No pov

Flora wakes up the next morning to a light knocking at her bedroom door. She is able to untangle herself from her boyfriend's arm and walks to the door. When she opens the door, she finds out that the person at the door is her 'sponsor', Alexi, in uniform.

"Alexi, what's going on?" Flora asks in a soft whisper.

"It's Drake. We have a problem," Alexi explains with a long sigh yet still keeping his voice at a soft whisper.

Alexi is about 5'2 tall. His eyes are a mixture of yellow and green. He has flawless rich caramel skin along with long blue hair that goes all the way down to his shoulder blades. He has been working with Flora for about a year and a half now. Flora can tell that this is serious. His eyes are telling her that he is stressed out and his hair's all messy due to him running his fingers through it. This makes Flora upset since he has been under a lot of stress not only by this situation but also with his own personal life.

"Alexi, this is Drake we're talking about. Of course we're going to have an issue," Flora says with irritation in her voice.

"He is threatening to make a statement about the law before the ball," Alexi explains.

"What?! How does he... nevermind. Round up everyone in the war room in thirty minutes," Flora orders as she kisses his cheek.

"Of course," Alexi says as he bows in respect before leaving the door.

Flora goes to kiss Helia's cheek before going to the bathroom to get ready. She, in her fuzzy robe, runs at panther speed to the closet so that Helia wouldn't see her. She finds a pair of nice jean shorts and a pink t-shirt with a bedazzled flower design on it. She slips on her 'work shoes', aka her gym shoes, and goes down stairs with Romeo for a quick breakfast.

Helia and the rest of the gang wake up about about twenty-five minutes later. The boys go back to their rooms to get dressed while the girls stay in the room and start to change into their clothes. They meet up downstairs for breakfast. Helia becomes slightly worried when he doesn't see Flora waiting downstairs.

"Linus, have you seen Flora. She wasn't with me when I woke up. Did she tell you that she went on a run or something?" Helia asks.

"I honesty don't know. She might be with a...mutual friend," Linus explains.

"Alright," Heila says as he follows the others to the dining hall.

Flora's parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents along with her sisters come downstairs for breakfast. Not even a full minute into breakfast, Grandmother Willow just has to open her mouth.

"Where is Flora? It's rude to not join the family for breakfast," Grandmother Willow says rudely.

"She is busy, your majesty," Linus explains.

"Enough!" a voice shouts angrily from upstairs.

Helia instantly recognizes it as Flora's voice and quickly gets up from the table. Her parents follow Helia upstairs to find Flora shouting at people in a different language in the war room. They can't hear the whole conversation except for "Do you understand?" Several people say "yes, ma'am" before leaving the room. Heila looks into the room to see Flora leaning on the table. He walks up to her and places his hands on her shoulder. She places her hand over his as he wraps his arm around her trim waist.

"Are you okay?" Helia asks softly in her ear.

"I am now," she says as she leans against him lightly.

"What happened? Who were those people?" Helia asks curiously.

"They're from the council. I'll tell you more in private," Flora whispers as she turns around to hug him.

Helia wants to ask more questions, but he decides to let it go for now. They let each other go as Heila walks Flora back down stairs. They head down stairs and go to the dining room. Flora takes a seat next to Helia at the table.

Flora's pov

I got into another argument with Trey, Ali, Tsubasa, Alexi, and Monty over what to do with Drake. I can't believe that Drake is threatening to go public with the law. He makes me so angry. I don't need this right now. I have to deal with my sisters, my aunts, my evil grandparents, and don't even get me started with my princess ball. I try to tell myself that everything will be fine, but I know that I am only lying to myself.

Helia and I walk downstairs hand in hand with Romeo following behind us. Helia makes me feel so safe and comfortable that all of my worries leave my mind. I start to pick through my breakfast with my fork as the rest of the family talk. I try to figure out a way to handle Drake without causing a scene for the public. While this mental debate is going on in my head, I don't even realize that mom is talking to me until Heila taps my hand to get my attention.

