Chapter Fifteen: So It Begins

Anya and Dafne turned to face the door to the room as it opened. "What is it?" the blonde girl snapped, and Anya cringed. It wasn't even her friend's dorm! Well, that's Princess Dafne, she told herself. She takes command no matter where she is.

"Um," said the voice from the door. It was Grace. "I was just coming in here to change clothes."

"Why couldn't you have done that back with the others? Obviously you prefer Morgan and those two freaks to the only other people who get you. They're not ever going to know what it's like to have a famous relative. Always overshadowed and all. Well, if you like them better, go change in the nerd room. Or, you can hang with An and me."

Grace was blushing, and looked scared. "But Daf, this is my room," she commented.

"It is," Anya said. "She's got a right to change in here. Besides, Dafne, you're right. She's a double-you-dee. She gets how it goes. It's not like we're letting Story in or anything."

Dafne's eyes widened and her hands balled into fists at her side. "I told you not to say that witch's name!" she said. "I told you what she did to me! She is nobody and should be treated as such!"

"I think you're taking this a bit far," Anya soothed as Grace snuck up and began to change into her dress while Dafne was distracted.

"Too far? I'm taking this too far? Maybe you don't realize that I got chewed out by my mother, who, may I remind you, is the incarnation of a god?"

Anya furrowed her brow. "I thought that was you. Isn't the keeper of the Dragon Flame the person who has the Dragon inside of them?"

There was a fleeting look of shock, then Dafne's face became a bit haughty. "Once you have contained the Flame, part of the god stays with you forever. So don't ever mess with the royal family of Domino, or even the royal family of Eraklyon. Or else we'll make sure you're reincarnated as… something disgusting."

"A bug?" Anya said, shuddering.

"Worse." Dafne thought. "We'll reincarnate you as Story."

Grace crept back out of the room while Dafne was laughing. Her sparkly pink ball gown got caught under the door as she closed it, and she momentarily hated herself for being so clumsy. Luckily, it was easy enough to pull out without ripping, but it still annoyed her a little. The whole situation annoyed her a little, not that she'd ever let anyone know.

Why was she so skittish about being naked in a room with Morgan? It wasn't like the smaller girl would jump her. The two other members of the nameless group were there, and Mor knew her manners. Even if she didn't, Grace was bigger and stronger and could take care of herself.

The more she thought about it, the guiltier she felt. Why should she mind so much about Morgan seeing her unclothed? They had been going out for over a year. Nearly two years. All that had happened was talking and kissing and the very occasional breast feel. Extremely occasional. Once. Actually, it was about half of one, as it was through the shirt and Grace had screamed.

Maybe I'm not right for her. I'm too skittish. I don't even know if I'm fully gay. Dragon, I'm only fifteen. But she's older, and wiser, and well… hornier, I guess. Is this something I want?

She was getting less and less sure.

The nameless group gathered in the main hall of Alfea, already filled with Specialists and witches. There was dancing, for those in couples and some of those who weren't. A long table of food stood against the western wall. On the opposite side were boxes, filled with the traditional gifts that the boys would bestow upon the girls. There were twice as many as was traditional, a sign of goodwill towards the students of Cloud Tower.

Lara looked around. "There's Heketoro," she said, faint annoyance in her voice. "I didn't think he'd come down."

"Heketoro?" Story asked.

"My brother. Half-brother. Mirta and my dad's kid."

The boy was coming their way. "So, he goes to Red Fountain?"

"No. He's got a special acceptance to Alfea. He can't get a degree or anything, but he can take classes and study to be a fairy."

Morgan frowned. "I didn't know guys could become fairies."

"Male fairies are rare. There's only a handful, maybe ten in the entire universe. Heketoro is kind of special."

They hushed as he came up to them. "Hello, Lara. It's nice to see you. How have your classes been?"

"They're fine, and yours?"

Heketoro smiled a bit. "They keep me busy. I have more homework than I expected. But I guess I asked for it, what with all the advanced classes."

"Tell me about it!" Story said, not thinking about interrupting. It was too good to have someone who understood. "I'm in AP Spells and Comp with DuFour. It's killing me slowly."

"AP Spells and Comp?" The boy's eyebrows raised. "Are you a junior?"

"She's a freshie, like the rest of us," Morgan cut in. "Our Story just happens to be exceptionally brilliant."

Story glanced at her roommate, wondering where all the bragging came from. The fairy of wild animals winked. Suddenly, Story understood. Ohhhh. She thinks that he could be interested… or maybe that I could? She looked at Heketoro. He was kind of cute. "I don't know about brilliant," she said, suddenly a bit shy. "I'm just a word fairy. It's sort of my thing."

