I realized I forgot to update this morning! I'm sorry, guys. Kudos to my one reviewer who braved the storm this story is. :)

CHAPTER 6: THE FIRST SHARD

11 days until…

Queen Isolde stood on the balcony of the palace, gazing out onto the harsh tundra. The unforgiving wind whipped at her skin, but she embraced it. The bitterness of the wind always made her feel alive, a reason why she always kept the palace so cold.

Her plan was not quite as straightforward as she had initially thought. She had been able to warp Aria's mind to do her bidding, but only to a certain extent – instead of harnessing Aria's mind to carry out her will, she had unleashed a destructive force, one that was unpredictable and impossible to control. The transfigural possession was not quite working the way she had thought…

She had been hoping to keep a diplomatic relationship with the Adlivun Tribe. As annoying as they were, they did have useful secrets, secrets that could have been exploited so that she could have used them for her own ends. But now that Aria had killed their chieftain and his successor looked to be out for revenge, diplomacy seemed almost impossible. It was a shame, because the Adlivunese could have potentially been a strong ally… But there is no battle fought without sacrifice.

Now all she had to do was to keep Aria in line, and make sure that she didn't have such an episode again… Easier said than done, of course. Aria seemed to be triggered by attacks on her own superiority, so Isolde would have to do her best to keep her emotions in check. Even though she really is a dope… She would have to make the best of this.

Sighing, she turned back into the castle, her glittering blue gown illuminating the doorway as she slammed the door shut.

"All aboard?" Daewon called curtly as Darcy and Stormy climbed in.

Sharzad sat at one of the computers of the spaceship. She had told her parents that, as part of an assignment she'd had before school had closed, she had to write a research paper on the social norms of the people in her realm. She'd told them that she'd like to fly undercover around different parts of the realm, so she could strengthen the validity of her report. She felt bad about lying to her parents, but it was the only way they were going to get out of the castle. Her parents had agreed to let Sharzad and Daewon go alone, on the condition a palace guard went with them.

"Sure," Stormy muttered sarcastically. "That healing potion was such a sca" – She stopped, gasping, as Darcy unceremoniously kicked her in the shin.

"All right," a tall man said, walking over to the fairy, wizard, and the two witches. He appeared young, but his height was formidable and he towered over all of them. "Your Highness, you have confirmed that Daewon Lin is coming with us on this expedition. But who are the other two?" He motioned towards Stormy and Darcy.

Here goes, thought Sharzad. She wasn't the best of liars, but she'd managed to lie to her own parents, so she knew she didn't have much of a choice. She smiled, in what she hoped was an ingenuous, friendly expression.

"Sir Arishtat, allow me to introduce you to two of my friends from Cloud Tower, Etsu Nakamura and Akane Kanji from Whisperia. They are staying at a hotel nearby in Barq. They are coming with us on this mission. I sent you confirmation in my spacecraft request."

"Indeed." Arishtat looked at the two women disguised as teenagers, his eyes narrowed. "And where are your IDs?"

"ID?" asked Stormy, her eyes widening.

"We – left them at the hotel," Darcy said.

"Uh-huh," said the guard, and it was clear that he did not believe them. "Well, I suppose we must stop at the hotel, then."

Sharzad looked at Daewon. We didn't plan for this, she thought nervously. What are we going to do?

He glared at her, and his eyes clearly made out the words, I don't know. You figure it out. She knew that she had to do something; after all, she was the princess here. Clearing her throat, she stood over the guard. He looked up at her in surprise, and she frowned at him.

"Sir, that is enough. I can assure you that I know the identity of these two witches very well." Well, at least that part is true, she told herself. "We do not need to stop anywhere to verify their IDs. They are with me, and that's all that matters."

"Very well then," Arishtat said, looking rather displeased. "Let us get on, then." He nodded to the pilot. The pilot pressed a button to close the door, and within moments, the ship was off.

Within half an hour, they were drawing towards Nublado's atmosphere. It was the planet of cloud-fairies, and their main job was to create all sorts of different clouds – cumulus, cirrus, or stratus – and distribute them to the different parts of the realms. Sharzad watched as several clouds floated by, some menacing, some playful.

"What exactly do you need to do research on, Your Highness?" the guard asked Sharzad.

Sharzad glanced at Daewon, and they nodded. This was the point where Sharzad would give the guard and the pilot a sleeping draught so that they would be out of their way. It would not work immediately; therefore, Sharzad would not be under suspicion of potioning the guards.

"It's on the life of people living in Nublado," Sharzad said, hoping that nothing in her facial expression gave away her guilt. "We're going to interview a few people – undercover, of course," she added hastily. "We've got clothes there to disguise the five of us, including you, Sir, as common people." She pointed to the cloaks that lay on the floor of the spaceship.

"It'll be a long day," she added, drawing two cans of Electro-Pop from her bag. "And tiring. I suggest you and Sir Farhad have some refreshment in the meantime. Would you like a drink?"

