A Shocking Discovery: Safeyah's Story

Everything was different in Gardenia, California.

I was used to it though. Ever since my family left Cairo when I was ten, we've been moving around the world. My dad is a professor, and a scholar, after all. And not all the artifacts he wanted to study were in one place. As for my mom, well, she convinced him to settle until my brother and I were grown. She died when I was nine, though, so that fell through.

At least we're not in LA, I decided. Gardenia, though large, was not big enough to be smoggy or gross. Neither, though, was it beachy or hot. It seemed to be just another nice, simple town. Rumor had it that it was anything but.

Supposedly, magic- some of the ancient Egyptian sort- had begun a rebirth here a few months ago. The world was in shock. First, six aliens came down and saved an ancient race of "fairies." Then, once they left, this ancient race announced that they were a separate government, and that any person identified as one of them was under a queen as well as their normal government, and all the drama started over again.

I pulled on a white Oxford-style shirt that showed off my dark skin, and then stepped into a pair of dark jeans. Ballet flats adorned my feet, and it took no effort anymore to put my long, black hair into it's trademark bun. Banishing all scary thoughts from my head, I smiled into my mirror. "Time to start at another school," I said, going for the cheerful tone I was known for. But even to myself, I sounded weary.

It wasn't a long walk to school, only a matter of minutes. I knew where Gardenia High School was because my dad had pointed it out to me as we drove past it yesterday, heading to our new apartment. I enjoyed the cool wind on my skin as I trekked. To me, it seemed like a perfect autumn day, maybe a good omen.

The first thing to do when I got into the school was go to the office. It took them about half an hour to warmly welcome me to Gardenia, California, the United States (the last place my family had stayed had been in England), and then to give me my schedule. It seemed straightforward enough- seven classes, each fifty minutes long, with a lunch break in between four and five. Mainly the basics, general courses, except for my science course- Meteorology. "We were all out of space in the other courses," the secretary explained sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind too much, dear."

"Of course not. It sounds fun." I gave her a smile. I had an uncanny ability to make friends with almost anyone. Maybe it was just because I tried really, really hard to be nice.

She returned the smile and directed me to my first class, English 11. That wasn't going to be my best subject... you know, considering it wasn't my first language. At least I wouldn't be completely lost, as English is widely spoken in Egypt, when you aren't speaking Arabic, that is. And I had lived in the UK for a while too, so that helped.

In my English class, a lot of the students were already crowded around someone. Is there another new kid? I wondered.

Luckily, the teacher was not in the huddle, and came up to me. "Safeyah?" she asked.

"That's me."

She held out her hand and I shook it. "I'm Ms. Callifer," she said. "It's good to have you here. Welcome to the States."

"Thank you. It's nice to be here."

She turned to the group of kids and clapped her hands twice. Halfheartedly, the group looked up at her. "I know everyone's excited because Roxy is visiting, but I have some news that may live up to it in excitement. We've got a new student, Safeyah Hafeji. Safeyah was born in Egypt, but has lived in Russia, Greece, and England. This is only her third day in the United States, and her second in Gardenia. Don't ruin her opinion of us, okay, everyone?" Ms. Callifer laughed a little, before saying, "Anything you want to add, Safeyah?"

"Um, just that it's nice to be here. I can't wait to get to know you all."

"Does anyone have questions for her?"

A girl in the back lazily raised her hand. Ms. Callifer called on her. "So, you're, like, from Egypt? Can you speak English?"

Didn't I just? "Yes, but it's not my best language. I can communicate fairly well, however."

"Your accent is weird," she commented.

Ms. Callifer raised her eyebrows. "Susy," she said in a warning tone.

"I think it's cool. It's just also weird!" the girl- Susy- objected.

"It's perfectly fine," I said to the teacher, before replying to Susy, "My accent is mainly Egyptian, but I spent about two years in the UK, so I've picked up a bit of a British accent, I suppose."

A boy a few seats down from Susy spoke. "Why'd you move?"

"My father's work brought him to Gardenia. He's studying some ancient artifacts relating to the rebirth of magic."

The atmosphere in the room hardened a bit, as if I said something to offend them. Going over what I said, I realized that all sorts of people were coming and going in this town because of magic. They likely weren't so pleased about it.

One girl in the center of the huddle raised her hand up high, to be seen. She didn't wait for the teacher before saying, "Come sit next to me."

The crowd parted, and I found myself in the huddle, next to a girl about my age with straight pink hair. "I'm Roxy," she said. "I'm only visiting for the week, but I'd still like to get to know you. And even after I leave, my friend Lysis works at the artifact site, so we'll likely see each other around."

"I'm Safeyah," I said.

She smiled, but what caught me were her eyes. They changed from a blue-violet into a sparkling color, purple and amber mixing. "I heard," she replied. "It's a mouthful. Mind if I call you Saf?"

