogre and the troll. Her voice was tight and controlled. "You take care of the ghouls."

Bloom wanted to protest, wondering how on earth she was supposed to do that with no powers but she couldn't very well let Stella deal with all of them so she nodded shakily and stumbled back a step just as Stella flew forward. She continued backing away towards where her parents were still cowering in the corner.

"Promise me something," she started, keeping her eyes on the ghouls that seemed to have multiplied.

"Darling…" Vanessa began.

"Promise me you'll go into the other room and stay in there until me or Stella comes and gets you."

"There's no way, we're letting you out there on your own."

"I'll only be distracted if you stay in here."

Mike remained silent, unwilling to let his only daughter run out into danger, but Vanessa recognised the stubborn glint in her eyes and knew that there wasn't anything she could say to change her mind. She slipped her hand around Mike's and pulled him from the room, slipping quietly around the battling trio in the centre.

Now that her parents were out of harm's way she could fully concentrate on the ghouls. The best way she knew to deal with them was to run out the back where she would have more room to fight and she wouldn't have to worry about the troll and ogre.

"Alright, little ghoulies, come and get me." Bloom took off at a run, darting around the troll and heading out the door.

The ogre followed her progress before turning a nasty smile on Stella. "You don't stand a chance now that you're friend's gone."

Stella couldn't control the laugh that bubbled up. She threw her head back and let it out. "Bring it on. I'm gonna whip your ass and not even muss my hair." She punctuated her words with a toss of her golden pigtails.

Outside, Bloom was slowly leading the ghouls further and further away from the house as a strange blast was heard from the inside of the house. Bloom could only quickly pray that Stella was alright before the ghouls were advancing on her. Before Bloom could decide what to do however, the ogre was blasted out the back door by Stella and landed on their congregated group, squishing them into the concrete.

Bloom laughed in relief. "Good one, Stella."

Her triumph was short-lived however because the next moment, Stella was thrown through the back window, breaking the glass as she went. She grunted in pain, remaining on the ground as the hunter troll shouldered his way from the house, breaking the door frame even more as he went. Bloom dropped to her knees beside Stella touching her shoulder gently to see if she was okay. Stella sat up quickly, brushing the glass from her skin as she went and didn't seem to mind the bits still embedded, her attention was fixed on something she saw over Bloom's shoulder. She spun around and looked up and up to see the glaring face of the troll above her, looking ready to attack.

The scowling troll took an alarming step towards them, sending the girls scuttling backwards on their butts.

"Shit, what do we do?" Bloom asked and Stella gaped up at the menacing creature in response. A sudden shadow fell over them and a voice spoke from behind the troll.

"Hey Princess Stella, I hope your friend is the pretty one with the red hair." The only recognisable thing about the voice was that it was male. As it spoke, a black cord came flying out of nowhere and wrapped itself around the troll, trapping it's hand to its sides. Bloom pursed her lips in mild irritation at being called pretty by a stranger. She was not the type of girl to swoon for a guy just because he paid her a cheap compliment. Nonetheless she was relieved backup had arrived.

"Yeah, and not this ugly guy at the end of the leash," another voice chimed in.

The girls peered around the struggling troll to see four guys dressed in identical uniforms and each wielding some type of weapon. Stella relaxed at the sight of them, the breath she had been holding in expelling in one loud gush. These were obviously the guys she had invited over from the Red Fountain school. Bloom looked at them all again; it was strange that they were all very different but still had the same sense of strength and power resonating off them.

The only blonde in the group, was holding a transparent blue longsword and shield spoke again. "I suggest a three-pronged rescue op." Bloom easily identified him as the first speaker and narrowed her eyes at him, regarding him curiously. There was feverish kind of energy about him, almost as though the rush of battle was what he lived for.

The guy beside him, now easily identifiable as the second speaker, had hair so black that it had a purple tinge to it. He was the one who was holding the whip which had a purple handle and a small dagger with the same colour blade in his other hand. He snorted at the blonde's words and smirked arrogantly, "Forget that, I've got this wrapped up all by myself."

A brunette beside him looked bored; he was hunched over the grip of his broadsword which was balancing on the concrete of the courtyard, watching the struggling troll with the barest trace of interest.

Bloom realised each of their weapons was made with the same kind of material that was transparent but glowed slightly at the same time.

"Dude," the brunette sighed. "One summer at a swashbuckler camp doesn't mean you're ready to go solo on a troll." As soon as he finished speaking, the ogre gave an almighty jerk which yanked the guy off his feet and sent him flying across the yard, landing with a loud grunt between Bloom and Stella. The brunette sighed. "I rest my case."

The hunter troll, zeroing in it's newest threat lumbered towards the guys. The blonde immediately took charge and moved forward to meet the troll halfway.

"Get behind me," he ordered. The group shifted slightly so he was ahead and he raised his shield. The troll's fists came crashing down over and over again with extreme force, but both the shield and the blonde held strong and refused to break. "Hey guys, what did we learn about battling trolls?" he asked casually, as though he wasn't holding back an enormous troll with just a shield and his own strength.

