Chapter 1: Mission in a Parallel World

Malini had never seen a suitcase stuffed so full in her life. Or, well, she hadn't been able to travel at all in her short life, so she hadn't seen much in the way of suitcases, period. But this had to be the most stuffed that one could get, seeing as she could barely close it. Why did she have to pack so much, anyway? Was she really going to be away for that long?

As if to answer, her little fairy friend used her leafy ears to float down and sit on the bed by her side, carrying a sheet of paper in her hand that was twice her height. At least Laurier was coming with her. If she had to leave her best friend behind… She couldn't bear the thought. Malini took the paper from her hands. "Better make sure we got everything. Uh…hairbrush?"

It took a while for Laurier to dig through the massive pile of luggage, but after a minute she did come across it. "Check!" she shouted, buried beneath clothing.

Oh, good. For a second, she was worried she could have got stuck in there. "Shampoo?"

"Check!"

"Soap?"

"Check!"

"Toothbrush, toothpaste?"

"Check, check!"

"Extra glasses?" Laurier's head popped out from the heap, attempting to wear a pair of glasses at least three times her size. Malini couldn't help giggling. "Check."

Just as she was about to proceed with the rest of the checklist, a voice from the other end of the hallway caught her attention. "Atsuko…" And she didn't sound happy. She knew she must've been a great captain of the guard; besides her fighting skill, she never hesitated to stand up for herself, or for other people. Another voice answered. Was that the queen? The queen was here?!

Becoming absorbed in their conversation, she didn't even notice Laurier perch on her shoulder. "Malini? What's wrong?"

Her expression fell. They were arguing about her again.

"I'm telling you, she's not ready for this!"

"She's thirteen years old, Atsuko."

"Yes, but she hasn't…"

"She won't benefit from being held back. Besides, this will give her a chance to interact with people her own age."

"But in such a dangerous place?"

"I promise, it will work out. It won't escalate to the point it has here. You know I would never make that mistake again…"

"Malini?"

Her friend's voice snapped her out of her funk. "I-I'm okay," she insisted, even as a nervous ache continued to grow in her stomach. Even Atsuko didn't think she could do it. Maybe she was right.

"By the way, where are we going again?" Laurier asked. "I kinda forgot."

If she was to be honest, Malini didn't know the exact answer to that herself. "They said…to a world far, far away from here." A whole world away. She couldn't begin to wrap her head around the true distance. "T-The people who started the war. Toxic. That's where they wanna attack next."

"What? That sounds really scary!" And she didn't disagree. The very idea of running into Toxic made her nauseous. She hadn't been around for the worst of the war. Only heard stories from others. From what she could remember, they were an organization who wanted to…recreate the world? Something along those lines. But they wanted everybody out of the way to do it. The worst, everyone said, was when they poisoned the kingdom's crops. They were able to save many. But not all. She couldn't imagine what plans they'd come up with that might be even worse. Not to mention her…connections… She shuddered.

But a pair of tiny arms gave a gentle hug around her neck. "I bet you could stop them, Malini!" Laurier said. "You're so brave and smart!"

Aww; she blushed. If there was anyone that always had faith in her, it was Laurier. "T-That's right. I guess that's what they think, too. Everybody thinks I'm special, right?"

"I knew you were special right away!"

"I know, Laurier." But that was the thing. She was only considered unusual because she had a fairy, right? The fairy that changed her, that brought her here. They were connected. There was something more to it all, but what it might be, she couldn't guess. Only the queen knew, and she wouldn't tell anyone the whole story. "But you're the real special one, right? They said fairies were extinct before you." She gave her companion a pat on the head.

"Um…I guess so…" Laurier stopped to consider. "But that doesn't mean you're not special, too!"

She wanted to agree; she really did. But a little voice in her head continued fighting back. "Or I'm special for all the wrong reasons…"

Laurier's expression turned to one of concern. "Malini…"

"I know you and the queen say that part of me is gone, but…" Maybe that was the worst part. She had no memory of what she'd been before. Whenever she asked, people seemed reluctant to go into full detail. But she got the message well enough. It was something that shouldn't have ever existed. Something that could only be used to hurt, to maim, to kill. A vile, monstrous thing. She had been a monster.

"Don't listen to those jerkfaces!" Laurier grabbed onto her tighter. "You're the best ever, Malini! The best!"

Before Malini could answer, a voice echoed down the hall, this time directed toward her.

"Malini! Are you ready?" Atsuko!

"Y-Yes! Almost ready!" And she had forgotten all about her suitcase until now. However hard she tried to close it, the latch just wouldn't come together. Her arms ached with every pull, protesting the strain they were being put through. If only she were as strong as Atsuko.

"Malini!"

"Coming!" When nothing else worked, she attempted to ram her body against the suitcase, jumping with as much force as she could muster. Huh. It actually worked! Quickly, before Atsuko could get too impatient, she clapsed her suitcase and rushed out of her room, down the hall to the main foyer. The bag sure was heavier than it looked.

