So, after all the drama that happened in the summer I was sixteen, I was about to pack off and go to Alfea. On one hand, I knew that was the only way I would ever be able to become the girl... the fairy... I was truly meant to be. Maybe I would have stayed on Earth if I was still the princess of Tir Nan Og, but after Mom abdicated and gave the throne to Aunt Nebula, that kinda fell apart.

As I was ready to fly out to Magix with the Winx Club, my mother and another fairy- Lysis, if I remembered her name right- took me aside. "You could stay here," my mom said. She knew why I was going to Alfea, and approved of the reasons... but after fourteen years without her family, she was reluctant to let me go.

"Mom, I have to learn more about my powers. Bloom says all young fairies go to Alfea now. It's the best way for me to be the best fairy I can be."

"We could start a school here," she replied. "There's more than one college in the universe."

I gestured around at all the fairies. "All the fairies here have graduated. There's nobody but me who would attend a college on Earth. Mom, please. I have to do this. I have to!"

Lysis stepped up. She reminded me of Tecna, in personality at least. In appearance, she looked more like my mother, but younger. Long, dark hair fell onto her pale shoulders, which were mainly bare. She wore a white tank-top dress and white flip-flops, with a red sash around the dress. It gave off a very sterile appearance, for lack of a better word. Maybe I was biased... I knew Lysis was the fairy of science. "Roxy, that's what we're saying. Not all the fairies here on Earth are adults."

"Of course they are!" I said. "What happened to all this 'last fairy on Earth' business?"

"Everyone has potential to be a fairy," Lysis explained. "Now that the magic is back on Earth, many girls will be waking to their powers. Some will choose to study to become a fairy. Others will become witches. Plenty will just ignore their powers. And all of them will probably be scared out of their wits. Just like you were."

My mind was suddenly flooded with the thought of all the new fairies on Earth. People I went to school with. My online friends. Maybe even the awful Mitzi girl. It was a scary and thrilling idea. "How come I was able to keep my powers then? How come I wasn't all un-awakened like all the others?"

Lysis pursed her lips. "I don't know," she admitted. "But it could have something to do with who your mother was."

That did make some sense. "So... you want me to stay here so you can make an Earth fairy school?"

"Look at your Queen Mor... I mean, Miss Morgana for that one, Rox," the science fairy joked. "I'm proposing something different. Nebula's approved a team of us to locate, teach, and recruit girls who are discovering their powers. And we want you to help us. You're the closest to their age. The next closest is me, and I'm already twenty-four. That might be a bit too old for some girls."

"But I don't even know how to use my powers!" I objected. "I'd be more harm than good!"

Lysis frowned. "I don't believe that for an instant. Besides, Roxy, you're going to know more than any of the girls we pick up. And you've been through what they're going to go through. Please help us? Even if it's only for a year... then you can go to Alfea and study. And maybe you'll be going with some new friends."

From behind me, I could hear Bloom yelling my name, wondering if I was ready to go. I wasn't sure... and I didn't have much time to decide.

Since I didn't acknowledge that I had heard the older fairy, she came over to me. "Ready to head to Alfea, Roxy?" she asked kindly.

I turned to face her. "I... I don't know. I know I told Faragonda that I'd go, but Mom and Lysis and a bunch of other girls need me."

I explained the situation to her, and she nodded throughout, listening. Finally, she put her hand on my left breast, over my heart. "This is your most important lesson," she said. "A fairy always follows her heart. If you feel like you need to go to Alfea, then go. We all want you to. But if your heart is telling you to help these girls, to teach them to be fairies, then that's what you need to do. Faragonda, the Winx, and I will all understand."

I only paused for a minute before I smiled. "I'll be at Alfea next year. Tell Faragonda I'm sorry. But I have to do this."

My best friend nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "And Roxy... I'm so proud of you. Just know that."

She walked over to the other Winx girls, and smiled back at me before the six older fairies all took to the sky. They waved back at me, and I smiled... though I wondered if I had made the right choice or not.

As soon as they were out of sight, I turned to Lysis and my mom. "Okay," I said. "Where do we start?"

---

Author's Note: So, this is the prologue to a series of stories, each a one-shot about an Earth girl discovering she's a fairy. Think The Canterbury Tales mixed with LJ Smith's Night World series.

Anyway, as part of a relatively-old challenge I was given, I'm going to be accepting OCs. No profile to fill out, and no promise the OCs will be accepted... but feel free to submit. I'm trying to prove I can do a good, unique story with them.

Anyway, thanks for reading the prologue! Stay tuned for the first REAL story!

Everything was different in Gardenia, California.

I was used to it though. Ever since my family left Cairo when I was ten, we've been moving around the world. My dad is a professor, and a scholar, after all. And not all the artifacts he wanted to study were in one place. As for my mom, well, she convinced him to settle until my brother and I were grown. She died when I was nine, though, so that fell through.

At least we're not in LA, I decided. Gardenia, though large, was not big enough to be smoggy or gross. Neither, though, was it beachy or hot. It seemed to be just another nice, simple town. Rumor had it that it was anything but.

Supposedly, magic- some of the ancient Egyptian sort- had begun a rebirth here a few months ago. The world was in shock. First, six aliens came down and saved an ancient race of "fairies." Then, once they left, this ancient race announced that they were a separate government, and that any person identified as one of them was under a queen as well as their normal government, and all the drama started over again.

I pulled on a white Oxford-style shirt that showed off my dark skin, and then stepped into a pair of dark jeans. Ballet flats adorned my feet, and it took no effort anymore to put my long, black hair into it's trademark bun. Banishing all scary thoughts from my head, I smiled into my mirror. "Time to start at another school," I said, going for the cheerful tone I was known for. But even to myself, I sounded weary.

It wasn't a long walk to school, only a matter of minutes. I knew where Gardenia High School was because my dad had pointed it out to me as we drove past it yesterday, heading to our new apartment. I enjoyed the cool wind on my skin as I trekked. To me, it seemed like a perfect autumn day, maybe a good omen.

The first thing to do when I got into the school was go to the office. It took them about half an hour to warmly welcome me to Gardenia, California, the United States (the last place my family had stayed had been in England), and then to give me my schedule. It seemed straightforward enough- seven classes, each fifty minutes long, with a lunch break in between four and five. Mainly the basics, general courses, except for my science course- Meteorology. "We were all out of space in the other courses," the secretary explained sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind too much, dear."

"Of course not. It sounds fun." I gave her a smile. I had an uncanny ability to make friends with almost anyone. Maybe it was just because I tried really, really hard to be nice.

She returned the smile and directed me to my first class, English 11. That wasn't going to be my best subject... you know, considering it wasn't my first language. At least I wouldn't be completely lost, as English is widely spoken in Egypt, when you aren't speaking Arabic, that is. And I had lived in the UK for a while too, so that helped.

In my English class, a lot of the students were already crowded around someone. Is there another new kid? I wondered.

Luckily, the teacher was not in the huddle, and came up to me. "Safeyah?" she asked.

"That's me."

She held out her hand and I shook it. "I'm Ms. Callifer," she said. "It's good to have you here. Welcome to the States."

"Thank you. It's nice to be here."

She turned to the group of kids and clapped her hands twice. Halfheartedly, the group looked up at her. "I know everyone's excited because Roxy is visiting, but I have some news that may live up to it in excitement. We've got a new student, Safeyah Hafeji. Safeyah was born in Egypt, but has lived in Russia, Greece, and England. This is only her third day in the United States, and her second in Gardenia. Don't ruin her opinion of us, okay, everyone?" Ms. Callifer laughed a little, before saying, "Anything you want to add, Safeyah?"

"Um, just that it's nice to be here. I can't wait to get to know you all."

"Does anyone have questions for her?"

A girl in the back lazily raised her hand. Ms. Callifer called on her. "So, you're, like, from Egypt? Can you speak English?"

Didn't I just? "Yes, but it's not my best language. I can communicate fairly well, however."

"Your accent is weird," she commented.

Ms. Callifer raised her eyebrows. "Susy," she said in a warning tone.

"I think it's cool. It's just also weird!" the girl- Susy- objected.

"It's perfectly fine," I said to the teacher, before replying to Susy, "My accent is mainly Egyptian, but I spent about two years in the UK, so I've picked up a bit of a British accent, I suppose."

A boy a few seats down from Susy spoke. "Why'd you move?"

"My father's work brought him to Gardenia. He's studying some ancient artifacts relating to the rebirth of magic."

The atmosphere in the room hardened a bit, as if I said something to offend them. Going over what I said, I realized that all sorts of people were coming and going in this town because of magic. They likely weren't so pleased about it.

One girl in the center of the huddle raised her hand up high, to be seen. She didn't wait for the teacher before saying, "Come sit next to me."

The crowd parted, and I found myself in the huddle, next to a girl about my age with straight pink hair. "I'm Roxy," she said. "I'm only visiting for the week, but I'd still like to get to know you. And even after I leave, my friend Lysis works at the artifact site, so we'll likely see each other around."

"I'm Safeyah," I said.

She smiled, but what caught me were her eyes. They changed from a blue-violet into a sparkling color, purple and amber mixing. "I heard," she replied. "It's a mouthful. Mind if I call you Saf?"

"No, not at all! It's what my friends in England called me. I like that name."

"My name is Roxy. It's nice to meet you, Saf."

Once Roxy introduced herself, so did many other people. It was hard to catch anybody's name, but I smiled and laughed and acted like I knew what I was doing. Hopefully, they wouldn't mind if I asked them again later.

Since Roxy was visiting and I was new, Susy was elected to show us around the school. Roxy didn't object, though once we left, she told me that she had gone to Gardenia High last year and knew her way around already. Because of this, and because I had a map, we didn't do much of a tour, just wandered around and talked.

When the conversation turned to our histories, Susy and I were talkative and cheerful, but the pink-haired girl stayed silent. Eventually, my other new friend called her on it, "So, what about you? I know you lived here last year, you and your dad, but we never really had classes or anything together."

"Well... I met my mom last summer, after she had been... away for a while. And I decided to be homeschooled for the rest of high school while I traveled with her and a couple friends. We haven't really gone anywhere interesting yet, so we decided to stop and see my dad for a week. Lysis said she thought we needed to." Her face was odd, like she was hiding something personal. Neither of us pried... well, not much, anyway.

"Lysis is traveling with you?" I asked. "I thought she worked at the artifact center?"

"She does. She has to move around for her job."

"Like my family."

"Yeah. So, we just go with her."

"It sounds like a lot of fun. We move a lot, but we never really travel, like a holiday or always stay somewhere a bit before we pack up and leave again. Honestly, I'm worn a bit from that, but going somewhere knowing you weren't to stay? I think that would be better."

"I think actually living all those places, experiencing the culture firsthand, that would be fun."

Susy butted in, glumly stating, "At least you two have BEEN places. I've been here in Gardenia my whole life." She shot me a sidewards glance. "Although, with all the magic, all the culture seems to be coming to California."

Roxy gave her a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, you're only a junior. You'll get to go places in life."

"Yeah, I guess. Washington State, maybe." Susy smiled a bit, before questioning, "So, what's the craziest thing that has ever happened to you in another country?"

"I haven't been outside the US... yet," the pink haired visitor said.

The two girls turned to me. "It's a proper long story, which I don't particularly want to get into, but let me say that there is more than one definition of the term 'nosh," I said, cringing at the memory.

Susy looked confused, and Roxy looked simply amused. At the awkwardness of the whole situation, we laughed, and were still laughing as we turned a corner. I immediately slammed into someone. "Ouch!" I cried, and backed away.

When I looked up, I saw a boy about my age. But with his looks... and the recent emergence of magic in the world... I immediately decided his appearance was deceiving. He had blue hair pulled back into a ponytail. His skin was all too pale, and his features were sharp. "Roxy Klaus?" he asked.

Roxy froze. "Who are you?" she asked.

"I am Nyklus. An apprentice of the Black Circle. And I've come looking for you." He grinned suddenly, and it was horrible. "Now, tell your friends to run along. You don't want them to get hurt, do you?"

"He's right," Roxy said to us, but not looking at us. "Run, guys. I can handle this creep by myself."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Susy demanded. "Seriously, Roxy?"

Nyklus looked at her. "I'm afraid not, my dear girl," he said, and before anyone could react, a ball of magic shot from his hand, heading towards her. Susy screamed in pain and then began to run away, losing all hesitation.

"You go too, Safeyah," Roxy ordered.

"But..."

"Just go, before he hurts you too!"

I ran back around the corner, but didn't go any further. I couldn't see why Roxy got to stay. Maybe she would need help. Peeking out from behind the wall, careful not to let either of them see me, I watched things unfold.

"I took care of the real Black Circle members," Roxy said. "One of them hurt my dog. And now that you've hurt my friend, I'm ready to take care of you!" She smiled and yelled "Let's go Charmix!"

A bright flash of green light both blinded me and captivated me; I found myself unable to look away. Maybe thirty seconds later, the light faded, leaving Roxy standing there with large wings and a cute green and pink outfit. I froze in shock. Roxy's a fairy!

