For all the folks checking on this "update" who came straight to the most recent chapter, this fic has been completely rewritten (much better than before) and you can find it as well as the prequel on my profile. Book One is called The Obsidian Coven. If you're looking for even more background on the next gen, check out New Legacy or the aforementioned prequel. If you're sick of my writing, check out Amicix: Hidden Secrets by Goldenwriter17. It's next gen, it's recent, and it's completed!
For now, as a gift, have "intermission: pyros," a completely noncanon continuaton of this last chapter.
Will stirred in his sleep and knocked Jane's head off his lap. Jane woke up and rubbed at her eyes, looking up at Will's still peacefully asleep face. She grinned fondly and sat up. After gently caressing the sleeping prince's strong jaw, she turned her eyes to the rest of the ship.
Everyone was still. Whether asleep or not, Jane couldn't tell, but just in case, she quietly stood from her seat and made her way over to the window. She watched planets and moons fly by that she couldn't name and wondered how far to the Resort Realm from now. She grit her teeth.
Faragonda was treating them like some perfect photocopies of their mothers and it was one thing to put them in a dorm together, but making them a club before they even had time to unpack? That was going too far. Even worse, she sent them on a mission on their second day of school, and now she's sending them to adifferent realmin the hopes of them reenacting their mothers' lives and earning their Charmixby the end of the week. Jane felt the Dragon Flame heating up her palms in her anger and had to shake her hands to cool down.
"Jane?" a soft voice asked.
Ace turned around in her seat, looking up over the top of her chair. Jane walked over and stood in front of her.
"What are you doing up? It's the middle of the night," Ace said groggily, trying to sit up before realizing Coda's arm was thrown across her waist. She struggled bashfully before giving up and shrugging. To compensate, Jane took a seat on the floor in front of her.
"I'm just mad," she huffed, casting another long glance out the window. "I don't care who she is, Faragonda can't treat us like this."
When she looked back, Ace was giving her a soft smile.
"What?"
Ace shrugged and replied, "I just remember how adamant you were about not being a leader. You're really coming into it."
"No way. Me? As if."
Ace shrugged again and said, "Whatever you say, Jane."
"I just don't see how Faragonda can get away with this. She's practically militarized the entire school."
"She's up against something big and it scares her," Ace said. "I really can't blame her for trying to save the world."
"Yeah, but from what?" Jane asked. "She hasn't told us anything. I was talking to a girl from my art class and apparently next week the Venix Club is going to the Underrealm to get a magical vase! Why? They don't know!"
Delta looked up from her phone from across the room and glared at Jane for raising her voice, shushing Marissa back to sleep. Gently standing so as not to wake the sleeping fairy, she strutted over to Jane and Ace.
"What are you complaining about, Red?"
Jane blushed at the nickname Will had made up for her. It had caught on and now everyone called her that.
"I'm just mad at Faragonda for sending us to the Resort Realm."
"Okay. Then let's not go."
Ace scoffed, "We can't justnotgo."
"Sure we can," Delta said. Turning to the pilot, she said, "Hey, Mohawk guy."
Xavier turned in his seat and raised an eyebrow. Delta turned to Jane and Ace and asked, "Any suggestions?"
"Delta, we shouldn't-"
"Pyros."
The two girls turned to Jane, Ace in shock and Delta with a smirk.
"You heard the girl, Flyboy. Take us to Pyros," Delta said.
"I don't think I can do that," Xavier said nervously.
Delta glared and made her way to the console. Bending over to look him in the eyes, she said, "Do you have a fairy team, Xavier?"
"Y-yeah."
"Does Faragonda send them on ludicrous missions?"
"Well, I wouldn't call them-"
"I asked, does Faragonda send you guys on ludicrous missions?"
Looking down, he muttered, "Yeah, sometimes."
"Okay, so that means you have to understand. This is the part where we'resupposedto rebel."
He looked down at the ground before nodding and turning back to the console. He clicked a few buttons and turned the wheel, making the ship take a sharp left. That effectively woke up the rest of the ship.
"Wha- what was that?!" Marissa exclaimed, jumping up.
Mica and Piper woke up at the same time and realized they were wrapped around each other. Piper turned red and shoved him away. Mica blushed and awkwardly rubbed his neck. Delta was smirking at them, which made Piper glare and stomp over.
"What's going on?" she demanded.
"Yeah, I second that," Orlando groaned, sitting up.
"You can't second a question, idiot," Sylvie said as she struggled to pull her arm out from behind him. He elbowed her and she fell out of her seat, separating them from their tangled sleep.
"We're going to Pyros," Jane said, biting back a smile. Her eyes searched the crowd forming around the pilot's seat and blue met blue. Will smiled at her and gave her a thumbs up. She bounced on her heels.
"What are they going to do when we don't show up in the Resort Realm?" Lee asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Good question," Jane said. "Xavier, do you know any fairies willing to cover for another club by sneaking out of their dorm in the middle of the night, traveling to another realm, checking into a hotel as someone else, and heading back to Alfea before sunrise?"
