Chapter Two

"My what?"

"I'm your new roommate," the pretty blond repeated, staring at me like I had some sort of hearing problem. "Oh silly me, where are my manners? My name is Miriam. Lady Miriam of Isis."

Isis… why did that name sound so familiar?

Miriam continued. "I was home-schooled by my mom until this year. She got a special research grant from the Magix Council for her study of dead planets, so she decided to send me to Alfea to continue my education."

"So… you're my new roommate," I said slowly, trying to comprehend this. She looked so much like Taylor it was freaking me out.

Miriam rolled her eyes. "Were you not listening to anything I just said?"

I blushed. "Oh… s-sorry. I just… I was under the impression that I was going to have a single this year. After what happened with my last roommate…" I didn't go into further details, not wanting to scare Miriam.

She clucked her tongue. "Oh yes, I remember hearing that story. You used to room with Princess Taylor, didn't you? It made the news back home when she and her mother moved back into the palace. Quite a story." Miriam peered at me cautiously. "Are the… stories… really true?"

"What stories?" I asked, as the information started to click. Isis… that was the name of Taylor's mother's home realm…

"That you're Baltor's daughter."

Instantly I stiffened. "Yes."

"I thought so, from those eyes," she continued casually. "I've always liked the idea of golden eyes, but you have to have a certain type of look to pull them off. You make it work, by the way. And I love the hair. So chic."

I was flattered, despite myself. No one had ever given me a compliment for my eyes. The closest I'd ever come was that they were "unique," which wasn't really too much of a compliment considering who it was coming from.

"What's taking so long, 'Liss?" Lola poked her head through the door, clad in a cute tangerine orange silk pajama set with bright yellow daisies printed all over it, her bright blond hair twisted up into a knot and secured with a pencil. Noticing Miriam, she added, "Oh, hello. Who are you?"

"Lady Miriam of Isis, at your service," Miriam replied, outstretching a hand for Lola to shake. Lola shook it warily, staring at me questioningly behind her back the whole time. "I'm Alyssa's new roommate and your new dorm-mate, I suppose. Princess Lola of Solaria, right? Lovely to meet you."

"Y-you too," Lola stammered.

"Hey Alyssa, you're missing the movie!" Aqua exclaimed, as she and Mel popped through the open door. Aqua, befitting her usual funky style, wore a short turquoise satin spaghetti-strap nightgown with a ruffled hem, while Mel was clad in a pair of red silk genie pants with tiny gold flowers printed on them and a red camisole with honey-gold trim. "Hey, who's this?" she asked, staring at Miriam.

"I'm Lady Miriam, from Isis," Miriam said, shaking first Mel then Aqua's hand. "I'm Alyssa's new roommate, and therefore your new dorm-mate. It's nice to meet you two."

"Nice to meet you too." Mel smiled, although the smile didn't quite reach her eyes. I could tell she was making the same mental connection that I had – Miriam sure looked a lot like Taylor.

"Hey, why'd you guys leave us out of the party?" Ivy asked faux-accusingly, as she and Dee joined the queue at my door. She did a double take when her eyes landed on Miriam. "And you are…?"

"I'm Lady Miriam of Isis. Alyssa's new roommate and your new dorm-mate."

"B-but… Ms F didn't say anything about Alyssa having a roommate… I thought after what happened last year Alyssa was getting a single…" Ivy stammered.

"It was a total last-minute thing. The Magix Council gave my mom the research grant she needed for her study of dead planets, so she sent me to Alfea; I used to be homeschooled."

There was a brief, awkward pause in the conversation, before Ivy said, "Well, Miriam, if you're going to be living here with us, why don't you throw on some pajamas and join us for our girl's night in? After all, we've all known each other for a year, but we don't know you yet, and you don't know us."

Miriam smiled. "That sounds great. Just give me a few minutes. Alyssa, don't you need to change too?"

I looked down at my denim skirt and pale blue T-shirt. "Yeah, probably. Give us a minute, guys, then we'll be right out."

"So… your friends don't really seem to like me much, do they?" Miriam asked, as we started changing.

I was taken back a bit by the bluntness of her statement. "Er…"

"Sorry… that was a little blunt, wasn't it? It's just… they didn't seem very welcoming."

"I think they're just a little shocked – just like me – that we have a new dorm-mate. After what happened last year…" I paused, debating whether to voice all of my thoughts to Miriam, then deciding to just put it all out there. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look scarily like Princess Taylor. And… considering what happened last year, and that you're from Isis and all…"

"Right. I got it. Your friends don't trust me." Miriam studied me carefully. "And from the looks of it, neither do you, really."