She shot a beam of pink light, similar to what the blue haired wizard used to injure Susy. It hit him, but barely seemed to affect him. He brushed it off. "Is that all you've got, fairy?" he asked.

"Not at all!" From her hands shot an icy shadow shaped like a wolf. It latched into him, claws digging all over his body.

When the magic faded, the injuries didn't. Nyklus pursed his bloody lips. "That just made me mad," he said, though his weak voice made it sound like the attack did more than that. He began to glow with a dark purple aura that made me feel horrible, even from my place behind the wall. His hand shot out and grabbed Roxy's arm, pulling her deeper in. "And now, ripping your wings off won't be nearly as pleasant."

She's seriously in trouble! I didn't know what to do. What could I do?

He took a delicate fairy wing in the hand he wasn't holding Roxy with and pulled, just a little bit. I heard a small ripping sound and gasped. Then I heard laughter, male laughter. "See, little fairy? That wasn't your whole wing. That was just a centimeter at the top. I'm going to do this nice and slow and very, very painfully."

I saw Roxy try to pull away, but he had her too tightly. What do I do, what do I do?

"Now, tell me where the fairy you're looking for is. Or else I can go even slower." He tugged on her wing, and Roxy groaned in pain, but I didn't hear a ripping sound. Had he torn it more?

"I won't tell you! Not if you pull my wings completely off. If my mom can stand it, then so can I!" the pink haired fairy declared, but her voice held much less resolve than her words.

He must have heard the difference too. He laughed. "Okay, I see how you want to do this." From his position behind Roxy, he silently pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket. Then, loud as he could, he ripped it. Though she wasn't hurt from that, Roxy grimaced, scared as much of the sound as the actual action. This is torture!

Roxy looked up, her eyes scanning, maybe looking for an escape. Suddenly, she saw me. Our eyes met. And silently, she mouthed something.

I frowned, confused. What was she trying to tell me.

She mouthed something again and stared pointedly. Was she telling me to run?

When she mouthed it again, I mimicked the way her mouth moved, regretting never learning to read lips. Ih oooh. Ihh yuuuu... it's you?

Wait, was she saying I was a fairy? I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" I mouthed silently.

She screamed as Nyklus pulled on her wing a bit more, then pushed her lips together and nodded excessively.

I can help her. I can help her. I just need to transform!

Suddenly, I was surrounded by light, the same sort that Roxy had been wrapped in when she turned into a fairy. Unlike last time, I could move, and did. White ribbons wrapped around my suddenly naked body and as they tightened around me, they turned into a loose white linen... that was oddly sparkly. Brown sandals slipped onto my bare feet, and gold bracelets onto my wrists. I felt a small pain in my back, a pain that turned to pleasure as my wings emerged. Though I could not see them, I knew instinctively that they were shaped like the wings of a winged scarab, completely in a translucent light blue. I heard thunder around me as the light faded, and I found myself standing in front of Roxy and Nyklus. "I am Safeyah Hafeji," I said to them. "And I'm pretty sure that I am the fairy of lightning."

Nyklus let go of Roxy, but his leg kicked her and set her sprawling to the ground. He looked down. "Thank you, fairy. You've served your purpose," he said meanly before shooting a ball of energy at me.

Instinctively, I moved, half-jumping... and then surprising myself when I felt my wings beating as I was lifted into the air. I channeled the surprise and shock, as well as all my anger for Nyklus. And as I decided to be done with it, lightning shot out of my hands and hit him, right in the head. He flew back and landed against a wall. He stood up, but his body rocked, as though he was dizzy. He took a step, and dropped again. "So," he said, a bit woozily, "you were angry enough to force yourself into a huge attack. For the first time. I'll remember that so I don't do it again. It's so much easier to deal with amateurs."

He waved a hand in front of him, and a black circle appeared. He stepped through it and disappeared.

I ran up to Roxy. "Are you okay?" I asked her, concerned.

"Peachy," she said, groaning. "How does my wing look?"

I looked. One was fine, but the other had a crack about two inches long, close to where her wing was attached to her back. That wing, the left one, looked limper than it should, as if it wouldn't be good for flying. "It's not horrible," I told her. "But he definitely left a mark."

She cursed. "I didn't know the Black Circle had apprentices. I should have figured. Earth used to be very magical; and fairies aren't the only beings out there. Come on, Saf. We need to go."

"But we have classes!" I protested.

"You're new, nobody will miss you for today... and I'm only a visitor. Besides, we need to go find Lysis. She needs to know about the remainder of the Black Circle, and anyways, she was looking for you."

"What?"

"Lysis is the fairy of science. She invented a fairy tracker, and two days ago, it led us back here, to Gardenia. Since I was here, I decided to visit the school... and I sensed your magic."

"If you can sense magic, why do you need a tracker?"

"Range issues. Sensing only works from a range of about a mile. Less if you're just a fairy in training, like I am. I haven't achieved my adult form yet." She looked sheepish.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"Magic is reawakening here on Earth. For as long as I can remember, there have been no new fairies. We have a lot to catch up on." She smiled. "Besides, would you have wanted to go through this all by yourself?"

"Not one bit," I said. It was scary enough even with knowing Roxy was right there.

She grabbed my hand. "Let's go find Lysis. She'll brief you. And we'll teach you some things. Safeyah, I have a feeling you're going to be a great fairy!"

---

Author's Note: Safeyah is the character of Akela Victoire. I hope I did okay with her, Akela!

Anyway, you guys can see how this works now. Please keep on submitting original characters. I'm so excited to write them!

Next chapter is going to feature Musicalyak's character, Avalon! Stay tuned!

"Do you know why you're here, Avalon?"

I folded my arms over my (very nearly nonexistent) chest. "Might have something to do with almost blowing up the chem lab. But I can assure you, that wasn't my fault."

Sister Adelina raised her eyebrows. "Thomas Masterson saw you fiddling with the equipment. Are you accusing him of lying?"

"Of course not!" I exclaimed as I shifted into a more comfortable position. Sister Adelina glared pointedly at me, and I realized that when I sat like that, you could see up my skirt. This is why I hate this stupid uniform, I said as I went back to the fidgety way I had sat before. "Anyways," I continued, "I noticed that the Bunsen Burner was broken, a bit off kilter, so I figured I'd try to fix it. It wasn't until Sister Emily yelled at me to stop that it combusted. And that's only because she broke my concentration!"

"Emily says she saw sparks even before it exploded."

"That's natural," I said, much more calmly than I felt. "Sparks fly to warn you it's about to blow."

"And yet you didn't stop."

"I didn't see the sparks."

"You shouldn't have messed with the burner in the first place."

"It's not like I haven't fixed things around Saint Kinnia before. And lemme just remind you, I'm a lot cheaper than a repairman."

The final bell chimed, and I rose. "So, am I in trouble?" I asked.

Sister Adelina sighed. "There isn't enough evidence to expel you, or to suspend you. And will detention really do any good?"

"I've been in there enough times that I think you know."

"Just pray for forgiveness tonight, Avalon. And I want you in the office during free period for the next week, helping with approved repairs. I won't make you stay after school. I'll see you Monday."

I shrugged, trying to look sorry. I helped with repairs when they asked anyway. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I ran out of the office and the school.

Abigail and Lucy were still waiting for me, luckily. "So," the latter said. "How much trouble did you get into?"

"Very little. I have to pray and I can't use my free period for personal reasons for the next week."

"Not like you ever do anyway."

"My thoughts exactly."

Abbi, Lucy, and I were all ninth grade students at Saint Kinnia Catholic Academy. Only Abbi was Catholic... Luce and I had been sent here because the public schools in Byron, California tended to suck.

One thing all of us shared was our frustration. We were all frustrated for different reasons, but the school... lovingly nicknamed "Our High School Of Perpetual Misery..." was at the base. My main concern was the uniform (why can't a girl wear pants?) and the fact that though I was treated like a perfect little lady in the majority of ways, the moment something broke, I was the one they'd call on to lug out the toolbox and do some repairs. I didn't mind the fixing. I just felt like they were using me.

See, I had a gift for tools. Ever since my parents caught me with my older brother's toy hammer at age two, seeing that I had somehow managed to fix a loose bar on my crib, it had been apparent. I had never been professionally trained. I tended just to gather as much knowledge as I could by watching endless episodes of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces. The rest tended to just come to me. As though I knew it already and only had to remember it.

Abigail, Lucy and I walked home, chattering about the day, mainly keeping the topics light. I split off at the end of Sullivan Road, my street, and ran the rest of the way home, eager to finally have some me time.

Of course I tripped. Of course. What else could have happened?

My skirt flew up, revealing my underwear. I really, really despise this stupid, ugly uniform, I thought as I shoved it back where it was supposed to be. Further inspection noted that my knees were skinned badly, bleeding a little bit. At least they didn't seem to have any gravel stuck in them. My hands hurt too, from trying to fall onto them, but they weren't worth much notice. They still stung, though. I cursed. I'm an old hand at getting hurt. Funny how it never seems to hurt any less.

"Are you injured?"

I looked up. Standing there was a lovely girl, though not the sort of person you were likely to see in Byron. She had a beautiful medium skin tone, black hair tied into a bun, dark eyes that looked at me from behind a sleek pair of glasses. I couldn't place her exotic accent.

She was also the sort of girl that Sister Adelina would have loved- her white Oxford shirt was crisp, and her skirt was plain black, pleated, and fit perfectly at an inch above her knees. If you had lined us up, nobody would have guessed that I was the Catholic schoolgirl.

"I'm fine," I responded, getting up with a grimace. My knees protested weakly, but I ignored the pain.

She grabbed my hand and helped me up. "Do you need any help?"

"Nah. I got it."

She smiled and nodded. "Alright, if you're certain."

"More than. Thanks for offering, though."

"Safeyah. My name is Safeyah."

"Cool name," I said, unsure how to spell that, or even pronounce it, though she had said it twice. "I'm Avalon. You new around here?"

"A few friends of mine and I are visiting Byron. I don't know if that counts me as new, or no."

Why would anyone want to visit Byron? You have to understand that despite the stereotypes of culturally-diverse, accepting, loving, wild California, Byron just... wasn't. We were that oddball conservative, white bread town. If you wanted excitement, you went to San Francisco or Los Angeles or Gardenia. You didn't come to Byron.

As if on cue, a car pulled up. A pink haired girl leaned out of the shotgun seat. "Saf!" she called. "Who's your friend?"

"Avalon," Safeyah said in her odd accent. "She lives around here."

"Cool," the pink haired girl replied. She waved at me. "I'm Roxy," she said. "Nice to meet you. Maybe we can meet up and you can show us around Byron?"

I shrugged. "Don't have much to do tomorrow, anyway."

"Great. We'll meet you here."

Safeyah opened the door and delicately jumped into the backseat, and the driver, a blonde, started driving away. What did I just agree to? I asked myself. What will Abbi and Lucy say? Shaking my head at my own stupidity, I walked the rest of the way down the road to my house.

Sullivan Road was the entrance to a typical housing develoupment, with all of the homes nearly exactly the same. Except for ours. The garage was sloppy and always open if I was home, and set up with a minifridge and an army cot. I rarely even went into the main house anymore, though my actual room was there. But until my big project was finished, I spent as much time in the garage as possible. My parents didn't mind- not because they were negligent or anything. They just knew me well enough to know I was determined, stubborn, independent, and a bit of a loner.

I laid a hand on the centerpiece of the garage- a large, broken, rusty blue car that I had dubbed Ole Denim. I had been repairing her since I was thirteen and my parents told me I could have her if I could fix her. My determination had been upped for the last couple months... I was determined to have her fixed by next week, when I turned sixteen and could legally take her out for a spin.

"Your knees."

I turned to see my older brother, Arthur... yes, we were Arthur and Avalon. Feel free to laugh. "Yeah, I tripped and fell. No biggie."

"Your skirt's ripped a little, too."

I looked down. Damn. "Remind me to fix that before Monday."

"Fix that before Monday. Now can't you stop working on that piece of crap car and come inside for a couple minutes? You can grab some pants like you like to wear and get some real food instead of that junk you keep in the garage. Besides, Mom and Dad and I haven't seen you since Tuesday."

"But my birthday is next Saturday, and I still have to get the lights working." My voice was a little whiny, but I didn't care. This was important.

Arthur's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wait, you're on the lights? Does that mean you got the engine running?"

"Back on Tuesday. That's why I came in and took a break. Quick reward."

He held out his hand for a high five, and I delivered, slapping his palm harder than most girls could. His smile turned automatically into a grimace. "Ouch, Av, that stung."

"Sorry," I said.

We walked into our perfect little subdivision home and he sat down on a bar stool in the kitchen while I pulled out some cheddar cheese from the fridge and crackers from the cabinet. I placed them on the small table that matched the stool and got a little of both on a napkin. Small explosions, random encounters, and car talk could make a girl crazy hungry. Speaking of... "Do you think Mom and Dad would mind if I went out with some friends tomorrow?"

