Hello everyone! Here is a new update!

Fair warning, this is a bit long because... Well, because I tried to explain a lot in a small time.

I hope some of your questions will be answered during this chapter.

Enjoy!

Usual Disclaimer: I do not own Winx Club or the cover of this story.

Book I - Chapter VIII: Death By Drug-Dealing Librarian

Updated: 13/11/22

My childhood home – the Blackburn manor – had many things, but not a library. My parents had no time for or any interest in reading, unless I counted the Financial Times and tabloids among "reading". I, on the other hand, was a bookworm. Books were my escape from reality. When I read, I could pretend my life wasn't as messed up as it was. Like my parents loved me and I wasn't just an accessory to them.

I wanted a library since I had seen Beauty & the Beast. My dream had not been to be Belle or get my own beast. No, I wanted a library, one as enormous as Belle's.

"Belle can keep her fucking library. I want this one!"

Belle's library faded in comparison to Alfea's. It was three-stories high and all that space was used. Like everything else in the castle, the walls were made out of light stones. There was a central oval area that reached to the ceiling. Against the sides, balconies arose half hidden behind the stunning arches that were decorated with plaster roses. And everywhere were book cases, even floating ones in the air above me.

What the library lacked were tables. The library wasn't meant to study in. No, the studying was done in the adjoining study hall, where silence was a must, a rule. In the study hall there were nooks and crannies one could isolate themselves in, and long tables where homework could be done without having to worry about taking up too much space.

I had been to the study hall before, in a free period when I needed to get some homework done. This, however, was my first visit to the library.

The thing I loved most about libraries was the smell: old books, parchment and leather. This one was even better as it was mixed with thick crackling energy. That energy was utterly distinctive. I had picked up on it the moment I had awoken after the disaster in Magix, but I hadn't explored it until today.

I took a deep breath in, my eyes automatically shutting as the scent filled my nostrils and made my head spin. "Oh, sweet mother of Jesus! This is heaven!"

The only downside was the lack of sound. After the deaf incident, I had developed a bit of a dislike – alright, pure hatred – for silence. Anything that resembled silence drove me down memory lane. I would find myself back at Gardena, sitting at the side of the road and watching the world unfold before me without hearing a thing, feeling like an utter cripple and terrified I would never hear again.

I carried my iPhone and earbuds with me wherever I went, just to prevent that from happening. If I found myself in a silent room for too long, I would pop them in to banish it. Today, however, was the exception to the rule. In my haste to get out of my dorm, I had left those particular items behind. Something I had already come to regret.

The castle was completely abandoned. No one was up and about. Why would they? It was the afternoon before the ball and everyone was otherwise occupied. Well, everyone but me.

I hummed to myself to break the silence, slowly making my way through the maze of bookcases. My fingers traced the backs of the old books, touching and reading their names. The books were the source of the energy. Simply touching the backs had electricity shooting straight up my fingers, tingling pleasantly and caressing my skin with sweet promises of power and spells.

"Does Domino have a library like this?" I wondered, smiling as a spark of pink magic danced over my hand. "It has to, being the royal castle and all. Technically I could consider that mine…" I chewed on my lip. "Hmm, now there is a thought. I could grab Kiko and my stuff and just move to Domino. Sure, the castle will need a bit of TLC but I am sure I can see it done. If those people on reality shows can take care of a chateau without any experience, then surely it would be a piece of cake for me and my magic to breathe life into a castle? And once renovations are over, I will have utter peace. I can play any type of music without being bombed by questions, I can read whenever and wherever I want without being interrupted, and most importantly: no auras. Yeah, sounds like an absolutely wonderful idea…"

Alfea was driving me straight up the walls. The magic in the air had tripled now that classes were in session and the students were actively practising magic. As if that wasn't bad enough, I also had to deal with my newfound abilities.

I finally understood why no one ever wanted empathy as a power, or why the magical creatures in this dimension didn't try to see emotional auras. They were awful. They were like a permanent haze surrounding a person, changing so quickly that watching them caused nausea. No one ever experienced one emotion. No, there were three or four different colours at once, all mingling together and changing constantly.

My medication had been responsible for blocking my powers. When I had earned my wings –that was what everyone kept calling it – the transformation had burned all traces of it away, leaving me to experience the full magnitude of my powers all at once. And that had caused- well, basically I had been high on my own powers. "How pathetic am I?" It was utterly embarrassing as well; I still blushed every shade of red when I thought back of it.

The downside was that now with the blockage gone, I was reminded of all the reasons why I had decided to keep taking Bloom's medication.

The auras were one of those reasons, and by far the most exhausting, especially since I had yet to figure out how to tune them out. I couldn't look at anyone without being hit by their auras, which were enforced by the halos.

After explaining what the halos looked like, Faragonda confirmed what I had already expected: they were what Stella had called power auras. What I didn't tell her, or anyone else for that matter, was that people had another aura surrounding their halos and they were fifty shades of colour, including grey. What each colour meant, I had yet to figure out. That people went through emotions like a hooker through condoms I had discovered not even an hour after waking up.

Following classes proved to be near impossible. I had to stare at my teachers through hazes of colours and light that all belonged to the students in front of me. Even if I solely focussed on my teacher, his or her aura would draw my attention constantly away from what they were saying. I tried not to pay attention to them – I really did – but with them switching as often as they did… It was like a light was constantly flickering and changing colour right in the corner of my eyes.