Finally, she stepped into the center of the room. The foyer, usually bustling with activity, felt so empty today. All she could see was Atsuko coming to greet her. At least she didn't look to be angry anymore.

"There you are," she smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. Something sounded…off about it, although Malini couldn't decide what. "How are you? Are you feeling okay?"

Her stomach still felt like it would leap out through her throat, but the idea of disappointing her, or god forbid, the queen… "I-I'm okay," she nodded.

The knight sighed again. "It's all right if you're nervous. I don't blame ya." She shivered as she took a strand of her green-tinted hair in one hand. Atsuko had never done that before. But actually, she did kind of like it. Atsuko had always worked so hard to make sure she was being taken care of. Was that what a mother was like…?

As if hearing her thoughts, she hesitated and backed off. "Well, I guess we better get started." She led her across the room, to a door she hadn't noticed before. Laurier continued to hold on to the side of her head, trying to comfort her. She took a deep breath. Here we go.

Upon getting her first look at the room's interior, her eyes were overwhelmed. Shining hues of gold and white surrounded her. The rest of the castle was already beautiful, but this place looked spectacular! Like standing in the middle of the sun.

And there, at the other end of the vast, meticulously cleaned floor - tiled to look like a sunburst, too - was the royal throne. And the queen, sitting on it.

Midori's eyes widened. To be in the presence of Queen Naseyda herself! What should she do? What should she say?! All she could think to do was drop onto the floor and bow so low she nearly hit her head on the floor. It was at that moment that Laurier was flung down to the ground. "Oh! Sorry!"

The queen chuckled, in that rich, booming voice of hers. A sort of voice that intimated those who heard it…and yet, there was a comforting quality to it, too. Everybody always told her how she ruled the kingdom with such a kind heart. She'd only got to see her a few times, but from what she did see, it looked to be true. After all, she did let her stay here.

Tending to her friend, she didn't see Her Majesty walk up to her until until she was right by her feet. Her jaw dropped. "Y-Y-Yo…y-your ma…"

But she was interrupted. "You really love Laurier, don't you, Malini?"

Malini blushed. It'd be an easy question to answer coming from anyone else, but out of the queen's mouth, she could barely put a sentence together. Well…wasn't it obvious? Laurier was everything to her. She had done everything for her. "Of, of course!" she said, taking the fairy in her arms.

"I love Malini, too!" Laurier blurted out, making her friend blush even more.

Their ruler laughed again. It was weird hearing laughter coming from such a dignified figure. Weird, but good. She found herself relaxing just a bit, and smiled.

Seeing that things were going well, the queen continued. "You two have a very strong bond. I haven't seen anything like it in a long, long time." She began pacing around the room, as if in thought. "Others have told you, haven't they? Fairies were thought to be extinct for hundreds of years now. Killed off by the chaos of human conflict."

She nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"And yet, in this time of peril…Laurier was born."

Malini remembered the story well. Apparently they found her growing in the castle gardens like a flower. The idea fascinated her. That something so incredible could grow from nothing…

"From what was recorded into those ancient times, a fairy always had a human companion," she continued. "They would choose a person of admirable virtue, and they would 'link.' The fairy's power would be that person's power, and vice versa."

She softly gasped at the queen's explanation. She'd learned a little bit about fairies, but nothing about this. The fairy's power is the person's power… No, that didn't sound right. She was weak and clumsy. And…she hadn't exactly been human when that happened, either, had she? Nor anything close to virtuous. "But Your Majesty," she muttered, "I don't have…I can't…"

At that moment, she felt a head rest on her head. The queen was touching her! She was stunned. The royal smiled at her. "Malini," she said, "you have more strength than you realize. With time, you and Laurier will become even closer. You'll grow stronger together. If you ever find yourself in danger, remember that you're not alone."

All at once, she was aware of it. As she and Laurier made eye contact, she could feel the connection between them, as if it had been idling and decided to reveal itself just then. It was a sensation she couldn't entirely comprehend, but the closest she could describe it was…a warmth. A soothing, uplifting warmth, wisping through her, making her feel that somehow, everything was going to be okay. She wasn't sure what to do, so in awe at this discovery. For a moment, it felt like only her and Laurier existed, floating in this pocket of sunlight…

"Well, then," With Naseyda's voice, she came to her senses once again. "Are you ready to go?"

Somehow, she found her nerves had vanished. In its place was confidence - eagerness, even. She wanted to prove herself to everyone, and she wanted to help the people that had helped her so much throughout her first year of life. A determined smile spread on her face. "I'm ready."

The queen nodded. "Atsuko, you can take care of it from here."

Atsuko stepped forward, still putting on a smile, but something was wrong. She wasn't holding herself like she usually did; head high, sure of herself, eager for adventure. Malini hadn't seen her like this since the topic of the war came up.