"What? Oh, I'm sorry," I apologize as I shake my head lightly to get out of my thoughts.

"Flo, I asked you what dress are you going to wear at the photoshoot today?" Mom repeats the question to me.

"Um… don't I have to wear one of the ballgowns?" I ask, trying to remember what we did for Lily and Rose.

"Yes," Dad answers.

"Then I'll just wear a ballgown," I reply as I take a sip of my orange juice.

"We have to leave at 1:30, if we want to be on time," Mom reminds me.

"Okay," I reply as take a bite of my sourdough bread. "Can the girls and guys come too?" I ask curiously.

"If they want to. But they need to have ballgowns," Dad says.

"I'm sure Stella can whip something up," I reply as I wink at Stella with a small smile.

"I already have a few ideas!" Stella says excitedly.

"I know they'll turn out great, babe," Brandon says as he kisses her cheek.

I smiled at the comment and forgot about all of my problems.

No pov

After breakfast, everyone heads up stairs to get dressed. The girls wear ballgowns with different colors and flowers on it, thanks to Stella, while the boys wear their Red Fountain uniform, except for Sky who wore his royal outfit. Even Romeo wears a fancy collar and cape with the royal Limphiean crestan on it. They get into the limos and head down to the photography studio. The Winx and the Specialists are in one limo, while the royal family is in another. When they arrive at the studio, they start to walk inside the tall glass building. The photographer is a short man with red hair and green eyes and thick glasses.

"Welcome to my studio, your royal majesties. My name is Knopfler Queen. I will be handling your photos today," Knopfler says as he bows his head in respect.

"Thank you, Mr. Queen," Julian says.

The first photos to be taken are with the royal family. Flora is in the middle of the photo with Romeo at her feet, Lily to her left and Rose to her right. Meanwhile, her parents stand behind her, her father to the left and her mother to her right, along with their parents and siblings. Since her father, both her grandfathers, and her uncles have served time in the military, they are in full uniforms while the women wear their ballgowns. Flora sits with her ankles crossed while her left hand rests on her right wrist. They smile slightly as the pictures are being taken.

The music that is playing is something that would be played during a ball. As the music plays on, Layla cuddles closer to Nabu. Flora notices this and remembers that Layla hates ballroom music. She gets up quickly and rushes to Musa. She whispers something in her ear and pulls away with a small grin. Musa smiles before nodding. Flora runs back to her seat and resumes with the pictures. Musa whispers something softly to herself before pointing to the radio. The music stops before a pop song starts playing loudly, which echoes throughout the room.

Helia's pov

When Flora gets up and runs to Musa, I become a little curious. Musa and Flora are both smiling at each other before Flora goes back to her seat. Then Musa whispers a spell to herself before changing the music. The second the music changes, the photographer tells everyone but Flora to leave the area so Flora can take individual pictures. Flora transforms into her winx form. She poses for the camera with a giggle.

"Flora, what are you doing?" Jay asks.

"I'm giving the public the real Flora. Is there a problem?" Flora explains.

"This is untraditional!" Willow says sharply.

"About that, the theme of the ball is breaking from tradition and stepping toward the future," Flora explains.

Flora's parents walk to her and stand side by side with her. She smiles at her parents and kisses both of their cheeks. They take a few pictures before her sisters come and take a picture with her prom style along with the girls. Her uncle start to walk to her but she puts her hand up.

"Panther mode unleash!" she shouts as a black cloud surrounds her.

The cloud of black smoke spins around her at rapid speed. Through the smoke, a pair of red eyes flash before the smoke fades. When the smoke clears, it reveals Flora in a half human half panther form. She is wearing a tight fitting black uniform and has panther paws, red eyes, and a tail. Flora looks stunning and timid even though even though her outfit makes her look so confident.

"Oh my gosh!" I respond with my jaw open.

"Helia," Flora says with a giggle as a small blush reaches her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, but you look so stunning and… wow," I apologize to her as I make my way to her.

This only makes her blush become more present. I wrap my arms around her waist and place my neck on her soft warm shoulder. I rub her curvy hips as I nuzzle into her neck.

