Flights of Fancy: Mia's Story

"I'm late! I'm late! I am SO LATE!" I exclaimed.

Margaret Marie rolled her eyes. "Mia, the world knows by now. Besides we're not late... yet."

"Sargent Patts is going to kill me!"

"No, he won't," said my best friend and voice of reason.

"I'll be a dead girl!"

"Okay, Mia. Now you're just being overdramatic."

My feet skid on the pavement as I did a 180 turn to face Mar-Marie. "You wouldn't love me if I was anything but," I said, sticking out my tongue in a silly manner and smiling.

Believe it or not, I'm sixteen years old and go to Northside College Preparatory Academy in Chicago, Illinois- one of the best schools around. In fact, it was one of the ten best magnet schools in the nation. People normally don't guess that when they look at me. I mean, I'm a small girl, small enough that some people think I'm only in fifth grade. I have curly hair that falls in ringlets to the place where my breasts would be... if I had them. I dress my age, kind of punk-rock, but that's not uncommon in little kids anymore.

The kicker, though, is how I act. Mar-Marie says I'm like a living anime character. I'm goofy, overdramatic, clumsy, and my expressions are over-the-top. And I know that. People think I'm weird, but the secret truth is that sometimes I enjoy stirring things up. It works for Misha Collins. So maybe someday it'll work for me!

We flew into the building, getting there (barely) on time. As always, advisory was boring. At least, it was to me. I was never the kind of smart girl who basked in how fun work was, school was. I was smart because I learned my work well and learned it quickly so I could be doing things I wanted to do as soon as I finished. So, as the ten minutes before my real classes started went on, my mind flipped channels.

I started thinking about my nightmares.

I didn't like nightmares (well, duh. Who does?). They went completely against my bouncy, carefree character. But the ones I had been having were incredibly weird. There were people, people I didn't know. They changed from night to night. One dream, I might be staring at a tall man, about eighteen years old, with bright red hair. The next, it might be a slightly younger guy with a weird purple mohawk. They would just stand there, in my dream, looking at me.

Last night everything had changed. It wasn't a boy standing there, like it had been the last few days. It was a girl, maybe a little younger than I was. And not just any girl. A werewolf. She reached out to me, looked concerned. She tried to tell me something, but I couldn't hear. All I wanted was to wake up, and eventually, that's what happened.

The bell rang, and I stood and walked to my first class. Almost in a daze, but alert enough to keep from running into anything.

I hurried through my work then pulled out my commonplace book. It was effectively a diary... only I wasn't actually patient enough to keep a real diary. It consisted of all of my doodles, poetry and other writings, dream journal, address book... anything a girl could need. I picked up a pen and began to draw. High cheekbones. Long, long hair. Her clothes are black, and her makeup is natural. She's a lot taller than I am. And then... the tail. I shaded in the wolve's tail protruding from the dream girl's back. Perfect.

I heard three consecutive beeps and automatically looked up. That was the signal for a P.A. message.

Mi... Ami...A...lia...hear me?

My teacher frowned. "You're cutting off. Is something wrong with the P.A.?"

Someone giggled over the intercom.

"Excuse me?" my teacher demanded.

There was silence. Then, a rich, cultured voice that I had never heard before said Send Amelia Brice to leave, please.

Everyone looked at me. I gathered my things and headed towards the office.

As I was walking in the last hallway before I got to the main office, someone grabbed me. "Hey!" I tried to scream, but it was no use- there was a hand over my mouth.

I looked around for a moment, but only saw a flash of pink shirt and a bunch of long blonde hair before I was blindfolded and gagged. "Mmmmmpph!" I said. It was supposed to be a scream, but you know.

"Is this really necessary?" said the cultured voice.

Someone snorted. "Look, Lysis texted me. They got one already. We can't take any more chances."

"But... what's the word? For stealing a human?"

"That'd be kidnapping."

"I don't know," said a new voice. This one was sweeter than the other two. "Safeyah, this really is for her own good. We're not going to hurt her. But the wolf girl will."

My eyes widened. They knew about the wolf girl.

"Anyway," the sweet voice continued. "Kidnapping isn't the best way to go about this. Couldn't we just explain about the wizards, like you did with me?"

"There's no time! We'll explain when we get there." It was the snappy, rougher voice again.

Get where? I began to struggle again. "Mmmmmrrrrppphhhhhh!"

"Look," the sweet voice said. "She's scared. Can't we at least un-gag her?"

"When we get to the car."

