The Darker Side of the Flame
A Winx Club Season One Rewrite
Author's Note: Welcome to The Darker Side of the Flame, a Winx Club rewrite that goes over the first season. Before you begin, I'd like to tell you a bit about this project. I am attempting to combine all four canons together, without leaving anything important out or changing the events themselves- plus, I want to put an emphasis on how dark this show can really be. Hey, I mean, it's not Madoka Magica, but there's some pretty scary stuff.
So, if you're looking for something else like Fly or Fall or The Dragon and the Demon, I invite you to head to my profile and pick another story. If you just want to read Winx Club the way I would have written it, you are in the right spot! Enjoy, and please review if you do!
Chapter One: A Fairy From Gardenia
Bloom Anessa Peters rolled over in her sleep, clutching her blankets tight and chewing on her tongue- something she always did when she had nightmares. Her eyes were squeezed tightly closed. Suddenly, her frown turned into a smile... no. A grimace.
Vanessa Peters looked upon her only child in concern. Bloom had been having a lot of bad dreams recently. At first, she had thought it was due to the bullying at Gardenia High School, but now Bloom had graduated- two years early, in fact, at age sixteen. The redheaded teenager was brilliant, excelling at English and Social Studies especially, not to mention a talented artist as well. Her room was littered with books and sketches, her desk was messy and yet organized, with pens left open and sorted by color, and a few books stacked neatly, with post-it notes marking various places. Like the geniuses of lore, Bloom was disorganized and bright, intelligent and... well, maybe a little eccentric.
There were a few things about Bloom that Vanessa was concerned about. The bullying was one, of course, though she hoped it would get better when Bloom headed to UC Sunnydale in the autumn, hoped Bloom would flourish in a college environment even if it wasn't her first choice school (that honor went to Heatherfield University, in Washington. Mike, Vanessa's husband and Bloom's father, had deemed the school too far away for her to attend as a minor). The second was her attitude. Bloom forgot she was still a child, quite often in fact. Of course, as a high school graduate, this was to be expected, but it was hard to care for a child who didn't feel she needed to be cared for. Vanessa could almost hear Bloom's mental chanting. "Two and a half months until I get away, until I go to college." It hurt. That segued directly into the last thing- Bloom was still a child, not just physically, but a little bit mentally as well. She complained about chores, wished she was grown, read books about fairies, talked to her pet rabbit Kiko.
Vanessa and Mike had talked greatly about Bloom's situation, being stuck between childhood and adulthood like she was, and they had decided that she needed these two extra years to grow up. It couldn't hurt, after all, only help. She could transfer schools when she was eighteen, and take responsibility for her own chores, and be her own person. But for now, she just wasn't ready.
Bloom rolled over again, and Vanessa decided to wake her daughter up. She crept quietly over to the twin bed that had been crammed between two crowded bookshelves and gently shook her daughter. "Bloom, honey, time to get up."
Bloom opened one eye groggily, then shut it, mumbling something incoherent.
"You're gonna be late for school," Vanessa said with a half-grin.
Bloom's eyes flew open this time, and she sat straight up. "Oh no! School!" She glanced at her alarm clock. Ten AM. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? Why didn't my alarm go off?" She raced into the bathroom and quickly washed her face and sprayed about a gallon of detangler into her hair, running a brush through it. She almost tore her pajamas off, replacing them with jeans and a blue and yellow tee shirt before rushing back to her bed to put her shoes on. She had almost gotten there when she paused. "Wait a minute."
Vanessa suppressed a smile.
Bloom turned to look at her mother accusingly. "There isn't any school! It's summer vacation!" She paused. "And come to think of it, I've graduated. Not funny, Mom!"
"I thought it was funny."
"I'm going back to bed." The redhead climbed back into bed, shut her blue eyes tight, and pulled the covers up as far as they could reach.
"Bloom, how late were you up last night?"
Bloom rolled over. "I lost track."
"Why were you up so late?"
"I was reading."
Vanessa picked up the book right next to Bloom's bed. It looked like it had slipped off in the middle of the night, laying sprawled open to a random dog-eared page. Vanessa closed the book and read the title aloud. "Fairies: Myth or Reality?" She raised one eyebrow. "Pretty silly stuff, Bloom."
"It is not silly!" Bloom protested. She sat up again, prepared to argue her favorite topic. "Do you know how many undiscovered species there are estimated to be on Earth? And when we think about how it is nearly impossible that no other planet in the universe holds life, doesn't it make sense that some form of existence that we could define as fairy, faerie, or fae actually exists? Especially when you consider all the sightings, all the legends and myths. People couldn't just pull those out of their brains, not when it is so universal over so many different cultures!"
Vanessa didn't let Bloom see her roll her eyes. Bloom took mythology incredibly seriously. As she walked out of the room, she changed the subject. "I have an idea. Now that you're done with school, you can help me in the shop!"
She pretended she didn't hear Bloom groan.
"Good morning, sunshine!" Mike Peters said cheerily as he lowered the Gardenia Sun and Times and smiled at his daughter.
Bloom didn't return the pleasantries. "Dad," she pleaded, crossing her arms. "I don't want to work in Mom's shop this summer! Can't I go somewhere fun, with my friends? Not even, like, that graduation roadtrip everyone wants to do... can't we just go to L.A. for the day, or something?"
"When you're older, you can go wherever you want," Mike promised, going back to his newspaper. He was not in the mood for drama this morning. No, he had enough of that at the fire station where he worked, what with all the pay cuts and layoffs happening, everyone struggling to keep their job. He didn't need it from his teenage daughter too.