My attention span wasn't all that great at the moment as it was. Lack of sleep tended to do that. My dreams were back, awaking me every two to three hours with a heart ready to jump out of my chest and a scream lodged in my throat. And without my medication, I had a hard time falling back asleep afterwards. It was a right miracle I wasn't keeping Flora from sleep, but my roommate was proving to be a heavy sleeper. I swear, I could fire a cannon in our room and she would sleep through it.

And of course now that I was going through life without medication, my anxiety was back as well. It was constantly clawing at the back of my mind, pumping me full of adrenaline at the most inappropriate times. I would be copying notes off the board and suddenly have the urge to scream and run around like a chicken without its head. I would be listening to one of Stella's outrageous theories on who my birth parents could be and suddenly start hyperventilating. Even cuddling with Kiko was no longer calming. Instead the notion that I was needed somewhere and I was needed right now would wash over me and drive me to pace up and down my room.

Yes, I was ecstatic I was medication free. Absolutely ecstatic.

I was dead on my feet. I wanted to go to bed and sleep until the sun rose, without waking and watching the hours tick by. I wanted to be around my friends and have fun without their emotions giving me a whiplash. I just wanted to feel like me again.

I wanted my medication.

Since that was out of the question, I was avoiding as much as human contact as possible. The girls weren't happy with that. They were already more than a little mad that I skipped breakfast every morning and went straight to bed after our last class, not bothering with dinner either. They couldn't deal with me avoiding them as well.

Flora being the kind darling she was, tended to bring a tray of tea and food before going to sleep, which meant that when I woke from one of my naps, I had something to eat and drink. I suspected she also noticed more about my struggles than she let on and stopped the others from confronting me, but I had yet to find proof to back that up.

I knew they worried. Not just the girls but also Faragonda and Ofelia. Even Griselda had stopped me in the hall a day ago to ask whether I was doing alright. I hated that I was lying to them, that I worried them, but I couldn't change anything. If I wanted help, then I had to admit I was seeing auras and that was out of the question. And my other problems could not be fixed. That I had already checked. Ofelia had confirmed there wasn't anything she could offer to help me sleep, except medication which would once again block my powers. And as long as I had no idea why I had the feeling I was needed somewhere, then there wasn't much we could do about that either.

I paused when my fingers came in contact with a book that sent of a particular sharp sting of energy up my fingers. I grabbed it, carefully flipping through it. The magic basically radiated of each page.

"'Cause I'd get a thousand hugs from ten thousand lightning bugs as they tried to teach me how to dance. A foxtrot above my head, a sock hop beneath my bed, a disco ball is just hanging by a thread." I gently sang to myself as my eyes took in the spells that were written down. "I like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly. It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep, 'cause everything is never as it seems when I fall asleep."

I had the damn song stuck in my head ever since the fight with the Trix. No matter how many other songs I put on, when silence greeted me it was the first one that popped up.

"I already thought I heard someone." I almost dropped the book when out of nowhere a kind voice interrupted my singing. I swiftly turned around and found Ms. Barbatea behind me, a deep frown nestled between her brows. "Hello, Bloom. What brings you here?"

I hadn't seen Barbatea since my first day. Every morning I told myself that I would visit her by the end of the day, only to scratch that plan after my last class. Now as I stood in front of her and a lot closer than last time, I was hit by how unnaturally beautiful she was. It was just like when I had observed Bloom's beauty for the first time. It was terrible for my self-esteem. Yet…

I chewed my lip. "Why is she hiding that beauty behind unflattering two-pieces, thick glasses, and an unusual hairdo?"

"Hello, Ms. Barbatea." I closed the book and put it back, my fingers instantly protesting at the loss and itching to get a hold of it again. "Our history lessons bring me here. Do you have a moment to talk about them?"

Barbatea's brows furrowed closer. "Now?" I nodded, forcing myself to look her into the eye rather than stare at the bright halo – it matched Stella's – and swirling colours surrounding her. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for the ball?"

I shrugged carelessly. "I had wanted to stop by earlier but I couldn't find the time. And I have some time on my hands now." If she noticed I didn't answer her question regarding the ball, she didn't say.

"Are you sure you already want to start those lessons?" Barbatea pursed her lips, eyeing me worriedly. "From what I have heard from Ms. Faragonda, you have had a trying first week."

"That is one way of describing it." I couldn't help the bitterness that edged its way into my thoughts. "And of course, people have been talking about me. It seems that is all they do."

"There is no shame in putting them off until you have settled in properly."

"I am eager to learn more about the Magic Dimension." I tried to smile as convincingly as possible. Normally I would have used my secret weapon, but I found myself too tired to use it. "Even learning a little bit would mean a lot to me." Barbatea pursed her lips, her eyes scanning me sceptically. "Oh, she is going to refuse. Get ready, Sybil. No matter how tired you are, it is time for your secret weapon."

"Well, why not?" My jaw slacked a little. Now that I hadn't expected. "I have some time to spare myself with the ball not starting until a few hours." She turned on her heel. "Come along. I will make us some tea."

Ms. Barbatea's desk was nestled in a corner of the library, close to a large golden gate that was firmly shut. She had a clear view on it, and on most of the rest of the library as well. Behind the desk emerged another door and Ms. Barbatea disappeared through it, mentioning me to follow and I obediently did.

A shiver ran down my spine as I stepped over the threshold, the same feeling as when I stepped into Stella's card washing over me.