"The Lifeix Club wouldn't break the rules," he said nervously.
"Wait, you're with the Lifeix Club?" Sylvie asked.
"Whatever," Delta cut her off. "Are you sure you don't know any other fairies?"
"Well... there's my step-sister, but-"
"Perfect!" Ace cheered. "Call her."
Xavier sighed and pulled out his phone.
"Sam? Yeah, hey. I need a favor."
He set the autopilot for Pyros and walked to the back of the ship, leaving the rest of them standing at the helm.
"So... Pyros, huh?"
"Yeah. My mom went there once. That's how she got her Enchantix," Jane explained. "A woman there helped her. Hopefully, we can train under her too."
"Where is it?" Marissa asked.
"It's a moon that left Domino's orbit. The realm of the dragons is what they call it."
"Dragons? That's just great," Sylvie lamented. "Who needs sugar sands and crystal water when you can have dragons?"
"Stop whining," Piper chastised. "It'll be fun."
"And, on the bright side, it's the first decision we've made in this mission without Faragonda hovering over us," Delta pointed out. The two girls looked at each other strangely- were they actually agreeing?
"Hey, sweetheart. Whatever you're cool with, I'm cool with," Orlando said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. Delta batted him away. Sylvie slugged him in the shoulder for good measure.
"Okay. Okay, thanks."
They all turned to Xavier as he finished the phone call. When he looked up, he was met with all eyes on him and turned red.
"Uh, she says they'll do it."
"Perfect. Let's get going."
"Wait, what even is Pyros?" Marissa asked, taking her seat again.
"I'm not sure," Jane admitted, rubbing her arm nervously. "I'm pretty sure it's an island realm or something."
"Oh, that sounds nice," Ace said.
However, the girls learned upon landing that Pyros was not in fact nice. It was actually very mean.
"Aaaah!" Jane screamed as she dodged a fireball from a dragon. All around her, her friends were taking shelter in the trees. She suddenly regretted sending Xavier away. They hadn't even had time to transform.
"No, no, no!" Marissa screeched as a small orange dragon flew after her. Its jaws opened and just before she was snapped in half, she dived into the ocean. The dragon sharply turned up and flew away. One by one, the other dragons gave up and wandered off.
Nearby, Jane heard Mica sigh in relief as he came out from behind a tree.
"Well, that was..."
He trailed off, but they all understood what he meant. Tentatively, they joined the sopping wet Marissa on the beach.
"I don't like it here," she said. With a snap of her fingers, the water left her body and slowly dripped down to the sand below.
"At least there's a beach," Sylvie said as she walked up, struggling to roll her luggage across the sand.
Turning around and shielding his eyes against the sun, Orlando surveyed the skies.
"It looks like they can't be near the water," he observed, pointing to the dragons hovering by the beach's end. Sylvie stood behind her brother and clutched his arm.
"I guess this is where we'll be setting up shop then," Jane said, pulling out the tent they had borrowed from the ship. They worked together on setting it up, save for Piper who was in charge of dragging the luggage from the forest to the beach.
Once they finally got the tent up- not without a lot of bickering and shouting- the group could finally relax. And relax they did.
"Wooh! Beach day!" Sylvie cheered as she burst out of the tent in a bedazzled bikini with a towel rolled up under her arm. Orlando ran in once she left.
"Shouldn't we be working on getting our Charmix?" Marissa said from where she sat by the shore. A second later, Orlando jumped out of the tent in a pair of golden swim trunks that reflected the light in an awful way.
"Wooh! Beach day!" he cheered.
The twins ran into the waves and started wrestling.
"I don't know how we're going to get through this if everyone keeps slacking off," Jane said, taking a seat next to Marissa. The girl turned to her leader and shielded her face from the sea wind whipping her hair into her dark eyes. Jane saw that the Androsian princess blended in perfectly with the scene.
"They aren't slacking off, Jane," Marissa said, hugging her knees to her chest. "They're doing the best they can to make the most of a grim situation."
"It wouldn't be grim if we stopped slacking off," the redhead mumbled. More loudly, she turned to Marissa and said, "You're right. We do deserve to have some fun, but we don't have that luxury."
"Who wants to play us at chicken?!" Sylvie called from the sea. Turning to the siblings, the group saw that Sylvie was sitting on top of Orlando's shoulders as the waves lapped at his back.
"What did she say?" Mica asked Piper.
"They want to play chicken."
"I will!" Mica called out. He turned to Piper to convince her to join him, but the girl was stoic.
Feeling bad, Delta said, "I'll do it, Mica."
He grinned at her and helped her up off the sand. The two changed into a string bikini top with shorts and flame-streaked board shorts, respectively, and ran out to join Sylvie and Orlando in the water. The Solarian siblings smirked at their challengers and got into position.
"I have to warn you. We're very good."
"Totally in sync."
"It's like we're twins or something."
Jane rolled her eyes as they laughed at their own joke and turned to Marissa saying, "I'm going to change."
"Giving in?" the other girl said with a smirk.
"If you can't beat 'em," Jane said with a shrug before heading to the tent.
