Leilani Castro had a problem.

"So," said her newest college adviser in a saccharine sweet voice, "Leilani. What are you planning on majoring in?"

"I was thinking about Magical Studies," said Leilani, smoothing back her straight black hair. Her voice was high, but stubborn. Nobody was going to talk her out of this. No one.

The adviser's eyes widened. "I see. I have a few pamphlets that you might want to see…" From her drawer, she pulled some out and handed them across the desk, to where Leilani sat.

Leilani leafed through them. Integration into the College Experience for Fairies. Introduction to Twenty-First Century Education. Nuances of Humans in the 2000s: Making Your Modern Education Worthwhile and Fun!

This always happened. Leilani handed them back. "Ma'am, I'm not a fairy. I'm human. A normal, eighteen-year-old human."

Her adviser stopped dead in her tracks. She had been texting, rather unprofessionally and probably about actually meeting a real magical being. They rarely came as far as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, so it must have been a big deal. "You aren't?" asked the woman.

"No," confirmed Leilani.

The adviser sighed, put her phone down, and looked Leilani dead in her dark green eyes. "Well then, sweetie… have you considered a more normal major?"

Leilani sighed.

Only a few miles away, five very real fairies stood in front of a large, old building. "I can't believe Aunt Nebula actually bought this place," said Roxy as she admired its dark bricks and lovely wooden carvings. "It almost puts the castle to shame."

"Not at all," Lysis said with a small sneer. "It's much less beautiful. That said, I never would have expected such craftsmanship to still survive."

"It barely did," said Bloom. "This used to be a different school, a Catholic high school. It was abandoned for a number of reasons, and raiders tore apart quite a lot of the place. It took five of Earth's best fairy architects to repair it, let alone to modify it to suit our needs."

"It was modified, then?" asked Safeyah. "How so?"

Bloom ticked things off her finger. "The cafeteria was converted into a homier dining hall. Classrooms were magic-proofed. Most religious imagery was removed, to promote secular magical education. Of course fairies are welcome to integrate their own religion into their own work, but I won't force anything on anyone. We even have an agreement with a church down the road that does inclusive and nondenominational services… there's a shuttle to pick up anyone who wants to attend."

"Thank goodness," Saf muttered, thinking about her own beliefs and how often she had to deal with crap just because of them.

Bloom continued. "The entire third floor was converted into dorms that house up to four girls each, and pretty comfortably too. Each four person room has two bunk beds, two desks, three drawers worth of storage per girl, as well as small individual bulletin boards. The two person rooms are the same, but with only one bunk bed and desk. There's also a single one person room… I hoped Roxy would take it."

"What? Why?" exclaimed the seventeen year old.

"It's for the student president. Since part of her job will be to counsel newer students, she has her own room so she can bring girls in for some privacy."

Roxy thought. "I would do it, but since I'll be one of the travelling students, I won't be much help when I'm gone. Why don't Saf, Avi and I just take a four person room for when we're here? It probably won't be often, so I don't think any of us would mind being a little more cramped than in a one or two person room."

The other two teens nodded in agreement.

"I guess that means I need a new student president," Bloom said with a frown.

"You need a student body first," Lysis said. "This school is so large that with only three girls, it's going to be impossible. And what about a staff? For now you and I can be teachers alone, but once we get more than three girls, it'll be harder. Fairies have different needs, too."

"No problem," Bloom said confidently. "We'll pick up students as we go, and since I'm sure girls will also discover their powers independently from us, I made a website directing them here. As for staff, I have half the staff lined up already. I'm teaching English and history, both of Earth and of the Magic Dimension. Both Wizgiz and Tecna have agreed to teach via webcam: metamorphosymbiosis and magitechnology respectively. There's a human tutor lined up for math and science… I'd put you in science, but you'll be with the field trip group, and while you're here, you're a counselor." Lysis's eye twitched noticeably. "And then Nebula is sending someone who she says can teach spells, magiphilosophy and ethics, and a martial arts class."

Lysis blinked. "What?"

"Is something wrong with Lysis?" Avi asked, waving her hand in front of the biology fairy's face. "Lysis, you look like you saw a ghost. Or maybe, like you are a ghost. You're pale enough."