"And with reason." I gaped, my eyes widening. "I am in a completely different world!"

The space before me was a meadow hidden in the shade of large trees. As far as my eyes could see, flowers grew and bloomed and animals skipped around. A squirrel dropped down a tree and onto Ms. Barbatea's shoulder as she moved to an actual outdoor kitchen positioned right beside the doorway. A doorway that stood in the middle of nowhere.

Opposite the kitchen was a wooden table with two elegant chairs. A little further was an actual living room with couches seemingly made out of large flower petals. They looked incredibly soft. When I gazed through the trees surrounding us, I noticed a large bed in a clearing not too far. It was a small house, except in the outside.

"D-do y-yo-you li-liv-live h-her-here?" Barbatea hummed, nodding as she put on a kettle. "Wow…"

"I tried living at Alfea for a while, with the other teachers," told the librarian me, handing the squirrel a walnut and shooing it away. "But I fear that is just not my cup of tea." She shot me a smile over her shoulder. "I much prefer this."

"I would too." My eyes wandered as I left the door behind. The sky was blue and the sun hidden from view, the thick canopy of leaves blocking all its rays. "It is absolutely stunning…" My eyes fluttered close as a soft breeze appeared, tugging gently at the free strands of my hair. The smell of a fire tickled my senses along with honey and blooming flowers. "And so peaceful…"

"I like to be close to my books," continued Barbatea. "And I can't be closer to them than I currently am. Just one step away."

I hummed in response, just enjoying that breeze on my skin. It was like a lover's touch: gentle and relaxing. It almost lulled me to sleep.

"Do the other teachers know this exists?" I wondered, sleepily. If only my bed was nearby. I could fall onto it and sleep for days.

"They know I live in the library. That is all that matters." A gentle hand grasped my shoulders. "Why don't you sit down, Bloom? You look about ready to fall over."

I blinked, fighting against the sleep that was scratching at the door like a whiny dog. "Oh, sorry…" I rubbed my eyes to get the sleep out of them. "I guess it really has been a trying week."

"That is perfectly alright, sweet girl." Barbatea's hand remained on my shoulder, gently pushing me towards the flower couches. "I wouldn't expected anything else. Here you go." We reached the couch and she practically forced me to sit before handing me a cup of tea. "Best you drink it or it will get cold."

I obeyed, too tired to argue. The smell of chamomile, lavender and something I couldn't quite put my finger on drifted into my nose. I hummed at the pleasant smell. "What kind of tea is this, Ms. Barbatea? It smells divine."

"Oh, just something I threw together from the herbs I grow." My eyes flickered up to Barbatea, who was eyeing me intently. When she caught my gaze, she smiled widely and another wave of fatigue washed over me. "Go on. Drink it." I took a long sip, the water strangely enough not all that hot. "And?"

"It's…" I smacked my lips, trying to place all the different tastes that assaulted my tongue. "Is that honey I taste?"

"Hmm-hmm."

I took another sip, the liquid giving off a numbing sensation in my mouth. "What is that bitterness that follows?" Were my words slurring? It was almost as if my tongue was tied in a knot. "It is familiar somehow but I can't…"

Barbatea gently tugged the cup out of my hands. I blinked up at her, finding her half hidden in a thick mist. "Lie down, sweet girl. You will feel better afterwards."

My head landed on something soft and deliciously smelling, the world spinning a little. "I know this feeling…" Just before I drifted off, I blinked up at Barbatea one final time and slurred in horror: "You drugged me…" She chuckled and then I was gone.

There was no darkness this time. No weird dreams where I watched the same thing happen over and over again, each time with a different ending. Instead, I was back on Earth and helping Vanessa in her shop. Mrs. Ogden was there and telling me a story while petting Kiko, though I couldn't decipher what she was saying. Somehow, I knew it was funny and laughed loudly at times. Vanessa was watching the exchange with a loving smile, barely paying attention to the bouquet she was making. Her smile made my stomach flutter with butterflies.

Here I was at my happiest. How could I not be?

Mrs. Ogden left the shop with her bouquet, thanking us thoroughly and promising to stop by again tomorrow. Vanessa closed the shop after she left, making her way to me and embracing me tightly. I leaned into her as she dropped her kiss on my forehead.

Why had I ever left this place?

"Never underestimate the allure of power." I turned around in Vanessa's arms, finding Ms. Barbatea behind us. She watched us with a fond smile. "You are lucky to have such loving parents."

Guilt crashed through me instantly. They weren't my parents. I had stolen them from another…

I blinked to urge the tears back, and found myself suddenly in an utterly dark room. The only light came from Vanessa and Mike, who towered high above me. While they were taller than I was, they were not this big. They were like giants!

Vanessa was in tears while Mike was screaming at me. I flinched as his arms moved wildly through the air and ducked when he swiped them at me.

"I don't know!" I screamed at them as they demanded to know what I had done to Bloom. "Please, I didn't want this! I don't know where she is! I never meant to hurt her! I swear!" Mike took another swipe at me and this time he hit me. I stumbled back, my cheek stinging. "Forgive me, please! I love you both so much! I would never want to hurt you! Or Bloom!" Vanessa gave me a kick, demanding once more to know where her daughter was. "I don't know!"

"Bloom is gone." I spun around when a hand landed on my shoulder. There was Barbatea again, this time with a pitying look on her face. "That had nothing to do with you, my dear girl. For some reason she died, which forced you to return here before your twenty-first birthday."

