Sky heads to Alfea, hoping to avoid Diaspro at Red Fountain - it's the start of Spring Break, so she's been hanging around hoping to catch him out of class. Luckily, he and Brandon talked with Stella and she came up with an idea - she invites the two of them over for something, one royal to another, and Brandon goes as Sky's 'bodyguard.'

It's a total joke, and Sky knows full well Stella likes Brandon - she's also trying to set him up with Bloom. While he appreciates the gesture - trying to get him off the market, so to speak, to maybe deter his semi-stalker of an ex-fiancé - and he does like Bloom, he's not going to just jump into it.

For one thing, Bloom clearly has a lot going on and doesn't need to add a relationship with a guy who's trying to get a stalker-ex out of the picture to the mix. For another…that stalker-ex of his is trying to corner him at every turn, and Diaspro was always a jealous, spiteful girl after she hit puberty. She always had to be the center of attention, the prettiest, he was expected to shower her with jewels and compliments at every turn when he wasn't letting her run his entire life. Everything from the way he dressed to the places he went and the friends he made, everything had to be her way. Dragon, he was so happy when his father canceled the arranged marriage with her.

Diaspro, on the other hand…he's had to get three dummy phones to throw her off the trail of the brand new phone Stella secretly bought him. They've never been activated, but that's the whole point - Diaspro goes on a wild goose chase trying to find which of the numbers works, and doesn't catch on to the number that's his actual phone. Hopefully.

Needless to say, he doesn't particularly want Diaspro fixating on Bloom - either Diaspro would encase Bloom in a giant gemstone, or Bloom would simply break Diaspro's body altogether like she fought the Whip and that Troll.

When they get there, Stella practically skips over while dragging a tired-looking Bloom along by the wrist. "Good to see you guys! How's it been going?"

Brandon grins, and says "Good. You?"

Stella beams, saying "Great! Bloom, though…"

Bloom yanks her hand out of Stella's grasp, and says "Like I said, Stell, its fine. I've got it worked out."

Sky raises an eyebrow, asking "Got what worked out?"

Bloom deadpans "The dreams."

Stella exasperatedly says "Bloom, not sleeping isn't a good solution."

Sky practically chokes, asking "Excuse me?!"

Bloom just shrugs at Sky, and says "I don't sleep, I don't dream. There, problem solved." And she doesn't know how many more of those dreams - night-terrors, more like, fueled by guilt - she can take. She keeps seeing her brother getting tortured, either by the Mad Titan himself or by his sadistic 'children' and she doesn't know if she's just going mad or if its something else altogether. And, honestly, neither is preferable. And then there's the ones where a voice is calling her name - she's heard that voice from before, but she doesn't know where. Or when, for that matter. A female voice, warm, calling her name...but she always wakes from those dreams before she can find the voice's owner. Or she'll be awake and hear that voice calling her name.

Stella glances up towards the sky like she's looking for patience - or help, maybe - but doesn't say anything else.

Sky winces, Bloom must've been desperate if she decided not sleeping was the way to go. "I take it they got worse?"

Bloom nods sharply, muttering "I don't want to talk about it, Sky."

Stella claps her hands together cheerfully, and asks "Anyone want to go shopping? Or would that be too easy a target for the stalker?"

Sky thinks for a minute, then grimaces and says "Probably, sorry."

Stella waves a hand dismissively, and says "Not your fault your father couldn't see she's a spoiled brat until it was too late, Sky."

They end up taking a walk through the forest, accidentally splitting up into two groups as they go. Sky's walking with Bloom, no specific direction in mind other than 'away from the schools' and glances over just in time to see Bloom's completely zoned out. "Hey, Bloom, you alright?" She doesn't respond, and Sky has to keep her from walking straight into a tree.

As he watches, she blinks and shakes her head, asking "Is something wrong?"

Sky turns her face towards him, since she keeps looking around in confusion, and asks "Just how long has it been since you last slept, Bloom? You completely zoned out on me there."