Bloom wasn't satisfied with Mike's answer, however. "How old is older? I'm already sixteen."
"Only sixteen. You're still my little girl." Mike let himself think back to six year old Bloom. He still loved his daughter just the same, but man, had she been easier to handle ten years ago...
"Dad. Dad? Dad!"
"Mmm? Oh." He snapped out of his daydream. "Listen, in a few weeks, we'll take a vacation to the beach, just you, me, and your mother. Like every year."
"I don't want to go to the same old beach. I want to do something special."
Mike bit his lip. He had been saving this surprise to use as payment for Bloom's work in Vanessa's floral shop over the summer, but on a whim, he decided to give it to her now, as a gift. He shot a meaningful glance at his wife, who nodded and headed out to the storage room to get it. "Well," he said slowly, giving Vanessa time to get there, "for that, you'll need wheels."
Bloom's eyes widened. She raced out of the small apartment and looked around. Finally, she saw it- a brand new, sparkling red bicycle, flowers arranged artistically in the woven basket tied to the handlebars. Mike watched her face fall, and he wondered what she was upset about. It was a beauty! He had picked it out himself. "Nice, huh?" he said, admiring his work.
"Um. Yeah. Thanks." She hopped onto the small vehicle and her bunny Kiko jumped into the basket and began munching on one of the flowers. Bloom began to pedal, racing down the street with a perfectly balanced speed.
"See, she's speechless!" Mike said proudly, though doubt still lingered in the back of his mind.
"I can see that," Vanessa agreed dryly, "but I think it was because she was expecting something else."
"A ten-speed?"
"A car. She is sixteen, after all."
"And she still dreams of being a fairy. She's still just a kid."
"Hey there, Bloom."
Several unsavory words came to Bloom Peters' mind. She blinked slowly and stopped her bike (probably a big mistake). "Hello, Mitzi."
"Oooh, got a new ride? Where'd you buy it, the kindergarten junkyard?"
Bloom resisted the urge to snap back, but she knew whatever she said would just make it worse. She had long ago come to the conclusion that witty comebacks were not about how smart you were, but about how mean. Bloom, who had skipped two grades and had a high IQ, could never win against Mitzi Addams' sharp tongue.
According to Bloom's parents, Mitzi and Bloom used to be best friends. Mitzi and her younger sister Macy lived just down the street, and though Mitzi was two years older, they had attended the same school and the same dance academy until Mitzi was nine and her daddy won big on the stock market. Mitzi moved to a better part of Gardenia, switched schools, made new rich-girl friends, and when Bloom started at Gardenia Junior High and finally got to be near her friend again, Mitzi had changed- into a complete bitch.
"Why so quiet? Speechless at my baby?" Mitzi gestured to a brand new boxy Scion. "It's a graduation gift. You know, grown-ups get them when they leave high school? Oh wait. You wouldn't know, you're still what, fourteen?"
Bloom didn't correct her.
"Did you hear I got accepted to Heatherfield? That's where you wanted to go, right? Oh well. You'll have just as much fun in community college. I hear that by the time you graduate, you know the entire alphabet."
Bloom narrowed her eyebrows. She didn't know why she had even stayed this long. Placing her feet back on the pedals, she smiled her fakest smile. "Goodbye, Mitzi," she said as she raced away.
When she finally skidded to a stop, it was in front of the local park. She jumped off her bike and walked it to a tall tree in the center. As she walked, she complained to her rabbit. "It's just not fair, Kiko. I know I'm still just a kid and all, but I'm also a high school graduate. I had a full ride to Heatherfield- and even if Mitzi was there too, that school is so big I would never have to see her. I could study history or urban planning or art or anything I wanted to, no limits! Not like UC Sunnydale. Thirty miles away isn't nearly far enough. If I could, I'd go to a school on another planet!"
She glanced down at Kiko. He was looking restless. Bloom sighed and stopped ranting about her problems. "Fine. Go find an acorn and I'll toss it around with you." The bunny hopped off, and Bloom sat at the base of the large tree and pulled an apple out of her purse, biting into it with a loud crunch. She took a moment to savor the crunch and somehow that tiny action made her think. She didn't have it that bad. There were worse things in the world than overprotective parents, after all.
A rustling sound from the bushes bordering the woods made her look up, just as Kiko hopped towards her faster than she had ever seen him hop. Bloom held out her arms, and he jumped right into them, looking terrified. "What's the matter, Kiko?" she asked, alarm creeping into her voice. She stroked his ears carefully, but still the rabbit didn't relax. Still cradling him, she stood and ran to the small path winding through the woods, trying to see what could have frightened him so. However, as she got to the path, Kiko jumped from her arms and hopped quickly through bushes, off the recommended trail and into the darker parts of the woods. Bloom hesitated, then held up her hands to prevent the low branches and vines from whacking her in the face as she followed her pet.
It seemed like an hour before the dim light of the wood turned into a sunny clearing, though it likely wasn't that long- it seemed worse for all the mud and dead plants littering the ground, and Bloom's impractical shoes stepping all over it. As the rabbit and teenager approached the light, they could hear loud, unidentifiable noises coming. Kiko started to quiver. "Is this what scared you?" Bloom whispered as she slipped behind one of the trees that circled the clearing and peeked out. As soon as her mind registered what was happening, she gasped. Here, in the middle of Gardenia Central Park, a battle raged, fought between an onslaught of monsters and a single teenage girl.
