If Mirta works anymore, she thinks her brain might explode.

She inhales and exhales softly, putting down her pencil, leaning back in her chair, and taking the paper from her desk. Her notes were nothing impressive; lots of scratched out words, bad erasing, and writing so small that she herself sometimes couldn't even read it. But she knew what she had written this time; her hand aches and burns as if the words had been nailed into the skin.

Her Pre-Witchery book is wide open next to her cup of pencils, the final page of 394. Mirta Oravill had read three hundred, ninety-four pages in about six hours nonstop. And she didn't regret it, either. She looks back at her piles of papers, filled with notes she had taken from this very book. She was not sure, but maybe the notes would help her. After all, this class was her lowest grade (D for Dreadful), and if she could improve this one, she could improve the rest of her classes.

Mirta was no good at witching like her fellow peers. The other witches she knew came from important wizards and mages, all having possessed the knowledge of the dark art for millennia, being important people. Mirta was no different from the rest of them; she had come down the line of the Ancestia, the greatest witch coven in the history of the Magic Dimension. It was also the darkest, the grimmest, the evilest coven of them all, and the coven of the Ancestral Witches.

She feels a shiver go down her spine, and she relaxes a bit more. She's done working for today. It's nearly the weekend, now. She would have a break to chill out, not do anything, and certainly not worry about her heritage.

But there was never a time when she didn't worry about it. She was constantly reminded of it. The Ancestral Witches may be evil, yes, but they had been gone for thousands of years. The new generation had forgotten about them and were now trying to turn over a new leaf. Her mother certainly thought so, but she still loved the witch bloodline they had, and people in their family were beginning to show no signs of witch blood in them at all. The beautiful Madame Oravill didn't like this at all, so she had begun forcing the witch belief on her own children, including Mirta. Magic doctors had mentioned that Mirta might not be a witch at all, but Madame refused to listen. She enrolled Mirta for Cloud Tower without another thought.

So now, here we are back with Mirta, tired and in her room, feeling dreary.

She runs a stressed hand through her red hair. She taps her fingers against her desk, wondering what it would be like at Alfea.

Cloud Tower is a grand school, yes, but it's nothing impressive. Especially for Mirta. Most students who attended one of the three Magix schools would call the schools something of a second home, but Mirta didn't feel this way about the school at all. On the contrary. She counts the days when she can go home and forget about studies and general witchery for a few weeks. But the winter break was still a few weeks away, even as the air cooled, and the first signs of snow began to show.

Mirta did not feel like a witch, that was for certain. And sometimes, she didn't refer to herself as one. Just a human with dark magic. Not a witch. And at times, her magic didn't feel dark. Unlike the other witches in her class, her magic had a light feel to it, despite her element being presumed one of dark magic. And the other witches didn't like that at all. To some, it reminded them of fairy magic, and witches and fairies didn't typically mix. Mirta never saw anything wrong with fairies, but her opinions never seemed to be listened to. The other person who would even try at showing her kindness and respect was—

"Mirta! Mirta, guess what?"

Mirta nearly topples out of her spinny chair. She turns her head to her best friend, Lucy Hallowshade. Lucy bounces in her step, with a goofy, excited expression on her face that Mirta always considers adorable. But she also knows that if she doesn't ask, Lucy might explode. Literally. "What is it?" Mirta gasps. "Did Professor Zarathrusta give you a P on your Necromancy essay?" She smiles. "See, Lucy, I knew you could do it!"

Lucy shakes her head. "Even better."

Mirta thinks for a moment. "I dunno what would be better than that. Spell it."

"Some of the upperclassmen asked me to hang out with them in Magix today to go to the Bicentennial. Isn't that amazing? It's the first step to joining popularity. And just think! maybe soon, I'll be on the same level as the Trix."

Mirta sighs. "Nobody can get on their level of popularity, Lucy."

Lucy waves a dismissive hand. "I know that. But still, just a little under it will still be satisfiable. And I pulled a few strings, and you get to go with me! You and I could be together! Just think: the princesses of Cloud Tower: Mirta Oravill and Lucy Hallowshade. It sounds amazing, don't you think?"

Mirta's cheeks grow warm under the hopeful gaze of Lucy. Pushing possibly unrequited feelings down, she gives her friend a sad smile. "Sorry, Lucy, but I can't go."

Lucy's expression drops. "Why not?"

Mirta raises her notes up, along with her open textbook. "Studying. If I don't study, I can fail this class, and you know how the teachers are about failure." She swallows down the temptation to mention how her mother might feel if she failed.

"Oh, come on!" Lucy kneels next to her, taking her hand. If Lucy noticed the blush on Mirta's cheeks, she didn't say anything. "It'll be weird without you there! It's the weekend; you can study some other time."

"But Lucy…" Mirta sighs. "You know I don't want to fail. I must stay here and study. I'm sorry."

Lucy shrugs and sits down on Mirta's bed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. But it's gonna be weird without you."

Mirta smiles. "It'll be fine. Have fun."

Lucy turns away, and Mirta feels a bit bolder. "Hey, Lucy."

Lucy turns around, an eyebrow raised. Under the gaze, Mirta can't bear to say anything. Lucy is her best friend. Has been for so long. She's the only one who stands by her whenever things get rough, and they tended to be that way especially now that she was at Cloud Tower with not-so-friendly peers and teachers. If she told her how she felt… No. Can't risk it.

"Don't forget to take your coat, okay? It's gonna be chillier than usual. I heard the forecast."

Lucy nods, leaving the room and Mirta all alone. She groans, contemplating on napping, when she hears something loud hit the wall. She turns her head towards the wall. This was to be expected since her apartment was right next to the Trix's. She couldn't get away from them for a second. Being the most intimidating witches at the school had its perks, but the three of them seemed to be on edge recently. And Mirta, despite not being the bravest one, couldn't resist seeing what this time was up. Last time, Stormy nearly had a mental breakdown over a homework assignment, and it was slightly entertaining to listen to their conversation. Mirta conjures up a spell from memory, using an X-Ray spell to see through the wall.

The Trix are huddled around the living room, Icy looking crazier than usual. Even the other two witches were afraid of her.

"Icy, I think you need to calm down. Chill out," Darcy suggests calmly, but Icy's not having it.

"I don't need to calm down. This is a serious matter. We'll be graduating from this dump heap in less than a year. If we don't get Stella's power before then, we'll have achieved nothing."

"We could just do what we did beforehand," Stormy says. "Remember? when we kidnapped Stella and held her for ransom? We can do that again. The other fairies cooperated."

Mirta gapes.

"Yes, but the fairies are smart," Darcy points out. "They won't fall for the same thing twice."

"Or won't they…?" Icy thinks for a moment. "We could do something like that—except we wouldn't kidnap anybody. Just trick them into doing something… And we can try to brew a truth potion to get Stella to tell us how to take the power from the ring… But truth potions are tricky. I'll have to do some major studying."

"Wait, wait, wait. We can't get anything done if we're stressed." Darcy sighs. "Let's just go to the Bicentennial today. We can take our minds off everything and maybe even brainstorm some ideas."

There's no argument. Icy's quiet. "Fine. But tomorrow, I am looking for a spellbook or something that'll help us out. I am not failing. I've never failed anything before, and I am not going to fail anything now."

The other Trix are quiet, and Mirta disables the spell. Should she be worried? The Trix are none for their witchery and trouble they cause. What would they do? Would they hurt Lucy? What of Stella?

It's too much to think about. Maybe she would go to the Bicentennial. Just for safety.


Maybe I'm thinking too much of it, but does Brandon's asking me to the Bicentennial seem like him asking me out?

Okay, okay. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. He said that Sky, Riven, and Helia are going as well, and Sky asked Stella to go, and she said yes, so it would be more like a hangout than a date, but….

Oh, come on! It still kinda feels like a date!

Okay, okay, okay. I'm calming down. It's just a festival. There's nothing to it. But maybeeee.

Okay, I'm shutting up now!

Flora sips a bit of her tea and gives me a knowing look. "Did Brandon ask you out?"

"I mean, I dunno," I say. "He asked me to go with him and his friends—plus Helia—to the festival. Does that seem like a date to you, or am I overthinking it?"

Flora shrugs. "It's your interpretation. In my opinion, dates are intimate. Romantic. And alone. Not usually surrounded by fellow classmates."

She's right. Okay, so maybe not a date. "And dates don't usually involve babysitting."

Flora raises an eyebrow for me to elaborate.

"Oh! Brandon, Sky, and Riven were asked to take Helia with them to the festival. They're supposed to keep an eye on him for the headmaster at Red Fountain."

Flora frowns. "Isn't that boy only one year your junior? Don't call that babysitting."

"Hey, Sky's words, not mine." Though, from the pictures they send me of him, I can tell how he would look a lot younger than one year younger than us. He's short, with long, gray (it's gray. Not blond, gray. Like—gray, gray) hair, and a baby face that makes me not take him seriously, despite being completely stoic in all the pictures I see.