I felt myself being led, then, when I tried to run, carried outside. "Wouldn't have thought that one little girl would be this much trouble. How old is she, thirteen? She's gotta be a genius to be in high school... and one of the best in the country, too."

That was too much. I pulled my arm from someone's hand and yanked off my gag. "I'm sixteen! I'm a junior here! And yeah, you know what, I'm smart. Smart enough to know kidnapping commonly ends in..."

I was abruptly stopped as someone put their hand over my mouth.

I heard someone open a car door, and I was thrown in. The door slammed behind me, and through glass and metal, I heard the sweeter voice say "Vulticulus." Suddenly, I was regretting that I had chosen Mandarin instead if Latin as my language elective.

More doors opened, and I heard someone get in beside me. Two more people must have gotten in the front. Suddenly, I was being un-blindfolded. I could see the interior of an old car, and three girls around my age. The one who sat next to me had soft facial features, brown hair, green eyes. She wore her makeup perfectly, and looked in all manners like a classic popular girl from TV. Only nicer.

If I angled my head right, I could see the girl in the driver's seat. She was tall, with short blonde hair that brushed the tops of her slightly-pointed ears... it reminded me of an elf. On her face was a scowl. Looking in the rearview mirror, I saw the other girl had dark skin and hair, and looked concerned. "Who are you people?" I asked.

The popular girl smiled. "I'm Kaylee. The pretty one is Safeyah, and the grumpy girl in the driver's seat is Avalon. Sorry we had to kidnap you."

"Had to kidnap me? Because the wolf girl would get me?"

Kaylee looked shocked. "You know about the fairy of wolves?"

"I do have ears," I said, my face curling into an annoyed expression. "Fairy? Like the ones on television?"

"Exactly," said Safeyah. "We're fairies too. The good kind, though."

"There's a bad kind?"

Avalon cut in. "Considering that the fairy of wolves pulled off her wings, is working for the apprentices of the guys who got rid of fairies in the first place, and already teared me up in a fight when we got here because I wouldn't do the same? Yeah. I'd say there's a bad kind."

She turned on the car and began to drive. "Okay," I said. "I get that you needed to get me out of the school to talk to me, but this is too much. I have Gay-Straight Alliance after school... and actually, the office was calling for me to leave!"

"Are you gay?" Avalon asked. "My gaydar isn't going off."

"No, actually. I'm in the straight part of the alliance. I'm the only straight one in there, so you see, it's very important that you take me back! Especially because my dad's likely in there, wanting to get me for a doctor's appointment or something."

"Actually," Safeyah said, "I was the one manipulating the speakers. My powers deal with electricity."

So that was why it kept cutting off. "Okay. Okay. So Dad isn't at school. But he'll notice if I'm not home before five."

"That can't be helped," Avalon said grimly. "We've got to find some way to save you. They can get into people's dreams now. It's just creepy. You have no idea how creepy."

"Um, yeah, I do. I've been having those dreams too. Guys with weird hair and a girl with the tail of a wolf."

The three girls looked at me. "Well, maybe you do know," Avalon amended.

"What do we do about it? It's freaking me out," I muttered.

"We attack," Avalon said, a bit too enthusiastically. "We need to kidnap her. And then we can let you go."

"Ooookkayy. Why did you kidnap me anyway? I mean, yeah, she's a fairy, but I can defend myself!"

"Actually, we needed to speak with you anyway," Safeyah said quietly. "You're a fairy too."

They looked at me, as if expecting me to deny it or blow up. Instead, I shrugged. "Sounds legit."

"That went better than I expected," Safeyah said, confirming my suspicions that they were wary of my reaction. "When I told Avalon, she said that she couldn't be a fairy... when she told Kaylee, Kaylee got upset. I suppose we thought you, too, would have a negative reaction."

"So can I fly? Where are my wings? Do I get an awesome outfit too?"

"Yes, dormant, and yes," Kaylee laughed. "We'll show you when we get out."

"When's that? Are we there yet?"

"Yep," Avalon said as she parked. Everyone began to exit the car. I tried to open my door but it stuck. "Um... it won't open," I said.

Kaylee gave a sheepish grin. "Locking spell. Sorry. We thought you might try to escape." And she waved her hands, and the door opened.

I got out, only to face a large building, abandoned and creepy. "We're not going in there, are we?"

"Not officially," Avalon said.

"Which means..."

She sighed. "We aren't supposed to be. Lysis and Roxy... they're two other fairies, our friends... told us not to try to find them, or to fight them if we didn't have to. But the best defense is a good offense, in my opinion. If we bust in and stop the wizards and the wolf fairy now, then we don't have to worry about them any more. And that means that all of us can get back to normal, more or less. While the Apprentices of the Black Circle still roam, all of fairykind is in danger."