The young woman, who wore her blonde hair in twin pigtails, gold metal Wonder Woman-esque bracelets on her wrists, long boots on her feet and up most of her legs, and an impractical short and shirt set, was wielding a silver sceptre as the characters in Bloom's favorite MMOs would wield a staff. Smiling- or grimacing- she expertly bashed the monsters heads, causing them to explode into ash and sparks. Though the things came quickly, the woman was keeping up with them, matching their pace and winning. However, Bloom noticed that although she was a better fighter than the blood red monsters, her sceptre more than a match for their claws and fangs, she was beginning to look a little bit tired.
The girl moved her staff in a fluid motion and clicked the bottom tip to the ground. "Rising sunburst!" she cried, and her body flashed a light that sent several of the little ghouls flying backwards.
One of the things was caught by another, bigger monster. An ogre, Bloom thought, colored a musty, rotten yellow color and wearing ripped, stretched-out overalls. Ugly. Dangerous. Her instincts shrieked for her to run. She ignored them and looked back to the girl.
"Do you know who I am?" she asked. "I am Stellaluna Abellona Elidi fir Etoile, Crown Princess and Heiress Apparent of the Monarchy of Solaria and the fairy of suns and moons. But," she added with a wink, "my friends and bitter enemies just call me Stella. Now, if you'll kindly back off!" With every word, her voice grew in power and volume until she was almost alight with passion. She lifted her sceptre up and pointed it at the ogre threateningly. As she did, her hair blew in the wind, revealing two small wings protruding from her back. Bloom gasped. Fairy... wings... but the woman was so... normal sized, not small and delicate.
The ogre was not intimidated. He rushed at her, dodging beams of magic and as he grew closer, melee blows until he was right on top of her, pushing her down to the ground, where five smaller monsters worked together to restrain her, pressing her limbs to the ground and gagging her.
The ogre smiled. "Not so sunny now, are you?" he growled, circling the defeated young woman. "In fact, I doubt you'll ever be sunny again. I've been given the privilege of being able to dispose of you however I see fit, and I realized that nobody's ever gonna look for some magic fairy on a nonmagical place like Earth, are they? Who'd ever think that Princess Stella disappeared there?" He yanked the sceptre from Stella's hands and pointed it at her. 'Normally,' he continued conversationally, "I don't have enough magic power to kill a full grown princess. But word is that this sceptre multiplies your power threefold..."
"No! Let her go!'
Bloom stumbled out into the clearing, and looked around. The ghouls and the ogre were staring at her, temporarily distracted from Princess Stella. As Bloom realized the severity of what she had just done- particularly, the part where she defied a homicidal fantasy creature- the ogre threw back his head and roared. "Ghouls! Get her!" he commanded, and the small monsters rushed toward Bloom, pouncing with their sharp claws out and ready to dig into her upon landing.
Automatically, Bloom raised her hands to protect her face. "Get back!" she screamed as she waited for the pain to come. As the first ghoul came in for landing on her face, a light shoved it back with a sizzling noise that reminded Bloom of bacon. The other attacking monsters followed, pushed away by the mysterious barrier. Bloom dropped her hands and looked at them, surprised- and yet somehow, not- to see that they were whole and undamaged. "Did... did I just do that?" she said, her voice hushed.
She glanced over at Kiko, though how her little pet rabbit would confirm or deny the impossible, she had no clue. As she watched him, however, she did notice a ghoul running at him from the opposite direction, where he wasn't looking. Bloom grabbed a stick and ran at the monster, who almost had the small bunny in it's grip. With all her strength, she brought the stick down on the thing's head, just as she had watched Stella do with her sceptre. "Hands off Kiko!"
The branch didn't quite explode the monster into sparks, and Bloom raised it again to deliver a finishing blow. As she started to bring it down, she felt a sweaty, large hand wrap around both her wrists, and she was lifted up off the ground by her arms. She was swung around, making her arms ache, and just as she was about to cry, she was face to face with the ogre. "Bad move, little girl," he said demeaningly. "Earthlings should mind their own business- now I have to take care of you, too."
Bloom looked at Stella, still being restrained by the five ghouls who waited obediently for their leader. Terrified and losing hope, Bloom kicked and screamed and bit, trying anything in an attempt to get the awful ogre to drop her. Nothing worked- he just seemed to look more and more amused. Somehow, that gave Bloom the strength and the anger necessary to continue. As she fought, something in her broke free, and she stopped struggling for a brief moment, pouring all her passion and energy into a single wish. "Let go!" she commanded as she closed her eyes tight.
Even through her eyelids, she could see the flash of bright light that spiraled from her like a tornado, knocking the ogre to the ground and disintegrating the ghouls easily. As Bloom dropped, landing on her butt and opening one eye, she saw Stella stand up bravely. "Have you had enough of us yet, ogre?" she asked, as if she had planned this all along.
The large yellow monster glared. "We'll meet again, fairies," he promised as he clapped his hands together three times. Behind him, a swirling purple portal that looked like a rip in midair formed, and he stepped confidently behind him, falling through. The portal closed behind him.
Bloom tried to take deep breaths, but she was shaking, and her breaths came out in sad little quivers. A million thoughts raced through her mind. What just happened? Was that a real ogre? Is that girl, Stella, a fairy? What am I? What did I do? What just happened?
"Wow, you sure pack a punch, huh?"
With a little bit of effort, Bloom looked up into Stella's smiling face. "Thanks, by the way. It may not have looked like it, but I was toast without you. Where're you from?"
