The second she got out of school, Katt Bloom checked her cell phone. Next to her, her best friend Solveig Bjornstad peered at the screen. "Is he here yet?" she asked.
Katt shook her head. Her short red hair ruffled in the cool harbor breeze that seemed always-present in Bergen, Norway. "Not yet. Or at least, if he is, Mom hasn't texted me yet."
"How long's it been since you've seen him?"
"Only like a month. I went to the States for circus camp, remember? He came and visited a lot."
Solveig sighed. "Man, I wish I got to live in two different countries."
"No you don't." Katt shoved her phone into the pocket of her jeans. "It's so much moving around, and I never get to hang out with my school friends on breaks. Plus, between the Norwegian and American pronunciations of my name, I'm never sure how it's supposed to be pronounced at all!"
"That's why you'll always just be Katt to me." Solveig gave the girl in question a tight squeeze. "I know you have it tough, girl. I just wish I could jet off to New York City every now and again."
Katt's phone vibrated and she pulled it out, smiling when she saw the text. "Looks like Dad's here. I'll see you on Monday?"
"Of course. Have a good time!"
Katt smiled and started to run from the upper secondary school she attended. As she reached the small half-length wall that divided it from the rest of the city, she jumped up and catapulted herself over it, her legs spread as wide as they could go. Solveig shook her head. What a show-off, she thought fondly.
"Who's that?"
Solveig turned. Behind her was an older boy, a transfer student from somewhere-or-another who entered directly into VG3… two years ahead of her and Katt, both first year VG1 students. "Catherine Bloom," she said, pronouncing the girl's name the Norwegian way, as though it was spelled Katrine. "Katt," she corrected after a moment.
The boy's mouth quirked up into a funny smile, and his ocean-colored eyes gleamed. "What is she, a track star?"
"More of an acrobat, actually," Solveig grinned. "She's good, huh? She trains in America every summer." Solveig closed one of her eyes so she could use the other to focus on the older student. "You're new, huh? What program are you in? Do I get to know your name?"
The boy shook his head, put a finger to his lips, and walked away. As he did, Solveig could swear she saw one of his eyes, formerly so blue, flash red.
Now that there were eight students in the Royal Fairy Academy, all of varying ages and skill levels, classes became divided rather than lumped together. Leilani and Light went to magic classes in the morning, while Amanda, Marea, Roxy, Avi, Macy, and Saf went to their academic courses. After lunch, they switched.
Marea had originally been placed in the Sky Class, but by the end of the day, she had been promoted to Violet, with Roxy. Shyly, she switched out her cardigan as Bloom offered, and tentatively high-fived Roxy when the high five was offered.
The newest fairy seemed understandably wary about the idea of magic after her experience. Having her best friend in another class wasn't helping much, as far as Roxy could tell. Though she spoke decent English as well as her native Spanish, she barely spoke a word. She ducked her heads during magic lessons, hoping to be avoided.
Roxy couldn't be too surprised that Saf seemed to be the one who could bring the girl out of her shell a little. The two sat together in classes and at lunch, sharing comforting, shy smiles. Roxy was glad. She had secretly worried about the traumatized transfer student.
As soon as class ended, Lysis met with the rest of the Core Four. "We've got a mission. We're confirmed for a fairy in Norway."
"We're going to Europe?" Roxy exclaimed.
"Well," said Lysis, "last time I checked, that's where Norway is. We're leaving in two hours, pack your things and be ready and waiting at the front gate. Our plane leaves at ten PM, and I'd like to be there sufficiently early." With that, she turned militaristically on her heel and walked off.
"Europe!" Saf exclaimed. "It's been over a year since I've been that close to home."
"Isn't Cairo in Africa?" asked a puzzled Roxy.
Saf frowned. "I was talking about London. I may have been born in Egypt, but England's much nicer in my opinion, and that's where most of my friends are now. Besides you two, of course."
Beside her, Avi slung an arm over her best friend's shoulder. "You've been all over the world, and the only time I've even been out of this country is when we nabbed Amanda in Canada. Going off the continent is sure to be exciting."
Nodding, Roxy thought back to their failed mission in Mammoth Cave. The Apprentices had said something about a Norwegian fairy. They knew.
Yes, this was sure to be exciting indeed.
"Dad, Mom!" Katt yelled as she opened the door to the house she and her mother lived in. "I'm home from school!"
From the kitchen, her parents emerged. Katt smiled. She could see the things they had given to her… she had her mother's red hair and her father's violet eyes. Her wry, sarcastic smile from her mother matched the razor wit she'd inherited from her dad, and his lean body matched well with her mom's graceful beauty. Katt was a fusion of amazing traits, perfect for a gymnast and an acrobat… two things she definitely was.
