The Queen of Shadows - World of Winx rewrite S.1

Chapter 17: Spies In The Shadows

Roxy wondered where Musa had gone. They really needed her now. The crocodile man broke more vines with his tail. Flora screamed in pain and was on her knees. But she was stubborn and determined to hold him down.

"Flora, let it go! You will just get hurt..." Roxy said.

"N-no...I've got this... I just have to..." she stopped as another vine broke and yelped.

Roxy was afraid that Flora would push herself far beyond her limits and take too much damage. After spending time with the girls, she had noticed what a wonderful and nice person Flora is. But sometimes she had difficulties knowing when it was enough, letting others step on her toes and feeling the need to please everyone.

"Where are the rest?" Roxy asked Aisha, who summoned one of her morphix nets.

"I don't know..." Aisha replied and threw the net towards the crocodile man. He roared, breaking the net and the remaining vines. Flora got de-transformed, and Roxy noticed how she started to fall at high speed towards the ground. Roxy was fast and caught her. Sweat was running down Flora's forehead, and it looked like she was in a lot of pain.

The crocodile man flew away towards the concert halls where the rest of the girls were. Roxy got afraid he would surprise them. She gently placed Flora down onto the ground.

"Just breathe, Flora," Roxy said, holding her hand. "Aisha, can you go after the crocodile man?"

"On it!" Aisha exclaimed, already on her way towards the concert halls. In a second, she had entered the building.

Roxy channeled her calming magic, the one she used on animals to calm them down. Its effect helped them to heal slowly and regain their energy. But she had never tried this spell on fairies, which initially made her worry it might not help.

Flora's breaths were irregular, and her eyes remained shut. Sweat was still running down her forehead. Roxy closed her eyes. She had to make the pain go away. Flora's connection to nature must be as strong as her connection to animals, which meant she could relate to how it feels to see what you love the most get hurt. You are so strongly connected that you can feel every ounce of pain they are feeling. It's indescribable how much it can hurt your soul.

"Come on, Flora..." Roxy channeled all her energy into this spell, trying to find the bridge between nature and the animal world. Opening up her heart for nature and its life it gives the animals.

Soon she noticed how Flora now relaxed. Her shoulders dropped, and even her jaw. Her breathing became more steady, and she stopped sweating. Slowly, Roxy could feel how Flora was regaining her energy. This made her feel relieved.

Flora blinked slowly and opened her eyes.

"What... w-where did the crocodile man go?" she murmured.

"Try to keep calm so that you will get healed faster," Roxy answered. "Aisha went after him."

***

Aisha dodged his tail and shot him straight in the chest with her 'Thirteenth Seal' spell. He flew backward through a wooden wall, creating a loud bang as he crashed into some crates. Before she had time to trap him, he rose up from the ground and ran away.

Aisha followed him towards the backstage. She noticed how it was filled with a red mist. Remembering from China, she knew this had to be The Shaman's work. She tried to see while summoning a sword made of morphix.

She heard The Shaman's laughter coming from the red mist. He talked to someone she couldn't recall. Slowly, she flew higher up in the air to get a better view. There she saw her friends being pinned to the wall. Some kind of shadows, looking like ropes, tied their wrists and ankles, keeping them in place. But there were only three of her friends.

'Where is Musa?' Aisha wondered.

She saw how The Shaman sprinkled some sleep dust over Bloom. Her head dropped, and her eyes shut. A portal opened in front of her. Aisha could see the panic in Stella's and Tecna's faces, especially in the princess's face. She tried to struggle free from the shadows. Her hands were glowing weakly, but it seemed like the shadows were stronger, preventing her from using her sun powers.

Aisha knew she had to do something. Through the portal, she saw a shadow creature coming through it. It walked up towards Bloom and started to untie her. Aisha looked around and noticed a spotlight beside her. She flew closer and examined the different buttons, finding one to adjust the brightness. She aimed the spotlight beam just above Stella. With a turn of one of the buttons, the brightness was at maximum.

Stella looked surprised at first but soon must have understood this was her cue. Her hands started to slowly glow brighter. The Shaman turned his attention away from Bloom and towards Stella. One of his stones glowed, and he shot a red beam towards her, making her hands stop glowing. She let out a painful scream, a red aura surrounding her.

"Stop that, will you?" he furrowed.

"Hey, The Shaman? Catch!" Aisha exclaimed as she attacked him with her mystic wrap. The wrap grabbed his ankle and yanked him up in the air. He hung upside down and dropped his stones. "Now, Stella!"