Walking up to the knight, she received a strange handheld device, a gold tablet with a wide screen and a few sparse buttons. It looked sort of like what the bookkeepers used to organize the library, but fancier. She tilted her head.

"This will let you communicate between worlds," she explained. "If you need to talk to someone, you just go in, and you can contact me…or any of the housekeepers you'd like."

Oh! How nice. Excited to give it a try, she turned the machine on. But she didn't recognize this interface. In fact, it only gave her one button to push. "What does this do?" she asked.

"It's programmed to take you to your destination. All you have to do is press the button."

Malini stared at the blinking red circle being displayed before her. This was it. Either stay or go. Double checking she was fully prepared, she looked over both shoulders. "Laurier?"

"Right here." Laurier climbed up onto one shoulder. She smiled. Yes…everything would be fine. With newfound determination, she took her suitcase in one hand. Strange; it didn't feel quite so heavy anymore. And she gave her home one last look.

"I'll be back soon," she said to no one in particular. She closed her eyes, and she pressed.

In a blink, the room around her disappeared - no, everything disappeared. No ground, no sky, not even air. Just blinding blue stars speeding all around her, so fast they appeared as nothing but blurred streaks. She felt as if she was floating. She began to feel dizzy. Her ears popped, unpopped, popped again, on and on.

She felt the grip on her shoulder tighten, felt her friend's fear as well as her own. "Laurier!" she tried to shout, but no sound came out. Everything spun wherever she looked. In front of her, behind her, up, down. But the longer she spent here, the harder it was to remember which way was which. Desperate for some semblance of logic, she shut her eyes tight to try and block it out, but it didn't help. Her perception was invaded by chaos; there was nothing else left.

And then…her feet hit something hard. There was ground again? With some hesitation, she opened her eyes.

Malini found herself standing atop rustic cobblestone pavement , with no sign of the bizarre place she had previously been. Wait, where had these shoes come from? A pair of black mary janes stared back at her. Her eyes traveled upwards, seeing that her entire outfit had changed. Now she wore a high waisted pleated skirt and a cropped jacket. She caught sight of the building before her. A tall structure, could almost be called a tower, but there was no steeple.

What is this place? she wondered to herself. The sky looked the same as it did in Naseyda. So did the grass and trees. Yet, the buildings looked completely different. Was she really in another world, or just in a faraway country?

Adorable squeaks entered her right ear. She'd almost forgot! "Laurier!" The fairy, still perched on her shoulder, looked none the worse for wear, but she could feel she was still nervous. "Are you okay?"

"I think so…" Like her friend, she eyed her surroundings with a bit of unease. "Is this where we're supposed to go?"

Malini shrugged. "It must be." Why would the device take her anywhere else? Here outside, there was no sign of any people. It was a bit chilly, too. It had been warm and sunny when she left…

"Oh yeah, they said you have to hide while you're here." To keep away from Toxic, maybe? Though she hated the idea of her not being there to talk to, if it was for her safety…

Laurier hung her head, but nodded in understanding and climbed down to her hip, stuffing herself in her new skirt pocket. Wouldn't people notice that it looked so bulgy? But there wasn't any other place to hide. They'd just have to hope for the best.

In that case, there was nowhere to go but inside. Everything will be fine. Everything will be fine. Trying to stay brave, she pulled one of the double front doors open.

A long hallway greeted her. It was much like back home, lined with rooms on either side, the flooring tiled. Not nearly as extravagant, but it looked easy to navigate. The only problem was, nobody had bothered to tell her which room she needed to be in.

Then, she was startled by a noise. It sounded like a bell? Every single door in the hallway flung open, and people came pouring out. People of all ages, all shades, all sizes. The one thing they had in common, though, was their uniform. It looked the same as what she was wearing now, or at least similar. Well, at least she knew she was in the right place.

Which direction was she headed in, then? Maybe she should ask somebody. But as she tried to speak up, all the anxiety she'd been holding back bubbled to the surface again, and she clammed up. "Um…e-excuse…" Nobody seemed to notice her. Maybe she was too quiet. "Could you please help me…I-I'm trying to find…"

Mid-sentence, a particularly noisy group collided with her head-on, sending her hurtling down to the floor.

"Get out of the middle of the hallway! Some of us are trying to walk."

That was all the answer she got from them. Not even an apology. The hallway blurred. Her glasses. What happened to her glasses?

"Hey! You okay there?"

Looking around to find the source of the voice, towering above her she saw the shrouded silhouette of a short girl in purple. Was she okay? She supposed she'd been worse before, but as long as she couldn't see anything… Her thoughts drifted to her glasses again, and she began groping the floor.

"Hm... Oh, were you looking for these?" She picked up a barely visible object several feet away. The last place she would've looked. Unable to stand another minute of crawling and squinting, she desperately grabbed the eyewear from his hand, pushing them back on her face with so much force that she could've easily broken them in half.