"Dead?" I choked, shaking my head violently. Her words made no sense. "No, Bloom can't be dead. She is supposed to be alive. I am not supposed to be here, she was."

"No, sweet girl. She wasn't." Barbatea's pitying glances made me back up. "She was a substitute. A temporary fill-in until it was time for you to return."

I shook my head violently, continuing to put as much distance between us as possible. "I don't understand what you are saying. How would you even know this?"

"Because I have been in your shoes."

Barbatea took a step closer and I flinched back. I didn't want her to be here. I didn't even want to be here myself. I wanted to return to a place where I felt safe. Like Vanessa's shop, Carson's car, or… The Omega Dimension? Why would I feel safe there? It was freezing, covered in darkness and haunted by the higher being who liked to drop me in odd places.

But I hadn't felt unsafe for a single moment. Thinking back of it now, it had been strangely peaceful.

"I still need to go back there," I reminded myself. "I have unfinished business with him."

Like on command, the floor disappeared under my feet and I plummeted down, a scream ripping itself out of my throat. The air whooshed past me as I fell, growing colder the longer I fell. A familiar cold it was as well. Just like the last time I…

"Oomph!" I landed in the snow, rolling down something. The snow seeped through my clothes, chilling me to the bone and causing my clothes to stick to me like a second skin.

Finally I stopped rolling, groaning miserably at the biting wind and cold. "Why does it have to be cold? Why couldn't you have dropped me on a nice tropical beach?"

"Back again, are you?"

I cursed, dropping my face back into the snow. Of course, he would still be here. That was what I had wanted, right? To go back and talk to him again? I was suddenly having second thoughts, mostly because how weird my dream was. "Can you go and bother someone else? I am having the weirdest dream that for some reason features a librarian."

"Kinky."

I threw snow into the direction of the voice but whether I hit or missed I couldn't see. Judging by the deep chuckle that I got in answer, I missed. "You really are a pervert –" I told him. "– if that is the first thing that pops into your head when someone confides in you that they are dreaming about a librarian."

I froze when two hands wrapped themselves around my upper arms. But before I could so much as protest, I was hoisted up onto my feet. A strong wave of déjà vu followed.

Warmth on my back? Check. Hair being pushed aside? Check. Breath running down my neck? Check. The only thing that missed was…

"I swear I will kick you where it really hurts if you say interesting." He didn't. Instead, he chuckled lowly in my ear. Hell, I could feel his chest rumble as he laughed. He was standing that close. My skin tingled pleasantly at his nearness, like he was running his fingers over it. "Get a grip of yourself, girl." I cleared my throat. "And have you ever heard of personal space? Seriously, mate. Back-off. You're in my bubble."

"Mate?" he mimicked scornfully. Still, it worked and he took a step back. A sigh of relief slipped through my lips. "Now I have been called many things, but only that while I was on Earth. What was that ridiculous country called again? Great something. Who calls their own country great?"

"Hey! You do not get to insult my homeland!" I spun around, waving my finger at him. A hand wrapped around it and repositioned it. Right, waving in the wrong direction. That certainly made it a lot less intimidating. "And might I just point out how bloody unfair it is that you seem to be able to see in this blasted darkness but I can't?"

"Life is rarely fair. Get used to it."

"Way to be a bitter fortune cookie."

"A what?" I laughed at the disgust in the deep voice. I swore I could hear him sigh. "Not that this isn't utterly delightful, but who are you?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"Well, too bad I asked first, hmm?"

"This is my dream so I get to make the rules."

"Oh, do you now?" He sounded sceptic. "Pray tell, Little Red Riding Hood: if this is your dream, then what am I doing here?"

"You did not just nickname me after a fairy-tale character." I snorted. "Could you not have come up with something a little more original?" I swore I heard him sigh and for some reason I pictured him pinching the bridge of his nose. "And if I am Little Red Riding Hood, what makes that you?"

"I would think that is obvious," retorted the voice smugly.

"Yeah…" I giggled. "You absolutely sound like my grandmother." Was I imagining it or was he gritting his teeth? It sure sounded like he was gritting his teeth. "Do you want me to bring you cookies next time, gran?"

"Yes, Red. Be sure to do that. I am starving." He all but growled the last word, and a shudder ran down my spine. Oh, boy, I was not crushing on this higher being. Just because he sounded sexy did not mean he was, or change the fact he was a jerk.

I twisted around, swearing someone was calling my name. What was up with that? Why was it that every time I was here and arguing with the jerk, someone was calling out to me?

"Bloom…?" repeated the voice behind me thoughtfully. "Hmm… You don't look like a Bloom."

"I never got that." I frowned as my name was called again. "How can someone look like a name?"

"I think I will keep calling you Red."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you want, gran." I giggled as a rather nasty string of curses was thrown my way. "Grandma! That is incredibly rude!"

I yelped when all of sudden a light pierced through the darkness, slamming my hands over my eyes to hide from the brightness. "Bloom!"

I knew that voice!

"Ms. Barbatea?" I peeked through my fingers and there she was again: Alfea's librarian. "What are you doing here?"

She was staring in pure panic at me, a light floating in one hand and her other stretched out to me. "Come quickly, sweet girl." She gestured wildly at me. "It is time to wake up."

"No." I shook my head. "I still have something to settle with the asshole."