Marissa turned back to the water, watching as Delta and Sylvie wrestled atop Orlando's and Mica's shoulders. Lee came to lay beside her and her hand went to his hair, carding through the violet curls as she watched the game. She wasn't as awkward around him anymore after having him fall asleep on her on the ship. Same with Delta.
Jane came rushing over, still wearing her jeans but now sporting a vivid red blush.
"Omd, omd, omd," she said, squeezing her eyes shut and plopping down beside Marissa.
"What? What's wrong?" Marissa asked.
With her eyes still closed, Jane squeaked, "I walked in on Will changing."
Lee and Marissa started cracking up laughing and nearby, Ace giggled and asked, "Well?"
"Well, what?" Jane asked, peeking out of one eye.
Ace leaned forward and asked, "How was the view?"
That started a whole new round of laughter from Marissa and Lee, much to Jane's chagrin. Coda pinched Ace's hip, so she laughed and kissed his cheek in apology but not before rolling her eyes, which Jane noticed in confusion. Her mind went blank as Will stepped out, washboard abs shining in the sun. The laughter fell quiet on the girls' end of things as they watched the prince step forward in awe. Not so much of the same reaction from the guys...
"Put on a shirt, pasty," Lee joked, shielding his eyes. "Your whiteness is blinding me."
Marissa and Ace started laughing all over again, but Jane was still slack-jawed as Will shrugged it off and ran into the waves. She was beet-red.
"Honey, you'll catch flies," Ace teased. Jane shut her mouth and announced she was going to swim.
As she left, Lee looked up at Marissa from his spot on her lap and asked, "Aren't you going to swim? Isn't swimming, like, your thing?"
"Since when?"
"You're a water fairy, right?"
"Hey, stop stereotyping," Marissa said, poking him in the rib. "Just for that, I'm going swimming."
He rolled his eyes and stood, helping her up. She went to change, leaving Lee alone on the shore with Coda and Ace. Piper walked over just in time to save him from the lovebirds.
"You two are disgusting. Get a room," she spat. Ace glared at her and kissed Coda on the temple before standing and marching over to the tent. The two siblings stared at each other, one with anger and the other with indifference.
Marissa and Jane walked out of the tent in coincidentally identical blue bathing suits and their hair up in a bun. Ace ran after in a yellow tankini with a camera bouncing around her neck.
"Okay, this is really awkward," Lee said, walking away from the siblings. Coda laid back on the sand and Piper sat down cross-legged a few feet away.
"Why do you hate me?" Coda asked, gazing up at the few clouds in the clear blue sky. A stray dragon would fly by every once in a while, but they would never venture too close to the beach.
"What's not to hate?"
They fell silent again. Lee came out of the tent in fraying and faded green board shorts. He gave the siblings a look before rolling his eyes and running into the water. A little while later- once everybody else had joined the game of chicken in the water- she said, "I'm just mad. Really mad."
"I didn't do anything."
"Exactly," she said, glaring at him. He finally looked at her and she let him have it. "I get that you didn't want to be a hero and you were right; Dad shouldn't have tried to force you to be something you're not. But you left me all alone."
"Piper, he was suffocating."
"You think I don't know that? You think he goes easy on me?" she asked incredulously.
"He's always gone easy on you," Coda said, sitting up now. His sister scoffed.
"That's not true. And now it's worse," Piper said.
Coda pointed a finger in her face and argued, "I wasn't going to sacrifice myself for you."
"Well, you should have and I hate you for it."
Suddenly, a light enveloped her and she felt a weight lifted off her shoulders. When the light died, she saw a silver brooch on her chest in the shape of a music note with a tiny purple gem on the bottom of the stem.
As the brooch faded away, she held her hands to her chest. Piper briefly considered calling out to the others but, after seeing them playing in the water, decided to instead join them. With a secretive smile, she walked to the tent, leaving her stupid brother confused on the sand. She brushed past Lee as she walked into the tent.
"You're not getting in the water?" Lee asked Coda as he walked over to the shore, now wearing faded board shorts that were fraying at the edges.
"Why would I?" Coda replied, looking up at the sky with tight eyes.
"Because... your girlfriend is soaking wet and wearing a bathing suit? I'm confused. Do you need any more incentive than that?"
"She's not my girlfriend," Coda grumbled, still not taking his eyes from the sky. His fists were still clenched from his conversation with Piper, but they were tucked under his head, so Lee couldn't see.
"She might as well be," Lee scoffed, leaving the boy to brood and joining the others in the surf.
Lee found Marissa playing Marco Polo with Mica and Ace. After Delta and Mica lost to the twins, Jane and Will took up the mantle of challenger. Lee swam over to Marissa as Ace stumbled around blindly, looking for the two teens.
"Hey," she whispered, not looking away from Ace.
"Hey," Lee whispered back, standing behind her. With a smirk, he said loudly, "So, Marissa, having fun?!"
She gasped as Ace dived in her direction. Screaming, she swam behind Lee, but Ace peeked and caught her.
"That's not fair!"
