A/N: Happy birthday to me ^.^ Still can't believe I only added two new chapters since my last birthday ): Anyway, u[dated the story cover to what I'm using for my World of Winx story


"What? A party? Why didn't I hear about this?" demanded an angry Stella, stomping her foot angrily. It was about thirty minutes later and we all were assembled in the Winx's apartment, which was basically our unsaid HQ.

"It doesn't matter because we're not going," said Musa grumpily. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring at the carpet sulkily. It didn't take a genius to know she was upset about that whole Darcy/Riven situation. Eh, screw them both.

Tecna nodded. "Yes, that's probably for the best. Do you recall the last party we went to? You three almost got your rear ends kicked by a bunch of psychotic ex-girlfriends. For some reason I cannot explain, situations tend to escalate for the worse whenever we're involved." Yeah. For some odd reason.

"Well, she kinda has to go now," piped up Bloom, "or else Candi will completely humiliate her."

Flora, who was watering her potted plants, used her free hand to wave away Bloom's comment dismissively. "Musa doesn't have to do anything.Candi's just a bully and is trying to scare Musa, that's all."

"Scare?" I repeated, wrinkling my nose. "Um, I'm pretty sure that bitch has it in for Musa. And if she doesn't go to this party, Candi will unleash hell on her. Why? I don't know. There's gotta be a specific reason she wants Musa there. Maybe it's a setup?"

"Who cares about that?" snapped Stella, pausing her furious pacing. "What we should really be focusing on is why I wasn't invited."

"Um, because you're a bitch," I said, my voice thick with a resounding duh. We still weren't on good terms and neither of us seemed interested in patching the relationship. That was fine with me.

"Yeah, but Candi's also a bitch and she got in," pointed out Musa.

"Oh, right. Good point. Well, maybe Stella's just an even bigger bitch." I knew that wasn't true. Stella was vile, but she was nowhere near Candi's level. I just wanted to throw a few insults at Stella.

"I'm the princess of Solaria, one of the most popular planets in Magix," fussed Stella, resuming her pacing. "That makes me one of the most popular princess, meaning I should've known about this party. Everyone's supposed to keep me in the loop. Better yet, I'm the one who's supposed to keep them in the loop. I'm the one who's supposed to know about this stuff first."

Bloom gave a carefree shrug. "Who cares? It's just one party?"

"'Just one party?'" repeated Stella, freezing. She whirled around and put her hands on her hips, staring at Bloom like she was stupid. "Do you even know who the Van Rensselaers are?"

"A bunch of rich, dumbass college fuckboys?" I guessed. Cuz let's be real. They have to be somebody with a high rep or else Stella wouldn't be so worked up.

"The Van Rensselaers are one of the most prodigious families on Magix," said Stella matter-of-factly, rolling her eyes at our "ignorance." "Their parties are legendary and supper exclusive. They only invite people who are significant."

"Well, that explains why you didn't get invited," I smirked.

The glare Stella directed at me could kill a kitten. "I'm a princess. In the social rankings, there's nothing more significant than that. Well, besides king and queen. I outclass all of them. They were supposed to go out of their way to invite me. I was supposed to know about this party weeks ago. And then for girls like you to find out before me? That's just insulting. Something is obviously wrong here."

"What do you mean 'girls like us?'" Bloom narrowed her eyes at Stella.

Stella ignored her. "There has to be some kind of mistake. There's no way anyone would forget to invite the Crowned Princess of Solaria."

"Maybe you just got blacklisted," evoked Tecna, more interested in her device than the situation. I didn't blame her. Stella looked taken aback. She just stood there, stunned beyond words.

Musa fidgeted. "I don't wanna go, but Candi will most likely embarrass me in front of Darcy, Riven, the Trix, and everyone else if I don't show up. I can't chicken out of this. But what if this really is a setup?"

"Don't worry, Musa. That's why we're going with you," said Bloom, crawling over and patting Musa on the back.

"We are?" repeated Flora, Tecna, and I, our heads snapping up.

"Well, yeah. We can't just let Musa go all by herself," said Bloom, "that's not how we roll. Besides, Candi and the Trix will eat her alive."

"But what about me?" said Stella, biting her lip.

I glared. "What about you?"

