"What are you two doing?" Undine stared at Rhea and Nicole. They both sat on the couch, glancing at the girl who was standing in a beautiful seafoam dress. It was an off shoulder dress with sparkles and pearls stylized around the bottom. Her hair was all curled up and moved to one side of her face.
"Studying, why do you look all fancy?" Nicole had her history textbook open in front of her. Technically, she was studying, though she had also been multitasking, trying to figure out any information on this threat the headmistress was paranoid and secretive about. She had attempted to look into Athena and her parents' disappearance, except there had been a lot of red tape around the disappearance. She didn't know if someone was trying to cover up for something worse than a storm or they had a hand in their vanishing act. But she couldn't tell her roommates that, they looked banged up as it was from all the training sessions.
"Because the start of the school dance is tonight! There's going to be dancing, music, and boys from Red Fountain." The two remained unconvinced, "Are you two really going to miss one of the most magical nights of the year?"
"Yes." Rhea and Nicole said in unison.
"You two are ridiculous." She huffed, "Andromeda, back me up here."
Andromeda shrugged her shoulders as she helped Minuet with her makeup. "If they don't want to go, then we shouldn't force them to go." Andromeda wore a dark blue dress that resembled the night sky with little sparkles of gems that mocked the brilliance of stars.
"I can understand why Undine and Andromeda are going with them being princesses and all that. But why are you going?" Rhea asked Minuet.
"Free food."
"That's it? Just the food?"
"There's also the music and dancing, just the energy around everyone."
"Ah, that makes more sense."
"Come on, when will we have another chance to just let loose and have fun?" Undine pleaded.
"You and I have very different definitions of the word fun." Rhea looked up from her phone.
"You know what…" Nicole closed her textbook, "I'm in."
Undine squealed, "I'll get my curling dryer."
The Androsian princess was right, it was time to stop playing detective for the night.
It was time to dance the night away.
"Just so you all know, I did not agree to doing this." Rhea mumbled, her hair nicely done in a lovely braid courtesy of Andromeda. In the end, the fairy of thorns ended caving in and joined in, reluctantly.
"Well we already bought the dress, might as well wear it, brambles." Undine said with an amused smile.
Minuet stated, "They went all out for this, huh?"
The room was draped with expensive decorations, table spreads covered with various foods, and balls of light shining down on the party goers. Nicole was starstruck as she stood with her friends, taking in the lavish atmosphere. She looked at herself, the red dress that she wore went down to her knees and bounced with every step she took. The gold heels Andromeda had given to her made her feel taller
"Anna!" Andromeda was suddenly embraced by a blonde haired guy wearing a very expensive looking black suit. "So good to see your face!"
"Cyrus, put me down! You're embarrassing me." Andromeda pouted.
"It's my job to embarrass you, Anna." Cyrus noticed the four other girls and smiled at them, "You must be the roommates my little sister has told me about. Good to see you too, Undine." He gave her a wink, which she responded with an eye roll.
"Everyone, this is my older brother Cyrus and-"
"Cyrus, why did you run over here?!" A similar looking blonde guy was out of breath as he approached them. "You left me hanging with those girls and you know I can't-" He stopped as he saw Andromeda in Cyrus' arms.
"Right on cue, as always." Andromeda chuckled, "This is my other older brother, Sirius."
"Nice to meet all of you." He regained his calm and composed stance, even with sweat running down his collar, "Prince Sirius of Solaria at your service."
Cyrus and Sirius look similarly with their blonde hair and brown eyes though there were several differences. Cyrus' hair was messy while Sirius was combed back. He wore a sun medallion while Sirius wore a crescent moon. Both wore black tuxedos with well pressed ties, though Cyrus' was orange while Sirius' was blue.
"I thought you two weren't coming! Weren't you on that mission in Verona?"
"We got done early, decided to stop by and check on our little sister."
"It's good to see you too, Princess Undine." Sirius turned his attention to the Androsian princess, bowing politely.
"And I see Sirius is as serious as ever." Undine chuckled, earning a small smile from the prince.
