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Chapter Text

Salena sat in her chair as her stylists were doing her hair and makeup. She was getting ready in her beachfront Malibu mansion before going to the premiere of her latest movie. She needed to look her best, and Alika and Alessandra were the best stylists around.

Alika and Alessandra appeared before Salena with a clothing rack full of dresses. Alika presented Salena with a short, strapless dress with ruffles with a smile. Salena politely shook her head. Seeing this, Alessandra had a new idea. She took a dress from the rack and stood behind the other dresses, out of Salena’s view. Sparkles gently flowed from her hand as she changed the colors of the dress she was holding. It was now pink and a deep purple with a sparkly belt. She walked back in front of the rack and presented the dress to Salena, who smiled and nodded.

Alika was looking at a towering rack filled with accessories. She was looking at all of the accessories with a concerned look on her face. These wouldn’t do. She shrugged and reached her hand into her magical purse that was perched on her shoulder. She first pulled out a big hat, but that wouldn’t do. She then pulled out a roller skate, which was definitely not for the occasion. Finally, she pulled out a pair of sparkling earrings and went back to where Salena was sitting. Alika felt proud of herself when Salena was clearly pleased with the earrings. Alessandra selected a clutch that would match with the dress.

Alessandra and Alika had dozens of open shoeboxes in front of them. They would take turns pulling out pairs of shoes and showing them to Salena, who politely shook her head with each pair. Alika pulled out a pair of light pink heels, but shook her head and put them back in the box. She opened another box to find a pair of silver heels, which made Salena light up at the sight of them.

When the full look was complete, the three of them went to an open room with several windows looking down at the beach. They could see the setting sun behind some palm trees. Salena did a confident strut and a small turn, causing Alika and Alessandra to high five each other. The three linked arms and headed off to the premiere.

Once the sun was set, the red carpet was out, and the big sign with Salena’s name on it was set up, paparazzi and fans alike flooded the place. Salena would be arriving in a limousine with her boyfriend Luke, who was also an actor. In the meantime, the media wanted to know who was behind all of Salena’s iconic looks.

“Silia Kapsis here at the premiere of Salena’s latest movie! Where top stylists Alika and Alessandra are sharing their secrets for dressing a superstar! Alessandra, Alika?” Silia extended her hand to let them talk into the microphone. Alika prepared to speak into the microphone while Alessandra was looking around at all the people.

“I can sum it up in one word, Silia.”

“Noa!” Alessandra cut her off before she could say the word.

“Noa?”

“Look! It’s Noa!” Alessandra pointed over to a paparazzi member. Sure enough, it was Noa, taking pictures. “Let’s say hi, it’s been forever!” Alessandra grabbed Alika’s wrist.

Alika didn’t want to move. “Alessandra, I’m on camera. Alessandra!” Alika was pulled away, leaving Silia alone.

“Wait! What about the one word?”

“That one word is: TEYA.” Teya grabbed Silia’s hand and held the microphone to her hand and looked into the camera. Silia was taken aback, but wouldn’t let the opportunity go to waste.

“Teya! Hello!” Silia turned to face the camera. “I’m here with Salena’s co-star: the one and only Teya! Teya, we’re so thrilled you could make it!”

Teya laughed and flipped her hair. “Oh, I wouldn’t miss it, Silia. It gives me a chance to keep in touch with all my adoring fans!” Teya walked over to a group of fans and approached a little girl holding a notepad and pencil. Teya grabbed it from her and signed it.

“Hey! That’s for Salena!” The little girl snapped at Teya as she took back the notepad. Teya gave her a dirty look, looked back at the reporter, gave a forced laugh, and poked the girl on the face with the pencil before dropping it.

Teya moved away from the little girl and turned to Silia. “You know, Silia? The best part of this movie was working with…”

“Salena!” Silia shouted. A limousine pulled up in the background, which everyone knew would reveal Salena and her boyfriend Luke. Teya turned towards the reporter and the limo, which had a sparkly pink license plate with Salena’s name on it.

“I did not say ‘Salena’!” Remembering the camera behind her, she switched into a kind and gentle persona.

“A great script is what I was gonna say. You can edit that together so I come off looking good, right?” The cameraman, who had a name tag that said ‘Mustii’, gave an unconfident shrug and followed Silia to the limo. Teya turned around and scowled.

The door opened and Salena appeared, wearing an elegant pink and purple ball gown. Her sparkly jewelry perfectly complemented the sparkles around her waist. People were chanting her name as Luke got out of the limo and joined her. They gave each other an encouraging look and started along the carpet, waving at fans and paparazzi. Salena walked over to where Silia and the cameraman were standing.

“Salena!”

“Hi, Silia!

“That dress is gorgeous on you! Can you take a few steps so we can see it in action?” Teya walked behind Silia and Salena with a scowl on her face.

“Of course! Alika and Alessandra are geniuses!” she said as she walked in a small circle.

Teya approached Salena from behind and stepped on the fabric with her blue heels. This resulted in a large rip, stemming from just above the back of Salena’s thigh to the bottom of her dress. Salena let out a gasp and turned around to see Teya. Teya smirked and walked away. Alika and Alessandra saw this happen and abandoned their conversation with Noa to go help Salena.