"Well…" the brunette said and leapt into action, jumping in the air and raising his sword. It stunned Bloom that he could seem so disinterested one second and right in the thick of the fight the next. He landed lightly, bringing his sword down to connect with the concrete with an almighty slam. The blonde finally could jump out of the way of the crashing fists.

"Smash 'em I think," the brunette commented. A green flare shot up from where the blade had connected and shot between the Troll's legs causing a crack to appear in the courtyard.

"No Sky," a guy with glasses who had been silent so far corrected his brunette friend. "You take out their feet." He withdrew a gun and shot it three times. Bright yellow darts shot from the end and zoomed towards the troll, attacking its feet causing it to fall backwards and into the fissure created in the ground. "Alright," he grinned down at the incapacitated troll.

"Good thing you aced how to battle forest creatures Timmy."

"Ghoul alert," the brunette - Sky - noted, flicking his fringe from his eyes.

The guy with black hair who had landed with the girls, growled under his breath as the troll was taken out, hating that he had been involved. "Stay here. This won't take long," he ordered the girls. He stood and produced a purple sword from seemingly nowhere. With two purple flashes two ghouls were taken out, but a third jumped on his back before he could slice it. He grabbed it and flung it off of him but the distraction had allowed the ogre to sneak up behind him and knock him out.

The other guys were still preoccupied with the hunter troll who didn't seem to ready to stop fighting yet either. The ogre moved closer to the unconscious guy and Bloom despite not quite used to her powers couldn't sit there and do nothing.

"Leave him alone." Her yell gained his attention and he turned towards them just in time to see both Bloom and Stella - who had basically read Bloom's mind - raise their hands to blast him.

"Nice shot there, Bloom."

"I don't know how it happened." Bloom would have liked to analyse the white hot flash of energy that seemed to have come from pure desperation but there was no time with the battle still raging around them.

"How many times do I have to tell you? You've got magic." Stella sang the last part as though they weren't in the middle of a battle. The ogre got back to his feet with a growl and about to turn back to the girls but the black haired guy was back on his feet catching his attention.

"Back off shorty," the ogre grunted.

The guy didn't respond but wiped a smear of blood from his cheek. Stella intercepted the conversation before they could start fighting again, recognising that no-one was strong enough to survive another attack. "You're the one who's gonna back off ogre, or I'm gonna put my Stinkus-Removus spell on you and you're gonna end up smelling like you just took a bath," she threatened. To Bloom's surprise, the ogre grunted in alarm and immediately backed off. He surveyed the entire group all looking ready to fight again with their weapons drawn. He clapped three times and disappeared in a ray of violet light. "I knew that would scare him," Stella giggled.

"Eugh," Bloom admitted, eyeing the space where the ogre had been standing. She followed Stella over to the guys who were slowly lowering their weapons.

"Bloom, these are the Red Fountain guys I was telling you about."

The guys waved a greeting.

"Meet Riven…" Stella pointed to the arrogant guy with black hair, who merely scowled back.

"... Prince Sky…"

"Hey," Sky, the brunette grinned.

"...Timmy…" She indicated the a guy with glasses and auburn hair.

"Nice to meet you," Timmy said with a wave.

"... And Brandon." The blonde, Brandon tucked away his blade and shield into his belt.

"How ya doin'?" He said with a smile. Bloom merely smiled in response to all their greetings and waved.

The hunter troll's head popped up from the hole made in the concrete. Timmy reached down with an electrified collar and clipped in round his neck before he could move any further.

"Not so fast, big guy. You're coming with us," Brandon said, tugging at the collar until he stood beside them.

"Yeah, you've done enough damage for one day."

"Where are you guys gonna taking him?" Bloom asked..

"We'll take him to Red Fountain. He'll likely be sent to a creature preserve," Riven said.

"Sorry we can't stay longer Stella," Sky grinned and the other guys reluctantly agreed, making their way to the troll where Timmy was using a gadget to set up a portal.

"All good," Stella said with a wave. "I'll catch up with you guys when term starts. Thanks for the help with the ogre"

Sky shot a grin over his shoulder at the two girls. "So long."

"Bye," Timmy called. The boys one by one entered the portal and pulled the troll along with them. At the last moment Brandon turned back to say one last thing.

"I hope I see you at Alfea, Bloom."

Before Bloom could even work out what to say he had vanished through the portal and Bloom felt the unfamiliar feeling of a blush heat her cheeks. She moved back to the house trying to ignore the grin she could basically hear coming from Stella.

"So how did you meet those guys?" Bloom asked, if only to stop her commenting on Brandon's final words.

"Well, I met them at the Alfea - Red Fountain mixer last year. We were all in our first year. Except for Riven, he wasn't their friend last year so I don't know what happened there."

A horrible thought dawned on Bloom. "Hold on, if you started Alfea last year won't that mean you'll be in the grade ahead of me?" Starting a whole new school would be daunting enough for Bloom considering she'd been going to school with the same people since first grade but add in the magic, doing it without Stella by her side was not something she thought she could handle.