Bloom tried not to laugh at Stella's somehow cute cockiness as she pointed down the road, still breathing heavily. "About ten blocks away, why?"
"Whoa, you're seriously from Earth? Huh, who knew? I thought Earth was nonmagical. Weird."
"Yeah," Bloom echoed. "Weird."
Stella rubbed her head. "Man, I don't feel too good. Fighting an ogre takes a lot out of you, y'know? I think I need to lie down."
Bloom noticed that the blonde girl was swaying slightly, her knees quivering. "Um, maybe you should go see a doctor. I could take you..."
"No!" Stella shouted. "No doctors! I... I'm not..."
She collapsed onto the ground, despite Bloom's attempt to catch her, and as she did, her clothes flickered and finally changed into something different- a long, formal gown in sunset orange, with metal pieces here and there for ornamentation. Adorning her head was a crown that looked like it belonged on a princess- which, if Bloom remembered right, Stella was. The redheaded teenager bent down and lifted Stella, which was difficult, but not impossible. "We have to help her!" she announced to Kiko. "I'm going to take her home."
It took an hour and a half for Bloom to get Stella home. Carrying another teenager home required a lot of rest breaks, and to top it all off, she had to find a way to get to her bicycle without the other park go-ers wondering why she was carrying an unconscious woman, and trying to help or hinder. Eventually, she left Stella in the clearing and brought her bike into the woods, hoisting Stella on and rolling her home. Kiko hopped along back, twitching nervously. Bloom didn't blame him. As exciting as the battle was, it was also terrifying, and she would be happy if she never had to go through that ever again.
Finally, she was home. She nearly dragged Stella to the living room couch, then she sat in the nearest chair to rest for a few minutes. Though she had hoped to maybe sleep, to avoid the Spanish Inquisition that was sure to come from her parents, she found that her mind was too awake, and the questions that had raced in her mind after the battle hadn't gone away.
"I don't see the sceptre, you useless ogre. Have you failed?"
Knut swallowed hard and tried to form his many thoughts into an explanation, or better, a proper excuse. It didn't help that the room was dark and musty, concealing his senses to the point of discomfort. "I didn't fail, your... um, your scarynesses. The ghouls and I defeated Princess Stella and relieved her of her sceptre. We were about to dispose of the princess when another fairy showed up and started fighting with Stella. As you know, the ghouls aren't the brightest, and so I was pretty much outnumbered two to one if you aren't counting them."
"If we're not counting someone because it isn't the brightest, then it was two to zero. Knut, don't try to pretty it up. We asked you to retrieve something for us and you didn't do it. That constitutes punishment." This voice was different, from the second of Knut's three bosses. His least favorite, if he was being honest.
"Wait, sister. He might not have done what he was asked, but he brought us vital information. I don't think he should be punished just yet." There was the third boss, Knut's favorite. He wouldn't say this one was particularly nice to him, none of them were, but she was certainly more fair than the other two. Possibly less sadistic. She didn't punish her underlings just because she felt like it, while Knut still had welts from undeserved whippings. And now, she might save him from a perfectly deserved one. He was grateful, though he would never tell her. It might insult her.
The second one snapped back, "What vital information? That you can't trust an ogre with the simplest of tasks, because I knew that already."
"No, no, not that. He fought Stella on Earth. How was there another fairy there?" the third member of the trio mused.
The first member hummed a little. "That is a question, indeed. Knut," she barked. "I'll let you off punishment if you can go and bring this little Earth fairy- and Stella- to us. Use any resource you need. And for Dragon's sake, put on your glasses. Bad eyesight might be the whole reason you lost this battle."
Knut grimaced and pulled out his eyeglasses, placing them on his face unhappily. He'd almost rather take the whippings. The frames that his bosses had ordered when they found out his vision was bad made him look silly, not scary. Funny, not frightening. He had wondered aloud if they were counterproductive to the trio's mission. The only reason he wasn't punished for questioning them was that they were laughing too hard to hear his question.
He looked down at the ground, not wanting the three women to dissolve into giggles when he was outlining his plan to win the second try of the battle. "One of the ghouls ripped off a piece of the second fairy's clothing. I intend to summon a hunting troll to track that one down. It is more than likely that Stella will be with her, and I can take them both out at once. If not, we'll track the fairy of suns and moons down separately- but for that, I need something to track her with, which I don't have."
The second woman was frowning, Knut could hear it in her voice. "I have five strands of her hair, but I was planning to use it to make a zombie doll."
"This is more important," the first hissed. "Knut, you have my permission to use the hair. It's in the ingredient cupboard, labeled. Make sure you grab the right hair, and not the DNA of some random dimwit."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now go. I never intended to wait this long for that sceptre, and I don't intend to wait much more."
Knut scurried out of the dark meeting room to get the supplies he needed, a little pleased with himself. That went much, much better than he had anticipated. If only his plan went half as well.
"Tell me one more time."
Mike Peters was worried. Not because there was an unconscious young woman on the couch, or because his teenage daughter was waxing on about fairies and ogres and ghouls, but more because as much as Bloom loved her fantasy stories, she was still a good girl with her feet on the ground, a smart woman with skills that surpassed those of her peers. She had not spoken as if fairies were real since she was in sixth grade at the age of ten, and though Mike knew Bloom thought they were real, there was an ever growing sense of reality inside of her that kept her from discussing it except in terms of scientific speculation.
