"Queen Nebula! Queen Nebula!"
Nebula narrowed her eyes. She had been trying to spend some time alone with her books, something that she rarely managed to do since becoming the leader of the Terrestrial fairies. Though she knew that Secretaria and Maydelle, her handmaidens, would only bother her if something was terribly important, it was still an unwelcome interruption.
She sat down the novel she had been reading and threw open the doors to her chambers. Sure enough, Taria and May stood there, neither looking like they had wanted to be there. Nebula tried to smile. She had a reputation for rash behavior, she knew. Best to try to convince her servants that she wouldn't hurt them. "What's the matter, you two?" she asked softly, hoping her tone of voice would come across as nonthreatening.
Taria and May looked at each other, and May spoke first. "Your majesty, there is a visitor for you in the throne room. She claims to be from Solaria."
Nebula blinked. "That's impossible. There are no fairies but Bloom and my own Earth fairies on this planet."
"Because of the barrier," Taria said. "The barrier would lock anyone out who tried to come in. She came in before the barrier went up. In fact, she didn't even know about the barrier until we told her, but she claimed to have come to Earth about four months ago. We know the wall wasn't up then because Princess Aisha of Andros took the news of her suitor's death to her family personally and managed to return. A Solarian fairy could have entered our world easily back then."
"What's her motivation?" Nebula demanded. "Why does she only now reveal herself?"
May shrugged. "She demands to speak with you, or any other Major Fairy. She is from the nobility and wishes to converse with others of her status, she says."
For a moment, Nebula considered delegating the task of speaking to the visitor to one of her friends, also nobility. Diana? No, she was far away in South America. Sibylla? No, she'd never do for a situation like this. Aurora? Getting her to do anything she didn't want to do was almost impossible.
Morgana was a decent choice, but too forgiving, much like Nebula (always acutely aware of her own flaws) was too harsh. The best idea would likely be for them to go together. "Fetch my sister," she ordered. "I'll meet her in the throne room."
The two scurried off, and Nebula sighed. There was one other person she needed to contact. Taking out the white cell phone her niece got her, she pressed the combination of buttons that led to Bloom.
The young Dominon princess picked up quickly. "Nebula?"
"Yes. We have a bit of a situation. There's a fairy here who claims to be nonterrestrial."
"What?"
"In fact, she claims to be Solarian. Is there any way that you can get your friend Stella to contact us so we may confirm or deny this girl's identity?"
"Yeah," Bloom said. "I'll have her call you over the computer. Your tech department should be able to help you receive her call."
"Thank you. In addition, is there some way you can also show up on one of the screens?"
Nebula could almost hear Bloom's grin. "That's no problem. When do you need us?"
"In ten minutes or so."
"Got it. See you then."
"Of course."
Twelve minutes later, the princess of Solaria nodded confirmation. "That's Lady Light, all right!" she chirped, her brown eyes shining. "I'd say it could be a really good imitation, but the necklace clinches it! She's definitely Solarian!"
"Please don't tell, Princess Stella," begged Light. "Don't let my parents know where I am."
From the Royal Fairy Academy, Bloom pursed her lips. "Even if we were to tell them, they couldn't come get you."
"Huh?" Light asked, her eyes obviously full of confusion even with the screen in the way. "Is the barrier really that powerful?"
Almost everyone in the room nodded, and Bloom went along with them. For a moment, there was silence, then Stella added, "But I wouldn't tell them anyway. I'm not the type to snitch on a friend."
A friend was a nice way of putting it. Stella barely remembered Light until Bloom mentioned that she'd been gone for months. The two had only met personally a handful of times, but the disappearance of one of the most prominent young nobles had definitely been widely known.
From the look on Light's face, she was equal parts knowing, unsure that Stella counted as even an acquaintance, and extremely flattered. "Thank you," she said.
