Setting: 18 months since the events of The Secret of the Lost Kingdom movie. (All Winx Club members except Stella are 20, Stella and the Specialists are 21, Galatea and her friends are 18)

Note: This story makes use of the original names for the planets, but does not uses "Layla" instead of "Aisha."

Floral Music Chapter 1: Melody, A Princess's Birthday Party

In the Magic Dimension, there was a planet in which music was abundant. Music reverberated through the skies, resonated with the beings on the planet, and flowed through the very core of the planet itself. This planet was called Melody, and stylistically resembled the ancient Chinese civilization on Earth. It is this planet that was the home of Musa, one of Melody's many fairies of music and also a member of the Winx Club.

Musa was situated on a bench atop a hill in a park with the cherry blossom trees blooming all around. Though it was, indeed, January, there were signs all around that it was, in fact, spring: the blooming flowers, the only mildly warm temperature, and beautiful clear skies interspersed between spots of rain. The reason for this is that Melody is different from other planets in that each season only lasts one month. As a result, each season can be experienced three times per year.

Musa then closed her eyes and listened. In Melody, music was always playing and always present, even if you may not think it is. The rustle and bustle of the city, or the sounds of the forest at night all have their own melody and rhythm to it that is interlaced with music of its own. No location on Melody is truly silent, at least to Melodians, except for the royal palace and the Apple Orchard of Silence.

The melody of the soothing harp music was guiding the wind as it blew, making Musa's long pigtails float in the air. She wore a white off-the-shoulder top with thin black stripes and music notes on it. She also had pale pink pants with a single treble clef printed on the left leg, and cream-colored boots mostly hidden by her pants.

Looking around from her vantage point on the hill, Musa saw skyscrapers of Zither City to the left, and a music village consisting of small huts just west of it. That was Mandolin Village, where Musa and her father lived. To the right Musa spotted kilometers of gardens, fields, and trees. Nature had its own harmony, so nature was just as plentiful on Melody as Linphea. The difference was that Melody had smaller vegetation and more big cities than Linphea.

In the distance, just on the northern outskirts of Zither City, Musa saw the royal palace. This palace was, in fact, an enormous complex of nine hundred red buildings with golden-yellow roofs. The palace was large enough to be its own city, and so they called it Harmony City. Melody's emperor, his family, and servants would have lived there eons ago. Nowadays, it wasn't royal at all. Instead it was where government officials worked and lived. Melody was governed by a republic, with a council of officials in charge and Galatea's father as its designated president. While Galatea's father was not a king, outsiders to Melody still called Galatea a princess as the daughter of the president. The majority of the citizens of Melody didn't mind. If the magical dimension was more used to monarchies and princesses, then Melody would play along.

Currently, it was a little over a year since the Winx Club had restored Domino. During that year after Bloom properly earned her Enchantix, the Winx Club had a couple more adventures. This included incidents on Solaria with Stella and Brandon, on Earth with Bloom and the remaining specialists, and on Linphea with Flora as well as Helia and the remaining Winx Club members.

Now, though, the group had officially separated. Recently, Stella and Brandon were helping Bloom and Sky plan their wedding on Eraklyon; Flora was staying with her family on Linphea; Helia was working on becoming an assistant teacher at his old art school; Timmy was spending time with Tecna on Zenith; and Riven, Nabu, and Layla's old roommate Francis were helping Layla with some issues in the mermaid kingdom. Musa herself was the only Winx teaching at Alfea. She spent the autumn after the restoration of Domino getting certified for teaching, and then shadowed a teacher as an assistant for the spring term afterwards. Just this past autumn term was her first time teacher an actual class all by herself.

Musa closed her eyes and listened to the music as she recalled the adventures they had as the Winx Club. It seemed like only yesterday that she and the girls had just entered Alfea. It was strange being the only one of the club still teaching at Alfea, but she knew the others had their reasons. Bloom, Stella, and Layla were constantly busy as royalty from their respective planets; and, after the incident in Linphea, she knew Flora was taking a well-deserved break. Tecna had her own issues, and though she was being secretive about it, Musa hoped her best friend would eventually open up to the club. For now, though, Musa was just glad that the technology fairy had at least turned to her boyfriend Timmy for help.

Musa thoughts drifted from the Winx back to Galatea. The pale fairy had earned her Charmix last year and was progressing quickly to Enchantix. In addition, she had recently announced that she was holding a huge party at Harmony City for her 18th birthday. Musa was beyond excited, and even took a few extra days off from teaching to return to Melody. What made it even better was that Flora and Helia had agreed to come. What was disappointing, however, was that Riven and the others couldn't come. He'd been on Andros for a while now, and it's been quite some time since they'd last seen each other. While Musa would have liked Riven to also come, she knew that he what he was doing in Andros was important. Everything was still alright even if Riven couldn't attend.

Behind her, a figure with a long light blonde braid running down her back approached Musa. She wore a lavender dress over a light blue top with light blue leggings as well as a matching tiara and high-heeled shoes. Nervously coming to a halt behind the black-haired fairy, Galatea tapped Musa on the shoulder, causing the pigtailed girl to spin around in her seat on the bench with a start.