"Maybe you're interpreting Brandon's invitation as a date because you really want him to ask you out," Flora suggests.

"Uh, yeah I want him to ask me out. He's cute as hell!" Maybe even cuter than Andy. "I kinda want to be bold and ask him out myself, but Stella says that's a sign of desperation, and I should let him come to me." Stella might not have good judgment on a lot of things, but Stella's been in more magical relationships than me. If Brandon and I don't work out, I'll stick with my own intuition. "Speaking of Stella, where is she?"

"She's in her room right now. She could be getting ready."

I nod in understanding, moving from the couch over to Stella's door. I knock first, slowly opening the door, when I hear voices.

"Maybe you're being too harsh. These things happen, Mom."

"I know, but I can't stand this any longer. If I must hear him call me a Moon's *ss one more time, I think I might lose my stars. Do you understand, Stella?"

I look through the doorway. Stella's sitting at her desk, her phone resting on the tabletop, revealing a hologram of the torso of a woman with long, light blonde hair, hazel eyes that resemble Stella's, and a tired look on her face. Stella's mother.

"But both of you are equally wrong towards each other. You're called a Moon's *ss, you call him a Sunny Bastard and so on and so forth. But you always make up in the end. What's different now?"

The tone in Stella's voice worries me. She sounds stressed, pleading.

"It's been going on too long, Stella, dear. Seventeen years of it. I should've left him a long time ago, but I didn't take that chance. Now the chance has reemerged, and I'm taking it. Your father has shown he cares nothing for me, and I'm going to get out of his hair if he really wants that."

It's silent.

"But… Where will you go? Once the process is over—which won't be easy—you won't be able to stay at the palace. You won't be able to stay with me."

"The Sunspot Estate. Remember? The place we used to go during the summer. It belongs to my family, so I have full ownership of it. I've already been talking about getting it refurbished to be less of a holiday area and more of a living area. You'll always be able to visit me, Stella. I'm not leaving you."

Stella looks down at the ground. She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it, seemingly changing her mind about it.

"I know it'll be hard, my starlight, but the only thing that'll change is my place in the royal court. I'll still be my queen, just not a present queen, if you understand. It's not like I'm leaving forever."

Stella doesn't respond to that.

"I have to go now. Lots of things to get to. Today's the Magix Bicentennial, right?"

Stella nods.

"You should go to that festival. It sounds like lots of fun! It'll take your mind off it. None of this is for you to worry yourself over. Everything will be fine. Take lots of pictures for me, alright?"

Stella sighs. "Alright."

"Okay. Bye, darling."

"Bye, Mom." And with that, Stella presses the end call button, and the hologram disappears. I'm suddenly aware of my eavesdropping and remember what I'm here for, but I decide against asking.

"Stella…?" I ask, trying to get her attention. She nearly jumps, placing a hand on her heart when she sees it's me. "Dragons, Bloom! You nearly killed me!"

"Sorry, Stella. I thought you sorta knew I was there."

"Well, I didn't! You probably just shortened my lifespan by ten years!" She groans exasperatedly, grabbing her magenta, fur coat from the side of her room. "Do you neeed something?"

"Uh, I was gonna ask for your input on… Stella, are you okay?" I ask. She's brushing it all off. Just in case she wants to talk about it, I can do a Flora and just sit down and talk about our problems.

"Yeah." Snow laughs a little. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because… I kinda overheard your conversation with your mom. Is there...something you wanna talk about?"

Stella stops what she's doing but doesn't look at me. After a long pause, she says, "Yeah, I wanna talk about it. But not now. Today's supposed to be fun. We can talk about it later."

I raise an eyebrow.

"Anyway!" she cries, spinning around to face me. "Soooo, the Bicentennial Festival is today. Isn't it exciting?"

I nod, deciding to comply with her wishes to put her problems to the side. "Brandon asked me to go with you all. I was kiiinda thinking it was a date, hehe."

"The festival? A date? Oh, no, not with the others and me. Maybe you two can go do something together on your own. Then, it would be considered a date." She winks. She suddenly gets an idea. "I could just get you two alone together. I'll ask Sky for some help. Skoom has been on my mind for a while now." She pulls out her phone.

"Are Flora, Musa, and Techna not going?" I ask. Brandon only mentioned Stella, Helia, Sky, and Riven. None of the others.

Stella shakes her head, still looking at her phone. "Flora's staying with Musa since today's Lost Song day, and Musa might need someone there. And Techna's hanging out with Timmy; I asked if she wanted to go, but she does not like full gatherings and festivals and parties. She's an interesting individual. Heh."

"What's Lost Song day?"

"Basically, a day to celebrate the dead in Harmonica," Flora's voice explains. I spin around to see her standing there. "It also includes Musa's mother, so it's a day to mourn. But we're having technical difficulties since Techna's been messing around with the Wi-Fi, and now Musa can't get on the call with her father."

A frustrated call of, "Dammit, Techna!" makes me laugh.

Flora places a hand over her mouth as she laughs. "I wish I could go, but I want to be there for Musa. It's hard for her."

"You're such a mom, Flora. I'm going to buy you a Mom-of-the-Year mug."

Flora smiles. "That would be nice of you."

"Oh, and Bloom." I blink rapidly hearing my name. "I have a cute outfit I picked out for you. Comfortable and cozy. And I made sure it made your eyes pop." She points to this outfit on her dresser. I take it, examining it. It's simple, but cute. I head into her large (and clean!) bathroom, changing into it quickly. It's a plain, blue T-Shirt, with skinny jeans, and black and blue tennis shoes. It reminds me of something Musa would wear. Stella even lent me some white earrings.

After fixing my hair a little, I head back out. Stella looks at me with approval. She's wearing her off-the-shoulder, orange sweater, with ripped jeans and boots. We're both looking super cute.

Stella's phone chimes. "Oh! The boys and Helia are here. Come on! You're gonna love it." She takes my hand, running out of the room. I quickly wave goodbye to Flora, and we head outside. "I've never been to one of the Magix festivals," Stella continues, "but I've seen pictures, and they look amazing. Maybe even better than the ones on Solaria."

The familiar Red Fountain ship is placed not-so-modestly outside the gates. Sky and Brandon wait outside, dressed cozily as well. Brandon dressed in blue plaid and white khakis, and Sky in a green sweatshirt and black shoes. Brandon waves at me when he sees me, and Sky doesn't even notice we're there until Brandon hits him on the arm. "Whattup, ladies?" he asks, winking at Stella. "Glad it didn't take you so long to get ready."

"Sky, as much as you like talking about us ladies, you spend more time on your hair than I do. Don't be hypocritical, dearest."

"We've already been down to Magix, and it's packed. I don't think I've seen so many people in one area before," Brandon explains. "From what I've heard from some citizens, they're gonna set off fireworks tonight."

"Like a Fourth of July party?" I ask, but the blank looks make me facepalm. "Forgot. Not from Earth. Don't worry about it." My eye catches sight of a person in the window, looking down at all of us. From the look alone, I can assume it's Helia, and when he notices me staring, he moves away. Brandons sees me watching. "Oh, and we're watching Helia."

"And we're not even getting paid," Sky groans. "I thought babysitting meant getting paid."

"You're the prince, aren't you? You're loaded; I don't think a non-paying job is gonna kill you," I say.

"I know, but my parents only gave me so much. And I would like my hard work acknowledged." He pouts. Brandon rolls his eyes.

"You're not even the one watching him, Sky; I dunno what you're complaining about." He laughs, but a loud honk from the ship alerts him. A voice from the intercom calls, "Stop socializing with the fairies, and get on the damn ship!"

"Is this him on a good day or a bad day?" I ask Brandon, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh. Undetermined," he explains. "He woke up less than two hours ago, and Riven isn't all too pleasant if you wake him up too early. Believe me; I've learned my lesson."

I giggle a little. I look up to see if the person in the window has returned, but there's no one there. I turn my head towards the other two, and Sky has knelt on a knee and has taken Stella's hand in a formal fashion. "You're looking as radiant as ever, Princess Stella."

Stella blushes as he kisses her hand, a glow emitting from her body. "And I, you, Prince Sky. I always did like green on you."

"I know you do; it's why I chose it." Sky smirks, and Stella leans closer to him. Before they can get anywhere, the intercom goes off again, "Can we at least get to the festival before you two start eating each other's faces off? I just ate!"

"Riven might actually kill us if we don't get on," says Brandon. "Let's go."

Seeing the two of them together makes me wonder if I should subtly ask Brandon out, but we're moving into the ship, and I kinda want it to be slightly more private.

Riven looks like he just woke up, too. He's leaning on the control panel, looking tired, and his hair is unkempt. Next to him is Helia, looking at us curiously, but not saying anything. He stares at me especially, and I'm getting a bit uncomfortable. I shift a little, walking over to one of the spare chairs, and the minute the front closes, the ship takes off, and I nearly bust my head falling off the chair.