"Spells, magiphilosophy, and martial arts? Like T'ai Chi?"

"How did you know?" asked Bloom, puzzled.

Lysis threw up her hands. "I can't believe my queen would do this to me. Queen Nebula very well knows how I feel about…"

"How you feel about who?" asked a new voice, low, steady, and strangely calming.

Lysis and the others turned to face a woman with curly brown hair that framed a heart-shaped face the color of cream. Dark brown eyes sparkled behind thin silver wire-framed glasses.

"Victoria," Lysis nearly spat. "Victoria Watson."

Roxy did not see what made Lysis so angry.

Victoria "Tora for short" Watson was pretty, smart, and energetic. She introduced herself as the fairy of education, and it seemed strangely fitting… emphasis on the strange. Tora was unlike any teacher Roxy had ever known. She climbed the large stairs leading to the school building quickly and easily and with an almost tangible joy. Then, though she had never seen the school before, she became the leader of exploring it.

Lysis trailed behind, mumbling under her breath. Roxy was sure she heard a few curses… less of the normal sort, and more of the magical. They seemed to go unfinished, and Tora didn't notice at all. Or else, she was ignoring Lysis. Roxy wasn't sure which one it was, as both women seemed to want to stay as far away from the other as they could.

By the time Tora and the group reached the third-floor dorms, everyone but the tour leader was out of breath. The speed at which they moved was just a little too fast, almost like a workout. "Let's take a break," Bloom suggested. "Avi, Saf, Roxy, why don't you find a room you like and claim it?"

"You guys go on ahead," Roxy said to her new friends. "I want to talk to the others about something."

Avi shrugged. "Okay, but no complaining about what we pick if you aren't here when we decide."

Roxy wasn't that picky. She agreed, and as the two girls ran off to find a room, she walked over to Lysis. "We need to talk," she told the older fairy, pulling her aside.

When they were a suitable distance away, Roxy stared Lysis in her cold blue eyes. "What is with you?" she demanded. "You're acting like a jerk. More than usual, I mean."

Lysis looked away. "I dislike my queen's selection for this teacher."

"Yeah, I caught that. But why? It can't be a professional thing, she's the fairy of education. So it has to be personal." Lysis didn't answer. Roxy took a deep breath. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, that's…"

"She abandoned me," Lysis said quietly.

"What?"

"We were… close. Very close." Lysis's eyes began to water and she bit her lip. "I loved her."

"She was your best friend?"

"Closer."

Roxy understood. "Your girlfriend?"

Lysis nodded. "For over a year. Tir Nan Og, where we were trapped, did not offer many date opportunities, but yes. We held hands and talked. We fought together, took on the Wizards and the Winx together. Lived together. Were together. It was natural. The fairy of education, the fairy of biology. So much could be talked about. We had the same thirst to learn and the same drive. She was loud where I was quiet, though, and I was logical where she was impulsive. The same, but different. Balanced."

"What happened?" Roxy asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"When we were freed, she took off with no word to me except for 'Bye.' A new world, where we could do anything… magic, marriage, even just a movie date… and she left. She wanted to explore, of course. To learn, to move, to use her natural energy. Maybe she didn't think I could keep up. Maybe she just wanted to be alone. I don't know, but she didn't care about me at all, and that proved it." Lysis pursed her lips. "Victoria Watson is flighty, childish, and selfish. I'd watch out for her, princess."

Roxy did not answer, but she did start back to the others, only pausing to ask one thing. "You're still getting over that. Is that why you're so… ah, high strung? Like you don't want anyone to have fun? Isn't Epunine supposed to help you with that?"

Lysis looked down and wiped some angry tears from her eyes. "Epunine isn't here, and I'm not sure. It might be. Do I... do I really seem like that?"

"Yeah. A little."

"I don't blame fun. I blame her. I'll try to… loosen up a bit, I suppose. If you insist, my princess." And Lysis smiled a tiny smile.

Roxy sighed, though she was secretly glad to get Lysis confiding in her. "You can start loosening by remembering to just call me Roxy."