"Nah. Lucy and the other one?" He looked more hopeful than he tried to sound. It was no secret to me that Arthur had a small crush on Luce. But you had to give him credit- he tried really, really hard not to make it obvious. He just didn't ever succeed.

I smiled. "No, a couple others."

"Do I know them?" And that was Arthurspeak for Are they hot?

"You don't know them, you might want to. I'm straight. I'm likely not the best one to give you a rating on bra sizes and that stuff."

He nodded. "Fine."

We finished our snack and talked about Ole Denim, then I went to the den and chatted with Mom and Dad, who looked happy to see me for once. I asked them about showing Safeyah and Roxy and the girl who's name I didn't happen to catch around Byron, and as usual they fully approved on the condition I stayed safe.

---

The next day, I woke up and slipped on a pair of raggedy jeans and a football jersey. I threw on my tennis shoes and opened the garage door- yes, I slept in there again.

We hadn't actually agreed on a time- something I had only just realized- so I took a NutriGrain bar out of a box on top of my minifridge and walked to the place where I had fallen.

They were already there, all three of them, lounging around on the car. Roxy was sitting on the hood, Safeyah was sitting with her ankles crossed in the open backseat, and the blonde was standing tall. She was obviously the oldest. "Hey," I said to her. "I'm Avalon."

"Lysis," she replied. "So, you're going to show us around town. Can you drive?"

"Not for a week. I only have my permit."

"I'm twenty-four and I have my license. It's legal if you want to."

On one hand, I had always been shy about driving other people's cars... especially considering I wasn't exactly licensed to. But on the other hand, I could see the olive branch of sorts that Lysis was offering. I didn't really know these people. If I was driving, it would be a lot harder for them to kidnap me or something. "Okay, sure, if you really are okay with that."

The blonde girl handed me the keys and I carefully slid into the driver's seat. She got into the passenger's side and Roxy and Safeyah climbed into the back. "Any idea where you guys want to start?" I asked.

"There's a nature park we saw around here," Roxy said. "Do you know it well?"

"Yeah... but that's an odd place to go. What about, like, the mall or something?"

"I want to see the nature park," she said firmly, so I shrugged and drove there.

We got out at the parking lot and started on the winding nature trail that was the park's main feature. "You don't really get a taste for Byron walking in the middle of nowhere," I warned.

"Get a good taste of the wildlife," Roxy said. Safeyah nodded solemnly.

I sighed, and we kept walking. In about half an hour, we were surrounded by woods and by a river, just us four on the path and a few animals that we heard, but did not see. "Let's stop for a minute," Roxy said. We had all been talking up to that point, utterly distracted from the brisk pace, so I was surprised. Maybe I was the only one without aching feet... I was fairly active.

"So," Roxy said in a conversational tone when we were all sitting. "Do you believe in magic, Avalon?"

I shrugged. "I kind of have to, don't I? It's been confirmed on CNN and ABC and NBC and all those other big initials. Down south in Gardenia, right? The aliens with wings and all."

"Yes... but do you believe in it?"

"I don't know! Ten years of Catholic school tends to strengthen your belief in miracles and reduce belief in fairies and elves and stuff. Maybe it's hypocritical... but I believe what I see."

Lysis and Roxy smiled at each other conspiratorally. The pink haired girl made a fist, then opened her hand to reveal a small orb of green light.

The breath went out of me. "Holy crap," I whispered.

Roxy's smile turned into a serious face. "You can do it too," she said.

I could feel my eyes widening. "You're not serious."

"Yes, she is." Lysis looked me dead in the eyes. "Avalon, we need you. Do you know the whole story of the Magical Renaissance?" The Magical Renaissance was the 'offical' name for last summer, when the aliens came down and fairies emerged from some obscure island.

"Um, alien fairies came, found enslaved race of fairies or something, beat up enslavers, enslaved fairies beat up alien fairies, eventually overcame differences, then the happily ever after."

"Basically. Well, the enslavers... the Wizards of the Black Circle... were taken care of. But they have apprentices. And those wizards will not stop until every fairy on Earth is trapped or dead. At first, we were gathering students. But now our need is even greater. We need a force to be reckoned with. And you, Avalon, are part of that force."

I looked at the three girls. They were all so different looking, and different acting. "You're all three fairies?" I confirmed disbelievingly.

Safeyah smiled. "It is hard to believe," she said in a weird accent. "But I am the fairy of lightning. Roxy is the fairy of animals. And Lysis is fairy of science."

"And what am I?"

Roxy shrugged. "It's hard to know. It normally manifests in whatever you're best at, unless it's nature related, like Saf's power. Do you have any major strengths?"

"I can run exactly three steps without tripping, I can make a killer peanut butter and applesauce sandwich, and I fix things."

"Oh joy," Roxy said darkly. "The power of peanut butter. That will definitely save the world." I was learning that Roxy was almost as sarcastic as I was.

"I bet you're the fairy of building, or something similar," the oldest girl said. "Is there anything you can build or fix that we can observe? It's the easiest way to tell."

"Well, there's Ole Denim, my car..." I said uneasily. I didn't know how well I liked this idea.

"It's perfect," she said, getting up. The rest of us followed, and soon we were all heading back to the parking lot, determined to figure out what the hell was going on... for them, that meant what my power was, for me, it meant if they were generally demented or if I really was a fairy.

A little part of my brain scoffed. A fairy? Me? I'm not a fairy at all. I'm a tomboy. A Catholic schoolgirl. A mechanical genius. Clumsy and only fifteen years old. Who are they kidding? And do I believe them, really? I wasn't sure.

We could see the lot through the forest, the sunlight cutting through the thinning trees, when all of that light we were looking for suddenly disappeared. It wasn't pitch black- I could still see the three fairies, but it was hard. I had to squint. "Avalon, get behind me. You too, Safeyah," Lysis said.

"Lysis..." Safeyah protested.

I wasn't so fond of the idea myself. "No way! I don't know what's going on, but I can take care of myself! I'm a big girl."

"Neither of you are ready for this. Neither is Roxy, really, but at least she's had some battle experience." Before either of us could say something else, the older fairy added, "And not lucky shots or schoolyard fights. Get behind me now, both of you."

We obliged, and almost on cue, a shining light in the sudden darkness appeared. From it stepped a boy, with blue hair and nearly white skin. If he hadn't looked so menacing, he would have been cute. Even now, he was attractive in the way a wolf might be- pretty, but ready to eat you. I wouldn't have admitted it, but I was suddenly a bit happier that I was behind an experienced fairy. "Nyklus!" Roxy exclaimed.

The boy smiled, and his smile was evil. "Roxy. Is your wing still smarting?"

Roxy practically snarled. "Oh, this is on!" she said.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. So, are you going to transform? Or did I ruin that for you?"

"In your dreams, scaryface!"

Suddenly, I was squinting. A green light and a pale blue light nearly blinded me for about half a minute. Somehow, they also transfixed me, almost hypnotic. When the light faded, Lysis and Roxy were standing there in full fairy form, transformed. Their clothes sparkled and glimmered, and large wings were on their backs. One of Roxy's was a little bit off kilter... slightly broken. Did this guy do that? I wondered.

The two transformed fairies held hands and shot an energy beam at Nyklus, one that he dodged, levitating into the air slightly. Lysis shook her hand out of the pink haired girl's and, wings beating, rose from the ground herself, shooting energy at him as she went. Roxy tried to follow, but ended up collapsing to the ground, crying in pain.

My eyes followed Lysis. She was persistant, but her attacks were not very effective. Nyklus dodged easily, and in the few instances where the energy beams hit him, he barely seemed to notice.

I glanced at Safeyah. She looked panicked and conflicted, but then her eyes met mine. Maybe I looked as scared as I felt... but the light was around her, and thirty seconds or so later, she had transformed too, and was flying up to help Lysis.

I had gotten the impression that Safeyah was like me, a new fairy who they had scouted, and the battle only seemed to confirm that guess. Saf tried her best to help, but her energy beams were weaker and didn't shoot as far as the ones Lysis threw. There's no way they can win this. Maybe if Roxy wasn't out of flight commission, but with just Lysis and Saf? This isn't going to work unless... unless I transform.

What was I thinking? Hadn't I just been doubting my own fairyhood? How the hell was I going to transform?

Transform. Transform. Transform. The word echoed in my head like a mantra. I focused on it, blocking out the battle around me, consumed by the word and all the desperation in contained. I closed my eyes for a second.

When I opened them, there was light all around me.

My hands were in fists at my sides. I brought them up, my arms crossing in front of my chest. My hands released the tension, and I smiled. I had no clue what my body was doing, but it felt pretty good. I whipped my short hair back and felt it lengthen slightly, and when I looked down, my shirt and jeans had been replaced with a sparkly silver one-piece jumpsuit that went to my knees and my elbows. Fingerless black gloves had materialized on my hands, and boots suitable for working in any sort of mechanical job protected my feet.

I felt a small sting on my back, then a feeling of joy. I had wings. Wings that looked like sheets of metal cut to look like normal, delicate fairy wings. Perfectly me. I wasn't sure if they'd get off the ground... but the costume department sure knew my personality. "Avalon, fairy of tools," I said, testing the idea out as the light faded. "I kind of like it."

I flew up to join Lysis and Safeyah. "Nice weather up here," I said conversationally.

Lysis glanced at me. "You should have stayed out of this, Avalon!" she said. "This is dangerous."

"Well, you told me to stay behind you, so well, here I am. Don't worry. I told you, I can take care of myself."

"Fine, then prove it," the older fairy snapped, so I channelled my energy and started throwing it against Nyklus.

It really wasn't doing much. In fact, he was laughing. As one of Saf's beams came hurdling towards him, he caught it in his hand and crushed it between two fingers. "They just don't make fairy magic like they used to," the wizard sighed in fake regret.

I could see the two other airborn fairies starting to lose hope. Looking down, Roxy wasn't doing much better. I pursed my lips and did what I did worse and least- thought. Strangely enough, I had an idea. "We need to get on the ground," I said.

"What?" Lysis and Safeyah said in unison.

"If all three of us can combine our powers with Roxy, we stand a fighting chance. Rox and Lysis almost had it at the very beginning... they just missed. With four fairies, we can do this."

Lysis's eyes widened. "That's right! Avalon! You're brilliant!"

"Nah, I'm just a grease monkey with a typewriter. Give me credit if it works."

We flew down to the ground and landed next to Roxy. "What are you doing?" the fairy with the broken wing asked, in the same tone someone might ask "How stupid are you?"

"We're saving all of our butts," I responded. "You can't fly, can you stand?" She nodded. "Okay. Get up. We all need to combine our powers."

"Convergence."

"Bless you. Hold hands with me."

She did, and Lysis took the other side. Safeyah held Roxy's hand. As if on an invisible countoff, we all channelled our energy into our hands. Somehow, I ended up with it. "Why me?" I asked. "I'm the noob!"

"You're also the one who had the idea!"

Lysis had a point.

I aimed, carefully. Luckily, Nyklus was flying down towards us, but slowly, cautiously... you could tell he had no clue what we were doing. I aimed the energy at him with my mind, and when I had a clear shot, I let it go.

It hit him, and I silently cheered, especially when the wizard flew back into the top of a tree, crashing through branches and finally hitting the ground with leaves stuck all through his hair. I laughed a little. It was a great sight, seeing a jerk like him looking like that.

He stood on wobbly legs. "I'll be back," he warned, before waving a hand and jumping through a dark portally-thing that had appeared out of nowhere.

"We'll be waiting to kick your butt once again!" I promised, thought I wasn't even sure if he could hear me.

Lysis looked at me. "You sure adjusted to being a fairy fast," she commented.

I smiled. "Hey, it's fighting. Someone should have told me that before. I would have been all in."

"Being a good fairy is a lot more than fighting. Unfortunately, that's the main bulk of what we have to do lately. With the emergence of these wizards, no fairy on Earth is safe."

I cracked my knuckles. "Sounds good to me. Let me at 'em."

"First, let's let you at that car. I'm still curious about it," Roxy said.

"You'll be bored out of your wits," I warned.

"Try me."

"Fine," I said, and Saf and Lysis laughed. Roxy and I joined in. I think this won't be so bad, I decided, thinking of how my life was going to go from now on. But with that thought came the inevitable worry. "Oh my gosh! How am I going to explain this to my mom and dad?"

We all looked at each other and ran to the car, getting in and planning the best way not to freak out my family.

I wasn't born Kristina Ann Reeds. Maybe that's just not the girl I was meant to be. Maybe that's why my life never seemed to fit me.

I don't know who I was supposed to be, what sort of girl. My older brothers... well, just one older brother now... says I was supposed to be Roxanna Isleen Dara. Sometimes he calls me Roxanna, maybe just to remind me that the people I live with aren't my parents. I don't need that reminder. I have friends who were also adopted, and they're content, but I'm just... not. Or at least, I wasn't. Things have been changing fast lately.