My face flushed bright red. "I didn't say that…"

"You didn't have to." Miriam lowered her head, staring intently at the contents of her open dresser drawer. "Look, I understand. After what you went through last year, I'd be suspicious if you weren't a little wary of me at first. But I promise – our looks and that we're both from Isis are the only thing Princess Taylor and I have in common. You don't have to worry about me doing something like she did to you. I just want to get a good magical education at Alfea and make some new friends. And while I know you're perfectly within your rights to have doubts about me at first, I hope eventually we can be really good friends. You fascinate me, Princess Alyssa. I'd love to get to know you better."

"Um…" I bit my bottom lip, unsure of how to respond to this. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. You probably don't deserve this, Miriam; I'm sure you're a wonderful person, and I'd love to get to know you better too. It's not your fault that Taylor's a psychotic bitch. And if circumstances were different, we'd all probably welcome you with open arms and plates of Mel's famous peanut butter chocolate-chip cookies. Just… give it some time. Eventually the shock and suspicion will wear off."

"Thank you." Miriam turned to me, her face lit up in a smile. "I promise, I won't let you down." She crossed the space of the room and wrapped me in a tight hug.

Hesitantly, I raised my arms from my sides and hugged her back. As I did, I caught a whiff of something incredibly familiar. Where had I smelled that sweet, flowery perfume before?

Finally, Miriam let go. "So… let's get into our pajamas and go join your friends," she said, pulling out a pretty white nightgown patterned with blue flowers.

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed, still thinking about that perfume. I knew it was familiar… but from where?

Miriam slipped into her nightgown and headed out the door. "You coming?" she asked, pausing at the doorway. I looked down, realizing I was still in my skirt and T-shirt, and blushed.

"I'll be right there," I called, pulling out a pajama set from the top dresser drawer. It was harder to find things now, since Miriam had moved in and relocated a ton of my clothes. Frowning at what I thought was a pajama set but actually turned out to be a dress that had been a present from Lola, I frantically searched through my drawers, looking for one. Eventually, I tried looking in Miriam's drawers, thinking maybe she had left behind a few things by accident. While searching through the top dresser drawer, I felt my elbow connect with something cold and hard, like glass, then heard a soft thump as I accidentally knocked whatever it was off the top of Miriam's dresser.

"Shit," I muttered to myself as I saw that it was a perfume bottle, which was open and now spilling onto the floor. I had a few paper napkins tucked into my skirt from God knows where, so I hurriedly pulled them out and started soaking up the spilled perfume. As I picked up the perfume-soaked napkins, I breathed in big gulps of the scent. Instantly, my mind was transported to another time.

"You are so not getting away with this."

"How long did you think you could keep your dirty little secret?"

"Those chains are reinforced with fairy dust. You can't break them. I can't have my bargaining chip run away from me, now can I?"

"Better power down, or your precious little Alyssa goes pop! Just like a zit."

"Did you really think it was going to be that easy?"

"I'm rubber and Alyssa's glue. What bounces off of me, sticks to you!" A vicious laugh, and then… darkness.

I shook my head almost violently, as I was jolted out of my flashback. Now I knew why that perfume seemed so familiar – it was Taylor's signature scent! She just used to wear it in big doses, rather than the smaller, more subtle amounts Miriam preferred.

"Alyssa?" Miriam poked her head in the door. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah… just one minute." She closed the door again, and I quickly cleaned up the rest of the spilled perfume and threw the used napkins in the trash. Grabbing the first pajamas I saw out of my opened dresser drawer, I threw them on and headed out to join my friends.

"It's about time, 'Liss," Lola whined. "We've been waiting forever to start the movie."

I laughed. "Well, I'm here now. What are we watching?"

"Love, Forbidden," Miriam chimed in, from her position on the couch between Aqua and Lola. "It's a killer movie."

I smiled. "Sounds good. So what are you waiting for? Press play already, Lola!"

Lola pressed play, and I settled into a comfy armchair to the left of the couch, watching as the opening credits flashed across the screen. As Dee jumped up and dimmed the lights for the full movie-viewing experience, I stole a glance at Miriam out of the corner of my eye. She looked perfectly normal, like she had been one of us forever. And who knew? Maybe, this was all just an innocent coincidence, and we'd all become best friends and the second-generation Winx Club would have a new member.

But maybe not.

Author's Note: Ooh, mystery? So what do you all think of Miriam? Do you like her? What do you think about her? Is she good, or is she evil like Taylor? Only time will tell…

I have just one request, considering what happened with What Comes Next – please refrain from making guesses about the plotline (at least, guesses that give away major plot secrets) in your reviews. I'm not going to answer your questions anyway, because that would defeat the purpose of me writing the story in the first place. And some people don't figure everything out right away, and I don't want the plotline spoiled for them. So please? For me?

Later, everybody!

- Authoress