Recognizing Galatea, Musa relaxed and said, "Oh, hey, Galatea! What's up? You gave me quite the scare back there." She chuckled a bit and then added, "Is there anything you need?"

Galatea quickly plastered a smile onto her nervous and apprehensive face as she said, "Yes, you wanted to come to my birthday party, correct? I have the invitations that you'll need to get in." The blonde-haired girl took out four envelopes and handed them to Musa.

The pigtailed fairy's expression brightened as she received the invitations and replied, "Thanks a ton, Galatea!" She put the invites in her pocket as she added in excitement, "I can't wait! This party's going to be awesome!"

Galatea stiffly nodded and said politely, "Thank you, I am delighted that you are attending." She paused and then added, "Oh, and since I'll be busy with preparations, I don't suppose you could pick up my harp for me? You can pick it up the day of the party at Ming's Instrument Repair Shop in Zither City."

Musa nodded and said, "No prob. sure thing!"

Galatea bowed and said, "Thank you." She then turned around and hurried off, as if she had revealed an embarrassing secret and was now running away to save herself from embarrassing herself further.

Musa gazed after her with a concerned expression on her face. It was obvious that Galatea was strangely anxious, sad even, and Musa couldn't help but wonder why she seemed so upset.

Figuring that the issue didn't need her interference, Musa stood up and walked out of the park towards Mandolin Village. Flora and Helia were to arrive on Melody in a few hours, and Musa wanted to be ready for their arrival.

As the sun was setting, Musa was at home, helping her father, Ho-Boe, make dinner in the kitchen of their little one-story home.

When the doorbell rang, the music fairy quickly set the plates she had been carrying on the table and exclaimed, "I'll get it!" She then rushed over to the door, seeing Flora and Helia upon opening it. The nature fairy wore wearing gold hoop earrings with thin gold metal bracelets, a yellow-green midriff-bearing halter top, red capris with small green and pink flowers, as well as soft-pink heeled sandals. Helia wore a light green poet's shirt, khaki pants, white shoes, and a single glove on his left hand. His hair was long, and held together with a hair-tie. They each had single piece of luggage sitting by their feet.

Greeting them with a smile, Musa said in an upbeat tone, "Hey, you guys! I'm glad you could make it! Come on in." With that, Musa stepped aside, and opened the door wider, allowing for Flora and Helia to enter her home.

Flora set her bag down on the floor beside Musa's armchair and said in her gentle voice, "Musa, it's so nice to see you again!" Giving her friend a hug she added, "I haven't seen you since you since the festival back at Linphea. How has your teaching job been?"

Musa hugged her friend back as she replied, "It's nice to see you, too! And teaching's been great, but I've been taking advantage of this chillin' time away from the kids, you know?" Breaking away, she faced both Helia and Flora as she said, "Come on! We'll head over to my room so you can put your stuff away." With that, Musa walked over to the door of her room. Flora and Helia then picked up their bags and followed Musa the short distance to her room.

"Thanks again for letting us stay here," Helia said. "I know your home is small, so it was very kind of you to offer us a place to stay until Galatea's party."

"Hey, no prob." Musa replied, turning around and stopping just in front of her door. "I was the one who told you guys about the party in the first place. Besides, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't give my buddies a place to crash?" She partially turned back towards her door and placed a hand on the doorknob, turning it, "Sorry that you guys have to share a crib with me, though. My room's usually a wreck, but we've been cleaning it up 'cause there's really no other place for you guys to sleep." Before Helia or Flora could reply, Musa was opening the door to her room and saying, "But hey, it could be worse. And Galatea's party is going to be rockin', I can't wait!"

Stepping into the room, Helia and Flora were surprised to see that it was, indeed, clean. They had both heard the horror stories of Musa's horribly messy room back at Alfea, and witnessed it for themselves. Seeing the clear floor and lack of trash littering the ground was a contrast from what they usually saw from the music fairy. The room itself, however, consisted of plain wooden walls and floors. The bed, wardrobe, and small desk were all wooden and plain as well. However, the items strewn across the furniture and stuffed in the chest clearly gave it away that it was, indeed, Musa's room that they were looking at. There were also a few posters on the walls as well as a pale green rug, and various musical instruments.

Flora smiled as she set down her bag beside a makeshift bed on the floor, taking in Musa's quaint room. Addressing the music fairy's comment about sharing a room, the nature fairy said, "Don't worry Musa, this is fine." Taking a seat on the cot, she added, "Your home is really nice, it actually reminds me of my home in Linphea."

Helia nodded reassuringly as he put his own bag beside the other cot, "I agree. It's not flashy like Stella's castle, but it's still just as nice."

Musa flopped down onto her bed and smiled gratefully at her friends as she replied, "Thanks you guys."

Just as the three had relaxed and started a conversation, Ho-Boe came to stand in the doorway of Musa's room and asked, "Are you guys hungry? I just finished making dinner."

"We sure are! Come on, you guys, let's go eat!" Musa exclaimed as she hopped off her bed.