Stella blushed a little but shook her head. "Actually no. Yes I started Alfea last year but I'm being held back due to some, let's say behavioural issues." She laughed at the look on Bloom's face. "I think they blew it way out of proportion but yeah. Dad was not pleased. Also, Red Fountain is four years while Alfea is just three so we're all technically in the same year. They say they need the extra year to develop or whatever but I just think guys can't do it all in three years like we can."

Bloom huffed a sigh of relief while Stella slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Calmed down now?"

"Yeah," Bloom smiled.

"Alright, then let's go find your 'rents, they're probably freaking out now."

---

The next day started early with a cleanup of the house. All four current inhabitants reported down not long after sunrise to start on the destruction that the troll made. They started on the living room first which had been just about completely obliterated by Stella's fight last night. Mike was wielding a broom and sweeping up the sea broken glass from the window.

"I'm just glad this is all over," he sighed looking over to his wife who was clearing away debris on the other side of the room.

Bloom looked up from where she was salvaging pieces of furniture that weren't totally wrecked. She opened her mouth to speak, maybe try and apologise yet again about the troll like she had been doing since the Red Fountain guys left, all of which had been brushed aside by her parents who had insisted it wasn't her fault but Stella interrupted from her spot beside Bloom.

"Hey, why don't you let me whip this place into shape with a little magic?"

Mike laughed dryly. "I think I've had enough magic for a while."

Bloom sighed. Her parents still hadn't told her what they thought about Alfea and at the rate they were going it wasn't going to get talked about until Christmas. After the fight last night she was practically itching to start developing her powers hating how out of control she'd felt the night before. Stella detected her irritation and took charge.

"I promise, this is perfectly safe."

Mike eyed her carefully, obviously trying to decide whether to believe her or not. Stella was dressed yet again in her long skirt and midriff that she'd refreshed this morning with a little spell and she fluttered her eyelashes at him innocently. Finally Mike sighed out an agreement, his eyes casting heavenward as if asking for guidance.

Stella grinned her megawatt grin and raised her hands calling out, "Revertus-originales," in a commanding voice. The room immediately jumped to obey, the furniture scooting around until they found their positions from before the fight, broken glass from mirrors and windows zoomed through the air and sealed themselves together in the frames and extra debris and dust just simply disappeared.

While the final cracks and dents repaired themselves, Mike and Vanessa nodded at their daughter, gesturing that they leave Stella to her cleaning while they talked in the kitchen. Bloom followed them without an argument and the trio sat at the table. Bloom had no idea what they were going to say, but either way she knew she had to get something out first.

"I don't know what you guys are thinking about all this but… you always tell me whenever I ask about my biological parents that they don't make who I am today."

"Bloom-"

"Please, I need to get this out. You always say, they don't determine who I am and that can only come from me. And you're right. Only I can know truly who I am. But that involves following whatever this is because it's a part of me now. I need you to let me go to Alfea."

Mike and Vanessa exchanged a long look.

"We…" Mike cleared his throat. "We've already decided to let you go."

"Oh. Awesome."

"But with some conditions," he continued hurriedly. "You're to call us every night, at least at first," he added quickly when it looked like Bloom was going to protest. "And we want to know what you're up to and any problems as soon as they happen, alright?"

Bloom could agree to that. They returned to the living room where everything looked perfect again and Bloom reached around the open doorway for the suitcase she had stashed there. Her and Stella had spent most of last night packing instead of sleeping, using a mixture of magic and human tricks to cram most of Bloom's room into the average sized suitcase.

"So are we ready to go?" Mike caught a glimpse of the suitcase and gulped; apparently agreeing to let his only daughter move into a boarding school and actually seeing her do it were two different things. Bloom scooped up Kiko who was wandering around her feet. There was no way she was going to let the little bunny get left behind.

"Alright Stella how do we get there?"

"Don't worry Mr P. my sceptre can handle a little trans-dimensional puddle jump like this."

At her words she pulled her ring from her finger and it transformed into her magic sceptre. She twirled it once and without any warning they were teleporting. There was a disorientating feeling of moving a very large distance in a very short time and then their feet connected with something hard. When Bloom chanced opening her eyes, she found herself in the same patch of woods they had landed in the day before.

When she looked over at her parents she saw that also hadn't seemed to enjoy the ride, both looking very pale and a little shaky.

"Don't worry," Stella said breezily. "You get used to it." Mike looked like he was restraining himself from commenting on how he never wanted to travel between dimensions again.

Instead he cast his gaze over the Alfea castle, whistling lightly at the sight. "Wow. This place is pretty amazing," Mike conceded, looking up at the majestic buildings.

Bloom and Stella shared hopeful smiles.

"Come on." Stella jerked her head and lead the group towards the school. Bloom hesitated for a moment, knowing that she was standing on a precipice of change in her life and that once she made this step nothing would ever be the same again. With a small smile she followed Stella into her new life, ready to embrace it.

---

Well there you go, first chapter done. I hoped you enjoyed it and make sure to leave a kudos and a comment. See you next time xx