I guess I should start from the beginning. As I mentioned, I was adopted. It was back when I was three. Twelve years ago. I've known that I was adopted forever, there's no dramatic "finding out" story for me. Even if I didn't know, I'm sure I would have figured it out. I'm petite, with a heart shaped face that makes me look younger and more innocent than I am. My hair is shoulder length, curly, and brown. I'm lightly tanned... naturally pale, but I'm the outdoorsy type. You don't get a lot of sun here in Washington state, but I make sure to soak up the little I can get.

My parents are different, my adoptive dad with Mediterranean skin and hair, darker than my brothers and me, my adoptive mother with red hair, pale skin, and a smattering of freckles. So we don't look much alike.

At first, I lived with my adoptive parents and my three brothers. But when I was eleven, my oldest brother disappeared. Nobody knew where he went. Except for me. I saw him go through a portal. Not like anyone would believe a gangly preteen girl. That was before all the fairy drama, the reemergence of magic that was still happening. Even now, it was still growing. The news coverage never seemed to stop. Now, it wasn't just that there were fairies- it was that teenage girls were turning into them. Parents were scared. Little girls were ecstatic. Plenty of people were just freaked out.

I won't lie... I'd dreamed of being a fairy. Can you imagine? Flying over buildings, up in the clouds, through rainbows. I guess I'm just a typical (probable) Pisces. Daydreaming is in my nature. I do it way too often.

Anyways, after my brother disappeared, I guess I withdrew a little- at least, that's what my parents said. I threw myself into my martial arts studies. I daydreamed twice as much. My grades, well, they really suffered. I got grounded at least a hundred times from the time Caleb disappeared to the day I turned fifteen.

Because on the day I turned fifteen, my life changed. That's when everything started to click.

---

"Happy alleged birthday," Mom whispered as she gently shook me, trying to get me up.

I groaned. "Tired."

"I know, birthday girl. Logan was too."

I pushed my body up so I was sitting upright in my bed. "Finally, something we agree on."

Mom laughed. It was actually a pretty funny comment... though I was known for my wit, it was hard to say something like that when I was this groggy. But it was a true fact. Logan and I were fraternal twins, and despite the people who say twins share one mind... we just didn't. We were a brother and sister who never clicked.

Mom and Dad always pointed out that there was a chance we weren't actually twins, though we certainly looked like we were. Caleb and William, my other brother, hadn't remembered the birthdays of Logan or me, so we celebrated the day we got adopted instead, and guessed our age at three. We could have been two, or maybe four. Thinking of that, I got vaguely annoyed that I could have possibly been driving this year if my age had been guessed one year older. And I'd be closer to graduation too... closer to leaving Port Angeles for good.

I got up from my bed and yawned. "What's on the schedule for today?"

"Well, Dad and I have to work from seven until five. Then we'll come home around six, and go out to dinner."

"At India Oven?" I guessed. It was a family favorite.

"Yep! Sound good?"

No. I hated India Oven. Nothing against any Indians, but I am not a fan of your food. "Sounds good," I lied brightly.

"I'm surprised you agree. Logan picked it."

Of course. I should have known. Next time I got to choose a restaurant, I was picking Bella Italia, his least favorite, just to spite him.

Mom left the room, humming to herself, and I decided to get dressed and go outside, maybe do some hiking through the woods. Since it was my birthday and all, I decided to wear my favorite outfit- a black miniskirt, purple hoodie, purple socks and my favorite knee-high Converse. I threw my hair in a ponytail and was already out the door when I felt the chilly wind on my body. I quickly darted back in to grab my leather jacket- fake leather, of course. I hated real leather, since I hated harming animals.

The sky was cloudy- no big surprise. At least it wasn't raining. Guess that was the weather's birthday gift to me. Thinking about that, I walked through my backyard and into the woods that started in our property and ended who-knows-where.

I had hiked for maybe an hour when I heard the noise that rocked my world. I immediately knew it wasn't an animal. I probably should have ran back home, but regrettably, my natural curiosity took hold and I forged on. Soon, I found myself in a small clearing, barely big enough for five people standing side to side in a circle. Taking up most of the room was a really, really cute guy. Who happened to look really, really mean.

I didn't say anything. What do you say when you meet a blue haired guy standing in the middle of the woods wearing... was that a blue flannel shirt and jeans underneath battle armor? Whoa.

He looked at me. For a moment, we just stared into each others eyes. Finally, he said, "Who are you?"

"Kristina," I said, my voice small amidst all the trees.

"Kristina of what?"

My brow furrowed in confusion. "Um, Kristina of who-knows-where? I'm adopted."

Cutie's eyes widened, and he smiled. I didn't trust that smile. "You're perfect."

With two steps forward, he grabbed me by the arm."Let go of me!" I yelled, trying to shake him off, but it was no use. I continued to scream. "Let go! Get off!"

"Hear that?" I heard from someone behind me while I took a breath between screams.

"Yes. Do you think it could be..." This voice was accented, oddly accented.

"Well, who else could it be. Seriously, Saf." This voice was different than the two before it.

An annoyed, older sounding voice chimed in, marking at least four people. "Girls, stop bickering. We need to get to her. It may already be too late."

It was the third voice that said, "Alright, alright! Geez, Lysis..."

The cute dude's grip on my arm tightened as three fairies came flying into the small area (and one walked... what was up with that?).

I had never seen a fairy in person before. It was an incredible sight. They each looked beautiful and unique. One wore green, one silver, one pink, and one white. Their wings were translucent and lovely. I immediately wanted a pair for myself. As they landed and glared at the cute boy, I became slightly scared. "Who are you?" I asked, a little nervously.

The one in the silver one-piece glanced at me. "The president of the USA and his secret service agents." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously. Who do we look like to you?"

"Fairies. Duh. But what are your names?"

"She's being held by an evil wizard... and she wants to know our names?"

The one in a white toga-like dress-y thing frowned at the silver-clad girl. "Avalon, be nice. She's probably never seen a fairy before."

"Saf, Avalon has a point." This time, the girl in green with... wait, was her hair pink?... was the speaker. "We don't have time to waste!"

With that, they rushed towards me. I cried out and braced myself. But I only felt release on my arm, and heard a soft, male voice go "oof!" I looked around and found him on the ground, clutching his... um... well, guy parts.

Avalon smiled. "My dad taught me well," she said. There was a few beats of silence, and then she added, "What are you standing here for? Run back home! Are you stupid or something?"

"No! I'm not!" I glared at her. I could already tell I didn't like her very much.

The guy got up, still groaning. "You fairies never get any less annoying," he spat, before raising his hand and shooting a laser-like beam at the girl in green.

With a wave of her own palm, a shield went up, and the laser ricocheted back and hit a tree, burning a small hole into it. "Ouch," the girl commented. "A little lower and I would have been barbecued fairy."

The girl who I guessed to be the oldest, the one wearing pink, nodded, as if she decided something. "Safeyah, Avalon, you need to get this girl to safety. Roxy and I will take care of Nyklus."

"For good this time?" the Amazing Annoying Avalon asked excitedly.

"If we can."

"I wanted to be in on the whole final defeat thing, but if you guys really need me to babysit, I will." She sounded pained. "Come on, shrimpgirl. Let's head out before things get ugly."

"Shrimpgirl!" I screeched. Just because I was tiny?

Avalon took my left hand, and the girl I assumed to be Safeyah took my right. They gripped them carefully, then pushed up off the ground and began to fly, with me between them. "Whoa!" I said. Flying was much better than I had ever imagined, even with Avalon accidentally bumping me into trees. "Have you not been flying very long or something?" I questioned.

"No, actually I just enjoy watching you get hurt," she shot back quickly. "Now stop talking before you say something that really pisses me off or a bee flies in there."

I shut my mouth.

We dodged the trees for maybe five minutes until we were out of the woods and back in my yard. They set me down. "Ow," Safeyah said. "My arm does not feel too well."

"Talk about it," Avalon complained.

"At least you guys only had to carry me with one arm; both of my arms ache."

Avalon, who by now I really didn't like, looked at me sharply. "You didn't have to do any work. Stop complaining."

There was a bright flash around the two fairies, and when the light faded, their wings were gone, as were their beautiful sparkly outfit. Avalon was in a ratty men's tee shirt and old blue jean shorts, while Safeyah contrasted in a dandelion yellow jumper that fit well over a white turtleneck. They weren't exactly dressed for Washington state in March, but they ignored the bitter cold. Not very well, though. I saw Avalon shiver. "Why don't you come inside?" I asked.

"This is your house?"

Finally a chance to repay Avalon for her snark. "No, I'm just inviting you into a random stranger's building because I'm weird like that."

I thought that would best her, but she immediately responded, "I'd believe it," and I scowled.

I held the door open for them and they walked inside. It was still early, only about eight-fifteen, so only Logan was up. He nodded to the group of us three as we went back to my bedroom. I could see Avalon staring after him as the door shut. "Your brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's Logan. We're twins. Fifteen years old today."

"Oh! Is today your birthday?" Saf asked.

"Mmmhmm."

"That's cool," Avalon said, and my jaw very nearly dropped. "I just turned sixteen... oh, about two weeks ago. So our birthdays are relatively close."

"I guess so! Even in age... I might be sixteen. Then again, I might be fourteen. I'm adopted, and there weren't proper papers, so we don't really know. We just know Logan and I were around toddler-age when the Reeds adopted us."

"Are you happy that you were adopted?" Safeyah asked me.

I bit my lip. "I guess. I wonder about my parents. My older brother William remembers them a little. I don't understand why they'd give all of us up. And I never fit in with my adoptive family. But I prefer this to, oh, being in the foster system or the Catholic orphanage a few cities down."

"Maybe they had to. Maybe they could not take care of you."

Shrugging, I sighed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Alright. Well... I'm sure you have many questions."

"I have a question," Avalon cut in before I even said a word. "What's shrimpgirl's name? She hasn't told us yet."

Safeyah blushed. "Oh, I really should have asked that."

"My name is Kristina Ann Reeds."

"Nice to meet you, Kristina," said the darker-skinned girl. "I am Safeyah Hafeji. This is Avalon MacAdams."

"Have you always been fairies?" I blurted. That was a question I was dying to know, before the rude one interrupted me.

She laughed softly. "I don't know. The science behind it is very complex. I suppose we always had the potential to be fairies, but no, we haven't been raised as them. I found out about my powers a month and a half ago, when I moved to Gardenia, California and met Roxy and Nyklus."

"Roxy?"

"She is the one with the pink hair and the broken wing."

Oh. Her wing was broken. That would explain why she was walking when the others flew. If I was any indication, it would be tiring to carry her around all the time. Though I didn't know the girl, I felt sorry for her. "Can it ever be fixed?"

"With time and rest, neither of which is particularly available to her." Safeyah grimaced. "Lysis- that is the blonde woman- does her best to help Roxy, but it is not a one-girl job. Avalon and I would help, but as I said, I am new; Avalon is even less experienced than I am. It is a lose-lose situation, I think?" She looked at Avalon for confirmation, and she received it. "Excuse me, English is not my first language. As I said, a lose-lose situation. If Roxy does not rest, she cannot heal. However, if Roxy rests... well then, what nearly happened today will happen quickly and oftener."

"Often, Saf. Or you could just be like normal Americans and say 'more,' got it?"

"I do not think that is correct?" Her statement lifted up at the end, inquisitive.

"Ain't it true, but nobody actually speaks right. It's the twenty-first century. We're rewriting English."

"What did happen today?" I was eager to get back on topic.

The more annoying of the two took over. "Well, that dude was Nyklus. He's got some big grudge against her for killing his four gay daddies." Safeyah glared. "Well," Avalon amended, "that's the basic idea. He wants to find new fairies too. For what, we don't know much. Roxy thinks he just wants to kill them or capture them, but Lysis doesn't think so."

"What does she think?"

"That he's somehow taking away their powers."

"Oh." What do you say to that? "Why was he after me, then?"

The fairies looked at each other. "I'm not so good at this speech," Safeyah said with a sheepish grin.

"What speech?"

She opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, the doorbell rang. All three of us jumped up and raced to the door, and I glanced out the peephole. "Is it that creep Nyklus?" Avalon asked.

"No, it's your two friends," I said as I opened the door and let them in.

With a better view of them, I could see that they were scratched and cut, nothing too bad, but still enough to smart. "Did you take care of him?" Avalon asked.

Roxy sighed. "No. He got away. But we did the important thing and protected... um... what's her name?"

"Kristina." Safeyah answered for me.

My eyes widened. "Important? Protect? Me?"

Lysis furrowed her brow. "Safeyah, Avalon, didn't you tell her?"

"No, but I think shrimpgirl's figured it out for herself." Avalon grinned.

"I'm a fairy, aren't I?" I jumped up in the air. "Oh my gosh, I'm a fairy! That is seriously the coolest thing ever! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I danced around the living room, not caring how ridiculous I looked. I felt great. I was a fairy! I could do magic! Someday soon I would be able to transform and fly!"