"Stella- this girl- was fighting this giant ogre and she was losing. The ogre was about to kill her, so I jumped in to try to distract him. All of these ghouls came after me and I defeated them- with magic!"
Mike decided to be completely honest with his daughter. She wanted to be treated like an adult, so he wasn't going to lighten it up. "Bloom, that's nuts," he said flatly. "I think we should call the police and take this girl to the hospital, and maybe you should be checked out as well. You aren't usually this unreasonable."
"Dad, I really am telling the truth, and I'm not sick! Why can't you be supportive of me for once? If I was eighteen, would you want me to go to the hospital? Maybe you wouldn't believe me, but you wouldn't think I was crazy! Can't you please try to listen?"
"This is nuts!" Mike reiterated, but Vanessa looked at him with a warning glare and he stopped talking.
Vanessa turned to Bloom. "Bloom, we're not trying to sound unsupportive, but this is quite unbelievable. And Mike, maybe you could phrase your thoughts in a nicer way. Now, I say we call for Doctor Silverman. She's come out here before, she can check for damage on the girls and we can go from there."
"Please don't."
The Peters family turned to the couch, where the small but determined voice was coming from. The girl was waking up, hoisting herself up on the arm of the couch. "Please, no doctors."
Vanessa put the back of her hand on the girl's forehead, feeling for a temperature. "How are you feeling, dear?" she asked.
"Good as new," the girl responded, though she certainly didn't look good as new. "Thank you. By the way, I'm Stella."
"Hi, Stella, I'm Bloom," Bloom said. "And these are my parents, Mrs. and Mr. Peters."
"It's very nice to know you all," Stella responded.
Vanessa sat down on the sofa next to Stella. "So you don't want a doctor- should we call your parents?"
"That's... easier said than done." Stella grimaced. "They don't live around here."
"We have free calling to the U.S. and Canada," Mike said. "Don't worry about it."
Stella huffed. "Well, that doesn't include Solaria, where I'm from."
"Solaria."
"Yeah, and it's kind of far away. Actually, it's on another planet. Not exactly in range of most Earth phones."
Mike raised his hands up in a frustrated gesture. "You're both delirious. That's it. I'm calling the police."
Stella narrowed her eyes and pointed at the old-fashioned phone that Mike was headed towards, which shimmered before turning into a cabbage and the receiver into a carrot. Mike stopped in his tracks and stared at the former phone as Stella yawned. "So, 'delirious,' huh? Are you sure about that?"
"You... you... you turned my phone into a salad!"
Stella shrugged. "Well, I asked you very nicely not to call anyone. Think of it as an insurance policy to make sure that you don't. If you're nice to me, I'll turn it back."
Mike and Vanessa looked baffled. Bloom tried not to laugh.
Stella's face softened. "I'm sorry if I'm being kind of a jerk, but the truth is that I can't let anyone know I'm here. I was travelling to Alfea College, where I go to school, when for some reason this giant ogre started stalking me. I decided to stop here on Earth to try to lose him- Earth may be a nonmagical planet, but it has a huge population and I thought I could lose him here. But as I touched down, he and his ghouls herded me into the park. I tried to fight them off, but more kept coming, and I was just about finished. That's when your daughter came and saved me. How do you have magic, anyway?"
Bloom paled. "I don't know. I don't think I ever did before. Maybe it was a fluke."
"Magic like that is no fluke. Honey, with magic like that, you're a fairy. Just like me."
"A fairy..."
Bloom had dreamed of the day that some mystic creature came and told her she was one of them. Hadn't every fantasy-obsessed teenage girl? Somehow, though, she hadn't expected to take it this calmly and rationally, which is to say, with a hint of disbelief. Maybe her father was right. Maybe this was too good to be true. "I don't know what I did," she said, "but I'm just a normal girl."
Stella stood and placed her arm around Bloom. "It isn't either-or, Bloom. On other planets, tons of normal girls are also fairies. I mean, I like shopping and cute boys just as much as the next woman. And I happen to have kickass magic powers to boot. Best of both worlds, hmmm?"
"And you really think I could be a fairy?"
"Well, if you throw down energy shields like a fairy and beat down monsters like a fairy, you must be a fairy."
Mike looked at the two girls with apprehension playing in his eyes. "This is nuts! Just nuts!"
"I love your room. You should so completely bring it to Alfea with you."
"Bring it to Alfea with me... what? What's Alfea again?"
Stella rolled her eyes. "Only the most prestigious fairy school in the universe. It's where I go... believe it or not, I'm better at magic than you saw. And you're coming with me. Where else would you get all the training you need? Not Beta Academy, that's for sure."
"Wait, what?"
"Okay, so there are seven big name schools of magic, plus all the little dinky ones. Beta Academy of Fairies, Oskuria Wizard's College, Malacroy Paladin Academy, and the Zenith Institute of Technology in Magic are four of them. The last three are known as the Magix Triumvirate- they're all located on the homeworld of magic, where it was discovered, and they're the best of the best because of it."
"Like the Ivy League!"
"The what?"
Bloom bit her lip to keep from laughing. She hadn't considered that Earth references would confuse Stella just as much as magic references confused her. "Never mind. Go on."
Stella ticked off the names on her fingers. "Cloudtower School for Witches, Redfountain University for Men, which teaches Specialists- psychic warriors, that is- and some wizards, and Alfea College for Fairies. The best and brightest gather here, from all the many realms. Actually," she said thoughtfully, "that's a line from the Alfea alma mater."