"How was school?" asked her father as if he lived with her all the time, rather than just sporadic visits when he was on business trips in Europe.
"It was nice. I'm liking VG1."
Her dad shook his head. "Sixteen years old and only now starting high school, and to think that's normal in Norway. In the States, you'd be halfway done by now."
"Yeah, but would I be able to study what I wanted to, or just a handful of unrelated subjects?" Katt shot back.
In response, her dad ruffled her hair and grinned. "I'll be here for the weekend. I took Monday off so I could stay a while. Sound good, Catherine?" He pronounced her name with the English pronunciation, and behind him, her mother made a gagging sound.
Katt's family was an untraditional one. Her mother and father, Nora Olsen and Gregory Bloom, had met working at a summer camp in America as older teenagers and had dated, more for fun than anything. It was only after Nora had returned to Norway that she discovered she was pregnant.
With the internet so new and long distance so expensive, the two nineteen-year-olds had resorted to e-mail to discuss future plans… including naming… for their daughter. Without the spoken word to guide them, neither figured out that the name Catherine was pronounced differently depending on language spoken until Katt herself was born. By then, there wasn't much time to think of another good name that worked in either language, so Katt simply had to learn to respond to both.
Her name, anyway, was a good example of her split between two countries and cultures. She spent the school year with her mother in Norway and considered herself Norwegian, but every vacation found her in New York City, or at one of the circus camps in New York State. She was split between her family-oriented mother and her business-oriented father. She was simultaneously horrified that Norway didn't have s'mores, and that Americans commonly didn't use cheese slicers.
Frankly, it was exhausting.
Perhaps the weirdest thing about it was that though her parents were not in love, and likely never were, they remained best friends to this day. It was nice, but not exactly something usual, and as unusual as her situation was, sometimes normal was exactly what Katt craved. Normal family, normal school life… heck, maybe even a normal romance.
Both her parents, plus her, living in the same city for a weekend? That was normal.
Katt nodded. "That sounds great," she said.
It was early morning on Saturday when the Core Four arrived in Bergen, and for a moment after entering the city, it was all they could do not to stare at anything and everything.
The mixture of old buildings and modern people was like something out a fairy tale. Alleys made of stone, and even wood led from one amazing sight to another, and the antiquity of some places almost made Roxy laugh, especially the cozy-looking McDonalds, with white paneling and shutters. "We should get breakfast there before we start searching for the fairy!" Roxy suggested.
Lysis glared. "As your official chaperone, I have to deny you that. I've yet to meet a proper princess who would even step into that caliber of restaurant."
"Lysis, you've known me long enough to know that, princess or not, I am not proper."
Saf gave a reassuring smile. "We probably don't have the time, anyway. The Apprentices knew about this fairy before we did, remember? It's imperative we get to her as soon as possible."
"It'll be pretty hard to find a single fairy in a city this big," said Avi. "When you said Norway, I kind of imagined something a little quainter… no, actually, not quainter, this is pretty hecka quaint, but maybe about four times smaller."
Lysis took the fairy tracker from her pocket and sighed. "Between you, me, and the lab in Gardenia, we've done a good job making this more precise. Being able to know what city a fairy is in is a blessing. I only wish it could narrow further. You're right, Avalon. This is going to take some doing."
"Should we split up?" Saf suggested.
The older fairy's lips pursed, but she nodded. "It seems to be our best option. Just give me one moment." She gripped the fairy tracker tight and allowed her own magic to surround it, giving it a transparent blue aura. "Magical Mitosis!" she cried, and pulled the aura apart from the tracker. The aura took the form of what it had previously surrounded.
Lysis handed the tracker to Roxy. "Here," she said. "You and Avi take this and start searching. We'll meet back at this spot in two hours. That's when the magic should wear off. Got it?"
Roxy and Avi nodded.
"If you find her, you have Saf's and my cell numbers," Lysis said. "Don't hesitate to call for backup."
"We won't," chimed the two girls.
Lysis looked unsure, but before she could change her mind, Roxy and Avi were gone.
Back in Harrisburg, life went on as normal.
Macy Silverman thought that the top bunk would be idyllic, and with a little help from her idol-turned-headmistress Bloom, she'd managed to get her small windowsill garden to float around her bed. Basil and oregano and all sorts of other things, the scent of living things and good soil lulling her to sleep each night… it was as good as she had been promised. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one who thought so.
Sir Fluffybutt dangled helplessly from a floating flowerpot, his claws digging into the soil as Amanda, Light, Marea, and Macy all looked on in horror. "My catnip!" Macy couldn't help but cry out as she noticed the nibbled plant.
"My cat!" countered Amanda. "How is he going to get down?"
"Can't one of us transform and grab him?" Light asked.
