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And of course, I don't own Winx Club or the story cover.

Book I - Chapter II: Death By Confusion

Updated: 13/11/22

When I came to, the first thing I registered was that my skin was painful and burning. Something was also tickling my nose, almost like a feather was being drawn back and forth over it, and there was another presence at my back.

My eyes fluttered open and I instantly reeled back. There was a nose right in my face! I hit something, something that groaned, and I twisted around in more horror. There was a girl curled up beside me.

I gazed around in a daze. Scorched grass, trees, blue sky above me…

"It wasn't a dream…" My stomach dropped as I stared at the girl. "No, not a girl. Stella." I choked, my heart thumping loudly. "Dear God, I have to be dreaming! I can't really be in the Winx Club!" I reached over to the girl and gave her a little prod. She groaned in protest, turning onto her other side, but not waking up. "She is real! No, no, no, NO! Body swapping is one thing but ending up in a cartoon… I feel like I am stuck in some bad fanfiction! Really bad fanfiction! This isn't real! Magic and fairies aren't REAL!"

"Neither is body swapping yet here you are."

I gritted my teeth. Now that was a voice I could have gone without. "Hello, mother." I choked as more details came rushing back. "Oh, no! Vanessa! What time is it? How long have I been out? She must be so worried!" I scrambled to my feet and swayed dangerously. My legs were made out of lead and my body was aching all over, like I had been hit by a truck and then had a piano dropped on top of me. "Is that what magic does to you? Great, just great. Why would you use it if these are the consequences?" I slapped a hand to my forehead. "Will you stop that? Just listen to yourself, talking about magic and consequences. You are in a fucking cartoon, Sybil!"

I turned back to Stella, who was still out cold and more than a little pale. Wasn't she supposed to be the fairy of the sun and the moon, not to mention the princess of Solaria? The realm of the sun? How could she possibly be pale?

"She is still tanner than you."

I scowled at the voice. "Why must you sound like mother?"

I quickly searched for my phone. Luckily it still worked. The protective screen was cracked but that was why I had the thing, and other than that, it seemed undamaged.

The clock told me I hadn't been out that long. My break wasn't even over yet. "Oh, thank God! Vanessa hasn't been worrying herself sick." I tucked my phone back in my pocket before sitting back on the ground and crossing my legs. Kiko – the one who had been tickling my nose I realised – was examining Stella, sniffing gently while his ears twitched back and forth. The girl did not steer in the least, barely even scrunched her nose when he tickled her. "Now what to do with you?"

I perched an elbow on one knee and rested my chin on my palm, carefully observing Stella.

Winx Club had been my favourite cartoon for the longest time. I even dared to say that my love for fantasy and magic had all been kickstarted by the Winx Club. I had watched that first season over and over, too addicted to care that I had seen each episode already four or five times. I had stopped watching around season three. The network hadn't broadcasted new episodes halfway through the season and eventually I grew tired of watching the same episodes over and over again. I found something new to watch and by the time they picked up on it once more, I had grown over it.

But I didn't remember any of this.

The girl in front of me looked nothing like the Stella I remembered from the cartoon. Where was her scarcely clad fairy outfit? The pigtails? The unpractical high heels?

Kiko let out a low growl beside me, his eyes nearly popping out as he stared into the distance. My attention instantly snapped to him, my frown deepening. "You are supposed to be a rabbit," I told him. My kitten paid me no mind. "And if I really am supposed to be that Bloom than why aren't I wearing flaring jeans and a way too short T-shirt?"

Nothing looked like it had in the cartoon and I was pretty sure I was living in Gardena, California, and not Gardenia. Knut and his ghouls – they were ghouls, right, or was I remembering that wrong? – hadn't been that scary or homicidal either. Truthfully, the only time a death was truly mentioned was when Tecna sacrificed herself to safe Andros, which was the last episode I had ever seen.

I shuddered. "Can you imagine putting those ghouls in a kid's show, Kiko? They were scary enough to give me nightmares, let alone young children." But Kiko was still solely focussed on whatever he was focussed on. I grumbled, rubbing my eyes. "Just listen to me. Anyone passing by must think I have finally lost it." Hell, I was beginning to think I was crazy and stuck in some weird hallucination.

They would be right to think I had lost my marbles. I was sitting in the middle of a clearing in the burning sun with an unconscious cartoon character, being another cartoon character myself. Just hearing me think that to myself was enough to make me wonder whether I wouldn't be better off in a psychiatric institute.