Mica and Ace were giggling uncontrollably to each other. Nearby a scream alerted them to Sylvie falling backward off of Orlando's shoulders. Jane and Will cheered as Orlando grumbled and helped his sister up.
While he was distracted, Marissa jumped and dragged him underwater. Pulling him to deeper waters, she used her powers to make a bubble around them. Soaking wet, the two teens sat on the ocean floor.
"It's beautiful," Lee whispered in awe as a school of fish swam over their heads.
"The most beautiful place in the world," Marissa agreed, watching his light eyes take in the watery wonderland around them.
He stood and walked over to the side of the bubble that faced the open ocean. It was infinitely dark and the longer he stared at it, the more figures his eyes tricked him into seeing. Marissa came to stand beside him.
"Are you scared?" he asked.
"Of what?"
"The mission."
She looked up at his face and saw that there was a fake loose smile on his lips and genuine worry in his eyes. She knew he just wanted her to say it so that he wouldn't have to. The more she thought about it, however, the more she realized.
"Not really."
"Oh, yeah, me neither," Lee said hastily.
"I mean, I'm scared, but..."
She went quiet and focused on a squid-looking creature swimming past them. Lee watched her until the squid thing swam out of view and she turned back to him.
"We're doing a good thing."
She nodded affirmingly, but her nose twitched and she blushed. Lee probably didn't know yet, but her nose twitching was her tell. She turned away from him to stare back at the ocean.
"Are we?" he asked skeptically. "What is it that we're doing?"
"We're keeping the covens in check," Marissa replied, rubbing her shoulders. It was chilly on the sea floor. "Otherwise, they'll take over."
"Yeah, but like, how do we know that?"
"What?"
"How do we know that leaving the covens alone will lead to chaos? Has anything bad happened yet?"
His eyes were boring into her. She didn't look up at him.
"Not that I know of, but these are preventative measures so that-"
"Preemptive strikes."
"What?"
"They're called preemptive strikes, Marissa, and they don't end well."
"Oh," she said, looking down at the wet sand. "Well, the Headmistress told us to, so it must be the right move. As long as we do what she says, everyone will be safe."
"Everyone will be safe?"
"Witches are dangerous, Lee. Whatever we're doing is for the greater good. If we don't, people could get hurt. Good people."
She wasn't looking up at him, but she could feel him draw away from her.
"Yeah, but you know not all witches are bad, right?"
"Right, right, totally," she said, finally looking up. "But still a lot. They can't just go unchecked."
He regarded her warily and said, "Marissa, you're making some pretty big generalizations."
"With good reason," she mumbled.
She sat down in the sand and watched the fish. He sat down a few feet away, returning to plucking the seagrass.
"Let's go back up," she suggested after too much silence had passed.
"Great idea," he agreed, standing to his feet.
He helped her up and then immediately let go of her hand, which she noticed. Summoning her powers, she shot them back up to the surface, startling the group and making the twins shriek and screech respectively.
"Dragon, you two need a mute button," Delta groaned, rubbing her aching ears.
"Where did you two go?" Ace asked with a mischievous giggle. She lifted her camera and snapped a pic of them as they flushed red.
"The bottom," Lee replied flatly, swimming away from Marissa to stand by Mica and Will.
Ace looked at their blank faces and decided not to push the topic, even though she was dying to know what happened down there. Marissa started swimming to shore when Sylvie stopped her.
"Where are you going?"
"It's getting late," Marissa replied, shrugging her off and trudging out of the water.
That prompted them all to look up only to see a setting sun and a dark orange sky.
"Marissa's right. We should head in," Jane suggested. "Then we can figure out how to do this island thing."
As a group, they swam to shore and after changing out of their bathing suits, Jane started doling out chores.
"We need wood and fresh water, as well as food. Someone needs to check the supplies we have from the ship, while others need to venture into the woods."
"I'll stay here," Ace offered. "I can sort the med supplies."
"Me too," Marissa offered. "I'll stay here and turn the saltwater into freshwater."
"I would also like to stay out of the woods, if at all possible," Mica volunteered.
"Okay, is anyone actually willing to go into the woods?" Jane asked.
The group was silent.
"Fine, I'll do it," Piper groaned. "I'm not afraid of some trees."
"Me neither," Delta said. "I'll go too."
"Awesome. Orlando, go with them to light the way as they gather wood. Coda, go with them since you have an ax."
The group of four stood and started towards the woods before Ace called out, "Wait!"
She ran up to them- awkwardly, because running in sand is hell- and shoved a glass bottle filled with crushed petals into Piper's hands.
"It's a pesar flower. It repels people. Maybe it'll work with dragons too. If you need it, just spit in it, mix it up, and drink it."
"That's, like, disgusting."
"That's, like, magic," Piper mocked in the same valley girl voice as she pocketed the vial. She turned and Delta stuck her tongue out to the music fairy's back.
Orlando took off his ring and it stretched into a long staff with a bright light at the top. Coda pulled out the shaft of his weapon and it extended, growing the black blade of his battle ax out of one end. Piper and Delta quickly transformed.