"Baby, my family is here," Flora whispers softly with a small giggle.

I just smirk into her neck before pulling away to give her a kiss. She wraps her arms around my neck as she returned the kiss. I pull away from her to see her looking breathless. I kiss her red, hot cheek before walking back to the guys. Her uncles give me a somewhat evil yet playful grin before walking to Flora. They take staffs in their hands and hold them in striking position. Then they leave for Flora to take a few pictures by herself before she calls Romeo to come in to join her. She transforms back into her ballgown in order to take a few pictures with her grandparents. She tries to smile, but it doesn't look right. I try to distract her by blowing her kisses. She smiles to me, which looks completely different than before. Her expression changes from stiff and serious to relaxed and happy.

She does one more transformation back into her winx uniform and motions for the guys to come. The guys and Flora take a few pictures before Flora sprints to me and takes my hand. She practically drags me to the center and we take several photos. It's nice seeing Flora like this. Carefree and not worrying about her family.

Her father and mother tell us that they need Flora to be fitted for her dress. We leave for the vehicles and send the girls off to the royal dress parlor.

Flora's pov

My aunts, my grandmother, my mom, the girls, and I head to the royal dressing parlor to find the perfect dress for the ceremony. I am really close friends with Beth, the dressmaker, since we bonded when Lily and Rose had their ceremony. She is a middle aged woman with long blond wavy hair and thin glasses and blue eyes. Her eyes widened slightly to see me. I haven't seen her in over 5 years. She is the only person besides Stella with my dresses and outfits for events. Beth rushes to me, causing her heels to click loudly. She greets me with a bright smile and a small giggle as I embrace her happily.

"Hello, Princess Flora. You look absolutely wonderful," she says with a cheery smile.

"It is good to see you, Beth. You remember the family. These are my friends: Princesses Bloom, Stella, Layla, Musa, and Tecna," I introduce them.

"Will I be making dresses for them as well?" Beth asks.

"That is up to them," I imply while I look at Stella.

"I would love to see what Ms. Beth can do. I saw the dresses that she made for Lily and Rose, and they look absolutely fabulous," Stella says with a smile.

"Let's get Flora's measurements first," Mom says as she walks me into one of the changing rooms.

"Alright, Flora. Let's have a look," Beth says as she brings out her tape. "Okay. Your waistline increased by just a few inches but other than that your dress size has not changed," Beth explains as she rolls her white tape backup.

"Fatty," Lily says as both she and Rose snicker to themselves.

"Hush, you two." Mom scowls firmly.

"What style do you want for your dress, sweetie?" Beth says trying to change the subject.

"Something traditional but modern. Does that make sense?" I try to explain to her.

"I think it does.. Come with me, dearie; I think I have the dress for you," Beth says as she takes my hand and walks me to the back room.

I follow behind her and am soon amazed by the amount of beautiful dresses on the racks. The party dresses and ball gowns all arranged by color and size. I let go of Beth's hand and look through them carefully. My eyes go to a pink ball gown with light sparkly sleeves. It's so beautiful, but I don't think it's for me. I look through them but nothing screams to me. I hear Beth talking to me but I don't even hear her as my eyes go to a red mermaid dress with roses at the bottom and a black sash around the waist. I go to pick it up off the rack to look at it closer.

"Beth, has anyone ever worn this dress before?" I ask curiously.

"No. Actually, I just finished it yesterday," Beth says as she walks over to me.

"I have an idea. Stella, come here!" I call out to her as my mind starts to make this dress one that no one will believe.

Helia's pov

When the girls leave to get Flora's dress, I have this feeling that we are being watched. Every time I look up, I see Flora's uncle turning their heads. I can see them talking but I can't hear them. The guys and I are in the quad, and I look out the corner of my eye to see Flora's uncle and father. They walk over to us, and they have small smirks on their faces.

"Boys, since the girls are away working on the dresses, we want to take you boys somewhere," Geoff says with serious look on his face.