"Yeah, but then again they would have done that the moment I had tried to explain my name is Sybil and not Bloom and I am simply possessing her."I pinched my nose. "Marvellous, simply marvellous. I can now officially add hijacking the body of a lost princess from a fictional realm to me resume."

I gazed down at Stella once more, still not sure what I was supposed to do with her. In the cartoon Bloom took her home with her, but how was I supposed to do that? Stella was taller than I was and I was no body-builder. There was no way I could carry her. And even if I could have, that was a recipe for disaster. I wouldn't make it out of the park before someone halted me and asked me why I was carrying an unconscious girl on my back. I would be in cuffs before I ever made it home.

"If I take her home and everything will happen like it did in the cartoon, then Knut and his ghouls will follow us there and attack. I can't do that to Mike and Vanessa!" I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache rising. "But I can't leave her here. They might come back and she is no shape to fight…"

I turned to Kiko, who had snapped out of his trance and resumed his inspection of Stella. "What do you suggest we do?" Kiko just blinked and I let out a deep sigh. "Oh, this is so messed up!"

I wanted to cry, to run home and crawl into my bed, hide under the covers and forget that any of this happened. My life was already complicated enough with the whole body-switching thing without having to worry about magic and witches and those witches stealing my powers and raising an unbeatable army to spread death and destruction.

I scoffed. "Since when did they become my powers?" I groaned, resting my head in my hands. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?!"

Kiko meowed softly and crawled into my lap, nudging me gently. I dropped my hands again and scratched his ear. "I am having a bit of a meltdown, little guy."

Stella stirred for a moment, letting out a pitiful moan, but that was it. She was lying in a rather odd position and the ground wasn't all that comfortable…

"Damn me and my sympathy." I sighed, my shoulders slumping. "We can't leave her here. We will have to find a way to get her home." Kiko meowed softy, nudging me with his head again. "Yeah, yeah, I know. If I take her home, we will be attacked. I will try to think of a solution to that next. One step at the time. Don't rush me." I let out another sigh, a plan slowly forming itself in my head. "Okay, now the big question is: how am I going to explain this to Mike?"

Despite not having an answer, I still called him and told him something had happened at the park and whether he could pick me up. I also called Vanessa and explained the same thing and how I wouldn't make it back to the shop. I tried to apologize but Vanessa was having none of it and assured me she would see me at home. She could manage the shop on her own.

Mike showed up not long after. When he saw me sitting on the ground with an unconscious girl beside me… Well, I worried for a moment he was having a heart-attack just by the weird faces he pulled and how he grasped at his chest.

After overcoming the initial shock, he hurried forward but rather than checking on Stella, he fell down on his knees beside me and hugged the life out of me. I simply returned it, still too numb to do much else.

"I am alright, dad. Just a little wobbly," I assured him when he pulled back. His eyes scanned my entire body, pausing on the bruise on my wrist. The one Knut had almost broken. It rather hurt. I would need to put some ice on it once we were home. "I'm really sorry I called you away from work."

Mike shook his head. "You are more important than work, sweetheart. The boys said so as well." He pulled me into another embrace. "What the hell happened?"

"Right, here comes the difficult part…"

I chewed on my lip uncertainly. "Well… I don't think you will believe me. Honestly, I am still having trouble believing it myself and I saw it happen…"

Mike pulled away, frowning. "You are making no sense."

"Can we go home first? I will explain when we are there. I am more than ready to get out of here."

Mike nodded, grabbing his phone out of his pocket. "Let me just call an ambulance for her and then we…"

"No!" I grabbed his wrist, shaking my head. "No ambulance."

Mike's brows furrowed. "Bloom…"

I tried to shoot him my secret weapon without making it too obvious. I needed him to do what I said, to take me and Stella home without asking questions and without calling any authorities. "Please, dad."

He stared at me for a moment. I swore I could hear the wheels turning in his head. Finally, he sighed and inclined his head. "Alright." He put his phone away again. "But you better have a good explanation for thi… Oh!" He let out a startled laugh when I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "It's alright, sweetheart."

Mike hadn't parked too far from the clearing and luckily, we didn't encounter anyone as we carried Stella away. We put her in the back and then got in, Kiko tagging after us and jumping in my lap the moment I sat down. My bike we left at the park. Mike promised he would go back for it later since I wasn't feeling like ever going back to the park. No, scratch that. If I never went there again, it would be too soon.

