Heart of Gold: Lynn's Story

Georgia, I told myself, is a state here. Not a country.

The thought was quite weird to me. I had spent the first seventeen years of my life growing up with my brother Jason in Ireland. Now, because of Da's business, we had moved to the USA. State of Georgia. City of Macon. It was a lot different than home, but at least here we had a bigger house and a little more money.

I looked around the street where I was. I was walking to Howard High School, the place where I would be receiving my education from now on. At seventeen, I was a senior there. I knew from books and movies that it was considered quite odd to start at a new school in the middle of senior year, but I hoped that it wouldn't be too much of an issue. I mean, all I wanted was to finish up and head off to uni. Whether back at home or here in the States, I didn't know.

I began to walk again. It was still early, only six-thirty. The sky was dark and the air was a tad humid, and there was nobody around in my sight. I clutched my bag tight when I heard what sounded like the howl of a wolf. I started walking faster, then even faster when I heard another howl. "Not gonna run, though, cause pups like to chase," I reprimanded myself breathlessly. "Jus' gonna get to the school building."

Suddenly, a wolf burst out of nowhere. I let out a scream, which only served to make it lope towards me. From the trees which I was pretty sure it must have sprung, two more wolves came, flanking the first. It was a small pack, and one that was apparently attacking me. I backed away slowly... and ran into something soft. Turning quickly, I faced a tall girl with dark hair, a sparkly black outfit, and the tail of a grey wolf. "Hi there, Lynn," she said.

As I stood in shock, she made a movement with her hands. Suddenly, the wolves were lying down on the sidewalk. "Sorry for scaring you. We thought you were someone else. Your vibration is a little hard to pick out."

"What vibration? My aura? Who are you?" I was, myself, pagan, but as there were so many varieties of that, I needed to clarify what she was talking about. Besides, who was she, and why did she want my vibration in the first place? How did she know my name, either?"

"Relax," the girl said. She waved a hand again, and I braced myself for a wolf attack. However, that did not happen. Instead, her sparkling outfit faded into purple and black striped leggings and an oversized black tee shirt that fell to her knees. On her feet were black heels.

"Are you a witch?" I asked, and for once I didn't mean a neopagan who practiced magic... I meant one of the ones from the stories I had been told since I was little.

She grinned. "A fairy, actually. Rider Bradley, fairy of wolves. At your service."

"Don't fairies have wings?"

"Most do. In fact... all are born with the ability to summon wings. But on Earth, we've been without them for so long, that our bodies are slowly killed by them. Only the most ancient of fairies can still keep their wings with no side affects. Such as the fairy queen. So, mine were removed about a month and a half ago."

"Okay. Well, best o' luck to you, Rider. Sorry about the mix-up."

She reached a hand out, took me by the shoulder. "No, Lynn, it was a good mix-up. I needed to find you anyway... I just expected it to be after I found that Avalon."

"Avalon?"

"Oh, she's a ridiculously stubborn brat who can't stand a little pain. Nobody you need to be concerned with."

I was still curious about this Avalon, but I let it slide. "Do... do you mind if I try something?" I asked.

"What?"

"A little bit o' magic."

Suddenly, Rider looked very, very surprised. "So you know about your fairyhood?"

A beat of silence passed. "What?" I demanded.

"Well, you just asked about magic! I thought you knew you were a fairy!"

"I'm a witch! I read up on this spell to make sure the person you're talking to is telling the truth!"

"Ugh, that's so primitive!" Releasing my shoulder, she took up my hand and pressed it to her face. "Watch this," she said, and closed her eyes.

There was a flash in front of me, and I felt a sharp pain coming from a sort of phantom limb extending from my back. Wings? The pain subsided, and I let out a breath, only to have it taken away when an immense power entered me. Suddenly, I felt wonderous. I felt strong. I wanted to capture that feeling in a jar and keep it forever.

But the light of the flash went away, and I was standing with Rider once again. She released her hand. "See what getting rid of your wings does? It makes you so much stronger. I want to help make you that much stronger, Lynn. I felt you. And I just knew I was meant to help you."

Suddenly, there was another flash. Not as deep, not as literal. I just felt an all over compassion. A sense of sympathy, a little bit of worry. Instinctively, I knew that the feeling was coming from Rider. Was she doing this? But her face didn't have an expression of concentration as it had previously. Maybe... just maybe... the sense was my own magic?

I looked at the girl who I had just met, but who already cared about me. "Can we talk more after school? I'm already going to be late as-is, and it's my first day of classes in America."

"Of course," Rider nodded. "In fact, since it's my fault you'll be late... let me help with that. Grab my arm." I complied. "I know mostly fairy magic, but there's a couple wizard spells... including this one to transport to somewhere else. I've got a few wizard friends who can do it on will, but I have to say the incantation, so you'll have to be completely silent for a sec."

When I nodded, she raised up the arm I wasn't holding onto. "Power of the Black Circle, lend me your magic so that I may tread where I wish. May I strike like lightning where you take me. Black Circle, I command you!"

