There was a loud thud as the doors to the suite opened later that night. Amber lifted her head to see the girls back, the fire fairy with them. The blonde girl thought they would be happier to find her, but instead they seemed distracted and troubled.

"The headmistress will take care of the Burned One, Bloom." Aisha told the redhead, who remained silent as she walked to her room.

Amber immediately snapped to attention. A Burned One? That was not possible. Nobody had spotted one in years — they were practically considered to be gone. Until now, apparently.

"She won't leave it in the First World. Don't worry. Your parents are safe." Aisha tried to reassure, but it seemed to have little effect.

"Thanks." The fire fairy replied and left to her room.

"You saw a Burned One?" Amber asked, looking at the three girls.

"It was chasing Bloom," Musa told her and Amber frowned in confusion.

"To the First World? Why?" The Burned Ones never got close to the First World, almost like they were bound to the Otherworld. So why would it chase her there?

"We are not sure," Aisha answered, looking at the blonde with slightly narrowed eyes. She was still mad at her.

"Maybe it's because she's a changeling?" Terra suggested and Aisha shot her a look.

"The fire fairy is a changeling?" Amber didn't bother to hide her perplexity.

"She has a name," Aisha rebuked, and Amber rolled her eyes. "Besides, it's best that we don't mention it to anyone else outside the suite. If Bloom is willing to talk about it, then it's her choice."

"Where is Stella?" Musa asked, noticing the missing girl.

Amber gave her a shrug and simply replied, "She left. I suppose she didn't want to spend the night here."

As they were getting ready to go to sleep, the doors to the suite were opened once again. Only it wasn't Stella who came back, but Miss Dowling. She appeared calm and collected as if the night events didn't affect her at all.

"Gather around, girls," She called loudly.

Bloom came rushing from her room. "Is everything okay? Did you stop that thing?"

"Yes, I've locked it in a secure place. Your parents are safe." Miss Dowling answered, but then her gaze hardened, "What happened today, should not have happened. The barrier exists for a reason, and for your safety, you need to stay inside. I don't want to think what could have happened had I not been there."

"If something like that happens again, I want you to tell me immediately." She looked at each girl before she continued, "I know there have been rumors around, but for the sake of not causing panic I'm asking you to keep what happened tonight in private until we have sufficient information to formally announce to the other students."

The girls took in her words, glancing at each other warily.

The headmistress sighed, "I know what you have seen must have been forbidding but I suggest all of you try to get some sleep. We have a class tomorrow morning."

With that, the fairies nodded and went back to their rooms.

~~~

The morning's sunlight blinded Amber as she woke up and she realized she had forgotten to draw the curtains the night before. Looking to her left, she saw that Stella hadn't come back from wherever she had run off to.

After Amber finally got up and got dressed, she went to the kitchen area in the Main Room. Only to find Musa there already. Musa turned around to look at the blonde and then poured something into a cup. She handed it to Amber, "Tea?"

With a murmur of thanks, Amber grabbed the cup from the girl's hand, and took a tiny sip.

"Not bad," She noted, and the dark-haired girl gave her a surprised look.

"I think it's the nicest thing you've said since we met." Musa said with a teasing tone.

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it," The blonde commented. Musa raised her arms in surrender and turned to pour herself tea. Amber could see Musa watching her from the corner of her eyes. She didn't know if Musa was trying to analyze and read her emotions, but she tried to focus on positive things or think of the tea she was drinking as she lightly blew on it to cool it down.

When Musa spun back to look at Amber she asked, "Has Stella come back? I didn't see her."

Amber lowered her drink and felt a slight buzz rushing through her.

Tap, tap, tap.

"She'll be here. In three, two, one—" And as accurately as Amber counted, the Solarian Princess suddenly walked into the Winx Suite. Musa, quite shocked by Amber's prediction, glanced at Amber and then back at Stella.

"Oh, that outfit's so similar to yesterday's. Same designer?" Musa mocked, leaning at the wall as she looked at Stella's slightly disarranged appearance.

"Do you know how I feel about that joke, or should I tell you?" Stella gave her a fake smile. "Where's Bloom?"

"Well, she had a rough night. Thanks to you." Musa answered, "A Burned One was chasing her near the gateway,"

"A Burned one?" Stella asked with disbelief.

"I didn't think those things were real, but we all saw. It was creepy as hell." The mind fairy told her, shuddering slightly, "It looked like it wanted to kill her."

"What about my ring?" Stella demanded. However, Bloom walked in before Musa could reply.

"That burned thing took it." She admitted, regretfully.

Amber took another sip from her tea, already sensing how things were about to escalate. Losing a crown jewel, as special as this one, would make Stella see red.

"What?" Stella exclaimed.

"Calm down, Princess." Musa responded, earning a glare from Stella.

"Don't tell me to calm down, and don't use my title as an insult."

"Wait, are you actually a princess?" The redhead asked, sounding awestruck.

"Yes, I am, actually." Stella answered angrily, "My mum is the queen, and the ring you lost is one of the crown jewels of Solaria. That might not mean much to a First Worlder. Feel free to ask your suite-mate how big of a screw-up that is."

"Almost as big as giving it to her in the first place." Aisha remarked as she walked into the room. "Dowling has the creature locked up, which you would know if you were here last night when she gave us an earful."

"And if people knew there was a Burned One even in the First World temporarily... disaster." Musa added, looking at Bloom.

"I didn't tell her that I lost the ring, and I'm sure if we do, then..." Bloom tried to suggest but was interrupted by Stella.

"We will do no such thing. I will figure it out after class, but for now, no one says anything to anyone." She practically ordered and started to walk toward hers and Amber's room. "And can someone make sure that Terra knows that? She can never keep her mouth shut."

As she opened the door to the room, she found none other than Terra, who had somehow managed to sneak into the room to change her clothes.

"Got it!" Terra said and gave her an awkward, small thumb-up gesture as she pulled a red overall dress above her clothes.

"So, how did you know exactly when Stella was going to come?" Musa asked, diverting the conversation to Amber.

The blonde let out a sigh, her breath creating tiny ripples on the surface of her drink.

"Every time you walk you create a bunch of vibrations that travel through the ground. I'm an earth fairy which means I can sense them. Especially when you stomp all over the Main Room at 6:00 AM in the morning." Amber explained, aiming the last part towards Aisha.

"Hey, I'm being quiet." Aisha tried to defend herself.

"Yeah, well, the floor would argue with you." Came Amber's annoyed response.

"But how could you tell it was Stella?" Musa continued, looking at her curiously.

"I can't always tell, it depends on how far they are and if I'm familiar with them enough. With some people it's more distinct but not always accurate." Amber elaborated as the other girls looked at each other.

"I guess we better walk on our toes around you," Bloom commented, her tone joking. But the smile vanished from her face as the earth fairy turned to look at her with a sharp gaze.

"Yes. You better."