"That is no way to talk about your grandmother," drawled the deep voice sarcastically. I laughed. "I assume this is the librarian you mentioned earlier?"

"Bloom!" hissed Barbatea when my lips parted to respond. "Not another word! Come quickly now!" I tensed as I felt the heat return to my back, my skin instantly acting up again. Barbatea bared her teeth at the man behind me. "Get back, you…"

"You look strangely familiar," interrupted the voice, sounding thoughtful again. "Have I tried to kill or threaten you before, probably in the not-so-distant past?"

"Kill?" I echoed sceptically. "You are supposed to be a higher being. Why would you kill people?"

"So far you have called me a pervert, a grandmother, and an asshole, but now you are calling me God?" I shrugged innocently, earning me another chuckle. "You are an odd one, Red."

Ms. Barbatea jumped forward and grabbed my arm, pulling me harshly to her. I yelped in pain and stumbled forward. "We are leaving! Now!"

I tried to twist around. At least with the light I now had a chance to see whoever my grandmother really was and if he was as hot as he sounded. But Barbatea had me in an iron grip and refused to let me move.

"Ms. Barbatea, wait…"

I gasped as something pulled at my stomach and the next moment I found myself sitting up, staring into two familiar blue eyes. I glanced around. I was back in Ms. Barbatea's meadow with the woman in question sitting on a chair right in front of me.

"Bloom," she hissed, her eyes wide and panicked. "What were you thinking?!"

"Thinking?" I echoed, sleep still lingering at the edges of my mind. "What are you talking about?"

"Why would you go to that place?" she demanded to know. "To him?" Her face pulled away in disgust.

"I don't know…" I admitted, frowning a little. "I was sent there after I got my wings and blacked out. He was a bit of a jerk, so I wanted to go back and give him a piece of my mind."

"You were sent there?" repeated Barbatea, her eyes shimmering worriedly. "After you got your wings?" I nodded. "But then why a moment ago? You wanted to go somewhere safe. I heard you think that. He is NOT safe."

"Well, I ca…" I froze, turning shocked at her. "You heard me think that?" Ms. Barbatea stiffened as well. "That wasn't a dream?!"

"Bloom…"

But it all came rushing back, chasing away all the lingering sleep. I jumped up, white fury burning through my bloodstream. "You drugged me!"

She also rose to her feet. "Bloom, please. Let me explain…"

"You said Bloom was dead," I yelled, my nails digging into my palms. "How can you know that for sure, huh?! How…" I froze as my words caught up with me. "You know…" Barbatea's shoulders slumped a little, her lips forming my name. "You know I am…" My breath hitched. "That this isn't my…" I couldn't get the words over my lips. Barbatea took a step forward, her hands reaching for me but I jumped away and put the couch between us. "YOU KNOW!" I bellowed furiously, tears prickling in my eyes. Oh, this was bad. Really bad! "HOW CAN YOU KNOW?! NO ONE IS SUPPOSED TO KNOW!"

"Because I have been in your shoes." Barbatea folded her hands in front of her chest, staring pleadingly at me. "Because I too woke up one day and found myself in a different body."

I swayed, my legs threatening to give out from under me. "What…?"

"You are not the only one." Barbatea took another step towards me. I was nailed to the ground, unable to move, and just stared wide-eyed at her. "Do you remember what you felt when you noticed me entering the lecture hall?" My lips moved to answer but no sound came out. "You recognized me," she continued. "Recognized we are the same."

The same… I choked on air. We were the same…

"What the hell happened to me?" I demanded, my voice high-pitched and weak. "Why am I here? How did I end up here? And where is Bloom? Is she coming back? When? How… I don't…" I stumbled over my words in my haste to just spill everything out.

Barbatea stepped forward, closing the gap between us and grasped my hands. "Shh," she whispered. "It is alright."

"No." I shook my head violently. How could she say that? "No, it is not. None of this is alright. I have hijacked someone else's body, someone else's life." Nothing about any of that was even remotely alright.

"You haven't." Barbatea smiled gently. "No, sweet girl. You have done no such thing. This is your life."

"No, it is not," I disagreed, tugging to get my hands free. I needed to move. I had to move, pace, do something. But she refused to let go. "None of this is mine. My name is Sybil, not Bloom. I live in London, not in Gardena. My parents are Caroline and Leonard Blackburn, not Vanessa and Mike Peters. I don't have any powers. I am NOT the pr…"

"Bloom!" Barbatea grasped my shoulders harshly and gave me a firm shake. "Enough!" I just stared at her, shivering all over though I had no idea why. "I know this is confusing, but if you freak out I can't explain anything to you."

"But I don't understand," I protested. I felt like an utter wreck, like I had just discovered that my whole life was a lie, that the world was flat rather than round, that I wasn't an actual redhead. "I am not supposed to be here."

"You are." Barbatea sat down on the couch, pulling me with her. "You were born in this world, sweet girl. This is where you belong." My lips parted to protest again. "Your soul was exchanged for another sometime after your birth."

"What?" My heart all but stopped beating. I couldn't have heard that correctly. My soul was exchanged sometime after my birth? What the actual fuck? Was she high on her own tea?

"That is how it works." She smiled sadly. "Either you were sent unprotected through a portal or your birthparents made a deal. It honestly doesn't matter. Shortly after you were born, your soul was taken from this body and another soul – a weaker one – was placed in it. You were then empowered and placed into a soulless body to host you until you turned twenty-one. That is when you come of age and learn the truth, when they brainwash you."