"No, not at all! It's what my friends in England called me. I like that name."

"My name is Roxy. It's nice to meet you, Saf."

Once Roxy introduced herself, so did many other people. It was hard to catch anybody's name, but I smiled and laughed and acted like I knew what I was doing. Hopefully, they wouldn't mind if I asked them again later.

Since Roxy was visiting and I was new, Susy was elected to show us around the school. Roxy didn't object, though once we left, she told me that she had gone to Gardenia High last year and knew her way around already. Because of this, and because I had a map, we didn't do much of a tour, just wandered around and talked.

When the conversation turned to our histories, Susy and I were talkative and cheerful, but the pink-haired girl stayed silent. Eventually, my other new friend called her on it, "So, what about you? I know you lived here last year, you and your dad, but we never really had classes or anything together."

"Well... I met my mom last summer, after she had been... away for a while. And I decided to be homeschooled for the rest of high school while I traveled with her and a couple friends. We haven't really gone anywhere interesting yet, so we decided to stop and see my dad for a week. Lysis said she thought we needed to." Her face was odd, like she was hiding something personal. Neither of us pried... well, not much, anyway.

"Lysis is traveling with you?" I asked. "I thought she worked at the artifact center?"

"She does. She has to move around for her job."

"Like my family."

"Yeah. So, we just go with her."

"It sounds like a lot of fun. We move a lot, but we never really travel, like a holiday or always stay somewhere a bit before we pack up and leave again. Honestly, I'm worn a bit from that, but going somewhere knowing you weren't to stay? I think that would be better."

"I think actually living all those places, experiencing the culture firsthand, that would be fun."

Susy butted in, glumly stating, "At least you two have BEEN places. I've been here in Gardenia my whole life." She shot me a sidewards glance. "Although, with all the magic, all the culture seems to be coming to California."

Roxy gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, you're only a junior. You'll get to go places in life."

"Yeah, I guess. Washington State, maybe." Susy smiled a bit, before questioning, "So, what's the craziest thing that has ever happened to you in another country?"

"I haven't been outside the US... yet," the pink haired visitor said.

The two girls turned to me. "It's a proper long story, which I don't particularly want to get into, but let me say that there is more than one definition of the term 'nosh," I said, cringing at the memory.

Susy looked confused, and Roxy looked simply amused. At the awkwardness of the whole situation, we laughed, and were still laughing as we turned a corner. I immediately slammed into someone. "Ouch!" I cried, and backed away.

When I looked up, I saw a boy about my age. But with his looks... and the recent emergence of magic in the world... I immediately decided his appearance was deceiving. He had blue hair pulled back into a ponytail. His skin was all too pale, and his features were sharp. "Roxy Klaus?" he asked.

Roxy froze. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Nyklus. An apprentice of the Black Circle. And I've come looking for you." He grinned suddenly, and it was horrible. "Now, tell your friends to run along. You don't want them to get hurt, do you?"

"He's right," Roxy said to us, but not looking at us. "Run, guys. I can handle this creep by myself."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Susy demanded. "Seriously, Roxy?"

Nyklus looked at her. "I'm afraid not, my dear girl," he said, and before anyone could react, a ball of magic shot from his hand, heading towards her. Susy screamed in pain and then began to run away, losing all hesitation.

"You go too, Safeyah," Roxy ordered.

"But..."

"Just go, before he hurts you too!"

I ran back around the corner, but didn't go any further. I couldn't see why Roxy got to stay. Maybe she would need help. Peeking out from behind the wall, careful not to let either of them see me, I watched things unfold.

"I took care of the real Black Circle members," Roxy said. "One of them hurt my dog. And now that you've hurt my friend, I'm ready to take care of you!" She smiled and yelled "Let's go Charmix!"

A bright flash of green light both blinded me and captivated me; I found myself unable to look away. Maybe thirty seconds later, the light faded, leaving Roxy standing there with large wings and a cute green and pink outfit. I froze in shock. Roxy's a fairy!

She shot a beam of pink light, similar to what the blue haired wizard used to injure Susy. It hit him, but barely seemed to affect him. He brushed it off. "Is that all you've got, fairy?" he asked.

"Not at all!" From her hands shot an icy shadow shaped like a wolf. It latched into him, claws digging all over his body.

When the magic faded, the injuries didn't. Nyklus pursed his bloody lips. "That just made me mad," he said, though his weak voice made it sound like the attack did more than that. He began to glow with a dark purple aura that made me feel horrible, even from my place behind the wall. His hand shot out and grabbed Roxy's arm, pulling her deeper in. "And now, ripping your wings off won't be nearly as pleasant."

She's seriously in trouble! I didn't know what to do. What could I do?