It felt like we were whisked into a thunderstorm for a moment, but after a few seconds, I saw that I was in front of my new school. I released Rider's arm. She smiled. "I'll catch you here around three thirty, okay? Give the masses some time to clear out," she said conspiratorically, then began the transportation spell again.

It was six forty-five, fifteen minutes before anyone was even allowed into the school, so I ended up waiting on a bench outside, then as soon as the clock struck seven, I found myself immediately rounded into the gym. I kept my head down, too shy to ask anyone anything. But it was okay. After my encounter with Rider, I had a lot to think about.

The first bell rang, and I rose, ready to go to my first class. But, for the second time that morning, a hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I turned to face a really cute girl. She was a little taller than I was, and looked a little younger. Her hair, like mine, was blonde, only while mine had a strawberry tint and fell to my breasts, hers was more yellow and barely grazed the tips of her ears. Her eyes were blue while mine were green, and she was a lot leaner, too. "Are you new here?" she asked.

I nodded. "Pleased to meet'cha. I'm Lynn O'Reilley."

"Avalon MacAdams."

I could feel my eyes widening. Avalon? As in, the girl that Rider had been so annoyed with? Well, it wasn't a common name, so probably. "Avalon?" I asked. "Do you by any chance know someone named Rider?"

Suddenly, Avalon's arm dropped. "Why?" she asked accusingly. "Is she a friend of yours?"

"I... I guess you could say that."

"Damn it!" she exclaimed and stomped her foot. "We come all the way out here even though we're supposed to be taking a vacation in California for the next week, and we don't even get here in time! So now we have this brainwashed fairy who's probably already had Nyklus and Killian rip off her wings in some lame attempt of life-save-iness. Great. Just great."

"Don't you want my life to be saved?" I asked, because Avalon did not seem evil.

"Of course," she said. "Only Rider's a big fat liar and tricks girls into giving up their wings. Or tries. Until now, we've managed to stop her."

I was so confused. Surely one of them was lying? But I sent my newfound power out, and a lot of the emotions I felt radiating from Avalon were the same as the ones I felt from Rider. Concern. Worry. A little bit of hope that she didn't want to let grow, in fear it would be squashed. And I could tell that she wasn't lying, but I could say the same about the first girl I had met. "What's going on?" I asked myself aloud.

Avalon smiled sadly. "It's so complicated. Sorry you had to learn that too late." She turned, began to walk away.

"Wait! I haven't torn my wings off yet," I told her.

Her head snapped towards me. "Really?"

"I'm supposed to. After school today. But... I need to wait. I need to hear all of this, learn what's going on before I do."

"What classes do you have?" I handed her my schedule, and she scanned it. "Okay, none. But the same lunch as me and the others. Nice. Meet me in the cafeteria then."

"Okay," I agreed. "But no promises on the wing thing."

She winked at me. "Got it. I have to admit, if I were you, I'd be asking questions as well. Kudos."

Classes went by too slowly, but eventually, I was waiting for Avalon at the door to the cafeteria. When I saw her finally, she wasn't alone. Four other girls stood with her. One had pink hair with two prominent blonde highlights, and beautiful purple eyes. Standing next to her was a gorgeous brunette cheerleader-type. Then there was a smaller brunette, who only came up to Avalon's chest, and finally a dark-skinned girl with her hair in a neat bun. "Hi," I said meekly.

Avalon nodded. "Hey, Lynn. These are my friends. Roxy, Kaylee, Mia, and Saf."

"Good to know you," I said.

There was a mixture of replies, from "ditto," to "oh, you as well!" I guessed all of them must be fairies, as how else could such a diverse group be friends?

Together, we walked into the cafeteria. It was a nice room, large, spacey, colorful considering it was a high school and not an elementary school. They pulled me to a table. "So, Lynn, Av says that you've had a Rider encounter?" said Roxy.

"This morning. She startled me, ran into me on the way to school, and said she was looking for Avalon. Which is how I knew she may've been connected to you. Avalon introduced herself later."

"I was wondering how you knew," Avalon admitted. "But then when you messed around in my head and felt my emotions, I figured that it was just because you're a psychic fairy. Empathy, I think. The power of heart."

"Psychic? Empathy? And what kind of lame power is heart, anyway?" I exclaimed... though secretly, I was quite happy to have a label on my new abilities.

Saf smiled. "I think it's a lovely ability. One of our other friends is also a psychic fairy, but she is not empathic... she is a medium of sorts. She speaks to ghosts. You'll like Nakisha."

"Hey guys, we've only got a limited time for lunch, and we need to hear the rest of this," Roxy reminded us all. "So, what happened after she startled you, Lynn?"

I told them the entire story, of the spells she had cast, the spells I had cast. Of my utter certainty that Rider was completely sincere, and my confusion when I had the same sense from Avalon, although her story was completely different. The five fairies all listened, and I could tangibly feel their own concern, confusion, and concentration.