"Brainwash?" My head spun. I was just one inch away from fainting. "Who is going to brainwash you- er, me? Who are you talking about?"

"Our creators," answered Barbatea with a sad smile. "I am afraid that is all I can tell you at the moment. There are certain laws we have to follow once we know the truth. I might have turned away from them, but they still have the power and authority to kill me if I break those rules."

My hands grasped my head, everything swirling around and turning my world upside down. What the fuck? Why did this make sense? It shouldn't make sense. "My head feels like it is about to explode. I still don't understand how I am here."

"Something must have happened. Something which caused the substitute soul to die prematurely. Normally our creators kill it themselves at the age of twenty-one, but sometimes something powerful and tragic happens to the body which causes the soul to die earlier. When a body becomes soulless, it instantly pulls at the original soul to return. No matter where it is. When that happens on the twenty-first birthday, our creators intercept the soul and reveal the truth before allowing it to return to its body. If it happens too early, they don't notice and can't intercept it. That is why you are already here."

I clutched my head tighter, tears burning in my eyes. "Let me see if I got this straight: you are telling me that I am Bloom. That this is my body, that I was born in it but taken out of it by what you call our creators."

Barbatea's shoulder relaxed and she smiled. "You got it."

I stared at her, shaking my head in denial. "Am I still high on that tea you gave me? Are you high on your own tea? This doesn't make any sense and I am currently sitting in an actual school for fairies, so that is saying something!"

"I apologize for drugging you." Barbatea chewed awkwardly on her lip. "You are the first exchanged soul in over two centuries. I needed a peek inside your mind to see what type of soul I was dealing with and the tea is the only thing that allows that. What I hadn't expected was the amount of control you still had over everything." She pursed her lips, a great sadness in her eyes. "You are remarkably powerful."

"I am so growing tired of hearing that," I muttered, dropping my chin to my chest. "Go back to sleep, Sybil, and when you wake up all of this will be proven to be nothing but a weird dream." But for some reason sleep was evading me again. "You said you are like me."

"I am."

I pressed my palms into my eyes, willing myself to wake up. This was getting too weird. I had to be dreaming. I was probably still sleeping from the tea. Then why wasn't I waking up? I should be waking up.

"Stella said you have been Alfea's librarian for as long as anyone can remember. That there aren't even ancient texts that don't mention you."

"She was right. I was one of the first students." A hand gently grasped my shoulder. "Allow me to tell you my story."

I slowly raised my head, meeting her eyes. She was smiling again. "Oh, what the hell? Why not? Things can't possibly get any crazier." I nodded numbly.

"I was born relatively short after the Great Dragon created the universe," started Ms. Barbatea her story. "You have to understand something: back in those days less realms existed than there do today. Yes, they had been created, but not yet founded. Only three were truly populated. There was Solaria, of course, as centre of the Magic Dimension and bringer light. Then there was Domino, the resting place of the Dragon. And finally, there was Magix, where all the powerful ones lived and were drawn to.

"Things were a lot more primitive back then. There were no laws, nor were there any kings and queens. Instead the most powerful ones ruled and they ruled fiercely. They took what they desired, punished anyone that even looked at them wrongly, and abused their powers. The powerful ones were the ancestors of our creators, Bloom. And while they remained in charge, others slowly grew in power as well. The offsprings of the powerful ones with the mortals gave rise to a new type of people: magical creatures. And as the magical creatures multiplied, they grew in power. They started to protest and stand up for themselves, against the powerful ones. That did not end well for them. While they had powers, they did not know how to use them and therefore could not match the powerful ones. Let's just call them our creators to not complicate things further.

"I was born as Dianthe, the sole daughter of two mortals. My parents were not powerful, or among the gifted. Instead, they spent all their time befriending the right people, trying to gain influence by acknowledgement. I was just a way to get them there. Like them, I had no powers though I dreamed of things that were yet to happen and always had this feeling that I didn't belong where I was. That only grew when I was married off at the age of thirteen. For three years I was married. Then one day I was gathering supplies and something seemed to snap inside me. I almost fainted, but made it home and went to bed. When I woke up, I was in another body."

I choked on air, my eyes widening. "That's exactly what happened to me…"

She nodded. "I guess you and I also had a similar reaction. I found myself in a castle and sharing a room with an entirely unfamiliar girl. I panicked, freaked out, even more when I finally caught sight of myself and didn't recognize a thing. That awoke my roommate and she went to get help. That help was in the form of Alfea's first headmistress and the founder of this school: Arcadia." My jaw slacked. The first fairy in existence? The one Stella liked to "curse" with?

"Arcadia understood what had happened to me, for she had experienced the exact same thing. She too was like us, Bloom, and was one of the first who turned against our creators. She together with a handful of others believed that the magical creatures should learn how to use their powers and that was why they created the schools. Anyone with magic could come to them and learn how to use it. And the body I had found myself in was among them.

"Arcadia explained as best as she could what had happened to me. And just like you –" I gulped at the piercing stare I received. "– I had trouble believing her. But I learned to trust her over the following weeks, the following years. She helped me settle at Alfea and reconnect with my friends, helped me to learn more about my powers and how to control them. She made me who I am and that was a debt I could not repay, which was why I offered to remain at Alfea after graduating. Arcadia accepted, and sent me on a mission. She desired a library – an archive – but there were little books or scrolls on magic at that time. I travelled through the Magic Dimension to ask people to write them for us and collecting the existing ones. And we got them, leading to the first collection of magical books. Naturally that caused some envy and suspicion. After an attack to obtain our collection, we saw no other option but to appoint a protector." She smiled warmly. "And that is how I became Alfea's first and only librarian."