Stella was still out cold when we arrived home and I urged Mike to put her in the guest bedroom rather than the couch downstairs as he had wished to do. I had fallen asleep on that thing once and my neck had yet to recover. I wouldn't force anyone to endure that hell if there was a good alternative.

Mike decided to go back for my bike first – he claimed he was worried it might get stolen but I suspected he needed to clear his head a little – and I sought the comforts and privacy of my room. I needed to think.

"Okay, the first stage of the plan has been completed." I sank down behind my desk, resting my head in my hands. "Now what?"

Kiko padded into the room behind me and with a loud yawn curled himself onto my bed. He had apparently recovered from the shock and was in desperate need of a nap. I wished I could join him, but I knew that if I closed my eyes now, my dreams would be beyond weird and filled with images of Knut and his terrifying ghouls.

"I have to tell Mike the truth. He is not going to believe it and I can't blame him: I wouldn't believe me either. But what else can I do?"

I bit my lip harshly, tears clouding my vision. "The whole truth? Including that I am not really his daughter but rather said a snobby rich girl from a different universe where none of this is real?" I yelped as blood filled my mouth. "Ouch…"

I rubbed my forehead. "Perhaps the whole truth is not the best idea… He will probably have me admitted if I told him the whole truth at once. I am still worried he will after I tell him that Stella is a fairy and was attacked by monsters…"

I groaned, dropping my head back into my hands. "But what are you going to do, Sybil?"

That was the million-dollar question. What was I going to do? In the cartoon Bloom and Stella went to Alfea together, befriended the other three Winx and went on crazy adventures while fighting the Trix. Bloom got her powers stolen by the Trix and a war broke out because of it, she discovered she was the lost princess of Domino, got her powers back and eventually defeated the evil witches. And that was just in the first season!

Watching it had been great fun, but actually living through it…?

I shuddered. "Not all that appealing."

"But you would learn magic," whispered a little voice in the back of my mind. This one did not sound like my mother, more like an evil version of myself. "You would be a powerful fairy, if not the most powerful fairy. Power of the Dragon, remember?"

A shiver ran down my spine when I remembered what the magic had felt like. How it had called out to me. The pure electricity running through the air, the addicting pull…

"I always wanted to have powers." I drummed my fingers on the desk. "Ever since being introduced to the world of fantasy I dreamed of having them. The power to heal and defend myself, to fight back those who hurt and bully me, to make them listen…" Excitement turned in my stomach, and my fingers itched to feel that static electricity again, to use it and bend it to my will…

I frowned, shaking my head at the endless stream of thoughts. "What is wrong with you?" I scoffed. "You just learned that you are in the Winx Club and have taken over Bloom: one of your favourite characters. Why aren't you freaking out? Where is the panic, the pacing, the confusion, the denial?"

When I had first realised I was possessing someone else's body, I had been waiting for the moment I woke up, even after it sinking in that all of it was real. But now? I was completely and utterly calm, like this was the most normal thing in the world and not something that only happened in fanfiction. Rather than freaking out, I was fantasizing about going to Alfea with Stella and learning magic.

I violently shook my head. "You shouldn't want any of that, you idiot. Haven't you been paying attention? This isn't like the cartoon. The creatures here are a lot scarier and more dangerous, and Knut was trying to kill Stella. That didn't happen in the cartoon. Nobody dies in cartoons, only the bad guys and even they rarely truly die."

Not only did that mean things were different, but it also meant not everything would happen like I had seen in the cartoon. Quite the opposite, I couldn't be sure of anything.

"Except what you decide to change," whispered that little voice again, the one who seemed hellbent on convincing me to follow the storyline and go to Alfea. "What harm is there in making a few changes?"

I chewed on my lip, thinking hard. "I could find a spell which binds the Dragon's Flame to me, so that the Trix can't steal it from me. If that exists, of course. Without the Dragon's Flame, they won't be able to raise the Army of the Darkness and start a war." I absently rubbed a finger over my lips. "And I know that the first professor Avalon is evil and working for Darkar, so I won't fall for his tricks either. That will stop me from becoming evil. And I know what the Trix will try to do to get the Codex in season two. I could prevent all of that from happening. Then my years at Alfea wouldn't be filled with danger and battle, but with making friends and learning magic…"

Magic… Just the word alone was like a drug I was desperate for. I yearned for it.

"You always wanted to have powers and now that you do, you are going to pass up on them?" whispered that voice. "This is your once in a lifetime, Sybil. You will regret it the rest of your life if you turn it down. You know you will."