"We have to figure out why I wasn't invited to the Van Rensselaers' party," said Stella, like the answer was obvious. "My social life depends on it."

"Yeah, well you're social life can rot in hell for all I care," I said with an eye roll.

Now it was Stella's turn to roll her eyes. "What's your problem? Oh, wait. You're still upset about that whole Griselda thing, aren't you?"

"Geez, how'd you guess?"

"I don't see why. I was just being real with you," she insisted, and with a shrug.

"There's a difference between being real and being mean, Stella," frowned Bloom.

Hell no. We weren't about to go through this again. I turned around and headed for the exit. "And where are you going?" demanded Stella, like I really owned her an explanation.

"Nowhere in particular. I'm just going to do something I haven't done in a long time."


Fuck, I never realized how much I missed running. I loved the way it felt against my skin, almost like it was embracing me. I loved the feeling of my lungs expanding with it as I increased my pace. I loved the smell of it, thick with the scent of pine trees and dirt. I loved the taste of it as I drew it through my mouth with every breath.

Waves of nostalgia rushed over me as I hit one of the running trails in the forest surrounding Alfea. There were series of them looping around the woods closest to Alfea, but they were only ever utilized during mandatory P.E. classes. The staff tried to encourage the students to use them more often, but hardly any of the girls wanted to use their free time making laps around the woodlands.

I wasn't familiar with the trails yet, so I just remained on the one bordering Lake Roccaluce.

Lake Roccaluce. Didn't Daphne reside in it? I then found myself steering off course and closer toward the lake. I didn't know why. It wasn't like I was going to see Daphne. She would only show herself to Bloom. But still. Oddly, I just felt…attracted to the water. Like it was calling out to me somehow. I stood there and just stared at it for a good five minutes, wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Nothing was here. The water was calling to me; that kind of stuff only happened to Flora.

I was about to get on my way, but a splash from the lake caught my attention. It was just something about it that was startling; it was definitely too big and powerful to be a fish or something, so it was something else. Something else bigger. WAIT. LOCH NESS MONSTER, IS THAT YOU? No, you fool. The Loch Ness Monster was in Loch Ness, not Lake Roccaluce. Besides, Nessie was just a legend. BUT WAIT. This was Winx Club. Shit like that was far from a myth. Giant octopus and beastly creatures—including the aquatic kind—were as common as horses and cows here. There might actually be something be something hazardous in there! But the chances of that were slim, right? I mean, there weren't any signs around that warned travelers of potentially monster-laced waters. But then again, there was a pervert creeping in the woods and there were no signs about that. What if something really WAS in the water, readying to snatch my ass? Ha, no well in hell. I didn't get this far just to get eaten by a water goblin or whatever the fuck.

Just as I was turning to leave, there was that splash again. I whirled around just in time to see a tail disappearing under the water in the center of the lake. Though I only saw it for a split second, I made it out perfectly. It was big, blue, and scaly with a large fin attached to the end. What the fuck? Any sane person's first instinct? Run away. My first instinct? Throw a rock at it. And that was what I did. There was a conveniently large stone under one of the nearby trees so I scooped it up and aimed at the water. It ripped in the same area and I swear I saw some move. Hell no. Remember when I mentioned I had a good throwing arm? Well, I charged some energy into my right one and hurled that fucker across the lake with the accuracy and strength of an Olympian. It landed straight in the spot that'd been moving a few seconds ago and what followed was a series of violent splashing, making me leap back. I hit whatever it was dead-on. Now my instincts told me to run but again, I refused. I stood a safe distance away, staring at the lake to see if my mysterious creature would finally show itself.

Much to my bewilderment, a head rose up from underneath the waves, followed by the muscular torso it was attached to. "Who threw that?" it demanded. Except it wasn't an "it" but a "he." And he was freakin' gorgeous. The first thing I saw was the chest, which was bare, fair-skinned, and toned as fuck. My gaze veered upward and focused on the face belonging to this hot bod. It had beautiful eyes and attractive features. But what wasn't that attractive was the scowl panted across it, but I was hardly paying attention to it. I was too busy taking in this hunk. He had long purple hair that spilled past his shoulders like a waterfall and a set of matching dot-like symbols on his forehead. Similar markings were widespread on his chest and…wait. He had a dorsal fin on his back and I took note of the scales bordering his upper-half. And what that a tail flickering in the water a few feet behind him? O-M-G. THIS GUY WAS A MERMAN! I was finally seeing one! And right when I thought things couldn't get any better, another merman popped up beside the first one. They were nearly identical, except the second one had lavender hair and bluish-green eyes. Their hotness was equally as breath-taking.