Except… "Orange," she noticed. A big, orange blotch covered half of one lens. The floor hadn't looked that dirty. She tried to wipe it off.

The other girl's demeanor changed. "Whoops! I forgot to wash my hands again." She sighed. "Sorry, just got back from the art room."

An artist! Now that sounded interesting. "I-It's okay. It'll come off." There was still a little smudge left, but now she could see much more clearly, and she could clean it off better when she got a chance to sit down. She took in the stranger's features - a rounded face, rosy cheeks, and a cute, curly little bun. She radiated friendliness. "Uh, thank you, miss." Was it appropriate to call someone the same age as you a 'miss?' But she couldn't think of anybody she didn't call a mister or missus - besides Laurier, anyway.

"No problem," she smiled, her curls bouncing with every little movement. Her eyes widened. "Oh, yeah! You must be my new roommate that was supposed to move in today. I'm Kayin. Kayin Mercier. Malini Midori, right? Welcome to Aroha Academy!" She reached out to shake her hand.

Midori? Why did she need two names here? "Yes," she agreed anyway. Better not to question anything. The queen knew what she was doing; complaining would be ungrateful. "It's very nice to meet you." So this was a school? She'd heard of the little schools in the village before. This was bigger than she thought any school could ever be!

"Nice to meet you, too!" Kayin replied. For the first time since getting here, Malini actually felt excited. She could have human friends here! Like, the housekeepers back home were nice enough, but that was their job, right? Not that she loved Laurier any less, but one friend was hardly enough to hold her over all the time, and there were some things fairies just couldn't seem to understand.

But she found her tongue still twisted - metaphorically, at first. Her heart quickened. What could she say to make a good first impression? "Uh…a-ah…I…" Goodness, she couldn't even get a word out! She sounded like such an idiot. "So, um…you like painting?"

She chuckled. "Are you kidding? Painting is my life! I wouldn't be here otherwise." It was only then she realized not only what a rainbow wreck her hands were - but her sleeves, and everything below that. "Come on, we were gonna head to our room anyway, right? Then we can both get cleaned up."

She began making her way own the hallway, and Malini did her best to keep up. As they made their way further into the building, the people surrounding them became more and more plentiful. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of trying to interact with them all on a daily basis, although she tried to look calm, at least.

Once they made their way out of the elevator onto the fifth floor, the crowds dispersed quite a bit. Oh, now she got it. Every room number here was a 500. So a hundred rooms for each floor?

"Here we are! Room 522." Her roommate pushed the key into the lock, and they were in. She took a few cautious steps inside. It didn't look anything like her old room, but it was nice enough. Pretty spacious. The beds looked comfortable. Wait a miunte. Was that a kitchen? A kitchen in her room! The thought blew her away. She'd have to learn to cook now, wouldn't she? So much to figure out at once…

In the corner of the room, she heard Kayin again. "Wait, wait! Watch out for my…"

Before she had time to wonder what, her foot was obstructed, and she tripped on something that made a hollow clunk.

"…Paint box." As Malini pushed herself up, she came over and kicked it out of the way. "That was a dumb place for me to put it anyway. You okay?"

"Y-Yeah. I'm fine." That was the second time she'd fallen today. Everyone at home was used to her klutziness, but with all these new people around… "It's not your fault. I wasn't looking."

"No, no, you should be looking around! Sorry I didn't clean the place up before you got here." With that, she took a step into what Malini assumed was the bathroom. "You gonna be okay if I take a shower real quick?"

Oh, great. Now her new friend thought that she was helpless. "Of course! I'll be fine." So much for proving herself. She needed to get her act together if she wanted to succeed here.

"Okay then. Once I'm done, I'll show you around a bit." The bathroom door shut. Malini was alone again. Just a few minutes in and she was already exhausted. Better that she rested anyway, so she didn't hurt herself a third time. Before long she was able to find her bed (the one that was neatly made, as opposed to the other one, with sheets stripped every which way), and flopped on top of it, her suitcase haphazardly placed at the side.

And then she felt something squirm out of her pocket. "Laurier!" How could she forget about Laurier? "You didn't get hurt too, did you?"

"No," she shook her head, taking a moment to glance around the room. "That girl sounded really nice. I'm happy we get to stay with her."

"Me, too," she agreed. Kayin was so outgoing it almost got to be too much, but that was better than someone who didn't have any interest in her at all. "The queen wanted me to make friends here. I hope I do a good job."

For a moment, Laurier seemed concerned.

"Is everything okay?"

"You're gonna have lots of friends soon," she replied, although she didn't make that sound like a good thing.

She blushed. "Well, I don't know about a lot…" Just a few friends would be fine; anything more felt overwhelming. Even the one right now had her struggling to keep up the pace.

She was quiet for a moment. "Malini, I'm still your friend, right?"

