Chapter 1

Changing Right Before My Eyes

The bright sun shined through the window and into Bloom's face. She yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed. She was prepared to be pampered as she always was whenever there was an event at the castle.

Her bright blue eyes opened and she looked around the room. She heard herself scream. The room before her was not where she'd fallen asleep. Instead, it was her old room at her parents' house. It was just as she'd left it.

None of this made any sense! She was just on Sparx. How could she be in Gardenia? What'd happened?

Suddenly she realized she could feel all of her legs were covered. She looked down at her clothes and gasped. Not only were the pajamas she was wearing weren't what she'd put on before, they were also a pair of pajamas she hadn't seen in years. The last time she could call recall wearing them was during her freshman year at Alfea.

Maybe I'm back in time, she considered. Maybe I accidentally muttered a time spell in my sleep. It wasn't unlikely. She'd recalled many times when she'd woken up to find that she had chanted a spell in her sleep. It was worth a try.

She walked to the other end of the room and peered at the calendar above the desk. To her disappointment, the date was exactly the same as she recalled it when she'd gotten in bed to take her nap. Now that she thought about it, why was it so bright in here? It shouldn't have been.

Oh, I get it. This is all a dream. If I rub my eyes and open them again, I'll wake up back on Sparx in my room.

But that proved to be false as well. When she opened her eyes, she still was in the same room. What was going on? Was she forgetting something?

Yes, she told herself. That's it. I just forgot I went to go visit my other parents. Yah, that makes sense. Yet no matter how many times to try to tell herself this, she didn't believe a word of it.

Suddenly, the door opened and there stood her adoptive mother, Ms. Vanessa Summers. "I see you finally got up," she said with a laugh. "You sleep in till noon quite often. But, at least it's Saturday."

Saturday? Noon? That didn't make any sense either. Today was Wednesday, and if she remembered correctly, with the time change, it should be about seven pm in Gardenia. There's no way it could be that early.

"Uh, Mom, what are you talking about?" Bloom wondered. All of this was greatly confusing her.

"Well," Vanessa answered. "You don't have any classes today?"

Classes?

"Classes for what?" She inquired.

Vanessa Summers seemed surprised. "Classes for your college education, remember? You signed up for them a little while ago."

Bloom stopped listening after the first sentence. College? She didn't go to college. In the Magical Dimension, college virtually didn't exist. Education generally stopped after you graduated high school, and she'd already done that when she finished going to Alfea. Yet another thing she didn't understand.

"Well, Mom, can I go out and…take a walk?" Bloom asked.

Mrs. Summers quickly nodded and she watched her adoptive as she went from taking a shower, dressing herself, and she finished by brushing her bright, fiery red hair.

"Don't be gone to long." Vanessa said.

"I won't," Bloom promised, walking out the door. She continued out of Mike and Vanessa's house and into her 'hometown'.

It was just the way it'd been when she'd last seen it: before she and the others saved Sparx. She'd been depressed that time too, but for a different reason.

She passed several buildings, not aiming to go any place specifically. Her mind was not on the world around her, but on Sky, how much she missed him. Her trance was cut off when a vaguely familiar voice spoke.

"Bloom?"

She gasped. No, it can't be. She looked up to see a guy her age with short, spiky black hair. She could barely speak as she was completely shocked. "A-Andy?"

It was him alright. Sure, he'd aged a little, but, that was expected. She hadn't seen him since she was fifteen. The only reason she'd ended their one-year relationship was because she'd fallen for Sky. She smirked. That was back when he'd been called Brandon.

Andy smiled at her. "Bloom, good, it's you. Listen, want to join me and the guys? We've got band practice today."

Bloom was confused. Band? What band? She'd never known Andy to be interested in music. "You guys have a band?"

He too, was perplexed. "Of course. You know that. I've invited you to our practices before, don't you remember? Sure, we mostly just place in small clubs and juice bars, but we don't do it for fame. We just enjoy playing our music."

That sounded like the old Andy; just doing something for a reason, not even bothered by how demeaning it was.

She was about to ask him what he's been up to when he suddenly approached her. What was he doing?

She found out when he got close to her face and pushed his lips into hers. Bloom was completely taken off guard. Where had that come from? Had she given him the wrong idea? She hoped not.

She wanted to push him off, but something stopped her. She just enjoyed the moment, happy to finally kiss somebody, even though it was her ex.

Finally, they parted and Andy stood in front of her, smiling deeply. His eyes sparkled too.

