AN- A series of short drabbles that form a larger story about my W.I.T.C.H. fan-character Vea (her full name is Veapha) and the always glorious Prince Phobos. This also involves another FC minimally: her name is Leira and she is Phobos's elder sister. Phobos might be a little OC in this. but oh well! Towards the end, it involves the ending of season 1, modified by me the way I would have wanted it to happen so expect brief appearances by the W.I.T.C.H. girls and Elyon, but don't expect a happy ending for them.

Vea: A-Z

-A: Adapt To It-

Just about anyone who got to know her called her stupid eventually. Her mother had said it as well as her two sisters - they were all dead now though. They were the types of girl who loved fairy tales about princes sweeping young maidens off their feet and riding off into the sunset; Vea hated fairy tales more than anything for giving her false hopes as a child. Vea wasn't dead; Vea had adapted- while most girls were cowering in their beds Vea had walked right into the dragon's den and gotten herself a job. Stupid or adaptive, Vea didn't know for sure.

-B: Baker, Royale-

She was the baker, the royal baker for Prince Phobos. She made cakes, tarts, breads, and anything else he asked of her. The first ever cake she had made from him he hadn't thrown at the wall in a fit of rage; he had half smiled and then eaten it with no complaint. Vea found herself one of the few servants who was on Prince Phobos's good side. She did not feel stupid now.

-C: Choices Made-

Life was full of choices and Vea tries her best as to not regret hers. She wasn't regretting the choice to work as a palace servant, no not at all. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, Prince Phobos was a hottie and she was finding herself falling for him. She tried not to stare, not to sigh like a little girl, and not to make a fool out of herself. She didn't want to ruin the good nature he currently held towards her.

-D: Daddy Dear-

It was a normal day, normal routine - the only difference was a late night delivery of kunikberry tarts to Prince Phobos's bedroom. It was there as she delivered the plate to the Prince, who was brooding over a huge book, that the storm started - and the storm plus the smell of the tarts just opened the floodgates. She quickly excused herself with a bow (he gave her an odd look) before she started to bawl right there - she got to the corner of the hallway before they burst forth and she collapsed to her knees in tears that she couldn't stop. It was where she still was an hour later, trapped in miserable memories, when Prince Phobos found her and uncharacteristically led her back to his bedroom. And as she sobbed over the daddy she loved with all her heart, the daddy who had died on a night like this, the daddy whose face she could no longer recall despite her best efforts she didn't give a second though to the fact that it was the Prince's arms she was now crying in. It was the first time she showed him her true feelings.

-E: Effort/Embarrassment, Only For You-

She made an effort to avoid Prince Phobos for the next few days - too embarrassed to face him after her mini meltdown and unsure of just what to say. She did surprisingly well at it until Thursday when she daydreamed the afternoon away and completely forgot abut dinner. With almost no time, she whipped up something quickly and was even more embarrassed to have serve it herself to the Prince. But somehow, it was the right dish for that day; his eyes almost seemed to shimmer, as if the dish had awakened some long lost nostalgia. As he scuffed her on the head lightly after finishing on his way out, her cheeks flushed bright red and she realized she was only ever embarrassed around him.

-F: Flight of Vea-

She had always dreamed of being a bird when she was little, of being able to fly anywhere at anytime. So one previously uneventful Sunday when Cedrik messed up one of the Prince's enchantments causing the gravity inside the castle to vanish, Vea wasn't upset at all. It felt like flying and it was utterly exhilarating to be able to hover in the air like that. She even ventured down to the laundry rooms to let herself be blown about by the stream jets, a look of utter bliss on her face. On the other side of the palace Prince Phobos, watching the chaos though his magical globe, stared at Vea's blissful face and decided the reversing of the enchantment could wait for just a little longer….

-G: Garden Guest-

Vea loved Prince Phobos's garden, despite the collection of deadly flora within. It was Vea who had exchanged her trash detail with one of the cooks for his watering job (the cook had been shocked by the kind offer) - she really did love the plants better. It was one late evening that said cook, hushing her to remain silent, brought her to the back end of the garden where Vea had never trekked before and told her to looks though an opening in the brush. Slightly apprehensive, Vea did and almost fainted since there, in the back of the garden, Prince Phobos was taking a bath in a hot spring…wearing nothing (even though Vea could only see his well muscled chest and above). Standing there, red in the face, Vea finally admitted to herself that she dreamed of something more.