By the law of common sense, servants were required to use several rounds of potion-detecting spells to check the royal family's drinks before serving them. A simple spell would have revealed Sharzad's amateur potioneering skills instantly. However, the knight was not likely to suspect the princess of potioning, and was even less likely to refuse such a generous offer from the daughter of the queen, one of the most beneficent women in all of the realms. He graciously accepted, passing the second can to his colleague, and they both drank.

The next few minutes passed rather amicably. The ship was drawing closer to the royal port, and Sharzad and Arishtat chatted about Nublado, royal service, and school. Then, without warning, Arishtat suddenly fainted, collapsing to the ground. Within moments, the pilot followed suit.

"Oh no!" shouted Sharzad in dismay as the ship suddenly lurched to the left. It began to free-fall, faster by the second.

"I got it!" Daewon shouted, and he ran for the control panel. "Sharzad, how much buffer liquid did you put into the potion?"

"One teaspoon," she answered desperately, "but" –

"You idiot!" Darcy was immediately on her feet, glaring at her. "You were supposed to use two teaspoons! The potion was supposed to be timed to take effect ten minutes after the person drinks it, not five!"

"Daewon, stabilize the damn machine!" Stormy yelled.

The four of them screamed as the ship hurled through air. It was beginning to tilt on its side, turning towards the right. Sharzad squeezed her eyes shut, expecting a crash landing. I hope we're not too far from the ground…

But just as they were about to hurl into the terrain, the air around her became much quieter. She blinked and opened her eyes. No longer was the thundering sound of air against the ship a problem. Instead, they were gliding smoothly through the ground, and the ship neatly landed on the runway.

Daewon grinned cockily as he slowed the ship down, eventually bringing it to a grinding halt.

"Not bad, for Aviation 101," he said. "Nothing like being the top of the class."

"Yeah, yeah," Sharzad said, refraining from rolling her eyes.

"Enough of your chatter, pixies," Darcy said impatiently. "Let's go." She grabbed one of the cloaks and draped it over herself. Stormy picked one up as well.

"We're at the port city of Nephele," Sharzad said as they walked out of the ship. "The Cave of Clouds is that way." She pointed to the west, where an assortment of clouds loomed in front of them. "So we have to fly to get there."

"Easy enough," Darcy said, flexing her arms. "We'll lead the way."

"Wait!" Sharzad called just as the two women prepared to leap into the air. "You three can fly without a problem; you're warlocks. But I can't fly without transforming."

"So what?" asked Stormy, sounding bored. "Just transform into your precious little doll form and fly with us."

"That'd be great, genius, except we're trying not to call attention to ourselves," Daewon answered, eyeing Stormy disdainfully. "I think a fairy suit with lots of sparkles would be counter-intuitive. One of you needs to carry her. It won't be me, because I need my hands free in case I need to use magic. Which one of you will it be?"

"Well"… Stormy and Darcy looked at each other.

"Not me," Darcy said instantly. "Stormy, you do it."

"What?" snarled Stormy. "But I was injured yesterday!"

"Well, I had to carry you yesterday back to camp!" Darcy snapped back. "So cut out your witchiness and just do it."

"Oh, all right," Stormy grumbled, motioning for Sharzad to come forward. The witch effortlessly lifted her up in her arms, but not before adding, "That healing potion of yours, by the way, was about as useful as the sleeping draught."

Sharzad's cheeks flamed as Darcy, Daewon, and Stormy began laughing. She had no response as they flew into the air, towards the Cave. How stupid, she thought glumly. Why didn't I add in the second spoon of buffer? We would've died today if it wasn't for Daewon.

She thought of Darius, and began to feel bad. He wouldn't have made an elementary mistake. No wonder he thought that she was too little to help him.

She sighed and gazed ahead. The mountains were getting nearer. The Cave of Clouds, she knew, was in a mountain that had a giant crater at the top.

The fairy, wizard, and the two witches soon reached the top of the mountain, and then they gazed down. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but opaque, white clouds.

"What do we do?" Stormy asked.

"We fly through them," Daewon answered, the word duh implied at the end of the sentence.

"But where exactly do we go?" Darcy pointed out. "The shard could be anywhere. I'm not searching through a wet thicket of slush for hours." She looked disdainfully at the clouds. "And in case you people have forgotten, the guards wake up in an hour."

"Forty-five minutes, now," Sharzad said, checking her watch.

"Yeah, whatever," Stormy said. "The point is, how do we find our way?"

"I guess we're going to have to find out." Daewon headed towards the crater. "Come on." He flew down into the clouds.

Sharzad gasped as Stormy dove through the layer. It was thick and wet, not at all pleasant to feel. The water chilled her, and she stifled a scream as they shot through the clouds.

"Where exactly do we go?" she heard Daewon call.

"That's what we were trying to figure out on dry land, you loser!" Stormy shrieked back at him. "And just so you know, I can't see a thing!"

