- Edited -

"Do you think she's going to wake up?" Probably not.

"I doubt it. They stabbed her pretty bad." You got that right.

"Griffin was so upset when the healer told her to leave. I feel so bad for her." Ugh.

"I feel bad for this fairy. She's been through so much." Compassion? From a witch? That's new.

Rhythma groaned quietly and shifted, feeling the scratchy mattress beneath her sensitive skin. She couldn't open her eyes.

"She moved!" Of course I did, dummy.

Footsteps. And someone poked her face.

"Hey! Can you open your eyes?" Nope, or I would have done so already.

"Of course she can't, dummy! She's still asleep." Yep.

Silence.

Rhythma gave another groan. Why was she still alive? Hadn't the Trix killed her? She had actually hoped they had killed her this time and ended her suffering once and for all.

"Let's leave her be, Regina. She needs to rest." Not anymore, apparently.

"But she moved! Don't you believe me, Bella?" Yikes. This is bad.

"Not really." Some friend.

But then . . . they ARE witches. That's probably as friendly as a witch gets these days. In any case, they're better than the Trix.

The young fairy thought faintly back to the pain she had felt when Icy cut her face again. Everything after that was a blur, however, Rhythma knew that Icy had brutally stabbed her - probably with the intention of killing her. Why she hadn't succeeded was beyond her.

Against the will of her mind and body, Rhythma forced her eyes to open. The room she was currently occupying was dimly lit, and there was only a single bed - the one which she slept on.

There was a faint gasp, and the young fairy turned her head to stare at the two girls in the room with her. The first one was the one who had poked her. She had long, silky dark green hair and golden eyes. She seemed to have a friendly air about her, but then looking down at her choice of clothing, Rhythma saw that she had the fashion sense of a true witch. She wore a whiter t-shirt with a skull across the front, and the sleeves were rimmed with brown. Her pants were jeans with multiple rips in them, and out of her pockets, Rhythma caught a glimpse of a chain. "Hello," she said. "I'm Regina."

The other girl didn't seem to be as friendly as Regina. She had light brown hair and aqua eyes, closely resembling Stormy's. Her clothing style was not much better than her companion's, as she wore literally all black and nothing else. Her skin was unnaturally pale - she didn't look like a living person. "Bella." She said coolly.

"You're awake." Regina said in awe, coming forward. Rhythma shied away from the witch, feeling fear rise up in her gut. She hated being afraid, but when it came to witches, she could never be sure of their friendliness anymore. Not after the Trix. Not after almost three years.

"Yeah," she said hoarsely. "Where am I?" Her voice sounded like she hadn't had a drink in weeks, but she knew it had been probably less than a day since the attack.

Bella crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame to the room. "Headwitchtress Griffin brought you here to Cloudtower after the Trix attacked you." She explained. "We didn't think you were going to survive."

Rhythma gave a slight nod and turned to Regina, as she seemed to be slightly nicer than Bella and more open to questions. "May I please speak to Griffin?"

"Yeah, sure." Regina shrugged and turned toward the door. "I'll go get her."

"That won't be necessary." A new voiced chimed in, and Griffin herself walked through the door. "I am already here." She nodded firmly to the two students. "Leave us."

Both students stood up and walked briskly out of the room, leaving Griffin and Rhythma alone.

The Headwitchtress gave Rhythma a small smile and sat down on the edge of her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Alright." The fairy replied shyly. "A little dizzy, and kind of thirsty. But fine." It was true. The worst pain she felt was a major headache.

Griffin nodded. "You are very lucky to have survived that attack." She said gravely. "You almost did not, and the Trix escaped." Those words came out as bitter, and the fairy instantly felt guilty for letting them get away when she could have done more to keep them there until help arrived.

"I'm sorry." Rhythma responded, looking down. "Stormy just grabbed me, and I couldn't stop her. She was too strong." She clutched the blanket tightly, turning her knuckles white.

"I understand, Rhythma." Griffin told her gently. "Those three are much more than they seem. But tell me: why didn't anyone help you? Aren't you not supposed to be alone?"

Rhythma looked down, remembering the rule Faragonda had struggled to enforce. "This is true." She replied. "And I had some Pixies with me. But Stormy caught them as well."

Griffin nodded. "As I suspected. I managed to free the three Pixies trapped, but they are still waiting for you. May I bring them in?" She looked at the fairy expectantly.

Rhythma nodded. "Sure. Let them in."

At once, the door opened and Athena flew into the room, followed by Ninfea and Concorda. A fourth pixie flew in after them, silent.

All three of Rhythma's Pixies embraced her upon seeing that she was awake. She felt happy to know that they were safe. Stormy could not have been very kind to them. "You're all okay!" She cried, tears of joy beginning to form in her eyes. "Did she she hurt you? Are you injured?"

Athena shook her head. "No. We're just a little frightened, that's all."

"A little?" Ninfea scoffed. "I was terrified out of my skin!"

Concorda nodded in agreement.

Then, the fourth pixie flew up to face her. To Rhythma, she resembled a witch, with her eye shape and her clothing choice. In fact, had she not had wings and was fluttering right in front of the fairy, she probably would have mistaken her for an elf.

"Hello." She said silkily. "My name is Discorda - Pixie of Cloudtower." She bowed in a formal manner.