Her eyes hardened, her smile fading. "You must understand, Bloom, Arcadia and I might have turned against our creators, but that didn't change what we were. As I said earlier, never underestimate the allure of power. It was that allure that made you abandon your happiness on Earth, the safe place you had found with your parents, to come here and learn magic. And to this day the allure of power is something I struggle with every day. Always I want to find more books, collect more spells, just to increase the power I need to protect, that I can call my own." I gulped. Now that sounded a little too familiar. "Arcadia had the same problem. While we both had it with books in some degree, she had it in the extreme with students. Ever she wanted more of them, more to be accepted and follow classes, and more of them with high potential, with more power. She did not accept competition and was determined to make Alfea the finest and most powerful school in the Magic Dimension." She shook her head. "I guess some things can never be truly defeated."

She sighed deeply, pausing for a moment before reassuming her story. "Arcadia and I were especially interested in the cases like us. We would instantly recognize the students with our heritage and since the brainwashing was not happening at that time, we had time to talk sense into them. More and more joined our side rather than that of our creators. And naturally they didn't like that. Therefore, they set up new rules. We could no longer reveal their true identity until the children in question were twenty-one years old. To keep us from interfering, our creators made sure that the switch-back would happen on their terms. That was when the brainwashing began. By the time we would see them, they would already be in their grasps, too corrupted to lead them to a better future."

"Except those who returned to their bodies before the age of twenty-one," I added. "The ones like me."

"Exactly." Barbatea smiled. "Things have changed now. Arcadia and her renegades – the founders of the six schools – took a more open stance against our creators after those new rules. War broke out. Death and destruction followed. Both sides claimed victory as you would expect, but the only thing they could claim was their high body count. They eventually saw that too. To have peace return and prevent further casualties, the two parties came to an agreement: our creators would return to their own world but be welcome to visit the Magic Dimension, Arcadia and her renegades went into exile while using their magic and knowledge to guide the magical creatures from a distance. Neither won, neither lost. But it worked and it still does. I remained here at Alfea to continue what Arcadia and I had once started, as one of the few like us to choose to stay and live among the magical creatures."

Barbatea let out a long sigh. "For a while that worked, but eventually our creators grew more power hungry again. They wanted to rule over weaker beings and cause them misery, to enrich themselves with new spells and powers. What they hadn't anticipated was how the magical creatures had developed. They had grown more powerful and more intelligent in their absence. Our creators' characteristics, powers and weaknesses had been written down and taught to all who came after. In the beginning they recognized our creators for what they were but were welcoming, blinded by the desire to learn from them. But the adoration quickly turned to fear when the true extent of their power and wickedness was revealed." Her gaze snapped to mine. "People always have and always will fear what they do not understand or cannot control, even more if they feel there is some form of evil involved."

My stomach turned unpleasantly at her words. "What happened?"

"What you would expect: they turned against our creators, used their weaknesses to hunt and kill them. Even those who had lived among them for years – centuries! – without ever hurting anyone were no longer save. I believe on Earth things escalated particularly badly. Both those like us and innocent people were hunted, tortured and killed. Witch Hunts they called them." My throat tightened at the pointed look she shot me. Now those stories I knew. "Eventually the visits stopped. Not completely, of course. Once in a while one ventures into the Magic Dimension and causes some mayhem. But when most rarely return, the others know better than to try their luck."

She grasped my hand tightly, her gaze piercing and warning. I gulped, automatically flinching back. "You can never tell anyone who you truly are, Bloom, or share your abilities. While there hasn't been a visit or an exchanged soul in over two centuries, there are still some who remember. If they see you display such powers, they will be quick to put one and one together. And they will not hesitate to kill you."

"I won't," I vowed, my throat thick. "But what… What powers? How would they recognize me?"

"I am sure you have noticed a handful already." Ms. Barbatea leaned back, more relaxed now. "We are unnaturally beautiful. This draws others in. It makes them vulnerable and easier to manipulate. The manipulation is another thing. Glamour we call it. We can make people do things we want them to do."

"Wait," I interrupted, perking as she explained it. Now that rang a bell. "Is that what the secret weapon is?"

She frowned. "Secret weapon?"

"That's what Mike started to call it." I couldn't bite back the fond smile. "It is a particular smile I use to get my way."

"That sounds like glamour, yes." Barbatea nodded to herself with a frown. "That he recognized it probably means that your medication suppressed that part of your powers as well. Normally when we use glamour, people don't notice. They are just drawn in and want to do anything just to see us happy." Her eyes snapped at mine and I gulped again. "That doesn't mean it is flawless. The glamour can be broken, Bloom. Some magical creatures are powerful enough to see through it, others will do what you say and their loved ones will point out how out of character they act or question their behaviour. That is when they will start to think, to wonder why they are doing what they are doing, and it will break. And once it is broken, there is no hiding. They will come for you."

"Okay…" I nodded to myself. "Best not to use the secret weapon on magical creatures."

"If you are not sure when you use glamour, just keep an eye out for the moment people's eyes glaze over and then be careful. If their eyes are glazed, that means they are in the palm of your hand and any demand or favour you ask afterwards, they will follow."