"Daewon! Darcy! Come up here and hold hands with us!" Sharzad called.

"I can't see him!" Darcy snapped back at her. "And I'm not holding your hands!"

"No!" Sharzad could've smacked her. "I don't care whether you like us or not. This is so that we can stick together! Daewon, create a ball of light in your hand so that she can see you!"

"I've got a better idea than that," he called back.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, she heard it. A low hum, distinctly below her, began to sound from Daewon's location. She knew he was using his Melodian sound-magic, and breathed a sigh of relief as a hand touched Stormy's shoulder.

"Great," Daewon said. "Now how about finding that shard?"

"I think it's some trick of some sort," Sharzad said, "that involves clouds."

"Gee, really?" Stormy said sarcastically.

"We didn't think of that at all," Darcy said. "It's not like we're flying through them."

Sharzad ignored them. "I've got weather-powers," she said. "Lightning-based, specifically. There are neurons in the clouds. Maybe I can detect a pattern." She closed her eyes.

She could feel the neurons around her. Most of them were of very little intensity, but some of them were strong… she reached out for those. They formed a curious zigzag pattern, in a certain direction. She opened her eyes.

"I've got it," she announced. "We've got to follow the neurons. They'll eventually lead us to the shard. If we follow them, they'll take us there."

"You're the only one who can feel the neurons," Darcy pointed out.

"I'll transform," she answered, and closed her eyes. Within seconds, she was off of Stormy's arms, wearing her top and miniskirt with a pair of butterfly wings. "I'll lead the way." She held onto Stormy's hand and flew, following the trail of the neurons. The three others followed her, the cumbersome group making its way through the mountain.

They had to go through twists and turns. More than once, Sharzad bumped into the wall, her arm grazing against the rocky surface. She heard Stormy and Darcy mutter foul words under their breaths, but ignored them. The path became more and more intense as they moved forward.

Finally, they reached a dome-shaped, tiny cave. The clouds were thinner, and they could see each other's faces. But they could not see anything spectacular about this dome.

"There's nothing here," Daewon said.

"There's got to be something," Darcy said.

"Not unless you guys made this whole thing up," Daewon answered accusingly.

Sharzad didn't answer. She closed her eyes, and detected the path of the neurons. It was at its strongest point; whatever they were looking for, it was here.

And then she felt it. Right above her, she felt the pull of something electrical, something filled with energy. She opened her eyes, and, with all of her strength, used a levitation spell.

Something pulled itself out of the crack above her head. It was the shard of a key, a lightning-shaped object that fit perfectly in her palm. It was pale purple in color, filled with light. She gazed at it in awe.

"You got it," Daewon said, for once having forgotten his cockiness. He flew towards her. "The key! You got the key!"

"Look out!" Darcy and Stormy screamed.

Sharzad looked up and gasped; a boulder was falling towards Daewon's head. He would've been hit if Darcy hadn't have grabbed him just in time.

"The dome's falling apart!" Stormy yelled.

The four of them zoomed towards the exit as the rocks above their head began to fall. Sharzad's mind was in a whirl. How did that thing take apart the whole cave? She turned around to face it.

"What are you doing?" Daewon screamed. "Come on! The cave is going to collapse!"

Sharzad didn't answer. All she knew was that if this cave fell apart, it would be her fault. She had no idea how far the ramifications would be of this. The entire Cave of Clouds could be destroyed. Closing her eyes, she began to send electricity forward.

A network of lightning began to form around the cave, stabilizing the walls. The rocks stopped falling, and the ceiling stopped crumbling. Within seconds, the entire cave was intact.

"Good call!" Stormy called. Her face showed incredible relief. "And I thought we were going to be crushed!"

"Great job," said Darcy impatiently. "Now, can we get to the ship? We have" – she checked her watch – "ten minutes before the guards wake up and realize that we're missing."

"We'd better go," Sharzad said, latching onto Stormy's hand. Getting the Nublado police on our tail and my parents notified is exactly what I don't want. Together, the four of them disappeared into the clouds and out of sight.

Aria sat in the bare room. She sneezed as dust blew up to her nose, gasping for a second as she looked around at the barely furnished room.

It belonged to Angéle, who had supposedly been there for months, but it didn't look much better than her own room. There was an empty bookshelf, a window fortified with impenetrable glass, and morose gray wallpaper on the walls.

Thinking about yesterday suddenly brought a wave of fear. She vaguely remembered Isolde pulling her on some mission, but didn't recall anything beyond that. All she knew was something big and dangerous had happened yesterday. She didn't know what it was, and wasn't sure she wanted to know – it brought great terror just trying to imagine it. And anger.

Someone had insulted her yesterday. Someone had debased her, humiliated her, and come out better than her. That someone had shaken her to the core and ruined her pride, making her the laughing stock of the world. She didn't know what the person had said, but she knew it had been something atrocious.