"That's still very good. I tested into Honors Incantations, but even that's just a sophomore class. Spells and Comp is pretty impressive."

Out of the corner of her eyes, Story saw Morgan whispering to the other two members of the group. Suddenly, Lara announced, "You two are being nerdy. I'm going to go get punch."

"And we're going to dance," Morgan said, pulling Grace closer.

Story frowned. "But what about…"

Before she could finish the thought, Morgan gestured pointedly at the ballroom. Plenty of girls were dancing with each other, just as friends. Obviously, Morgan and Grace felt a couple songs wouldn't reveal their secret. Story grinned, and said "Have fun, guys."

"You four seem close," Heketoro noted.

Story shrugged. "Yeah, we kind of are. It's a little odd. We've known each other what, two, three days? And here we are, the best of friends."

"I like it," the male fairy said seriously. "Lara needed some people. Life's been hard on her."

"I think we all needed people. We all have our trials and tribulations." Story thought about Morgan's homosexuality… the 'outsider' status of Lara and herself both… Grace's long-lost sister…

"Oh Dragon," Story breathed. She looked around.

Heketoro frowned, and he seemed truly concerned. "Story, what's wrong?"

"Nothing much, just..." I don't think I can tell Heketoro, "Well, see, Grace has an evil twin sister who's been lost to her for years, and we have to keep an eye on her so she doesn't try anything funny."

His concerned frown deepened. "What does Grace have?"

"Did I just say that out loud?"

"Either that, or your word powers picked this moment to project your thoughts."

"I wouldn't put it past my subconscious," Story replied, thinking about her bad dream and shivering a bit.

Heketoro grabbed her hand, and she gasped, surprised. He smiled at her. "Don't worry. I'll help you keep an eye out. If you four are as tight as you say you are, Lara could get involved, and she needs someone to keep an eye out for her. And maybe I'm wrong, Story, but it seems like you need someone keeping an eye on you as well."

Claire was not having a good time. She was being the ultimate wallflower, in fact. The Cloud Tower students all seemed to group together, except when they hit on a cute guy, but she wasn't one of them. Nor was she a fairy, though. Her magic was darker and more practical.

She was lost in these thoughts when she suddenly went tumbling to the floor. "Ouch!" she cried, at the exact same time as a taller girl, one with dark hair and wire glasses. Her skin was a medium shade, and her green eyes were narrowed, annoyed. Claire couldn't tell if this was an extremely pissed off fairy or a witch.

"Watch where you're going," the girl muttered.

Claire was a naturally shy, polite girl, but a few days of witch school had already begun to make marked differences in her personality. At least, enough that she stood, and confidently said, "Excuse me? You ran into me, not the other way around. I was just standing there!"

The girl frowned. "You still should have been looking."

"Well, I'm not the only one!" Claire wasn't sure whether she was being a confident, bold witch or a really stupid one. But the words were out of her mouth before she could be sure either way.

The girl looked like she was about to slap Claire, but before she could, two other girls came up behind her. "Cool it, Lara," the smaller one said. "She really was just standing there."

The girl- apparently Lara- glared at Claire. "Whatever," she said. "I'm not wasting my time on a fairy that doesn't even socialize. I mean, like, what's the point?" The last sentence was said mockingly.

"I'm a witch," Claire said, surprised at how easy the words came out. To compensate, she added, "not that I wanted to be. But I'm Claire. The witch of dreams."

The girl who told Lara to cool it replied, "I'm Morgan, fairy of animals. The sourpuss is Lara, fairy of plants. And this lovely, quiet girl is Grace, fairy of social networking. It's cool to meet you, Claire."

It wasn't a 'let's be friends' introduction; it was simply a polite thing, and Claire was not surprised when the three girls walked off. She sighed. At least she had some social interaction that night.

Rainier had escaped to the bathrooms of Alfea- which, for the record, were as disgustingly pink as the rest of the school- for some quick primping.

Her hair, normally down, was tied into a tight braid. Her eyes had been made-up to look a little bit wider, more innocent. The high heels on her feet were tall enough to give her a couple extra inches. As for clothes, her gown was a pale, sparkly princess-y piece in the same color as the Alfea walls. She despised it, but it was worn for good purposes.

The witch gave a smile into the mirror, trying for sweet. It's an odd expression, she decided.

Taking a brief look around the restroom to make sure nobody else was there, she recited the words that she had memorized that morning. "You see a girl, she is not me. See the features that you want to see." It was a basic glamour, one that would not make her look any different, but would smudge her features so they could be mistaken for someone else.

Someone who looked a lot like Rainier already.