It was like the sun exploded. A bright light expanded from the Princess's. Aisha had to close her eyes. The shadow creature screamed and dissolved while the crocodile man roared and ran through the portal.

The ropes tying her friends disappeared. Stella's eyes shone as bright as Solaria's suns, her orange aura almost blinding. It was like she had a massive energy outburst. Bloom fell forward, and Tecna caught her.

"You will pay for this!" The Shaman growled in anger.

She threw him down onto the ground. He groaned and shook. Tecna created an orb around him so that he couldn't flee. He slammed with force with his hands onto the orb, demanding them to let him free. But Tecna kept strong, and he had no chance.

Aisha landed in front of him, furrowing. She picked up the stones from the ground and used her magic to force them to break. They shattered into smaller stones, and the red dark magic slowly faded away into the air.

"You..." The Shaman growled, his eyes filled with fury. "When we meet again...I'll have no mercy. I promise!"

His eyes glowed red, and a portal opened underneath his feet. Tecna tried to drop the orb fast so that Aisha could stop him. But it was too late. He was already gone through the portal.

"Fish..." Aisha cursed under her breath. She wanted so badly to stop him once and for all. But he got away...again.

Bloom lay on the ground, still affected by the sleep dust. Stella tried to shake her awake, but had no luck in waking her up.

"I've got this, Stella," Aisha said as she summoned a small water globe in her hand. 'The best way to wake someone up was with a bit of fresh cold water,' as she had been taught on Andros. She dropped the water globe over Bloom's face, and it splashed. Bloom bolted up and gasped.

"Hey?! Why did you splash water on my face?" Bloom exclaimed, looking confused. Aisha chuckled to herself.

"Because it was time to wake up," Stella winked playfully and helped her up. Her hands glowed as she dried Bloom.

Bloom rolled her eyes. As soon as she got dry, she crossed her arms. She seemed actually very upset by the whole situation.

"Well... you could have just tried to wake me up?! Instead of splashing water in my face," she snapped and furrowed. Her voice was sharp, and her face looked very serious. Aisha got very surprised by her reaction. Of course, everyone did not like getting woken up with cold water in their face, but there was something in Bloom's gaze that was not right. Aisha decided not to argue further.

"I'm sorry, Bloom... I— " Aisha started.

"— actually, if Aisha hadn't used her water on you, according to my data, it might have resulted in you sleeping until the very next day. Since the sleep dust the Shaman used on you was more powerful than..." Tecna commented.

"...I don't care about what your data says!" Bloom snapped. Tecna looked pretty offended, and it looked like she wanted to argue with her. Aisha tried to be fast and stepped between them.

"Take it easy, Bloom," she said. "Tecna just tried to be nice."

"Get out of my way...I was talking to the robot over there," Bloom growled.

"Excuse you?! I'm more than a robot? You are well aware of that," Tecna exclaimed. She tried to reach Bloom. Aisha blocked her and faced Bloom. She was not herself and acted very weird.

"I don't know why you are in such a bad mood. But can you at least stop bringing down the mood among the rest of us?" Aisha said, now using her more serious tone. The one she uses while being in her political role.

Bloom's eyes now burned with fury. Aisha could tell that. She'd seen those stubborn and angry eyes before on her friend. Her hands was now glowing orange.

Stella was about to step in, but Aisha only rose a hand and gestured her to not get involved or interfere.

"Get out of my way!" Bloom said with a threatening tone.

"Not until you have calmed down," Aisha retorted.

Fire now started to appear in Bloom's palms. But Aisha was not afraid and would not step down. She was ready to counter Bloom's fire if needed, with her water powers. They stood eye against eye. A glimpse of a red glow was reflected in Bloom's eyes. Aisha wondered what that could be. Bloom blinked once, and it was gone.

"Okay, fine...!" Bloom finally exclaimed, letting go of the fire. She went towards the back door and walked out. Then she slammed the door.

Behind her, Aisha could hear how Stella sighed, "What has happened to our kind-hearted, Bloom?"

***

Bloom knew she shouldn't have reacted that way. But it was as if her impulsive side and the voice in her head had full control. It had urged her to fight her friends...something she could never do. She had fought hard to keep her mind from going down that path.