I can't let this happen, she thought grimly. No one is ever going to humiliate me again. It just isn't going to happen.

She thought back to when she was in fifth grade, taking classes at the Melodian Dance Academy. Students had the option of taking classes in other nearby schools, and she had been obsessed with dance at the time. She had gone for ballet classes every afternoon.

The teacher there, in front of all of the other girls, had constantly ridiculed and shamed her, simply for placing one foot out of step. All of the other girls had laughed, too. She could never forget how degrading it had felt to walk into that room, the woman at the front imitating her walk, and everyone else collapsing into giggles. It completely ruined her interest in dance, but more importantly, made her feel ashamed of herself. Later, she had found out that the teacher was anti-Solarian.

She had never let that happen again. Rising to the high expectations that the MOA professors had of their students, she had studied as hard as she could. She had competed fiercely against other students, done everything her private instructors had asked of her, and spent hours locked up in her room, singing. And when she'd come to Alfea, she'd enlisted in the Magix Operatic Program so she could study for a dual degree in singing as well as the Alfea degree in defense. Nothing less than perfect could ever be accepted.

And yet, she knew, her voice still wasn't good enough. What it made up for in brilliance and resonance, it lacked in depth and clarity. There was always the fear, deep down, that she wasn't strong enough.

Don't say that! she told herself fiercely. You're not going to be left behind ever again. Block those other times out of your memory. They don't exist. Everyone loves you now. And that's the way it's going to stay.

"Aria?" Angéle's soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

She jumped out of her mind, and turned towards the shorter girl, glaring. "What?"

Angéle backed away. "I'm sorry. I just thought that you might want to… talk. That's why I brought you here." She looked down shyly at her feet. "I understand it gets a bit lonely here sometimes."

Aria let out a snort. "A bit lonely? Are you kidding me?" She stared moodily at the bed. "I'm supposed to be a star."

"A star?" Angéle asked in her careful, quiet voice. "What do you mean by that?"

Aria laughed. "Do you not know what a star is? Are you really that backwards?" She smirked at the other girl. "Do you even watch opera?"

"Not for the past many years, I haven't," Angéle answered quietly. "I have been here for some time."

"Oh. Right," Aria hadn't thought about that. "Well, you know Keri Fu, right? The mezzo-soprano who premiered The Tale of the Dragon like, four years ago?"

"Yes," she answered.

"Well, I'm going to be like her," Aria smiled. "I'm going to go on stage and wear a glittering dress, hot young men always following me, and applause at the end of every aria. I'm going to live The Life."

"I do not think you should paint that picture," Angéle said slowly. "It's not going to be as glamorous as you think it is."

Aria glanced at the girl with disdain. Though she spoke with a high, precise tone, she didn't look like anyone special. "What do you know about it?"

"My parents were in the public eye much of the time," Angéle answered. "I grew up with paparazzi all around me. It was exhausting. Having to choose my words every time I went out, not being allowed to go anywhere without security – it was hard."

"What were your parents?" Aria asked. "Celebrities?"

"Yes," said Angéle, but she didn't elaborate.

"Well, my life isn't going to be like that," Aria answered, lifting her head high. She could just imagine it: fervent admirers, nightclubs, people who petted her and doted on her every moment. "I'm going to live a great life, one filled with luxuries and parties. And I'm going to kick my sorry parents' butt."

"Why would you want to do that?" Angéle said, and Aria could almost see a cringe on her face. "They're your parents. They love you."

Aria rolled her eyes. Dragon, this girl is clueless. She could not believe that she had just said that.

She was about to respond with a barbed remark, but the girl continued to speak. "I hope you realize that parties aren't as exciting as they sound. In fact, I find them daunting. It's difficult to go somewhere where everyone is judging you, speaking nothing beyond pleasantries. In fact, I should say that parties are the loneliest places in the dimension."

"That makes no sense," Aria said, rolling her eyes. "You're literally surrounded by people." Just my luck, I had to end up with this dimwit as a roommate.

"But you may still be alone," Angéle pointed out. "Even if you're surrounded with the most adoring friends of all the realms, you may still be alone. Maybe you can't connect with them – you just keep them around because they make you feel special. True friends are friends that understand you, that would risk their lives to help you out."

She's got a point, Aria realized. She stared down at the ground, taken by surprise. After all, how many times had she pined for something more within her group of friends? And with her boyfriends as well? Maybe she's not such a dimwit after all.

Not that she'd ever admit that to Angéle, though. I mean, she's not going to help me. Just because she got one thing right doesn't mean I should try to connect with her. After all, who wants to be friends with her? She snorted, and tried to think of something else.

"What do you play on the harp?" she asked.

"Oh, lots of music," Angéle said, perking up. "Modern Rêvian music as we know it started from the Age of Discovery. Of course, there was music before then, but it wasn't as organized. There were lots of queens and ladies who commissioned Rêvian music, which allowed it to flourish."

"Oh, yeah." The same was true as in Solaria. "And it's because of those nobles that music grew."