I nodded quietly to myself, mind made up. "Okay, I will go to Alfea with Stella."

That still left me with a handful of problems. First: how was I going to tell Mike and Vanessa and make them believe me? Second: how was I going to stop Knut and his ghouls from attacking me and Stella a second time and destroying the house? Third… Well, currently there was no third.

I rubbed my forehead as no answer came to mind. "Maybe I should start with writing down everything I remember from the cartoon. That way I won't forget anything. And I can write down the differences as well." I rubbed the skin above my lip again. "It is all a little mashed up as well. I haven't watched Winx Club in years… When did Bloom start dreaming about Daphne, was that before or after Riven met Darcy? And when again did the Trix realise that Bloom was the holder of the Dragon's Flame?" I grabbed one of my many empty notebooks out of the bookcase and sat back down. "Okay, first episode…"

I was still writing – not even halfway through season one – when a knock on my door finally tore me away from memory lane. The door opened and while I had expected it to be Mike, it was Vanessa who entered. I shot a quick glance out of the window – finding the sun still up and shining – and then to the time.

I frowned. Vanessa wasn't supposed to be home just yet, which could only mean…

I sighed, putting down my pen and closing my notebook. "Dad called you." Vanessa didn't answer, but when she sat down on my desk and embraced me tightly, that was all the answer I needed. "He shouldn't have. I am alright, really. It is St– the other girl I am worried about."

"She is still out cold." Vanessa ran her fingers through my hair. "What happened, sweetheart?"

I chewed on my lip, glancing once again at the window. Dread was twisting in my stomach, urging me to make something up rather than tell the truth. "Is dad back yet?" Vanessa nodded and I repeated the notion, still chewing on my lip. "Okay…"

Vanessa pursed her lips, her eyes shining with silent tears. "Is it that bad?"

"No- yes- I don't know." I sighed. "It is weird, crazy." That did nothing to assure the kind woman beside me.

No word was spoken as I led her downstairs, finding Mike pacing in the living room. He stopped when I entered and I grimaced slightly. He had the serious sparkle in his eyes, one he rarely had and one I didn't like all that much. Mike was rarely serious.

"You two better sit down," I offered. "It is…" I shook my head. I honestly didn't have the words to describe how crazy this situation was, and I wouldn't even tell them half of it.

Mike and Vanessa sat down, tensely, and I started, explaining everything from arriving to the park to calling Mike. They didn't interrupt me once, though I could see Mike wanted to a few times.

When I finally ended the story, Mike and Vanessa were staring at me. Vanessa had her hands clasped in front of her mouth and her eyes were glazed over, while Mike was stuck between wanting to laugh and scream.

"If I hadn't come to and found that girl beside me, I would have thought I had dreamed the whole thing," I told them. "I know how crazy all of this sounds. I don't blame you if you think I have lost my marbles, because I would think the same if I were in your shoes, but it really happened. Please believe me."

Mike finally snapped out of it, shaking his head. "Bloom, sweetheart…" My shoulders slumped at his tone. He didn't believe me. "Are you off your medication again?"

Now that was just offensive. "This isn't one of my hallucinations, dad!" I scoffed, resting my hands on my hips. "And no! I am not!"

"You are talking about monsters, walking corpses and fairies," protested Mike, shaking his head. He turned to Vanessa, who was still staring at me. "I think we better call doctor Morton. Either she developed another tolerance to her medication, or the dose needs to increased."

"I am not making this up!" I gritted my teeth, fury arising from how quickly Mike was writing this off as a hallucination. "And I don't need more medication!"

"That is what you said last time," reminded Mike me. I had no idea what he was talking about. Probably something the real Bloom had done. "Sweetheart, when you have an episode, your fantasy is reality. You can't distinguish right from wrong."

I stomped my foot in anger. I knew Mike would be hard to convince but that he was writing it off on me having a psychosis… "Then wait until the girl is awake and ask her!"

Mike rose to his feet. He wasn't angry. Instead, he was sad and worried. Grieving even. "Bloom, we are your parents and we love you. We want what is best for you, and right now we have already wasted enough time." He placed his hands on my shoulders and I flinched as a sharp pain shot through my body at the touch. Oh, that hurt! "I am going to call doctor Morton to explain you have suffered another set-back and then an ambulance for that girl…"

"Oh, please don't," interrupted a cheerful voice.