-H: Hair of Platinum

The one thing prided himself most on, besides his magic, was his long platinum blonde hair, always kept immaculate. "Cut" was a dirty word to him, so when his long longs became entangled with sticky grouper goop, he searched for any other alternative that did not involve scissors. It was Vea who recalled her grandmother's recipe for a solvent which would remove any goop, who made it, and who volunteered for the arduous task of removing the goop hair by hair. And so as she sat there upon his bed with him gently and carefully detangling his matter hair strand by strand (solvent held in one hand, a comb in the other), he read aloud from a randomly chosen book so her mind would not wander. Vea thought his voice was like magic to her ears; she had never heard someone articulate so well before. Hours later, when at last Vea's task was complete and Prince Phobos's hair was once again immaculate he sent her to bed with a sincere thank you and a silent vow to himself to somehow return the favor.

-I: Identity?-

Who she was was something that Vea often pondered. For most of her life, she had responded to the query by stating who her parents had been to identify herself. Now she proudly stated "Vea, Royal Baker." But at night, when she was free from any restrictions, she would dream and her dreams were the same. It was always Prince Phobos and it was always only her besides her.

-J: Journey Home-

Cedrik seemed to cause regular magical accidents, Vea learned. Sometime after the 'gravity' issue another backfire teleported a bunch of workers including Vea, the cook, and Prince Phobos to a remote area of the countryside. It was Prince Phobos's suggestion to use horses to return (instead of risking more magical explosions) - but the cook sent to fetch them could only procure five. Five horses for ten people meant partners and that left Vea nervous: she had never ridden a horse before. But Prince Phobos took her as his partner and an extremely embarrassed Vea spent the hour trip back with her back pressed against Prince Phobos's well muscled chest, her face redder than a ruby.

-K: Kiss In The Dark-

There was a traditional castle employee dance with the women in fancy dresses and the men in magical disguise masks just to keep things interesting. An embarrassed Vea was all but forced into a deep blue gown by a duo of maids and practically dragged to the gala by that meddlesome cook. She spent the first half in the corner, drinking punch, but then one of the men asked her to dance and Vea couldn't say no. Vea soon realized it was Prince Phobos and the dance suddenly became much more interesting with gossip between the two and snide comments on other ball guests. And then, as the dance was about to end, in a darkened corner he suddenly leaned forward and kissed her lips…and Vea almost fainted.

-L: Labyrinth of Vea's Nightmares-

Vea's one big weakness was that she got lost easily: even with the most detailed set of directions you could image or just walking a block to the store, she would get lost all the same. So when the cook sent her on a 'quick' errand to the castle library, Vea got lost - the cook seemingly forgot to mention the obvious fact that said library was a giant labyrinth. So poor Vea wandered around looking for one of the two exits for hours and hours - sometimes she panicked and ran and ran and ran till she could barely breathe and other times she desperately tried to climb the shelves. Vea walked, ran, and climbed until she had no energy left at all; she felt as if it had been days since she first entered. Alone and hopelessly lost, she curled up in a corner and cried - which is where Prince Phobos found her approximately sixteen full hours after her 'quick' errand had began. Vea was so frightfully weak that she couldn't even stand and Prince Phobos had to carry her out in his arms: staring at her as he walked he realized he actually might truly care for this girl.

-M: Madness of Phobos-

Vea shook slightly in her boots and she walked into the throne room, prepared for anything. Another accident by Cedrik had resulted in Prince Phobos literally going mad with rage, not identify anyone and attacking anything that came close. As Vea made her way towards him, the magic crackling in the air around her violently, she found she wasn't too afraid; Prince Phobos had never hurt her, he'd only ever come to her rescue and she was hoping some part of him would remember that. She went unnoticed as she climbed the stairs to his throne and gently reached out to touch his arm - he lashed out at her, a bolt of magic just grazing her cheek, drawing blood. But Vea kept her hand on his arm and her eyes focused on his and slowly he regained himself, eyes returning to their normal color, and Vea sighed in relief; the scar on her cheek would never fade away, no magic or potion able to heal it, and for years afterwards Prince Phobos would always look upon it with guilt.

-N: Naturally Vea-

All the pretty girls wore makeup; Vea noticed it everyday. The closest she ever came to makeup was the flour from the kitchen that would often turn her clothes and hair white. So when a maid offered up her spare makeup kit to Vea, she had no clue of what to do and had to have the maid guide her step by step. She felt incredibly silly in the makeup as she delivered the cherry pie to the dining table; Cedrik didn't give her a second glance but Prince Phobos half stared, half glared at her. A moment later he was handing her a wet towel and Vea got the message loud and clear: 'I like you better naturally.'