Next to Light, Nebula and Morgana looked at each other, a silent and knowing conversation happening between them. Morgana was the one who informed the audience, both those there physically and those there virtually, what was to happen. "Light will go to the Royal Fairy Academy. As a sixteen year old, regardless of her origin, that's the law she must obey. Meanwhile, we'll send out our best warrior fairies to scout across the world. They plan on sending her away, but they'll be unable to. When they return from the barrier, we will capture Marea back… and hopefully bring some of the Apprentices down as well."
Light was put on an airplane, but not until after three hours of complaining.
"It's not right!" she protested as Morgana walked her into the airport. "Marea is my best friend and I got her into this mess. I should be on the team to find her. Shadowhaunt, I should be leading the team!"
Morgana threw the girl a stern look. "You're a sixteen year old runaway. Here, that isn't even the age of majority. Considering that and your status as an illegal alien in multiple usages of the word, I believe it would be best for you to simply obey."
Light grumbled but found the logic impossible to deny.
Morgana led her towards a grouping of seats, where many people waited. One such group was a family of four. A man with salt and pepper hair and fair skin had his arm around a lovely woman whose blue-black hair was in a messy bun. A pen was stuck behind her ear. Next to her was a girl a little bit older than Light. Dull grey-blue eyes were slightly obscured behind glasses, and straight black hair fell down like a waterfall as she examined her manicured nails. Besides the older woman, she also sat next to a girl about Light's age who looked much the same, though her eyes were a brighter shade of blue and her hair had a youthful sheen. "Who are they?" Light asked.
"The doctors Silverman and their two daughters, Mitzi and Macy. Macy is a fairy as well, according to Bloom. She'll be accompanying you to the Royal Fairy Academy."
The younger of the two girls stood up and smiled a shy smile at Light. "Nice to meet you!" she said.
"And you!" replied Light. "I'm Lady Light of Solaria, fairy of light."
"Macy Silverman, fairy of herbs."
Behind the fairy, her human older sister rolled her eyes. The mother glared at her.
Morgana smiled. "Anyway, the plane will leave any moment. Let's go get you two on board."
Macy hugged her family goodbye, even her annoyed sister, and Light felt a lump in her throat. She didn't look forward to the day when she saw her family again. But she did miss them. Very much so, in fact. Not having Marea around made the missing even worse.
Morgana somehow managed to bypass all security and made sure that they were settled on the plane before leaving them be. "I don't get why I have to take a flight," Light said before the former queen left. "I could just transport myself."
Then, she saw a gleam of silver in Morgana's hand. Quickly, Light's fingers went to where her necklace should have been. "Hey…"
"We thought you might try to find Marea yourself. I'll make sure Headmistress Bloom gets this and that it's waiting for you," said Morgana. With a wink of her eye, the pendant disappeared.
They had been right that she would try to track down Marea, but that didn't make Light any happier.
"You don't mind two new roommates, do you?" Bloom asked Amanda.
Amanda shook her head. "As long as they aren't allergic to cats, they're more than welcome in. Who are they, though? The Travel Team hasn't gone anywhere since we came back."
"We didn't find them, they found us. Light's the fairy of… well, it's obvious, and Macy's the fairy of herbs."
"Like spheres?"
"Not orbs. Herbs. Like… I don't know, oregano."
Amanda tried not to laugh. Geez, who'd have thought there'd be a fairy of parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme.
"They'll be here any moment," Bloom continued. "I hope you'll get along well."
At that moment, there was a knock on the door and hushed whispers from outside. "That must be them!" Amanda exclaimed and hurried to greet them. However, upon opening the door, she stood face to face with the other four students. Her face fell. "Oh. Just you guys."
"Yeah!" exclaimed Roxy. "We all want to meet the…"
Her voice cut off and she looked left, as did the others. Amanda poked her head out to see two girls coming down the hall. One was a traditional beauty with curly blonde hair and shining blue eyes, the other was small and slight, blue-black hair falling over one eye. Behind Amanda, Bloom shoved her way out of the dorm room to meet them. "Welcome to the Royal Fairy Academy!" she exclaimed. "You both know me, so I'll spare you the introductions. Let's get you settled."
"Bloom, I can take them from here, if you want," Leilani said smoothly. "It'd be nice for them to be among the students, anyway."