I swiftly turned around to find Stella half-way down the stairs. All earlier paleness was gone and her eyes were shining. Only then did it hit me how stunning she was. She had a beautiful sun-kissed tan that made her long blonde hair resemble liquid gold. She was slenderer than I was, but not as curved, and quite a bit taller. If I had to guess she was about my original height. But the most astonishing feature were her eyes. They were the colour of the setting sun.

"No wonder Brandon fell in love with her so badly."

She smiled brightly as she caught our gazes. "From what little I remember of my history lessons, Earth doesn't have any magic nor believes in it. Explaining that I am the princess of a magical realm far away from here will be –" She laughed, shrugging carelessly. "– a tad difficult."

Mike's hands fell from my shoulders, clearly shocked that the girl was backing up my story rather than debunking it. I hissed again, glancing at my shoulders. They were as red as my hair and practically glowing.

"Oh, I completely forgot about that in all the excitement." I grimaced. "I won't be getting any sleep the upcoming week. Ouch, this is going to hurt so much…"

Stella walked down the stairs with a grace only a princess could possess and then strutted towards me with a confidence and elegance that made me cringe. I couldn't walk like that no matter how hard I would try. "Oh, mother would have loved her!"

She stopped in front of me and her smile widened. How she hadn't blinded me with her perfect white teeth yet, I had no idea.

She grasped my hands. "I can't thank you enough for what you did. Without you…" She shook her head dismissively, causing her hair to rustle on either side of her face. "Well, I wouldn't be here." Her fingers tightened on mine and her hazel eyes almost pierced my soul. "I am forever in your debt."

"Oh!" I quickly shook my head, my cheeks flushing. "No, that's okay. I mean…" I chuckled nervously. "When I heard him order those things to kill you, I just couldn't stand by and do nothing. Really, anyone would have done the same."

Stella shook her head, a grim look crossing her face. "No, they wouldn't. Ghouls are frightening creatures. Even the bravest of paladins would think twice before throwing themselves in between them and their prey." Then her smile was back and she pulled her hands away from mine. "I am Stella of Solaria," she introduced herself, dropping into a low curtsey that made my eyebrows shoot all the way up to my hairline. How could she balance herself like that on one leg in those heels and not fall on her face?! "And I owe you my life."

"Nice to meet you, Stella," I smiled. She rose to her feet with another bright smile. "I am Bloom Peters." I held out my hand to her and she stared at it curiously. "Uh… We shake hands here to introduce ourselves," I explained with a shrug.

Stella's smile was back in a flash and she eagerly shook my hand, with her left one. "Oh, how delightful!"

I smothered my chuckles and decided not to correct her. She probably already felt like a fish out of water. Instead I pointed to Mike and Vanessa. "And these are my parents, Mike and Vanessa." Stella dropped into another curtsey. "My dad helped me to get you here."

"Oh, thank you so much." Stella shot him a radiant smile after straightening. "I don't want to think what might have happened if we remained in that spot." She shuddered, rubbing her hands over her arms like she had suddenly gone cold. "Something dark happened there. I sensed it the moment I crash landed into it."

My eyes widened. "Really?" Adding silently: "Hmm, interesting… I will have to write that down."

Stella nodded. "I shouldn't have been surprised. Dark magic always attracts other dark magic, and when those horrible creatures shot me down…" She shuddered again and a shadow passed over her face. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, all traces of it fading away when she smiled brightly again. "It is all in the past and if I hadn't landed there, our paths wouldn't have crossed." She took another step towards me, grasping my hands into her own again. I suppressed the urge to flinch back. Stella apparently hadn't ever heard of personal space. "Why, you have one if not THE most powerful aura I have ever encountered. Of course, you couldn't be anything but powerful. My sceptre was willing to follow your command and it doesn't just listen to anyone." Her eyes shined like a sunrise and she was practically bouncing. "How old are you? I'm guessing we are about the same age."

I blinked, finding Stella's trail of thoughts and word-vomiting a little hard to follow. "Uh… I am eighteen?"

"I knew it!" Stella actually twirled, her hair following after her like a veil. "I am rarely wrong," she then explained cockily. "Were you accepted to Alfea?" My lips parted to answer, but she was already waving her hand dismissively. "Of course you were. With that aura they probably begged you to attend."

I wetted my lips before interrupting Stella who was now spewing one fact right after another over Alfea and their admission requirements. I had to play a part after all and Bloom Peters didn't know she was a fairy or what Alfea was. "Uh, what is Alfea?"