Bloom groans, then yawns before saying "A few days now. Its…I'm backed into a corner and can't see any way out, Sky. Either I don't sleep, or I see my dead brother getting tortured night after night as the Mad Titan interrogates him. Add to it the detail that I think I'm being…what's the word, haunted? Someone's haunting me, as well, a woman's voice that randomly calls my name at any time she pleases." Bloom's getting very over it all, honestly - one minute she's doing something, she'll hear the voice call her name…and then the next thing she knows, she's anywhere from down the hall to out in the forest. Trying to find the source of the voice.

Its equal parts alarming and annoying, another thing that's never happened to her before now.

Sky frowns, asking "Is that what happened just now? This…ghost, or whatever it is, called you again?" Bloom nods, yawning again and rubbing at her eyes. Something Sky finds ridiculously adorable, but that's for another time. Thinking for a moment, he snaps his fingers and says "You know what you need? A distraction, something to focus on."

Bloom glances at him, asking "I take it you have one such something?"

Sky nods, saying "In two days, there's a competition at Red Fountain, the Day of the Royals. How about you and Stella come over and watch?"

Bloom raises an eyebrow, asking "Day of the Royals? Is that just a fancy-sounding name for a competition, or…?"

Sky shakes his hand back and forth, saying "A bit, but my parents will also be there. Members of other schools are allowed to attend, though, if they're invited, and the heads of the schools are there as well."

Bloom nods after a minute, and says "I'll be there, Sky."

"Just get some sleep the night before, alright? My father can be…a bit much, lets say, at first. I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but he's stubborn, hot-headed, and Eraklyon is his primary concern most of the time." Sky's well-aware of his father's flaws - he knows his father loves him, he really does, but being King of Eraklyon often comes first. Sky gets it, but that doesn't mean he likes it all the time.

Bloom just shrugs, and says "He's a King, Sky. I know full-well how it goes." Odin was always so busy running multiple realms that he barely left his throne for a meal. Sometimes, he didn't leave the throne for days on end, eating nothing but small plates of this or that between courtiers or


Sky tries to keep his calm in front of his parents, given that they're in a public setting - even if the room is empty bar them - until his mother comes forward and wraps her arms around him saying "Its good to see you, Sky. Its been far too long."

Sky grins, and says "Yeah, it has. Look, erm, there's someone I want you two to meet. She's one of Stella's apartment-mates from Alfea."

Samara raises an eyebrow mischievously, asking "Oh? Just one of Princess Stella's friends, hm?"

Sky shrugs sheepishly, saying "Its not like that, Mother! Bloom, she's…not like Diaspro."

Erendor crosses his arms, asking "Not like her how? There's a number of ways that could be taken." Most of which he'd be glad for, he's just grateful he found out what kind of person she's become before the wedding - a selfish, spoiled, controlling harpy of a girl, who's only interested in herself and her desires. And satisfying those desires - she's been sleeping with people since she was fourteen! Needless to say, the arranged marriage between herself and his son was canceled immediately when that particular detail was discovered.

Sky clears his throat, scratching the back of his head as he glances at the doorway, and says "She just…is, Father. She's warm, and open, nothing like Diaspro where you never know what she's thinking or feeling until she tears into you for something ridiculous. She's funny, smart, incredibly strong…knows how to use a weapon…"

Erendor and Samara trade looks as Sky continues to describe Bloom, from what they can see…he likes her. She sounds like a nice enough girl, albeit with a temper at times, but there's something about her that Erendor can't put his finger on. He puts his finger on it all too quickly when he sees her, and goes pale at the realization of just who his son has developed feelings for - she's the spitting image of his dead best friend's equally-dead firstborn daughter, just with Marion's hair.

Oritel and Marion's second daughter!

