Ok, so I am a horrible person who updates very irregularly. If I was reading this story and not writing it, I would be extremely annoyed with myself for the long waits between updates. So, sorry about that. Been busy, you know how it goes.

Standard text messaging rates and disclaimers apply.

P.S. DEATHLY HALLOWS anyone? Oh my god…I am in awe (and rereading it!!)

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"Where exactly are we going?" Cornelia questioned.

"You'll see!" Will chirped. "Actually, you won't. Sorry, Cornelia, we're going to have to blindfold you now…" Will ducked as Cornelia telepathically sent a hairbrush flying past/at her head. Ignoring Cornelia's protests ("The blindfold will ruin my eye make up! And crush my hair! Come on guys, just let me see!") the girls quickly blindfolded her and escorted her to Will house, where Will opened a portal. Hay Lin skipped through, followed by Taranee. Lastly, Cornelia, aided by Irma and Will, walked through the portal. Someone gave an excited squeak, only to be immediately hushed, and Cornelia jumped.

"Who was that?" She asked, already sure she knew the answer. They had been best friends for years, after all.

Will reached out and untied Cornelia's blindfold as Elyon gave another squeak and, unable to contain herself any longer burst out laughing and started complimenting the girls and especially Hay Lin on their costumes. Elyon was dressed as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, one of Cornelia's favorite movies, her hair glamoured brown.

"I almost didn't recognize you!" Cornelia giggled as the two friends hugged.

Unnoticed by any of the girls, someone had slipped into the room, and stood, hidden in the shadows, watching the reunion of the friends. As the figure watched, Elyon called one of her guards forward and lifted a sparkling tiara from the box the guard carried. Smiling, she carefully set the tiara amongst Cornelia's golden curls, and then laughed pleasantly.

"I wish it looked that good on me!" she joked. The figure in the shadows rolled his eyes.

"Girls," he murmmered, drawing the attention of Elyon, and causing Cornelia to jump again.

"CALEB!" Cornelia screamed, as he came forward to give her a hug. "Thanks for the bracelet," she whispered, before giving him a quick kiss on the cheek and breaking the hug. As they broke apart, Hay Lin had to stifle a laugh at the disappointed look on Caleb's face.

"Let's look at you. I want to see your costume, come into the light better," Irma ordered. Caleb stepped out of the shadows, his breath catching for a moment as he caught sight of Cornelia, seeing her properly for the first time that night. He was dressed as a hunter. Brown pants, dark green shirt, a bow slung over one shoulder, a knife at his belt.

"Typical…" Irma murmured, but Cornelia cast him an approving smile before she turned back to Elyon.

"The party's going to be here? Elyon, thank you so much! I hope it's not too much of a problem…" she trailed off. Elyon, grabbing her arm and leading her toward the ballroom that held the rest of the guests, assured her it was no problem at all. Shooting Cornelia a ferocious glare that was slightly ruined by his tone of voice, Caleb mentioned that it would be a problem if the party was ruined because the guest of honor was late. Taking the hint, the girls opened the door to the ballroom and saw the beautiful decorations and the glittering crowd awaiting their (or, more precisely, Cornelia and Elyon's) entrance.

What a party, Will thought as she watched the glittering throng dancing. She smiled as Caleb and Cornelia sailed gracefully across her line of vision. Turning her head, she saw Elyon-Dorothy dancing with someone Will had never seen before. Making mental note to ask Elyon about him later, she turned her attention back to Caleb and Cornelia, noticing for the first time, the pretty bracelet that Cornelia wore on her wrist. Just then, the music stopped, and Elyon stood to toast Cornelia.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Meridian, tonight we celebrate (albeit a bit belatedly) the birthday of the Earth Guardian-my best friend, Cornelia Hale," she paused as cheers erupted. W.I.T.C.H. was widely known and loved in Meridian (obviously!). Elyon continued:

"Cornelia not only helped restore me to my throne, but also helped flush out the evil that was plaguing our beautiful homeland. She, along with the other guardians, deserves our eternal gratitude…" Cornelia wasn't paying attention anymore. You wouldn't be either, if Caleb was standing right next to you, holding your hand. He is the love of her life, you know. He kept absent mindedly running his thumb along her hand, and it was VERY distracting. Marshalling her thoughts, she tried to focus back on Elyon.

"…has been my best friend for years. Don't know how I would have survived life on earth without her and the rest of my friends. So, I just want to wish you happiness on your birthday, Cornelia. You're like a sister to me. I love you and toast you with, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Elyon finished, beaming, as the surrounding assembly raised their glasses in the general direction of Cornelia (and Caleb) and repeated the last two words. Cornelia beamed back and mouthed "Thank you".

A while later, after the cake had been eaten (vanilla with chocolate frosting, cold, just how Cornelia liked it) Elyon led Cornelia to her very own throne, pushed Cornelia into it, and called servants to bring the gifts. Many cards, bows, and brightly colored wrapping papers later, Elyon, Will, Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin stepped forward. Irma presented Cornelia with a large, rather heavy package, with a mumbled "It was my idea." Looking at the package skeptically, Cornelia began to unwrap it. Finally, she extracted the gift from a large box. There was a great hush throughout the ballroom as Cornelia inspected the beautiful, precise model of the castle. It was like a dollhouse, built from Hay Lin's sketches of Elyon's palace. Standing on a balcony were W.I.T.C.H. and Elyon, arms around each other.

"Oh wait! We forgot!" Will's exclamation broke the silence. With a sheepish "Quintessence!" the figures came to life and started hugging each other excitedly.

"Wow," Cornelia breathed. "Thank you guys so much-this has been the best birthday ever!" Handing the castle carefully to Caleb, she stood and the six friends embraced.

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Not so far away, Phobos watched the scene, laughing softly. The nargles were clustered around him, awaiting his order. Surly it would come soon, the party was almost over, after all. With a glance at the palace looming in the distance, he gave the command:

"Go. Bring me my sister and the guardians. They are not in guardian form and should therefore be easy to capture. DO NOT allow them to transform. Put this," he took a black orb on a leather strap from the inside of his cloak. "Put this around the neck of the red haired girl." Glancing back at the girls hugging in the palace, he noticed someone standing near them.

"Kill the boy."

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That's all folks! How'd I do?