Last time, Bloom, Stella, Flora, Musa and Tecna were sentenced to clean up the potions lab, without magic. Later on, Stella promised Layla that she'd help her find Mr. Right. Their plans for man hunting were delayed as Layla overslept. Layla told about her dream and the man she danced with in said dream. The next morning, Layla overslept again, saying she had the same dream again. Bloom couldn't help but feel that this was just the beginning of something bad. On with the show!

Chapter 3: Downward Spiral

When Monday morning came around, Bloom and the others had to literally shake Layla wake so they wouldn't be late for class. Even with three cups of coffee in her, Layla kept dozing off during the morning. She seemed to be fully awake by lunchtime, but looked un-rested. The rest of Monday passed without incident.

Tuesday morning was almost a repeat of Monday, with the exception that Layla needed 5 cups of coffee to function, and kept dozing off up until 1:00 p.m.

Wednesday was worse; 9 cups of coffee and she was barely awake during the entire school day. On Thursday Layla couldn't even keep her eyes open for 30 seconds at a time, even after Musa poured a bucket of ice water on her head. "This is serious," said Tecna on Thursday afternoon, "I think we should tell Professor Faragonda." "And risk more detention?" said Stella, "Or worse? I think not."

"There's more at stake here than detention or worse," said Musa, "This may be my fault." "How can that be?" asked Flora. "I screwed up the potion," said Musa, "My mistake may be what's wrong with Layla." "It seems illogical," said Tecna, "that a miscalculation in stone size can be the cause of Layla's malady."

"Well let's look at the facts," said Bloom, "Layla keeps having the same dream each night; she stays asleep longer with each dream. When Layla is awake, she claims to feel fine, but she has less energy with each day." "It's as if something is sapping her Winx," said Flora, "Like a vampire."

"If Layla was the victim of a vampire," said Stella, "Then she'd be wearing a scarf to cover the obvious bite marks on her neck. Last time I checked, there were no bite marks on her." "Vampires aren't the only creature that drains a person's energy," said Musa, "Who knows what we're dealing with."

"I still say we should tell Professor Faragonda," said Tecna, "If there's anyone who has answers to this conundrum, it's her." "I agree," said Flora, "We should go to the head mistress."

"You're right," said Bloom, "We should have gone to Professor Faragonda on Monday, Tuesday at the latest." "If Bloom thinks we should go to the head teach," said Musa, "Then so do I." "I still think it's a bad idea," said Stella, "But majority rules." "That's that then," said Bloom, "Well go see the head mistress, but first I want to check on Layla. Where is she?"

"I last saw Layla in heading back to her room," said Flora, "She's probably asleep again." Bloom and the others then hurried to Layla's room, where they found Layla zonked out on her bed. "Layla?" said Bloom as she shook Layla, "Layla, can you hear me?"

Layla however, wasn't responsive. "Layla! Pleas wake up!" exclaimed Bloom. "Oh gods!" exclaimed Musa, "What's happening to her?" "I don't know," said Tecna, "This whole situation defies logic!" "Well whatever we're gonna do," said Flora, "We'd better do it soon, or else Layla may never wake up again!"

The end of chapter 3. Next chapter the source of Layla's affliction is revealed. See you next time!