"Goodbye Ms Griselda! Goodbye Ms Faragonda!" the Winx girls chorused as they walked out the exit of the school building of Alfea, their luggage trailing behind them. As they walked out the courtyard of the school, they saw other groups of girls leaving as well, the high school freshmen struggling to pull or carry their luggage along, since levitation was a spell taught near the end of the semester.
"I can't wait to go home to Gardenia!" Bloom enthused as they boarded the bus to Magix. "My parents were able to get one of the beach houses for us, and I was a little doubtful at first because those beach houses used to be absolutely awful, but they insisted that there were some major changes and the beach houses are much nicer now," she explained.
"Well that sounds promising," Musa said cheerfully, looking out the window at the passing scenery.
"And we get to stay with the boys, too!" Stella added, grinning. "Is that the main reason why you're excited?" Tecna asked teasingly.
Stella blushed. "Well, no, but it is a huge part of why I'm excited," she clarified with a saucy wink. "I'm so looking forward to spending time with Brandon," she confided, then sobered and looked out the window like Musa quietly. She didn't say anything, but then again, she didn't have to. All of them, herself especially, knew why she was troubled. As crown princess of Solaria, she had a duty to marry for the throne, since her husband would be the king, or royal consort at the very least. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't throw her responsibility to her kingdom to the wind and marry Brandon, which meant that as soon as she graduated from Alfea College in eight months to return to the political scene in Solaria, she and Brandon were basically over.
At the unwelcome reminder of the imminent fate of the longest-lasting - and unlikeliest, given how flirtatious both of them were - relationship, all of them grimaced for a moment, but didn't dare to say anything. After all, none of them knew what she was going through, and to say anything about the situation was like stepping through a minefield. Even Bloom, despite being royalty as well, didn't know what to say - after all, she wasn't crown princess, so she didn't have to rule Domino, and her bloodlines were pure enough to be queen of Eraklyon. Not having anything to contribute to the discussion, Bloom and Flora, who were sitting on either side of Stella, just rested their heads on her shoulders and squeezed her hands reassuringly. Stella gave a small smile and sighed, slumping against the back of her seat.
Stella perked up when they reached their destination and the boys ran out of the cafe they had agreed to meet up at. "Brandon!" she cried out exuberantly, throwing herself into his arms. They exchanged a heated kiss and the rest of the group just looked at them with amusement, each of the girls in the arms of her significant other. Because Stella and Brandon were both very physically affectionate people, they had always been prone to such displays every time they met up or said goodbye. It had gotten worse ever since the start of the school year, but since they all knew why, no one gave the pair a hard time about it.
"I'm so excited to spend the break with you," Stella mumbled into Brandon's neck, which she was currently trailing kisses down. He ran his hands up and down her back as he murmured his agreement.
"Come on you guys, the transporter is right about to leave," Tecna intoned, taking Timmy's hand as they led the group to the transporting pad. Breaking apart with a semi-guilty and dreamy half-lidded look, they followed the rest of the group.
"To Earth, please," Bloom requested of the transporter, which promptly dropped them in the middle of Gardenia.
"Okay, my mom said that we should just make our way to the beach houses because the agent would meet us there and hand us the keys, so let's go!" Bloom directed the group. They took a slow, leisurely walk to the beach, enjoying the warm weather. They were all relieved, though, when they reached the office building near the beach, stepping into its air-conditioned interior.
"Um, hi, I'm Bloom, and this is my party. We've booked a beach house for the next two weeks," she told the teenaged girl sitting at the desk.
"Oh hey Bloom!" Just then, a tiny slip of a girl, wearing a crisp white long-sleeved blouse and a black pencil skirt walked in the door. Even in her black heeled Louboutin pumps, the top of her head barely reached the boys' shoulders - and Riven's chest - and they watched in mild amusement as she walked authoritatively up to the front desk, where the concierge looked mildly panicked.
"Um, good afternoon, Miss Rivers," the girl stuttered out, her eyes wide.
"Danny, it's so good to see you again!" Bloom exclaimed as she rushed over to hug the girl, whom they assumed was Daniella. Their suspicions were confirmed when she turned to the rest of them, one arm still slung around the girl's shoulder, and introduced her. "Guys, this is Daniella, my best and oldest friend!" she announced to the group.
"Hi Daniella," they all chorused, and she smiled and said hi back. She really was a beauty, Bloom hadn't been exaggerating one bit. They took in her sweet face with the enormous eyes, slender, regal nose and lush lips, the thick black hair in a bun with just the smallest streaks of dark red running through it, the sleek, athletic body that was shown off to perfection by the expensive-looking office clothes she wore, and, of course, the beautiful shoes with flirty red soles that adorned her tiny feet.
They all took turns introducing themselves, as Daniella smiled and shook their hands politely.
