"Fairies of Alfea, as you may or may not know, it is a tradition to celebrate the start of the semester with a celebration between us and Red Fountain."

Carissa groans and I pat her on the back. It has been around a month since we started at Alfea and everything is going quite smoothly (other than the recent attitude of Carissa concerning the boys, but that was something you just had to get used to). My powers have been developing quite nicely, though it's too soon to tell how much improvement is going to occur throughout the year.

Headmistress Quill continues, "It will be this Friday, which is tomorrow. I'm sure you will all be wonderful hosts as you have been for many years. Remember to enjoy yourselves, okay?"

The assembly is concluded and everyone goes back to eating their breakfast. That is, unless your name is Carissa. Then you let your head fall into your cereal.

"Carissa, come on, the guys aren't so bad," Belladonna says.

"Not all of them are, Bella. Just the mongrel," Carissa growls, raising her face and revealing the little pieces of cereal stuck on her cheeks. "Oscar."

Ashlyn hits the red head with her spoon. "You know, just because you hear rumours doesn't mean they're true. I mean, people were always saying that I was the one who filled the teachers' staff-room with laughing gas, but that wasn't true."

"Yes it was," Carissa accuses, "I saw you do it."

"That's beside the point, Carissa dear."

I decide to tune the two of them out as they start to bicker back and forth, instead turning to listen to Belladonna and Fern.

"What are you going to wear?" Belladonna asks. Her expression reminds me of the way mother looks when she's thinking about her days at Alfea. "I absolutely love parties and balls and celebrations." Her expression darkens. "If Kennith doesn't ask to dance with me this year, I will send him into an abyss of no return."

Fern raises an eyebrow and says in her little high-pitched voice, "You mean he hasn't asked you in the amount of years you guys have been here?"

I'm surprised too. From what I've been told, the two are interested in each other, and have been for years. I say, "Why don't you ask him to dance?"

Belladonna sighs. "Tradition. We're from the same planet, you see. Romulea is its name. It is customary for the man to ask the woman to dance, and it has been like that for years. He knows that, yet doesn't do anything."

I could simply say that traditions could be broken, but I don't know how offensive that is to others, especially when they're not from Solaria. One thing I have learned is that you can't insult another culture. I've heard that in non-magical areas it's tamer than it is in Magix. With powers that most people can't predict, it's too dangerous to throw around insults.

As soon as I am finished, I tell the others I'm leaving and go to class. I normally don't go this early, but I want to make sure I have everything in order for Metamorphosimbiosis class. It's the only class I've been lacking in lately, so I need to practice.

I'm about to get myself ready for transformation when I hear something knocking on the window. I shriek and jump around, only breathing again once I see that it's only Beta. I haven't seen him since my first day, but I still remember his mischievous smile. I roll my eyes, but smile and open the window nonetheless.

"Shouldn't you be at Red Fountain?" I ask.

Beta shrugs. "Doesn't worry me. There's no point in me going to hero school anyway. I only went 'cause Alpha wanted to and our parents aren't bothered sending us to separate places."

I sit down in my designated seat and say, "Well, that sucks, but you still have the guys and us."

Beta lies on the teacher's desk, which is empty, thankfully. "That's true," he says, shutting his eyes."

"So," I start, "what made me worthy of this visit, good sir?"

My companion sits up again. "Eh, I was just passing through and I saw you. Luckily, you weren't with Carissa, 'cause she'd murder me and call me a bad influence on her brother."

I laugh. "She probably would. You should see the absolute tantrum she's conducting in the cafeteria."

We both laugh this time as the bell rings. I say, "You should get going. Carissa will be here soon."

Classes pass by without any problems, though I realize they were waiting for me as soon as the bell rang. They arrive in the form of Belladonna, who is carrying a handbag in one hand and a disgruntled Ashlyn in the other.

"We're going dress shopping this afternoon whether you like it or not!"

Out of the five of us, only Belladonna and Fern are excited as we travel to the city. I have to admit, I'm a little full of suspense. I've never been to the city in Magix before, though I'd heard Jeremiah talk about it whenever he came home for the holidays. I had always wanted to go there, and now I have the chance, even if it is for dress shopping, which I despise.

When Fern announces our arrival, I run into the city and stare. It's even better than I imagined, with its large shops and bright lights, despite it being broad daylight. I try not to jump up and down, but it's extremely hard. I never knew I could be this excited before, though it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"So where are the shops around here?" I ask, swiveling around to face Belladonna.

Belladonna puffs out her chest proudly and steps in front of me. "Follow me!"

As we walk around, I stare in awe at the different places in Magix, and although we have places like these in Solaria, I had never been anywhere outside of my realm before. This was a new experience for me, even more so than Alfea. It is only when Belladonna pushes us all into a fancy-looking shop that my giddy feeling ebbs away to be replaced by panic. I hate shopping with others because I feel that I'll make a fool out of myself.

I follow the others inside and look around at the dresses. Absolutely every style, colour, and size is covered, and I can feel myself being drawn to different outfits I would never have even considered wearing before I started at Alfea. I'm studying a golden-yellow dress when Belladonna skips up next to me.