Their eyes settled on me and immediately erased my fan-girl face. "You!" The purple-headed one aimed an accusing finger at me and swam closer toward me. "You nearly gave me a concussion!"

I almost asked how he knew it was me when I remembered we were literally the only ones out here. Guilty as fuck. "Sorry," I said shortly, trying hard not to stare at him like some freakish pervert.

"'Sorry?' Do you know who I am?" he demanded, his tail beating against the surface of the water just as furiously.

"No." And I really didn't give a damn. I apologized for throwing the rock, right? Why was he getting so worked up? It didn't even hit his ass. Tail. Whatever the fuck his rear end was called.

Though I didn't outright say I didn't care, I was pretty sure the look on my face screamed as much. And if it did, the purple-haired merman didn't care because he puffed out his chest and arrogantly and strongly stated, "I am Prince Tritannus of the Andros, first son of King Neptune, King of the Sea." He stared at me with a haughty and expecting smirk as if expecting me to suddenly drop to my knees and start worshipping him. Oh great. Another majorroyal pain. I escaped one just to run into another.

I didn't give him the satisfaction he wanted. "Who's the other one?" I asked, my gaze shifting to the one identical to Tritannus.

"I'm Nereus." He lifted his hand in a wave and smiled kindly. "Nice to meet you."

I kept my face even, but my heart softened a bit. At least both of them weren't jerks. "I'm Acadia," I said, "it's nice to meet you too, Nereus and Tritannus." I studied them. I think I recognized them a little. They definitely weren't from the original series, so where—OH. Were they from season 5? I knew it was water-themed or something, but I didn't watch it because the new Winx Club was literally garbage. I only identified these two because I saw a few screenshots on the occasional blog or two (only a true Winx Club fanatic read the blogs (and then erased it from their browser history so your siblings wouldn't find out you were crazy about a show intended for girls under the age of 10). I guess a true Winx Club fan would also watch the new seasons as well, but Nickelodeon was garbage. But hey, better them than Disney).

Suddenly, Tritannus looked very insulted. "Fool," he spat, "don't address me so casually. I'm ranked higher than you." He giving me that snobbish look again, clearing expecting me to "redeem myself" and apologize formally. And then worship him. Again, not gonna happen.

"Forgive me," I said with a shrug, "Tritannus."

Tritannus looked taken aback for a second. This was obviously a prince who wasn't used to being defied. The anger kicked in a few seconds later. "Insolate commoner! Don't you know to pay proper respect to those more important than you?"

"Tritannus!" hissed Nereus, shooting his brother a sharp look and then directing an apologetic one at me.

"What are you gonna do?" I challenged, "have your dad sic his hitmen on me to off me in my sleep?" I actually panicked for a split second, realizing that could actually happen but then I remembered King Neptune's forces were probably merman so they had no chance of getting to me, one who was on land. And then to prove me wrong, I had a few flashbacks of season 3, specifically that Andros episode. OH FUCK. Merpeople could fly. I WAS SO SCREWED. But Nereus and Tritannus didn't have wings! So maybe it was just the mermaids, meaning King Neptune couldn't dispatch his hired guns (or tridents. Or whatever the fuck merpeople fought with) against me. Unless they were female. SCREWED AS FUCK.

"Look, sorry about throwing that rock," I said quickly, "I didn't know you guys were out here. I heard you were a monster or something." I regretted saying "or something." It made me sound like a dumb land creature, as Tritannius insisted I was.

"Fool," he insulted again, "no monsters or fiends dwell in this lake. These are sacred waters. Didn't you know that?"

I knew he knew I didn't. He was just trying to make me look ignorant. And how was Lake Roccaluce "sacred?" Man, I really should've watched season 5. "No," I said matter-of-factly, "I didn't. And if you guys are from Andros, how are you on Magix?" Since they didn't have legs, merpeople were bound to the water, meaning they couldn't hop planet to planet via starships.