"You know, maybe Timmy's a better driver than you are, Riven," Sky says. "I think you've hit three birds already."

"Collateral damage, and I'm sorry that my brain isn't too awake to drive properly. Maybe next time, you could let me sleep for a liiiitle while longer."

Brandon leans next to me and whispers, "Bad mood Riven."

I giggle a little.

I sit back, watching the area around me zoom past. The forest leading into the Black Mud has changed considerably since we took that field trip there. Everything feels so long ago, when really, it's just been more than several weeks. The trees have switched from their leafy green color and have turned to an assortment of browns and oranges, reminding me of those images on the internet that you'll find if you look up, beautiful autumn forest. It's amazing to me how I'm in a whole 'nother dimension, but everything feels and reminds me of Earth. If it wasn't for the magical aspect of it all and how I'm literally in a futuristic, flying spacecraft, I probably would've mistaken this for a regular wonderland.

Stella's distracted on her phone. She's usually up and talking, but she's frowning at it, obviously texting someone. I guarantee it had something to do with the conversation she had that morning, but I don't want to elaborate on it. I don't want to spoil her day as it already is.

"Hey."

I turn my head. Brandon's looking at me, an eyebrow raised in concern. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Fine. Just thinking."

Brandon nods in understanding. After a brief silence, he continues. "You know, you're going to love it, the festival. There's going to be a parade, food, music, full of magical history. Of course, Magix would go all out with this: it's the greatest city in all the Magic Dimension, not even an opinion!"

"Whoa…" I imagine it in my head, but I know I won't have to, since we're nearing Magix anyway. I can already hear the music. "You know, Magix kinda reminds me of a magic New York."

Brandon raises an eyebrow, wanting me to elaborate.

"You see, I live in this area—on Earth—and there's this one city called New York. I mean, it's also a state, but whatever. I wouldn't say it's the greatest city, but it's high up. Before this whole magic thing happened, I had dreams of going off and... doing something meaningful with my life."

"I mean, you still can't do that now?"

"Well, I want to. But who needs New York City when you have this? An entire dimension in a world you never knew existed. It seems so much more interesting. And besides, I don't like city noise too much. My grandma used to live in this bigger city, and it was hard to sleep when there were car alarms and annoying neighbors keeping you up all night."

He laughs. It's genuine, too, and I can feel my heart swell. "You're really interesting, Bloom. You know that, right?"

"I am?" Heh. Before all this, I would've thought I was the most basic teenager.

"You are. I like talking to you."

Face heating.

"Th-thank you," I stammer. Dammit, speech. You had to cut out now?

Brandon smiles warmly. "You know… I've been thinking… Would you ever want to… Maybe… God—I sound like Timmy—"

He can't finish that thought. Suddenly, something slightly pokey and papery hits my cheek and lands on the floor. I tear my attention away from Brandon and to whatever hit me. On the ground is an origami swan, lying on the ground. I look from where it came from. Helia sits far across us, looking at us neutrally, but with this hint of embarrassment lighting his cheeks.

I grin, taking the paper swan on the ground and launching it back over. It's magic, I soon learn, seeing the swan lift its wings and fly back over to its owner. Helia catches it, eyes lingering on me for some time, then going back to the swan placed in his lap.

"Helia, watch where you fly those things; this thing may fly on its own for the most part, but I can still ram this into some tree and kill us all if I get distracted." Riven doesn't move his attention away from the front of the ship, but he side-eyes Helia as he says it.

"I like those things," I say, watching as the same swan flies around the ship. I'm tempted to touch it as it flies, but it might mess up the flow, and I tend to f*ck things up easily, so I keep my hand to my side. "They're cool looking."

"Do you want to crash this thing?" Riven asks.

"No."

"Then, you're going to have to imagine it in your head. I'm not having those damn things block my vision."

Helia swings his legs back and forth, touching the paper wings of the fake bird. I want to say something; he just seems shy, but he's slightly intimidating. Look, usually I'm not scared of people younger than me, but he has this creepy vibe from him, and I try to distance myself. I'm in a magical world; everybody's intentions are completely unclear. I don't feel like being murdered by a magic wand or a broomstick while I'm here.

Wait, do witches use broomsticks? or wands?

I look back at Brandon, but he's made conversation with Sky. Stella's occupied on her phone. Riven's driving. So now I feel all awkward. I hate feeling awkward.

The only person I can talk to is Helia, who's talking to someone else. Great. But here's the thing: he's not talking to an actual person; he's talking to his swans.

There are three of them, and not all of them are swans. One's what seems like a panda (pandas exist here, too?), and the other is a fox. The last one is the swan I saw the first time. Nothing he's saying is audible, but at least I can tell he's not completely mute. It would be awkward talking to him, expecting him to say something when he can't. I get embarrassed easily; have I mentioned that?

"Do they…talk to you?" I ask carefully. The magic that seemed to surround the animals disappears immediately once Helia realizes I'm talking to him. He looks at me surprised, scooching back a bit. I lean back as well, thinking that I'm scaring him.

He nods, and then he speaks. "There's a spell on them. I can interact with them and vice versa." Heh. His voice is deeper than I thought, but then again, he's also fourteen; most kids would be going through the end of puberty, right? …or is it the beginning of puberty…?

"Oooh." I nod in understanding, and I try not to sound like an adult to a small child. "Well, that's cool! Are you a Specialist? Err—Specialist in training?" Now I can kinda make conversation!

He nods. There's a beat, but then he adds, "I start my first year in several months."

"Oh." It's idle conversation, but conversation, nonetheless. He looks down back at his animals. I try to find something else to say. "Did you put the spell on the animals, or did somebody else do that? or is the paper enchanted? Is paper enchanted, here?"

Helia stares at me, looking annoyed. I shrink under his gaze.

"Don't be rude, Helia," Brandon scolds. "She's trying to be nice to you." "Don't mind him, Bloom. He's just asocial."

"And slightly creepy," adds Riven. Helia lightly glares at him.

"He's not a terrible person, though," says Sky. "He can be entertaining. Remember when we were sitting in Professor Wheatdoom's class, and Helia's little animals came flying in? And then he kept trying to retrieve them by standing on desks and jumping around? It was the most entertaining thing that's ever happened in that class."

"Professor Wheatdoom hates his job," Brandon explains to me. "And we can feel it, too."

"Anything's better than Wheatdoom's class," Riven says.

I nod in understanding. As much as I love the magical world and am interested in all things fantastical, Alfea is still a school, which means it's going to be boring at times. Believe me, I've nearly fallen asleep in DuFour's class more than once. And then you get detention for falling asleep! I'm sorry, Griselda. It's hard to stay awake after you've been sparring for fifty minutes!

"That was an accident," Helia explains. "Sometimes they don't want to listen to me, so I have to be harsher on them." He never says too much in one sitting, I find out. He eyes his motionless animals on his lap.

"Yeah. Imagine being so lonely you have to create your friends," Riven laughs at Helia's expense. Helia grumbles, seemingly contemplating whether to retaliate or not. In the end, he doesn't, and just keeps his head low.

"Ah, Riven, don't be hypocritical," Stella finally chimes in. She's not looking up from her phone, though. "You were lonely, too, dear. You came wandering over to Sky, Brandon, and I from nowhere and made some friends."

"And then you ditched us," Sky deadpans.

Riven doesn't respond, taking a turn and dipping the ship lower.

Brandon shrugs. I turn my head towards Helia, who has begun flying his animals again. Suddenly, there's a loud pop! close to my side of the window, and I nearly jump so high, I go through the ship's ceiling. "AAAH! The hell was that?"

"Calm your titties, fairy. Those are just the mini fireworks," Riven explains. Another spark pops in front of the ship. I stare confused.

"Heh. That's kinda dumb. Those things look dangerous, and there's a prince onboard, I can't die here!" Sky cries, moving backwards.

Riven lowers the ship so that it's barely touching the ground, and he slows to a stop in a parking lot. The ship looks completely out of place compared to all the other cars, but…it's going to have to do. I pull myself out of the chair, watching as the exit of the ship opens, allowing me to walk down the ramp and onto the ground. The others follow behind.

The ground is littered with variations of orange streamers and confetti, and they seem to be coming down like rain, landing in my hair and onto the ground. There's loud music coming from around the corner of the area we're in, and there's a sign on the grass close by which writes: Welcome to Magix City Square, founded two hundred years ago on this very day!

"Lot of orange," Stella states, stepping on the confetti. "This is kinda like a path to the actual area." There are long buildings in front of us, seeming to be apartments. I think everybody here is gathered in the main square, but I feel bad for anybody who lives in there; loud music and obnoxious confetti does not seem like how I want to spend my Saturday. Speaking of me, I take out my phone and snap a couple pictures of the area to send to my parents, but in one of my shots, Helia's origami swan's photobombed, but I'm going to send them anyway. The swan flies forward, spreading its wings and lifting off. Helia runs after it, ignoring the passing people.

