Disclaimer: Jenny Nimmo owns everyone except Thistle and Isolde, and the White Queen. (OC DON'T STEAL)- Loljks Who would actively steal an OC, I mean really?

This story departs from canon after The Blue Boa and winds down its own twisty dystopia. Bloors works on the year system of most UK schools and as it starts at year seven can be termed a secondary school.

So, uhm... yeah.

Hope you enjoy it. Reviews would be nice. And Yes it's OC central-ish. Tell me if she gets Mary-Sue-ish. At all. But remember Morpheus scored Seventy yet the Sandman rocks.

Prologue

a boy is losing his power. the others are getting stronger. this is war.

Long, long ago, at about the time a king arrived in the north, there lived a queen in the plains of what we now know as Russia.

They called her the White Queen, or those that she left alive did, for her snow white cloak and the white flower that shone on her shield and the shield of her army. It was said that she had been there amongst the snow and ice for as long as anyone could remember. This queen was a terrible magician, capable of rendering castles to dust with a wave of her hand; segments of this power were passed on into each of her six children.

This power consumed the four male heirs and they drew arms against their mother triggering a bloody war. The eldest male, Evgeny, a cruel and sadistic war-mongeror was killed by his own men whilst the battle raged and the other three, the youngest of whom was just twelve perished at the hands of their mother's army.

The eldest girl was named Erzebet and consumed with despair for her lost brothers she fled leaving her younger sister, the youngest of them all, alone with the heartless queen.

Broken and lonely the princess Anael sought comfort in a ranger from the west. Ten days before their child was brought into this world, the queen slew the ranger. Anael did of a broken heart during childbirth.

The queen took charge of the child and raised her as a daughter.

However, the misery was not over for Erzebet, hiding in the forests of the east had heard the cries of her dying sister and returned to see her child safe.

Erzebet killed the queen with fire and froze the ashes in a brick of ice at the foot of a mountain.

The girl of ice stayed with her until her death whereupon she vanished into the forests that covered the Kingdoms of Russia.

The misery of the white family saved the world from another battle like that which rages between the children of the red king.

Chapter One

It was love at first sight.

The first time Charlie saw those delicious looking biscuits he fell madly in love with them.

It was the Saturday before the start of the autumn term and Charlie was meeting the gang at the Pets' Cafe.

"Are you okay, Charlie?"

Charlie held up a hand at the question, as if to say 'not now I'll answer later'.

"Need," he mumbled. "Biscuit."

Emma shrugged and passed a biscuit to Charlie who was about near to drooling.

Fidelio narrowed his eyes, it was his question that had been ignored. "I have it on good authority that your nice grandmother feeds you like a king, Charlie Bone. And is that anyway to treat your long lost friends?"

Charlie, who was munching noisily on his biscuit, had the good grace to look sheepish.

"Sorry, Fido. Maisie was ill this morning and I love my mother and my uncle but they cannot cook to save their lives, and Grandma Bone would just poison me. I'm suprised she hasn't yet to tell you the truth."

Emma smiled and laid a hand on Charlie's. "You have as many biscuits as you like, Charlie."

"Thanks, Em."

"They haven't killed you-" Lysander began.

"Yet."

"Thank you, Tancred. Yet. Because they still hold out the hope that they can turn you in to an evil clone of evilness-"

"Eloquent."

"Thank you, Tancred. And they think that if you turn evil-"

"Clone of evilness." Tancred snickered.

Lysander punched him in the nose. "We'll follow." He turned to his best friend. "You made that far more difficult than it had to be, you know."

"Hey," Tancred held up his hands in mock surrender, scrunching up his hurting nose. "I haven't been around to annoy you so much. I took my chance."

"Hate you all."

"Hi, Liv... wait Liv? What's with the hair?"

Olivia smiled. "I'm auditioning for a role in a film but the character's like three years younger than me. She has brown hair."

"Allrighty then. Anyway," Charlie looked at Fidelio pointedly. "How art all my long lost friends?"

There was a chorus of 'All good, you?'s from around the table.

"I'm good, too. Ready for school?"

This time there was a chorus of groans and vehement 'No's from the table and a 'Ngrh' from Tancred.

Lysander groaned louder still, his head in his hands. He patted Tancred on his shoulder and looked up at the group.

"He hasn't had his medicine, today," he said, by way of explaining Tancred. You cannot explain Tancred, he is a thing of his own, like tigger he is wonderful and everyone is pleased that he is the only one.

"What nasty tricks d'you think they'll have in store for us this year Charlie?" Emma asked.

"I don't know."

"You don't?

"I do not know."

Tancred grinned. "Lookit, little super-hero doesn't know. Seriously, though, it can't be that bad. They are a school. There are rules... at least I'm pretty sure there ought to be."

Lysander turned in the seat he and Tancred were sharing and looked him in the eyes.

"Bloors is a magic school. Dr. Bloor has leverage over the police in this city and he'll get Manfred to... be Manfred on anyone who tries to interfere. We're screwed."

