"Read it, Stella," urged Musa.
Stella took in a breath, and read aloud:
"In the long history of this family, every female who showed magical promise has attended Cloud Tower. Never in all that time has there been a fairy in this family, and that record will remain unbroken.
You are hereby given notice that you are disowned and disinherited by this family. Your remaining possessions have been burnt or destroyed, and all records of your existence have been purged. This family's name has been taken from you, and you will never again refer to yourself using it. If by chance you meet a member of this family in the future, they will not acknowledge you. You are not just dead to us, you never existed. In this way the shame this family bore because of your life decisions will be removed.
Find attached a legal document confirming what was said above."
Stella looked at the other page. "And that's what this is, all legal and proper. Hmph..."
"That is the most horrible thing I have ever heard in my entire life!" said Tecna. "Surely there must be a more logical solution than this!"
They all looked at the sleeping girl, who made no sign she had heard any of the conversation.
"We have to help her," said Musa.
"Yeah, we're at least partially responsible for her converting from witch to fairy," said Bloom.
"Logically, our next step is to tell Ms. Faragonda," said Tecna.
"Right. Tec, would you do that, please? She and Griselda were at the entryway," said Bloom.
"Certainly, Bloom," was the answer, "Stella, may I have those documents, please?"
Without a word, Stella handed her the two pieces of paper and the envelope. As Tecna left the room, she heard Layla say, "This is something I hadn't heard. What's the story about her?"
wcwcwc
Tecna stopped by the dropped luggage to give the Pixies the news. They were all deeply saddened by it, Amore most of all.
"The love of a daughter by a family has been destroyed, and it breaks my heart," she said, sadly.
The bus to Magix was long gone, leaving Faragonda and Griselda a few minutes to talk. They looked as Tecna approached, all business.
"Hello, Tecna," said Ms. Faragonda, "I thought you and your friends had left already." Then noting the much-more-serious-than-usual expression on the girl's face, added, "Is something wrong?"
"Yes, ma'am. May I speak to both of you privately for a minute?" Tecna asked.
Faragonda and Griselda exchanged a look, then Faragonda made a sweeping motion with her hand. "Silencio!" she said, and a yellow bubble appeared around the three of them.
Tecna quickly explained the situation, and handed over the papers. Both teachers were utterly shocked as they read them.
"Where is Mirta now?" asked Prof. Griselda.
"In her room, asleep. Flora used sleeping pollen on her. She should awaken in 1.46 hours," replied Tecna.
Griselda nodded. "Good thinking. She should be more rational when she wakes."
"In the meantime, I need to do some checking and make some calls," said Faragonda, "Griselda, you'll handle the departing students?"
"Of course," the severe teacher answered.
"Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Tecna," said Faragonda, nodding to the Fairy of Technology, "I'll be there by the time she wakes."
"Thank you, ma'am," replied Tecna, "I don't think we'll be leaving today, so I'm going to return our things to our rooms."
The privacy spell ended and the bubble faded away. Faragonda nodded, and headed for the Admin Building.
wcwcwc
Alone in her office, Faragonda placed a crystal ball call to her "friendly enemy", Prof. Griffin of Cloud Tower.
"Faragonda," Griffin said, "To what do I owe this call?"
"You remember Mirta, the student who transferred here last year?" Faragonda said.
"Of course. She's the only student ever to do so. Has something happened?" asked Griffin.
"Yes. I have some documents you need to see. I'm sending them now," said Faragonda. She placed them on the desk and made a complex hand gesture. The papers glowed briefly, but nothing else seemed to happen.
In the crystal ball, Faragonda saw Griffin pick up some papers and read. The spell had duplicated the documents and materialized them on Griffin's desk.
After a few moments reading, Griffin looked up. "I see. This is taking punishment way too far, in my opinion."
"I'm glad we agree. Something needs to be done to help the poor girl," said Faragonda.
"I've already decided one thing," said Griffin, "This is NOT the kind of thing that should happen to Cloud Tower students. It reflects poorly on the school itself. Any future applicants from that family will be refused."
"Thank you," said Faragonda, "I understand Mirta is close friends with one of your students, a girl named Lucy, I believe?"
Griffin nodded. "That's right. Let me see if she's left for the summer yet..." Griffin disappeared for a few moments, then returned. "She's still here. Would you like me to send her over?"
"Yes, please. It might help if Mirta sees a close friend when she wakes up," replied Faragonda.
"She will be in your office in ten minutes," said Griffin, and broke the connection.
True to her word, ten minutes later a very confused Lucy stepped from the shadows in the corner of the office. The tall, gangly, green-haired witch-in-training looked around, then settled on Ms. Faragonda.
"Uh, ma'am, why am I here? Did I do something wrong, and Prof. Griffin has sent me for punishment?" she asked.
"No, dear. Sit down, please," Faragonda gestured to a chair, "Your friend Mirta has a problem, and you might be able to help."
"What's wrong? What's happened to Mirta?" asked Lucy, sitting down gingerly, like she expected the chair to bite.
"Read these, and you'll understand," was the reply, and Faragonda handed the pages to Lucy.
As she read, Lucy clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes widened, and tears started down her cheeks. She put the papers down, and looked embarrassed.
"I'm sorry," said Lucy, wiping her face, "Witches aren't supposed to cry. But I can't help it. This is horrible! Where is she? Can I see her?"
"She's asleep in her room, under sleeping pollen. She should awaken in..." she glanced at a clock, "about an hour."
Lucy sighed. "We're from the same planet, so I recognize this legal document."
"Is there anything we can do?" asked the headmistress.
Lucy shook her head. "No, ma'am. Once done, it can't be undone. It's legit, and permanent. Even if her family changed their minds, it wouldn't matter. I've heard of others having the same fate."
"What happened to them?" the white-haired woman asked.
"I don't really know, but I'm pretty sure none ever returned to the home world. The shame was too great," answered Lucy. She looked at the papers and shook her head. "I know Mirta's fam... ex-family, and they are a proud bunch. Mirta never really fit in with them, just like she never fit in at Cloud Tower. But this seems extreme, even for them."
"Do you have any suggestions?" asked Ms. Faragonda.
"I- I'll have to think about it, once I get my head around this," said Lucy, putting down the papers.
Faragonda nodded. "Let's go to her room, and wait for her to wake."
Walking across the quad, remaining Alfea students gasped as they saw their headmistress in company of a witch. Lucy glared at them, as Ms. Faragonda smiled gently in reassurance.
Six fairies and five pixies turned their heads to look as the odd pair stepped into Mirta's dorm room. At the sight of the witch, the pixies clustered away from her, behind the fairies. Piff, of course, was asleep in her usual spot on Layla.
"Lucy! I'm glad you're here! Mirta will be glad to see you too," said Bloom.
"The tall girl nodded, and went to Mirta's bed. She sat down and lovingly stroked the cheek of her friend. She sighed.
"Flora, how much longer?" asked Stella, with her usual impatience.
"I'd say another half-hour or so," answered Flora, glancing at the clock.
Suddenly Mirta stirred, groaning in her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered.
"Of course, I might have miscalculated..." said Flora.