Rhythma sucked in a breath. "I am Rhythma, fairy of Pixies. It is a pleasure to meet you." She took the pixie's hand and felt the connection spark between them. It was as if a piece of stir g was forever tying itself around both of their hearts, drawing them closer.

It was in that moment, as they stared into each other's eyes, that Rhythma felt absolutely complete. It was as if the final piece of her life puzzle had been put into place now that she had met her fourth and final guardian pixie.

She looked over at Griffin, who still sat at the edge of her bed.

"Would you like to join me for lunch, young lady?" The Headwitchtress asked, standing up and holding out her hand. Rhythma nodded and accepted the outstretched arm gratefully. Her Pixies fought all stay seated on her shoulders.

They descended the stairs together and entered the large cafeteria, where students all were eating and chatting together. Rhythma paused, looking around.

"It's not much different than Alfea, is it?" Griffin asked as Rhythma stopped with a surprised look. "Witches are not meant to be truly evil. We just draw our energy from a different source. Not everything is all rainbows and sunshine." She smiled. "Come."

Griffin led the way to her table and motioned for Rhythma to sit down, smiling when the fairy complied. Food was presented to them. On Rhythma's plate was an apple, some toast, and a soup.

They ate in silence, Rhythma rather slowly due to her small appetite. She was aware of Griffin watching her every move, but it wasn't uncomfortable. The Trix had watched her eat all the time. Their stares had become something to block out after a while.

It was as these thoughts ran through her head that she noticed the cafeteria go dead silent. Rhythma felt a cold air overcome the school and immediately dropped her fork. It flattered to the tray with a loud sound, echoing across the cafeteria.

But no one noticed.

They were all fixed on what had just entered the cafeteria - Rhythma included. Fear rose in her throat.

No way.

It wasn't possible.

But sure enough, standing with all their glory in the center of the lunchroom, were the Trix.

"What are you there doing here?" Griffin demanded. "This is my school, and I won't let you wreak havoc in it!" She hurled a green beam of energy at them, but the three sprung a shield that repelled the spell easily.

Icy smirked and placed her hand on the barrier, shattering it and sending the piece spiraling toward Griffin. With a yell of surprise, the Headwitchtress flew backward into the table, crushing it.

Rhythma stepped back, alarmed.

Two of the teachers at Cloudtower rushed to see if Griffin was okay.

"Your behavior is unacceptable!" One of them yelled down to the Trix. Stormy laughed.

"What are you going to do?" The storm witch taunted. "Give us detention?" Her eyes began to glow a bright magenta color and a huge twister came down in the center of the cafeteria, capturing all the students in its windy shape.

Rhythma gasped and clutched her four Pixies close to her chest, trying to resist the pull of the twister when it suddenly vanished, leaving everyone to fall to their deaths below. She caught a glimpse of Griffin leaping from her ledge to save them, but that was all she could see from where she was.

Silence.

"In case you haven't gotten it yet, Griffin." Icy spat. "We're in charge now."

Rhythma gasped. No. No.

It wasn't possible.

But the next words Griffin said allowed for her to believe that Cloudtower was lost.

"Run, Rhythma!"

Her eyes widened, but she stepped back and launched herself toward the window. Unfortunately, Darcy's quick thinking allowed for the fairy to instead end up on the floor, clutching her arm and howling at the sudden pain that flared through her whole body.

The Trix all stood over her.

"Didn't we kill her?" Stormy asked, exasperated.

Rhythma spat, pain coursing through her entire body. "I don't die so easily, witch."

"Watch your mouth, fairy." Icy snapped. "I'll break your other arm if you like."

"Leave her alone!" Discorda cried, flying forward to hover between the witches and the fairy. "Fight me instead."

Darcy snorted. "What a joke." She held out her hand. "In case you haven't realized, insect, we have the Dragon Flame."

A look of fear flashed in Discorda's eyes, but she remained where she was. "You will not harm my fairy! I will not stand for it!"

Concorda flew to hover at her side. "Neither will I!" She declared.

"Stay away from her!" Athena agreed, joining her friends.

Finally, Ninfea allowed herself to become part of the tiny resistance. "Back! Get away from my fairy!"

It was in that moment that Rhythma felt power surge through her entire body. Her back tingled, and she suddenly felt something happen.

There were gasps from all over the room.

When Rhythma opened her eyes, she was shocked to find herself flying just above the ground, with huge wings that hadn't been there just moments before.

She was a fairy.

She had wings.

Rhythma's eyes widened. "How is this possible?" She asked, looking at her Pixies.

Concorda broke into a smile. "We have given you a new set of wings!" She announced. "Pixix!"

"You are the only fairy who will ever be given a second chance at flight." Discorda told her. "Pixix is given only to one fairy, and you are that fairy."

Rhythma gave a small, quick nod before she looked at Griffin. "I'll be back," she promised the Headwitchtress. "I promise."

The , with that, Rhythma launched herself off the ground and out the window followed closely by her pixies.

This was it. The war had begun.

A/N: I'll post pictures of Rhythma's Pixix form in the next chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed.

Question: What is the name of YOUR Selkie?

Mine is Destry, Gatekeeper of Spartan!

Please vote and comment.