Now, she just wanted to go back and apologize to all of them for her behavior. But something held her back. Why was her anger escalating day by day? Something was wrong, and she needed to find out what was causing this. However, she realized she had to do it on her own. She couldn't risk letting her anger take over and potentially harm her friends.

"Why was I so stupid to drag my friends into this dangerous mission?" Bloom asked herself, feeling guilty. It was her doubt that had made her friends worry about her, prompting them to go after her to Gardenia. What if she had brought some dark magic to Earth when she had fled? She had accidentally awakened dark forces before, like when she had followed Stella to the magical dimension for the first time.

The first time she had truly activated her powers and used them against the Trix, she had awakened the Prince of Darkness. It wouldn't have happened if she had stayed on Earth, living a normal life...

Her thoughts were interrupted when she caught a glimpse of the talent thief. He was standing across the street, watching a blue car drive towards a police station. He followed it, trying to blend in with the people walking by the streets.

Curiosity took over Bloom, and she decided to find out what he was up to. She began to follow him, doing her best to avoid being noticed.

***

Musa opened her eyes to a burning light that soon disappeared, leaving her blinking in confusion. Aches permeated her body, and she discovered her hands were tied behind her back with handcuffs. The rattling chains prompted her to wonder why she was in handcuffs. She noticed that these were also non-magical handcuffs, since she could still feel her powers.

Her vision was blurry, but she could make out a room with gray stony walls. A female voice discussed reports and evidence in the background. Musa focused on her breathing until her vision cleared, revealing a detective's office. On a brown wooden table were photos of her and her friends, along with one of Annabelle.

"The beats? W-where am I?" Musa mumbled to herself.

"Good morning, Miss Musa," the female voice said from her right.

Musa couldn't comprehend why she recognized this voice. It didn't carry the typical English accent spoken in London; instead, it held a blend of English and Italian. What was an Italian-speaking person doing in a London police station?

"I'm afraid you are sospettato di rapimento," the woman continued.

Musa wondered if her translation spell was distorting the words. The pain in her head intensified as she attempted to turn it. The woman stepped into her view, standing under the light. Musa instantly recognized her as one of the detectives she had encountered with Aisha. Why was she here? Had she followed them all the way to London?

"So, Miss Musa, do you know this girl?" the detective asked, pointing at the photo.

"Yes, I—"

"—ever since you girls suddenly appeared in Gardenia, this girl disappears," the detective finished, pointing at the photo of all the girls.

"Listen, it must have been a coincidence. We only helped Annabelle to achieve her dreams," Musa replied.

The detective, now identified as 'Investigatrice Evans' by her badge, furrowed and leaned closer. "That's nonsense!" she exclaimed. "Coincidences do not exist. My colleague and I have been watching you ever since the first report of Annabelle's disappearance. We've seen a pattern that many people you've met have gone missing."

Musa desperately wanted to explain the situation, about the talent thief and how he was behind the disappearances. However, revealing magical creatures and fairies to Earthlings wasn't an option.

Her memories drifted back to the dance club with Aisha, remembering the creepy guys who tried to kidnap them, wanting to exploit their magical abilities. Some Earthlings could become desperate or fearful in the face of the unknown.

"Just tell me, where have your other accomplices taken her? Where are you hiding the kidnapped talents?" Evans demanded harshly. Musa opened her mouth, but no words came. How could she escape this situation?

A door opening caught her attention, and the other detective entered, wearing his red jacket. He retrieved a plastic bag from his pockets and placed it on the desk, revealing a gray shining object - a watch similar to the one the crocodile man had. Musa realized that whoever owned this watch, she knew the detectives was in danger, and she needed to secure it before harm befell the innocent Earthlings.

"Hmm... it seems like this object seems familiar to you," the man raised an eyebrow.

"Eh no, I've never seen this," Musa lied.

"Stop with these lies!" Evans shouted, slamming her hand on the desk. The sound made Musa jump. "We know you are behind the missing talents. Just tell the truth and make it easier for yourself and us."

"Listen, I'll tell you everything if you just remove these handcuffs first. I'll tell you everything," Musa pleaded, determined to secure the watch before any of the Queen's minions could reach it. It was better that they tried to get it from her, rather than putting innocent Earthlings in harm's way.

"Pff... that was something new," the man mumbled.

Evans elbowed him in annoyance.

"Gómez, can you stay focused?" Evans muttered, eyeing him.

Musa clenched her fists, attempting to channel her magic to remove the handcuffs. However, they proved to be too strong, for being non-magical, to break.

