So I'm going to change up the castle a bit. I'm trying to work on describing places better, so bear with me on the castle and its grounds. Basically, it will be the Eraklyon Royal Palace, though, so if you want a visual, check it out. I also like giving Kiko a bigger part. GUESS WHAT?! The WINX CLUB GIRLS AND THEIR BOYS ARE GONNA VISIT! Not in this chapter- did I get your hopes up? Also, I'm trying to think of a way to get the pixies in. I don't like excluding any of the characters I love. The only main character that won't appear will be Roxy. She doesn't have a boyfriend, or pixie, and it would be pushing it to put them THREE in the contest. All the girls on that planet have entered but THREE of the Winx Club were chosen? Rigged... *Cough cough* Besides, I don't wanna make up a boyfriend for her when she's bound to have one in the series. And in my stories, I like when EVERYONE cool is paired with somebody.

Thank you for listening to me ramble. Please R&R

~BB

Kiko had snuck into my bag. That's why it was heavier than it should've been. Since I've had him since I was a little girl, I could tell he was smiling. I bet he thought he was ultra stealthy- like a ninja. My initial shock was soon replaced with genuine relief. I plunked to the ground and grabbed my bunny, hugging him tightly.

Only when I let go of him did I think whether he was allowed here or not.

I looked around, panic on my face. The man who had opened my door, Logan, was watching in surprise. An idea came to me. Picking up my bag, I kept my eyes on him. I reopened my bag and put Kiko back in, although he put up a bit of a fight. "Shh."

Logan opened his mouth, but I spoke before he could. "You said to bring anything precious to me." I paraphrased what he had said, but this could still make him part of the blame.

Logan nodded, with a knowing smile. "Of course, miss."

"Bloom." I stated.

When he only held a confused look, I explained. "My name is Bloom, so I would appreciate if you called me Bloom. None of this 'miss' or 'my lady' crap, if you don't mind."

"But-"

I held up a hand. "I am not royalty, so please don't treat me like it."

He sighed. "If you wish, miss- I... I mean..." He hesitated. Was it really that hard? "Bloom."

I grinned and gave him a pat on the back, that made him stumble forward. "Oops. My bad." My smile turned sheepish.

"You sure aren't like any girl I've seen here. Actually, I have never met a girl like you before!"

"You should meet some of my friends then." I paused. "I didn't even get to say goodbye to them. I wonder where they are." My gaze turned up toward the blue sky.

Before I could get lost in thought, Stella was at my side. "I'm so excited! I want to live life in luxury again!"

I laughed. "I guess your idea of living like a normal girl is different than other peoples'."

The blond crossed her arms. "Well, I'm fine with being waited on hand and foot..." She paused. "I just hate the restrictions, rules, and how it gives me no freedom."

I raised my eyebrow. "Um... Do you think this is any different?"

"This is totally my choice, and besides, the prince is gorgeous. He would be a perfect match for someone of my status." She flipped her hair.

"And what if he turns out to be a jerk? What if he turns out to be like one of your exes?" I asked seriously.

Stella hesitated. I could tell that what I asked concerned her. She decided to play it off. "None of my exes were as cute as he is and they didn't have the proper breeding to be my boyfriend, let alone husband. Besides, he is exotic."

I smiled, letting the conversation drop. If the prince does turn out to be a jerk, I will be sure to give him a round-house kick to the face, then give him one of my signature throws, that made me so respected in the judo community. I originally practiced judo, but I do dabble in the other martial arts. They're fun, even if I've only met a few other girls doing so, including Layla. Musa loves to learn from us, but she also loves to learn new dance moves from Layla. Dance, for me, is like having an intoxicated walrus on stilts. Either I get hurt or more likely, someone else gets hurt way worse.

It sure was fun watching Musa take down Riven. The surprise and embarrassment on his face was hilarious. Serves him right for having his jerk-ish moments.

I do hope Prince Sky isn't a jerk and that he hits it off with Stella. Then... My mood suddenly was dampened. If Stella and Sky got together, I would be the only one of my friends without a boyfriend. Of course, I'm not a boy-hunter like Stella, but I still want a guy who would love me. With a total of one ex-boyfriend, named Andy, I am not that sought after.

"It's time to go..." Stanton informed us.

We all nodded, and Stanton and Logan led the way to the castle.

We had parked in the main circular road that looked like it was used for drop off purposes. The road circled around a large grand white water fountain, that looked more like a swimming pool.

I was pretty sure that there coins shining in its depths, based on the view I had gotten, making it a wishing fountain, but I had to make sure. If it was, I'm definitely going to make use of it with a few coins I had in my bag. I'd like to have luck on my side for my desire of not being chosen.

Around the road, in the yards beside it, were huge gardens, that were divided by the wide, long pathway leading to the entrance of the castle. They both looked like they went on for quite a while.