Stella made a choking sound, her hand landing on her chest with an appalled face. "You don't know what Alfea is?"

I shook my head, inwardly grinning gleefully. If I kept this up, I should be nominated for an Oscar. "I don't even know how I did – well, whatever I did with your sceptre."

Stella's jaw slacked. "Are you telling me that when you jumped in front of me, you had no idea you had powers?" I shook my head again and this time I wasn't even lying. Stella stared at me and much to my horror her bottom lip began to tremble. The next moment she was squeezing me to her chest and sobbing.

I gently rubbed her back, not quite sure what had gotten her so upset. "Uh, Stella? Are you alright?" Stella nodded, but judging by the sobs that continued to spill from her lips she was anything but. I sighed, tightening my own grip on her and continuing to rub her back. "There, there…"

"Oh, I have heard enough of this!" Mike burst out, clearly having shaken off the shock. I tried to glance back at him but Stella was still holding me in a death grip, unwilling to let me go just yet. "I am calling the police! This is madness! You should be ashamed of yourself, young lady, to take advantage of my daughter in her fragile state…" He let out a startled yelp and this time I forced Stella to let me go so I could see what was happening.

Kiko was racing through the living room after a mouse? How on earth had a mouse gotten into our house? Mike was in shock once more, staring at the creature like it had three heads. Stella chuckled, sniffing loudly and rubbing a hand under her nose. "Now do you believe me?"

"You… You…" Mike pointed at the mouse. Kiko caught it, but just as he was going for the kill, Stella snapped her fingers and the mouse disappeared. Instead Kiko was holding Mike's phone. "How…"

"Your daughter is a fairy," explained Stella easily. I noticed that Vanessa hadn't moved one inch from her spot on the couch and was staring completely shocked at the two of us. "And from what I have seen, a very powerful one." She turned back to me. "Now that I know, I insist you come with me to Alfea. It is a magical school for fairies, you see? The finest in the entire magic dimension." She giggled to herself. "Well, actually it is the only one unless you count the Beta Academy but everyone knows that is second-rate school."

"Fairy?" I repeated, blinking confused. Or I hoped that was what it looked like. "You are telling me I am a fairy? That I have magic?"

Stella frowned. "Of course. Surely odd things have happened around you, things you couldn't explain? You see that with all magical creatures. Especially once puberty sets in." She waved a hand through the air. "They used to start teaching at the age of sixteen, but the Magic Council changed it after a few too many incidents. Claimed it was because adolescents don't have the maturity to handle the responsibility that came with their powers, that they take advantage of their powers and abuse it. I think it's ridiculous. We have them, don't we? Why shouldn't we be allowed to take advantage of it?"

I opened my mouth to respond but then noticed that Mike had gone pale and was still staring at his phone. Now that it was no longer a mouse, Kiko had grown bored with it and instead was stroking my legs with his tail, meowing softly. Mike, however, was still entranced by it.

"Dad?" He didn't respond. I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. "Daddy?"

"Magic…" uttered Mike, not responding to my touch at all. "It can't be…"

"Of course, it can." I turned to Vanessa as she finally spoke. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she shot me a watery smile. "Mike, we have always known Bloom was special. For heaven's sake, you rescued her as a baby. From a fire which refused to go near her." She placed a hand on my shoulder and I bit back a whimper at another flash of pain. Her fingers were shaking, the only indication that she was struggling with this new information as much as Mike was. "It is your choice, sweetheart, but I think you should go with Stella to this school." My lips parted in shock, actual shock. She smiled sadly. "Oh, I don't want you to go, but I think you need to. I think…" Her breath hitched and her bottom lip quivered as more tears filled her eyes. "I think you will find what you are looking for there."

I bit my lip as shame crashed through me, my cheeks flushing guiltily. With everything that had happened, I had never stopped to think how Mike and Vanessa would feel about any of this. Never taken a moment to consider their opinions on me moving to an entirely different dimension – one they hadn't known existed until now and certainly couldn't travel to – and go to a school they had never heard about, on the word of this girl I had just met that magic was being taught there.

Now that I was thinking about it, if I had been my own daughter I would have objected loudly and considered the whole thing more than a little shady.

"Oh, mom." I wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her just as tightly as I did Mike.

Maybe going to Alfea wasn't the best choice. Especially not when I knew trouble awaited me there. Sure, I could try to prevent it from happening but the bottom line was that the Trix were trying to find the Dragon's Flame and I was its Keeper. They would figure that out if I went to Alfea, and while I knew what happened in the cartoon, the reality had already proven to be quite different. Who was to say I would survive my encounter with them?