"It's nowhere deadly. It's just a trail," Julian says as a suspicious look appears on our faces.

"Come on," David encourages as he motions for us to follow them.

We all simply shrug as we follow them deep into the Limphean forest. The forest is simply beautiful. The flowers are in full bloom, the small forest animal pay no mind to us as we walk down the path. The wind makes the trees dance as if they were ballerinas. Simply a marvelous sight to see. The scent in the air is sweet and calming. They take us up on a hill that looks over the entire palace. It's breathtaking. There is a field of flower fully in bloom. You can even see a waterfall that is a few yards away from the palace. I look around to see that the guys are gone. I start to get worried but Julian places a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Helia. My brothers are with your friends. I wanted to talk to you alone," Julian explains.

"What about, sir?" I ask curiously.

"This is about Flora," Julian says as he keeps his eyes on the view.

"I am listening," I reply to him.

"Flora, she was a miracle. When she was born, she was nearly dead. I thank Mother Nature every day that my little girl is alive. I honestly believe that if Mother did not appear when she did and enter Flora's body, she would not be here today. When she was born, I was forced to wait in the hall, and I waited to her my child cry. When I didn't hear her, my heart stopped. I ran into the room and ordered for the doctors to save her. All of a sudden, a ball of green light appeared and entered Flora's body. Her beautiful eyes opened and she started to cry and I knew she was going to live," Julian explains as his whole posture changes.

I simply stand there, not saying a word. What do you say after hearing something like that?

"I made it my mission to keep her from all danger. I especially wanted to keep her away from boys. When Drake entered her life, I knew something was wrong. I had that fatherly feeling in my gut that he was no good for her. I honestly don't get that bad gut feeling from you. You are different, Helia. I only want what is best for Flora. She is my little girl. What father does not want the best for their child? Helia, promise me that you will protect her," Julian says as he turns to look at me.

"I promise you that I will. Flora is my entire heart. I would never in a thousand years ever think about hurting her in any type of way. I love her too much to hurt her," I explain honestly.

"I have a feeling that you do. But I am warning you, if you hurt my little girl, I do promise you that the entire Limphiean army will be on you. Am I understood?" Julian says in a deep, menacing voice.

"I swear," I promise him, trying not to look away from his gaze.

"Good. Now, let's go back to the others," Julian says as he voice changes to his normal, calm, happy tone.

I nod slowly and follow behind him. After about ten minutes of looking for the guys and Julian's brothers, we find Riven pinned down on the ground on his back by Zeo, and the rest of the guys laughing at him.

"What happened?" Julian asks.

"He started it!" Riven and Zeo shout as they start to point at each other.

"Riven was being a smartass again and Zeo wanted to shut him up," Sky explains with a small chuckle.

"Zeo, let the child go please," Julian says with a chuckle.

Zeo groans in annoyance as he lets Riven go. He walks back to his brothers as Riven practically hobbles back to us.

"Come on, boys. The girls will be back soon," Mark says as he starts to walk up a different path.

"Where are we going?" Brandon asks.

"We're taking you boys to the top," Geoff says as he follows behind them.

"It's just a small hike," David says as he starts to jog ahead with Alex and Mark.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Timmy says with a curious yet worried look on his face as he pushes up his glasses.

We all start chuckling as we follow behind them. To make long story short, we stay on the trail for about two hours. The trail is actually a panther trail: thin, winding, curvy, and undeniably dangerous. We nearly get run over by boulders that roll down the hill. When we finally come back to the palace, we all nearly collapse except for Flora's father and uncles. We struggle to get up the stairs and to our room. We all collapse on our beds and pass out.

Flora's pov

The girls, my mom, my aunts, and my sisters come home to the palace and see Dad and my uncles with satisfied looks on their faces. I look around and I can't find the boys or Heila anywhere.

"Dad, where are the boys?" I ask worriedly.

"In our defense, we thought they could handle it," Dad says as he stands up from his spot on the patio.

"Dad, what did you do?" I ask in a protective growl.

"Flo, calm down it was my idea," Mark explains.

