The Ninth Star
Summary: An evil enigmatic being known as The Ninth Star was once in a group known as the Nefarious Nine, all of whom were destroyed. The sole survivor of the attack, The Ninth Star takes up residence in a new host, and has now been tracked down to Valestrai, where there are nine powerful magic wielders under investigation. Sofia and company are called in to help question the suspects, but nothing could have prepared them for the outcome when the mystery begins to unravel. *Takes place two years after The Tainted Ten*
Disclaimer: I do not own Sofia the First. The following characters belong to me: Jastin Butterford, Muscles, Malango the Magnanimous (mentioned), Corban, Charlie, Serena, Angel, Shikoba, Alo, the Ninth Star (and other Stars), and several others not mentioned in the other lists. MarionetteJ2X owns Nana, Tanya, and Terra. Mr. Shortman92 owns Christopher Crowley and Amaya. NerdsinaTree owns Captain Nereus. Royal Detective owns Gabriel Sebastian. Allyrwhitney owns Feya. Jettmanas owns Davidius. Creepy-Pasta owns Neoma. Pinkscarlet08 owns Amerie. Theblackraven2.0 owns Malcom "Mac" Woodruff. Also, the "Nefarious Nine" title belongs to NerdsinaTree, as the title was originally supposed to be used in "The Tainted Ten" until we added a tenth character.
A/N: All right, everyone. After speaking to some of my friends and posting a poll/survey, I've decided I'm going to go ahead and begin releasing a chapter or two a day beginning today (no more than two chapters in a day). Reason: Even though I initially said it would be the "Wassailia gift" for everyone, I don't think it's very "holiday-y" in nature. So I'll actually try to write a legitimate Wassailia story so you can get the good fluffy feels for the end of the year instead of being traumatized. (Because wait till you see what Aqua has done this time. lol) Thanks to all who voted, and expect an actual Wassailia story closer to December 24 or so. We shall see!
Chapter 6: Feya
Feya couldn't have been more different from Terra if she tried. While the girls were close in height, that's where their similarities ended. Feya was around 21 years old with fair skin and magenta-colored eyes. Her hair, nearly every color in the rainbow, curled near her ankles and bounced off her legs whenever she walked or flew.
Right, flew. She was a fairy, after all. At 5'4" she stood taller than other fairies, though she was still not quite the average height. She had a rose tattoo on her right shoulder, a butterfly on her left shoulder, and vine tattoos on both wrists. Her clothing style was filled with pinks and greens, with a dress literally made of leaves and flower petals. The only simple thing she owned was a pair of flat white shoes, which hugged her small feet.
A small smile graced her lips as she remained in her position on the chair, her magenta eyes glimmering in mirth. She was certainly calm and even appeared to be rather sweet and approachable, but no one was making any judgment calls just yet.
"Feya?" Orion asked, checking on not only her identity but the pronunciation of her name. When she nodded in affirmation, he nodded in return. "I assume you've been briefed on the situation."
"Briefed is definitely the key word here," she remarked, her voice like bells when she spoke. "As in, very brief."
"We apologize," Shikoba told her. "However, it is our duty to keep some facts concealed. I am sure you understand."
The younger woman shrugged. "I guess."
"Can you tell us a bit about yourself?" Sofia wondered, hoping to move things along while also avoiding giving away too much information. She smiled as Cedric reached over to her, discreetly caressing her back and causing her to relax a bit. He was such a good husband…
"Oh, sure! Well, I'm Feya. I've got a bit of a strange backstory." She tended to speak with her hands when she was either excited or nervous (or both), so her gestures were animated and somewhat all over the place as she spoke. "I'm from the Mystic Isles originally, and I was actually born inside a flower. Weird, huh?"
"Not any weirder than other things we've experienced, I assure you," Greylock chuckled.
She smiled. "Well, I was born one spring day on the Isle of Fairies. Naturally, I had bright red hair and these magenta eyes. Soon after I was born, the Sugar Plum Fairy came along and saw that I was alone, so she decided to adopt me."
"The Sugar Plum Fairy?" Sofia clarified, her blue eyes widening a bit. "Wow… What was it like having her as a mom?"