Either unaware of the situation or choosing to ignore it, Silia carried on with the conversation.

“I love it! It’s so light, so breezy!”

“It just got a lot breezier.” Salena was fighting to not have a meltdown on camera.

Alika and Alessandra entered into frame, standing behind Salena. They each got a hold on Salena’s left and right arm.

“Salena, you promised you’d come to me for a touch-up before you go on camera! We stylists are so demanding. This way!” Alika spoke while Alessandra nervously smiled into the camera and pulled the three of them away from Silia and the cameraman. Silia watched them go away but turned back to the camera.

“This is Silia Kapsis, live at the Sunset! Back to you, Martin!”

Salena, Alika, and Alessandra were by themselves away from the fans and paparazzi.

“I can’t believe Teya purposely ripped my dress!” Teya had previously done some unkind things to Salena, but Salena was never more upset than now.

“No worries!” Alika said as she crouched down next to Alessandra, focusing on the torn fabric of Salena’s dress. Alika gently snapped her fingers, creating a steady stream of glitter leaving her hand. She moved her hand side to side along the torn fabric, letting the magic put the fabric back together. In seconds, Salena’s dress was back to normal.

“Good as new!” said Alika as she stood up and faced Salena.

“What? What do you mean?” 

“See for yourself!”

Salena was confused until she looked down at her dress to see that the rip wasn’t there anymore.

“Ta-da!” Alessandra was still crouching down but stood up and joined Alika.

“Oh, you two are life-savers! But, how did you do that?” Salena knew that these two were talented, but she was stunned. Alika and Alessandra nervously looked away from Salena, not knowing what to say.

“Look! Here comes Luke!” Alika said, grateful that she didn’t have to answer the question.

“Hey! The premiere’s about the start! Is everything okay?” Luke said as he approached the trio. Salena had a huge smile on her face.

“Everything’s great!” Salena turned around to face Alika and Alessandra. “I don’t know how you did it, but I totally owe you. Lunch at Wally’s tomorrow?”

“Sounds like half-price glitter flats!” Alika had a unique way of saying yes.

“Now go see your movie!” Alessandra chimed in, clearly saying yes to the offer as well.

Salena turned around, took Luke’s arm, and the two of them headed off waving to the crowd.

Once Salena and Luke were gone, Alessandra and Alika connected their thumbs and wiggled their fingers to create a small fountain of glitter.

“I saw that.” Noa appeared behind them, not surprised at what they were doing. Alessandra was happy to see her.

“Noa! Sit with us at the movie?”

“Uhh, I have to go back. Fashion pictures!” she said as she held up her ornate phone. “For Princess Blanka. Enjoy the movie!”

“Okay. Great to see you! Alessandra and Alika smiled at her before walking away to where Salena and Luke were standing.

“Yes. You too.” Noa said as she took a few more pictures of Salena and Luke before leaving.

Chapter Text

Noa and Princess Blanka were in a private room in Blanka’s castle. Noa was using her phone to project the pictures she took last night at the premiere. A picture of Teya smiling and having her hand on her hip was on full display as Blanka held her goblet and Noa pranced around proud of herself.

“So what do you think?”

“Noa, it’s just a human movie premiere.” Blanka drank the rest of the violet drink and put the goblet on the table in front of her. Noa smiled as Blanka’s eyes turned into a deep shade of maroon. Noa used her hand to change the picture of Teya into a picture of Luke.

“Who is that?” Blanka was completely mesmerized by him. “He’s beautiful!”

“Oh, I don’t know. Just someone at the premiere, I guess.” Noa couldn’t hide the big smile on her face.

“I’m….in love with him! I MUST marry him!”

Noa was acting cocky. “Completely understandable, Princess. Consider him all yours.”

***

Salena, Luke, Alika, and Alessandra were seated together at Wally’s, each with their own milkshake. Salena sat next to Luke and Alika and Alessandra sat next to each other.

“Salena, last night’s movie was incredible! You and comedy are like, a miniskirt and knee-high boots: perfect together!” Alika always compared great things to anything that was related to fashion. Salena took a spoonful of ice cream from her milkshake and ate it, only to slam her spoon on the table and put her fingertips on her temples.

“You prefer ankle boots?”

“No. Brain freeze.” Salena’s eyes were shut tight.

Luke started eyeing Salena’s milkshake. He put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

“Ooh. Bummer.” He said as he took a spoonful of her milkshake and gave a ‘shh’ gesture to Alessandra and Alika. Salena caught him in the act and intentionally let out a dramatic gasp

“You are such a thief!” Luke turned away from Salena and ate his spoonful of ice cream. Alessandra and Alika smiled and rolled their eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Salena.” Luke said as he kept the ice cream in his mouth. “En garde!” Luke started using his spoon to mimic a swordfight, and Salena laughed as she played along. Alika and Alessandra looked at each other and shrugged.