To the right, in a distance, stood a thick forest, which looked ominous and mysterious, daring me to quench my new curiosity and explore it.

Much farther away, I noticed a big building that had to be the royal stables.

There was probably more around the castle, within the humongous palace walls surrounding the castle grounds, but now my attention was focused on the castle itself.

The building was enormous. Did I see a pattern here? Everything just had to be big, huh? Makes us regular citizens feel like crap, compared to their luxurious lifestyle. I frowned, even though I was in awe at its brilliant looks.

The first thing that catches your attention are the huge windows. Again, why so big? They practically take up more space than the front of the building's solid light brown/tan surface. It had various shades of brown on the building, preserving the old fancy style look. The elegant roofs were a darker brown, and looked like there were things on top of the flat tops of the parts of the castle not adorned with its old style roofs. What was up there, I could not tell.

Before I could take in more of the scenery, the men had brought us to the ginormous double doors. Everything being so big annoyed me. I just have to put up with it until I get kicked out. I told myself silently.

I knew I was expecting something grand, but I wasn't expecting the main foyer to be that and more. The floor was marble with dark red carpet covering where one would walk. Straight forward was a long and wide marble staircase that had shiny wooden railings, supported by thin, slightly dark gold beams on either side of it. Above us, proudly hanging was a wooden chandelier-like work that made the light feel warm and welcoming. The walls were also a shade of brown with some thin horizontal wooden stripes of brownish-red, separating the many paintings that hung on its surface.

If this is just the entrance, what must the other rooms look like? Now I split between being like, 'Wow!' or being like, 'Really? Really?'.

I looked over at Stella, who was also looking around in wonder, with a smile spread across her face. "This is my kind of place..." She paused. "Although my home is better..."

I rolled my eyes, but continued looking around.

Logan grinned. "If you like this, wait till you girls see the ballroom."

I smiled at him. From what I've seen so far, Logan was the one who talked between him and Stanton, while he was the silent one. They looked very similar, both brown-eyed, dressed in the same white cuffed, black suit, with collared white shirt underneath the blazer. The only differences between their looks were that Stanton had sandy blond hair while Logan had dark brown hair and Stanton had checkered black and white shoes and a black tie while Logan wore black shoes with a checkered black and white tie.

The two boys were being polite, waiting for us to stop gaping at our surroundings, but the Stanton checked his watch and nudged Logan, pointing to what his watch displayed.

"Oh. Whoops." Logan coughed. "Well, sorry to rush you, but we need to be in the throne room."

"When do we need to be there?" I asked.

Logan gave a weak smile. "Um, yeah, sorry. We kind of lost-"

Stanton interupted him. "15 minutes ago."

Stella's eyes widened. "What?!"

Stanton and Logan nodded.

"What are we waiting for then?! Let's go!" Stella practically shouted.

Her worry about leaving a bad first impression was not shared by me.

Stella began marching forward, then stopped, and turned back, with a sheepish expression. "Where is the throne room exactly?"

I hid my laughter. To see Stella so flustered is a welcome sight, seeing how she is usually not.

Logan smiled. "I'll lead you girls to it."

We followed Logan, with Stanton trailing close behind us. We walked down a hall and turned left, that opened up to a spacious hallway that had wooden double doors that took up the end of the hallway's wall. Before Logan and Stanton opened the doors, they glanced back and waited a moment for us to primp.

Stella dusted herself off and smoothed her golden locks, but I just rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

Logan seemed to take notice of my attitude, but didn't say another word. He opened the left door at the same time that Stanton opened the right.

Stella was smiling a big, bright smile. I at least uncrossed my arms. We were led into the throne room by Logan and Stanton and joined the other 23 girls, before the thrones of the King, Queen, and Prince. Logan and Stanton left us and joined a group of other suited men. Each girl has one of them assigned to her, I realized.

I curtsied along with Stella out of respect, and watched them carefully. The King looked annoyed that we came late, the Queen looked curiously at us, and the Prince was looking intently at us. It seemed he recognized us from the first introductions. Then blond hair caught my eye. That blond knight, Brandon, was standing beside Prince Sky, looking nervous, like before.

Before we could back up to join the other girls, I felt something squirm. Panic crossed my face just as a furry bunny launched itself from my bag. I was the only one surprised, as some of the girls screamed, when Kiko landed on I think it was Diaspro's head.

She began flailing her arms about, screaming, "Get this over-sized rat off my head!"

I narrowed my eyes and walked over to her, in no hurry, now. "Kiko..."

As one of his ears fell into her face, she freaked out more, making Kiko fly off her head, towards the wall. No longer did I walk. I sprinted, not towards Kiko, but towards the wall. I knew exactly what I had to do. I beat Kiko to the wall, luckily, turned around, and caught him. I breathed a sigh of relief and let out a chuckle. I felt like someone in an action movie.

I looked up to see everyone staring at me. Damn. So much for trying to not make a real impression.