"Will it really be worth it? Leaving them and this safety behind just to learn magic?"

I sniffed, rubbing a hand over my cheeks as I noticed they were damp. "This is all so much…" I glanced at Stella, who was smiling sadly at the three of us from a distance. "This morning I was still just Bloom, and now…?"

"I understand," nodded Stella, shooting me a reassuring smile. "It is a lot to take in. But if you want, I can show you the school." She snapped in her fingers and suddenly she was holding a postcard. "You won't have to decide now. I won't have to leave until tomorrow. My original plan was to go to Magix for some shopping, stay the night there and then be on time for the start of the new year the next day. But Magix isn't going anywhere and I can go shopping another time."

Vanessa turned to her husband, who was rubbing his face. "Mike?"

I followed her example somewhat eager. "Dad?"

I hadn't realised how much it would mean to me if Mike and Vanessa came with me and gave me their blessing. Vanessa had already given it, but her husband didn't seem onboard with the idea yet.

Mike took a deep breath in and then let it back out. "Alright. Why not? I don't think things can get any crazier."

I couldn't keep in the menacing chuckle. "Careful what you wish for."

Stella shot me a curious glance but didn't ask. She deposited the card on the floor and instantly it grew in size until it was big enough for all four of us to stand on it at the same time. I couldn't make out what was on the card, though. It resembled a pool, ripples running constantly over the surface, but guessed it was much like the card from the cartoon.

Stella smiled, all traces of her earlier tears gone. "Follow me." She stepped onto the card and instantly sunk away in it. I glanced at Mike and Vanessa, whose eyes had turned as round as sausages. "Hurry up, or else the portal will close," called Stella from out of the card.

I stepped on to the card and grimaced slightly. It was like stepping into water without getting wet. I could feel the liquid splash around my ankles and tug at my clothes, I even held my breath as my head disappeared through it, but the suffocation remained absent. Breathing in the air of the card was different, though. Like I was in one of those cities covered in smog.

When I landed beside Stella and gotten used to breathing in the thick air, I found myself standing in an enormous garden. In the far distance was, towering high above me, a beautiful castle, but not the pink one I had mentally prepared myself for. Instead, white stones greeted me, practically shimmering in the sunlight. It was positioned on a hill overlooking the garden and absolutely enormous. From where I stood the castle seemed to have much like the shape it had in the cartoon, but that was where the similarities ended. Turrets stood proud on every corner of the castle and in between them was a solid dark roof. I couldn't count the number of windows it had. They were so many! Honestly, the world spun before my eyes just by trying to count them.

I gaped at the beauty of the castle and the garden surrounding it. "Bloody hell, it is that I know I am in the Winx Club universe or else I would be sure I had stumbled upon Hogwarts."

"Beautiful, isn't it?" spoke Stella from beside me. I had completely forgotten she was there and turned wide-eyed at her. She laughed. "Most people have this reaction when they see it for the first time. That is why they hand-out these cards. That way there won't be a jam on the first day of the year." Vanessa and Mike were on her other side and staring in just as much awe at the castle as I was. "Well, this is Alfea castle. We are currently standing in its gardens. They grow almost every herb and flower here and then some. It stretches much further then we can see, and then disappears into the woods," she explained as a true guide. "The entrance is all the way on the other side of the castle. You have to pass through the gates first and then you come into the courtyard. If you like this garden, just wait until you see that one."

"It… it…" Mike's voice caught in his throat. "It is beautiful…"

"You should see my father's palace," chuckled Stella, waving her hand dismissively. "It is twice as big and made out of stones that reflect the sunlight. It is almost like the castle itself is a sun."

"Palace?" echoed Mike, his eyes widening. "Wait, you are a princess?" I chuckled. He had clearly been too shocked to notice Stella's earlier quip about being the princess of a faraway realm.

"Hmm-hmm." Stella shot him a radiant smile. "I am the princess of Solaria and heir to the throne." She waved another dismissive hand. "You don't need to bow."

I bit my lip to smother more chuckles. I doubted either Mike or Vanessa had considered doing that.

"Are there many princesses attending Alfea?" questioned Vanessa, her eyes gazing curiously at the blonde girl beside us.

