I didn't let any fear show on my face. I wanted… I wanted so bad just to knock her perfectly white front teeth out, but the memory of the twisted pain descended on me before I could even clench my fist.

Rikki smirked- I guess I was showing my frustration on my face again. "Oh, Rory. I'll be good if you are. But if not…"

"Shut up!" I screamed. "You are just… a horrible, horrible person!"

"Oh, shut it, Rory. You sound just like a real fairy. It doesn't suit you. Besides, you don't ever have to experience that again. I know what your little power is, and it'd be such a shame to waste it. Empaths are way hard to find."

My head snapped up. "Are you just planning to use me?"

She gave a seemingly innocent smile. "What are roomies for?"

I reached into my pocket, my hand brushing the crystal. The moment flesh touched stone, I could sense her across the room.

Rikki was not confident. She was not evil. At least, not at that moment. Past her façade, she was scared- scared of me, of my power. She had lied. I was not weak to her. I was too powerful to let her control me.

Slipping my crystal out of my pocket, I wished for one thing and one thing only. Something I never thought I of all people would wish for.

Fire spread over me, heat burning off my LDV tee shirt and gothic chain jeans. Wind whipped my hair into a neat braid, and blew a new, lighter outfit onto me. And on my back set the piece de resistance- a pair of fluttery rainbow-tinted wings.

Wings were my wish.

I looked upon my new self- a bright girl, a powerful magician, a fairy. My crystal, a necklace now, hung heavily around my neck. My main problem with the whole ensemble was that my black hair had magically turned back to it's normal color- strawberry blonde. Ewww.

"Hey, Rikki," I said to the scared fairy-witch huddling in the corner. "How are you? Ohhhh, wait- I'm an empath. I know."

Smirking, circling her, I listed off everything. "You're scared. You're about to break out in tears. Power hungry. Sad. Oh, and one more thing."

"W…w…what's that?" she stuttered.

"An asshole," I said, smiling, before I launched a ball of magic at her.