Angéle shook her head. "Not really. You see, I think that composers would still have composed even if the nobles hadn't commissioned anything."

"What are you talking about?" Aria grew irritated. "That doesn't make any sense! Nobles pay the money!" Why would anyone want to write music without a bunch of adoring fans?

"But composers don't need money to write music," Angéle responded. "All they need is stability and a group of people who are willing to perform it. At that time, Rêve was very stable, because it had just come out of the plague from the Age of Darkness. This allowed Rêve to rise to unprecedented levels of success. Therefore, the composers were able to do their work. The money helped, certainly, but even without it, people would have appreciated the music for what it was."

Aria wanted to respond with a snide comment but found she couldn't. This girl's ability to keep her silent was infuriating! Aria loathed being silenced. But she couldn't say anything remotely intelligent – after all, she knew nothing about history. Angéle clearly knew much more.

"Oh yeah, we may have learned stuff like this in Realmwide History class," she said. "Not that I paid any attention. I despised it." She let out a yawn.

"I love history," Angéle responded. "It's so interesting to learn why certain events happen, and why they shape our culture today. It teaches us that there are certain things that we can learn from our ancestors, that there's nothing above us."

"Does it?" Aria responded, haughtily. "Well, I'm sure there's nothing above me. Everyone loves me."

There was a silence, and Angéle stared at her. Then suddenly, she burst out laughing.

"How funny you are, Aria," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "I can tell we are going to get along."

If it had been any other person, Aria would have certainly throttled her. But Angéle was one of the most innocent people she'd ever met. Somehow, it felt wrong to punish her the way she would've had she been any other girl.

So instead, she humored her. She laughed along with Angéle, trying her hardest to pretend she was amused. It wasn't that hard – Angéle did say some ridiculously funny things.

"Yes," she said, breaking the tension. "We'll get along just fine."

The Great Hall was large enough to fit hundreds of people, but today, it was just the royal family and its guests. King Cyrus, as the monarch, sat at the head, and Queen Elaheh sat at the foot. Darius sat on with his guest, Maire, while Sharzad sat on the right side with her guest, Daewon.

"Dig in," said the king heartedly as the dishes came to the table.

It was only Maire's second night at the palace, and she already hated it. The place was huge, probably bigger than the island she'd grown up on her entire life. The beds were much too soft; she'd slept the last two nights on the floor. She was expected to wear a dress to dinner every night, in good accordance with the royal family. But the worst part was having servants everywhere, at her beck and call. She hated being served, the idea that she was too weak to take care of herself. They treat me just like my brothers did…

It reminded her of how lost she'd been when she'd first set foot at Alfea. Considering the fact she'd barely left her lush, green island until two years ago, the whole thing was a big shock to her. First of all, she'd had to go to a city on the mainland, and for the first time ever in her life, had boarded a spacecraft, all by herself. She'd stared out the windows, at the expanse of stars and blackness in front of her. Then she'd seen Magix City. The shock of the traffic noise, the high-end fashion, and the endless swaths of people walking up and down the streets had been enough to make her hide in her dorm room for a day. That was, until Griselda along and forced her to go to class.

She'd eventually assimilated along with the other girls, and had studied just as hard as, maybe even harder than, the rest of them. After all, she was there for a reason, and that was so that she wouldn't be forever classified as a country bumpkin. She'd even learned to relax a little and go out for movies with the other girls, although she drew the line at shopping. Maire hated wearing dresses or doing anything even remotely girly. And so, she often felt like an outsider in the group of girls. But if she'd thought them uppity, this place was ten thousand times worse.

These people are all snobs, she thought disdainfully. They don't even know the world outside of here. This place completely sucks. She began to wish she'd never come with Darius here. She should've stayed in Magix, found a job, and camped at Lake Roccaluce. She'd camped many times; it wouldn't be so hard.

But then she wouldn't be able to help Darius find Aria. She had to stay here, just so she could find her missing friend. She couldn't let her stay forever bound by an evil sorcerer.

The only thing Maire enjoyed about the palace was the food. It was lavish and expensive, of course, and the mounds of food every day at dinner would've fed her entire village. And that's saying something, considering my brothers eat a ton. But the food was way better than the Alfea cafeteria food, and the exotic Fulgur dishes made her tongue buzz.

There was roast fulgur et avis, a bird that flew the skies and hurled lightning bolts from its mouth. Plates of Electrixian vegetables lined the table, each one appearing more exotic than the last. The Electrixian bread was softer than the bread from Summa, and tingled her mouth. Everything was cooked with barquecs. For dessert, there was liburn et nubes, a white sponge-cake that looked like clouds and was extremely soft, moist, and fluffy to the taste. I could get used to this place, she thought hungrily, eating her third helping of cake.

"How was your day today?" Elaheh asked the teenagers. "Darius, I know you were at court again."

"Unfortunately," he grimaced, biting into a barquesca.