Bloom sunk onto her bed. "Stella, I can't go to Alfea. I haven't sent in an application, haven't been accepted... besides, I'm planning on attending UC Sunnydale in a couple months. I already made a security deposit there and everything."
"But this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Isn't that worth a little money lost?"
"That doesn't solve the problem of how to get in if I'm not accepted."
"Let me handle that." Stella waved a hand dismissively. "Look, you could be a great fairy, I have a feeling. You just need training. Here."
Stella reached her hand out towards Bloom's desk, and the art supplies in her pencil cup levitated. "Whoa," Bloom breathed.
"Not done yet." Stella twirled a finger, and the colored pencils and pens spun together, creating a tornado-like wind. A glow emitted from Stella's finger, then from the art supplies as they merged to create a giant pink colored pencil. Bloom's jaw dropped, and Stella smiled. "Now, your turn. Put them back as they were."
Bloom held her hand out as Stella had, pouring all her hopes and dreams and beliefs into her concentration, trying to see the pencils separate and make that reality. The oversized pencil dropped to the floor with a thud, and Bloom tried to push back her disappointment as she spun her finger and tried to push the pencil with her mind. She even yelled 'Abracadabra!' loudly, much to Stella's amusement.
Finally, Stella waved her other hand, and the pencil broke apart and flew back to Bloom's desk. "You moved it, and that's something. The rest will come with training, promise."
"Stella, I don't think I can go to Alfea. My parents don't even want me going to school in Washington state, let alone some magic dimension."
"Hmmmm, I see the issue. Parents can be tricky." Stella thought for a moment, then snapped her fingers. "I've got it! We'll tell them that magic powers are highly combustible, and if you don't get training you might catch on fire and die!"
"I don't think that will work," Bloom said with a sigh.
Stella shrugged. "Well, if you don't ask, then you'll never know, right? So let's go ask. But first..." She pulled out a postcard from a hidden pocket in her dress. "Let's make sure you know what you're getting into."
She threw the postcard onto the ground. As Bloom watched, it grew to about twenty times the original size, large enough to cover most of the floor like a large rug. "What is that thing?" Bloom asked.
"It's the school's information. I have a ton of these, my tutor signed me up for every college mailing list he could find- even a couple from Earth. The magic schools have this theory that if you can see what school life is like, it not only saves you the time and expense of a college visit, it does more than a college visit can do. You just select your settings and go. Let's see... we could do a normal school day, a normal weekend, or just a basic outside view. I say we go with that one. The other two take too long, even with time sped up inside the magisimulation." Stella swiped her hand over the postcard three times, then jumped in. She started to sink in, like she was trapped in quicksand. "Now, when you can't see my head anymore, you jump in too, okay?"
"Um... okay," Bloom said, trying to mask her fear.
In less than half a minute, Stella was gone. Bloom took a nervous glance around her room before cannonballing into the postcard.
As she fell to the ground next to Stella, landing on her butt (again. That thing was starting to get sore!), she gasped in delight. The two girls were surrounded, on three sides by tall, green trees, and on the fourth by a pastel pink castle that dwarfed them. The school was three stories high, not counting the two matching towers on both ends that were capped with blue glass domes. The gate that led into the school was shaped like a pair of angel wings, and the grounds were immaculate. "This is incredible," Bloom breathed.
"Told you so," Stella said smugly. "We should have set it to an inside mode, the Great Hall is incredible and the apartments are just wild."
"The housing is apartment style?" Bloom had wanted that, but UC Sunnydale only offered traditional dorms.
"Yeah, five girls to an apartment. Two double rooms, one single, a miniature kitchen, and a living room slash study area."
"And it's a good school?"
"A brilliant one."
"Social scene?"
"The best in the entire universe."
Bloom nodded, determined. "We have got to convince my parents to let me come."
Stella smiled. "Right, though? Come on, follow me."
Stella jumped up, and suddenly disappeared, and Bloom followed, hoping that she wouldn't have to do any magic, that the postcard would take care of everything for her. It did, and she found herself back in her room. The postcard shrunk back to normal size, and Stella picked it up and put it away. "Come on, let's go have a chat with the 'rentals."
In a ten minute conversation with Bloom's parents, Bloom learned an awful lot about the fairy of suns and moons.
First of all, she wasn't above using her status as the only heir to what was apparently a very important planet to get special treatment. She promised that she would order guards to protect Bloom, promised she would pay Bloom's tuition, promised she would install a nanny-cam in Bloom's room so her parents could keep up with her.
Second, Stella was stubborn. When that failed (mostly due to Mike's pride flaring up, as he felt Stella was insulting his ability to care for his child), she adapted, but didn't give up. She pushed the idea of a huge minority scholarship (Earth hadn't seen fairies in years), Bloom checking in via phone every morning and evening, and Stella watching out for her.
And third came when Vanessa said, "Excuse me for asking, Stella, but why is it so important to you that Bloom attend Alfea?"
Stella looked away, quieter than she had been since she woke up. "Bloom's pretty awesome, and she's nice, smart, and funny, too. We haven't even known each other for a day, and she's already the best friend I've had in a long, long time... I don't want to lose a chance to have her as a real best friend."
Then, as quickly as the vulnerability came, it disappeared. "Besides, who else will model my fashion designs for me?"
Mike looked at Vanessa. Vanessa looked at Mike. Bloom had a feeling that they were both thinking about how, in a way, Stella seemed an awful lot like Bloom, what with the loneliness, and the enthusiasm, and the vulnerability that was so quietly tucked away. Bloom had a feeling that was what made her father say, "Could you girls leave the room for a while? We need to talk about this together," and not say a flat-out, "no."