Wait, what? Why would the question even come up? "Of course you are!" Malini leaned over to hug her friend. "No matter what, you'll always be my best friend. Okay?"

Evidently it didn't take much convincing. "Okay," she said with a chuckle. "I wish I didn't have to hide all the time. I wanna make friends, too."

At that, she could only sigh. She wished that could be the case, too. "I know, I know. I don't like it, either. But you remember what they said."

"Do you really think Toxic is here?"

They had to be, right? They wouldn't just send them to a strange place for no reason. Still, it was hard to imagine that they could reach a place as nice as this, too. For the school's sake, she hoped it wasn't true. Otherwise… "I guess we'll just have to find out," she said with a gulp. The longer they could delay it, the better.

Apparently Laurier couldn't think of anything comforting to say this time. An uncomfortable silence lingered between the two of them. Until one of Laurier's ears perked up. "Did you hear that?"

"Hm? What?"

"There was…" Now that she mentioned, she could make out odd clattering sound. Poor Malini was such a nervous wreck, every noise made her jump. "From the kitchen," Laurier continued.

There was nobody in the kitchen…that either of them knew of. Maybe something just fell by itself? Or maybe… The idea was ridiculous, but with an organization like Toxic, nothing was impossible. And sitting here cowering would accomplish nothing. "I'm sure it's nothing. Uh, why don't we go see?"

Still, once she'd hopped off the bed, her feet refused to move across the room too quickly. The dread was just too much. Knowing herself, she was getting all worked up over something silly. And yet…

Sure enough, when she heard the clattering again, a cabinet door briefly opened just a crack, then shut again. Was it something living? An animal? Swallowing her fear, she reached out to grab the doorknob…

Suddenly, Kayin's jumped out in front of them. "I'm back!" Panicking, Malini stuffed Laurier back into her pocket before she had the chance to protest. Wait, did this secrecy apply to friends, too? She guessed anybody could secretly be part of Toxic… But no, she couldn't even conceive of the idea of Kayin being evil.

Did Kayin seem kind of jumpy, too? It seemed like she could never read people properly. "Haha, looks like you're already settled. Everything comfy?"

"Oh, yes! Yes, very comfy." She wondered how much of that conversation she'd be able to hear from the bathroom. Probably better not to dwell on it. Just pretend it didn't happen and it would be fine.

"Good!" And with that, she grabbed her purse off the table by her own bed. "All right. Ready to get going?"

What about the thing in the cupboard? Well…as long as they were out of the room, it wouldn't hurt them. "I think so." Should she have a bag or something to carry around, too? But she didn't have anything to carry, besides Laurier. Off the bed she hopped, and they were on their way. "Where are we going first?"

It didn't take long to get an answer. "The cafeteria! I'm starving. Oh, and you gotta be hungry after that plane ride over here."

"Plane…ride…" What was a plane? "Uh, yeah." She decided just to go along with it, not wanting to embarrass herself any further. "Let's go there, then."

Fifteen hours. Fifteen hours she'd spent in this hellhole, and no sign of this bizarro creature she was supposed to be looking for. Arsenia couldn't stand another minute here on these schoolgrounds. Leaves in her hair, her dress coated in muck, and every once in a while, an ant crawled up her arm or leg. She paced around constantly - partly to keep them off, and partly because she was crazy bored - but it didn't help all that much.

Why did the boss insist on giving her this job, anyway? It was bad enough that they forced her to "camp out." Sleeping in the woods, like some kind of animal! Did they want her to come out of this with any shred of dignity at all? She deserved better than this. A half decent hotel room, at least. She would've preferred a suite, but she could be flexible.

"This fairy better show up soon or…" What was a fairy even supposed to look like? Hemlock, their magic expert, had described them as "plant-like." Well, there were plenty of plants around here - too many, in fact - but none of them talked or moved. Should she have be looking for an animal? All the animals here were disgusting. Weren't fairies supposed to be beautiful?

She wouldn't get in trouble if she just went home, would she? They'd let her off with a slap on the wrist before. Except… Sigh. They hadn't given her any way of getting home. For the time being, she was stuck. Maybe if she threw enough of a tantrum, they'd give in? No, she'd done plenty of that so far, and nothing.

Then Arsenia had no other option but to stick it out. But she didn't have to be happy about it. "I'm gonna have to get this dress pressed and dry cleaned, and these ringlets are gonna take ages to fix…" She ran her fingers through her hair in vain. No chance of getting everything out without a mirror.

And then…the crunching of leaves. "Huh?" Those definitely weren't her own footsteps. Finally, someone else decided to show up. Arsenia grinned. Maybe she'd get lucky after all.

"…And here in the woods, they do nature studies and stuff," Kayin explained, talking a mile a minute. Malini tried to hang onto every word, even if she couldn't help missing a couple here and there. "Sometimes I come out here to paint, but I think it's more interesting indoors, y'know? People are more fun to paint than trees."