"Well, you'll have to get used to it, as you are going to be king one day," Elaheh said, observing him sternly. "Sharzie dear, how was your trip to Nublado?"

"It was good," Sharzad said, though Maire noticed that she was avoiding her mother's gaze.

"Did you notice any changes that we need to make in Nublado?" Elaheh pressed on. "Were the people satisfied, or were they hungry? Is their government working" –

"Honey," Cyrus interrupted, "I think that's enough. Let the kids have a break once in a while. They've worked hard, and they've only just come back from school. Let's not bombard them with too many things to do."

"I guess you're right," Elaheh conceded, settling back in her chair.

Maire looked over at Sharzad, whose expression was still uncomfortable. Then she glanced at Daewon, whose face was decidedly expressionless. Obviously, they were trying to conceal something.

What are those two up to? she thought suspiciously. But she didn't think about it much. At any rate, her mind was more preoccupied with Aria than it was with Darius's younger sister. We've got work to do, she reminded herself.

Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. The caller ID was Home. Before anyone could ask who was calling her, she clicked the 'Reject' button, and then checked her call log. That, she counted, was the fifteenth rejected and twenty-seventh missed call of the day; all of them came from home.

Obviously she didn't think I was going to stay away from home for long, Maire thought bitterly. Well, screw her. She can sit there and wonder where I've gone. Since she was seventeen, which was the age of adulthood in Summa, her mother wouldn't have filed a police report, as Maire was no longer her dependent or under her control.

Maire remembered her childhood, all those years ago. In the beginning, things had been great. She had six brothers, all of whom were older than her, and they'd all taught her so many skills. Cináed, her oldest brother, had taught her how to hunt; Aiden and Fionn had taught her fencing; Lugh and Séan had taught her self-defense; and Rowan, her youngest brother, had taught her how to play the fiddle. By the time she was ten, she could outstrip any similarly-aged village boy in martial arts. They'd all doted on her in her youngest years, and she'd been very active as a child, even though there were times she resented them for treating her like a baby.

None of her brothers went to school past eighth grade, mainly because their mother couldn't afford it, and also because they despised school. All her childhood, Maire had hated school as well, because of the stupid coursework and the stupid teachers. She hadn't been expected to go to school past eighth grade, either.

But then she'd started growing into a woman, with curves and breasts and hips. Soon, it felt as if the entire village's eyes were on her. It was now expected that she, as a woman, would stop doing men's work and learn to care for the house, like her mother. Needless to say, Maire had refused to help in the kitchen, and continued to hunt and plant and drive her mother up the wall. But the pressure had bored into her as well, and she desperately looked for ways to escape her village.

She began to research ways to get out of there. The village had only one library, but she spent as much time there as possible, poring over the computers. Her family didn't have a computer, of course; in fact, she was the only one who knew how to use one. And then she found it: Alfea College for Fairies. Heart hammering, she'd asked her mom if she could apply there.

All of her brothers had howled with laughter when she'd told them she wanted to go to a private school. They thought the notion of school was ridiculous. Maire's heart had plummeted, and she'd almost decided not to apply; but her determination had taken over and she'd applied. Her mother had agreed, mainly because the school was so selective; it seemed impossible that her daughter would get in.

But the school had accepted. After all, Alfea didn't just accept students of noble and royal birth; it also had spots allotted for lower-income students. The admission staff liked Maire's essay about growing up in the jungle and hunting for survival. Not only had they accepted her, but they'd also given her a need- and merit-based scholarship. It hadn't reduced the tuition completely, but it'd been enough for Maire's mother to acquiesce, though reluctantly, and send her to Magix.

The first spring break from school had been a nightmare. Maire's brothers had gaped at the new girl they saw, the girl with paler skin and combed hair. They began to give her a hard time. And the village gossip didn't cease; if anything, it became much, much worse. People would now insult Maire openly to her face.

And the worst part was, Maire's mother hadn't quelled the rumors. She'd been disappointed in Maire. And so she'd taken it out on her, punishing and scolding her to the point where Maire desperately longed to go back to Alfea.

Had circumstances been different, Maire probably would've accepted her mother's criticisms and gone back to being the good bumpkin she'd always been. But then she had come to Alfea, and met Aria Cadenza. Aria, who didn't give a damn about the rules. Aria, whose parents were never around to nag her or order her around. Aria, who was good at everything without even having to try. It had infuriated Maire, but it had also enthralled her, and she strived to be just like her.

And although Maire would never admit it, a part of her had been jealous of Aria. How she exhibited the highest level of sangfroid in each and every situation. How she never got nervous. How everyone seemed to love her; she'd almost been a celebrity back at Alfea.

But she must have had her problems, too, Maire thought. She was just so good at hiding them. I – why did she have to do it?