-O: Open Up!-

After hearing of a tale recounted by Cedrik of silly holiday they celebrated on the other side with chocolates and flowers Vea found herself leaving a box of handmade chocolate hearts on the night table in Prince Phobos's room. Hours later, after mulling it over every three seconds, she felt stupid for doing it and decided to go and retrieve the box before they were found by Prince Phobos later that evening. A sleepy washer woman happened to be in the hallway at that time, however, and in the wrong place at the wrong time Vea wound up being soaked in icy water. Wrapped in a wool blanket she sat by the fire that didn't help to warm her up one bit; she felt chilled to the bone. Then a certain Prince had come by and led her upstairs and tucked her under the covers of his bed beside him with a smile that Vea had never seen before…and Vea fell asleep easily, warm and safe - her last thought was that he had known that it was her, even though the box of now half-eaten chocolate hearts hadn't had her name on it.

-P: Prince, Her Prince-

It was no surprise to him that later that month when he fell deathly ill that it was Vea sitting over him all hours of the day and night. It was Vea who rubbed his back comfortingly when he puked, Vea who made sure he ate the special soup she made for him, Vea who changed the damp cloth on his forehead, and Vea who constantly told him he would be okay. Looking up at her blue eyes in a half daze, a certain part of his mind that he normally pressed down deep and away spoke loud and clearly for the first time in ages and he found himself making a promise to himself right then and there. Days later when at long last he was finally feeling a bit better, he carefully lifted Vea out of the uncomfortable position she'd fallen asleep in while watching over him and gently laid her onto the bed beside him. With his arms gently wrapped around Vea's waist, he kissed her cheek softly. He couldn't ignore it any longer: he had a crush on Vea.

-Q: Queen Leira, Whom Should Have Been-

After Prince Phobos recovered fully he made an obvious effort to stay a bit closer to Vea and to 'bother' he throughout the day t do things for him (mainly kiss him). Vea found herself in the Prince's company quite often and almost always in his arms at night, her new favorite place to snuggle - but some night sleep did not come to Vea even there and in the middle of the night she'd hear the sleeping Prince Phobos mutter a name while dreaming away. Leira was the name. A trip to the library (aided by a long coil of rope) provided Vea all the information she needed to know about Princess Leira, or Queen Leira as it should have been. She was tempted to ask a question or two but never could bring herself to do so and risk upsetting Prince Phobos with memories from a time long since past.

-R: Roses Red As Blood-

Thoughts of Leira, however, were stubborn to leave and often left Vea daydreaming about her; Vea discovered one day that her daydreaming/thinking was dangerous as it lead to a simple trip and a not so simple fall into Prince Phobos's red rosebush. It wouldn't have been so bad if it were just a normal rosebush, but of course it was a magically enhanced one - so as soon as Vea feel into it, the vines covered in thorns wrapped around her limbs tightly, refusing to release and drawing blood. She attempted to free herself but the struggle only drove the thorns in deeper, spilling more and more crimson blood onto the already scarlet petals. Her head became cloudy and dizzy, the world was foggy. And then Vea passed out; the vines released her limp body then and only then.

-S: Secret Passage-

Vea awoke still in the rosebush, still dizzy, and still bleeding but at least free. Struggling to her feet she made her way inside desperate to find someone (preferably her favorite Prince) to help her; the walls behind Vea quickly became marred with red streaks of blood from Vea's bleeding arms, showing where she stumbled or tripped. Eventually, she came to an unfamiliar hallway, lost again, and half fell into a wall as a wave of dizziness passed over her, which opened to reveal a hidden passageway and a secret room. As Vea lost consciousness once more she could only stare at the hanging portrait of the girl whom, she knew in her heart, must be Princess Leira. Less than ten minutes later a frantic Prince Phobos found her (having gone to visit her in the garden and found the blood pool and then having followed the trail of red on the walls to the passageway) and as he knelt beside her to let his magic work on healing her wounds, he too stared up at the portrait he'd never seen before and wondered how Vea had stumbled upon the room he'd spent over three decades searching for in vain.