"Maybe she knew that Lynn was empathic and cast an emotional glamour?" Avalon suggested when I finished. "I mean, the girl is dabbling in wizard magic. Who knows what she can do? In a way, she's stronger than us."

"Or maybe she truly believes what she's been told," Mia said. "When I met her a month ago, she seemed to be really confident in her beliefs."

"Mia has a point, we weren't in England to tell her otherwise when the wizards came and spread their propaganda," Kaylee pointed out.

Roxy frowned. "I don't know how to tell. I'm so confused! And we know Lysis and Vick don't know either... maybe it's time to call the Winx Club."

Mia frowned. "The Winx Club?"

"Oh! That's right. I never told you how I discovered I was a fairy. The short version is the Winx Club, a group of fairies who live on other planets where magic has always existed, did the same thing that we do now, only they thought there was only one fairy. Me. They played a big part in the defeat of the original Black Circle wizards, but none of us thought to look for apprentices. They left about nine months ago. They're student teachers at Alfea College, the top fairy university in the universe."

"So that's even more reason why we have to keep going," Avalon said. "We can't pull them away from their duties."

I shuffled my feet under the table. "You've had encounters with Rider before," I stated.

The girls looked at me. "Well, yeah," Avalon said.

"Maybe it isn't my place. But how have you dealt with her?"

"She would start talking about how we all needed to give up our wings to save ourselves, and we'd say no, and she'd try to force us, so we'd kick her butt."

"Or run away screaming," Mia said. "That's happened too."

"Yeah, it has," Roxy admitted.

"Well..." I continued. "have you tried just telling her what you believe, about how wings aren't going to kill every fairy on Earth? If these Wizards told her otherwise, no wonder she believes it. So, try to help her see reason. With kindness."

There was a moment that was as silent as it could get in a high school cafeteria. Then Roxy muttered, "Why didn't we think of that?"

We had agreed on a plan. I was going to meet up with Rider, but the other five fairies would be there too. They would explain, calmly and kindly, what they believed was happening. Rider would have a chance to respond. I wouldn't say anything at all, only stand there and use my powers to make sure everything stayed calm... and to decide which side I was on.

When Roxy's cell-phone beeped three-thirty, the air started to shimmer. Soon, Rider appeared out of nowhere. "Ready to go, Ly... you."

She was glaring at Avalon, then snapped her head back towards me. "Did they get to you? Ugh, I knew this would happen if I wasn't careful."

"Shut up, Beastgirl," Avalon said. "She hasn't picked our side... yet. We're just here to talk."

"About what? Your awful guy hair?"

Well, the whole kindness thing wasn't working out quite the way I planned it. I decided to intervene. "Okay, okay. You hate each other, I get that. Believe me, the hate is coming off you in waves. So, let's get this straightened. Rider, you believe that wings are fairy poison."

"Yes! I do. When my wings were removed, I felt so much more powerful. I felt wonderful!"

"And Avalon, Roxy, Kaylee, Mia, Saf. You don't believe they're poison."

Roxy answered for the group. "They can't be. We feel fine with them. And my friends, the Winx Club, told me that it is the deepest sense of pain and loss when a fairy loses them. But they always grow back. It could take years, but they always grow back."

"Like relapse?" Rider asked.

"No, like destiny," Roxy said, and her voice was kind. I could feel her heart, truly caring for the fairy of wolves despite all that the girl was putting her through. "Did you feel that loss? Did you, Rider?"

Rider's already pale face had paled even deeper. "That was only because I was leaving my family behind."

"No, it wasn't," Saf said kindly.

Rider's eyes hardened. "They told me this day would come. The Wizards said that one day, you'd get tired of fighting, and that would be the day you'd try to trick me in a last-ditch effort. Well, I'm not buying! Power of the Black Circle, lend me your magic so that I may tread where I wish..."

"Stop her!" Avalon exclaimed, and ran to try and break her spell.

Roxy put a hand out, blocking her friend's path. "No. We did all we could. The rest... discovering the truth... is up to her."

"May I strike like lightning where you take me. Black Circle, I command you!" Rider disappeared, leaving us alone.

"I'm coming with you," I said. "I don't know who I believe yet. And maybe my power is meant to be the one to stop this ridiculous fightin'. I feel it in my heart."

The girls smiled the smiles of those who had only half won. "Welcome to the team, Lynn," Roxy said.

Author's Note: Lynn is by my friend Maydy. Hope you like her!

Only two more chapters before the girls leave North America. The next chapter's focus character is a surprise, and though the one after that is about Smiles1998's Star Carson, we'll also see the return of Kristina, LeLe, and Amanda (just for a chapter, though we will definitely see more of them as the story progresses). After that, we'll see Akela Victoire's Naida. And that's a rough sketch of the next three chapters for you.

Now that Camp NaNo is over, I'll be updating as often as my mind and computer time will allow! Remember, I'm still accepting OCs!