"Chords..." Musa cursed to herself.

"'Chords?' Is that some kind of codename?" Gómez raised an eyebrow.

Right, she couldn't use her expressions from the magical dimension here on Earth; it would only raise questions. She needed an excuse.

Suddenly, Musa felt sweat starting to run down her neck, sensing someone watching her from behind. She bit her lip and wondered why it was getting warmer in the room.

"Um... why does it feel so hot in this room?" Musa asked, changing the subject.

"Are you messing with me...?" Evans rolled her eyes.

She picked up the watch from the desk, looking like she was done.

"No, actually, it feels warmer now when you say it..." Gómez said.

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard from the door. All of them turned their eyes towards the white door. Gómez exchanged a confused look with Evans before he walked up towards the door. He opened it and got thrown down onto the floor. He groaned and landed on his back.

"Gómez?!" Evans exclaimed and ran towards him.

A second later, Musa saw how Bloom came flying through the door opening and hit one of the walls. She was panting, and her hair looked messy. She seemed to struggle to raise up from the ground, looking hurt after the crash.

"Bloom!" Musa exclaimed. She tried her best to raise up from the chair but failed. The handcuffs were attached to the backrest.

"Oh... have your partners come to rescue you?" Gómez asked as he got help from Evans to get up from the ground. He grimaced and rubbed his back.

"Partners?" Musa asked. She had only seen Bloom, not any of the other girls.

"Yeah, she and the..." Gómez suddenly stopped as golden powder was spread above him. Evans caught him mid-air just as he was about to hit the ground. Behind both of them, someone with a yellow hood entered.

"Jim..." Musa furrowed.

He walked up to Evans, who now stared into each other's eyes. She held the watch tightly in her hand, and her face looked terrified.

"W-who are you?" she asked, her voice shaking.

Jim did not answer; he grabbed her with one hand by the collar and raised her in the air. She tried to struggle out from his grip as she tried to kick him, but had no luck. Instead, he was breathing heavily and furrowed.

"The Watch..." he growled, his eyes narrowing down onto her clenched hand. Evans dropped it on the ground. He spread some sleep dust over her and dropped her onto the floor. He started to chant words Musa couldn't understand. Evans and Gómez's bodies began to glow.

Musa channeled her magic, making the watch flow towards her as Jim was about to grab it. He gave her a death stare. She wiggled on the chair and fell onto the side and grabbed it. In the corner of her eye, she saw Jim coming in high speed towards her. His arm stretched towards her. Musa clenched her hand hard, refusing to let him get the watch.

Before he had the time to reach it, a fireball hit him in the chest. He flew into the wall and screamed. Musa looked up and saw Bloom now standing up. In her palms, flames were dancing, and her eyes were glowing orange.

"Nice shot!" Musa exclaimed. "Can you help me out of these handcuffs now?"

Bloom shook her head, and her eyes changed back to her normal blue hue. She crouched down and melted the metal. The heat from her fire spread through the metal. Soon the handcuffs broke, and Musa could finally move her hands freely.

"Thanks," she said and rubbed one of her wrists. They hurt after the metal had almost dug into the wrists and skin. There were red marks left.

"No worries... I— watch out!" Bloom exclaimed.

Musa turned around, seeing Jim back on his feet lunging for her with a knife in his hand. She threw the clock towards Bloom and picked up the chair. His blade hit the chair and got stuck into it. She kicked him on his knee so that he grunted. She channeled her powers and shot out a sound wave towards him. He fell down on his stomach and coughed, gasping for air and covering his ears.

A second later, he fell unconscious. He looked defeated. Musa exhaled and felt relieved. She turned around and smiled. "Good one there. You had good timing."

"No worries," Bloom simply said, then stared down at the floor. Something was going on in her mind, Musa could see that. Like she was thinking about something or finding words. But she was not sure if she wanted to point it out. Bloom's heart and harmony inside her seemed stressed and upset. Like something had happened before. Musa wanted to give her some space and let her talk about it when she felt for it.

"I'll let the rest of the girls know we are okay and have the watch," Musa said.

***

Aisha sat in the driver's seat, feeling a wave of relief upon hearing from Musa that she was okay. The worry of potential shadow creature attacks had kept her on edge, fearing for Musa's safety. However, learning that Musa was unharmed brought a sense of reassurance. She had also advised them to proceed to the next destination without her, explaining that she and Bloom was going to figure out how the watch worked.