She looked over at Sharzad. She was in conversation with Daewon and her father, and they were talking about life at school. Cyrus was laughing as they both told him about crazy teachers, funny students, and interesting experiences at campus. At one point, Sharzad reached over to her father, and he put his arm around her shoulders. A twinge of envy shot through Maire as she stared at them, so close to one another.

"Maire?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. Elaheh was looking at her, concern in her eyes. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, thank you," she answered, avoiding the queen's gaze as Sharzad had done before. She picked up her fork and started eating, her mind in a whirl. Their parents are cool, even if their mother is annoyingly demanding. She stared moodily at her dessert, finding it didn't taste so good anymore. Why can't my mother be like that?

Dinner soon finished and Maire followed Darius to his room. Finally. As Darius drew to a halt in front of his bedroom door, he turned towards her. "Let's start reading Aria's journal. Like, right now. We've been putting it off for a while, but this isn't going to help us if we don't do something about it. What do you think?"

"Duh," Maire answered. "Of course we should read it." The truth was, Darius was right. All of yesterday, when he'd been away at court, she hadn't even touched the book. The truth was, a part of her had been terrified, terrified to see what was inside of Aria's mind – the mind that was corrupted enough to commit such a crime.

The book had been started when they'd been freshmen in Alfea. Maire had just turned fifteen, and Aria had turned fourteen a few months prior. She had been one of the youngest fairies to start at Alfea; it was normal for a fifteen-year-old to start at Alfea, but not a fourteen-year-old. It shouldn't have been that abnormal, considering the fact that the age of adulthood in Melody was sixteen. However, Melody's Recruitment Agency had been so impressed by her magical defense skill that they'd asked her to join. She'd left the Melodian Operatic Academy when she was an eighth-year there.

Darius flipped the book open, revealing flawless cursive in golden ink; it was written in Harmonian, but fortunately, Darius had studied the language as a child. The book started in Sextmensis of 1012, the sixth month of the year, the month after Alfea reopened to start the new school year. The two of them sat together, Maire leaning over Darius's shoulder. Darius began to translate, reading out loud.

7 Sextmensis 1012

Alfea has been interesting so far. I mean, I've learned quite a bit. I'd still say that MOA was better, but the coursework is definitely interesting. And I'm auditioning for a solo at MYC today. I hope I get it – the other singers are good, I won't deny, but I think I'm better.

The Day of the Roses is coming up. There's a festival going on in Magix, and I've been asked to sing there. It's a stupid, cheap festival, and my singing won't even be that important, but whatever – an opportunity's an opportunity. It's all anyone, particularly the freshmen, are talking about. That stupid brat Galatea won't shut up about how excited she is to go home and see her parents. She literally saw them just last month, but whatever. I haven't seen mine in a year.

I wish I could see them. But I know I won't. They literally don't care about me. I haven't seen them in ages. I was going to go home over fall break two years ago, when I was in MOA – they said that they were going to be home for the break. I got all excited and everything, planning what song I was going to sing for them once we got home. And then, literally the day before the school year ended, I got a letter from them saying that some crisis was going on in Solaria or something. Not that they would've cared if I'd sung for them, anyways – I don't think they care much about my music.

I've learned not to get my hopes up. I mean, if they don't care, they don't care. I'm just going to keep on doing my thing, and surround myself with people that like my music. Everyone else – well, they can go to hell. Screw Mom and Dad. I don't know why I even think about them.

Darius finished reading. The two of them stared at each other, at a loss for words.

Maire had known that Aria's parents were seldom around. Aria hadn't spoken about it much, but she knew that she spent spring break at Alfea. She stared at the page, dumbfounded. I never thought that she'd be so upset about it…

All her time at Alfea, she'd thought that Aria had been lucky to not have her parents around. But now she saw it in a different light entirely. I can see why she's upset. But then she thought back to her mother, and then frowned. I still think that her situation was better than mine.

"We need to talk to her parents," she said at last. "We need to find out what's going on."

"I don't think they even know what happened with her," Darius pointed out.

Maire rolled her eyes. "Probably not. But still. They're her parents."

"Not very good parents, it seems," Darius commented.

"Easy for you to say!" she shot back, the irritation she'd been holding in all evening now taking over. "Your parents are perfect! They don't have to struggle every day to make ends' meet, and they don't find fault in everything you do! Look at this place – you have everything you could possibly ever want! Just because you're so spoiled and secluded doesn't mean that the rest of the world is!"

Darius recoiled back, looking shocked and hurt. Then his face hardened. "Don't make assumptions about me," he retorted. "My life isn't all that easy. I'm sorry about your mother, but" –

"Oh, shut up," Maire said impatiently. "Are we going to see Aria's parents or not?"

Darius was silent for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine." He stared down at the book, and at her. "How do you plan on finding their address, anyways?"

"I went over to their house once," Maire answered. "It was the Day of the Rose. My mother was being a jerk, as usual, so I refused to show up at her house – instead, I went to Aria's. There was no one home, and we trashed the place and partied all night. It was great," she added viciously.

