Azura landed on the grass and looked at the seven hanging dorms for the apprentices. Each on was different colored and the blue one was sure to be hers. But now that she stood there, she started to hesitate. What is she is not a good apprentice? What if she won't fit in? The girl lowered her head with a sigh.
"Look out!" someone yelled. The next moment a young fairy flew into Azura and they both collapsed on the grass with a small thump. Azura was sure she heard the other girl giggle quietly. "I'm sorry," the stranger said and stood up. Now Azura could see what the girl looked like.
Her yellow hair was pulled back in a long ponytail, revealing her face with a wide sparkling smile. Her curious amber eyes studied Azura with a strange eagerness. The girl's short yellowish orange dress had a few stains of green from falling on the grass. But she didn't seem to notice it.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked and gave Azura her hand. As the stranger helped her up Azura nodded. "I'm fine, thank you," she said and wiped blades of grass from her dress.
"Are you Azura, Sapphire's apprentice?" the Yellowhair questioned. "Yes. Yes I am," Azura answered happy that someone knew her. But how did she know her? "And you are?"
"I'm Topaz, Citrine's apprentice." the girl replied and stretched out her hand. But when Azura was going to shake her hand Topaz gave it a little clap and continued. "Have you met the other apprentices?" she asked. Azura forgot to answer the question for she marveled at Topaz's greeting. "You have to meet Jade," the apprentice said without waiting for Azura's answer. "Oh wait, you must meet Ruby first."
"Was Topaz really so..." Elina seeked for the right word. "... childish?"
"Not childish," Azura answered with a chuckle. "We're all different. That was just her style. And I liked it." The guardian took a sip of her buttercup-milk and continued: "So, as Topaz and I started to fly towards the dorms..."
Three apprentices appeared before the two friends. One boy with a purple outfit, the other one in yellow. The third apprentice was a girl with long dark brown hair pulled back in a bun. Her blue dress with violet flowers was much fancier than Azura's and Topaz's. But her evil grin didn't make her even a bit as friendly as them.
"Well, Topaz, I see you have found a worthy friend for you" the girl said and leaned closer to Azura to check her over. "Not the best fairy I see," she said with a smirk. "Well, what better could you expect from Sapphire?" Her mates giggled quietly.
"Leave us alone, Navy," Topaz said to the girl in a protective voice. Azura smiled in the inside. Having Topaz as her friend was pure luck.
"Oh, Topaz is rather moody," the apprentice called Navy noted and patted Topaz's head like a little girl's. The orange apprentice pulled away with a sullen face. "Don't get in trouble or you'll mess up your hair," Navy said and then turned to Azura. "And where did you get that hair?" she questioned. "Bumped into a blueberry?"
Azura searched her mind to find something to say in return but suddenly, she couldn't say anything. She had always known that her hair colour was more unusual than the others, but this insult hurt her even more than she ever thought it would.
As Navy smiled at her victory a young fairy boy flew between the girls and her. He was dressed in red, matching his reddish brown hair.
"You heard what she said, leave them alone," he said firmly receiving an angry glance from Navy. "You chose the wrong side, Ruby," she said and turned to leave. "But you still have time to change your mind."
"No, Crystal junior, I chose the right side," Ruby replied and turned to the two girls. "The name's Navy, not Crystal junior," Navy said and flew off with her fellows.
"You two alright?" Ruby asked as the three apprentices landed. "Of course," Azura answered with a smile. "Thanks for getting rid of her," Topaz added.
"You know, you should just ignore her," Ruby advised. Then his look stopped at Azura. "You must be Azura. Right?" he asked and the girl nodded. "My name is Ruby," the boy introduced himself and made a small bow. Azura stretched out her hand hoping that this fairy would know how to greet properly.
Ruby took Azura's hand but didn't shake it as the girl had hoped. Instead, he lifted it to his lips and gave it a slight kiss.
Topaz giggled at her friend's surprised look. Azura blushed slightly.
Elina interrupted the story with a soft laughter. "What?" Azura asked, not understanding what made the younger fairy laugh.
"So, you liked Ruby?" Elina asked with a smirk and saw how Azura's cheeks turned into a darker shade of pink. "No, we just became friends," the guardian answered as honestly as she could.
"Then why are you blushing?" Elina didn't give up. "I am?" Azura was surprised and covered her cheeks with her hands. "Mhmh," Bibble agreed.
"Could I just get back to the story?" Azura asked hoping to change the subject. "Of course," Elina answered and watched as a small green hand stretched over the edge of the table, grabbed a flower cupcake, and pulled back. Elina heard the puffball eat loudly as Azura continued her story.
A soft music sounded and the fairies took into the air. "Well, that's lights out," Topaz said. "We'll see you tomorrow. And tomorrow you'll meet Jade too." The thought of a new friend excited Azura, but the thought that the classes will start tomorrow still frightened her.
Ruby and Topaz flew towards the red and orange dorms. Before entering her dorm Topaz turned around and said: "Your dorm is the fifth, the blue one." "Thank you," Azura replied and flew to her dorm.
"Good night!" Topaz called her and entered her dorm. "Go to bed!" Navy's voice sounded over the dorms. "Good night," Azura replied quietly and sat on her bed.
The day hadn't been like she'd expected. She couldn't think of better friends than the ones she met today. But Navy's angry voice brought back the memory of the mean fairy and the way she picked on her.
Azura sighed and went to bed. At least tomorrow would be a good day. Sapphire had promised to meet her.