"It was… Well, she did the best she could. I mean, she trained me in all kinds of magic, especially nature magic. I passed the Fairy Test with no issues. I was a good kid." She absently ran one hand over her left shoulder, grinning sheepishly. "Then came the teenage years…"
Feya explained that when she became a teenager, she went through a rather rebellious phase. Tired of being seen and treated as delicate, as the fairy way demanded, the then-fifteen–year–old used magic to change her hair to reflect every color of the rainbow. She also gave herself tattoos: a rose on one shoulder and a butterfly on the other and vines on both wrists. Her new look had seriously upset her adoptive mother, and after the heated argument that occurred, Feya flew off and stayed in the Isle of Unicorns for a few days. Eventually, she reconciled with her mother, but she refused to change her appearance.
Feya continued with her story, telling the others that she enjoyed going to the Ever Realm to help take care of nature. When she was seventeen, she was on a strange island trying to figure out why everything was gray. Soon, she saw a patch of color among the grayness. Curious, she took a closer look and discovered another fairy planting the most fascinating flowers Feya had ever seen. She asked the fairy, who turned out to be Miss Nettle, to teach her how to grow such creative flowers. For the next few years, Nettle taught the young woman everything she knew about flowers: both enchanted and regular. Feya soon became very skilled with flower magic.
"Hang on a minute," Cedric insisted, lifting his unpreoccupied hand. "Miss Nettle? Fairy with the orangish-gold hair, lives with Princess Ivy and her family, and has a voice that sounds like an excited hyena?"
"Cedric, she's not that bad," Sofia laughed, shaking her head.
"Right," Feya agreed, grinning. "She only sounds like a hyena when she's cackling about something preposterous."
"That's accurate," Greylock added, grinning. "She's kind of my… Eh, it's complicated, but she's basically my 'adopted mother-in-law' since she and my wife became like a mother-daughter duo type of situation. It's strange, but we just kind of go with it."
"Yes, even though he also kissed her some years ago," Cedric pointed out, smirking as the brunet blushed. "On the lips, I might add."
"We were in a desperate situation, Cedric! And I didn't see you volunteering!"
The other sorcerer flinched, holding his hand to his mouth. "Perish the thought…"
"Anything else to add, Feya?" Shikoba wondered, ignoring the two bickering friends as the attention returned to the fairy in question.
"Well, I…" She shrugged. "I…like to read romance novels, sketch, and paint…" She hummed, running her hands down the length of her hair, a frown falling over her features. "I despise people who destroy nature, especially forests that wildlife inhabits." She shrugged, her smile returning. "Other than that, I like pretty much everyone as long as they don't give me a reason to do otherwise."
"I think that's fair," Vega told her gently. "All right, Orion is going to conduct your magic test before sending you back. Just follow him."
Feya slid from the chair and fluttered in the air a bit, stretching her legs and arms, before continuing to follow the Windwalker. She stopped where he indicated, taking a deep breath and releasing it as he set a hand to her forehead.
Orion allowed his magic to flow from his fingers and to her forehead, waiting the same amount of time he'd done with Terra. When he finished, he nodded and lowered his hand. "Thank you so much, Feya. We'll get back with you soon, and if you don't mind asking Christopher Crowley to enter next, I'd appreciate it."
She nodded and left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar for the next suspect.
"She's odd," Greylock commented, yawning. "But then again, I assume most fairies just have that 'oddity' about them. Nettle certainly does."
"That's no way to talk about your mother-in-law," Cedric chided jokingly, snickering and smirking at the annoyed look he'd received.
"Anything on her, Orion?" Sofia wondered.
"I'm not sure. I don't sense too much from her either way. It's mostly…neutral, I suppose? Perhaps we should revisit hers later. I feel she was a bit guarded."
"She has a bunch of strangers interrogating her and staring at her while she tells her story," Vega reminded him. "I'd be guarded too."
They looked up as a man dressed in dark clothing entered, a young woman trailing him.
"Christopher Crowley?" Orion guessed.
"Call me Crowley," the man insisted, his voice a bit raspy as the woman next to him placed a hand on his arm. "Everyone else does."
To be continued…
Next Chapter: Christopher Crowley