"Hey! Helia, don't run off like that!" Brandon calls, reaching outwards, but Helia's already gone.

Stella huffs. "This is why you couldn't pay me enough money to babysit." She pulls out her purse and puts on some shades.

"If he gets hit by a car, it will not be my fault." Riven shuts down the ship.

"It'll be mine!" Sky cries, comically melting. Not literally. "If I lose Helia, Saladin will have my head!" He runs forward, going after Helia. We shrug, but we follow him.

We eventually find Helia still chasing after the swan, nearly knocking it more people. We've officially reached the square where the main festival is being held, with a lot more confetti and streamers, and I can see the outline of a marching band. There are stands set up, looking like a marketplace. It's a lot more crowded here than in the parking lot, with loud voices, small children, and general crowdedness. All the way in the front is a white, monumental building surrounded by balloons and streamers, and with a sign writing, Magix City Hall.

Helia lunges forward, catching the bird in his hands, but ramming right into the gate blocking off the parking lot and the festival area with a painful sound. I wince. That's probably going to leave a bruise. Before any of us can go make sure he's okay, an energic voice beats us to it. "Whoa, whoa, little man! I know you're excited to enter the festival, but if you keep on, you might have to go to the hospital instead!"

A man comes walking out of nowhere, dressed elaborately in purples and whites. He wears small, circular glasses placed on his nose, with brown hair that swoops outwards on either side. Dunno how he got his hair to do that. He kneels towards Helia, who's slowly getting up, holding his now bruised face, keeping his swan clasped in his right hand. The man grabs onto Helia's arm, helping him up. "There. Are you okay?"

Helia winces when he touches his nose but nods anyway.

"Good. It would be a shame to have to go to the hospital on such a glorious day! Lovely weather, yes?"

We stand there awkwardly, and I nod slowly in agreement.

The man places a hand on his hip. "Oh, don't give me that look. I know I'm taking up your time. Is it a crime for someone to want to talk to the passing people? I feel slightly insulted."

"Look, dude," Riven says. "We don't care about your sadness. Can we just go?" Brandon nudges him, giving him a disapproving look akin to one Flora usually gives one of us if we're acting up.

"Alright, alright. You Magix schoolers are so rude."

"How did you know we were Magix students?" I ask.

"It's just a gift of mine! Really." He leans forward. "With just one look, I can tell exactly where you came from. If you just tell me your name, I can learn about your intentions. Interesting gift, right?"

"That would be pretty helpful in the investigation biz. A little too helpful, possibly," Brandon points out.

"Well, I need to know your full name to know your intentions, and some criminals are smarter than others." The man whistles. He pulls a couple cards out of thin air. "Nato Fogsky, at your service."

I look down at the card he handed us. It looks like one of those business cards businesspeople give you. By the side of his picture (which is quite bright, might I add), it explains his name and background. Nato A. Fogsky, Magix Private Investigator. Birthplace: Resshire, Trarus, Domino. A sense of familiarity washes over me once I see the name Domino. I've never heard of it until now, but… Something feels oddly familiar….

"A private investigator." Stella looks Fogsky up and down. "Interesting job."

"Yes, well. Magix can't protect itself. Aaand because I have nothing else to do. No strange murderers or occurrences, so what is a bored detective supposed to do other than keep an eye on things on a special occasion such as this?" He smiles. "I'll tell you what; since you so graciously listened to me longer than you needed to, I can help you around the place. There's a lot that goes on around here, and what better than a detective who can keep you out of trouble to help you around?"

"Yeah, no, dude," Riven says. "I don't need to be babysat while babysitting."

"It's not babysitting," Helia deadpans.

"Whatever. I'm good on my own. Besides, I don't want to be late to the hoverbike race. I'm competing, and I don't plan on losing."

"Brandon and I need to practice for it anyway," Sky explains.

"Yeah. If I want to beat Riven, I can't just rely on luck." Brandon winks at me as he says it.

"There's a huge sale at the mall today for the special occasion!" Stella cries, looking away from her phone. "I'll meet you guys at the parade." She moves past us, running off in the direction of the mall area. Riven and Sky head out as well, but Brandon lingers a bit. "Are you coming?"

"Um, I'll probably take Mr. Fogsky on his offer. Don't wanna get lost in a city like this. And I've had some bad experiences being alone here." I can feel myself getting cold. Dammit, Icy.

Brandon nods in understanding. Sky looks over his shoulder. "Keep an eye on Helia for us, alright? Thanks!"

I sorta forgot he was there for a hot second. I look down, and he's standing there perfectly neutral, blinking slowly. Now I understand why they call him slightly creepy; his deadpan and expression look remind me a lot of Techna's, but at least there's some form of expression on her face.

"It's a good idea to be guided in a city like this," Fogsky explains, walking past the open railing. "Especially for someone like you, dear. You're not even from this dimension."

I open my mouth to try to ask how the ever-living hell did he know that, but I guess I underestimated his power. "Y-yeah. Everything's a little weird, and I do not have a good sense of direction."

He chuckles lightly. "Come, come. We can walk around for a bit before the parade starts."

"There's a parade?" I ask, following him. Helia walks behind us, looking around. The music is getting louder.

"Of course, there would be this isn't the most famous and showy city in the universe for nothing! I kinda wanted us to release butterflies while the parade happened, but my idea got shut down since apparently one of the workers has a butterfly phobia. Weirdo. So, we had to stick with roses instead."

I look behind us. "Wait, aren't you in charge of who goes in and who goes out?"

"Oh. Right." He flicks his wrist, a glow appearing towards the rails. He wipes his hands and continues walking.

"What did you just do?"

"My magic will do my job for me. I want to enjoy the festival, too, you know." He pouts childishly.

We walk through the city, and the confetti here is double the amount of what we saw at the parking lot. It litters the ground so much; I can barely see the road. And the music gets louder and louder as we pass. Helia hums the song behind us, mumbling the lyrics. I might have to ask Musa to give me some intel on Magic Dimension music….

"Soooo, tell me about yourself. I already know where you're from, so you don't have to tell me that." He chortles. "Give me some other info."

I scratch my head. I decide not to give him too much information. He's a stranger, and I've been taught better. "I'm Bloom Peters. I'm an Alfea student—a first year. A couple months ago, I thought I was a regular Earth girl with regular Earth parents, but then I did some magic, and now I'm here."

Fogsky pulls out a notebook from nowhere, fixing his glasses, and pulling out a pencil from his sleeve. "Bloom Peters… Earth girl… Alfea student… A late bloomer… Earth parents…" He closes the notebook, and I watch it disappear into the air. "Interesting… You know, I've never heard of that before, and I've heard of some crazy sh*t." He places a hand over his mouth. "Oops. My bad. Crap. Crazy crap. I have to write every out-of-the-ordinary occurrence in my handy-dandy notebook."

I stare at him.

"Oh, don't give me that look. I'm not creepy. It's my job to investigate these things! But you'll love it here. There's so much to explore, to see; it's even better when you've barely even heard of these things, hm?"

I nod in agreement. "Everybody's kinda been saying that. People are trying to teach me the magical way of the dragon… And really, I'm not bored by it at all! It's so much more fun than just going to high school and hanging out on regular, old Earth."

As we walk, I see there are multiple stands and areas where people are selling things from fruit to jewelry. Helia wanders over towards the area selling art supplies, like paintbrushes and canvases. "Does the little man like art?" Fogsky asks, causing me to jerk my head towards him.

"Seems like it." I watch as he picks out a couple paintbrushes with a color pallet, handing the stand owner a few dollar bills. That reminds me… "Hey, Mr. Fogsky… What's the currency around here?"

"It depends. In Magix, it's all in some paper bills called Dinaria. It's a common currency in a lot of the mainstream realms, along with the realm money. But in more secluded realms, the money can't be used at all." He laughs. "And the money in those areas is hard to obtain if you don't have a job."

As he speaks, I keep an eye on the things people are selling. Fabrics, sweets (my mouth waters once I see the funnel cake. They sell this here?), and graphic tees. I think of Musa when I see this one shirt with a skull and bones wearing headphones. But I have no money, so that makes things a bit difficult….

"Maybe I could get a job…" I speak to no one in particular, but I know Fogsky's listening to me. I'm standing next to a jewelry stand, examining a large pendant decorated in yellows and blues and reds. There are strange symbols in the center, and they give me this strange sense of déjà vu. "Is there a way I can get a job? Is there a Magix equivalent to McDonald's?"

Fogsky blinks. "What's McDonald's?"

I wave a dismissive hand. "Sorry. American thing." He pulls out his notebook once more, scribbling something down, then letting it disappear. "Is there a place where I can work to get some money that doesn't require any experience? or hires basically anyone? because I'm just an Alfea student with no magic experience."