Nicole, Rhea, and Minuet quickly scattered from the group as Andromeda chatted with her brothers.
Minuet lingered around the buffet table, snacking on whatever was available. Her eyes glanced around the room, watching as the fairies from Alfea and specialists from Red Fountain mingled and danced. Out of nowhere, a hand reached down and grabbed a piece of shrimp from her plate.
"Who do you thin-" Her anger died down as she came face to face with the last person she wanted to see.
"Hey, mind if I take some of those?" The boy behind her had combed back dark blue hair and indigo eyes. His outfit was a nice tuxedo, it wasn't as expensive looking as the ones the more royal specialists wore, but it was good enough for the dance.
"Get your own plate, Rave." She murmured, "And is that any way to talk to your sister?"
"Ah, my mistake." Rave waved his hands around in mock surrender. "So mom finally pushed you into becoming a fairy."
"I didn't have much of a choice." She glanced at his buttoned up tailored suit, "I'm guessing you didn't have as much luck with dad, since you're at Red Fountain."
He sighed, "Yeah, it's not as great as his stories made it out, but that's normal."
"How's dad?"
"His same old grouchy self." He took a sip of his cup of punch, "How's mom?"
"She got a new boyfriend a few months ago." She said, munching on some chips, "Still seeing how long this new one will last."
"How many is it this year? 4? 5?"
"I lost count, I swear she goes through guys faster than albums." This earned a chuckle from the dark haired teenager.
There was an awkward silence between the siblings. How do you talk naturally to the sibling you hadn't seen since the divorce of your parents?
"Your roommates seem nice."
She shrugged her shoulders, "They're okay, most of them anyway."
"Never thought you would be the type to mingle with royalty." Minuet recalled all the paparazzi events her mother dragged her to, dressing her up in a nice looking gown. She hated it. She was forced to hang out with stuffy, privileged royal kids, all had good luxurious lifes and happy parents. Minuet didn't have anything of that. She was the daughter of a divorced music star who might as well be on her last leg of her musical career. Their parents constantly fought when they were younger, eventually they divorced and the kids were separated. They hadn't spoken to each other in years, this was the first time the twins were in the same room without their parents.
"I heard dad took up a job at Red Fountain. Must be nice being the teacher's pet."
"Yeah, it's great having a target on my back." He mumbled.
"How about that team of yours?"
"They're okay, except for that douchebag." He glared at the ginger haired teenager smiling and laughing among a crowd of fairies and specialists. Minuet noticed the seething anger coming from her brother, Rave wasn't the type to easily get angry. So whatever that guy did to his brother, he must have really gotten under his skin.
"Forget about him, I'm sure there are plenty of fairies who would love to dance with a tall, dark and handsome guy like yourself."
"An actual compliment from my coldhearted sister? I am honored." He mockingly bowed.
"Don't push it, I still hate your guts."
"Love you too, sis."
Nicole found herself wandering the room, entranced by the decorations and lights that danced around the room. She held one of the orbs of light in her hand, watching as it illuminated her palms and lightly warmed up her hands. It floated above her fingertips, gliding on an invisible wind. She could play with the orb all night if she could.
"Careful." She felt a hand pull her own from the orb, "If you get too close, you could get seriously burned by it."
"Oh, sorry." She turned her head away from the orb to her savior. It was a young man with wavy red hair and amber eyes. His hair was long enough that it was tied into a ponytail and sat on his shoulder. He wore a concerned look, worried for Nicole's safety as if she was too close to a fire.
You're not hurt, are you?" He inspected her hands for burns, only to find none. He let out a sign of relief, "I'm surprised you didn't feel anything, you looked as if you were being hypnotized by it."
"I don't have those back home, they're mesmerizing to look at."
"I'm guessing you've never been to a Magix dance before."
"I'm not from around here, I just started my first year at Alfea."
"I just started my first year at Red Fountain, so that's something we have in common." He laughed, trying to make a joke.
"Would you like to dance?" He asked.
"I don't even know your name. Or should I call you Prince Charming?"