Bloom looked as though she planned to disagree, but then nodded. "Do you know where the spare uniforms are?"
"Yes, I do."
"Alright. They're with Amanda, as you know." Bloom flashed a smile, maybe a little weary… was that why Leilani had offered?... handed a silver necklace to Light ("I think this is yours," she said) and left.
"What classes are you guys in?" Leilani asked. "Bloom said someone else was going to be in the college, but you both look high school aged."
The blonde girl raised her hand. "I'm from Solaria. I completed my compulsory magic training there, so even though I'm sixteen, Bloom's put me into Sea class."
"Sea class?" asked Roxy.
Leilani counted things off on her fingers. "Sky class, Violet class, Sea class, Rose class. It's just a shorthand way of saying if you're in high school or college, beginner or advanced. The names are based off of our cardigan colors."
"So she… Light, from what I'm gathering… is a basic magic user in college?" asked Amanda.
Light nodded, and the other girl spoke up in a shy but sure voice. "I'm Macy, in the Sky class."
"Well guys, do you want to go out into town for dinner? We can get to know each other," Leilani suggested, and Roxy, Saf, and Avi nodded their approval at the idea.
Light looked down, allowing her curls to cascade over her pale face. "Actually, if you don't mind, I think I'll turn in early."
"I'm actually really tired myself," admitted Macy.
Leilani tried not to look disappointed, but she did anyway. "Oh, okay. I'll let you guys rest, then, and I'll drop your uniforms off. Do you have a preference for skirt, pants, or jumper?"
"Jumper," Light said.
"Whatever is fine for me," added Macy.
Light gave a huge yawn. Something about it sounded off, forced. Amanda frowned. "Maybe you should get to bed and unpack tomorrow," she said. "Hey, Leilani, I'll get them settled in the room. See you later."
Leilani nodded and walked off, probably to fetch the uniforms. The two new students walked into Amanda's room and promptly collapsed on the bottom bunk that was not being used by Amanda. "I'll take the top as soon as I can stand," Macy muttered.
"Sounds good," Light agreed, sounding much perkier than her friend. "I'm not a fan of climbing down every morning anyway."
Amanda yawned. The excitement of the two fairies arriving was beginning to make her sleepy.
"Actually, I don't think I can move," Macy said sleepily. "Can I nap in your bed just for a few hours?"
Light agreed easily.
Maybe that's how Amanda knew, or maybe it was when she realized that only five minutes ago, she was wide awake.
"Sleep spell," she said.
Light blinked. It wasn't a sleepy blink. "What?"
"You're putting a sleep spell on us, aren't you?" Amanda shook her head to clear it and fought off the grogginess. She'd only had a couple of magic lessons, but she remembered the importance of visualization. She imagined sleep like clouds, trying to remove all clarity. Amanda, however, was the fairy of storms. Clouds obeyed her. She pushed them away and forced them dissolve. As she did, she found herself wide awake. "What the heck, Light?"
A small snore came from the other bottom bunk in the room. She had freed herself, but not Macy. The girl was fast asleep.
Light stared at Amanda guiltily. "Look, I just… I have to leave, and I can't have anyone telling Bloom. Or the Earth queen. Or anyone."
"So you thought you'd send me off to lullaby land?" screeched the Canadian fairy. "Not cool. What's your deal?"
Light furrowed her brow and clutched the necklace Bloom had handed to her tightly. "My best friend was kidnapped by the Apprentices of the Black Circle, it's all my fault, and I'm the only fairy I trust to get her back!"
Amanda's jaw fell open. Macy let out a long, loud snore.
Light sat down on the floor and began to explain the situation. Amanda soon sat beside her, listening to the teen weave her tale of faraway planets, living on the streets of Earth, and causing the capture of her own best friend. When she finished, it was silent, with only the sounds of footsteps outside.
"Okay," said Amanda after a moment. "The good news is you don't have to cast a sleep spell. I won't get in your way. Hell, I'll help. Everyone here will, if you know how to ask."
"What's the bad news?"