The two headed back upstairs, but as soon as they were out of sight of the two adults, Stella quietly crouched and angled her ears to try to hear what they were saying.
"This... ridiculous... true!"
Stella frowned and chanted "Ausculatio Stellis!" under her breath. Bloom's ears popped, and suddenly she could hear everything much better.
"That Stella is not a normal kid!" Vanessa said to her husband. "She's magical. And maybe... maybe Bloom is, too."
"Ugh, here we go with the 'not normal' stuff again," Stella grumbled. "I'm texting a few of the Specialists. Maybe if they're here too, your parents will agree." She reached for a small sphere, which unfolded like a flower to reveal a holographic touchscreen. With practiced ease, Stella sent a quick message to four different numbers.
"I know that Bloom's special! I've known it since I first held her! But normal kid or not normal kid, she's still just that- a kid! I didn't even want her going to Heatherfield University, let alone some school on another planet!"
"You said it yourself- Bloom could transfer to Heatherfield after she turns eighteen. But Mike, when is another fairy going to land on Earth and offer to take her to the most prestigious college of magic in the universe?"
They heard Kiko whimper. "Not now, Kiko," Mike said. His voice was annoyed, and Bloom wondered if she had forgotten to feed her bunny amidst all the confusion, only to have the rabbit beg her parents for some food. "We're really busy."
There was a shuffling noise, then Mike cried, "Hey, what's going on back there?" Bloom listened to about ten footsteps, then what sounded like a lion's roar.
The roar was followed by crashes and bangs, something glass breaking, Vanessa screaming. Bloom found herself frozen, and immediately hated herself for it. How could she rescue a random girl with magic powers, and not be able to even move when her parents were in danger?
"Come on, Bloom!" Stella pulled her up. "We've got to go downstairs and do something!"
The fairy of suns and moons almost dragged her friend down the steps. As they reached the bottom, Bloom saw the ogre from earlier and four more ghouls standing over her parents. Rage built up in her and gave her her movement back as the yellow beast thundered, "I'll give you one last chance to tell me- where are those two fairies?"
"Looking for moi?" Stella didn't look at the monsters, casually gazing at her fingernails instead. "I'm right here, you blimp."
"Did you just call me a blimp?" it roared.
Stella shrugged. "Well, if the shoe fits." With a smile, she put her hands in the air and cried out passionately. "Let's go, power of suns and moons!"
A bright light engulfed the apartment, temporarily blinding Bloom. She put her arm over her eyes immediately, only lowering when the light began to fade. As the final beams died out, Bloom saw Stella standing in the center, back in her battle regalia. Before the ogre had a chance to attack, Stella aimed a finger at him. "Burning Light!" she commanded, and a laser-like beam shot from her hand, hitting the thing in the stomach and knocking him back. As he stumbled and fell, Bloom and Stella saw that there was another monster that they hadn't seen- a large, slate blue troll.
Stella glanced at Bloom. "I can't handle this on my own. You take the ghouls, and I'll get rid of the big ugly things."
"But... but what if I can't?"
"If you can't defeat them, then stall for time. Do whatever it takes. Your parents' lives, not to mention yours and mine, depend on it, okay?" Stella's face looked grim.
Bloom nodded, and started to run, feeling instinctively that the ghouls would give chase, which was confirmed when a claw snapped the back of her leg, ripping her jeans and skin. Though she could feel the blood trickling down, she kept going, out of the small apartment and into the yard, where the four ghouls surrounded her. "Nice ghouls," Bloom said in a halfhearted survival attempt. "Sit! Stay..."
They growled and crept towards her. As close as she was, Bloom could see that where their eyes should have been was instead a dark, empty void. A shiver of fear ran up her spine. How could she survive this? And if she couldn't even survive, how would her parents fare?
Suddenly, a crashing sound distracted both Bloom and the ghouls. As they turned to see the source, they found the ogre from before lying on the cold ground, surrounded by broken glass. From the looks of it, he had been thrown through the apartment's front window. The ghouls ran to the ogre, deeming making sure their master was unhurt more important than mauling Bloom.
Stella, too, flew through the window- not on wings, but on momentum, as if she had been tossed aside by something big and heavy. Sure enough, the troll shoved his way through the too-small front door, widening it with almost no effort. Sawdust showered him, and he shook it off with another roar. Bloom looked to her friend, who was getting up from the ground with a groan, clutching her head. Bloom rushed over to her friend. "Don't worry about me," Stella protested. "I've got a plan. Everything is under control."
"Well, I hope that plan kicks into action before these things kill us," Bloom said. Sure enough, the troll was headed right for them, and the ghouls weren't far behind.
As Bloom watched in terror, and Stella in a strangely calm state that made Bloom a little bit confused, a lasso wrapped around the troll's neck, restraining him. "Got him!" exclaimed a voice that was distinctly male, yet slightly higher than the average man's.
"I'm ready when you are!" Another male voice. Bloom stood on tiptoes and tried to look around the giant blue beast.
As she did, she saw four young men, all in crisp uniforms of cream and royal blue. One, a boy with golden blond hair that blew all over in the light breeze, had a diamond-shaped shield out and looked as though he was trying not to show how excited he was. A buff man with purple-brown hair held the lasso- and the troll- tight. A redhead with glasses held a gun at the ready, and a shaggy brunet with tan skin and dark eyes leaned against what looked to be a cross between a greatsword and a lightsaber. The lasso guy smirked. "Everyone can relax. I've got this thing completely secured."
