Author's Note: I've got the blues, I've got lifts in my shoes, and I'm scared of the countryside. I can't sleep, cause I see spiders when I close my eyes…

That is the creepiest little catchy song ever.

Chapter Four: Family Ties

Story thought about going after Griselda and explaining. For about five seconds. Then she shrugged and went on with her life. If Dafne wanted to give her grief… well, more grief… than let her. Story was a big girl, she could take care of herself.

She walked to AP Spells and Comp, making a mental note to complain to her grandmother about having the staff of Alfea place her in an advanced junior-level class. Despite what she could do with language, she wasn't the brightest fairy, especially when it came to subjects like Potionology. Being targeted as the smart kid and the dumb kid at the same time was a little more ammo for Anya and Dafne than Story wanted to give them.

She found the classroom and found a list of students and where they were to sit. Her desk was, luckily, a window seat, and she plopped down in it and took out a notebook and some pens. She thought about messing with the locket again, but after whipping up a September storm (however small) in Magiphilosophy, she didn't want to do it again.

DuFour walked in, her long silver hair flowing behind her, and her glasses halfway down her nose. "Advanced Placement Spellbooks and Composition?"

She didn't wait for a response. "Welcome. This class is exclusively for upperclassmen… well, with one exception for this year." She looked at Story. Story, in response, ducked her head and wished that invisibility spells weren't beyond her.

Other than the embarrassment of being the only freshman in the class- and Professor DuFour not letting anyone forget that fact- the class was decent. Nothing to remember. Ironically, Story was sure it wouldn't be her favorite class.

She walked out, headed down the hall. There was one more class before lunch break, and it was just a normal level freshman one. No problemo.

The Botany classroom was set up science-lab style, and Morgan and Grace were already there… with Anya. No Dafne, though, which was definitely a plus. However, it did mean that Anya had an empty seat next to her. Story looked around frantically, only to find only one other empty chair. She practically ran to it. "Can I sit here?" she asked, a bit out of breath.

The other girl at the lab table looked up. She had hair that was black almost to the point of looking blue in the light. It hung long and straight, cutting off at her shoulders exactly. Bangs hid her eyebrows and almost concealed the tops of her eyes as well. Her skin was a caramel and olive color, the olive tints brought out by her green eyes.

She shrugged. "There's nobody stopping you."

The fairy of words smiled and sat down. "I'm Story. Of Romula," she said.

The other girl nodded once, curtly. "Lara of Illusis. Sort of. I guess I'm from Linphea, but I was raised on Illusis. But my power is from Linphea, plants you know… oh screw it, I'm Lara of Linphea."

Story tried not to laugh. Thankfully, she succeeded. "Complicated," she finally said.

"You're telling me," Lara replied, rolling her eyes. "My dad got remarried when I was wee little, so it's not like I remember home or anything. Sometimes I want to, especially when my half-brothers get on my nerves. But mostly, I like Illusis and I don't know any home besides there. So. What's your story?"

"Um, my grandma wanted me to go to Alfea, my mom wanted me to go to CT… she's a witch… my grandma won. It's the first drama we've had in my family for forever. Nothing really to tell."

"Unlucky. I wanted to go to Cloud Tower but my stepmom went their for a year and she refused to let me go. Said my birth mom wouldn't have wanted me to attend either. Plant magic is all fairy and frilly, I guess. I never have heard of a witch who controls plants… but one, haven't met many Linpheans, and two, maybe all the plant powers have oppressive parents like mine."

"Well, I never really wanted to go to Cloud Tower. Really, I didn't even want to go to college but when your grandma takes care of tuition completely, you don't complain," Story joked.

"What's your power?" Lara asked as she tied her dark hair in a ponytail.

"Words."

"Bet you're talkative. People tell me I'm talkative, but you know, I kind of learned to be. Nobody talks in my family. Dad's quiet, Mirta's quiet… that's my stepmom… and Heketoro and Raiden and Helios.- the brothers- are all quiet. Someone's gotta be loud and talkative, or we wouldn't know how to talk at all."

"I'm not very talkative, actually, I kind of just go along with the conversation." Story shrugged apologetically.

