A much shorter chapter to combat last weeks long one. I hope you enjoy. Please remember to tell me what you think/ what you would like to see in future chapters so I can help make this story more interesting for you!

"Hey Fairy Melody, I've been meaning to ask you something." Sofia was sitting on one of the plush waiting chairs in the boutique while Fairy Melody practiced one of her decoration spells, trying to turn the already quite lavish room into something out of a royal party.

"Yes Sofia?" She was clearly somewhat distracted, but Sofia had always been bad at noticing when magic users wanted to focus rather than talk. It was nice though, that Fairy melody had dropped the Princess title with her at long last- and no wonder- Sofia had been coming into the boutique every day during her free time to try and get to know the somewhat standoffish, magical woman. (It was Sofia's utmost desire for Fairy Melody to be her newest friend).

"It's about the Noodle Incident…? I heard you and Miss Fauna discussing it one time- it sounds like an interesting story."

"Oh that." Her concentration was shattered by the question and the drapes ended up flying off the wall and knocking into Mal's cage. She did not have anything nice to say about the sudden disturbance as her white feathers fluffed up making her look considerably larger. "Calm yourself you old bird." Melody huffed going to retrieve the fallen curtains. "It wasn't that bad."

"Wait! Can you talk to animals?" The thought had just now struck the princess, Melody was not human after all, she was a fairy, it was a possibility she could understand them too.

"What? Oh, no. I just understand Mal because I've had her so long. She's rather vocal." The fairy's golden-green eyes shot a stern look at the protesting bird.

"Who are you calling old your sparkle-shooting, overgrown pixie?" Mal grumbled though at the look, she quieted her complaints. Sofia couldn't help but laugh. Silly bird.

"I mean I can talk to certain magical creatures… trolls, goblins, giants, pixies… those sort but that runs in the family and the three good fairies can do it too so it's not that big of a deal. Plus I don't run into those creatures much because I don't like the outdoors."

"But the outdoors are wonderful!" Sofia interjected- forgetting briefly about her question. "And there's so much to do! Hiking, swimming, horseback riding-"

"Bugs, dirt, the sun" Melody cut her off, "helping" the princess create her list.

"Tea parties in the garden, picking flowers, or running races!"

"I refer you to my previous insect related complaint." The dry response from the fairy made the Princess giggle. This was the side of Fairy Melody she wanted to share. She was actually fun, though it was really only with Sofia and Vivian that she seemed to be most open.

Vivian had told Sofia on several occasions that she went down to visit and had a nice time painting the lavish designs in the boutique that were constantly changing thanks to Melody's relentless practice. But that is why she was at Royal Prep. To practice.

"We should go outside!" Sofia suggested as Fairy Melody tried once more to lift and alter the curtains but the sudden outburst from the princess caused the fabrics to go careening into the back shelves, knocking them over entirely. Sofia covered her mouth realizing her mistake only after it was too late. "Sorry about that." She got up immediately to help the raven haired fairy go to put her things back in order, knowing that it was entirely her fault everything was in disarray. Melody seemed… mildly annoyed at most, heaving a sigh and heading over beside the young Princess.

"It's okay, I need to be less easily startled." They started putting things back on the shelves, old books, old scrolls, various magical things that made Sofia think of Cedric and his tower. She stopped as she noticed one of the scrolls moving and a golden head slithered out from it.

"I… is that a snake?" Sofia asked a bit shocked by its rather sudden appearance.

"What? No! Of course not!" Melody was quick to deny it. Sofia looked at her, then back to what was clearly a snake, then back to the Fairy who now also looked at the snake. "Oh… wait… no. That is definitely a snake."

"Yes… it is." That was a bit of a weird reaction on Fairy Melody's part, but Sofia realized she might have thought she was referencing something else.

"Well Sofia, it looks like we do get to go outside after all. This little guy has been sneaking in here for a while. I don't know why. I don't have anything in which he would be interested." She seemed to be talking to herself as she waved her wand and scoped the snake up into a bubble. Sofia was disappointed that the bubble seemed to mute the poor snake so she couldn't hear its side of the story.

"Maybe he's hungry?" Sofia suggested as they started heading toward the outdoors.

"Maybe. But there is more to eat outdoors than in my workspace." She was at least gentle with the animal, which had curled itself up in the bubble and was giving the fairy a dirty look of its own. Maybe she could find it later, talk to it and help it find a more reliable food source. She followed the tall fairy woman to the grounds and watched her lower the bubble before popping it and letting the snake drift gently into the grass before slithering away.

"She always does this. I am not going in that bubble again, I don't care what happens." The snake hissed sounding annoyed as it slithered away into the grass.

"And that is enough outside time." Fairy Melody turned to go in.

"Wait! You're out here right! We should do something fun! Let's go for a walk!" She grabbed the fairy's hand, the one without the wand- her hands were cold from being in doors all day.

"Do we really have to?"

"We get to!" Sofia tugged her down the path that led to a lovely little gazebo in a rose garden, she knew Fairy Melody would love something so calm and pretty.