"I still don't approve of this. Roxy and Lysis have their reasons for telling us not to go after them, after all," Safeyah said softly.

Kaylee nodded. "Agreed."

"I told you guys you could back out."

"We are not letting you go in there alone," said the darker-skinned girl.

"Then it's decided. Let's roll."

We quietly slipped into the building, an old office complex. "Do you guys see anything?" Avalon asked.

"Nothing here."

"Or here."

"Or over here," I whispered.

"Alright then. Let's go, girls! Charmix!"

Three flashes of light burst around me, one in light blue, one in silver, and one in pink. The light lasted about thirty seconds, maybe forty, and at the end, the girls emerged in brand new outfits. And with wings. "Wow, you really are fairies!" I said. Avalon grinned. She was in a silver jumpsuit with black gloves and boots. Kaylee was dressed similar, though her jumpsuit covered more of her body and was pink. Safeyah looked like an Egyptian goddess in sparkly linen and leather sandals.

Avalon ran quietly down the hallways, the other two fairies and me following. She stopped at the end, looking both ways before making a left turn. We ran some more before she stopped again. "Do you girls sense that?"

Kaylee frowned. "Kind of."

Safeyah nodded frantically.

"I think they're in the next room," Avalon whispered. "We're going to burst in and attack. They won't know what hit them."

"Hmmm, I'd say it would be a couple shots of mechanical energy and a bolt of lightning," said a dangerous, musical voice. I turned to face wolf girl. "Back for more, Avalon?" she asked.

"Wolfy," Avalon sneered.

The girl looked hurt. "I have a name." She looked at me. "I'm Rider. I believe we've met, Mia?"

"In your dreams! Actually... in my dreams." I giggled. "Hey, I made a pun!"

Rider held out her hand. "Come on, Mia. We've been waiting for you. We're gonna help you before it's too late."

"Help me?" I looked back at Safeyah, Avalon, and Kaylee. "But... they're good. They're the good guys."

"I don't doubt that they think that, but they're wrong! They're dying, all three of them. And you too! We can help you if you'll let us."

"I'm not dying!"

"Yes, you are. Your wings are killing you. You just aren't meant to have them! I know this. When the wizards tore off my wings, I felt more powerful, more free. It's a cancer, Mia! You've gotta let us help you!"

She was suddenly hit by a burst of silver energy. "Don't listen to her, Mia!" Avalon cried. "I feel fine. We all do. Wings can't kill you! That's so dumb!"

Rider glared. "Hey! Guys, we have visitors!" she yelled.

The door opened, and the four men from my dream walked out. They were holding hands, a chain of four people. The two on the end had the hands that weren't holding another hand raised into the air.

And a dark storm was brewing around them. "The Black Circle is reviving," Rider breathed. She turned to Avalon. "Look, I tried to convince you! But if you won't let us remove your wings, we'll have to do it without your permission!"

She grabbed Avalon and tried to drag her into the circle. But I latched on to the elfin blonde's other arm. "Oh no you don't!" I said.

Safeyah and Kaylee joined me, and we managed to yank Avalon from Rider's grasp. The storm was picking up, though... sucking things in. "Come on," Avalon said breathlessly. "We have to go."

Nobody argued. We raced back through the halls, hearing the sounds of Rider and the wizards pursuing us. We quickly left the building and got into the car. "Step on it, Av!" Kaylee screamed. Avalon obliged, and we pulled into the Chicago streets, almost causing an accident.

"We need to get away," I said. "Where can we do that?"

"We'll meet Lysis and Roxy," Safeyah decided. "Safety in numbers."

"I don't know," Avalon grumbled.

Safeyah was decided, though. "It's our best chance. We are going back to Canada."

We all nodded, determined.

Then I frowned. "Wait... you're kidnapping me to Canada?"

The three fairies smiled sheepishly.


Author's Note: That was Mia Brice, a character created by Faded Book-Look Within. Hope you liked her!

Next up we have Nakisha Cameron, by Gloxinia. She's going to be interesting to write, I just know it!

Also, there's a poll up on my profile- please vote for your favorite character in Fly or Fall there! Besides that, today is the second-to-last day of school for me. The majority of my writing is done in classes, so I may be less prolific over the summer. And since I may be in college next year (long story short, I applied for dual enrollment and don't know if I've been accepted or not), I don't know how that will affect my writing long term. But I'm sure I'll update every now and again, so keep an eye out.