I must've asked another stupid question because Tritannus furrowed his brows and stared like I was more than a fool. Even Nereus was looking at me kind of funny. "Are all land dwellers this dense?" asked Tritannus sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "The waters of the magic dimension are connected, just like the planets they belong to. Just like your kind use portals to travel from planet to planet, we people of the sea use a series of gateways that magically link all the oceans of the dimension. Anything else you'd like to ask, human?"

DUH. In the Real World, there was little to no explanation or detailed clarification about mermaids other than the clearly stated facts they were mythical people with fish tails. I had a whole BUNCH of question to ask. Like, how do you guys have babies? Or, how do you have sex? Or better yet, how in the FUCK do you guys poop and pee? Mermaids and mermen ate, so they had to get rid of waste SOMEHOW. I once tried looking for some answers on the internet, but .com was no help. Either people said they pooped like goldfish or they didn't poop at all. I wanted to ask the real questions so bad, but that would just be rude and creepy. How was I even supposed to ask? Yo, how do you guys shit?

"Tritannus, you don't have to be so rude," scolded Nereus, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"As a matter of fact, I do have a question," I announced, sliding down the bank closer toward the edge where they floated. "Are you guys brothers?"

Tritannus just blinked. "Clearly," he said thinly, "we look like each other." I swear I heard him mumble "Unfortunately." "Actually, he looks like me. I'm older."

"Only by a few minutes," corrected Nereus.

Wait. So they didn't hatch out of eggs or something? They were actually birthed like mammals regardless of being half fish? But...HOW? WHERE THE HELL DID THE BABIES COME OUT OF? FROM WHICH BODY PART OF A MERMAID DID THEY POP OUT OF? WHERE THE HECK WAS THE MERMAID'S WOMB? IN THE TAIL? WHAT EVEN TOOK PLACE IN ORDER FOR A MERMAID TO GET PREGNANT? DID MERMAIDS EVEN HAVE PRIVATE PARTS? I WAS SO CONFUSED. But I didn't show it. I just nodded like I completely understood. And I did. To an extent.

Tritannus must've sensed my puzzlement because he smiled at me in a chilling matter so familiar I thought I was staring at Icy for a second. "Careful, brother. You speak of things her small ground-creature brain cannot comprehend."

"Actually, I am a bit confused," I admitted, fighting a blush of embarrassment. "I don't know much about your kind. I'm from…" I hesitated. I thought about saying the desert since that would make sense but I couldn't remember where I told the Winx I was from and I wanted my stories to add up. "I'm from somewhere very remote," I said instead, "I've never even seen a merperson until now."

For some odd reason, Tritannus took this another chance to exalt himself. "And how fortunate you are, to lay eyes on the imperials of the sea as your first time witnessing a—wait. WHAT did you call us?"

Yeesh, what was his problem? "A merperson," I repeated, "as in mermen and mermaids."

"You really don't know anything about us," scoffed Tritannus, "we're not…'merpeople.' And there are no 'mermen.' What's that even supposed to be? Mermaids made masculine? No, the correct term is triton. The females are called mermaids, the males are tritons."

Well, damn. "So, do you still use the same gender terms as us?" I asked, "like man, woman, boy, and girl?"

"You really are stupid, aren't you?"

Nereus gave Tritannus a look of warning. "Please, don't mind him. He's just being high-minded again."

"No, it's fine. He's right. I am stupid. That's exactly why His Royal Highness is going to enlighten me. Isn't that right, Tritannus?"


"Hey, can I touch your tail?" I asked Nereus a good two hours later. I was still at the lake with the mermen—tritons. We were all sitting along the edge of the lake, dangling our bare feet and tail fins in the water. Yes, Nereus and Tritannius were sitting on the ground beside me. It kinda freaked me out at first to see them hoist themselves out of the water and sit the way two-leggers sat regardless of having legs, but I got used to it. I mean, the pictures back in the Real World depicted mermaids sitting on rocks all the time. But did that mean they technically had an ass inside their tail? Ugh, whatever. All the questions were making my head hurt. I really wanted to just bombard Tritannus and Nereus with all of them, but that would make me look like a weirdo and they probably wouldn't want to hang around me anymore. Usually, I wouldn't give a shit about what anyone thought, but Nereus and Tritannus were pretty chill and polar opposites. Nereus was the friendly, talkative type (hence the reason we were still here two hours later) and Tritannus liked to talk to—that is, if he was insulting someone or singing his own praises. Tritannus was basically another Riven—but maybe worse. He was undoubtedly unpleasant. But to be honest, I liked him—barely. That was why I asked Nereus instead; I didn't want to trigger Tritannus again and risk hearing him rant about my "dirty land-creature" hands. I think I might've triggered him anyway because he snorted, like I had bad taste and should've asked him instead.