"Nice speech there, Sander. Wanna depress us any more?" Olivia snarked while Fidelio scoffed.

"Magic school? You make it sound like Hogwarts."

"In what dystopia would that prison be Hogwarts?" Olivia asked.

"It isn't Hogwarts but Liv we aren't endowed, we have it better than them. We aren't caught up in the power-struggle."

Charlie nodded sagely. "Vicious power struggle."

"Mhm with biting and scratching." Agreed Tancred.

Fidelio rolled his eyes. "Infants."

"We're the same age as you," said Charlie, waving at Emma and Olivia. "And they are one year older."

Lysander and Tancred nodded and then went back to glaring at each other.

The bell at the door of the cafe jingled and in walked a girl with tousled red hair and white skin. As one all of the boy's jaws dropped.

Tancred moved to get up but Lysander stopped him.

"Really bro'? You think you have the slightest shot there?" he asked his friend, eyebrows raised.

"May have," said Tancred petulantly. "And if not maybe I'll invite her to sit with us." He glanced around the table. "We'll make space."

He got up and brushed some imaginary lint off his jumper. He brought his hand through his hair and plastered on a 'winning' smile. "Smooth," he murmured to himself. "I am a smooth operator."

The girl had ordered a glass of milk and she leant against the bar with it, watching Tancred approach.

He stood next to her and looked at Mrs. Onimous. "Can I get another OJ please?"

He turned to the new arrival and put out his hand.

"Hi," he said cheerfully. "I'm Tancred, Tancred Torsson."

The girl who was taller and older than Tancred smiled and shook the proffered hand.

"Hello Tancred Tancred Torsson. My name's Isolde, I'm new in the city."

The first thing that struch Tancred was the complete lack of accent Isolde displayed, the next was he sweet smile and the third was her sharp teeth.

She shook her head lightly and her hair tumbled down her shoulders.

"Will- ah, will you be going to Bloors?" Tancred stuttered.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, nothin'," said Mr. Smooth. "Me and my friends over there," he jerked his head backwards to the table where Lysander had his head in his hands, again. "We go to Bloors too, and seeing as you're new perhaps we could tell you some stuff." Tancred seemed to notice here that he'd been babbling and clamped his mouth shut.

Isolde smiled again, warmly as if amused by the younger boy's antics and wish to please.

"Sure," she said. "I'd like that."

"Heads up guys, Tanc's caught her and he's reelin' her in."

Olivia scowled, "Really, Charlie. People are not fish."

Emma had moved to sit next to Lysander who was simpering and whining with his head in his hands.

"Sander," she soothed. "The girl's coming over here, don't you want to make a good impression?"

"He's going to embarrass himself and by default me too. It always happens like this!" The tall boy lifted his head and grabbed Emma's wrists. "It never ends well!"

"Could you be normal, for once?" Olivia sniped. "Please!"

"Olivia," Emma chastened. "Just because you're stressed doesn't mean you can take it out on everyone."

Fidelio snorted out a laugh. "Yeah 'cause Lysander is so clearly cut deep by your cruel, cruel words."

"Guys, guys. Stop! We are friends." Charlie looked at them, the very archetype of ambivalence and friendliness. He smiled. "Let us welcome this new girl to our fold."

Olivia cracked a smile first and lunged at Emma, enveloping the smaller blond in a bear-hug. Emma giggled and sat up allowing Olivia more room to scooch over and steal half of her chair.

By this time Tancred and the redhead had reached the table.

"Do you normally share each other's chairs?" asked the girl, as Tancred slid back onto his and Lysander's seat.

Charlie grinned. "We're economising."

The girl bowed her head. "Well, thank you for economising. May I take this chair?" She gestured to the seat next to Charlie, or as Olivia would have griped: The Only Available Chair.

"Sure."

Tancred took over as the girl took her seat: "Guys, this is Isolde... sorry I didn't catch your last name...?"

Isolde's eyes flashed to him. "I didn't give it," she said. "Koroleva." She laughed slightly. "Well, Belaya-Koroleva, technically."

"Koro- What does it mean?" Emma asked, her eyes wide and curious.

"Mm? Oh, well... it doesn't matter what it means. You can just call me Isolde White, if any last name is called for. I'm enrolled at the school under that name."

At this point in the introduction of Isolde to the scooby gang I require a sound effect that cannot really be described wittily through words. So this is the best I can do: *Crickets*

Odd answer, thought Charlie and he recovered to ask more questions of the red-headed Isolde.

"So, Isolde, what brings you to the city?"

"I- Someone told me about your Academy and, well, I thought I'd give it a try. There aren't may schools in this country that deal with gifts in such a way."

Fidelio narrowed his eyes. "You're one of them then?"

Here it must be said that Fidelio has nothing against the endowed, in fact most all of his friend are endowed. Fido just is wary of someone who won't tell him her real name.

Isolde looked at him kindly. "Yes. I'm one of them."