"If you insist." The fairy shrugged lightly and followed the pull of the princess without much in the way of real resistance. It made Sofia giggle to see that she was able to have such a light relationship with the new fairy- it was hard to be new, and Sofia was well aware of that struggle. "Sofia, I noticed you aren't on the list of Princesses wanting to be my Practice Princess…" Melody brought up the topic unexpectedly.

"Oh? Yeah I don't think I need a fairy- my life is already pretty great." Sofia replied honestly. She did not want to downplay Melody's role but at the same time with her mom and dad, her brother and sister, Bailiwick, Cedric, and Gwen all at the castle she was one of the happiest princesses in the Kingdom- perhaps even in all the Kingdoms combined. "I don't want to take the opportunity away from someone who needs your help…"

"Sofia it's a practice princess. Every princess on the list is privileged. It's for the best because it's only practice. I need to be good at what I do before I can help a Princess in need- otherwise things go badly. Like this one time I turned Snow White's hair purple with orange polka dots… She was really nice about the failure but I still felt awful. Luckily Fairy Godmother undid it before her big dinner…" Melody sighed heavily. Sofia wanted to giggle at the image of the fairest princess in the land with polka dotted hair, but she stifled the urge so as not to be rude.

"Oh speaking of stories! The noodle incident!" Sofia reminded her.

"Right! I was going to tell you that." Fairy Melody looked back over to the Princess dragging her along. "So it started on Thursday, right. I was in my dorm when Fairy Godmother was having us practice our coach transformations. I thought it was normal enough until I realized that I had no pumpkin because of this stupid fairy prank that involved fourteen fay-corgis and mounted glitter canons-"

"Sofia!" Amber cut her off as the entered the clearing to see it being set up for some sort of event. (Sofia was rather upset because this tale got more and more outlandish with every part she heard, but seeing her sister was always nice). "Glad you came maybe you can help us finish decorating for tomorrow! We're having a party!"

"Decorating? That sounds like fun! Fairy Melody was just practicing decorations! Maybe she can help…" Sofia trailed off because the expression on Amber's face was hesitant.

"Well we were hoping for something… with pizazz…" Amber was trying her best to be polite about it. After the crown incident Amber was the first to help defend the awkward fairy- so it wasn't that the golden haired princess did not trust her- she was just not an overwhelming fan of her work. But it was like Fairy Melody said, it was practice.

"It's all right Sofia, really." Fairy Melody smiled at her. "Something so big would be difficult for me anyway…"

"But you should try! It's all about practice right?" She looked at both Amber and Melody.

"Right…" Amber sighed a bit, having trouble admitting Sofia was right when it came to one of her parties. (Amber liked to be in control of the situation, and this took things out of her comfort zone.) "Fairy Melody, would you please help us decorate…? We want pink and purple with white accents…" she curtsied politely.

"I… I'll try Princess." She nodded as she raised her wand. "Bippidi Boppidi Boo! May all Amber's Decoration ideas come into bloom!" A wave of very wand and-

The rose bushes had grown high, over them were tarps draped in rich reds and golds and deep blacks and greens; a lovely array of colors- none of which Amber had asked for.

"The fabrics are pretty… b… but it's not what I had in mind…" Amber frowned seeing all her work altered- and while it was lavish the feel was not at all Amber's style. The towering bushes made the area too dark and it was in heavy contrast with the fiery colors of the red and gold. Melody's face actually went a bit red as she gazed at the work, swallowing hard and straightening her back. Her fingers tightened around the wand so tightly her already pale knuckles were turning white from the added stress.

"Let me try again." Amber looked at the determination in her face and nodded.

"Go ahead."

"Bippidi Boppidi Boo! Let's make Amber's dream come true!" She waved her hand again and this time the area went back to the same general style it was but the colors were warped- bright purples with dingy greens, glittering silvers with rusted browns. It was a mess. Melody looked crestfallen by the change. "Princess I'm so sorry I-"

"Maybe you can just turn it back." Amber was trying hard not to look back at the clashing disaster before her.

"Bippidi Boppidi Boo…" Melody's voice trembled. "J-just do what I want you to do!" She cast the wand forward and littered everything in a sea of green polka dots. Amber sighed.

"This is fine… we can paint over them… th… thank you for trying Fairy Melody."

"Princess I'm really sorry let me help-"

"No it's really okay."

"I like the dots! They're cute!" Sofia tried her best to help.

"They're nice, just not what we had in mind." Amber replied still polite but clearly distracted by thinking on how she would cover the mess. "And it's sort of a big party…"

"Really? Who's it for?" Sofia was now honestly curious, maybe there is a way they could work green polka dots into the theme… if it were Miss Fauna she's love them!

"Oh you didn't here!?" Amber cheered up almost instantly. "Fairy Brittany is coming back!"

"Oh that's great!" Sofia did miss that cheery faced blonde with all her good natured charm. "She was so nice-"

Surprisingly the Princess was cut off by her fairy friend. "I… I have to go." Without a word Melody turned on her heel and headed back inside.

Amber frowned. "What got into her?"