~~~

"Magic lives in the very fabric of nature." Miss Dowling began, circling around a stone that was placed in the middle, "And here in our circle of stone, it's magnified. The Vessel tests your ability to channel that magic. Later, you may learn to connect with other elements, but your first year is all about the element you were born with."

The headmistress looked at the students around her before she called Terra to come to the middle. "Earth. Soil, sand, rock, and all manner of plant life." The brunette's hands hovered above the Vessel as plants began to grow from its crystals.

Aisha was called next, "Water. The lakes and oceans of the world, or the molecules that exist in all organisms around us." When the dark-skinned girl placed her arms, bubbles of water seemed to slowly appear out of thin air above the Vessel.

Then, came Musa. Whose eyes shone the moment she touched the Vessel. A ball shape of ripples cut through the air, it was almost invisible but with a touch of magenta. "The mind. Thoughts, memories, dreams."

A girl, Beatrix, as she presented herself, walked towards the stone. "Air. Speed, temperature, sound. Its power and electrical properties." In a matter of moments, electricity traveled effortlessly between the girl's palms, and she looked up to Miss Dowling with a pleased look.

"Whatever your element, the emotions underlying it are the same for all fairies." Miss Dowling explained and then nodded for Bloom to walk forward.

Bloom placed her hands on each side of the Vessel as Miss Dowling continued to instruct, "Open yourself up to the magic of the world around you. Push past your doubts. Focus on clear, positive feelings."

Despite her guidance, nothing seemed to have happened. Hushed murmurs started to spread within the circle.

"How about your parents?" Aisha tried to advise, "Focus on how much you love them?"

"It's not working." Bloom said, glancing up from the Vessel to Miss Dowling.

"Stop thinking. Magic comes from—"

"Emotions. I've been listening. I know what I'm supposed to do." Bloom replied, trying to get her magic to work.

"This is a disaster." Musa whispered, but it was loud enough for Amber to hear. And if Amber heard it, Bloom must have, too.

"It's not happening. Can you please move on?" The redhead finalized.

Miss Dowling, almost reluctantly, told her to go back to her seat. And then Amber was called.

The earth fairy looked at the crystals and then at Farah, who nodded at her and gave her a signal to begin. With a deep breath and a swift glance at her bangle, Amber placed her palms above the vessel. She felt its energy tingling in her hands and slowly, rocks started to appear, splitting and multiplying in the air with Amber's guidance.

It felt good. It was the first time since she had arrived at Alfea when using magic felt right.

But there was also something deeper. Something tingling at the back of her head. Burning at the edges of her heart. It almost felt like a calling.

It pulled her in and by the time she realized what happened, the rocks crumbled into pieces and dust, and the ground was shaking. Tiny cracks began to form on the stones around them, and soon everyone noticed.

Amber pulled her hands away from the Vessel, almost stumbling as she took a step backward from the center stone. With the incantation at the tip of her tongue, Amber was about to put her hand on the bangle and activate the charm, but before she could, Farah placed her hand over the emerald gem, looking at her with a reassuring look.

The headmistress glanced at the fairies around her, "In spite of all, the Vessel is still just a vessel. It amplifies and condenses the magic within the stones. It's expected of fairies to try to link to those stones, but very uncommon for first years."

Yes, uncommon. As if Amber hadn't heard the word enough times in the past year.

_______________

So season 2 is almost here! I'm planning to binge it as soon as it's out because I'm so excited!! FYI we're getting closer to the favorite chapters I've wrote this far which are 6,7&8! Hope you'll like them too!