He took a delicate fairy wing in the hand he wasn't holding Roxy with and pulled, just a little bit. I heard a small ripping sound and gasped. Then I heard laughter, male laughter. "See, little fairy? That wasn't your whole wing. That was just a centimeter at the top. I'm going to do this nice and slow and very, very painfully."

I saw Roxy try to pull away, but he had her too tightly. What do I do, what do I do?

"Now, tell me where the fairy you're looking for is. Or else I can go even slower." He tugged on her wing, and Roxy groaned in pain, but I didn't hear a ripping sound. Had he torn it more?

"I won't tell you! Not if you pull my wings completely off. If my mom can stand it, then so can I!" the pink haired fairy declared, but her voice held much less resolve than her words.

He must have heard the difference too. He laughed. "Okay, I see how you want to do this." From his position behind Roxy, he silently pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. Then, loud as he could, he ripped it. Though she wasn't hurt from that, Roxy grimaced, scared as much of the sound as the actual action. This is torture!

Roxy looked up, her eyes scanning, maybe looking for an escape. Suddenly, she saw me. Our eyes met. And silently, she mouthed something.

I frowned, confused. What was she trying to tell me.

She mouthed something again and stared pointedly. Was she telling me to run?

When she mouthed it again, I mimicked the way her mouth moved, regretting never learning to read lips. Ih oooh. Ihh yuuuu... it's you?

Wait, was she saying I was a fairy? I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" I mouthed silently.

She screamed as Nyklus pulled on her wing a bit more, then pushed her lips together and nodded excessively.

I can help her. I can help her. I just need to transform!

Suddenly, I was surrounded by light, the same sort that Roxy had been wrapped in when she turned into a fairy. Unlike last time, I could move, and did. White ribbons wrapped around my suddenly naked body and as they tightened around me, they turned into a loose white linen... that was oddly sparkly. Brown sandals slipped onto my bare feet, and gold bracelets onto my wrists. I felt a small pain in my back, a pain that turned to pleasure as my wings emerged. Though I could not see them, I knew instinctively that they were shaped like the wings of a winged scarab, completely in a translucent light blue. I heard thunder around me as the light faded, and I found myself standing in front of Roxy and Nyklus. "I am Safeyah Hafeji," I said to them. "And I'm pretty sure that I am the fairy of lightning."

Nyklus let go of Roxy, but his leg kicked her and set her sprawling to the ground. He looked down. "Thank you, fairy. You've served your purpose," he said meanly before shooting a ball of energy at me.

Instinctively, I moved, half-jumping... and then surprising myself when I felt my wings beating as I was lifted into the air. I channeled the surprise and shock, as well as all my anger for Nyklus. And as I decided to be done with it, lightning shot out of my hands and hit him, right in the head. He flew back and landed against a wall. He stood up, but his body rocked, as though he was dizzy. He took a step, and dropped again. "So," he said, a bit woozily, "you were angry enough to force yourself into a huge attack. For the first time. I'll remember that so I don't do it again. It's so much easier to deal with amateurs."

He waved a hand in front of him, and a black circle appeared. He stepped through it and disappeared.

I ran up to Roxy. "Are you okay?" I asked her, concerned.

"Peachy," she said, groaning. "How does my wing look?"

I looked. One was fine, but the other had a crack about two inches long, close to where her wing was attached to her back. That wing, the left one, looked limper than it should, as if it wouldn't be good for flying. "It's not horrible," I told her. "But he definitely left a mark."

She cursed. "I didn't know the Black Circle had apprentices. I should have figured. Earth used to be very magical; and fairies aren't the only beings out there. Come on, Saf. We need to go."

"But we have classes!" I protested.

"You're new, nobody will miss you for today... and I'm only a visitor. Besides, we need to go find Lysis. She needs to know about the remainder of the Black Circle, and anyways, she was looking for you."

"What?"

"Lysis is the fairy of science. She invented a fairy tracker, and two days ago, it led us back here, to Gardenia. Since I was here, I decided to visit the school... and I sensed your magic."

"If you can sense magic, why do you need a tracker?"

"Range issues. Sensing only works from a range of about a mile. Less if you're just a fairy in training, like I am. I haven't achieved my adult form yet." She looked sheepish.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Magic is reawakening here on Earth. For as long as I can remember, there have been no new fairies. We have a lot to catch up on." She smiled. "Besides, would you have wanted to go through this all by yourself?"

"Not one bit," I said. It was scary enough even with knowing Roxy was right there.

She grabbed my hand. "Let's go find Lysis. She'll brief you. And we'll teach you some things. Safeyah, I have a feeling you're going to be a great fairy!"

Author's Note: Safeyah is the character of Akela Victoire. I hope I did okay with her, Akela!

Anyway, you guys can see how this works now. Please keep on submitting original characters. I'm so excited to write them!

Next chapter is going to feature Musicalyak's character, Avalon! Stay tuned!