"Good luck!" Ace called as the group walked over the tree line. Picking up her camera, she snapped a picture of their backs disappearing into the woods.
"Ace!"
"Coming!"
"How do we get wood?" Piper asked after they had gone deep enough into the forest that the sandy beach was out of sight.
"Off the ground?" Orlando suggested.
"We could find a dry log," Coda offered.
"I already have a few," Delta said, holding up a lump of twigs.
"Those are twigs, Del," Piper said with an eye-roll.
"Whatever. I'm still doing better than you," Delta said, gesturing to the music fairy's empty arms.
"Ooo, idea," Orlando said, shimmying his shoulders excitedly. "What if we have a competition?"
"Brilliant. What's the prize?" Piper said, rubbing her hands together.
"Whoever brings back the most wood gets to be carried back," Orlando grinned.
"How are we supposed to carry you?" Delta asked incredulously.
"With magic, obviously," he replied, waving his fingers in her face. She shoved his hand away and nodded.
All in one breath Piper said, "Does everyone agree to the terms and conditions? Yes? Awesome. Let's go."
The three teens dashed off in different directions, leaving Coda to roll his eyes and trudge away in search of firewood.
Meanwhile, back at the tent, Jane was starting to get frustrated with her team.
"Guys, seriously, I need help," Jane said, watching Sylvie and Mica goofing off while Ace took pictures.
"Iamhelping," Marissa argued from where she was purifying the seawater to make it drinkable.
"No, not you, Marissa. I was talking about those three," Jane sighed. Will came up behind her and placed a hand on the small of her back. She jumped and then a goofy smile spread across her face.
"Don't worry about them, Jane," Will said. "I set up that curtain in the tent like you asked."
"Thanks, Will," she sighed, leaning back into his hand. Of all the people on the island, Jane was most happy that Will was stuck here with her too. He was strong, capable, and... it also helped that every time she looked at him, she got butterflies in her stomach. He smiled down at her and she turned red. After staring into his ocean eyes for a little too long, she cleared her throat and turned back to the group of misbehaving teens, saying, "Guys, seriously, I need inventory now."
"Why don't you do it?" Lee pointed out from where he was spearfishing in the wake with his trident.
"I'm getting fruit," she groaned, gesturing to the fruit trees by the tree line. "Come on, Ace. Let's go. Will, if you could finish up the tent. Sylvie, Mica-"
She stopped talking as she watched Sylvie and Mica squawk at each other while Ace watched laughing.
Jane threw her hands up in the air and exclaimed, "Oh my Dragon, just dosomething!"
Snickering to each other behind their hands, Sylvie and Mica made their way towards the supplies to take inventory as Jane stomped toward the fruit trees.
Ace followed sheepishly behind and said, "You don't have to get upset, Jane. They were only goofing off a bit."
Jane huffed and pulled a bunch of mini bananas from the nearest tree. Brushing her hair back from her face, she said, "I know. I'm just frustrated with this mission and this island. I'm not cut out to be a leader."
"Are you joking?" Ace asked, incredulously raising one of her sharp black brows. "What do you think all that was? And deciding to come here? And getting this camp together? You're an amazing leader, Jane, and the only thing holding you back is the fact that you don't realize it."
Jane was taken aback by Ace's words. A small smile spread across her face and she looked down bashfully.
"Thanks, Ace. I'm grateful you're in this club."
"Me too," the girl replied, grabbing some fruit from the tree. "It's really a godsend, this mission."
"Why's that?"
"I was really worried I wouldn't make friends at Alfea because my only friend before College was my sister."
Ace felt a weight lifted off of her shoulders from admitting that. Jane considered that for a second before asking, "Is that why... you're, y'know- with Coda and Piper and all that?"
"Um, kind of?" Ace asked, fiddling her fingers. "It's just important to me that they figure things out. I mean, I understand what Coda is and that he could never love me and I could never love him and that's a problem that I could never fix because it is so ingrained in him to break hearts for some reason much deeper than anything he would ever admit to me without first loving me which brings us back to square one so-"
Her voice broke in the middle of her rambling explanation and her eyes pooled with tears.
"Ace?"
Jane put a hand on her shoulder as she struggled to hold back tears.
In a shaky voice, she squeaked, "I never meant to love him."
That broke the dam and she began full out sobbing. Jane pulled the larger girl into her arms. Ace immediately wrapped her arms around Jane's shoulders and sobbed into her neck. Jane tried not to choke on the mountain of black hair in her face as she rubbed her friend's back comfortingly. Eventually, the sobs died down and Ace stepped back, revealing a pendant on her chest in the shape of a falling flower petal with a pink gem in the center.
"Is that-" Ace sniffled, wiping away residual tears. "Is that my Charmix?"
"Congratulations!" Jane cheered.
Ace laughed and asked, "So is my makeup ruined now?"
Jane looked up at her mascara-stained face and the tragedy that her eyeliner had become. She wiped the black smudges from her friend's cheeks and said, "No. No way."
The two girls laughed together and picked up the fruit they had dropped. As they walked back to the tent, Jane asked, "So, are you going to do anything about you and Coda?"
