Chapter 3: Small Favors
A/N: Hey, I thought I'd give you another chapter since I have it in my head. I really hope you enjoy it. Thanks for sticking with this story.
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Aria sighed as she looked out of the window. She was happy to be at Alfea, but there was something weird about that red-haired fairy. Why was she insisting that she had been friends with Aria? Was it just insecurity at not having friends, or was there something else? Aria tried to strain her memory to see if she remembered the girl, but nothing came to mind. There was definitely something fishy going on though.
Her pixie, Harmony, fluttered over to her. "You look upset, Aria," she noted. "Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong," Aria replied. "I'm just thinking."
"About what?" Harmony asked.
"Oh, just this girl who claims that a group of girls and I were all friends with her once," Aria answered. "As much as I want to remember, I just can't. She doesn't look familiar to me."
"Well, maybe she's not lying," Harmony told her. "Maybe you were friends with her but you haven't seen her in so long that you don't remember her."
"I doubt that," Aria said.
Harmony couldn't stand to see Aria like this. She decided to talk to the other pixies and see if they could help. She hurried to Firia's and Rayna's room and saw Portia and Querida there. She beckoned to them, and they hurried over to her. She motioned for them to follow her, and they headed to Mega's and Violet's room. Mega's pixie, Data, was by Mega's computer while Violet's pixie, Lily, was sitting in one of Violet's flowers. When Harmony beckoned for them to come, the two pixies looked a little confused but followed.
"Wait, what about Dormia?" asked Portia.
"Oh, I forgot about her!" exclaimed Harmony, and she hurried back to Aria's and Aquaria's room. Dormia was sleeping but woke up when Harmony prodded her awake.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"We need to talk," Harmony replied. "Let's find a spot where no one can hear us."
The pixies found a secluded place where no one would overhear them and gathered together, wondering why Harmony had called this meeting.
"It seems there's a bit of discord among our fairies," Harmony began. "Arai told me that Firia keeps saying that Aria and the others were friends of hers, but Aria doesn't remember her."
"Rayna's like that, too," Querida replied. "She just doesn't want to remember, but we do."
"Maybe we need to try and get them to remember," Portia suggested. "Maybe you guys can put memories in their heads or something."
Harmony shook her head. "I don't think that will work," she said. "But maybe we can get them to meet each other in Magix. Maybe if they talk a little bit, memories will come back to them, and then they can be friends."
"That's a great idea," Portia said. "But maybe we should suggest it without their roommates hearing. I think it should take them all by surprise if they don't know about it."
"Yes, that would be a logical approach," Data agreed. "If they know about it, then they won't want to meet each other and will avoid each other. Let's do it."
"Great," Harmony replied. "See you in Magix." Then she hurried back to Aria who was still sitting by the window.
"Hey, Harmony, where'd you go before?" Aria asked.
"I just went to explore Alfea," Harmony lied. "You know, staying in your room isn't a really good idea. Maybe we should go to Magix. I've heard so much about it, and I really want to go there and see what it's like. What do you think?"
"Well, I think it would be a good idea," Aria agreed. "Let's go." She got up and left a note for Aquaria to let her know where she was going then headed to Magix. It was a beautiful day, and she was happy to be outside where there was fresh air. She and Harmony looked in some of the shops and admired some of the things that were sold in them. Harmony hoped that the other pixies had gotten through to their fairies and that their plan would work. It just had to.
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Rayna was admiring herself in her mirror when Querida came into the room. She really hoped there was a salon in Magix that could help her with her split ends. They were just dreadful.
"Hey, Rayna, how about we go into Magix today?" Querida suggested. "It'll be nice for you to get out in the sun."
"I guess it could be nice," Rayna replied. "I could do some shopping and maybe see if there's a salon that could trim these split ends. I just can't bear to have split ends. I think I should invite Firia along with me."
"Really?" Querida asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I'll need someone to carry my bags for me," Rayna replied. She hurried out of the room and searched for Firia, but she couldn't find her. "Well, I guess I'll have to just go by myself," she decided. "Maybe I'll see her in Magix. I hear it's a popular hangout for the fairies anyway." She headed out of Alfea and took a transportus bus to the city of Magix. Once there, she found a salon and demanded that they trim her split ends. The stylist was intimidated by Rayna's haughty demeanor, but she did as the Solarian princess asked. After her hair was styled, Rayna hurried to some of the shops, hoping to see Firia there with no luck. She sighed in exasperation and browsed through the clothes. She found a few things that she liked and bought them, hoping everyone would notice her chic style.
Rayna was happy and was beginning to get hungry, so she stopped at one of the pizza parlors that Querida suggested. Just as she entered the door, she saw Firia in line along with Aria, Aquaria, Mega, and Violet. What were they doing here?
"Hey, Rayna, nice of you to join us," Firia said, beckoning her over to them.
"What are you guys doing here?" she asked as she joined the group.