"I am relaxed," the brunet said solemnly. "It's you I'm worried about."
As if his words were prophecy, the troll broke free of the lasso and pulled both the rope and the man holding it off to the side. The mahogany haired man landed between Bloom and Stella, causing the two to help him up. He pushed both women aside. 'Stay out of this," he growled as he stood and wiped blood from his cheek. Stella rolled her eyes.
The boy with the shield held it up. "Get behind me, guys!" he ordered, and the others obliged, just as the troll began to beat down on the shield. Bloom watched anxiously, worried the shield would break, but it only seemed to glow brighter. As the troll began to tire, the ginger with the gun shot what seemed to be a beam of light at the ground, which opened and swallowed the troll up whole.
"Girls! Watch out!"
Bloom glanced behind her. The ogre and his ghouls were coming straight for her and Stella. Quickly, she raised one hand up, in a 'stop' motion. A flaming mass of magic flew from her palm, hitting the ogre right on the head and knocking him down again. He glared and clapped three times, creating another portal, which he and the ghouls disappeared into.
"Wow," Bloom said as she looked at her hands. "I... I really can do magic."
Stella hugged her from behind, her arms wrapping around Bloom's chest. "See? I told you so!"
The two girls turned around to face the boys. "Bloom," Stella said cheerfully, "these are the Specialists." She pointed to the boy with the spiky maroon hair. "That's Riven."
Riven ducked his head, frowning, and mumbled an incoherent greeting.
"The gun guy is Timmy." Timmy waved cheerfully.
Stella smiled wider as she turned to the brunet. "Prince Sky. And this," she said as she introduced the blond with the shield, "is Brandon."
"Hey," Brandon said, saluting playfully. Bloom grinned. He's pretty cute. All of them are, really. Guess that's another perk for the magic dimension. He certainly seemed like a step up from Bloom's last (and only) boyfriend, geeky 'rock star' Andy Day...
Timmy fastened what seemed to be a giant shock collar onto the troll. It raised the monster up until it was hovering in midair. Then, Timmy shot a laser from his gun, opening a portal. "We are secure! Ready to go, or do you guys plan to stay here gaggling at the girls?"
Riven made a noise that sounded vaguely like a "harrumph," and Brandon and Sky turned their heads before all four boys headed into the portal. "See you girls later!" Brandon yelled as they disappeared.
Stella grinned. "So, what do you think?"
"They're pretty cool. How do you know them? Are you dating any?"
"Right, maybe I'll tell you someday, and I wish." Stella sighed, but it seemed to be a happy sigh.
Bloom elbowed her. "Oooh, got a crush? Spill."
Stella didn't say anything, but Bloom saw her smile. She was about to nudge the blonde again when Stella began to talk. "This is nice. This is why you have to go to Alfea. If we're friends like this now, can you imagine when we graduate?"
Bloom didn't answer, just wrapped the other teenager into a hug. When they finally let go, pulling back at the exact same time, Bloom grinned mischievously. "But... if we're such good friends, stop changing the subject and give me all the details!"
Stella walked into the Peters family's ruined living room after barely escaping telling Bloom all about her secret crush. It wasn't that she didn't want Bloom to know- just that she didn't particularly want to tell anyone yet, but just keep it to herself. She was lucky that Mrs. Peters had swooped in as soon as the girls entered the house, hugging Bloom tightly before walking upstairs with her daughter to help pack for Alfea. Stella smiled at the thought. This year, she'd have a real friend, one who didn't laugh at her when she exploded things on accident or wore last year's shoes. That made Stella very happy.
She looked up at Mr. Peters, who was halfheartedly sweeping the floor with an old broom. It was an amusing sight, really, but the reason the room was such a wreck was serious enough that Stella didn't laugh. "Let me help you," she offered. "I can fix everything with a little bit of magic."
Mike sighed warily. "Thanks, Stella, but I think I'll stick to cleaning the old fashioned way."
"You're sure about this, sweetie?"
Stella turned to see Bloom coming down the stairs, a rose pink suitcase clutched tight in her hands. "Yeah, Mom. I'm sure."
"You sure you're sure?" Mr. Peters asked. Bloom just rolled her eyes. "So Stella, when do we leave and how do we get there?" Bloom's father continued good naturedly. "By broomstick? I've always wanted to travel by broomstick."
"You're coming too?" Bloom blurted.
Mrs. Peters put a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. "You know we worry about you, sweetie. We know that this is the best thing for you right now, but we do want to check this place out before you go."
Bloom shot a pleading glance at Stella. "Can't you use the postcard?"
"Not with nonmagicals," Stella said sympathetically. "But don't worry. With my sceptre transporting us, we'll be in and out quick as anything." She pulled her trusty ring from her finger and threw it in the air. The circular design spiraled out, growing as big as Stella's head, and the ring itself grew tall and solid, becoming staff-like and easy to hold. Stella grabbed it from thin air and swung it, focusing on opening a rip in the space-time fabric- a portal. As it formed, she stepped through it, falling gracefully through the void, confident it would take her where she needed to go. From the sounds of shock and fright from behind her, Bloom and her family were not so confident.
Finally, she landed on her own two feet about a mile out from Alfea Castle. She turned to see the others behind her, looking dazed and dizzy. Stella smiled and pointed at the school. "There is is, everyone. Welcome to Magix, and to the Alfea College for Fairies."