"Right, yeah," Malini nodded, pretending to understand. Although from her point of view, both people and trees were equally interesting. She hadn't had the chance to see much of either up to this point. "But I think it's really pretty."

She smirked. "It is, isn't it? I guess you forget when you see it every day." There was a pleasant moment of silence between the two of them, just taking in the scenery. Emerald green leaves rustling, swaying, a stray leaf here and there dancing in the wind…even the grass seemed to tickle Malini's feet through her shoes. It seemed…odd. At first she thought it just felt nice to get some fresh air, but…there was another feeling there. One she couldn't quite identify, nor figure out how to fully relish in…

"Malini? Malini! Are you there?"

A hand waved in front of her face. And just like that, she snapped out of it. What on earth was that about? "Sorry. I…spaced out." Maybe she'd make some time to come back here by herself. "Is, is that everything? The whole school?"

Kayin shrugged. "Pretty much. Past here there's the town, but that takes a whole day by itself, and we have a curfew."

"Curfew?"

"Gotta be in bed by 11. That's the rules." Kayin pouted.

Malini didn't mind. "I can't stay up that late anyway."

"You're gonna have to once they start giving you these tight deadlines," she replied. "Homework's a real pain."

"Oh…" What was homework, anyway? Never mind; she'd already asked enough stupid questions today. Definitely got some weird looks in her direction.

Apparently Kayin saw that she was holding back, because she laid a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. Everyone has trouble getting used to this school at first. It's different for everyone, you know? People come here from all over."

Maybe she should've tried to cheer up. If Kayin said there was no reason to feel bad, she had no reason not to trust her. Still, she sighed. "I hope I get used to it soon," she said.

"You will, faster than you think. I know it." It was a good thing she ended up with such a nice roommate, Malini thought to herself. It would be easy to make friends with someone like her. As long as she didn't tire out first.

Kayin stepped aside and took a moment to stretch her legs out. "What a walk! Campus still feels huge, even after this long. I think I'm up for hanging out in our room the rest of the day. How about you?"

Was it already that late? It was true - the sun was already starting to set, and the air was gradually getting colder. But…she couldn't bring herself to leave. Not just yet.

"I-I think I'm gonna stay out here for a little bit." Just enjoy the breeze a few minutes more. It would be a while before it got too dark, right? She'd have plenty of time.

Kayin smiled. "A nature lover, huh? Suit yourself. Oh! Wait." She dug through her skirt pocket, producing a key. "Forgot to give you your room key. Come back whenever you want."

A key! Very important that she didn't lose this. "Of course," she nodded, shoving it deep into her other pocket.

"All right, see you around!" Kayin made her way back to the main building…and with that, Malini was alone again. Alone, except for…

At that moment, Laurier managed to squirm her way out of the skirt again. "It's too tight in there!" she whined, shaking out her crinkled ears and tail.

Her poor friend looked like she was in pretty rough shape. "Sorry!" she cried. "I'll get something better for you. A nice, big bag."

She continued to grumble, hopping up into Malini's arms. "Why should I have to hide at all? There hasn't been any sign of Toxic since we got here."

Malini couldn't argue with that; everyone they'd run into during their little tour seemed like perfectly nice people. Even the one who'd chewed her out for crashing into her on her…a skateboard was what she called it, right? Skateboard. Maybe she could try one out some time. On the other hand, if riding one hurt as much as running into one…

"Y-You never know," she reminded herself. "Atsuko said a lot of people can pretend to be nice, remember?" So was there a sure way to tell what was genuine and what was fake? If there was, she had yet to pick up on it.

"That's stupid," she snapped back. "The queen wants to make friends, so how can you do that if you're not allowed to trust anybody?"

She bit her lip. "Hmm…good point…" As her thoughts deepened, that odd sensation came creeping back again. The sounds of the forest echoing around her. And before too long, she noticed that Laurier seemed to be enjoying it, too, her eyes closed and her ears traveling along with the breeze.

"I think this is my favorite place in the whole school," she said wistfully.

Malini smiled. "Fairies are supposed to have a special connection to nature, right?" Maybe that was it? If they were 'linked,' like everyone said… "I-I guess I kinda feel it, too."

Laurier opened her eyes again. "Really? That's great!" Truthfully, she knew her fairy friend understood her powers just about as much as anybody else did, maybe even less so. If they discovered anything new, they were discovering it together. "Do, do you here what the trees say?"

What the trees say? She could vaguely pick up the sound of something resembling words, but however hard she tried to make it out, the words wouldn't come to her. "I…I'm trying, but…"

The fairy shut her eyes, taking another chance to listen. "They say there's somebody…" A crunch interrupted her train of thought. She looked around frantically. "That wasn't a tree."

No? "Maybe a squirrel?" Then she heard another crunch. And another. And another. And they seemed to be getting louder. It couldn't be… Footsteps. "Is there someone on the other side of the woods?" But that was such a long way away. It went on forever, an endless tunnel of greenery. Until a spot of black and white emerged.