"So, how come you're here?" Bloom finally asked, the curiosity too much for her to take.
"Well, is that any way to greet an old friend who left work in the middle of the day to come see you?" Daniella joked. "I'm here to show you to your beach house, silly! Your parents told me you were arriving today, and I'd hoped to sit at the desk and trick you into thinking I was the concierge, but this morning's meeting ran horribly late," she lamented, rolling her eyes.
"May I have the keys to their house, please?" Daniella asked, holding her hand out to the receptionist, who currently looked a little like she was going to throw up. She hastily placed the keys in Daniella's outstretched hand, and her look of relief when Daniella thanked her and ushered the rest of the group out was comical to the members of the group who turned back and were able to catch it.
"I think what Bloom meant was how were you able to leave your workplace in the middle of the day for an unofficial meeting? According to what I've read about Earth office etiquette, that is generally seen as a no-no," Tecna clarified.
Bloom nodded. "Yup, and how come you were allowed to just walk in and show us to our house?" she added.
"Oh, I see your parents haven't told you yet," Daniella commented. "That seems surprising, since I've been the talk of the town ever since I've been back," she said drily, rolling her eyes. "To answer your questions, the conglomerate I work for, Barilla Group, has decided to make business ventures in Gardenia, including buying out the company that used to own the beach houses here. That's why they've been refurbished and upgraded," she added. "Since I grew up in Gardenia, out of the candidates who were screened to head the office here, I was chosen in the end, and here I am now. Your parents told me you guys were coming to stay when I ran into them the other night, so I thought I'd come down and say hi," she concluded.
By this time, they were standing in front of a gorgeous beach house, which Daniella unlocked for them. She took off her shoes at the entrance, nudging them with her toes to the side of the door, near the shoe cabinets. "So, here's your house," she told them. When they were all in the house, admiring the gorgeous decor and lush furnishings, she directed them to the dining table, and showed them a leather-bound folder with several documents inside.
"So, the house comes with wi-fi, and the network name and password are all written here," she explained, pointing at them on the paper. "A housekeeper will come by every other day to clean up the place, so you may want to leave during those times so that she won't disturb you. We do have cable TV, so I hope you enjoy," she told them, smiling. "Well, I'll leave you to explore the house - if you need anything, just call the front desk using this number," she finished, flipping the pages and pointing at the phone number on the printed page.
"Well, bye guys!" she said, turning away as eleven members of the group continued to look around curiously and excitedly at the house they would be staying in for the next two weeks.
"Wait, Danny!" Bloom said hurriedly as she half-ran to Daniella, who was slipping back into her shoes. "I'd really like to catch up with you, can we have dinner tonight?" she suggested.
Daniella smiled at Bloom, her beautiful eyes twinkling so brightly they could have put the stars in Solaria to shame. "Wow, she really is gorgeous," Stella whispered to Layla, who nodded silently.
"Sure, Bloom, I'd love to! I'll have my secretary make reservations tonight at La Bella. For two or thirteen?" she asked, raising a neat brow.
"Oh, just the two of us tonight. I'd love for us all to hang out together soon, but I really want to just catch up tonight," Bloom explained. "But… La Bella seems extravagant," she said, looking worried.
Daniella looked a little surprised for a moment, then her features smoothed out into a smile. "Don't worry about it, I'll pick up the tab," she said, waving her right hand dismissively. As she did, Bloom noticed a gorgeous ring that looked almost like an engagement ring on her ring finger. Before she could ask about it, though, Daniella pulled her sleeve back to look at her watch, frowned, then stepped in to give her another hug.
"I'll see you tonight then, Bloom! I'll pick you up from the front desk at around eight, okay? See you guys, nice to meet you, we'll chat more soon" she said hastily, then almost ran out of the house.
"Well," Musa said when Bloom shut the door and turned back around. "She certainly is a whirlwind of energy."
"Yes, and so tiny, it's adorable!" Stella added, and everyone nodded in agreement.
"Still, based on what I know of Earth career trajectories, she's incredibly successful for someone of our age. She can't have been out of university for that long, and heading a branch of a big conglomerate like Barilla already? That's amazing," Tecna marvelled.
"Yes, she certainly seems capable. The poor receptionist was terrified of her," Layla said, laughing.
Flora said nothing. She and Helia were looking at each other, each with an intense look on their faces, like they were having a telepathic conversation, which wasn't all that uncommon with the two of them, anyway.
"It's so nice to hear that you guys like her!" Bloom said, smiling. This mid-term break was shaping up to be rather perfect.
Wow another chapter so soon - yay progress!
Hope you guys like this one too, I hope you like Daniella so far. I have lots of plans for her, and I'm intending to shift the focus of the story to her soon.
As always, I love to hear about your opinions, so please let me know what you think of the chapter!
Love,
Peachy Hikaru