Lara sighed. "Ah. Well, then I'm probably being annoying."

"No, not at all." Story was surprised that she meant it. Normally talkative people got on her nerves.

She sort of wondered why class hadn't started yet. But the teacher wasn't even in the classroom. Story got up. "Where are you going, Story?" Lara asked. "No, don't tell me, I AM annoying, you just are to polite to confirm it. That's gotta be it!"

"No, honestly Lara. I just want to go over to see my roommates." She only paused uncertainly for a beat before she tacked on, "Do you want to come?"

The fairy of flowers and plants smiled. "Sure! Thanks!"

The two walked to the other side of the room. "Morgan, Grace?" Story asked uncertainly.

The two were in deep conversation, but immediately looked up when she said their names. "Hey," Story continued. "This is Lara of Linphea. We were wondering if we could hang out with you until class actually started?"

Morgan nodded, and Grace smiled and said, "Of course, Story!"

Story pulled up two chairs, and the girls sat down, crowding around the small lab table. "So, Lara, what apartment are you in?" Morgan asked.

"51. I room with Twila of Popularis… the fairy of emotions and love, can you believe? And the other three girls are Ginny of Hoggar, the fairy of battle, Amber of Isis, fairy of precious metals, and Vivienne of Osiris, fairy of flight. I don't even know how there can be a freaking fairy of flight! It's a little bit redundant, isn't it? But Vivienne says it's a great power, and who am I to tell her she's wrong? Anyways, what about you three?"

"Well," Morgan said, "I room with Story. Grace and Anya- over there next to the girl with blue hair- share, and then there's Dafne who rooms alone. I'm fairy of wild beasts and creatures, Grace is the fairy of communications, Anya is planetary alignment and the solar system, and Dafne is…"

"Fire. Everyone knows about the Fira. Daughter of the legendary Queen Bloom, my dad used to tell me stories about the Winx Club when I was little… hey, wait. Grace… Grace of Zenith? And Anya of Solaria? Oh. My. Dragon. You're, like, their daughters!"

"I'm Roxy's daughter," Morgan muttered.

"Well, yeah, that's cool. But you know, she wasn't involved in the big battle of Alfea twenty years ago, or the revival of Domino… but still, pretty cool. Cooler than me," Lara joked. "Stepdaughter of a witch who uses bright magic, and daughter of a warrior who refuses to fight."

"I think that's really truly cool," Grace inputted. "Defying the stereotypes is what makes people great."

Lara grinned. "Thanks, but I don't think Dad and Mirta think so. I wanted to go to Cloud Tower, but a plant girl has a rep to keep up, huh?"

The group laughed a little.

By the time the bell rang, two things that Story never expected happened: one, she had made friends with a girl who's biggest ambition was to be a powerful witch. And two, the class period went by without the teacher making an appearance.

The four girls walked out of class together. "It's lunch," Morgan said. "We should all grab a table together in the cafeteria."

"Save a seat for me, I've got to go to the office," Story said.

Morgan furrowed her brow. "What's wrong, Story?"

The fairy of words shrugged. "Nothing major. Scheduling. I was put in a class way too advanced for me, I want to see if I can get it changed."

Grace patted her on the back. "No worries, we'll grab a chair for you. Good luck,"

Story broke off from the group and headed to the main office. She knocked on the door to the headmistress's office. "Come in," said Miss Faragonda.

Story opened the door and walked in. "Can I change my schedule, please?" she asked, trying to stay calm.

Faragonda looked a little shocked. "Why, I put you in advanced classes. Why would you want to change?"

"Because I don't want to stand out. I want to just be another Alfea freshman. I know what everyone here thinks about me, being the girl who controls language itself. But… I need to make my own path. Please?"

Faragonda sighed. "I'll see what I can do for you, dear."

Story smiled, rushed up to Faragonda, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks bundles, Grandma."

Character Review:

Lara of Linphea: fairy of plants and flowers. Daughter of Helia and Flora, stepdaughter of Mirta. Extremely talkative, has a slightly dark personality. Her biggest hope and dream is to be a powerful witch; however, her stepmother made her attend Alfea instead of Cloud Tower. Quickly bonds with Story, Morgan, and Grace.