Stella shook her head at once. "Quite the opposite, most kings and queens prefer to home-school their children. They don't like them to mingle with the common folk. Others think that the magical schools are way too forward in what they teach. It is all rather medieval if you ask me. My mother attended Alfea when she was younger and insisted I follow in her footsteps. She believes Alfea is a good preparation for my role as future queen rather than a liability." She shrugged. "But Solaria is one of the more modern kingdoms in the Magic Dimension."

This spiked my interest. It was a shame I wasn't carrying my notebook. I needed to write this down. "Really?"

"Hmm-hmm." Stella shot me one of her radiant smiles. "Take Andros for example. That is the realm of the sea, by the way. They still believe in something as barbaric as arranged marriages. Trust me, the day a princess of Andros attends Alfea I will cut off my hair." I bit my lip to keep my snort in. I couldn't wait until she met Layla. "Melody is another example." I frowned at the way she spoke the name. There was an underlying bitterness, possibly even hatred, in it. "If you hadn't guessed, Melody is the realm of music and music is everything to them. It is sacred, practically a religion. Anything that could influence it for the worst is therefore out of the question. Melody is even less likely to send their princesses to Alfea then Andros."

"How many realms are there?" wondered Vanessa. I smiled. She was as curious about all of this as I was, beating me to asking questions by just a second. "It sounds like there are quite a few."

"Pff." Stella let out a deep dramatic sigh and her shoulders slumped a little, yet she never lost her cheerfulness. "I am supposed to know the answer to that, but honestly, the history of the Magic Dimension was never really my thing. I can't remember, sorry." She shrugged, shooting Vanessa an apologetic smile. "But quite a lot. Some aren't habitable, though. There is the Omega Dimension, which is basically a prison realm, and then there is Domino –" I couldn't help but tense at the name, something twisted in my stomach and urged me on to do something. "– which was once a vibrant realm but is now a complete and utter desolation."

The words fluttered through my head like little birds. "Wow…"

Stella clapped her hands with a bright smile. "So this is Alfea castle in the realm of Magix. Magix is basically the capitol of the Magic Dimension. All the important things are in Magix, including all the magical schools. Oh, and it is from where the council rules."

"You mentioned them before," I noted. Why oh why didn't I have my notebook? "What are they?"

"They are representatives of the most powerful realms in the dimension," explained Stella. "But nobody knows who they are. It is all very secret and hush-hush. My father knows, of course. All the rulers do. They are the ones who appoint them to the council after all. It is forbidden to speak about their identities, though, and anyone blessed enough to meet them, will have to take a vow of silence. You aren't even to acknowledge them if you meet one outside the council."

"Wow," I repeated. That was news to me. The cartoon had never indulged much in the politics of the Magic Dimension. Why should they have? It was a kid's cartoon about a bunch of fairies who went on adventures and fought the forces of evil. Nothing political about any of that. "That is all really strict."

Stella shrugged. "It had to. First their identities were common knowledge, but that made security a right nightmare. After three members were successfully assassinated and a handful of others blackmailed, the entire council quit out of protest. That was when they decided on a different approach." She winked at me. "See, I wasn't like I didn't learn anything during my history lessons."

I laughed. "Well, I think I will need a handful of those before I understand."

Stella's entire body seemed to light up. "Does that mean you will come with me?"

I glanced at Mike and Vanessa, catching them smiling fondly yet sadly at us. "Mom? Dad?"

Vanessa stepped towards me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "You already know the answer, sweetheart."

I turned to Mike. He shook his head. "While I hate to see you go, I think your mother is right. You need this. This is what you have been waiting and searching for." I smiled as he joined the embrace. "But I will miss you."

"I will miss you too." My voice broke as I uttered the words, my bottom lip quivering at the grieve that washed over me. "You have no idea how much I will miss you…"

I had no idea how long we stood there, simply embracing one another, but Stella eventually coughed gently. "I am sorry to cut in…" She really did seem to mind, pouting a little. Were that tears in her eyes? "But we should probably head back up."

Mike cleared his throat awkwardly, stepping out of our embrace. "Right… How do we get out of here?"

"Simple." Stella shot us a radiant smile. "You just jump." And with that she was gone.

Mike blinked and then turned flabbergasted to us. I chuckled with a shrug. He shook his head and followed her example. I shot one last glance to Alfea castle, my stomach twisting happily and butterflies fluttering happily at the thought that soon I would see it in person.

"But first I have to stop Knut," I reminded myself. "Step two of the plan is complete. Now if only I can figure out what step three will be…"

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