And then Princess Bloom of Domino gives them a curtsy, which seems to surprise both Stella and Sky immensely, and says "Greetings, King Erendor and Queen Samara of Eraklyon. Bloom Odinsdottir, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." At Stella and Sky's startled looks, Bloom smirks and asks "What? Just because I'm not from Magix doesn't mean there's no royalty where I'm from. Asgard has a Royal family and everything, you know." She just hasn't mentioned the detail that she was adopted into it.

Stella asks "And you were taught how to act around royals?"

Bloom smirks even wider for a minute, as she says "I was taught a lot of things growing up, Stella. How to act around other nobility was one of them, yes." Bloom frowns suddenly, asking "Is someone else invited? Because someone else is coming."

Sky stiffens up at once, asking "Um…what?" Oh, you gotta be kidding...

Bloom nods, and says "I can sense their magic, its coming closer. Cold and hard, like a metal blade. Calculating, to - if I concentrate enough, I can sense some of the stronger emotions in a person's magic since magic tends to react to emotions. And they're looking for something."

And then they hear a distinctly female voice ask "Have you seen Prince Sky of Eraklyon? He's attending here, and I'd like to have a word with him."

Stella immediately hisses "Hide us!" That's Diaspro's voice!

Bloom reacts instantly, disappearing moments before Stella does. And then Sky feels a wave of heat wash over him, and when he blinks everything is…tinged orange. Stella's back to, along with Bloom - both of whom, along with his parents and himself, are covered in an orange glow. Bloom motions for everyone to be quiet, and to move away from the doorway just in case.

Not a moment too soon, because Diaspro opens the door and pokes her head in right that moment. She's exactly as Sky remembers her - blonde hair styled perfectly away from her face, makeup done just so to make her look prettier than she already is, and a glowing tan from a spell she uses to make her skin look flawless. She looks like the gemstones she creates, flawless…and equally as cold, her eyes just as hard as the amber they resemble. And a sneer on her face when her gaze roams the room and miraculously doesn't see them.

A good minute after she's gone, and her voice has faded from yelling at whoever it is that pointed her in the right direction - being as cruel as usual, calling them a worthless peasant and demanding they leave her sight at once - the magic concealing them abruptly ends and everyone reappears.

Samara asks "What was that?! What kind of magic was that, I've never felt anything like it before!"

Bloom shrugs nonchalantly, and says "Asgardian Magic, an illusion to be precise. I can make illusions look like anything I can imagine. I just made an illusion of an empty room. Shall we go take our seats, Your Majesties? Before that nightmare of a girl comes back?"

Erendor finds his voice, asking "How in the name of the Dragon did you do that?!"

Bloom shrugs, and says "I have a…gift, I suppose you could call it, for magic. It's how I learned Asgardian Magic in a few years instead of a few centuries, and I learned Eldritch Magic on my own after coming across a book on the subject in the library. I'm picking up Fairy Magic lately, all the teachers say at an amazing rate for someone who came to Magix not even knowing how to Transform and could only do it when highly upset, but still." It's too slow for her though, trying to tap into a fickle magic that's tied directly to her emotions. Like trying to grasp at smoke, keep it in her palm even as it just wants to slip away.

Erendor, meanwhile, swallows nervously and tries not to show any nerves - this is very clearly a near-exact replica of Marion, from her hunger for knowledge to her knack for magic, and the mounting similarities are quickly getting to be a little much.

Marion was always too perceptive for anyone's good, constantly finding things out she shouldn't have been able to.

How long until this girl realizes what he did?

How he let Domino die and did nothing?


AN: Hey everyone! Next chapter is up, and things are moving along! As for Erendor...someone's feeling guilty. Honestly, how nobody but Faragonda recognized Bloom - from the hair alone, and her resemblance to Daphne without the mask - is a mystery to me. Seriously, Marion's the only other character in the entire series with hair that shade of red, and in Secrets of the Lost Kingdom she and Daphne looked identical when Daphne took the mask off...you know, bar the detail that Daphne was solid orange.