"Yeah," Darius said, not sounding too impressed. "So, are we going to go to Solaria tomorrow?"

"Yes," said Maire instantly. Somehow I feel like they're an important part of the puzzle… She stared down at the book.

They're going to tell us what happened to Aria.

"Your Highness?" A woman with long brown hair and brown eyes entered the room, her eyes on alert.

"Yes, Dame Yadira?" Sharzad was instantly off her chair and walking towards the woman.

"Someone wants to speak to you," the female guard answered. "In the parlor. I'll escort you down." She began walking towards the exit, and added, "The king and queen were not notified; he works at the palace, so he was allowed to enter."

Curiosity piqued through Sharzad. Who wants to see me? She followed the guard outside of the room and down the stairs. They went through a long passageway until the guard found the door to a parlor and opened it, ushering Sharzad in.

A black-haired man with sky blue eyes was standing in front of her, his arms crossed. He was wearing the purple uniform of the Fulgur Palace, with the royal coat-of-arms on his chest. Sharzad stared at him in confusion, then uttered one name.

"Sir Arishtat?"

"Princess Sharzad," he answered crisply. "I know that you were planning something with two interrealm criminals."

Sharzad stared at him. "How did you know"… Her voice trailed off.

"When you gave me the drink, I immediately detected that there was some potion inside it," he answered. "I cast a spell upon myself to mitigate the effects. I still fainted, but managed to wake up just as the ship landed. Then I followed you four as you headed towards the Cave of Clouds. I knew instantly, from the way they were talking, that you were consorting with two of the most dangerous criminals in the Magical Dimension." He frowned. "Give me a good reason, Princess. Why should I not tell your parents?"

"I" – she was completely at a loss for words as she stared at him, her eyes wide.

What do I do? she thought frantically. This obviously wasn't part of the plan. Her heart began to beat wildly as she stared up at the guard. What do I do about this?

"Darcy and Stormy are helping us," she said at last. "They're going to help us unlock the gate to the realm of Glacia so that we can find Aria and bring her to justice."

"The realm of Glacia?" he asked, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. "That realm has been locked since before I was born." Then he frowned. "I am going to report this to your parents."

"No! You can't!" she cried, panic making its way into her voice.

"It is my duty," he answered. "It is my job to keep you safe."

"But we're going to turn Darcy and Stormy in afterwards!" she yelled. "We don't trust them. They're just there to help us find the shards!"

"Really?" he asked. "Have you ever considered that maybe they have a plan of their own? Maybe they think that they're using you, not the other way around?"

"We've got to do this!" she cried. "You don't understand, Sir! It's the only way Daewon will be happy! We need to find Aria and bring her to justice. He was friends with Princess Galatea before her death"… A tear began to trickle down her cheek.

"If Daewon wants to bring Aria to justice, then he should bring this information to the king," the guard answered. "Neither of you will be able to do anything here. You both are young, inexperienced, and susceptible to lies."

"But I'm the princess of Fulgur," she answered, her voice shaking. "And I go to one of the best schools for defense in the Magical Dimension." She looked at him. "Alfea was founded on the premise of interrealm defense. I know I'm still training, but I've done things. I helped defend Alfea against Tritannus last summer. Next year I'll be a sophomore – sophomores are sent on missions for Alfea. So, I'm not going to sit around and let others do the work for me." Her voice became stronger, and she began to sound less like a scared girl and more like a princess. "When Darius ascends to the throne, I will most likely become Fulgur's guardian fairy. So I'm going to continue with this mission, and I'll make Fulgur proud." Her eyes became hard and determined, and she stared at the knight, an electric gaze in her eyes.

Sir Arishtat was silent for a moment, and then nodded.

"All right, I won't tell your parents." Then he frowned at her sternly. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you, Princess. I don't trust those witches, and quite frankly, neither should you. Therefore, I will go with you every time you need to go out with them. How many more times do you need to leave the palace?"

"Two," she answered. "We're finding the shards to the key to Glacia."

"Then I will come with you," he answered. "This is for your own safety, Princess. I cannot let anything happen to you." He stared at her. "Are we clear?"

"Yes," she answered.

"That is all," he said. "When His Majesty sends out another command to put a spacecraft for your use, I will be there. Remember to always keep your guard up." He disappeared out the door, out of the parlor and into the hall.

Sharzad left the room, her legs shaking. She nodded to Yadira, who had been waiting outside the parlor for her, and let the guard take her up to her room. Her thoughts were unsteady as she undressed and got into bed, ready for an early night's sleep after the day's tiring events.

I'll prove to him and Daree I'm not a weak, defenseless, gullible fairy. Determination coursed through her, and she thought, I'll do everything in my power to protect the Magical Dimension from this new threat.

Next chapter:

- Daewon and Sharzad search for the second shard, accompanied by Arishtat.

- Darius and Maire discover something crucial about Aria's past.

- Aria is sent by Queen Isolde on another mission.