Ace looked to be actually thinking about her answer before replying, "No. I finish things. It's what I do."
Jane didn't press anymore and the conversation left her mind as she returned to camp to find Sylvie and Mica wrapping each other in bandages.
"Guys, seriously?!"
Ace laughed and snapped a picture. Marissa and Lee joined into the laughter as Jane reprimanded Sylvie and Mica. Marissa looked over her shoulder at Lee and saw that his laughter had died down and he now looked pensive. She waded out toward him. He spoke first.
"What did you mean when you said 'with good reason'?"
"What?"
"Underwater. In the bubble thing. You said you hated witches 'with good reason.' What was that reason?"
"I never said I hated witches."
He gave her a look, so she sighed and admitted, "Okay, so witches might not be my favorite people."
"Why though?"
She took a deep breath and said, "I come from a family with four sets of twins."
"You have eight siblings?!" he asked in disbelief, still not sure what that had to do with witches.
"Seven," she corrected. "I am one of those twins."
"Oh. How come-"
"When I was twelve, my twin sister was murdered."
Lee's pale eyes went wide and he looked like he wanted to gasp. She avoided his gaze.
"Oh my Dragon, Marissa, I'm so sorry."
She nodded and said, "It's okay. I didn't know her that well. She was sent away when we were little so she could learn how to be queen."
She waited for him to say something, but he just quietly listened.
"Marina was kind, from what I remember, and she never cried. When she was twelve, when I was twelve, she was murdered by a coven, The Wives of the Brine. They used her-"
She started choking up, so he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. The weight of it kept her grounded.
"They used her as a sacrifice and left her body on the beach for her mentors to find. They told us the next morning."
"I'm so sorry, Marissa."
She sniffled to hold back a tear, but the feeling of his heavy thumb rubbing circles into her shoulder blade coaxed them out of her. A steady stream of quiet tears flowed from her eyes.
"I feel like I've been on the verge of a panic attack for the past four years and I just can't breathe. I mean, how could-"
She stopped herself and took a few steadying breaths.
"So, yeah. I hate witches. And I know it's wrong but..."
"No, yeah, I get it."
"Thanks," she said with a small smile. Her chest began to glow and when the glow faded, there was a brooch shaped like the top of a fleur-de-lis with a red gem balancing at the top. It faded away too.
"Awesome. You got your Charmix," he said with an understanding smile.
"You guys okay over there?" Sylvie called from the shore.
"I got my Charmix!" Marissa cheered, wiping at her cheeks. Luckily, it was dark and only Lee could see the tear tracks shining on her face in the moonlight.
"Me too!" Ace said, pumping her fists in the air. Both blotchy-cheeked girls laughed as Jane fondly rolled her eyes and told everyone to get back to work.
Meanwhile, deep in the forest, Delta was returning triumphantly to their meeting place.
"Look what I found," she sang, dropping a huge bundle of sticks onto the forest floor.
Piper appeared at the same time with a branch that she had broken up into three pieces. She smiled smugly at Delta.
"I'm pretty sure I trump you all," Orlando said as he dragged a log to the spot.
"Can you all just shut up?" Coda asked from where he was leaning against the tree with a giant stack of chopped firewood beside him.
"That's totally not fair," Delta argued. "You didn't even want to join in."
"Yeah," Orlando chimed. "That doesn't count. Which means I win."
"How arewesupposed to carryyou?" Delta asked, surveying his lanky body.
"Now, hold up. I won fair and square," Coda said.
"No way. I did."
"I couldn't carry either of you!"
"Guys, shut up!" Piper yelled. She stilled and looked around with darting eyes. "We aren't alone."
The rest of the group went silent as they listened to the rustling in the trees. Together they backed up into each other until they were all back to back.
"Do you think-"
Delta's whisper was cut off by a pouncing dragon. At the campsite, Jane was explaining to Mica why Will and Lee were trying to drown each other offshore while Marissa stood by nearly crying and Sylvie laughed from the sand.
"And then Lee said Will needs to stop being so weird and Will said Lee needs to stop being so fake and Lee said Will needs to get over himself and Will called Lee 'Lily' and Lee hit Will and that's what you missed onGlee."
"What'sGlee?"
"Never mind. It was an Earth reference. The point is they're just being stupid boys," Jane said.
Mica nodded and then asked, "Why do you even like that guy?"
Jane started laughing nervously.
"Who? Will? I don't- I don't know why-"
"Jane."
She sighed and said, "Fine. I do kind of like Will. He's just so heroic and charming."
"Don't you think he's sort of..." Mica searched for the right word... "off?"
"I don't think so, no."
"Okay..."
Mica turned back to the sea as the fight died down and the two soaking wet boys regarded each other warily. Reluctantly, they nodded and headed back to shore, having reached a treaty.
Marissa rushed to Lee's side as he walked out of the wake and started drilling him with questions like "What was that all about?" and "What kind of idiot-"
Will dropped to Jane's side and laid out on the sand, tired and wet. Mica got up and walked away.