And that spot of black and white turned out to be a person. A girl in a dark, lacy dress, perfectly curled pigtails… She could almost be a princess, besides the fact that she was covered in dirt. And she didn't look pleasant like a princess. In fact, she looked more angry than anything.

"Finally!" The stranger let out a huff. "It took you long enough to show your face here! I've been waiting for freaking ever!"

"W-What? But we've never met."

The girl rolled her eyes. "I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about that." A dainty little finger pointed to the fairy she held in her arms.

Her eyes widened. She'd only been away from home for an hour or two, and already she'd messed up this badly? Was there any place here she could spend time with her friend safely? Never mind that, right now they were cornered. What could she do? Instinctively, her grip around Laurier tightened. "But, but why?"

"Never you mind! Just hand over the fairy, and make it quick!" She could tell the girl's temper was rising. What would happen if she snapped?

"I…I can't…" There had to be a way out of this. Malini knew she should've ran away, but her legs felt like jelly. The best she could do was take a few steps backwards.

And then she heard Laurier's voice. "Go away! Leave us alone!"

That sent her into panic mode. In a frenzy, her hand rushed to cover Laurier's mouth. She usually appreciated her honesty, but now had to be the worst possible time.

The girl scoffed. "Who knew fairies had such an attitude? All right, enough talk." This time, she just reached out and grabbed the fairy by the ears.

Malini held on for dear life. So tightly she worried for a moment that she was hurting her, although Laurier wasn't complaining. The girl pulled one way; she pulled the other. This tug of war continued for what felt like forever. What if this person ripped her ears off? Her imagination just kept offering more and more horrific possibilities.

At some point, she fell backwards onto the grass. Why were her arms empty? Her heart skipped a beat. "Laurier!"

Sure enough, there was Laurier in the other girl's clutches, being dangled by her ears in one hand. That sure looked painful. But Laurier put up quite the fight, flailing around to no avail.

"You and Toxic are the worst people ever!" she shouted, though the girl refused to listen. "You poisoned everybody, and you killed a bunch of people, and you were gonna make Malini do all your bad things, and…"

"Shut up!" The girl slapped the fairy without hesitaiton. Malini yelped.

Then, suddenly the girl stopped. There was a long pause. "…What was that you said about who now?" She glanced back at Malini.

Oh, no. Oh, no…

Malini should've known better than to leave her friend behind. She really should have. But that one sentence filled with so much fear, she tried to make a run for it. It was no use. The stranger snatched her by the collar before she could get too far.

"Now that it mentions it…" The nerve of this person, calling Laurier an 'it!' If there weren't more pressing matters, she would've objected strongly. "You do look a little familiar."

"I…I don't know any of you!" Like that would work now.

This was never supposed to happen. Atsuko said this would never happen. This had to be a nightmare. How could she wake herself up? Wake up! Wake up!

The girl smirked, clutching her by the chin. "What? You don't even remember cute little Arsenia?" Arsenia. Now she had a name for this person. The person that would probably kill her. Or god forbid, abduct her, lock her back up in their lab! She'd much prefer dying to that.

Arsenia let out a snicker, then a laugh. An awful, shrill laugh. Malini's heart was about to pound out of her chest. "I remember you now. You were our top secret project. The one that was stolen from us!"

She shoved Malini back to the ground; her glasses flew across the field. She wasn't sure if not being able to see her impending doom made this better or worse. "No! I-I'm not yours!" As hard as she tried to look brave, she couldn't help trembling from head to toe.

"Don't give me that. You can never really leave Toxic." As if to mock her, she got right up in her face. Up close, she could tell that now, even Laurier was scared. "You know what we do to traitors, don't you?"

Of course she didn't know, nor did she want to. But it sounded like she was about to find out…

"Malini, run!" Laurier cried.

Laurier was right. This was her last chance to escape… No, she couldn't just abandon her. "Not without you!"

"I'll be okay, just go!"

"But…"

Before she could even consider her next move, a high heel was driven right into her stomach. She gagged; no going anywhere now. "Don't even think about it. You really think it's gonna be that easy? Since you're so stubborn, I'm gonna have to do this the hard way."

The hard way? You mean that wasn't the hard way? Malini thought about closing her eyes to make things easier, but she couldn't look away. Her eyes followed every movement as Arsenia tossed her silver locket over her shoulder into the woods. For what felt like an eternity, nothing happened. And then…

The ground began to rumble. A vine emerged out of nowhere, then two, then three, then… It only took a few seconds to lose count. Even if she wasn't trapped, Malini would've been frozen in terror. A tangled mass of vines crawling along the ground like tentacles… Then looking into its core, the only things visible were pitch darkness, and a pair of eerie glowing eyes, visible underneath.

And here she was, face to face with the abomination that would mean her death. All she could do was scream.