Then I stopped. "Wait. Do I have to fight?"

The room went silent. After a few beats, Lysis said, "We'd like you to help us... but if you can't, we'll respect that. There are other paths for fairies to go down that are non-violent."

"I try really, really hard not to fight... and I know I don't always succeed... but I don't think I can help you with this."

"So what are you going to do?" Avalon asked. I got a slight feeling of anger from her. "Stay here?"

"No." The voice was Roxy's. "She can go to Gardenia and Tir Nan Og and train as a fairy with whatever path she wants. She deserves that chance. The travelling path isn't for everyone."

"Will it be an issue with your parents?" Lysis asked.

I thought. "No." That was a lie. I was running away from home. "Give me a moment to go pack some things. I can be out in half an hour."

As I raced to my room, I sighed. I was a little sad to leave. But I really had never fit in here. I always wanted out of Port Angeles. And this... this was my chance to fly. My chance to be a shooting star.

You're the fairy of dreams, I knew instinctively.

It really did fit.

---

Author's Note: Kristina belongs to RainFlowers. I changed some things, but I hope she's still okay!

I feel bad that this chapter is a huge chunk dialogue, hope you'll forgive me!

Next up is LeLe; I have a great chapter planned for her!

I slammed the door to the apartment I shared with two other people. "I'm home!" I called, but nobody responded. Anthony was likely getting ready for his basketball game; Maggie was probably working. I sighed and set down my backpack on our creaky, broken table. Ever since I had been kicked out of my home in Idaho and moved in with my boyfriend and his older sister in the capital of Pennsylvania, life had been tough. As I thought this, a roach scuttled across the counter in the kitchen, and I grimaced. I had stopped screaming, at least.

Careful to avoid the two or three small bugs who also shared our cramped living space (and who we could never seem to get rid of), I entered the small bedroom Maggie and I shared. Opening the door to the closet, I pondered what to wear. I didn't have that many clothes, so it wasn't that hard to pick out a pink tank top, jean shorts, leather boots, and my lucky silver charm bracelet. We needed luck on our side today. It was Anthony's big game. The one that would, more likely than not, decide if he would get a scholarship to Penn State, like I already had.

When I was dressed, I grabbed my purse and raced out the door, running to the nearest Capital Area Transit station. Luckily, it wasn't far (across the street, in front of the Rite-Aid), and I made the bus that would take me to Harrisburg High School. I probably could have walked if I hadn't had swim practice earlier- it wasn't far. But it took about an hour, and I didn't have that sort of time.

Even with the bus, the players were already doing their dramatic, yelling burst-in thing that they did. I slipped in quietly and found a seat, somewhere quiet, but with a full view of the action. I could see Anthony waving to the crowd- pretty much the entire school was there, plus some of the kids from Bishop McDevitt Catholic High School down the street- probably ready to see the opposing Creswell High School kick our butts. They're in for a surprise! I thought cheerfully. You could say a lot of things about me, but you could never say I wasn't a supportive girlfriend.

The game began, and as I suspected, we were winning almost immediately, keeping a steady eight or so points ahead of the opposition. My boyfriend was a big part of that, anyone could tell. He always had an ease to him on the court, a casual sort of focus that made his playing look effortless and fun. I didn't like basketball myself- I was a swimmer- but going to his games really was fun.

When the game was about half an hour in, I started to get hungry and went to get some pizza that one of the many clubs was selling. I wasn't so fond of pepperoni, which was all they had, but my empty stomach and I made due, pulling off the pieces of greasy meat one by one. It took about five minutes to do this and eat, and they didn't allow food in the gym. I hoped I wasn't missing anything important.

When I finished and was going down the hallway, ready to get back to the game, I saw that "something important" was an understatement.

"Anthony!" I yelled, running up to him. He was knocked out, lying on a stretcher. His legs were both bent in funny ways. "What happened?" I asked the first person I saw- a paramedic.

"From what I understand, someone fell on top of him."

"Is he going to be okay?" I was frantic.

The paramedic shrugged. "Hopefully, kid, but I can't promise anything. You his girlfriend?"

"His roommate." It wasn't a lie.

"Does this guy have any family?"

"Just me and Maggie, his older sister. Oh my god. This is horrible. Please, let me see him."

The paramedic moved aside, which I actually didn't expect. "Don't be too long- we need to get him to a hospital, but it's not the most urgent. If you want to talk to him, see if you can get him to wake up, that's fine. Just don't touch his legs."

I put my hand on his head, his hair, instead. I can't stand this, I thought, almost in tears. Can you please just be okay, Anthony? Why weren't you more careful? Be okay... for me? Please?

The more I wished, the more I could feel the wish around me. It was calming, and made me feel much better. I couldn't do a thing for him- except for hope.

He groaned suddenly, and sat up. The paramedic pushed me out of the way. "Lay back down!" he barked. "You're injured."

Anthony frowned. "I feel fine." He swung his legs over the stretcher and got up, looking just like he could walk back onto the court. In fact, I was sure that was where he was going. I wasn't sure if I should stop him or not. Maybe all that injury had just been a bad dream?

The paramedic grabbed his arm. "Whether your roommate is a fairy or not, we still have to examine you, kid."

I paused. Anthony stopped dead in his tracks. "What did you just call my girlfriend?" he asked.

"She told me you were her roommate. So I called her your roommate."

"No, the other thing."

"Oh, saying she was a fairy," the paramedic realized. "Isn't she? I mean, she had the weird glow, and suddenly you were all hunky-dory. And she's about the right age and stuff too."

"A fairy," I repeated.

"Yeah. You know, wings and sparkly outfits and magic powers? They're all over the news."

"You aren't a fairy, Lee. Are you?" My boyfriend's voice was soft and inquisitive, and he used my pet name. This was serious.

I answered honestly. "I don't think so... but what just happened."

"Let's go home," he said.

"What about your game?"

He took my face in his hands carefully. "LeLe, this is infinitely more important. I'll get into Penn State some other way. I promise you."

We walked home, mainly in silence, both thinking about what had just happened. When we were only a few blocks away from our apartment, I looked up at him. "Anthony," I asked. "If I turn out to be a fairy, will you still love me? Will you be alright with me?"

He slipped his hand into mine. "Of course," he said simply, and I believed it.

When we entered the apartment, Maggie was in the living room, reading a book. "You two are home early," she commented.

"Something happened," Anthony said. "Please don't get upset, Mags."

She closed her novel. "That's pretty much telling me I'm going to get upset. What's going on?"

We sat and explained what happened. Maggie, an intelligent girl of 24 with dark hair that matched her brother, always had an intense look- but the one on her face as we communicated our story could kill. In a different way, she was as focused as her brother, though on the older sibling it looked much less relaxed. "A fairy?" she echoed us when we had finished. "You know, I knew a fairy when I was younger. We went to school together until fourth grade. I think her name was Lisa or something..."

"I thought all the fairies disappeared centuries ago."

"The Black Circle- the evil wizard-dudes- apparently been hunting them for a while. Most vanished around the Middle Ages, but a few held out in secret until about ten years ago. Like my friend. And then the whole Magical Renaissance happened..." When she wasn't working, Maggie went to PSH- Penn State Harrisburg- where she was one of the first to study Supernatural History. That was one of the few magic-related jobs that normal humans could have, along with studying artifacts, learning the magic theory, and working with fairy DNA to try to determine what marks the differences. Maggie was not science minded, as the other jobs required, though.

"And now, they're reemerging. It's all over the news," Anthony finished.

I looked at my hands. They were somewhat dark, part of my Mexican heritage. And possibly, they could channel magic. "What do I do? How do I know?"

"We need to go to Gardenia," Maggie said. "Or rather, you do. I have classes."

"So do we," Anthony said.

"Yeah, but you guys can take five unexcused absences per semester. You're old enough to pack up and do this on your own. LeLe is nearly nineteen, and Anthony, you'll be eighteen in a couple of weeks. I give you my permission. In fact, I insist."

"Where are we going to get the money?"

Maggie bit her lip. "I have some. I was saving it up to move to a better apartment... but this is more important. Besides, it won't take all of the money. Not even half."

"I can't," I told her. "You earned it."

"Think of it this way- I'm paying you off to be my living dissertation later. Okay, LeLe?"

I cracked a smile. "If you insist."

---

In less than 24 hours, Anthony and I were on a plane, bound for Gardenia, California. We didn't know much about what to do. Were other teenage girls making their way to this city, desperate for answers? Or was I the only one? Maybe they wouldn't be interested in me... yes, we knew new fairies were awakening every day, but we didn't know what happened to them. Nervously, I ran a hand through my dark ponytail. "What if we came all this way for nothing?" I asked. "What if your injuries looked worse than they actually were? What if I'm a fraud, Anthony?"

He kissed me gently, then pulled back. "No. I believe in you, Lee. Stop thinking this way."

I nodded, though his reassurances didn't do as much as they normally did. I couldn't shake the idea that the fairies in Gardenia were a bunch of snobs. "You, a fairy?" they would sneer. "Not a chance. Go home, silly human girl."

I tried my hardest to sleep on the plane, but I tossed and turned in Anthony's arms, unable to get my internal chatter to stop. My head was full of what-ifs and worries. Eventually, when I did drift off into a doze, it was brief and from pure exhaustion. I hadn't slept since the night before the game. And a lot had happened since then.

---

"Please put your seats and trays in the upright position; we are preparing to land."

Groggily, I followed the instructions coming from the intercom. "I'm not ready for this," I groaned to my boyfriend.

"Yes, you are. I've got your back, Lee. Don't worry so much."

We exited the plane, went through several security checks, and finally emerged outside of the airport in Gardenia. It was easy enough to hail a cab to take us to the hotel Maggie booked us- not without several evil glares and long, parental chats about responsibility, though. Sure, we had two rooms, but from the look on her face, she obviously thought we weren't going to use both of them. In her defense... we probably wouldn't.

We settled in and put our things down, then Anthony whipped out his cell phone, searching for the nearest restaurant. Room service was extremely expensive, and we were starving hungry.

When we finally found a small sandwich shop within walking distance, we headed there. On the way, we were mainly silent, thinking. But when we sat down (him with a Philly Cheesesteak and I with a meatball sub almost drowned in mozzarella cheese), we immediately became talkative, planning things. "How do we find out who to talk to?" I asked.

"I guess we just ask around."

I groaned. "Oh, they're going to think we're annoying tourists trying to get in on the magic thing. What do I say? 'Hi, I think I'm a fairy, where do I go to confirm this?' Ugh, they're going to hate me, Anthony."

"Not possible. Now, if it makes you feel better, I'll ask. In fact, I would prefer to. You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

Sandwich finished, he rose and went over to the nearest occupied table, where two girls around my age (maybe a little younger) sat. "Excuse me," he said. "I have a few questions about fairyhood and the recent emergence of magic. Do you know who I could talk to?"

They giggled- ugh, it took everything I had not to pull him back, I knew they thought he was hot, and I was the jealous type. "Kristina... in the back... is a fairy," they confided. "She'll probably be taking a break in a few minutes. In the meantime, why don't you stay here and we'll try to help."

"Thanks, but no thanks," he said easily. "I'll wait with my girlfriend."

Their faces fell. One of them blushed. Anthony didn't seem to notice, though, sliding back into his seat across from me. "I thought they were brother and sister!" I heard one of the girls whisper, and I barely stifled a laugh. Our dark hair might look alike... but in skin tone? Face shape? Really, now.

"That was easy, see Lee?" Anthony said. "Didn't have to walk ten paces. Let's just wait a while here until this Kristina girl takes a break. Are you going to finish your sandwich?"

I looked down at my half eaten sub. I was really too nervous now to finish it. "Take it." I slid it towards him.

True to the girls' word, in a manner of minutes, a petite girl with curly brown hair emerged, wearing an apron that was much too big for her. This is a fairy? I found myself asking as Anthony rose. "Are you Kristina?" he asked.

"Yep, that's me! I don't think I know you..."

"Anthony Cunningham. And this is my girlfriend, LeLe Castro."

I rose from my seat and walked over to them, pretty much on cue. "Hi," I said.

Kristina smiled. "I can't help you right now, I'm on break, but I'm sure someone else could assist you with whatever you need."

"Not so," I replied. "You see... umm... this is hard to explain, but..."

"We think that LeLe is a fairy, and we need to know who to talk to about this, what she needs to do."

Kristina looked at me oddly... like she was concentrating. After about a minute of this awkwardness, she smiled. "You're right. She's got magic." Turning to me, she said "Sorry if that freaked you out. I had to concentrate. I'm a new fairy too and so sensing isn't second nature to me."

"It's fine," I said, though my stomach was reeling. I had worried about not being a fairy, about being sent home. I had never bothered to worry that I would have been right all along. "Um, so now what?"

She pulled out a cell phone. "I'll text Nebula. The queen."

She's going to text the queen of the fairies. For some reason, this struck me as incredibly funny. Again, I hid a laugh.