Flora gently nodded and said from her place on the floor, "Of course, thank you so much."

Helia helped Flora up from her place on the floor, "Lead the way." Musa walked over to her dad and the two led Helia and Flora over to the kitchen, where the dining table was. In the center of the table, there were three dishes: a seafood dish, a veggie dish, and a dish of tomatoes and eggs. There were four place settings that each consisted of a clean plate, a small bowl of rice, and a set of chopsticks.

"Home-cooked food from Melody is the best, and much better than the junk they sell in those knockoff restaurants in Magix. Some places just can't get the magic right." Musa remarked as she chose a random spot at the table to sit. Picking up her chopsticks, she started taking food from each of the three dishes onto her clean plate.

As Flora, Helia, and Ho-Boe sat down, Flora commented, "You know, I think this might be my first time eating genuine food from Melody." She picked up her chopsticks and then looked over the choices for food, "I'm not sure what to eat first..."

Ho-Boe picked up his chopsticks and started taking food to put onto his plate as he said enthusiastically, "Take a little bit of everything! I know Linpheans can eat anything so long as they're in their human form, so take whatever you please!"

By this point, Helia was fumbling with his chopsticks, but upon hearing this, he paused from his little problem to raise an eyebrow and ask, "Is that true? I've seen you avoid certain foods as if you couldn't eat them." Helia then dropped one of his chopsticks, and, upon seeing this, Musa wordlessly stood up and showed him how to properly hold it. As the music fairy returned to his seat, Helia said his thanks before beginning to eat.

Flora paused in her eating to think of a response before saying, "Well, it is, in a way." She took a bite of her rice before saying, "You see, Linpheans are dryads, so we're part plant. And what plants need to survive are light, water, the right nutrients, and carbon dioxide. But, because I'm only half plant, it's a little more complicated. We're essentially just like plants in our natural form, but, because we can move, we also need to consume something extra like insects for extra energy."

As Flora continued eating her food, Musa paused in her eating to remark, "But, you eat pizza and rice and lettuce and stuff, so how does that work?"

Flora finished chewing her food before saying, "In my human form, I also need light, carbon dioxide, nutrients (which I mix into my tea), and water, just not as much. But, because I'm so much more like a person and less than a plant in this form, I need to eat even more to get the extra energy. This energy will carry over into my natural form, and is necessary for me to be able to move and think. But, when I'm in my natural form, I don't actually need to eat anything else, because I can convert energy from water, light, carbon dioxide, and nutrients from the ground. I can also store this energy for later in case I have to go a long time without eating."

"That's really interesting," Ho-Boe then said, impressed.

At this point, Musa, Ho-Be, and Flora continued to talk about Linphea as they ate. As they did so, the music dramatically changed from a syncopated violin-dub-step piece to something with a more depressing mood. The piece seemed to be a sentient being in the midst of a horrible depression, coming to life in its anguish and fear. Helia took notice of this, and listened carefully as he ate. The piece seemed to remind him of the time Flora told him how Musa earned her Enchantix by saving Galatea from a fire, but he couldn't place why. It was overbearingly sad, and Helia could feel it in his soul. Curious, he spoke up and asked, "Sorry to interrupt, but do you know what song this is?"

The three simultaneously stopped speaking and listened carefully as they ate. After some thought, Musa replied, "Actually, I'm not sure. It's weird, I can usually tell what song it is. I think I heard Galatea playing it once in her room though." She turned to face her father, "Dad, you have any idea what the song is?"

Ho-Boe closed his eyes to think before opening them in recognition and saying, "This is a song composed by the current president's daughter, released a little less than nine years ago. It's titled 'A Life Alone.' Miss Galatea wrote it in the waning of that political turmoil between the upper and lower class. It was before she went to Alfea, I think."

"Princess Galatea?" Flora asked in surprise. She put her chopsticks down and concentrated on listening to the song some more before saying, "It's such a sad song... I wonder why she wrote it..."

Musa shrugged, and mouth full of food she said, "No idea." But, mentally, she was wondering the same thing. She hadn't seen Galatea be extremely upset with the exception of the instance where the Trix had taken her wings. She briefly wondered if Galatea had been hiding something, and if it was the reason for her nervousness when handing her the invitations.

Helia, however, took note of something else Ho-Boe had said and asked, "What do you mean by political turmoil?"

Musa paused, thinking of the best way to explain without bringing up memories, before saying, "Basically, Melody's rich people and performers have all of the political power, while the merchants and laborers want more rights, and seats on the council, and stuff. It's part of why mom was kicked out of her family for wanting to be with dad."

Ho-Boe gave him a weary smile and added, "It's a long story, I'm sure we'll tell you another time."

As the dinner continued without any more words, Galatea's song came to a close and a more classical piece came on. Musa then broke the ice and began talking again, "Oh, have I told you about Galatea's other stuff? She played some of her other songs at Alfea and stuff, and it's amazing." The rest of the dinner was spent conversing casually, all the while the question of why Galatea would write such a sad song remained in the back of her mind.