"What did you do to my boyfriend?" I demand in a full growl.

"In his room. We kind of took the boys on the trail," David explains.

"What?!" I shout to them as I run into the palace to see if Helia is alive.

I hear the loud footsteps of the girls and my uncles, along with my parents running after me. Dad knows how dangerous that trail is for panthers but he takes my boyfriend along with them. I can barely handle that trail what makes him think that they could. I'm gonna kill dad once I get my hands on him. I go to the boys' room to see Helia and the boys covered in dust and passed out on the bed.

"Helia!" I shout worriedly as I rush to his side.

The girls rush over to their boyfriends, but I ignore them as I try to wake Helia up.

"What happened?" I demand as my eyes turn slightly red.

"We almost got ran over by a boulder," Geoff says, slightly afraid.

A loud, protective growl makes it way out of my throat. It accidentally wakes up Heila, and he stirs. I stop growling and my eyes turn back to normal.

"Are you okay, sweetie? I'm sorry that Dad made you go on that trail," I apologize to him as I kiss his face frantically.

"It's okay, Flora. I'm fine," he says through his chuckles as I keep pressing kisses to his cheeks.

I whimper sadly as I morph into kitten form and curl on his chest. I rub my head against his cheek in a way to comfort him. He comes at me softly as he rubs my now fury small back. I curl into a small ball under his chin and give the men, or should I say idiots, in my family the evil glare. I smell an odd scent in the air which makes me jump off his chest. I change back to normal, and I quietly run to the door. I can tell by my father's look in his eyes that he senses something odd.

"You smell that, right?" I ask in a soft whisper.

"Yes. Who is it?" Dad asks.

"The scent is so familiar. I just can't put my finger on it," I explain as I take off my heels and run to the closet.

All the rooms have secret compartments in the closets, under the beds, and even in the wall. I type in the combination and the wall extends out to reveal seven bo staffs. I hand them out to my uncles and dad, keeping one for myself. I rush to the door and I think to myself, where is Romeo?

"Dad, Romeo didn't come with you, right?" I ask worriedly.

"He might have gone with Linus and Logan for a run," Mark says, keeping a soft whisper.

"Everyone else stays here and we'll go and take a look," Dad says as he starts to make his way to the door.

Dad and the uncles kiss their wives before heading to the door. I go to kiss Helia on the cheek and make my way to the door.

"Flo, what are you doing?" Helia asks in a loud whisper.

"Ordering a pizza. What does it look like? I'm going with them; I'll be right back," I explain as I run back to him.

"I don't want you going out there," he says in a protective tone as he takes my hand.

"I'll be fine. Lock the door behind us and don't answer it unless you know for a fact it's me okay. Te amo," I say to him as I kiss him softly.

"Okay. Te amo," he says as he gives me a kiss and lets my hand go.

I run quietly back to the door and follow behind Uncle Geoff. We make our way down the stairs in stealth mode. Suddenly, there's a warm hand covering my mouth as I elbow the attacker in the stomach. He moves his hand and I move to strike but stop when I realize it's just Linus and Papi.

"Don't you ever sneak up on me like that again!" I order him in a harsh whisper.

"Sorry, Flora. What's going on?" Linus asks in a whisper.

"Someone is in the palace," Dad explains.

" Linus and I will take the yard," Papi says.

"Geoff and I will take the west side of the house," Mark says.

"Alex and I have the east," David says.

" Zeo and I have the dining hall and the kitchen," Dad says.

"What about Flora?" Linus asks.

"I think Romeo can come with me, right boy?" I ask as I rub Romeo's head.

We all nod and run to our spots. Since most of the palace is being looked over, Romeo and I try to find the scent. As we make our way to the main sitting room, the scent gets strong. Romeo trails the scent only to be kicked by a red stiletto boot.

"Romeo!" I scream as I lunge at the attacker.

I fight the attacker for about ten seconds until I have her pinned to the ground, showing off my fangs.

"What?" I growl in shock as I see the face of the intruder.

"Diaspro." I whisper in shock as I let her arms go.