"So... what was that all about?" Jane asked.
"Just guys being dudes," Will said with a smile.
For some reason, Jane didn't think Lee felt the same way. She watched him explaining to Marissa and he looked back at Will with a face that did not seem like a guy just being a dude.
"Well, you need to change because you cannot go to sleep covered in salt water."
"Why not?" he teased, sitting up.
"Because it's gross," she laughed.
"Oh, is it really?"
Jane shrieked when he lunged at her and toppled her over into a soaking wet bear hug. When their laughter died down, Jane realized that Will was still laying on top of her. In a quiet voice, she said, "Great. Now I'm going to have to change."
"Sorry," he said back. He was quiet too. It felt like neither one of them wanted to break the moment.
"Like, I can't believe you're so ungrateful," a shrill voice complained, announcing the arrival of the kindling group.
Will rolled off of Jane and helped her up as the four battered teens joined their friends on the beach. Piper was covered in soot from head to toe, Coda was holding the blade of his ax with no handle in sight, and Orlando was carrying Delta on his back. They all rushed over.
"Guys! What happened?"
"Dragon," Coda grunted as he shouldered past everybody and stormed into the tent. Ace worriedly ran after him.
"You were attacked by adragon?" Sylvie shrieked as she crossed the beach in five long strides. Grabbing Orlando's face, she turned his head from side to side, inspecting for damage and thankfully finding none.
Piper flinched and covered her sensitive ears, glaring at the moon fairy and sulking over to the fire pit to drop the little wood they had brought back. Jane pulled her aside to ask, "Piper, what happened?"
"We were attacked by a dragon," she answered curtly, squatting down to start the fire. Mica hurried over to help, so the two of them started on the fire while Jane worried.
"How are we going to complete this mission if we can't leave the beach?" she wondered aloud.
Piper looked up and wiped soot from her brow, saying, "Well, Delta got her Charmix on the walk back."
"Really?" Jane asked, trying not to sound jealous. "How come? I mean, how?"
"Yeah, we talked."
"Oh."
Jane looked down at the ground and thought for a moment before asking, "So I guess it's just the two of us left to get our Charmix."
"Actually-"
"Seriously?" Jane groaned. "Am I the only one who doesn't have her Charmix?"
Piper and Mica shared a look as Jane huffed in frustration. They went back to struggling to light the wood, but, rolling her eyes angrily, Jane snapped her fingers and lit the fire. They watched with wide eyes as she stomped into the tent.
"So... a dragon, huh?" Mica asked Piper. "Are you okay?"
Piper looked down at her soot-covered body and replied, "Well, my clothes are ruined, which I'm not happy about, but at least I didn't idiotically sprain my ankle by trying to roundhouse kick a dragon in the face."
Mica glanced over to where Marissa was tending to Delta's swollen ankle while Orlando talked her through the pain.
"Didn't she save Coda?" Mica asked.
"So?" Piper callously replied. Mica stopped talking and focused on the fire. After a second, Piper added, "Thanks for asking though."
Mica looked startled, but then a sharp smile split his face. They went back to tending the fire in comfortable silence. Ace coaxed Coda out of the tent at about the same time that Sylvie went in.
"So... a dragon, huh?" Lee asked Orlando as he came to sit beside him.
Orlando grunted when Delta squeezed his hand a little too tightly and then he turned to reply, "You should have seen it. That thing was a beast."
"Yes," Marissa deadpanned. "That is the general category that fire-breathing dragons tend to fall under."
"No, it was seriously vicious," Orlando continued. "My sword just bounced off of its scales."
"He's right," Delta affirmed with gritted teeth. "There was a better chance of him killing one of us with that thing with the way he was swinging it."
"I can attest to that," Coda said from nearby.
Ace held the black blade of his ax in her lap as she coaxed a sprig out of the ground. The little tree grew thicker and she slid the ax onto it so it could grow around the cold metal. Once the blade was secure on the thick white wood, the roots came up from the sand and twisted around the end of the trunk to form an intricate knot. Grabbing the ax by its new handle, Ace handed it to Coda, who inspected it before placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Listen, I did my best," Orlando argued. Marissa lifted Delta's foot to wrap under it, and the tech fairy winced and squeezed Orlando's hand. "Loosen up, will ya?"
She looked up at the prince from where she was laying on his lap and snarked, "Oh, I'm sorry. Is that, like, painful for you? Does that hurt too much? Dragon forbid."
He rolled his eyes and sat her up with her back against his chest. Marissa's and Delta's eyes widened and they shared a look.
"Next time, don't be such a hero by throwing yourself in the line of fire," Orlando said, not noticing the two fairies hyper-analyzing the new position he shifted her into.
"If I remember correctly, it was Coda who was in the line of fire and I saved him by, like, kicking that dragon in the face."
"No, you didn't," Coda argued.
"I totally did."
"I was already out of the way."
"Well, then I got you double out of the way."
"What?"
Delta huffed and crossed her arms, leaning back into Orlando's chest and saying, "Whatever. I know what happened."
"Obviously not," Coda said under his breath, but only Ace heard.