"Found anything you like, Epi?" she asks.

I give her an exasperated expression. "They're all so good, Bella, I can't choose."

Belladonna pulls out the dress I was just inspecting and hands it to me. "You were right to take interest in this one, you know. It suits your tan complexion."

She waves me towards one of the fitting rooms and take a deep breath as I close the door. I change, making sure not to crease the dress, not even a fraction. I look at myself in the mirror, then take another breath as I walk into the vision of judgmental eyes - the shopkeeper's, to be exact.

The girl, who can't be any older than my brother, looks at me and my friends as they step out of their own change rooms. I take a second look at the dress, just to make sure everything is sorted properly. The halterneck straps aren't digging into my skin and the hemline is just in the right spot above my knees. I breathe a sigh of relief as the shopkeeper nods at me and tends to Ashlyn's strapless dress problem.

After changing and purchasing my dress, I stop to look at the others as they sort their outfits out. Belladonna looks very elegant, her pale pink dress showing off her style - slight ruffles and no sleeves. Ashlyn is in a strapless gown, the torso being purple and the rest being black. Fern is putting the finishing touches on her green party dress, and even Carissa seems to be satisfied with her blue quarter-sleeved dress. They all look stunning, so I give them all a thumbs up.

The others purchase what they need and we say thank you to the shopkeeper, who smiles sweetly as we walk out. I breathe a giant sigh of relief as I smell the outdoor air. Fern laughs at me and I blush, embarrassed that someone has sensed my discomfort.

"Come on, let's go get some pizza," Ashlyn says, already starting to walk away from us.

The next day, the day of the celebration, came around quickly and I wish it hadn't. Everyone was constantly talking about it wherever they went - the classrooms, the cafeteria, the quadrangle. Now they're talking about it in the main room where we're all waiting for the students of Red Fountain.

I block it out and listen to Carissa complain once again.

"The sooner they get here, the sooner I can go to bed," she whines.

"It's only seven, Carissa, calm down," Ashlyn says, twirling around an empty glass.

Headmistress Quill walks in with a middle aged man. Behind the two of them I can see the blue of the specialist uniforms. I haven't seen them that much, but they still make me cringe. They look like an army of superheroes, though I guess that's what they are.

I don't bother listening to the formalities, only waiting for the impending doom that was about to come.

"Hey, isn't that Jeremiah?"

One Mississippi.

"Yeah, I think it is. Hey, Jeremiah! Over here!"

Two Mississippi.

"Hey, guys. Oh, and hey little sis', how's Alfea?"

Three Mississippi.

I turn to face my brother with a scowl on my face. "It's very good, Jeremiah, alright? There's no need to check up on me. Your bodyguards have been doing a fantastic job."

Fern leans over and whispers to me, "I thought we were friends."

"We are," I assure her. "I'm just mad at him. I'm always mad at him."

I hear Jeremiah sigh and look up at him again. "I'm only trying to protect you, Eponine. You can't blame me for that."

I stand up, my fists clenched. "Yes I can! Forcing your friends to look after me is not only inconsiderate towards me, but them as well. They have studies to handle as well as their own training. I'm not a baby anymore, so just get lost for once."

I push past him, ignoring him as he calls out to me. I know I made a bit of a scene back there, but I couldn't help it. The only reason I have friends is because he made them promise to protect me, and while I see them as my real friends, I just wish that I had made them myself.

To make sure I'm as far away from my brother as possible, I go out into the hallway. I look out the window into the night sky. I usually don't like the night, since the tolerance to the suns in Solaria is in my DNA, but tonight I am in awe at the sparkling stars. I didn't know there were so many stars around here. It's probably not like that at Cloud Tower, though I wouldn't know. I've only heard of the place.

"Eponine?" a voice asks behind me.

For a split second I think that it's my brother, but then I notice the voice is a little higher. I turn and see Beta leaning on the wall behind me.

"Oh, hey, I didn't see you there," I say, smiling softly.

He comes up beside me and leans on the windowsill. "Why aren't you inside?"

"Overbearing older brother," I reply. "What about you?"

"The same," he says. "You've met my brother Alpha, right?"

I nod. "Briefly, but yes, I have."

He looks at me and starts to say something, but he is interrupted by a loud thumping noise upstairs. We exchange looks, but I break it off by running upstairs. I hear Beta call out for me and my friends entering the hallway as I leave it. The next thing I know, they're right next to me, Beta explaining what we heard only seconds ago.

The hallway is dark, but I can see the the outline of a figure in black running away from us. I transform into my fairy form and feel a rush of energy inside me. I fly after her, not caring that I may hit things on the way. The others follow suit (with the exception of Beta, of course). We back the figure into a corner and it hits me that this person probably doesn't know the place well. The figure is a girl, I realize, and she is carrying a silver and red sword in one of her hands. Ashlyn and Beta lunge for her, but hot steam gets in their way. I cough and wave away the steam, but it's too late. She's melted into a puddle of goo.

We all look at each other with shocked expressions as the teachers clamber up the stairs to find out what is going on.

I hope you liked this chapter. I'm sorry for all the girly dances and things early on, but I wanted to set the scene a little more. Review! ^_^