"I'm not grabbing him when he's frightened, are you? He'd scratch my face off, and he loves me! Don't you have some kind of spell to levitate him down?"
Light frowned. "It's dangerous to move a living thing with magic unless you've been trained properly."
"I wish Roxy were here," Amanda said. "She'd know how to deal with this."
Someone knocked on the door. Marea opened it to find Leilani standing there, three large books under her arm, one eyebrow raised inquisitively. "What's going on? I heard your voices all the way down the corridor."
Wordlessly, all four girls pointed up. Sir Fluffybutt was yowling and trying to climb back onto the flowerpot, which was now tilting as though it was actively attempting to throw him off. Leilani's eyes narrowed in a determined look, and she entered the room and climbed the ladder to Macy's bed.
"Someone, move all the pots besides the kitty's!" she ordered, and between Light and Macy, the other twelve were out of the way. Taking advantage of the high ceilings, Leilani jumped with as much length and momentum as she could gather, and grabbed onto the catnip flowerpot herself. Sir Fluffybutt meowed in panic and moved one paw to take a swipe at the young woman, but quickly seemed to realize that was a bad idea and dug claws into the dirt once again.
The catnip, Leilani, and Sir Fluffybutt drifted lazily downwards until a few seconds later, Leilani's feet touched ground. Sir Fluffybutt seemed to realize he was out of harm's way; he detached himself from the plant and jumped to the ground, immediately beginning to clean himself off.
Leilani let go of the flowerpot with a smile. It drifted up to where it was before. "Whoa, how did you know to do that?" asked Light.
"I have to take more theory than you guys, remember? No magic. I just happened to remember that the most common spells for permanent levitation emulate helium, so if I added a little weight, it'd float downwards." The woman shrugged, her dark hair pooling on her shoulders as she did. "Not a big deal. That said, maybe you four should spend some time with your books outside of class so I don't have to keep bailing you out like this…"
Macy blushed and considered it. Of all the other students, she liked Leilani most. Calm, intelligent, creative, and most of all, brave, the president of the student body was so much like the Winx Club she idolized. The main difference was that Leilani was also approachable. Macy had never interacted with the entire Winx Club, though her older sister had. She had only met Bloom, and Bloom was a special case, an old family friend, now something other and mysterious.
Leilani looked towards Macy, and the younger girl's heartbeat quickened. "You should definitely pay attention as to how your own spells work, okay? If you're going to cast something, make sure you're ready for any and all outcomes. Got it?"
"Got it!" Macy nodded furiously, embarrassed. "I'll do my best to learn it."
"And maybe," continued Leilani, "if you want to grow catnip or anything else cute little kitties like to get into, you should do it somewhere else. My room is large, and I can set a small windowbox aside for you there, if you'd like? Sir Fluffybutt doesn't come into my room often, and when he does, I'm there and can keep an eye on him."
Macy nodded wordlessly, and she could feel her heart welling up with admiration. She's so cool, but so nice.
"Great! We'll chat more about that later. Remember girls… helium!" Leilani said, and she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her, leaving the others smiling gratefully, and Macy Silverman in a flutter.
"Katt! Can you run down to the store and grab some groceries for today? I didn't have a chance to do today's shopping while you were in class." Katt's mother spoke in English, likely for the benefit of Katt's father. "I was busy cleaning for this weekend."
"Sure, Mom!" Katt grinned, responding in kind. "Anything in particular?"
"You can pick."
"Okay! I'll be back soon!"
She headed out the door of her apartment and started up the narrow stone and pavement streets in her neighborhood towards the nearest shop. As she walked, careful not to slip or trip on the gritty trail, she thought to herself about the future… both the coming weekend, and the rest of her life. Adulthood was creeping up fast, though what even counted as adulthood wasn't even something she was sure about. Her mandatory schooling was done, as far as Norway was concerned. She was going now because she wanted to. She wasn't the age of majority for two more years, but she'd still be a student. If she moved to the USA, she couldn't drink for five more years…
It made her head hurt.
Or maybe that was because she had walked into a man.
"Oi!" she said automatically, then, seeing he was confused and likely a tourist, translated herself into English. "Oh man! I'm so sorry I bumped into you, excuse me!"
The man laughed. "It's fine," he said in English, waving it off. "I'm just a little bit lost. Do you know where the Best Western Hotel nearby is?"
"The Sandviken Brygge one?"
"Yes, that one." He smiled, and she took him in. He had silvery hair, contrasted by his youthful face; he seemed to be no older than twenty. His eyes shone like the Norwegian Sea, as stereotypical as it seemed, and he dressed stylishly, in dark jeans and a black hoodie with rolled up sleeves. Katt, all messy red hair and summer camp tee shirts, suddenly felt a little bit overwhelmed.