Concern lingered in Aisha's mind, particularly regarding Bloom's mood. The recent events had left Aisha worried about her friend. Bloom seemed different, not her usual self, ever since the Fashion Week. Since then, everything had just gone down 'the water stream'. Aisha understood that Bloom tended to conceal her feelings, especially when faced with challenges. Answers about what had happened to her remained elusive.

Ace had informed Aisha that the next program would be in California, known for its surfing and beaches. The prospect of finding a talent related to surfing excited Aisha, as the sea always brought her happiness.

Beside Aisha, Flora fiddled with her hands, contemplating her theory about the Queen tracking their movements through shadows. Stella's analogy, 'where there is light, there is also darkness,' resonated with Flora's theory. The constant presence of this unseen enemy made the mission to save talents more challenging, requiring heightened caution.

"You are thinking about something. Am I right?" Aisha asked.

"I just... Bloom still hasn't really told us why she left Domino..."

"That's right," Aisha nodded, starting the engine.

"She has been trying to avoid the subject, and I'm worried that if she keeps everything to herself for too long, her emotions will become too overwhelming..." Flora paused before continuing. "...and then she will be an easier target when she breaks..."

Aisha recalled Stella's account of the day Bloom was attacked on Earth by the Trix, having her powers stolen. The memory brought a sense of terror, understanding the ruthlessness of the Trix, especially against a freshman still learning her powers.

"And Stella hasn't had any luck either with getting her to open up," Flora continued.

"But... something has also changed within her," Aisha pointed out, her grip tightening on the steering wheel as memories of Bloom's furious eyes flashed through her mind. A glimpse of red in those eyes left a lasting impression. "You should have seen her when I saved the girls from getting taken by The Shaman. She was really about to burn the whole place down..."

Flora's eyes widened in shock, and she bit her underlip, clearly thinking of something that had popped up in her mind.

"That's very serious..." she said.

"And I don't know..." Aisha struggled to find words to describe it. "But there was just something with her gaze when I looked right into her eyes in that moment... For a brief moment, I swear that I saw some kind of red light in them."

Flora's worried expression turned serious, and she clenched her fists.

"I'm afraid this can have something to do with some dark magic... because you remember the last time Bloom acted like this?" she said, turning to Aisha.

Aisha shared Flora's concerns, fearing that dark magic might be behind Bloom's changed behavior. The memories of the past incidents involving dark magic were haunting, and Aisha was determined to intervene before it escalated.

"And she started to act strange after the Fashion Week, remember?" Flora continued.

"Yeah... I remember," Aisha sighed, resting her head on the headrest. Now, everything made sense when putting all the pieces together.

"We should warn Musa and tell her to..." Flora began but stopped herself when Lorelei appeared behind them, wearing a pink swimsuit and sunglasses, her hair set up in a big braid with a small pink bow.

"Why haven't you started moving? Hurry! I want to show my fans my new swimsuit!" Lorelei exclaimed.

Aisha shook her head and pressed down on the gas pedal, causing Lorelei to yelp in surprise.

"I'll call Musa and tell them to meet us by the beach in California," Flora whispered, looking down at her display on the Winx watch.

Aisha nodded, ready to address the concerns surrounding Bloom's well-being and the potential involvement of dark magic.

***

The emptiness was cast with shadows on the wall of buildings from nearby objects. Bloom stood beside Musa, observing the watch. She wondered if she should take the watch and go by herself to the World of Dreams. A feeling inside her told her that it would be the best.

'No... stop, stupid mind... we've got to work together...'

"How do I even activate this thing?" Musa mumbled as she twisted and turned the watch. She scratched her head in confusion and seemed to struggle to understand this clockwork. It was like it was completely dead. "Tecna might know how to activate this..."

"Maybe if..." Bloom stopped herself at the view of Musa's Winx watch starting to flash. It was a call from Flora. When Musa was about to pick up the call, Bloom tackled her, as if her mind was taking control over her again, telling her to prevent her friend from picking up the call.

"Hey, why did you do...?" Musa stopped and created a disco shield from a red beam coming from their right. She then threw the watch to Bloom. "Here, hold this!"

'Wait... my mind told me to do that because it knew someone was going to attack right...?' Bloom tried to convince herself, not wanting to trust her feelings in her gut that something was wrong with her.