Fogsky thinks for a moment. "Maybe you could work for me… You're an interesting person, Miss Peters. My old housekeeper quit after I refused to keep my cat out of her way (come on, it's Ms. Whiskers' house, too!), so I've been looking for a new one. One that likes cats, thank you."

"I like cats!" I say. I may be more of a dog person, but I'll adopt a cat if I want to. But my parents say no. "And I had to clean the entire Alfea castle once. I think I'm qualified."

Fogsky smiles, ruffling my hair. "I like you even more, now. You can start working in about a week. You'll be paid seven bucks every hour."

I internally pat myself on the back. My first job! Before this, I probably would've thought I could get a job at our local Burger King or something. I may not enjoy cleaning, but I care more about money.

Suddenly, Helia's out of my sight. I nearly start panicking until I see the small outline of a familiar fourteen-year-old boy standing close to a large building. I walk over towards him, with Fogsky following. He's looking inside to where a projector screen is placed on the side, with a bunch of people gathered around it. It's playing this film, obviously about the creation of Magix. We came at the right time; the film had only just begun.

Not too long ago, in areas well-known to us now, four kingdoms had an idea. Two hundred years ago, the four biggest kingdoms known to man—Erakylon, Solaria, Linphea, and Domino—decided to create a city that would combine all three of their cultures to welcome an area full of diverse and new people to bring all magic and races together. King Kibu III of Eraklyon wanted a bright and vibrant city to bring people in. Queen Luan VI of Solaria wanted a technologically advanced city; one to vaguely resemble the Titannian capitol of Zenith. King Lake II wanted to keep the city environmentally friendly. Queen Miriam I wanted to enact strict laws to keep the city as safe as possible.

Travelling to the supposedly uninhabited lands of Púeros Terra— "Legend has it that the Great Dragon rested here after their work was finished on the world, while the Phoenix went over to the Underground to rest there," Fogsky whispers—Queen Miriam used the strength she had to capture the essence of the remaining Dragon Fire, clearing out the area to begin the construction of the now-famous city.

There's more, but my bad attention span moves to the people in the crowd. I feel someone brush past me, but I don't turn my head to look. A person has caught my eye, and it's a girl probably about my age, dressed in a lot of dark colors, with red hair that looked so fluffy, I kinda want to touch it. It's kinda like mine, but my hair kinda has a ginger feel to it. Hers is a light mixture of both red and pink. She's watching the video. Fogsky looks around behind me, moving to the left, but not without patting me on the shoulder, seemingly telling me that he's coming back. The girl turns her head to look at me, staring at me strangely for what feels like an hour, but what's really twenty long seconds. She walks over to me, and I feel my eyes widening. Is she about to tell me off for staring?

"Excuse me," she says softly, looking downwards. "H-have you seen a group of witches around here? Or one girl with green hair, long. Kinda lanky. Skinny?"

I slowly shake my head. "N-no. Sorry. B-but I thought you were about to say one of them had nearly white hair, and I was about to panic. I thought you were going to explain this one Cloud Tower witch, and I don't have incredibly good memories of her."

The girl laughs a bit. "No, I wouldn't be looking for Icy…" She trails off, looking at me suspiciously. "You know Icy? Are you a Cloud Tower witch? because I know a lot of them, but I don't remember you…"

"Oh, no. I'm an Alfea student. Bloom Peters, thanks." I laugh sheepishly, holding out my hand for the girl to take. "I've just had one too many run-ins with her and her…sisters? Are the three of them related?"

"They're part of a secret coven, rumor has it," the girl explains. "But no, they're not related. I didn't realize you were an Alfea student. Usually, Alfea girls would sense I'm a witch and walk off. Fairies don't like witches, you know."

"I don't see why they have to," I say. "It sounds kinda dumb. I may not have had the best experiences with witches, but I wouldn't hold it against all of them."

She smiles brightly at me, a light blush covering her cheeks. "Oh! I'm Mirta. Mirta Oravill. First-year Cloud Tower witch."

"Nice to meet you, Mirta." I smile at her, absentmindedly looking around. Fogsky hasn't come back yet, but I can see the familiar brightness of Stella around the corner. "Oh, Stella!" I try to wave to get her attention, and I walk off to get to her, but I stop short when I notice her.

Sky stands close by, a hand on her shoulder. Stella's face is in her hands, shaking. She's crying. I feel my heart ache. I have the sneaking suspicion it has something to do with the phone call from this morning. Sky wraps her in a hug, and I want to go comfort her, too, but somebody quickly yanks me out of the road.

Brandon stands there, looking concerned. "Bloom! The parade's about to begin. We don't want you to get run over by a float, do we?"

I laugh nervously. "Oh. Oops." I keep looking back over towards Stella, but more people begin to gather around, and I lose sight of her. "Is everything alright with Stella?"

Brandon thinks for a moment. "I don't think so… Why? Is something wrong?"

"She looked really upset when I saw her. And Stella doesn't let too many things get to her… This must be pretty personal."

I nod. I open my mouth, about to ask things about her parents, but I kinda decide against asking. First: it's an invasion of privacy. Second: I notice Helia's gone.

"Uh…" I look around, trying to see if I can catch sight of the familiar gray-haired boy. "Have any of you seen Helia?"

Brandon begins looking around as well. "Did you lose him?"

"I mean, I had him a couple minutes ago!"

Helia is nowhere in sight, and I am starting to panic. This is a huge city with a huge festival, and I don't think kidnapping is low here.

"Oooh! Do you mean the little guy? with the hair?" Mirta points to her own hair in reference.

"Yes, him. Did you see him pass you or something?" I ask, feeling slightly relieved.

"I can find him for you. And maybe I can find Lucy as well." She says that last part more to herself than anybody else. And she leaves right as the band begins its music.

Suddenly, large floats come…floating down the street, all decorated in their own way. One is decorated in a lot of flowers with large, babyish dragons as their mascot; another has the same look with flowers and whatnot, but this time with a swing and a big-*ss phoenix on it; the one that comes after it has a giraffe-necked goose surrounded by nearly blinding pink colors; and the one that comes last is one that has artificial fire on the sides, with what is supposed to be a replica of the great dragon smack in the middle. It roars and breathes fake fire, and I'm seriously impressed with whoever made these floats.

I feel someone tap me on the shoulder, and it's Fogsky, looking fondly at the floats. "I knew I made the right decision choosing those third year Alfeans to design these; they did a damn good job."

"Where have you been?" I ask. I wonder if Mirta's found Helia yet….

"Oh, I just saw some suspicious activity. It's been somewhat resolved, but I'm not taking my eyes off them yet…" Fogsky seems to be muttering to himself, swinging back and forth on his heels, looking around the place.

"Who were they? Some witches threatening to fill the confetti cannons with mud?"

"No. Secretive witches hiding in alleyways. I know witches like the dark and all, but it's still suspicious nonetheless."

I nod in understanding, but I have the sneaking suspicion that those witches are our good ole Trix up to their old…

Tricks. Heh.

The next floats that come by are specially decorated, according to Fogsky. The first that comes in is one decorated in artificial (and I think real) swords lining the sides, with knights huzzahing towards the sky in a very knightly fashion. But then I notice the knights are crying, "For Erakylon!", and that gives me the sneaking suspicion that this is supposed to represent Erakylon.

"Erakylon's always been about chivalry and knighthood," Brandon explains, and I nearly jump hearing his voice. He laughs seeing my bewilderness. "Sorry for that. Just wanted to say that if you didn't know."

I nod in understanding.

Next, coming down royally, is the OMG I'M GOING BLIND float of Solaria. Brandon quickly hands me sunglasses once it rolls by, and for good reason. It's staring at the sun, but you can look at it clearly with sunglasses. A large sun and moon are the focal points of the float, moving outwards to reveal handmade, twinkling stars.

After letting my eyes fix themselves after the blinding show that was the Solaria float, I'm greeted with the warm sight of an entirely nature inspired float, with a woman dressed like one of those nature goddesses you'd find if you look up nature goddess on the internet. She waves royally, like a Disney Princess at Disney World/Land. It's Linphea if you didn't know.

And finally, we have a float covered in ice on one side but decorated with foresty goodness on the other. I'm confused what this one is, and I think Fogsky noticed that.

"That's Domino," he explains. "Interesting choice to make it both cold and woodsy. Most likely to represent what Domino used to be and what it is now."

"What's it now?" I ask.

"A frozen tundra. A kingdom that's one step away from being comparable to the Omega Dimension," Fogsky answers darkly, and I feel a strange sense of dread and fear seep into my stomach. He shrugs. "Shame. Such a pretty place."

I open my mouth to speak once more, but the words are lost in my throat once I see the woman in the front. She's dressed in a golden gown, dark skin, with flowing black hair. But what really catches my eye is the mask that covers her face. She smiles and waves to everybody, but I feel myself leaving, but not physically. It's as if my soul is being ripped to a world that is not my own. A world of events that have already happened.