"Actually, it's-"
"Prince Jasper!" A familiar annoying voice interrupted the moment. It was Bridgette, dressed to the nine with a bright cyan blue dress and her hair done in an elaborate bun. The boy Nicole was speaking to, or rather Jasper flinched at the sound of his name.
"I thought we lost you, Jasper." Her voice was sweet yet threatening, "And just as you were about to ask me to dance."
"Actually…" He quickly grabbed Nicole's hand and gave her a wide smile, "I've already asked this wonderful fairy to dance with me and she accepted."
Don't you dare drag me into your drama! I'm already on thin ice with her! Nicole gave him a wide eyed stare that spoke of desperation and reluctance.
"Play along." He mouthed.
Bridgette hummed, looking as if she was about to snap, "Really? Did she tell you that she's a nobody from Earth? That dirty, primitive planet is still trying to figure out its own stance on magic. Do you really want to be with someone like her?"
Okay, that brat just crossed a line. It was one thing to insult her, it was another to insult her home.
"I would love to dance with you." Nicole tried to replicate that sweet sounding voice while dragging Jasper to the dancefloor.
Then it dawned on her, she didn't know how to dance.
"Don't worry, I'll lead, you follow." Jasper seemed to read her mind. He pulled her in close, one hand behind her back holding her in place while his other hand was in hers, creating the same warmth from before.
"Thanks."
"I should thank you, you saved me from spending another second near her royal pretentiousness." He shuddered.
"Don't expect me to do it again, I only did it because she insulted my home."
"Then I should introduce myself; Crown Prince Jasper, heir to the Isis throne." He took on a mockingly posh tone, causing Nicole to laugh.
"Lady Nicole of Earth, your average fairy teenager." She attempted to curtsy.
"I don't think you're average."
"Some people would disagree with you."
"Well they're idiots then." He leaned in closer, "Not anyone would risk snubbing one of the most powerful fairies in Magix."
"I may have snubbed her before on accident by not knowing who she was." She smiled sheepishly.
He laughed, "Really? I would've loved to see her reaction."
"I believe it was a mixture of shock, confusion, and anger. Something like this." She made an overly exaggerated face. This earned yet another round of laughter from the prince.
"I have an idea." His eyes lit up in a devious way, "How would you like to make her evening absolutely dreadful?"
"I would be delighted, your majesty."
Rhea watched from a corner, keeping her distance from the rest of the party. She saw Nicole dancing with some red haired guy (though this seemed to be out of spite as Bridgette kept trying to intrude only to be blocked), Minuet munching on some food by the buffet table, and Andromeda chatting up some guys with her brothers lingering around her. They all seemed happy, all were having a good time. So why wasn't she doing the same?
"You know the point of this was to get you out of your shell." Undine approached Rhea with her arms crossed and a disappointed look. It reminded her too much of her sister, Lilith tried to be understanding, but then again it was her job as the oldest to be kind, so it didn't feel real to her. Magnolia was more assertive, she always made her opinion clear, even if it stung.
Why can't you have more normal hobbies? No one is going to be your friend if you look like that.
"I'm in my natural habitat, all by myself."
"You're never going to meet anyone if you continue this gloomy, doom act."
"Maybe I like being gloomy and doom, ever thought of that, princess?" She pushed past her, walking out of the room. Rhea stomped out into the courtyard, her dress whipping around behind her. The night sky was a comfort for her, the stars glowing bright as they danced in the darkness.
She didn't notice the figure watching her from a distance. Their eyes followed her as she walked in the courtyard.
"Rhea Florian Saladin."
"Who's aski-" Before she could finish her sentence, a jolt of lightning pierced her body and her world went black.
Welcome to the mandatory dance chapter! But to be real, I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, but I think I ended on a good (not good for Rhea) note. Also I got to introduce new characters!
Cyrus-Oldest son and older twin of Stella and Brandon, Specialist
Sirius-Middle child, youngest son and twin of Stella and Brandon, Specialist
Rave-Twin brother of Minuet, oldest child of Musa and Riven, Specialist.
Jasper-Only son of Diaspro, Crown prince of Isis, and Wizard of Gemstones.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate feedback, comments are welcomed!