"How did your meeting go, LeLe?" asked Anthony.

Leilani rolled her eyes at the nickname that only her boyfriend and his sister, her best friend, called her. "How do you think it went?"

"Not good?"

"Not one bit different than any of the others."

Anthony took her into his arms. Leilani was tall and muscular for a girl, but her boyfriend was taller and buffer, a football player through and through. "It's okay, sweetheart," he said softly. "They can tease you, but they can't make you study anything you don't want to."

"My problem is the exact opposite. They don't want me to study what I want to!" She sniffled. "Even if that major is designed for fairies, I want to learn all about magic. What it can do. The history behind it. The science. I know I can do something with it, even if I can't cast spells."

"I know you can too. I'm sure the counselors are looking out for you. There are only four schools on Earth with a Magical Studies major, and the programs are difficult to get into, even if you do have magic."

"I know," Leilani said. "But I'm more determined than any fairy."

Anthony laughed. "I know you are. I'm sure you can get in, with or without their applications."

"I hope so. If you're transferring to Penn State, I'm coming with you, no matter what."

"Even if it means changing what you want to major in?"

"It won't mean that," Leilani said in her most confident voice.

Anthony kissed her hair. "Speaking of transferring, I have to get to class now. I'll see you later, LeLe."

"Bye Anthony."

Then he was gone, and she was alone with their small apartment and her laptop. She opened it and pulled up the Wikipedia article that listed all five of the schools with her dream major, planning to stare longingly at it, maybe to daydream a bit.

When the page loaded, she blinked in surprise.

Six schools were listed, and the one on the bottom was only six blocks away.

The room that Saf and Avi picked out was painted pale green. The two had chosen the same bunk bed; Avi was on the top, and Saf on the bottom. Each had already begun to unpack a few things, though the majority of their clothes and toiletries stayed in their bags. "I don't know how we got here," Saf said suddenly. "This is such a large change, and so fast too."

"I guess it's how when a queen comes to tell your family you've been accepted into the Royal Fairy Academy, there's not much of a way to say no." Avi snorted. "What a stupid name. Did you know that the only reason that's what we're called is because my mom asked for the name of the school, and that was the first thing Nebsy thought of?"

"'Nebsy?'" Saf exclaimed in horror. "You can't just call Queen Nebula 'Nebsy!'"

"Why not?" Avi asked serenely.

Saf didn't answer, instead merely facepalming.

The door opened, and Bloom and Roxy walked in. The younger fairy looked around. "Wow! The room has a nice color. Good choice, guys."

Bloom nodded. "Do you guys want to see something cool, though?" Avi grinned, Roxy shrugged, and Saf agreed somewhat warily. "Okay, put your hands on different walls at the same time and concentrate."

The three girls did. After a few seconds, a design began to appear, almost like a reverse fade. Where Saf stood, storm clouds appeared. Over by Avi, designs like gears and cogs. With Roxy, there were paw prints.

"And the one left blank is for when or if you get your last roommate," Bloom announced. "The walls decorate themselves according to your powers. How cool is that?"

"Okay, but what is it? You never actually told us what are powers are," demanded Avalon, her hands still on the wall. "Am I the fairy of clockwork? The first ever steampunk fairy?"

The wall began to shift again. As Avi and the others watched, words appeared in metallic antique script. Avalon, fairy of tools.

Avi took her hands off. "Whoa."

Saf smiled. "What am I, magic wall?" she asked.

Safeyah, fairy of lightning, wrote the wall in a font that might be seen as the heading for an academic paper.

Roxy had taken her own hand off, but she put it back on her wall. "Okay, so I know my power, but do you mind doing that with mine too? It looks cool."

Roxy's wall chose letters that were fun and loopy. Princess Roxy, fairy of animals. "Okay," giggled Roxy. "That is super cool."

Bloom moved slightly, out of the way of the door, and the girls saw a large diamond made out of four smaller diamonds. In all but the bottom one was a symbol. A gear. A lightning bolt. A paw print. "It also does this," Bloom said with a smile. "I thought that was more interesting than nameplates."

"Is there anything else we get to use our symbols for?" Avi asked excitedly.