Bloom was tempted to smile too until she realized what had just happened and grew angry. "Andy?" She demanded. "What was that? I'm engaged."

He scratched his head in confused. "Engaged? What do you mean?"

She sighed, growing impatient. "Do I have to spell it out for you or something? I mean I'm marrying someone else."

Now he was more surprised then ever. He didn't get it. Where was she getting this?

"Huh? Bloom, what are you talking about? We've been dating for five years."

We've been dating for five years, kept ringing in and out of Bloom's head. She dated Andy for five years? No she hadn't. She had dated him for one year and had been with Sky for the rest.

Though she knew she loved Sky, having Andy stand before her, handsome as ever, was much to tempting. She had to get out of here before she cheated on her fiancé even more than she already had.

"Andy," she said. "I have to go."

His smile disappeared and was replaced by a look of concern. "Go where? Are you alright?"

"Home," she replied. "And, I'm fine." She wasn't alright and she wasn't going back to her parents' house either. In fact, she wasn't planning to go any place in particular. All she wanted was to get away from here, away from Andy, so she began to run.

She ran for what felt like a really long time. Vanessa had asked her not to stay out to late, but what did it matter now? The world-the universe, even-felt so wrong. What happened, and why was she the only one not aware?

Finally, she grew tired and her pace began to slow as she walked through the bigger area of town. People could be seen looking happy with their loved ones as they walked together through the streets of Gardenia.

Sighing, Bloom envied them deeply. Everyone else was happy, so why couldn't she be? Because of Sky? Of Andy?…And so much more.

A voice behind her knocked her back into reality. "Oh look, it's Bloom." Then she heard a snicker.

That voice was unmistakable. It could only be one person: Mitzi. Sure enough, there she was, looking as snobbish as ever. Bloom was surprised the other girl still wore her old clothes, but she knew Mitzi well enough that if she said anything regarding her outfit, Mitzi would mock hers.

Bloom's already down face grew into a scowl. "What do you want, Mitzi?"

Her old enemy returned the look. Through her annoying high-pitched voice, she replied, "Oh nothing, just reminding myself what you look like. I almost forgot considering how you almost never leave your house unless you're visiting your boyfriend, Andy."

Why did everyone keep saying that? She wasn't with Andy, she was with Sky. Why didn't they know that? Well, of course Mitzi didn't. Mitzi didn't deserve to find out she was a fairy princess and engaged to a prince of a powerful kingdom. But, she'd been tempted many times to tell her, just to see the look of jealousy on her face.

"Just leave me alone." Bloom said, turning to leave.

"Of course a loser isn't willing to stand up for herself," Mitzi laughed, pointing at her.

Bloom sighed. What was her problem? She didn't know for sure, but she did know a little about her. Mitzi's dad was the richest guy in town and bought her whatever she wanted. Somehow, within that, Mitzi had gotten the idea that whomever she didn't feel was up to her standards became classified as a 'loser'. The only reason most of Gardenia didn't stand up to her was either they agreed with her, were afraid of her, or wanted to be popular.

"You're such a jerk Mitzi. Why can't you just leave me alone?" She demanded, getting into the other girls face.

"Oh Bloom, you haven't changed at all."

"Neither have you," Bloom spat, glaring more deeply.

The other girl shrugged. "Well, catch you later loser."

Bloom was furious at this point. She'd had it with Mitzi and her insults. Then she got an idea. She'd put Mitzi under a spell. That would teach her a lesson. The spell she planned would make Mitzi bald. After carefully reciting the words herself, she pointed her hand toward her enemy.

She waited. Nothing happened.

Bloom tried again. Still nothing. She sighed as she watched Mitzi walk away.

She had to leave, and quickly ran. This time, she did have a destination. Once she'd reached it, she looked up to see the woods: the first place she'd discovered her powers. Why didn't she have them now? She was the keeper of the Dragon Fire and she'd let it get away again?

She sighed and sat down near the spot where she had met Stella that day. It brought back so many memories sitting there. She felt tears come in her eyes as she remembered her friends.

What happened the girls? She wondered. Then she got another idea. If I'm with Andy, than who's with Sky?

The thought was horrid. As she began to cry, she looked up into the sky. "Daphne." She said, attempting to contact her sister. " You said you'd always be there for me. I thought your help wouldn't be needed once I brought back Sparx, but now, I think I need your guidance more than ever."

I hope you like the way it's going so far. I tried my best to make sure this was interesting. So...

What happenend to Bloom? How'd she end up on Earth? What happened to the others?