The Domino float passes on. That part of my present soul sees this. And something that looks like a presidential float comes down, with a woman rising in the sky from a small box smack in the middle. Fogsky explains who this is, but I don't hear him, the last of my present soul being ripped to this new world.

Thoren feels uncomfortable in this area full of royals and nobles alike. He feels out of place in front of all these people. Everyone is dressed elaborately in masks and gowns and suits, while he's still dressed in his knight garb, a blue, cheaply made mask covering his face. He stands by the snack table, continuously refilling his cup full of light alcohol. It wasn't enough to make him drunk, but enough to ease his brain from the anxiety seeping into his brain.

He hates being here. He doesn't want to be here. Ever since the ball began, he had been looking for a way out, an inconspicuous way out where nobody would be able to see him.

He had been invited to the ball by King Oritel to celebrate a victory against their common foes, and since Thoren had been at the front of the battle, Oritel thought it appropriate for him to be the most congratulated. And what better way to celebrate than a masquerade ball full of nobles and royals and one awkward, out-of-place knight named Thoren.

Downing another glass, he turns his attention once more towards the main floor, watching as the orchestra played the most appropriate of songs for a ball: some upbeat, some slow and simple, others with a high violin solo that kinda got Thoren's toes tapping. But there is one girl that has caught his eye.

She is dressed in a sparkling, golden dressed that touched the floor, but had an opening in the front so she could have good leg room. Her hair—akin to magnificent golden silk—moves gracefully as she dances—by herself, that is. It is an interesting sight for everyone to see. One girl, with a bedazzled and jeweled mask, dances enchantingly by herself, and Thoren has half the mind to go talk to her.

But he decides against it. He would just stay where he was and just wait until this ball was over.

"Well, don't hog all the drinks. Some of us need some, too."

Thoren nearly jumps a foot in the air. Turning his head, the same girl he had his eye on close to the entire time he had been there stands next to him, looking from the drinks to him. Through the mask, he can faintly make out light blue eyes.

"S-sorry. Just thought I was safe over here."

"Well, everybody thinks you're a little creepy, Mr. Knight." The girl pours herself a drink. "Everybody else is mingling or dancing, while you're standing here like a creep, stealing all the drinks! Dancing is tiring, you know."

Thoren nods in understanding, averting his gaze from her, but he can feel her staring at him. "Well? Does Mr. Knight talk at all, or does he just stand near drink tables ominously?"

Thoren swallows. "N-no, I talk."

"Cool." The girl downs another drink, still looking at Thoren from the corner of her eye. "So… Care to explain why exactly you're standing over here like a creep?"

"Technically, I'm not supposed to be here."

The girl raises an eyebrow. "Oh, really? So, you're like a criminal?"

"Goodness, no. I'm a knight. It's just." Thoren sighs. He points over to where King Oritel sat in his chair, conversing with a few of the other members of the royal court, his wife, Miriam II, sitting next to him. "His Highness wanted me to come, and if I didn't, it'd be a sign of major disrespect."

The girl nods in understanding. "Father—The king—" She corrects herself, and Thoren raises an eyebrow "—is like that. Kinda reminds me of the king of Erakylon, except less beefy and shyer. That king will execute you at the drop of a hat." The girl's eyes widen, suddenly getting an idea. She takes out a small card, looking like one of those playing cards. She feels on all sides, muttering about the sharpness of it. Thoren opens his mouth to ask what her intention is, but before he can ask, she chucks the card across the ballroom, hitting a hat one of the dancers were wearing. The man of which the hat belongs to looks around confusedly, wondering if the hat had just fallen on its own accord, or is it one of the troublesome children that are also present at this celebration, causing their general mayhem. Goodness, the man doesn't even know how they're considered part of the Royal Court of Domino.

"See?" the girl asks. "The hat fell. Somebody in Eraklyon is dead."

Thoren snorts, covering his face with his hand, feeling embarrassed at the unattractive noise that escaped his [nose?]. Once he recovers, he feels slightly more confident. "Your dancing's rather good. Are you one of those professional dancers for the king and queen?"

The girl shrugs. "Not a job. Just something I like doing. Everybody else is occupied, so I kinda have to dance by myself like a weirdo."

"Hey, if you want something done, you have to do it yourself, am I right?"

This time, the girl's the one laughing. Her smile remains even after she's stopping giggling. She holds out a hand towards Thoren. "This is a masquerade ball, you know. We can't use our real names. But I'll let you call me Nymph."

"Nymph? Interesting name."

"Just something you can call me."

"Alright," says Thoren. "You can call me…" He thinks for a nickname. "You can me… Thor."

"Thor? Alright. Thor and Nymph. I like the sound of it."

I'm violently ripped from the [flashback?]. Someone's shaking my arm, and I can hear somebody mumbling close by. It takes about twenty seconds for me to wake up, and I can fully hear what's going on.

The lady who had shown up before I went into La La Land is still talking (wonder how long it's been), Brandon looks at me concernedly, and Fogsky is frantically writing in his notebook.

"Bloom? Bloom, are you alright?'

"Urgh…" I'm feeling quite lightheaded. I feel myself toppling over, but before I hit the ground, Brandon catches me. I would be flattered…if I didn't feel like throwing up. Damn, being transported into another world doesn't feel as good as it looks on TV.

Fogsky mutters close to my ear. "Seems…to…experience…possibly…nausea…or…light-headedness…after…possible…vision…"

"Are you okay?" asks Brandon.

I rub my temples, feeling a headache coming on. "Yeah, I'm okay. That was weird…"

"What happened to you? You completely blanked out. You kinda looked dead."

"I did?" I raise an eyebrow.

"You froze up like a Solarian in Zenith, Miss Peters," Fogsky hums.

I don't understand that analogy.

"It was like…" I snap my fingers. "I saw her again! Daphne! …I think. She was wearing a mask, but she wore that same dress when I first saw her. And!" I yell that part out, causing a few people to give us looks. "One of the people on the floats was wearing the dress that she was wearing, including the mask. She was talking to this man, and he seems familiar somehow, but I've never seen him in my life, and they were at this masquerade ball, and apparently, Daphne's a really good dancer—"

"Has…had…visions…akin…to…the…one…she…suffered…on…the…day…of…November…30th…"

"Uh… What is he doing?" Brandon asks, seeing the strange behavior of Fogsky.

"Oh, he's just writing down in his journal. I think he does it when he sees something interesting."

"Tell me, my dear, how frequent has your visions been?" Fogsky leans forward, holding out his journal.

"Uh…" I wrack my brain. "This is the first time I've had an actual vision. Other times, I've just been seeing this woman. Daphne."

He continues writing down in his notebook, and while he does that, I'm aware of the person who's speaking.

"And these features all make up this wonderful city of Magix; a bright, wonderful, amazing city, and the home of many. Now, let us continue our celebration of two hundred years of Magix." The podium lowers back into the box, and people erupt in cheer.

"Who's that?" I ask Fogsky, who's put away his notebook to notice.

"That is the one and only Thoseth Evenshade, mayor of Magix City and technically my boss. She talks a lot, and she can be such a b*tch. But she means well. But she's slightly two-faced, so beware." Fogsky chortles. "You'll see more of her if you keep up to date with news or whatever."

"She's been talking for nearly fifteen minutes," Brandon whines. "I could've gotten myself some lunch and finished it by the time she was finished." As the crowd disperses, Brandon turns back towards me. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Just kinda queasy."

He nods. "I'll see if I can get you a drink…" But before he can go off somewhere, a loud voice yells, "Brandon!"

Sky comes into view, Stella following close by, eating a hot dog. Riven shows up, too, his arms raised behind his back in a bored fashion. "Are you coming? The race starts in ten minutes."

"Ah, right." Brandon snaps his fingers. "Are you coming?" he asks me.

"Yeah. I don't think there's anything left for me here." And Helia has shown up yet, so let's hope none of them comment on it.

"Aye, where's the kid?" Riven asks. Dammit.

"Uh…" I look down at the ground. "He…kinda got away from me."

"What?" Riven asks incredulously. "You lost him?"

"I didn't lose him!" I shoot back. "I just lost sight of him. He's probably in a museum or buying stuff."

"Well, Helia always did get distracted easily," Stella adds, wiping the mustard off her lip. She seems to be really enjoying the hot dog. "He'll probably be fine."

"Key word: probably!" Sky nearly wails. "If we don't find Helia before we go back tonight, my royal head is going to be on a platter!"

"Everything'll be fine," I assure them. "He might pop up again while we're watching the races."

Riven groans, walking away from us. I'm left standing next to Stella, who's finishing the last of her hot dog. I feel a bit sheepish, but I ask anyway. "Hey, uh… Are you okay?"

Stella turns her head to look at me, wiping mustard from the side of her lip. "Huh? Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

I sigh. "I saw you. With Sky. I kinda want confirmation."

Stella doesn't respond.