A few seconds later, her cell phone rang. "Queen Nebula wants to see you," she said. "As soon as possible."

"Great," replied Anthony. "What's the address? I'll get her there."

Kristina took his cell phone and programmed an adress into his GPS, then handed it back. "This will lead you right to the Institute of Magic, where I go to school. There's a lot of people there, though not many students right now. But there will be scientists and tons of other fairies. One of them can direct you to Nebula. Just ask to see the queen."

---

The Institute of Magic was huge. It was a tall building with tons of windows right outside of Gardenia. As promised, I could see many people inside.

I gripped Anthony's hand tight as we walked in. A secretary sat at a desk, filing papers. When she heard the door close, she glanced up. "Hello, I'm Taria, welcome to eye-oh-em. May I help you?"

"I... I'm supposed to speak to Queen Nebula."

Taria smiled. "Alright. May I get your names?"

"LeLe Castro and Anthony Cunningham."

She frowned. "You aren't on the list... would you happen to be the new fairy that Miss Kristina called in?"

"Y...yes." I was very nervous.

She rose. "Right this way."

Taria led us to a security station, run by two women who looked about 35 years old. "Licia, Polly, these are LeLe Castro and Anthony Cunningham. Can you scan them and get them visitor's passes?"

One of them nodded. "Will they please step this way?"

We complied. They looked at both of us for a second. "One visiting fairy pass, pre-Charmix level, for the girl. And one ess-ay pass for the boy."

"Ess-ay?" Anthony looked confused.

"Specialist Aptitude. Though not highly magical- not wizard levels or anything- you have the base power needed to become a Specialist, a sort of psychic warrior. I'm sure the queen would like to talk to you about those opportunities when she's finished talking to LeLe."

My boyfriend looked vaguely shocked as Licia and Polly pinned on our visitor's badges. Taria smiled a thank-you at them, then continued to lead us through the big building. "We'll be talking to Queen Nebula first," she explained on the way. "Unless she orders otherwise, following this, you'll go through a few basic tests for power level and type. Then, we'll see what you're interested in doing."

We took an elevator up to the third floor and walked down a large, long hallway, full of shut doors. I imagined they led to crisp business offices. But when Taria opened one at the very end of the corridor, I found out I was wrong. "Please step in," the secretary insisted.

We complied, finding ourselves in an island-like place. I could see the sea from a window. "Whoa."

Taria smiled at me. "Welcome to Tir Nan Og."

I couldn't keep my eyes straight as she led us upwards again, this time using stairs. I was breathless when we finally reached the top- as much from the view in the huge window that took up one entire wall as the walk.

Taria opened one last door, and bowed as she walked in. "My queen," she said to someone I could not see from my view. "Announcing LeLe Castro, fairy, and Anthony Cunningham, potential Specialist."

"Thank you, Secretaria," said a stunning woman as she rounded the corner.

I knew from Maggie that Nebula, though new to the throne, was rather old, but I couldn't tell. She looked to be Maggie's age, maybe a little older. Her curly black hair was cut in a cute asymetrical style, the front longer than the back. Her eyes were determined, but not in a hard, cold way. The dress she wore was a chic mash-up of styles and colors. Large, sheer wings protruded from her back. "Hello," she said to me.

"Um... hi," I said.

"You're LeLe?"

"Yes..."

"Alright. Tell me your story." Queen Nebula folded her arms over her chest and I began, telling everything that seemed important- Anthony's injury, my wish, Maggie's job, Kristina's sense. She nodded and asked questions as I related my tale. Eventually, she nodded. "Please go to the testing chambers immediately. When you are finished, I will see you again."

I followed Taria again, into a room where I was poked, prodded, and given bunnies and crayons, told to do things with them. Did they get me in the right testing chamber, cause I'm pretty sure that this one is for preschoolers... My thoughts trailed off as one fairy approached me. "Moderate level of power, 99% chance that it involves healing... or, as it is officially referred to, you most likely have the power of Life."

"Life. LeLe the Light Fairy. Like Glinda the Good Witch, only with less pink."

The testing fairy cocked her head. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Never mind."

Back in the Queen's Room, Anthony was talking seriously with Nebula, sitting on a large couch. I could hear snippets of discussion.

"... any program at a known, Earth college?"

"No, Red Fountain is the only school to train for this career path."

"It's so far from home, and from LeLe."

"She can apply for a scholarship to the nearby Alfea if she so chooses- it's very likely she'll get one. No Earth fairy has attended in years, and they do try to help minorities. As for you, I can almost guarantee a full ride at Red Fountain University. You are the first Earth Specialist to emerge since fairies began to disappear."

I could see Anthony frown. "Why is that?"

"Specialist powers are very low-key, it's hard to detect them unless you are looking for them. Our security guards are trained to look for any power. If not, you would likely never have known about your abilities."

Nebula looked up and saw me. She motioned with one hand. "Come sit down, LeLe."

I complied. "I was told I'm a moderately powered Life fairy."

The queen froze, then relaxed. I wonder what had caused the slight hiccup, but it didn't take a word for me to find out. "I must ask you a favor."

"Um... okay?" I frowned, confused.

Nebula sighed. "My niece was attacked, and her wing hurt in the process. She's flightless. We need a healing fairy to fix it, or else it will likely take a year and a lot of bedrest- luxuries she can't afford right now. I understand you're new, but could you try? All our healers were killed when we were locked in this realm- a part of the Wizards of the Black Circle's plan to make us stay in pain as long as possible."

I was scared, and nervous. "I don't know."

"Please, try. I'll even make you a deal. If you try to fix Roxy... even if you can't succeed... and either or both of you can't get a full ride to Alfea or Red Fountain, I will pay for your entire education."

I didn't know whether to ask what Alfea was, where it was, all my college-information-needing stuff, or just say "whoa." A queen was offering to pay for my education. Just for trying to fix her niece. "I'll do it," I decided.

She led me down more staircases, back through the magical door into the glass building, then an elevator ride down to the first floor. Through several winding hallways. Finally, I found myself in a large, circular room, where three girls sat. They all looked normal, chattering away. Probably a little bit younger than I was. One, a girl with darker skin and black hair, looked up. "Queen Nebula," she said, sounding slightly surprised.

The pink haired and the girl with short blonde hair also looked. "Aunt Nebula," said the one who I guessed was Roxy.

"Oh, hey, Nebsy," the other one said.

Nebula raised one eyebrow at the nickname, then turned to her niece. "Roxy, this is LeLe. She is a new fairy, a fairy of Life."

Roxy frowned. "But we didn't bring her in..."

"She came here herself."

The girl gasped. "Wow. That's pretty incredible."

"Anyway, LeLe needs to look at your wing so she can try to fix it. Do you mind?"

"Believe me, I don't. I'll be happy to have my flight back."

A bright green light surrounded her for a matter of seconds, hypnotic and beautiful. When it faded, Roxy was dressed in green, with large wings on her back. One held on somewhat limply. I went behind her to examine it. "Small tear," I noticed. "But big enough to matter."

I placed my left hand on the wound, and Roxy winced. I tried to channel everything that I had... but I couldn't. I was working so hard, and after five minutes or so, something slid into my right hand. I looked up from the injury to see the dark skinned girl holding my hand tightly. "I'm Safeyah," she said. "Roxy is one of my best friends... and so I will help you help her."

With an experienced fairy helping, things flowed easier, if slowly. I watched as the wing reattached itself to Roxy's back. It took half an hour before it was done, but the beauty of the healing made it worth it.

When I pulled my hand off, Roxy beat her wings experimentally, then rose slowly into the air. "This... this is wonderful." From her place in the air, she looked down on me. "Thank you, LeLe."

"It's no problem, really," I replied, beaming back up at her.

She landed, and the light flashed again momentarily. This time, when it left she was back to her normal self.

Queen Nebula came up behind me put her hand on my shoulder. "LeLe is... if she would like to... going to attend Alfea at the start of next school year. If all goes well, Roxy will too. It depends on how everything goes."

Safeyah, Roxy, and the tomboyish blonde shot glances at each other. "The way it's going, no flippin' way will our mission be done by then," said the girl with the blonde hair.

"Avalon," Safeyah chided. "Stop being such a pessimist."

"Mission?" I questioned.

"We find lost fairies, unless, apparently, they find us first." The girl named Avalon smirked at me a little.

"Oh. Sounds fun."

Nebula and Anthony each took one of my hands. "Come, LeLe," the queen said. "We have a lot to talk about. We need to get you into Alfea, help you learn more about your powers, and as you're only spending seven days here, we must do this fast. There's a lot to do when you are a fairy."

I didn't doubt it. Somehow, though, I felt ready. I felt like this is how things were supposed to be.

---

Author's Note: Character by Invader Tyleana. So fun to write! I hope, as always, that I did alright.

Wanna clear something up: All characters are accepted, but some may be changed. If I change something, I DO have a reason. Promise.

Next up is Amanda Gordon, submitted by the lovely author Chibi Horsewoman!

Also, read Akela Victoire's story Gems of Arcelia. It's brilliant.

I hated this.

My hands gripped the steering wheel of my almost stylishly old car, Betsey. Driving through the mountains... to be blunt, it completely sucked. If we were meant to be this high up, we'd have wings.

Well, some people do now. But I don't. I'm quite happy about that, as I hate heights with a burning passion.

I'd been hating a lot since my family moved from Slave Lake, AB here to Kamloops (what kind of town name is that? It sounds like a sort of breakfast cereal), which is in British Columbia. It's a little larger than where I grew up, a lot less flat, and a lot less pleasant. Despite the fact that a forest fire burned down our house, and we couldn't go back, I asked why we had to stay here nearly every day. I hated my school, the mountains, the name of the town, the way the different sort of weather did funny things with my hair.

Speaking of...

I flipped my curly light brown hair out of my eyes. It flopped right back. When I tried it again, it did the same. Sighing, I checked the road to make sure I was staying straight, then bent down and looked for a brush I had thrown onto the passenger side floor the other day. After moving nearly everything and not finding it, I started to look under the seat.

And then the car lurched and sped up.

I straightened and took the wheel, only to see that my car was off the road and plummeting quickly down the side of the mountain, through plants. "Oh god oh god oh god oh god," I repeated, panicked. Despite my agnosticism, I offered up a thousand silent prayers to gods that may or may not be real.

As I tried in vain to break, to make my car stop, I could hear thunder crackling. Just what I needed. As the rain started, it got even harder to maneuver Betsey. I resigned myself to steering away from the trees as best as I could, which was hard as the car was pretty much beyond my control at this point. I was surprised it hadn't flipped over and begun to roll completely. At least I had my life... so far.

Looking at the oncoming dangers, one stood out... a steep drop. "Oh lord," I breathed. I had a sense that if I went over that drop, I wouldn't be surviving it.

I had kept relatively calm up until that point, but I began to cry. "Please! If there's anything, anybody, help me!" I screamed, pushing on the break with a force that slowed the car, but couldn't stop it. My tears kept flowing. I was going to die. It wasn't fair! I was only seventeen! And I wasn't even sick or a bad person or anything. See, this is why I hated mountains!

When the bright light surrounded me, I closed my eyes, ready for any release from this fear. But it didn't come with peace or love or any of the million things my mom says that it will come with. It came with more panic and a complete loss of control. My arms hugged my chest, my head moved slowly upwards, my feet kicked. I could feel something wrapping around me. Something sharp poked its way out of my back, but it felt happy more than it hurt. My eyes still closed, I could feel myself rising. Well, at least I was apparently going to heaven.

Or was I? My hand raised, and I could smell burning. But no... I was rising again. Can whatever this is just decide already? I thought, annoyed. I opened my eyes to glare at the heavens, but ended up looking down, only to see Betsey completely smashed on a small plateau that jetted off the mountain a bit.

Um, what. Wasn't I in there? Except I wasn't. Hadn't I already established I was dead? Looking around, noticing I was hovering in thin air, that was really not that much of a surprise when I thought about that. I mean, I would have thought that the clothes of a ghost would be less sparkly... I was in a dark grey glittering minidress, for crying out loud... but hey, at least it was cute. And even though the whole flying thing was wigging me out a little, it wasn't my full on fear of heights. I mean, if I fell, what was I going to do anyway? Die again?

I laughed, only a little bit hysterically.

Even though I didn't think I could be killed again, I really was getting uncomfortable. Tentatively, I let myself float gently to the road where I had been driving. I worried for a moment that I would go through, but luckily my feet reacted just as they always had with solid surfaces. I breathed a sigh of relief.

Now what?

Well... in movies, the ghost always helps the family or the police find the body. Damn, I wish I had my car, I thought as I began to walk on the side of the road. I could probably just float again, but the more I thought about that idea, the more I disliked it.

It took about an hour before I began to feel really tired and my feet began to ache. "Ugh," I groaned. "I thought the pain of your mortal body went away when you died..."