"The bad news is Lysis. She's, uh, how do I put it? Stricter than strict. As witchy as a fairy can be. She's also the one who has the fairy tracker that will probably be the best bet of finding your friend."
Light bit her lip. "You said everyone else would help?"
Amanda nodded.
"I'm sure someone will be able to convince this Lysis," Light said, though she didn't sound too sure. "Let's enlist the others."
Macy mumbled something in her sleep, and her two roommates stared at her. "Should we wake her up?" Amanda asked cautiously.
"No, she was jetlagged before I even began to spell her."
"Hope she doesn't freak when she realizes we're gone."
"I'm sure she'll be fiiiiiine," said Light, drawing the word out to dramatic and near-epic proportions.
When they opened the door, four girls stood there with knowing smiles.
Light opened her mouth to speak, but Roxy shook her head, grinning. "We heard every word. When Amanda started to kick up a fuss after you tried the sleep spell…"
"Let's just say the girl is loud," Avi finished.
Leilani smiled, laughing quietly, and even Saf giggled a little. Amanda bit her lip sheepishly. "Hey, it worked out this time, didn't it?"
"Definitely," agreed Roxy. "And you were right, by the way. We'll help any way we can. Lysis, however…"
"Is not needed."
Everyone looked to Avi. In her hand was a taser-like black box. She blinked at everyone's look of surprise. "Hey, I worked on this thing just as much as she did. Of course I know where it's kept."
Saf frowned. "Isn't it supposed to be locked up?"
"And with a good lockpick, that's a problem for a fairy of tools how?"
"Fair enough."
Avi handed Light the box and the Solarian fairy took it, turning it around in her hands. "How do you use it?" she asked.
"Normally it just picks up on any fairy signal, especially untrained ones. If you concentrate on Marea, however… and especially if you know her power…"
"The power of the Crescent Moon," Light said with a small smile. "That's a reason we were able to become friends. Her power's pretty familiar to me. I know what it feels like."
With those words, the fairy tracker started to shine with a faint golden glow. The metal rungs were balanced. "Straight ahead," said Roxy.
"We don't know how far," Saf noted. "How will we get there? With our wings? What about Leilani?"
Leilani bit her lip. "I'll just stay behind. Do all of you have your cell phones?" The girls all nodded. "I'll stay here and be mission control. Call me if you need help. Someone has to distract the teachers, anyway."
Roxy nodded. "That's smart. Okay, let's go, then!"
Five beacons of light flashed into the dorm hall, filling with all sorts of colors. Green, blue, silver, grey, yellow. After a few seconds, five fairies emerged.
The four older students took in Light's outfit. Her wings were had multiple layers, each looking like a sheet of translucent gold, and they complimented her yellow sundress with orange lace trim. Orange thigh-high boots covered most of her legs, and blue metallic bracelets protected her wrists. Her curly hair was held back in a ponytail.
That was all expected, but a silver and yellow brooch on one dress strap, as well as the star-shaped golden purse she carried made the outfit seem just a little bit different. "What's that?" asked Roxy.
Light blushed. "It's my Charmix-booster. A little power boost I got when I decided to be true to myself and run away from home. If I remember right, it'll disappear in time, because people's ways of being brave change, but for now it helps. I have a little more magic than I otherwise would."
"We'll need all the magic we can get, so I'm glad you have it," Avi said. "Anyway, let's get going. I'm dying to kick Trudric's butt again."
Roxy nodded. "I can't say I'm not excited to get a rematch with Gunner, either."
Light clutched the fairy tracker tight. "Well then," she said, "let's go!"
AN: Okay, this was a short chapter but it was the best place to leave off in my opinion. Sorry for the wait on this chapter! I've been concentrating on school and on (drumroll, please) my new professional writing thing! I'm getting published in two upcoming literary collections. I have a short story in the February issue of Werewolves Versus, a zine that is about... well, werewolves! In addition, I have the pleasure of having poetry in the first issue of The Paragon Journal. I'm super excited to take my first steps into professional writing, and I really hope you all will support me in that!