Before I can say anything else, a loud popping noise is heard, and roses begin falling all around is, catching a lot of people's interest as they ooh and ah at the sight.

"Huh. It's kinda late, but at least they actually let out the roses," says Fogsky, taking a flower as it falls.

Sky moves towards Stella, getting down onto his knee, then winces because he just landed on a thorny rose, fixes his position, and hands Stella the rose. "A rose for my rose."

"Well, how romantic," Stella gushes. Riven gags up ahead.

"Well, here, Bloom." Brandon holds out the rose that he caught. "A rose for you. I think it would look nice with your hair."

I smile, taking it from him. "Red to go on red. You know, you never could catch me wearing a leather jacket or red from head to toe. I'd look like a tomato." I place the flower in my head. "I always thought it'd look weird. Do I really look good with it?"

Brandon nods. "You look adorable."

"Ah, young love," Fogsky comments. "You know, I met my husband five years ago on this very spot. He was a photography student; I was an intern at the place I work now. One of those cute college stories you'd see. But now he's all the way in Smiuyae, and Magix and Smiuyae have two different time zones, so I can't text him all the time or else he'll be mad that I'm talking to him too late at night, and I know how he is about getting up before he's supposed to, and he's just a lot of work!"

"Could we not talk about your ridiculous love lives right now?" Riven hisses. "I have a race to get to." He's holding a large biker helmet, cleaning it with a white cloth, looking all dark and brooding. Still dunno what Musa sees in him.

"Alright, fine, fine." Fogsky taps Brandon on the shoulder. "Your friend is unpleasant."

"On some days," Sky chimes in, "unpleasant can be considered an understatement."

We walk over to a large area with a barrier blocking off our side from the other, but an entrance is located a little bit over with a security guard in charge. A good bit of people is gathered there, some watching the people riding on their hoverbikes for practice, while others are mingling with each other. As we're walking, one of the drivers is flung off their bike, causing the bike to go flying. I duck for protection, but I don't feel anything hit or go past me. The bike lies a couple feet away from the driver, who seems unscathed.

"The hoverbike races have to be the safest things ever without making it child's play," explains Sky. "You have the barrier to stop you or your bike from flying at somebody, suits that protect you from physical if you fall off… I dunno how you could get hurt doing this."

"Somebody always manages to, though," I say.

"We've made a bet about who's going to win this," Riven explains. "If I win, the other losers have to treat me like a king for a month. That rule goes for all of us, and I have never had the luxury of being treated like a king. After this race, I'll finally get a taste."

"Don't be so confident, Riven," Brandon says. "I got my first hoverbike when I was seven. I have more experience than you do."

"Yeah, yeah. But I'm tougher than you and Sky are combined. You two are little royals with your servants and your politeness and your chivalry. Y'all don't know how to actually fight to win."

"You know, Flora was right, Riv," Stella says. "You do have more brawns than brains."

"I'm still confused if that's a good thing or a bad thing," he deadpans.

"See? What did I say?" she asks me.

"Whatever. I'll finally be able to show up you losers. I know how much ladies love winners, right girlies?"

I feel annoyance creep into my brain. "Even if you do win, I won't be that impressed. I'm personally rooting for Brandon."

"Of course, you would. You and Brandon are a perfect match. Two dorks, one tree. You're almost as bad as Timmy and his robot girlfriend."

"Don't you talk about Techna that way!" I snap.

"I can talk about anyone in anyway I want. And what are you, a little fairy, going to do about it, hm?"

I'm fuming now.

"Aw, is little fairy mad? What are you gonna do? throw sparkles at me?"

I want to hit him in the face or something, but I don't want to make a scene, so instead, I try to find an alternate way of hurting him. And I see just what I can use.

"Riven, that's enough. You need to learn to shut the hell up sometimes," Brandon hisses.

"Of course, Brandon would be the one to come to Little Fairy's rescue. Hey, Bloom, do you want to know what what Brandon honestly thinks about you?"

I'm not listening much anymore. There's a woman walking around with a bucket of water, and I quickly recall the lifting spell we learned in Pre-Magic class. I reach out my hand, watching as the water from the bucket slowly rising above, not spilling anywhere, and I slowly bring it towards me. "You know, Riven?" I ask. "You've been so angry and defensive lately. Maybe you need to cool off." Right as it floats over his head, I let it go, and it splashes all over him, soaking the front of his shirt and landing on his helmet which was still in his hands. It sparks, and he throws it on the ground. It jerks around a bit, and I fear it might catch fire. But instead, it just lies there, sparking just a bit, and it looks beyond broken.

Riven doesn't even care about the fact that he's soaking wet. "What the hell did you do?" he nearly screams, rushing over to pick up his helmet, but he can't, and it shocks him when he tries.

"Don't want to do that, dear," Fogsky hums. He's eating popcorn from a bag. "It might electrocute you."

Riven roars, running over to me and grabbing me by the front of my shirt. "Do you know what you've done?"

Sky pulls him off me, and I fix my shirt. The look on his face… I thought he was going to kill me.

"You broke my helmet, you b*tch! I'm disqualified from the race now! I hope you're f*cking happy!"

"I didn't mean to do that!" I feel myself shrinking. "Do you have a spare?"

"Do you think money grows on trees? This was extremely expensive!" He looks like he's legit going to cry. I feel awful. "Thanks a lot, Bloom. Thanks, a whole bunch." He walks off, roughly jerking Brandon off when he tries to console him.

"Damn." Fogsky pops another piece of popcorn in his mouth. "Dramatic much?"

"I didn't mean to take him out of the race!" I cry. "I just wanted to teach him a lesson."

"Well, you did." Stella sighs. "He'll get over it, though."

I feel terrible. Damn my anger and revenge-hungry brain! There's got to be a way to make it up to him….

A bell ring overhead. "We have to go now," Brandon says. It takes out his own helmet, along with Sky who does the same. "Wish us luck, girls."

Stella and I wave, mine a bit more halfhearted.

A whole bunch of races come leading their hoverbikes onto the track, some looking to make sure everything was functioning, others already getting together. I feel a tap on my shoulder, and I turn around. Mirta has returned, smiling at me. "I was able to find the little one."

"You did?" I ask. At least one thing's better. "Oh, thank God! Where is he?"

"He got distracted at a museum," she explains. "He says he'll come back once the races have begun."

I nod in understanding. Then, I turn back to her. "Were you able to find whoever you were looking for?"

She nods. "Lucy…found more people to hang out with, I guess." She turns away from me, looking at the gathering racers. I want to ask, but a disembodied voice calls, "Racers! please head over to the starting line."

The racers begin heading over to the checkered banner, reminding me of a Mario Kart game. Each of them has helmets on, making it hard for me to tell who anyone is, but one of the racers waves over towards Stella, who waves up, so I assume it's Sky. "The race will begin in ten minutes!" cries the disembodied voice.

"Ooh, I'm excited!" cries Fogsky next to me. "I'm so glad I brought food for this."

I don't feel so excited. My guilt is eating up at me. I turn my attention away from the race and see a strange person walking over, holding a helmet like the ones the racers were wearing. She's dressed in this white lab coat, with long, silky brown hair, and small glasses like ones that rest on Fogsky's nose. I'm quite curious, but then she and I look glances, and she runs over quickly. "Excuse me?" she asks. "Does anyone in your party need a spare helmet?"

"Nope. Everything's fine here," Stella answers, but I see this as my opportunity. "Actually, yes," I say.

The woman's face seems to light up, and now I can tell there's something familiar about her, but I just can't seem to put my finger on it. "Thank you. I've been wanting to sell this to someone, but I couldn't find anyone who would take it. For being so kind, the helmet's free."

I take it from her hands, examining it. The shield on it looks like a tinted window on a car, and it looks almost new. "It looks fresh."

"It's the latest model. It has a communication device and everything. You're going to love it."

"Damn, really?" I ask. "Surprised nobody took it then."

"Well, a lot of people already had spare helmets, and nobody believed me when I told them it was the newest model since it's so rare for a person to have one."

I smile at her. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome," she replies. I feel a weight lifted off my shoulder. Damn, that was some short-lived guilt. I may still be slightly mad at Riven, but it wasn't my intention to take him out of the race. He won't forgive me completely, but at least he'll have a chance again. I look up to find the woman has disappeared. People are weird in this place.

I walk around the crowd, trying to see if I can catch sight of our brooding Specialist. Luckily, I don't have to look too far. He's standing by a concession stand, sulking while downing an entire soda cup. It's kind of amusing. I walk over, holding the helmet to my chest. "Riven?"

He glares at me, turning away. "What the hell do you want?"

I sigh. "I just wanted to apologize for what I did back there. You were being a d*ck, too, but I hadn't wanted to ruin your chances of competing in the race. So… I got this." I hold out the helmet, and his eyes widen. "Whoa… Where did you get this?"

"A lady gave it to me. For free," I add. "Apparently, it's the latest model."