They both rose up from the ground. A shadow creature had appeared in front of them, attacking with a dark cool blast hitting Bloom right in the chest. She fell backward, hitting the ground. Strangely, the blast didn't hurt; the only thing Bloom felt was a shiver going down her spine. Musa shot a sound wave at the shadow and made it fly away.

She got helped up from the ground.

"Let's go before it gets back..." Musa said.

Bloom nodded. Musa ran for a ladder nearby leading up to the roof. She climbed up quickly, not wasting a second. Bloom followed closely. But she stopped mid-climb as she noticed her shadow was gone. In her ear, something whispered, and she froze in place, feeling her heart race faster and starting sweating.

'Join the Queen...' the voice whispered inside her head.

"No..." Bloom cried out, fighting the voices. She shut her eyes tightly, holding tight to the ladder.

"Bloom, is everything alright?" Musa shouted from the rooftop.

Bloom opened her eyes, seeing Musa leaning over the edge, asking if she was okay. Bloom took a deep breath and nodded in response. This was not the time to get scared by some voices, even though it reminded her of the one person she wished she could forget.

Her thoughts got interrupted by seeing someone grab Musa by her neck, a dark blue glove pulling her. "Musa, look out!"

Bloom started to climb the ladder, faster than she had ever done in her entire life.

On the roof, she saw Jim holding Musa. His grip with one hand held her tightly around her throat, and the other hand forcing her down in a standing position on her knees.

"Jim... let her go!" Bloom demanded.

He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Just give me the watch and..."

"...beats. Get off me!" Musa tried to get free from his grip and started to wave with her free hand against his leg. But Jim was stronger and now tightened his grip around her throat, choking her.

Bloom wanted so badly to attack, to knock Jim down. But then she would also hit Musa in the process.

'Attack...' a voice told her.

"No..." she shook her head.

"Why do you annoying girls have to make it so difficult for me?" Jim sighed. He let go of his grip from Musa's throat. She gasped for air. He picked up his knife from his pocket and put the blade close to her skin. Musa's eyes widened, her breath starting to sound raspy.

"Give it to me, or your friend's life will get spilled because of you," he said with a cold and ruthless tone.

"Fine! Here, take it..." Bloom said, extending her hand with the watch towards Jim. With small and slow steps, she approached him. She could see how he smirked, victory in his eyes.

"Good. Now give it to me... and no tricks," he said, putting away his knife back to his pocket. He extended his hand. "And after you have given it to me, make sure not to follow me. I don't want any fairies to ruin me saving her..."

"Do you mean the Queen?" Musa raised her eyebrow.

"No, you idiot. Annabelle, of course...!" he exclaimed, furrowing.

This shocked Bloom and probably foremost, Musa. Both of them exchanged surprised looks.

'Why does Jim want to save Annabelle?'

***

Stella couldn't imagine having to fight for a spot on the beach to sunbathe. It was almost impossible; the beach was crowded. The situation was exacerbated by the constant competition with Lorelei, always trying to show who was the more stunning person. Despite the challenges, she could at least enjoy the warmth of the sun shining above her.

The program didn't start for two hours, giving her some time to explore the town they were in. Her overall impression of California was relaxing and beautiful. Stella enjoyed strolling past the beach markets, where fashionable swimwear, sunglasses, and shoes were on display.

"Should we play beach volleyball? Because I was a professional player when I was younger. No one had a chance against me," Lorelei told Tecna, who sat on a bench, absorbed in her tablet, likely working on her intricate and complicated software projects that always puzzled Stella.

Tecna didn't respond, and her annoyance was evident on her face.

"No answer..." Stella heard Flora mumble behind her. Turning around, she found Flora and Aisha standing close, engaged in a conversation. Both seemed on edge and worried. Stella approached them, offering a bright smile in an attempt to lighten the mood, as the shining and bright person she was.

"Isn't the weather stunning here in California?" Stella said. "Aisha, you should try out the waves here and..."

Stella stopped as Flora looked at her, still wearing her worried face, which soon turned serious. Aisha also glanced at her with her typical serious expression. This made Stella slightly confused. Had she said something wrong? Why were they giving her that look without saying anything?

"D-Did I say something wrong?" Stella finally asked.

Without directly answering her question, Flora spoke, "Stella, we have to talk to you about something."

Stella's happy and bright feelings inside her now disappeared. Flora's tone gave her the sense that something really bad had happened. She sharpened her ears to hear what her friends had to tell her, hoping it was not as dire as it sounded.