-T: Treasure, In The Eye Of The Beholder-

When Vea awoke, Phobos has already healed her and wrapped the remaining cuts; she was cuddled in his arms, her head resting against his chest. He looked as if he wanted to scream at her, to scold her, but he did neither. Instead he told her not to worry him like that ever again, holding her even tighter, and thanked her for finding Leira's secret room for him. The next hour he spent telling her stories of himself and Leira, which made reference to the dish that Vea had whipped together that one night all those months ago. And then Phobos was standing and carrying her with him down the hall; a left, a right, two lefts, and more turns made Vea's head spin in confusion. And then he just stopped and let Vea's feet down and she just stared completely in disbelief for a few moment before her legs could no longer hold her and she crumpled to the floor in front of the painting, for that portrait held the image of the father Vea had spent the past ten years trying not to forget.

-U: Unicorn Vea-

Kissing Prince Phobos had become Vea's new favorite pastime, surpassing even baking. She was now fully used to the ways of the castle so when another magical explosion rocked the grounds she wasn't overly concerned until she saw her feet and hands were now hooves. Finding a mirror, her heart sank in despair; a unicorn, she was a unicorn. The first rule of magic was that no magic could affect a unicorn, not even the magic it wanted to work. Vea the unicorn let crystal tears run down her white cheeks as there was no spell or potion that Phobos would be able to fix her with; she would never be able to kiss him again.

-V: Victory for Vea-

She stayed in the gardens all day, unable to climb the tower steps with her hooves, and moped about, feeling useless. Phobos had been equally as horrified to see Vea as a unicorn but unlike her he hadn't given up hope of reversing her and made sure to spend every free moment with her he could. Elyon, Prince Phobos's other sister, was now in the castle among them (they had met once and Elyon's first and only question had been if she could use some of Vea's mane to make a new paintbrush) and Phobos was going to drain her powers away this very morning - but somehow Vea knew the guardians were coming for her. She moved herself to his side before she knew why and then realized she wasn't useless in this situation after all. Vea stood strong between Prince Phobos and W.I.T.C.H. her horn not allowing the teenaged guardians to use the powers while safe behind her barrier Phobos was unaffected as he drained Elyon away into nothingness.

-W: Wants Or Needs?-

The Guardians retreated, carrying Elyon's corpse with them, and Vea just nuzzled herself against Phobos's side, desperately wanting more. That evening he sat besides her, braiding and plaiting her mane and tail into the most intricate designs as he rubbed her softly, thanking her again and again for her brilliance and swearing he'd wait forever for her. Vea could only sit there, needing more than he could give her. He thought drifted to the mornings spent huddled in his arms and the sorrow welled up again with a vengeance. Despite his attempts over the next hour, neither Phobos nor Vea couldn't stop the crystal tears from flowing down her cheeks in rivers.

-X: 'Xplosion Again-

In desperation she had gone to Cedrik's lad after Phobos had been called away, carefully making her way down the stairs with her new clumsy legs. She tipped everything she could reach with her legs or horn into the giant cauldron and lit the magical flame. Then she concentrated on her unicorn magic and levitated vials, beakers, boxes, bags, and everything else she could find into the cauldron as well. Either the resulting explosion would kill her and thus negate her suffering or a combination of the explosions would somehow reverse what the first one had done to her; either option was better than her current situation. The mixture bubbled gently and then suddenly exploded without warning and she felt pain - then everything was a blur until she hear him screaming for her. Carefully through the smoke and debris, she raised up her arm or front leg, which it was she couldn't see, but she knew then and there that the overwhelming pain was taking her away.

-Y: Yearning For You-

She knew she was asleep or half asleep because the real world wasn't so soft or white; she could hear him screaming her name, sometimes strong and other time barely discernable above the wind - and then there was the man in black pointing her the other way and she knew it was Death. And as she stood there, her body wanting to go where he pointed her, she had one and only one regret: she had never told him that she loved him - so Vea defied he is orders and turned herself back around. Blue eyes flickered open to meet worried blue-grey ones and she could feel his hands on her forehead and cheek. She swallowed harshly, her throat dry, and opened her mouth, praying for a miracle to have occurred within the explosion. And she was delighted as words, not a neigh, spilled out and formed the sentiment that for so long had dominated her mind but yet had remained until this moment unspoken.

-Z: Zeal-

She couldn't help but scream as loud as she could before collapsing forward, her arms hung over his bare shoulders and her head coming to rest against the side of his neck. His arms held her relentlessly tight despite the layer of sweat the covered them both as she trembled slightly against him. It was good, so good, and she wanted to berate herself for not giving in to him sooner. It wasn't the first time he had taken her and it certainly wouldn't be the last time either. She had promised herself when she woke up that she's live for moments like these so that the next time Death put his hand on her shoulder, she'd be able to go with no regrets at all. No regrets and a Prince of her own - feh, it sounded like some kind of fairytale….