Disclaimer: I don't own Winx Club.

Since this is a new series, I thought I'd get a few more chapters out quickly so I can get the story properly established. The update rate should slow down in a bit.

The question of the day seems to be why I made Musa the new headmistress of Alfea. Simple. I think she's the best qualified. The three candidates were Bloom, who's pretty much disqualified because she already has too many responsibilities as is, Flora, and Musa. Between Flora and Musa, I believe Musa to be the better choice as she's somewhat more level-headed and responsible. In fact, out of all the Winx, I believe Musa makes by far the best headmistress, even if you disregard other responsibilities. I like Bloom, but I still think Musa would do a better job. And because I'm the author, I get to make the final decision.

Now, on with the story!

"So, how's married life so far?" Reyva asked. The Classix were gathered at a table in the great hall of Alfea. Two days had passed since Artis and Perdi's wedding and the women were getting ready to go back to their lives.

"It's... nice." Perdi said as she held Artis's hand.

"So, when's the honeymoon?" Dhalia asked.

"This summer." Artis said. "I still need to finish out and present my thesis at the University of Magix, and Perdi's stuck here until the school year's over."

"It would be a shame if I didn't finish my first year as Alfea's new librarian." Perdi said. "I don't want to let Barbatea down. This library was her world."

"Yeah, although I bet she's doing a fine job over at the Magix Archives." Nyssa said.

"So, what about you?" Artis asked. "How much longer will you be sticking around in Magix?"

"I have to get back to training." Reyva said. "I have a title to defend after all."

"And a record to break." Dhalia replied. "I heard you were less than fifteen minutes short of breaking the Wilderness Marathon record."

"Yep, eight days, twelve hours, forty-seven minutes. The record is eight days, twelve hours and thirty-four minutes."

"And you, Dhalia?" Perdi asked.

"I thought I'd take this opportunity to present some of Corvos and Sorice's newest products to the Magix Police force. They've expressed interest before, and we just perfected a new magical device."

"So, Dhalia." Artis began. "What are you going to do when Liam asks you the same question Perdi asked me?"

"What? Liam's not going to propose!"

The other four Classix just stared at the petite woman.

"...Okay, he might."

"Dhalia, you've known him for almost five years now. You've been business partners for four years, and you've been dating for three and a half." Artis said. "I'm surprised he hasn't proposed yet."

"I know, but..."

"Then again, I guess that's no more surprising than Perdi being the one to finally propose." Artis examined the engagement ring Perdi had gotten for her. "It certainly startled me."

"You were taking too long." Perdi said, mock-angry. "So I decided to do it instead."

"Fair enough." Artis laughed. "But back to the subject at hand. Dhalia, what are you going to say if, no, when, Liam finally does propose?""

"I..." She looked at her hands.

"Dhalia, if you don't want to, you don't have to, but he's a good man." Perdi said. "If we didn't think so we'd have told you."

"Yeah, remember what happened with Reyva's boyfriend?" Nyssa asked.

"Please, don't remind me." Reyva said. "I can't believe I trusted that jerk."

"It's okay, he got what he deserved." Artis said. "But back to the subject of Mr. Sorice. You do like him, don't you?"

Dhalia looked up. "I do, it's just that he's so..."

"Paranoid. Overprotective. Easily worried." Nyssa rattled off. "Dhalia, you know why he worries about you. After what almost happened to his sister, he has a right to be concerned. And unlike Amy, you don't have any latent powers that could save you. Given the circumstances, he's surprisingly calm about the situation."

"I still don't see the need for me to always have a magical amulet for self defense."

"Whatever." Reyva said. "The point is, that's your only major concern about him, and it's not like he's unreasonable about it. He's a great guy Dhalia."

"I know, it's just..."

"Dhalia, this isn't like you." Perdi said. "You're a brave leader, this should be easy!"

Dhalia chuckled. "Yeah, but in the war I didn't really have a choice. I could lead, or I could sit back and watch everything I love be destroyed. It's not hard to be brave when the alternative is something like that."

"Maybe so." Artis said. "But do try to think about what we said. Guys like Liam don't just come along every day."

"Yeah, I know." She smiled impishly. "I'm just not sure I want to change the business from Corvos and Sorice's to just Sorice's."

"So don't." Perdi said. "That doesn't mean you can't get married."

"I suppose not. Speaking of which, what are you two doing about your last name?"

"Um, we haven't decided yet." Perdi said.

"Well, traditionally, the bride changes her name." Reyva said. "So that brings up the question of which of you is the bride."

"She's the bride." The newlyweds said in unison. They blinked, startled. "I'm the bride." They said, again in unison. Nyssa almost fell off the bench laughing.

"Okay then, let's see if we can figure this out." Reyva said. "Artis was the one who waited at the altar for Perdi, which makes Perdi the bride."

"But Perdi was the one who proposed." Dhalia said. "That makes Artis the bride."

Artis and Perdi looked at each other.

"You got our first kiss." Perdi said. "I get our first married kiss."

"I guess that makes me the bride." Artis said. "But that doesn't quite solve our name dilemma."

"Nope. Why don't we compromise. How does Conte-Sophus sound?"

"That sounds just fine."

"Then it's settled." They sealed the deal with a kiss.

"Okay, if you two are going to get all sappy on us, I'm going to leave." Nyssa said. "I have some stuff to do for Stella anyways."

"How do you even work with that woman?" Reyva asked. "She'd drive me crazy in less than a week!"

"You get used to it." Nyssa said. "In any case, I really do need to get going. See you all later." She got up and left the room.

"I should get going too." Dhalia said. "My presentation is in a few hours and I don't want to be late." She also rose to leave.

"I can stick around for a little longer, but I have to leave tonight." Reyva said.

"I have to meet with a student soon," Perdi said, "but feel free to go on without me."

"Alright." Artis said. "I'll see you at home. Don't work too hard."

"See you later."

"I don't see why Perdi has a room at Alfea if the two of you live in the city." Reyva said as Artis locked the car. They stood in front of a beautiful little house with a picturesque lawn and a small flower bed. Flowering bushes lined the path to the house, ending at a porch with a swinging chair and a wicker sofa.

"It's part of the standard employment contract." Artis said. "Most of the faculty live on campus, so they have rooms set up for everyone." She pulled out the house key. "It's come in handy a few times when she's had to work late, or when I need to use Alfea's facilities."

"Yeah, but it's still strange."

"I guess so. Artis said as she started towards the house. "Come on in and-" She cut off, stopping in her tracks. "Move!"

A man clad in dark red burst from behind one of the bushes. In his right hand he held a knife. Artis ducked under his slash and turned to face him. More men burst from concealment. The two women now faced five opponents.

"Well, this is a problem." Reyva said.

"Yeah." Artis replied. "Just a bit."

A/N: For those who want to know, Dhalia's full name is Dhalia Arabella Corvos. Reyva's name is Reyva Delai Perine. Nyssa doesn't really have a last name, but she usually uses Amelia's name, Galiana, when she needs one. Yet another way in which my characters don't match Winx norms.

That's all for now, see you all next time.