Author's Note: There will be a livestream on YouTube to celebrate the release of this new chapter at on 1/15/2021 at 2PM PST. Link in bio!
Silver, Jade, and Ancrua walk down the streets of Magix City, the central shopping and hangout center for the three main magical schools.
"First, we should look for our dresses for the dance, followed by a quick break for lunch, and then we can help Jade get a totally new look. It'll be so much fun!" Silver declares, squeezing her sister and her friend by the outside shoulder.
"Uhm...yeah Silver, of course it'll be fun," Jade mumbles, scratching the back of her head, "but uhm...first I need to pick up something for school."
Silver drops her hands to her side and groans, "Ugh, this is suppose to be our day out and you're already talking about school? Jade, you need to get your head out of your books and into the world of fashion."
"Personally, I don't mind having a passion for books, but I think Silver has a point. You need to find a balance," Ancrua chimes in.
"Look...I understand you guys, and I promise, as soon as I'm done I'll rejoin you guys and we'll shop to our heart's content. But this is really important and I need to get this done as soon as possible," Jade explains.
Silver rolls her eyes and sighs, "Well, if you absolutely must-"
"Thank you guys so much, bye!" Jade can barely get those words out before she zips away, leaving a trail of dust.
Silver puts her hands on her hips and turns to Ancrua, "What was up with her? I've never seen her so...enthusiastic. That's usually my thing."
"I agree, it is strange," Ancrua points out.
"Something's up, I can tell..." Silver shakes her head, but suddenly, she comes to a realization with a gasp, "Ancrua...let's follow her! It would be rude to start shopping without Jade anyway, what if we find something perfect for her to try it on and she's not there?"
Ancrua assumes a thinking position, "You have a point, and I am curious as to what's going on with Jade...alright, let's do it! We can catch up to her by flying in our Fairy forms,"
Silver pumps her fist, "Right! Let's do this! Winx!"
Silver and Ancrua transform and fly after Jade, floating above the skyscrapers of Magix City.
Jade flies down a dark, narrow alleyway and lands at an unmarked door. She felt bad ditching Silver and Ancrua in the middle of their shopping trip, but this was only chance she could get out to Magix City. After all, Witches aren't exactly welcome here.
She glances both ways before heading in, but unknown to her Silver and Ancrua are watching her from above the alleyway.
"What's Jade doing going into a shady building like that?" Silver asks aloud.
Ancrua shrugs, "She did say it was for school. Maybe it's some Witch thing."
Silver nods, "Maybe, but I say we should still investigate."
"Right," Ancrua agrees.
Silver and Ancrua fly down to the door Jade entered and open it. The door leads into a small room covered in dark red drapes. Shelves are placed haphazardly around the shop, housing bottles with liquids of all colors.
"Uhm...is it just me, or does this place have a ultra-weird vibe to it?" Silver comments, looking around.
"Yeah, I can't quite pin it down, but it feels like I'm at the source of some kind of energy," Ancrua chimes in, as she picks up one of the potions off of the shelves and stares at her reflection through the bottle.
From somewhere in the room, laughter echoes toward Silver and Ancrua, making them both stand up in shock. They dash behind a nearby shelf as footsteps come down from somewhere in the room.
"You wouldn't happen to have an invisibility spell right now, would you?" Silver chuckles, as she shakes in fear.
Ancrua shakes her head, "That spell's way too complex for me, we'll just have to rely on good old luck."
Silver and Ancrua duck back into their hiding spots as the two people talking come into view. Silver covers her mouth with both hands as she spots one of them.
"Oh my gosh! It's Jade!" Silver whispers to Ancrua.
"But who's she with?" Ancrua asks, as she tries to get a good look at the other person.
"So, she locked you out of your dorm by cursing the entire door? Wow, talk about inefficient," Thamond laughs along with Jade.
Jade chuckles, "Yeah, if I were going to curse a door shut, I'd focus my magic directly on the lock. But with her slap-dashed job I was able to quickly identify the curse. It was just a matter of looking up the counter-curse."
"Troubles of a first-year Witch," Thamond figures, "I remember when I had to look up every spell."
Silver peeks out from their hiding spot just to get a better look at Thamond. The moment she lays eyes on him, her eyes widen, and her lips beam into a gigantic smile.
"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!" Silver covers up her mouth to conceal her squeals.
Ancrua tries to shush her, but Silver's excitement refuses to be contained, "Jade has a boyfriend!"
Silver's leaping up and down causes some of the potions on the shelf they're hiding behind to shake. One placed close to the edge falls, smashing onto the ground. Both Jade and Thamond turn around, and Thamond's hand immediately glows red with magic.
"Intruders?!" a red spark of energy pushes the shelf aside, revealing Silver and Ancrua.
"Hi…" Silver waves, as Jade snarls at her.
Thamond chuckles, "Friends of yours, Jade?"
Jade stutters, shrinking into herself, "Uhm...well…"
Silver zips right up to Thamond, "I'm Silver, Jade's big sister. Ancrua over there, she's my friend. So, are you Jade's boyfriend?"
Jade's eyes widen in horror at Silver's statement. She waves her hands in protest, "No, Silver, you've got it all wrong!" she pulls Silver away from him, "Thamond is my Wizard mentor."
"A Wizard? Where did you study?" Ancrua asks, her arms crossed.
"I'm a senior at Zaltora, School of Physic Arts, this potion shop here is more of an after-school job," Thamond explains, gesturing to his potion shop.
Silver frowns, and turns to Jade, "What? He doesn't go to Red Fountain? But Jade, that means we can't have a meetup of all our guy friends."
Thamond laughs, scratching the back of his head, "Sorry to disappoint, but the Wizard program at Red Fountain isn't exactly...strong. Not to bash Specialists or anything."
Giggling, Silver clasps her hands together, "Well, that doesn't mean we can all get together! You could even come to the upcoming dance at Red Fountain!"
Jade winces, and puts a hand on Silver's shoulder, "Silver, slow down, a Witch at a Red Fountain dance is controversial enough-"
"C'mon, it'll be fine. You'll come, right Thamond?" Silver looks up at the Wizard with hopeful eyes.
"We'll see," he smirks, crossing his arms.
Silver grabs Jade by her wrist and starts pulling her against her will, "So anyway, we've gotta go. Gotta buy our dresses for the dance."
Thamond waves his hand, and Silver and Jade are separated by a burst of red magic, "Just a moment. I need to speak to Jade. Alone."
Ancrua raises an eyebrow as Silver rubs her hand and exits the shop. Ancrua takes one more look at Thamond before exiting as well.
"Thamond, I'm so sorry about that. I had...I had no idea they'd followed me here-"
"What worries me is that you're hanging around Fairies. Fairies are the enemy, Jade, they'll never accept you as long as you're a Witch," he explains, an air of concern in his voice.
Jade crosses her arms, "I mean, you have a point. But she is still my sister…"
Thamond puts his hand on her shoulder, "Not even our families have been known to accept who we are, who we've chosen to be. That's just the life of a Witch. You have to be confident in yourself, without the approval of others."
Jade smiles, and places her hand on top of his, "Thank you, Thamond."
He smiles back as Jade waves goodbye to catch up with Silver and Ancrua. Once she's gone, Thamond sighs.
"Soon she'll learn. Fairies and Specialists can be just as cruel as evil Witches and Wizards. It just takes a little magic to bring it out of them."