I sat down and sighed. It was a long walk home already, and it was even longer now that I knew I was going to get tired from it. Plus, I wasn't exactly in the best shape anyway... "chubby" was a kind way of describing it. If you wanted to be extremely generous, you could say I looked like Adele, except I really didn't.

I had rested for about fifteen minutes when a car came up. As it approached me, it got slower and slower. I didn't get my hopes up that they could see me until the car stopped right next to me and the window rolled down. "Need help?" asked a teenage girl with cropped blonde hair and a baseball cap. She was driving. In the passengers' seat, another girl sat, one with dark hair in a bun and a business-like style of dress.

My eyebrows raised. "You see me?" I asked.

The driver copied my movement. "Um, yes?" I noticed she had a slight accent, one that suggested she was from the United States.

I thought. I could be seen... I got tired... I was still on Earth, completely conscious. "I think I'm not dead," I said.

"I think you're not dead too. Need a ride?"

"Yes, please." I was relieved. The girl with the bun opened the back door and I slid in.

"So," said the driver. "How long have you known you were a fairy?"

I blinked. "What?" I asked.

"How long have you known you were a fairy?"

"I'm... I'm not."

"Really." The driver's tone was flat. "Cause you have a sparkly dress, open toe ankle booties, really awesome hair and... oh yeah... wings on your back."

"I WHAT?" I screeched, my head twisted and turned around my shoulder as I tried to get a good look. Sure enough, there were a pair of white translucent wings that looked as if they were made of clouds. "Oh my flipping god."

The dark skinned girl turned in her seat so she could face me. "What's your name? What has happened to you?" She had an accent too, but this one was harder to place.

"I'm Amanda. And I accidentally drove my car off the mountain... but somehow, before it crashed, I ended up floating in midair, and apparently, alive."

"I'm Safeyah, and this is Avalon." Safeyah smiled. "And yes... for some people, Charmix comes out instinctively when they are in need of it."

"Saf and I kinda forced it on ourselves, but we're oddballs," said Avalon.

"You two are fairies?"

"Yeah. We don't normally go around in Charmix like a lot of fairies do, though. It's easier to look human most of the time."

I looked down at my outfit. "So... I can go back?"

"Yeah, just concentrate."

I did. I gripped my hands tight. I closed my eyes. Inside my head, I chanted go back to normal, go back to normal, go back to normal.

When my eyes opened, I looked just the same. "Um..." I pointed out.

"Try harder," Avalon suggested.

I narrowed my eyes, but obliged. When five more minutes hadn't produced any results, I pressed my lips together and tried even harder. But even that didn't work. "Agh!" I shrieked.

"What now?" Safeyah asked.

Avalon did a little puffy thing with her breath. "Um, we could take her back to the hotel and talk to Roxy and Lysis. They might know what to do."

"Hotel? Please tell me it's not one of those murder-movie motels. Because to be honest, I'm already kinda scared of being killed."

"It's just a Holiday Inn. No worries."

Truth be told, I was still worried. I had to get home to my mom and dad and pesky brother... I'd already been gone later than expected. And just because it was a Holiday Inn didn't mean they couldn't murder someone there. Especially if they were magical. One zap, and I'd be finished.

My hesitation must have shown on my face. "We could just take you home like that," Avalon said. "I'm sure you'll pop back to normal eventually."

"No!" I exclaimed. No way could I let my parents see me like this! They'd throw a fit!

Avalon smiled. "Then to the hotel it is."

She drove there carefully, perhaps freaked out by my trip over the mountain. Or maybe she was just a careful driver, though if her driving matched her personality, I doubted that. As she drove, we talked about what was going on... the reemergence of magic, how Safeyah and Avalon found out they were fairies, and their world-wide road trip where they were determined to locate other girls like them... girls like me. Girls with no clue what they could do until the situation demanded them to do it. It was a lot to take in.

We got to the hotel and Avalon handed me a hoodie. "Here, put this on over your wings. It's probably best not to draw attention to the fact that you're a fairy. I obliged, and we got out of the car and walked into the hotel. We headed up to the second floor, them in the lead and me following. Finally, Safeyah stopped in front of a door and pulled out a key, letting herself in.

I followed them in shyly. I was a generally outgoing person, but this was an outstanding circumstance. Looking around Avalon, I could see two girls chatting animatedly. One had blonde hair that fell shoulder length, and wire rimmed glasses. She looked older. The other had pink hair, which was her main distinguishing feature. "Hey, Lysis, Roxy," Avalon greeted. "Mission complete."

The blonde frowned. "We just got here."

"Yeah, and we ran into this girl on accident." She sidestepped, forcing me out in the open. "Her name's Amanda. She accidentally drove her car off a mountain, was facing certain death, and then suddenly transformed. Only one issue. She can't pop back to normal."

"Has she tried concentrating."

"No, that totally wasn't the first thing we thought of." Avalon rolled her eyes.

The girl with pink hair rose from the bed. "I'm Roxy," she introduced. "Let's see what we can do."

She slipped her hand into mine. "Maybe if we converge, we can get you back to a wingless form. Concentrate again, okay?"

I obliged, squeezing her hand and shutting my eyes very tight. I wished to go back to normal, so I could get on with my average life so I could get out of Kamloops and not in a straitjacket.

Nothing happened. This was getting rather predictable.

Roxy rubbed her hand. "It's weird," she said. "I can tell you've got magic, but it's like you're not using it... I know you're trying though... what's going on?"

She looked to Lysis, as if for answers, and the other fairy obliged. "I have a theory. What if Amanda is a fairy... but she hasn't awakened yet."

There was a beat. "She transformed," Avalon pointed out.

"You know, I'm right here, you can stop talking about me as if I'm not," I said, annoyed.

Lysis continued anyway. "She forced herself into transforming, to save her own life. You guys all did the same thing, effectively. Have you noticed that forcing yourself has consequences? Roxy, until recently, had trouble with even the easy spells. Safeyah's magic isn't as strong as most fairies' magic is, except for the first blast she ever shot. Avalon, you get tired when you fly long distances. It's not a natural thing, it's because you forced yourself into it. And it will stop eventually, don't worry."

"So you're saying that since Amanda hadn't awakened yet, she could have trouble switching back and forth between her forms?" Safeyah guessed.

"Precisely."

"So how do I fix this?" I demanded. :"I can't wait forever! I have school! I have parents!"

Lysis frowned. "We need to find a way to force you back."

"I prescribe a horror movie marathon!" Avalon cheered. "The first few times I watched The Ring after discovering I had powers made me transform instinctively several times. If that doesn't scare you into human form, nothing will."

Lysis cracked a smile. "I don't know if that will do it, but it's worth a shot while we try to brainstorm other ideas."

Avalon popped the DVD in and we began to watch the movie. As the memorial scene began, a knock sounded from the door. Safeyah got up to open it. As she did, a man shoved the door open, knocking the dark-skinned fairy to the floor. "Hello, everyone," he said with a grin that made me more scared than the movie ever could. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Nyklus?" Safeyah groaned.

"Close, but no cigar. I don't believe we've met, but I assume you're Miss Safeyah Hafeji." He looked around. "And there is Avalon MacAdams, Lysis Ashman, and Roxy Klaus."

Then his eyes flitted to me. "And who is this? I'd guess she was Kristina Reeds... but Kristina was described to be so much... skinnier."

My eyes narrowed. "Okay, who the hell are you and are you calling me fat?"

"Of course not, dear fairy." But his eyes said otherwise, looking as though he was about to laugh. "And as for your first question... you may call me Killian."

"Are you working with Nyklus?" Roxy asked.

"We're... brothers, I suppose you could say."

Roxy sighed. "Well, at least I don't have to ask if anyone ordered room service and didn't bother to tell the rest of us," she said. Suddenly, four bright lights flared up, blindingly bright. I closed my eyes until the flares died down. When I opened them, all four of the fairies had transformed. "Let's go!" Roxy called.

"Let's go outside," Lysis suggested. "If this room gets messed up, we have to pay for it."

Roxy opened a window and flew out, followed by the other three, trying to get the fight out of the building. They didn't look back, confident Killian would follow them. But he didn't. As soon as they were gone, he closed the window and looked at me. "What fools," he said. "You would think that they'd try to get you out first, if they're trying to protect you from me." He stepped forward slowly, as if not to startle me. The Ring still played in the background.

"What's going on?" I whispered. "Who are you?"

"I told you, I'm Killian. One of the Apprentices of the Black Circle. But the more important question is... who are you? A new fairy. But perhaps something more. There's so much you could be, Miss..."

"Amanda."

"Miss Amanda. You could learn so much about your powers, be whoever you want to be. We can teach you. You can be the fifth apprentice of the Circle. It's not too late for you yet. Don't you want to be magical, charismatic, skinny..."

"Are you calling me fat again?" I snapped, and my hand snapped with me, shooting an energy beam at him.

He fell over onto the floor, but rose quickly. "You've already picked the side of those pathetic fairies, I see. Well, then I just have to change my tactics." Clapping his hands once, he seemed to shake the air. I flew backwards, not of my own will, but because of his power. I hit the wall and slumped down.

"Someday, we'll be stronger than all the fairies once again," Killian warned. "Our fathers got stronger from the magic of fairies. We don't yet... but we will. This is your last chance, Amanda. You can be the first Fairy of the Black Circle. Or you can suffer with your friends."

"Ugh, you're making me angry!" I shouted. I really was. I was so frustrated. As if it was a manifestation of my feelings, a tornado slowly appeared, spiraling toward Killian. As it hit him, knocking him against the wall, then the floor, then picking him up and throwing him against the ceiling, I felt myself relaxing. I looked down to see that somewhere after conjuring a tornado, I had slipped back into my normal form. "Bad timing, much?" I muttered sarcastically.

The tornado disappeared, and Killian gritted his teeth. "Beware, fairy of storms," he said to me. "There's another tornado coming. And this one... you can't control." He snapped his fingers and disappeared.

Just then, the door burst open. "Amanda!" Avalon cried. "Are you okay?"

"More than. I'm back to normal and I drove that creepy guy off."

Avalon fist pumped. "Awesome!"

Lysis smiled. "So, now what?"

"Huh?"

"What do you want to do? Return to your normal life? Or come with us into the world of magic?"

I considered. "Can you call me in eight months, when I turn eighteen? I'd love to come, but no way my parents will let me."

The fairies all smiled. "Deal," Avalon said.

I wished I could go now. If Killian was right... being a fairy was going to be pretty dangerous from now on. I worried about myself... and about my new friends. Hopefully, things would be okay.

But my optimism was crushed when I realized I had to tell my parents about my car.

---

Author's Note: Amanda is Chibi Horsewoman's character! I hope I did okay!

As the bell rang, I stood up, grabbed my backpack, and got ready to leave Arlington Heights High School for the weekend. But before I could escape (and escape was real important today), Ollie Beth and Sylvie each grabbed one of my arms. "You're going to cheerleading tryouts," Ollie said menacingly. "Whether you like it or not."

"I told y'all, I have to work today," I complained.

"Daddy will understand. Come on."

We started heading to the indoors gym, half because I walked, half because they dragged me. I'll admit it... I was a little curious as to what it'd be like to be a cheerleader. I loved the little dresses in gold and dark blue that they wore, the confidence they exhibited out on the field as they cheered on the astoundingly hot boys. I giggled a little. People tried to peg me as someone who wasn't too feminine (mainly due to my job...), but I could be girly with the best of them.

Ollie glanced approvingly at me. "See, I knew you'd want us to drag you here. Hon, your mouth needs to stop saying no when your body says yes."

"Ollie Beth, that sounds wrong," Sylvie quipped. "We're trying to rule the school, not get expelled from it, remember?"

Ollie put on a fake pout and tossed her curtain of perfectly straight blonde hair, in a way that was mock sultry. "They can't expel a girl for being comfortable with her sexuality." She put in a little bump of her hips for emphasis.

"If they could, they'd have to get rid of the entire cheer squad," I laughed.

Sylvie, who always was the serious one, didn't fall into giggle fits like Ollie and I did, instead choosing to sigh and walk off. We quickly scrambled to our feet and followed her into the locker room to change from our boring polo shirts into our gym clothes.

The gym was already hopping when we entered. I could see my cousin Charlotte, who was Cheer Captain this year, already organizing people into groups. Ollie, Sylvie, and I got in line.

When Charlotte got to us, she smiled at me. "Actually doing something girly, huh, Kaylee?"

I glanced pointedly down at my pink tracksuit that I wore for P.E.

She laughed. "Okay, I see your point. It's not your fault you have to be the son since Uncle Benji didn't have one."

I tried to laugh back. In reality, I was a little annoyed. It wasn't just that my dad didn't have any sons, it was also that I really loved to work in the automobile repair shop he owned. And I had a gift for it. He said so himself. "Well, look on the bright side, at least I can keep your car running, Char."

"True. But for now, let's concentrate on seeing if you can move than boyish body." She stared pointedly at the place my breasts would be if I actually had them, then moved on to the next girl.

"You do automobile repair stuff?" said the girl in front of me, who had turned to face my little group.