"Watch for glazing eyes. Got it."

"The beauty is another big tell." She mentioned to herself. "That is why I try to temper it down by wearing glasses and unflattering clothes." She gave me a once over, her eyes lingering on the tight high-waist jeans and tugged-in navy blue blouse I was currently wearing. The ones Stella had been practically in love with earlier. "I fear it will be a little harder for you, and if you suddenly start hiding your beauty, I think you will get the opposite effect. It will attract attention, cause people to raise questions and we want to make sure they don't ask questions."

I nodded in response, before abruptly catching myself. "Wait, when did I suddenly start to believe all of this?" I couldn't pinpoint the moment, but that disturbed me more than a little. "I probably recognized a little too much in her story… Or maybe it is just too weird to be made up? Ugh!"

"I also guess you have been struggling with the auras."

I instantly snapped out of my thoughts, my heart fluttering hopeful. "You mean that is another thing we have in common?"

Barbatea smiled, but there was a bitter edge to it. "Insight in someone's emotional state will help to manipulate them, to bend them to our will. I am also sure you noticed that you aren't seeing them quite as clearly as before."

"Uh…" I blushed. Now that she mentioned it, that was exactly what had happened. Hers was barely visible.

She chuckled. "The tea I gave you is a mixture of chamomile, lavender, honey, and valerian root. The root caused the bitterness you referred to earlier. The combination causes drowsiness, but also opens the mind. An open mind gives you more control over your actions and powers, including whether you want to see the auras or not."

I frowned. "Why did you use it on me?"

Barbatea smiled warmly at me. "I wanted to see where your mind took you. An unconscious state cannot hide anything. That you went straight back to Earth and to your mother, to your safe place, was enough to confirm to me that you are a kind soul, a pure soul. That was only enhanced by the guilt you experienced upon being confronted with the truth."

I arched a curious eyebrow. "Can you explain why it brought me to the Omega Dimension?"

A shadow instantly fell over her face. "Why do you call it that?" Her voice was sharp, almost snippy.

I gulped at the power she suddenly radiated, the fury. "Because it was cold? And it was the first name that popped into my head?"

"It was not the Omega Dimension, Bloom." The shadow deepened and I fidgeted. She was scaring me… "What it was, or where, I am not sure, but I urge you never to return to it. To never return to him." She murmured something under her breath I couldn't quite catch.

"You know him then?" I tried to mask my curiosity, my eagerness to learn more. "Who is he?"

"A bad person. An evil one." She grabbed my hand and pain shot up my arm, forcing a yelp past my lips. "You cannot trust him, Bloom. He will manipulate you, betray you, use you to get what he wants. Never return to that place and never speak to him again."

"But…" Her grip tightened, the pain worsening until my sight was blurring. "Ms. Barbatea, you are hurting me."

"Swear it to me." Her jaws were clenched tightly onto one another. "Swear it, Bloom!"

Whether I said the words because I meant it or simply because I wanted her to let go, I wasn't sure. But I gave her what she desired. "I swear."

She relaxed, the shadow finally slipping from her face but her grip barely slacking. "Good…" A bird suddenly chirped loudly, catching her attention. "Oh, dear. Is that the time already?! We best return and get ready!"

"But I still have tons of questions," I protested. "How can you tell me all of this if our creators forbade that?"

"Our creators forbade anyone from revealing our true identity," corrected Barbatea me. "I did not tell you that. I did not even describe what we are, just shared my story with you and some basic history. It's a loophole Arcadia and I have used for ages."

That made sense, though it only answered one of my million questions. "But what happened to my original body? Can I return to it? What are our weaknesses?" I urged on. "And…"

"That body was never meant to live. It was a shell to hold you, nurse you, until it was time to return," interrupted Barbatea, already rising to her feet. "After your soul was ripped from it, it returned to the state it should have been when birthed."

I choked, tears jumping to my eyes. Poor Carson! He would have come to check up on me, to see if I needed anything, just to find my lifeless body. I shuddered at the mere thought. "Poor man…"

"Up you go." Ms. Barbatea practically hauled me to my feet. "If you do not hurry back and get ready, you will miss the ball."

"But…" I began to protest again. I was pushed through the door and found myself back in the library. Ms. Barbatea stepped through it behind me.

"I will have to answer your other questions some other time." Ms. Barbatea scooted me through the library. "There will be plenty of time for that, as well as telling you more about the Magic Dimension and its history. Off you go, now. I will see you at the ball."

And then I was pushed out of the library, the doors falling close behind me. I could even hear them snap into their locks.

Now that was a weird ending to an even weirder conversation.

The hallway was silent and empty. The moon was shining through the windows and illuminating the gardens below. I stood silent and unmoving in front of the library doors, my head spinning with all the answers I had gotten and the thousand questions that had emerged from those answers.

"I am not the only one. There are more like me." The thought was comforting somehow. "But Ms. Barbatea didn't mention growing up in a dimension where all of this is fiction. She said she was born on Solaria. How is it possible I was born in a completely different universe? And what about my dreams, my anxiety? Are they part of my powers as well?" My shoulders slumped as more and more questions swirled through my head. What, for example, were we? What were our creators? What had happened to Arcadia and the other founders? How was Ms. Barbatea still alive if she was born so many ages ago? On and on the question went, never stopping and giving me an enormous headache. "Ugh, I need a drink."

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