"What's your thing?" asked Olivia.

Isolde looked down at her hands, which were picking apart a poor defenceless biscuit. (Charlie was devastated.)

"Knowing when people I've just met are asking a whole lot of questions too fast."

Everyone had the good graces to look sheepish. Even the pets who'd been forgotten over with Gabriel who was sat at the window being enigmatic and trying to stretch his psychic to something that was not clothes.

"Sorry. You don't even know our names. Uhm. I'm Charlie, those two sharing the seat are Emma and Olivia, then we have Fidelio Gunn, you've met Tancred. That's Lysander and over there by the window is Gabriel Silk."

Isolde nodded at each teenager in turn and then looked to Gabriel.

"Why does he sit alone?"

"No idea."

No-one noticed the odd syntax.

"Uhm sorry I've just realised( so have I, Charlie) where's your pet?"

"Oh, the necessary bargaining chip that allows one access to the 'Pets' Cafe'? See that dirty great wolf of a thing over there," she waved at what looked to Charlie exactly like a wolf.

"That's Thistle and no, he isn't a wolf. He's an Utonagan. Perfectly harmless unless you bitch at him. Then little Thistle becomes sharp and pointy thorn." Isolde laughed at her joke and whistled to the huge dog.

Turned out that Thistle was the nicest dog ever, except for Runner Bean. He padded over to Isolde and sat down next to her.

"Now I know your names and you know mine and my dog's. If you tell me your endowments, I will tell you mine."

No-one noticed that that statement sounded suspiciously like Isolde was a girl of many Talents. I'm going to stop doing this now. Notice things yourselves.

Charlie blinked owlishly for several seconds before Fidelio piped up.

"Well I for one am not endowed. My name is Fidelio Gunn and I am a musician."

Olivia grinned and nodded. "Same here, my name is Olivia Vertigo and I am an actress."

Isolde glanced around. "What about you, Charlie?"

"I am endowed, I'm a- I don't know. Picture traveller?"

"You can hear the voices of people in photographs and paintings, and sometimes you can go into the scene?" Isolde intoned as if she had learnt the definition of by heart.

"That's about it."

"Tancred Torsson. Storm Bringer."

"Torsson, from the Scandinavian Thorson, as in the god of thunder. Cool." said Isolde.

"Lysander Sage. I can call up my spirit ancestors." Sander looked embarrassed at his talent.

"It's better than it sounds," exclaimed Tancred. "His ancestors kick butt."

"Emma Tolly. I can fly, well turn into a bird."

Gabriel had appeared behind Charlie, looking sheepish with his overgrown limbs. "Gabriel Silk. I come from a line of psychics. I can feel emotions through the clothes people have worn." He laughed bitterly. "All my clothes have to be brand new."

"What if you get second hand happiness?" asked Isolde.

"It's not real and doesn't last."There was a sudden sadness in Gabriel's tone and Isolde stood up in a rush of white clothes and red hair and a second later she was hugging Gabriel.

Someone Gabriel didn't know as hugging Gabriel. Charlie wished for a camera.

Gabriel actually smiled.

"I can feel your emotions." he said and he looked up at her. "You have had sadness but in these clothes you are strong and happy. It makes me feel lighter."

Isolde smiled warmly and let go of him. "Glad to be of help."

Gabriel grinned. "So what's your endowment? Now we've told you ours."

"Oh just plain boring fulgurkinesis."

At the blank looks of the students Isolde slid back down into her seat and looked at the metal of the table.

"Move back a bit. Make sure you aren't touching the table. Now, this table is grounded so nothing bad should in theory happen." She lifted a hand and placed the tip of her index finger on the ring of metal at the centre of the table.

A blue charge of sparkling electricity blossomed around her finger and surged to meet the ground, crackling as it went.

Tancred looked at her in awe. "Can you make lightning too?"

Isolde smirked.

"Yes. I can make thunderbolts."

There was a collective exhale. "Cool."

The group hadn't noticed that it was dark outside, or indeed that they had been in the cafe since lunchtime.

Fidelio leapt up. "My god, I'm so late. My mum's going to kill me! Come on Liv, we have to go."

Olivia nodded and smiled at Isolde.

"I'm sorry, it was so nice to meet you. I'm sure we'll see you on Monday. By guys."

"Bye, Liv. Goodbye Fido."

The two wandered out into the dark.

Charlie looked at Emma.

"We'd best get back to the bookshop. Uncle Paton'll still be there I'll walk home with him."

Emma said her goodbyes and Charlie led her out.

Tanc looked at Lysander who was all but asleep on his shoulder, and then up to Gabriel.

"I'll call my mum." He said and then he turned to Isolde. "Can we give you a lift anywhere?"

The girl shook her head.

"I have to go check into my hotel. See you on Monday."

She waved and watched the three boys go.

"Fulgurkinesis," she mumbled to her dog. "Good word."

So, uhm... yeah.

Review plz.

S