"Yeah..." I trailed off. I thought everyone knew. Weird this girl didn't.

She shot me a quirky little smile, made cute by strands of blonde hair falling into her eyes. It looked like it used to be a boy cut, but was growing out. "I'm new," she explained as if she could read my mind. "Avalon MacAdams. Freshman class."

"Kaylee Scott. Sophomore."

"Ollie Beth Maddox," Ollie butted in.

"And Sylvia Johnson. So, Avalon, where are you from?"

Avalon looked a little overwhelmed... like, for some reason, she hadn't been expecting to talk to my friends, but only me. "Um, Byron, California."

"Pretty far from Texas, huh?"

"Yeah," Avalon said, warming up. "It's a lot different. But I move around a lot, so I'm used to that."

"Really?" Sylvie actually looked somewhat interested. "Where else have you been?"

"Gardenia, California. Kamloops, BC, which is up in Canada. And now here."

"Cool." And with that, Sylvie turned back to us. Ollie Beth was still looking at Avalon out of the corner of her eye, probably judging whether or not she'd be a somewhat okay person to know... and whether or not she'd make the squad. As Charlotte's whistle blew, Ollie, Sylvie and I split up- we had all been placed in separate audition groups. Guess we'd know who was good and who sucked soon enough.

"Group One, up first!" yelled one of the old cheerleaders. Sylvia's group stepped up and were led through an elaborate routine. Sylvie, with her ponytailed dark hair and long body, already looked the part of a cheerleader, though even from a distance I was mentally correcting her frown of concentration. Smile, girly! I willed.

When they were done, they were led into a different room, and my group- Two- was called. I could see Avalon on the other side of the pack, her legs parallel with her shoulders, her arms tucked in. She either knows something I don't, or she's just plain ridiculous.

"Okay!" Charlotte yelled. "Y'all should be stretched and ready to go. If you're not, get out and try again next year. This is serious. We aren't gonna have any injuries today, okay? This isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer." She got some giggles with that. "Now, in my eyes, there's five basic things we're lookin' for today. One, can you dance? Two, can you cheer? Three, can you smile? Four, can you get along with the team? And five, can you deal with us bitches for an entire season... which is actually completely unrelated to number four."

"Language, Miss Charlotte," the teacher adviser said lazily.

She shrugged it off and continued. "If you can do all five, welcome to the team. And that's not even a "we'll consider you." There aren't enough people who can do all five to fill spots, so some of you can slide. With that, let's start dancing."

The routine was intense. My body was fairly healthy from running back and forth to get things for Dad, as well as from lifting heavy equipment, but the dancing exhausted me. I pressed on though, partially because I could see Avalon working through it, and partially because I really wanted one of those little dresses.

When we finished, we were all herded into the hallway. "Okay, here's the cut list," Charlotte said. "If you aren't on it, get out and go get some french fries and cry your eyes out. Alphabetically. Clairbourne, Davis, MacAdams, Rivers, Scott, Treverston. If your name wasn't called, bye bye and have a nice year."

When five girls from our group slinked out, my cousin clapped her hands and smiled... somewhat evilly. "Now that you guys have passed round one, I'm ready to hear the individual cheers you've composed."

Um. What.

One poor girl... I think she was Zoe Davis, a freshman... spoke up tentatively. "It didn't say anything about composing a cheer, did it?"

"No, it didn't." Yep, that was Char's evil grin. "But being impulsive and having good reflexes are important qualities for the Arlington Heights Cheer Squad. Good lord, girl, this is Texas. We have to be awesome." And then the Cheer captain flipped her hair and walked back into the gym.

"Do you realize that none of group one came back?" Zoe asked in a stage whisper.

Another freshman... Allyson Clairbourne... gasped, putting one hand to her open mouth. "What do you think happened to them?"

"For crying out loud, this is a high school cheerleading squad, not a horror movie. And I've seen enough of both to know."

It sounded like something I would say, or maybe Ollie, but when I looked, it was Avalon who had made the comment. "Now," she continued, "if you'll excuse me, I have a cheer to write. We don't know when the Head Bitch In Cheer is gonna be back, and some of us actually want to make the team."

I jumped in. "And if certain freshies can't take the heat, maybe they shouldn't come near the fire."

Zoe and Allyson's eyes went downwards, embarrassed. And then there was silence as each of us tried to come up with something individual, something that would stand out. After about five minutes, we started to be called in, one by one. I was second to last, but finally, one of Charlotte's friends asked for "Scott."

My cousin wasn't in this round, but I knew a couple of the judges. "Nervous?" asked Emily Blackman, a senior.

"Well... let's just say I spent five minutes trying to rhyme something to "jackets of yellow" before I gave in and changed it."

They laughed. "Show us what you've got."

Alternating between claps and stomps to the offbeat (I read that simple choreography makes you stand out from the other candidates), I called out, "One, two, three, four! Yellow Jackets gotta score! Five, six, seven, eight! Opposing-team's-name-slash-mascot-here, don't you hate!" For a little added emphasis, I clapped quickly four times and fist-pumped twice.

No sign of how I did showed on the girls' faces. "Okay, good job, Kaylee. Scores are up tomorrow. You can exit out the same door you came in. Call for Treverston, please."

I obliged, and sighed, almost running into Avalon. "Sorry," I apologized.

"Don't be." Her voice was grumpy.

"What's wrong?" I asked, truly curious. "Did you not do well?"

"I didn't get a chance to. They yelled at me. Apparently, I ruined the audition. There was supposed to be total chaos and worry. That stage wasn't about cheer skills... it was about keeping calm under stress. And I blew it. I'm gone."

"Ouch. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I'll probably be moving again soon anyway. I just tried out because I thought it might be fun. I don't always get to do a lot of girly things."

I smiled. "Same. Just because I fix cars part-time, everyone pegs me as this butch girl. Which is kinda funny, because even my jack is pink and purple. I'm about as girly as they come, I just like to fix stuff."

"Me too... except for the girly part." She tugged on her short hair to emphasize. "I even totally fixed up an old car that didn't run anymore. I named her Ole Denim. Wanna see?"

"Completely!" I exclaimed. "I'm fixing up a junker myself. Haven't got a name yet."

We passed Ollie Beth coming in as we left, and I motioned a thumbs-up to her for luck. She smiled tentatively back at me.

Out in the parking lot, Avalon led me to see her car. It was an unexpected beauty, with a fairly-new coat of shiny blue paint, though you could immediately see that the model was old. "It's awesome," I said.

"Wanna ride in her? She's sleeker than she looks. A few twists and turns I put in here and there."

Well, I needed a ride home anyway. I normally caught the bus, but I had missed it. I would have mooched a ride from Ollie, but she'd be a while, and there was this offer... "That'd be great! But... um, would you mind taking me home? I need a ride."

"No issue, just tell me how to get there."

I hopped into the passenger's seat, and Avalon into the driver's side. The car started silently, not betraying it's age at all. "Beautiful," I whispered.

She smirked, prideful. "You could say I have a magic touch."

"I get that. People tell me the same thing."

Her sideways glance was hard to interpret. It was half amused and half... knowing. Like she had already figured me out. It was rather disorienting. To distract myself from that, I asked "Does the radio work?"

"Yeah. Wanna turn it on? I don't know the stations yet."

"No problem."

But as I touched the dial, sparks flew, like the thing was blowing up. "What'd I do? What'd I do?" I asked frantically.

Avalon pursed her lips. "No clue. We can check it out when we get to your house... if that's alright."

I nodded assent.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence. When we finally got to my house, right next to the Scott Repair Garage, where I worked, I hopped out and started running to the business. "I'll go get my tools and be right back," I called over my shoulder. Avalon nodded, but looked a little distracted.

I slipped into the shop, and immediately, Dad was on me. "Hey, where were you? You're late."

"Ollie Beth and Sylvie forced me to come try out for the cheerleading squad. I tried to escape, but even if I did, I already missed the bus home. Luckily for me, a new friend drove me home. As payment, I accidentally broke her radio. I'm going to try to fix it, then I'll be in and working."

"If I don't fire you first," he threatened playfully.

I smiled back. "And you can get your son to come and work for you. Oh, that's right... I'm your only child."

He stuck his tongue out at me, childish. I grinned, grabbed my lilac tool box, and headed back to Avalon's car.

The new girl was already working, her calloused fingers gently probing the box of a radio. "I've got tools," I said awkwardly... she looked like she was in the zone, and I didn't want to mess it up.

She took my hand quickly and placed it on the radio. "You feel that?" she asked.

"What, that humming-y thing? Like, a vibration. Does that means it's working?"

"Yes!" Avalon exclaimed. When I looked at her funny, she frowned sheepishly and said, "I mean no. But with a little help from you..."

"I thought you fixed things too."

"Well, I'm best with smaller things. And I'm not professionally trained. Taught myself. Don't want to fry my own radio because of a lack of education. Besides, you broke it."

True. I "heh-hehed," and then grabbed my tool box.

Avalon snatched it out of my hand. "No, don't use those."

"Don't use... but how else would I fix it?"

She stared at me for a long moment. I stared back. Eventually, she blinked and sighed. "Yeah, I suck at this."

"Staring contests?"

"No, telling new fairies that they're... um... new fairies."

There were several beats of silence. "Um, excuse me?" I choked out.

She leaned back in the driver's seat. "Here's the deal. Me and my friends Safeyah, Roxy, and Lysis are on a mission to find fairies who are newly awakening. If you count Saf and me, who were found before we joined the team- well, that's kind of a duh- we've found five. Anyway, we find these girls, we tell them who they are, and we offer them the chance to do something about their powers. Like travel to find other new fairies, or go to school somewhere."

"Lysis and Safeyah split up from Roxy and I about a week ago. We felt a fairy around Forth Worth, so Rox and I enrolled in different high schools, and I just found you. Fairy number six, Kaylee Scott, power of repairs. Now, will you fix my radio, because your powers awakened enough to break it."

Let me explain something to you, the reader. I'm fairly well known and well liked at Arlington Heights High School. In fact, I'm popular, like everyone tries to be, but not a lot of people are. People think that makes me a snob, and I try to prove them wrong. But some occasions just call for bitch-isms. "You're crazy," I said flatly. "I'm not a fairy freak."

Avalon looked a little hurt. "It's really cool, actually. Jeez, and I thought you were nice."

"I normally am," I said, my voice raising a bit in volume and hysteria as I spoke, "but not when some new student tells me she's a spy doing secret magical espionage only to discover I've actually got wings and powers and stuff! No way! I'm not a fairy, I'm just Kaylee!"

"Are we playing the Harry Potter game? Because here's my cue to ask if you've ever done something unexplained."

I glared. But she didn't let up. "Well, have you?"

I pursed my lips... then nodded. "I... I know what's wrong with things before I look at them. I can fix things by touching them sometimes. I can see problems before they even happen. I saved my mother's life with that once. But she was so freaked out, we don't talk about that anymore."

"You... your family... you aren't very open to the idea of fairies, are you?"

I looked down. "It's not that. It's my powers. It's scary to have abilities you can't explain."

She took my hand and squeezed it. "Well... now we can explain them to you."

"I need to tell my dad," I said. My mom would freak, but my dad needed to know.

We slowly walked up to the shop. He was smoking, not with a customer, so we explained the whole situation to him. When I finished with, "I'm a fairy, Dad," he smiled.

"I thought so. I guessed," he said.

My mouth dropped. "You did?"

"What else could it be?" He snuffed out his cigarette and hugged me. "Now... we just need to figure out what to do about it."

"There's a school for fairies in California. Also one in another dimension, but you might want her close. Or..."

"Or what?" I wondered.

"You could travel with my friends and me. It'd be exciting and fun. Besides, we need someone nice who actually speaks English as a first language. Saf is so friendly, but occasionally needs some English help. And Lysis, Roxy, me... well, we all can be jerks at times."

I looked at my dad. "I don't want to leave, Daddy," I whispered.

He hugged me again. "Honey... I think it's your destiny. You need to do this. You're growing up."

"What about Mom?"

"I'll explain." He looked at Avalon. "Take care of her, okay? She's gonna have to come back and be the best fairy mechanic there is."

She saluted. "Gotcha, sir."

And as my dad smiled, Avalon put her arm around me. "Welcome to the team, Kaylee. I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

---

Author's Note: Kaylee is by rogue-scholar07.

Yes, this chapter was a bit boring. Since both characters are going to be seen a lot more, it was character develoupment, mostly. You'll get to see a lot more plot later, swearsies. In fact, our next chapter (featuring Rider Bradley by Silverwolforever) is action-packed and awesome. Though possibly, quite short.

Also, anyone who follows my work obsessively knows I have a tradition of doing a bonus chapter every 50 reviews I get, so yeah that might be before we get to Rider. I'm considering two things: a crossover with my story Legacy of Light (where AU!Story discovers her powers), or, in a Mary-Sue defying stunt, a self insertation parody. Tell me what you think in your reviews!