"All done," Marissa announced. She lifted Delta's foot to show the others her nice wrapping job.
"Nice," Lee commented.
Delta pulled her leg inward and went to stand but yelped in pain and fell back into Orlando.
"You can't stand on it yet!" Marissa said.
"But I'mtired," Delta whined, "and I want to go to bed."
Orlando stood and helped her get onto his back again. He took her to the tent and the others followed, realizing that it was getting dark.
Mica and Piper left the fire burning as they joined the rest of the group in the massive tent. Sylvie had set up a partition down the middle of the tent, so everyone could get ready without having to awkwardly turn around. They all got ready to sleep in record time, most likely exhausted from the day's work, and crawled into standard issue Red Fountain sleeping bags to go to sleep. In a few minutes, everyone was out cold.
Everyone except their fearless leader.
Jane tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, unable to stop fixating on her Charmix (or lack thereof). With a huff, she sat up and stomped out of the tent. She plopped down by the fire and started to sob.
"Jane?"
Jane quickly sniffled and rubbed her tears away as Sylvie made her way toward her. Sylvie rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and asked, "What are you doing out here?"
Jane considered lying, but then she realized that if she was honest with Sylvie, she might finally earn her Charmix.
"I don't know if I'm cut out for this. For some reason, I'm the last one left who hasn't earned her Charmix."
"I haven't earned my Charmix."
"You haven't?" Jane gasped, looking up at the blonde. "That means I'm not the only one!"
"Shh! Keep it down!" Sylvie urged, gesturing to the tent.
Jane laughed and apologized, feeling relieved at this new revelation.
"It wouldn't be a big deal if you were the only one either," Sylvie assured her. "We have all week. What are you really worried about?"
"That's it," Jane said. Sylvie gave her a look, so the fire fairy admitted, "I don't think I can do this."
"Do what?" Sylvie asked, taking a seat beside her.
"Lead this mission. I don't think I want to do this mission at all."
Sylvie laughed derisively and said, "I don't think any of us want to do this mission."
"Then why are we doing it?"
That seemed to catch Sylvie off guard.
"Faragonda told us to."
"So?"
"I don't know," Sylvie shrugged. "I just assumed we're being graded for this or something."
"I'm just sick of being called the Winx."
Sylvie shrugged again and said, "I don't mind so much."
"How can you even stand it?" Jane asked.
Sylvie shrugged for a third time, starting to feel very much on trial.
"It's just, like... I've been compared to my mom since I was little and I fall short every time. I get compared to my brother, too, and my little sister is some sort of magical prodigy. I wouldn't have minded so much if I could just get away once in a while, but after the War of Wonders... well, Solaria hasn't been the same. So I never got out of the palace and I never had any friends to, y'know, talk me out of these..."
She paused there and searched for a word.
"Spiraling thoughts," she finally said. "That's what they're called. Anyway, yeah, Alfea was the light at the end of the tunnel. It was my chance to have friends and be someone other than my mom's daughter and my brother's sister, y'know? So I kind of like finally fitting into my mom's mold. I say let them call us whatever they want, y'know?"
Jane grimaced and replied, "Actually, no, Sylvie. I get where you're coming from, I do. I'm the definition of a middle child. But I never wanted to be my mom, and I think this mission just sealed our fate."
Sylvie pursed her lips and stayed quiet as Jane went on.
"You aren't your mom, I'm sorry to tell you that. But that's a good thing. You're such a beautiful person with a great smile and a great heart and great legs."
At that, Sylvie laughed and nodded, but she felt tears brimming in her eyes.
"Until you accept that Sylvia Stella Galassia Luce of Solaria is a beautiful, amazing, fantastic person, you'll never outgrow your mom's shadow."
Sylvie started crying, so Jane pulled the much, much taller girl to her shoulder and rubbed her back as she sobbed. She was getting better at comforting crying girls and she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. When Sylvie pulled away, there was a brooch on her chest in the shape of a full moon with a dark blue sapphire twisted into the top right corner.
"Are you kidding me?" Jane laughed.
"Oops," Sylvie said with yet another shrug. They both laughed. She stood up, looked down, and asked Jane, "How do you know my full name, you weirdo?"
"Shut up. It's princess stuff," Jane laughed again, pushing Sylvie in the leg. Sylvie offered her a hand to help her up, but Jane shook her head. "I'm going to sit out here for a little longer."
Sylvie nodded and went back to the tent, leaving Jane alone with the ocean. Or so she thought.
A rustle behind her alerted her to someone else's presence. She thought it was a dragon, but when a hand slipped over her mouth, she realized it was a man. She tried to scream, but he leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "Don't bother, Princess."
Those were the last words she heard before the world went dark.
· · ·本· · ·
Shout-out again to DiamondQuietRose2for Xavier and the Lifeix Club. Check out theLifeix Club: Bigger, Longer, and Uncutfor more of his adorableness. (Chapter 5 was extra adorable!)
The Venix Club briefly mentioned belongs tofairyofillusions.
Please check out the new version! It's so much better!