"Toxikon, get her!" Arsenia cried. Its vines shot outward, growing longer and longer at an impossible rate. A couple grabbed her left arm. As she tried to pull away, the thorns pierced her skin, and she cried out in pain. Another pair took the right arm. Before long her legs were bound. And they just kept on coming.

Laurier tried desperately to reach to her. "Please, stop! Don't hurt her!" Arsenia's open palm hit her again.

"Laurier!" Malini screamed.

"Malini!"

It was hopeless; vines crawled up her torso and neck, already dangerously close to her head. She struggled in vain as her vision was obscured.

Darkness. Now nothing but darkness surrounded her. There was something viscerally terrifying about this place. At first, she tried to escape. Every movement she made just dug every thorn further into every part of her body. Her wounds burned. Were these poison? Although she couldn't see anything, vertigo hit her hard. Her movements weakened.

So this was it. She was going to die here. Tears fell down her cheeks; her first day out of the castle, and this happened. No wonder Atsuko never wanted her to leave. She'd let everybody down in the end…

But there was nothing she could do. Nothing but resign herself to her fate. Malini was done for. She couldn't even save Laurier, her best friend…

"…Malini!"

She thought she'd heard a voice. But this horrid chamber of vines was soundtight. Was the sensory deprivation making her hallucinate?

"Malini!"

Soon she realized it wasn't her ears. It was like she was hearing with her mind. What if she thought back?" "Laurier…?"

"Malini! Are you there?"

It hit her in a moment of epiphany. She couldn't see any trace of Laurier, couldn't hear her, but she could feel that she was there, beyond these impenetrable walls. She was okay! She was right there, next to her! "Yes! Yes, I'm here!" she thought with as much effort as she could muster.

"You're alive!" Right now, there was nothing more comforting than hearing that familiar voice. "Malini, hang in there! I'll get to you."

She couldn't bear the idea of Laurier trying to save her. So brave, but so small and fragile… They'd done this to Malini, what if they did the same thing to her?

"No!" she shouted back, a little louder than she'd meant to. "I'll get out of here. I'll get to you first."

"Malini…"

"We're…together." A statement that repeated over and over again in her mind. "Even when we're separated like this, we're together!"

Slowly fear was being snuffed out by a burning determination. The queen had been right; this bond between them was special. She had to do whatever she could to protect it, to protect her.

So she fought. Fought against her restraints, even as her wounds deepened, as blood trickled down her arms. Any pain she felt just made her fight harder. It couldn't be long now. She just had to push a little harder. Harder!

"As long as I have you…as long as we're together…nothing can hurt us! We can do anything!"

She had to be close to the end now. She could already see the light emerging from the outside. Or…wait, it couldn't be. Was the light coming from inside?

Though she never stopped moving, never stopped trying to get out, she became aware of a familiar yet unknown sensation growing within her. This was…just like what she'd felt in the castle. But it evolved past that, quickly growing stronger, much stronger. All the while, this light grew brighter and brighter. An incredible power was filling her, overtaking her…

"We…can…do…anything…"

That time, she thought she had felt Laurier speaking in unison with her. She shuddered; all at once, the strange power reached its maximum, bursting out of her. She was compelled to shout, but she couldn't hear her own voice. Blinding white light overcame her vision, engulfed her from all sides. Sensations overwhelmed her…

And then, the light faded.

Malini found herself back on her feet. She was free. She could move! Besides that, it immediately registered just how different she felt. Still like herself, but somehow more than herself. Every inch of her was packed with a strength she'd never felt before. Feeling her formerly shoulder-length hair brush softly, along her back, the unfamiliar fabrics against her skin, she could guess that she must've looked quite a bit different, too.

And yet, she took it all in stride. All that mattered right now was making sure Laurier was safe and sound. Laurier…this was all thanks to Laurier.

Her eyes darted over to where Laurier was last; somehow she'd wiggled free from Arsenia's grasp, thank goodness. Her eyes were wide, her jaw agape. "M-Malini?"

She flashed her friend a smile. They could talk about all this when the crisis was over. Speaking of which…Arsenia. Her expression was almost identical to Laurier's, before shifting to anger.

"Wh-What was that light show?!" The monster she called a Toxikon whimpered behind her, tending to its broken vines, but she didn't pay it any attention. "Just what the hell are you?!

Good question. For the first time since this happened, she hesitated. Just what was…all this? Malini shut her eyes, trying to come up with an answer.

A nostalgic scent wafted around her. Memories of watching chefs in the royal kitchen, the gardeners in the yard, the cultivation and chopping of fresh herbs…

"Fra…grance…" Words came to her, but it took a second to arrange them into something that made sense. "A…a sweet, sacred fragrance that invigorates the spirit."

Then, she knew. She knew what she was, who she was. Her eyes opened, and she clutched her fists with newfound confidence.

"Cure Basil!"