She gritted her teeth anyway, sucking in air apologetically. "All I know is just go down the hill until you hit water, then head to your right on the major road there. I don't have much of a reason to go there, you know."
"Oh." He looked slightly disappointed, then flashed a winning smile. "You're Catherine Bloom, right?"
"Katt," she corrected. It took a beat for her to notice that A, he knew her, and B, he pronounced her name the same way her mother did, not at all like a tourist would. "You know me?" she asked.
"We go to the same school," he grinned. "I transferred in this year, and I'm still living at the hotel. I just usually take the bus instead of walking, so I'm not really sure where it is… or where I am."
"I can get you to a bus stop easy. Here, let me show you to one, it's on my way. By the way, I didn't catch your name, did I?"
He paused, then said, "You can call me Bertram." His voice held a hint of sadness. "It might take me a moment to respond to it; I've been going by something else during my time away from here."
"Where were you before?" asked Katt as she began to walk. Bertram followed.
"Lately, I've been Stateside. I was born in Norway… seems quite a long time ago, because I spent most of my life traveling around. It's good to be home, but it feels different. Some things never change, though," he added fondly, looking through the gaps between houses and shops towards the sea.
Katt felt a flash of fondness for another person who knew her feelings. Another person torn between cultures. "No matter how much this sea and this city stay the same from year to year, no matter how old and unchanging it gets… some things are bound to be different when you come back, and sometimes those things can feel very big."
"Exactly," said Bertram with a smile.
For a long moment, they walked in silence, then Katt spoke again. "What program are you in?"
"Drama and society, VG3. You?"
"Sports and Physical Education, but it's only my first year."
Bertram nodded. "That sounds fun. You're athletic, then?"
"I'm a gymnast," she responded proudly.
"Ah, I think I've heard that before, actually. It makes sense. I saw how you exited the school today."
A blush came over Katt's cheeks. "Oops," she muttered, embarrassed.
She could see the bus stop now, and stopped walking, facing Bertram as she did. "Well, here's your stop. I'll see you in school on Monday, I guess."
"I really hope so," he said. His eyes seemed lighter, with a little more sparkle. "I would really like to get to know you, Katt."
She was surprised to find that she was perfectly fine with that. She didn't often talk to people outside her program, or her family, or Solveig. It would be different to talk to someone who knew exactly how it felt to have a foot in two worlds, though. It had to be.
He leaned forward, his head tilting slightly, as if going in for a kiss. Still surprised with herself, Katt didn't move or fight it. Bertram's face was only inches from hers when…
"Move away from the fairy, wackozoid!" cried a low female voice in English… if the last word counted as English.
Bertram took a step back, hands up and eyes gleaming, though his mouth was set in a frown. "Oh no!" he cried out, responding in the same language as they'd been interrupted in. "Whatever are you going to do to us?"
Katt looked down the street, almost empty but for her, Bertram, and two teenage tourists who both looked very, very angry. "Bertram, what is this?" she asked in Norwegian, hoping they wouldn't understand.
"It's trouble," he responded in kind. "I'll explain later. For now, Katt… run."
She didn't even realize she had obeyed until she found herself two blocks over, wondering what happened, wondering who Bertram was, what was going on, how her potential first kiss had gotten so ruined.
At least, she thought, laughing silently and sarcastically to herself, it can't get any worse.
That was when she heard the footsteps behind her, a voice barking orders in her father's native tongue: "Katt Bloom, don't move another step!"
AN: First update of the new year, oh yeah! Of course, this was mainly fueled by the fact that my first professional short story's final draft got approved by my editor last night... finally, more time for personal projects like Fly or Fall! That said, I'd love you all to check out my short story Werewolf Seeking Werewolf in the next issue of Werewolves Versus, set to come out this February. I worked very hard on it, and it's my first step to being able to write for a living, and eventually infiltrate the writers of Winx Club and make an official Fly or Fall TV show a reality... okay, maybe not, but a girl can dream, and I love people reading my original work.
Last chapter I asked who your favorite character was! I got quite a few answers, many exactly what I expected... asking the same question in the old story, I was overwhelmed by support for Saf and Avi, and that hasn't changed. I also saw some love for Tora and Amanda, who are two of my personal favorites, but it seems I'm alone in my absolute favorites... Lysis, Killian, and Gunner. That said, I know a lot more about all of them than you do, so...
This chapter, I want to know something else: Which character are you the most excited for? This can be your favorite, or not your favorite. Someone already introduced who you want to know more about, or someone from the old Fly or Fall who you haven't yet seen here. These answers (and your supportive and super nice reviews) keep me going, so please make sure to tell me!
Happy new year!