"Actually yes, but I doubt you'll like them as much."

"What are they?"

Bloom stepped into the hall for a moment. When she returned, she had a laundry basket full of clothing in her hands. "Uniforms."

Roxy pretended to gag, but Avi and Saf only shrugged. "No big," said the fairy of tools.

"We wore uniforms at Saint Kinnia High School," Saf explained. "As long as they aren't horrible colors, I don't mind."

"And as long as they come with a pants option," added Avi.

Bloom took some of the clothes out. White polo shirts, the kind Saf might have worn even casually, met with four crocheted cardigans in different colors: light purple, sky blue, navy blue, and blood red. There were black skirts, jumpers, pants, and shorts, and a number of pale pink pieces of fabric. At the bottom of the basket, a tiny box was filled with silver brooches. "Please tell me we get to pick our colors of our jacket," said Avi.

"Or your House," said Saf. "Like in Harry Potter."

"Close, Saf, but no," said Bloom. She pointed to the colorful pile. "The color denotes what class you're part of. There are four, two for high school and two for college. Light blue is for high school aged basic magic users, like you guys. Purple is for advanced high schoolers, like Roxy. Likewise, dark blue is for the college students who are required to be here, and red is for any who might just want to major in magic."

"What are these things?" asked Roxy. She picked up one of the long, pink pieces of fabric.

Bloom grinned. "Wrap it around your neck or your waist and concentrate."

Roxy let the fabric drape over her shoulders hesitantly, and closed her eyes and thought. Immediately, the fabric began to shift into a large bow reminiscent of one on a magical girl uniform. The princess opened her eyes tentatively. "So, what is it?"

"It's whatever accessory you want it to be!" said Bloom. "Stella taught me the enchantment for that. Then all you do is find a place to attach your little brooch." She dropped one in Roxy's hand, face down. When Roxy went to attach it to the center of the bow, she found that it had her paw print symbol on it.

"Okay," Roxy admitted. "For uniforms, they're okay."

The girls each selected several pieces of clothing. Avi got her promised pants, while Saf went for the classic skirt and some knee-length black socks. Roxy took a little of everything.

Then Bloom left, and the girls unpacked more.

"This is cool," said Avi when they were almost through. "We're going to go to a school of magic, and we're gonna get called out on a regular basis to find more fairies. We have a dorm that decorates itself and changes how it looks when we ask it to. Even the uniforms aren't too bad. But it doesn't seem… I don't know."

"Real," said Saf. "In the end, there's this big, empty school, and right now it is only us attending."

"Right," said Roxy. She flopped onto her chosen bed, the bottom bunk of the set of beds Saf and Avi hadn't picked. "But I mean, that's what we're here for. We're going to fill this giant school to the brim, right?"

"Yeah!" said Avi. "And have all sorts of adventures. You're right, Rox. We just need to look towards the future."

"It's sure to be a bright one," Saf said with a smile.

Roxy wanted to agree, but questions and problems plagued her mind. Could Lysis ever work with Tora? How would new fairies be found? What were the dangers of the Apprentices lurking in the wings and waiting to strike? Now that she was at a school for magic, would she be able to pass all her classes?

The pink-haired teen closed her eyes.

The answers would come in time.

The sky was growing dark by the time Leilani worked up the courage to go to the old Catholic school that now housed a magical college. She stood outside of it for a few moments, staring up at it in awe. She had seen the building before, of course… but it had been almost decrepit, with an overgrown lawn. Now, it was beautiful.

She climbed the numerous stairs up the hill it sat on and thought about knocking on the door. It seemed odd, though, almost taboo. Who would answer the front door of a school this big, anyway? Better to walk in and find an office.

She wasn't a fairy. There was no magic in little LeLe. But she had more determination than an army.

Leilani took a deep breath and opened the door to the Royal Fairy Academy.

AN: I have literally no clue how I am managing to update so fast. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Leilani, or as she was submitted, LeLe, belongs to Aeschielle-MoonGuard. Tora, on the other hand, is my original character (Lysis is as well). I hope you're enjoying the story so far! I really like writing it (as four chapters in a week can show).