"Sure." Nereus nodded and smiled encouraging. He lifted his snake-like tail out of the water. I had to stand up and take a few steps into the shallow end to reach it. I gently glided my fingers against his scales. The water beads clinging to them caught the evening sunlight leaking through the treetops, making his tail glisten and look more define. Now I could see the faint colors that formed the unique patterns all along his silver-ish blue tail. I carefully traced my fingers down the length of his tail and when I came to his fin toward the end, I glanced at him as if asking permission. He smiled and nodded. Tritannius made a sound of disgust. I stroked his fin in awe, surprised by how light and silky it felt. When I as satisfied, I returned to my feet and Nereus dropped his tail back in the water with a splash, making the evening sun's reflection on the surface of the water ripple.

I held up my feet and wiggled my toes playfully. "Have you ever touched two-leggers' feet?" I asked him.

Nereus nodded. "When we were children, my cousin Aisha would let me. They feel…fleshy. And soft." Whoa, foot fetish much? But I wasn't focused on that part. I was more surprised by the fact he called Aisha cousin. And then it all made sense. Aisha's parents were rulers of Andros, the water planet, so it'd make sense they'd be related. And now when I thought back on season 3, there was actually an episode when Aisha and the Winx went to help her cousin Tress, a mermaid, save her mother, the queen of mermaids and tritons from captivity. If she was the queen of the merfolk, then she was King Neptune's wife, making her Nereus and Tritannus's mother as well and Aisha's aunt. That realization comforted me for some reason. It made me feel a little bit closer to Aisha, even though we had yet to meet. I wasn't worried, however. She was coming soon, and I couldn't wait. WAIT. Aisha was a fairy, which were humans or something similar. In what way was she related to Nereus and Tritannus? By blood? Because if so, either her mother or father had to related to either King Neptune or Queen Ligea, which didn't make sense considering one party was human and the other wasn't. So Aisha's, Tritannus's, and Nereus's grandmother somehow managed to push out a son with legs and then another with a tail? What was she? A mermaid or a human woman? If so, how did she manage to give birth to two completely different species? UGH, Winx Club was more complex than I thought.

Right when I was about to say something on my mind, a little voice called out to us from the water. "Princes Nereus and Tritannus!" My head snapped up to see a small, bright blue and wingless mermaidlike creature waving at us from the water.

"A selkie," explained Nereus when he caught me staring, "one of the many gatekeepers of the waters of the Magic Dimension."

"Your Highnesses, it is time to return to the royal palace on Andros," said the selkie in an adorable voice, swimming over. "King Neptune awaits." King Neptune. I wondered what he looked like. The first thing that came to my mind was Neptune from SpongeBob. I stifled a laugh.

"Well, I guess that means it's time to go," I announced, rising to my feet. "It's getting late anyway. I have to get back to Alfea soon." I put my shoes back on as Nereus and Tritannus fell forward into the water.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Acadia. I bid you farewell." Nereus gave me a respectful bow of the head and I hated how much I loved it. I also couldn't help but notice Tritannus was already diving underwater, apparently too good for proper departure. Whatever. Screw him too.

"Same. Thanks for clarifying some things."

We kept it short, mostly because I was eager to get back to Alfea. It was around dinnertime and I was hungrier than a lion's pregnant bitch. As I started toward the trail, I felt Nereus's gaze lingering on my backside as I walked away from the lake. I glance over my shoulder and waved. He smiled and waved back.

When I made it up the bank and back on the walking trail, I looked back one more time.

And all I saw was Nereus's magnificent, upside down Y-shaped tail glowing in the sunlight as it slapped the surface of the water before completely submerging under it.