"Well, we were all hungry, so we decided to eat here," Aria said. "None of us knew we were going to run into each other though."
"Well, at least I found you, Firia," Rayna said. "You can help me carry my bags home."
"Why can't you carry them yourself?" demanded Firia.
"Because I'm a princess, and princesses don't do things for themselves," replied Rayna. "They have servants to do it, which is what you're here for."
Firia was angry. "I'll have you know that I'm a princess, too," she responded. "And even though I may be the heir to the throne of Domino, I don't expect anyone else to do anything for me. I can take care of myself."
"Good for you," Rayna said with a toss of her head.
"Look, let's just calm down and get something to eat," Aquaria suggested. "We don't need to fight each other."
"She's right," Mega added. "We should all be able to get along."
Fira was still mad but decided to drop the fight. "You're right," she said. "We all used to get along before."
Rayna sighed in frustration. "Oh, not this again," she moaned. "Listen, I don't remember you, okay? Just drop it."
"I can't!" Firia insisted. "This is really important to me. We were all really good friends, and when I found out I was coming to Alfea, I hoped that maybe we could reunite and bond like we used to."
"Wow, you really are determined to get us to remember, aren't you?" Aria asked softly.
"Yeah, I am," replied Firia. "I just wish you could all remember the times we had together."
"I remember that Mom used to take me to play with other kids, but I can't remember who they were," Aquaria recalled.
"You can't remember anything?" asked Firia.
"Not really," answered Aquaria. "Sometimes I get bits and pieces of things, but they all seem jumbled together."
"Maybe you're repressing something," suggested Mega. "I've heard that can happen if something traumatic has happened."
"I don't remember anything traumatic," said Aquaria. "I think it's just been a long time since I've played with those kids."
"There's got to be something you remember," urged Firia.
"Sorry, but I can't remember anything," apologized Aquaria.
"Leave her alone!" snapped Rayna. "Just let it go, Firia. We don't know you, and you need to accept that."
Fira jumped up. "I won't!" she replied. "I can't let it go, Rayna. One way or another, I'm going to try to help you guys remember." And without waiting for the pizza to arrive, she turned and stormed out of the pizza parlor.
"Wait!" yelled Rayna. "Who's going to help me carry my bags?" But Firia ignored her and left. Rayna turned to the others. "Well, that was interesting."
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"Firia, wait!" cried Portia. "She didn't mean it."
"Oooh, I hate that girl," fumed Firia as she left the pizza parlor. She didn't even notice the six witches who were watching her and wouldn't have cared if she had. Things just weren't going her way today. Why didn't any of them remember anything? She thought maybe Aquaria at least would have some sort of memory stored away, but there was nothing. Could Mega be on to something? Had something traumatic happened when they were together, causing Aquaria to lose her memory? If so, why was it that she, Firia, still remembered her old friends?
She hurried to the library. Maybe there was a book that had a spell to reverse memory loss. Firia used the card catalogue to search, but she couldn't find anything pertaining to memory loss. Frustrated, she slammed one of the books shut with a frustrated cry. This just wasn't fair.
"Firia, what is wrong?" a voice asked. Firia turned to see Miss Faragonda looking at her with concern.
"Oh, I didn't know you were here, Miss Faragonda," Firia replied. "Sorry about that."
"It's quite all right," said Miss Faragonda. "What were you looking for?"
"A spell to help with memory loss," replied Firia. "My roommate and the other girls can't remember me. We all used to be friends, but they act like they don't know me. I just want things to go back to the way they were before."
Miss Faragonda smiled kindly at the red-haired fairy. "Perhaps a spell isn't the answer," she said. "Sometimes you have to let things take their natural course in life. The girls will come around, and maybe they'll start to remember with time."
"But what if they don't?" Firia asked her. "What if they never remember?"
"Then it will be up to you to remember for them," Miss Faragonda replied. She smiled. "You remind me so much of your mother, Firia. She came into this very library to find out more about her own past. She was determined to find out who she was and what her power was as well."
"And did she find the answer here?"
Miss Faragonda shook her head. "No, not entirely," she replied. "She had to seek the answer out in her own way. Perhaps that's what you and the girls need to do as well."
Firia sighed. "Yeah, I guess so," she said. "Thanks, Miss Faragonda."
"You're welcome, dear," said Miss Faragonda. "If you ever need to talk, my door is always open."
"I'll be sure to use it if I need to," replied Firia. "Thanks again." Then she hurried off to her dorm. She was disappointed there wasn't an answer to her problem in the library, but maybe Faragonda was right. Maybe it would take time for the girls to remember everything. She would just have to let things take their course, just like her mother had to do. It was the only way to bring her friends back together again.
A/N: And another chapter comes to a close. Things haven't been resolved yet between the girls, but they will be soon. I'm having so much fun writing this, and I hope you're having as much fun reading it. Please feel free to leave a review, and have a shelltastic day.