"This is a B-17 helmet!" he cries. "This is amazing. Everybody's been trying to get their hands on this." He places it over his head, smiling ear-to-ear. "Yeah, baby. This will help me win for sure. Sky and Brandon will never know what hit 'em."

"Oh, well—" I try to talk more, but he pushes past me, grabbing a hoverbike as he passes, running to join the racers gathered at the starting line. "You're welcome," I say to no one in particular.

I head back over to where Fogsky, Mirta, and Stella are gathered, waiting for the race to begin. Mirta wonders where I went, but I explain what I had given Riven. Heh. That rhymed.

The race begins four minutes after I give Riven the helmet. I'm excited for this; more than ever since my guilt has subsided. A traffic light appears, shining like Mario Kart~ before buzzing green, and the bikes take off, zooming past everything and everyone.

You know, this would be a lot more entertaining if I could see who who is. The only person I can tell is Riven, who is wearing the cool helmet. He races to first place, surpassing everyone before the second round. A commentator talks loudly above, and Fogsky explains that this is another co-worker of his, almost as annoying as he is. "Just less handsome," he adds, running a hand through his hair.

The track is full of twists and turns and zigzagging roads, and it looks like it could make anyone sick. Apparently, the racers think the same, since some just get off their hoverbikes and throw up. It's disgusting. And others just fly off their bikes, hitting others and barriers. It seems they're fine, but I kind of doubt what Brandon said about how safe this race was….

It looks as if Riven might win this thing, since he hasn't been anywhere else besides first place. But I apparently, I spoke too soon. During the final round, something happens to Riven, and he begins to swerve out of control, shocking everyone, including the commentator.

"Oh, what's this?" he asks. "Looks like there's some issues at first place!" A floating TV comes down, showing up close shots of what's happening. We can't see his face, but Riven is reeling in pain, his hoverbike moving everywhere, nearly hitting people close behind him. I don't know what's happening. I look around to try and see if I can get a closer look than the screen in front, but that's when time goes slower as I lock eyes with someone all too familiar.

The same icy cold stare catches mine. Her hair is different from her usual ponytail (this time flirtatious in the back with a white headband), but I can tell it's Icy by the way she looks at me. She was laughing when I saw her, and when we're both aware of each other, she gives me this evil, yet innocent look, and everything clicks into place.

I just set up Riven for disaster.

I don't think about what I do next. I don't think when these things happen. I just do. I transform quickly, taking flight to enter the barrier from the top, flying past hoverbikes, seeming to confuse some of the drivers. The hoverbikes drive just as fast as I fly, which makes it harder to catch up to Riven, and a person is quickly catching up. I move quicker towards Riven, trying to find a way to get the helmet off his face, and I can tell he's seen me by the way he weakly turns his head. The commentator talks about my sudden appearance, and there's a camera watching my moves now, but I don't pay much attention to it. I think quickly, trying to conjure up the levitation spell, but the person who's driving closer to Riven, nearly crashes into me, causing me to jerk to a halt in my flight and mess up my spell, releasing an accidental spell at Riven, which throws him off his bike, launching it high into the air, coming straight towards us. I hold my breath, hoping it wouldn't hit anybody, but suddenly, two long ropes wrap around the rogue bike, stopping its movement. I look to see where it came from.

Helia stands high up on a building (how the hell did he get up there?) holding the reins tightly in his right fist. The bike is suspended in the air (might be ropes with magic on them), and he struggles to keep it upright. He doesn't hold on for long, and he's pulled forward, nearly falling off the entire building in the process. The motorbike goes flying, hitting the barrier wall, and landing on the ground, not hitting anybody, as everyone around jumped out of the way just in time.

I turn my attention back towards Riven. He lies close by, unmoving, while another person kneels next to him, seeming to check on him. The person (it seems like a woman from the voice) calls for a doctor. I move closer, detransforming, trying to get closer. The person takes their helmet off, just as Riven seems to stir. And that's when I realize the familiarity of the person next to me.

"Hey!" I cry. "You were the person who gave me the helmet! You set me up!"

"What? No!" she cries, and I realize it's Darcy. How could I have been so stupid? The woman who gave me the helmet looked nearly identical to her! "You're the one who did this."

"Me?" Riven tries to stand up, but Darcy pushes him back down. "Don't move from there," she says. "You're hurt."

I can only stand by and watch.

Riven stares at Darcy, seeming to examine her, and his cheeks grow pink. I go closer. "Riven, don't listen to anything she says. She's the one that made this happen to you."

Riven's face suddenly contorts to one of anger and confusion. "Her? I recall seeing you right as it started to happen! Was this all just an elaborate prank to stop me from winning?" He changes his attention to Brandon, Sky, and Stella who came walking near. "This was all planned, wasn't it? I need you were low, but this low."

"Riven, we didn't do anything. It was an accident," Brandon says, but Riven doesn't buy it.

"Of course, you would say that! Prince and squire don't like admitting their assholery. I'm glad I left y'all a long time ago." He spits at them, and I move back.

People who seem to be police officers (dressed in strange outfits. Oranges and yellows and blues) and doctors come on sight. "What happened here? Who is responsible?" asked one of the officers.

"Her," I say, pointing at Darcy. "She and her little crew of witches. I can point all of them out."

"I haven't done a thing, little fairy," Darcy hisses. "And Riven was right." She swings Riven's arm around her shoulder, helping him up. "You were the last person he saw before it all happened. And you were dressed in your little fairy suit, too, where you can use the most power. You even shot a spell at him."

"That was because you bumped into me! And something that had happened to his helmet. The one you gave me."

"The evidence doesn't go in your favor, Bloom," Brandon says. "They're right… You were the last person he saw. And you were transformed, too."

I stare at him incredulously. I didn't do this. I'm being framed. This can't be happening! Am I gonna go to jail? "Brandon, I didn't do anything! The Trix; they're here. They're right over…" My voice trails off when I notice the other two witches are completely out of sight. Gone from the place I originally saw them. I got played like a violin.

"This might be considered attempted murder," one of the female officers says. "We might have to take the fairy in."

"I didn't do anything! You can't arrest me!"

"We might not jail you, but interference with the race in this manner is an offense." She comes to approach me, but a voice stops her.

"Don't go anywhere nearer to Miss Peters, Officer Commonwoods."

I turn my head. Fogsky walks towards us, paying more attention to his notebook than anything else, looking more serious than before. "She hasn't done anything wrong in this situation, and neither has the other girl."

Officer Commonwoods looks surprised. "Detective Fogsky. I didn't think you'd be here."

"Well, with a husband off on a foreign adventure and nothing in the crime department, I have to find a way to entertain myself somehow. And Miss Peters in now my employee. I stand with her. Nobody is guilty, and nobody is being taken in."

"But sir—"

"Officer Commonwoods, this is not up for discussion." And he means it.

I feel terrible.


The fireworks go off late into the night by the area close to the Magix Lake, but I can't stop playing the events of today in my head. Riven hasn't shown up since the fiasco, but last I saw him, he was being patched up with Darcy, getting all friendly with her. I think of Musa.

Brandon has been kinda quiet, too. We're all kinda quiet. The fireworks aren't as exciting since everything else has been kinda crappy.

At least Helia's happy. Well, happy in not the visible way. But there's a bit of a smile on his face as he lets his origami animals play in the grass and in the sky. He hums to himself, holding an icepack to his nose. And Mirta sits with an unfamiliar girl, but I can tell it's the person she was looking for. So yay for him and her.

Halfway into the fireworks show, Stella says, "My parents are getting a divorce."

I look at her, surprised and concerned. "Huh?"

Stella turns away from me. "That's what was going on. My parents are finally getting a divorce. After so many years of fighting."

"Oh." I reach out to touch her shoulder, scared she'll pull away, but she seems to lean into my touch. "I'm sorry."

"I'm fine," she says. "I've been expecting it anyway. They've been arguing since I was born." She sighs. "If they're both happy without each other… So be it."

She goes silent, but I don't remove my hand. I pull into a sideways hug. She laughs lightly. "I might have to call Flora. You're sorta doing her job."

I laugh as well. "Guess I'll take the substitute Flora job whenever she's not around."

We sit in silence, watching the fireworks, and I feel slightly happier. Then, I nearly jump a foot in the air when a voice behind me says, "I knew there was something suspicious about those witches. Glad I wrote it down."

Fogsky stands behind me, looking just as strange as when I first met him. "They didn't seem very trustworthy."

"Do you mean the Trix? Err—with the white-haired one, the one with the perm, and the one who mainly saw today?" Fogsky nods. "Then, yep. They're not. I've had problems with them a lot. I don't think they'll be a day when I don't see them."

"Sometimes, your intuition is much better than your brain. I'm keeping a tab on them. You know, this day was better than I thought."

"It was?" I ask.

"Yep." He smiles, his eyes nearly blinding me in the darkest. "I finally have a case and a new housekeeper!"