“Hey, Salena” their mini sword fight was interrupted by an unexpected appearance from Teya. “Fun time last night, great to see you ripping things up”. She did a small gesture with her hands to mock her before mouthing ‘call me’ to Luke. She turned around and pranced out of the restaurant. Salena was visibly annoyed.

“That’s it!” Salena stood up from where she was sitting.

“Where are you going?” Luke’s mouth was still full of ice cream.

“To stick up for myself! What she did last night is so not okay. And I’m gonna call her on it.” Salena set out for the exit.

“Wow. Teya’s been sniping at Salena for ages, but Salena’s never told her off. Is it bad that I totally wanna watch?” Luke’s question made Alika and Alessandra excited.

“Race you to the door!” said Alessandra as she bounded out of her seat and followed Salena, only just ahead of Luke and Alika. The three of them abandoned their milkshakes and tried to leave the restaurant as fast as possible, not wanting to miss out on anything.

“Teya!” Salena followed Teya into the parking lot while Teya was acting all snooty and confident. “We need to talk!”. Salena caught up to Teya and Teya turned around.

“Really? Whatever about?” Luke, Alessandra, and Alika just turned the corner.

“I can’t believe that you purposely ripped my dress!”

“Ha, right. I can’t believe you put your dress under my shoe!”

“You wanted me to look bad!”

“You don’t need me for that.”

“Teya, this HAS to stop.”

Teya and Salena kept arguing while Noa appeared in the scene from above. She was with Princess Blanka and two other guards at the palace, all hovering at a safe distance from humans.

“There he is, Princess.” Noa gestured over to where Luke was standing with Alika and Alessandra, too engrossed in the argument between Salena and Teya to notice there were fairies not too far from them. Blanka didn’t care about any of the girls below her. She was too focused on Luke.

“You. You’re perfect .” She gave the gesture to her guards and they flew down to him as fast as they could. The guards took his arms, the three humans taken aback by what was happening in front of them. Blanka appeared to Luke once the guards had a hold on him.

“We’re going to get married! ” exclaimed Blanka, like it was the greatest thing that was about to happen to her.

“WHAT!?” Luke thought he was dreaming. Teya and Salena heard him say this and they turned around to see what was going on.

“Back to the palace!” Blanka flew off into the sky and was followed closely by the guards carrying Luke. “HEY!”.

“Ken!” Salena and Teya exclaimed in unison.

“AHH! Let me down.”

“Let him go!” Salena ran after the group of fairies as if her legs were an equal match for their wings. Noa had a pair of wings as well and followed the three fairies.

“Noa! What’s going on!?” Alessandra exclaimed. Salena and Teya didn’t know that Alessandra and Noa knew each other. It was likely that Alika knew Noa as well.

“You heard her, a wedding! Isn’t that beautiful? Gotta fly!” Noa headed off in the same direction as the other fairies. Luke was getting more nervous as the fairies carrying him flew higher and higher.

All of a sudden, Alika and Alessandra each did a twirl, creating a mini fountain of rainbows and glitter. They each had their own pair of wings and set off for the fairy abductors. Salena and Teya looked at each other in shock.

When Noa and the other fairies flew to a point that was high enough, Princess Blanka created a portal that was vaguely shaped like a butterfly.

“AHHH. Hey, I can see my house from here. AHHH.” Luke was barely able to finish his scream before being pulled into the portal. Salena let out a loud gasp and Teya stood next to her in shock. Alika and Alessandra approached the fairy that ordered the other fairies around.

“Princess Blanka! Stop!” Alika exclaimed. Blanka turned around to face the duo.

“Stay away. You do not get to spoil my wedding day.” She turned and went into the portal. Noa, who stayed behind with Blanka, gave a little smirk to Alika and Alessandra before entering the portal. Alessandra and Alika bolted to the portal, but it disappeared before they could go through it.

“No! She closed the portal!” The two of them had no choice but to go back to where Teya and Salena were standing. Teya and Salena looked at each other when the two fairies got back on ground and made their wings disappear.

“Alessandra, the fairy phone!” Alessandra proceeded to open her purse that was hanging from her soldier. She first pulled out a skateboard, then a toaster, then a mini device that was shaped like a butterfly. She handed the mini device to Alika. Alika pulled the wings of the butterfly apart to reveal a small screen. Salena and Teya ran over to them. Alessandra turned to face them.

“I, you, you, you flew!”

“What are you?” 

Alessandra was scared to answer the question. “Um, I don’t know what you’re talking about. It…must have been a trick of the light!”

Teya was not impressed. “A trick of the light? You. Flew. With four other girls! And they took Luke with them? How could that be a trick of the light?”

Alessandra had no choice but to tell the truth. “Um, it can’t. But that’s what the Fairy Handbook says we’re supposed to say if we’re caught!”

“The Fairy Handbook?”

“Pfft. What’s that?”

“It’s a handbook for fairies, and…” Teya and Salena exchanged a look.

“I, uhh, Alika? This isn’t going very well.”

“Ugh. Too many apps!” Alika was too busy on the fairy phone to help Alessandra.

“Hey! Hold on! What do you mean by fairy handbook?”

“Wait! I got a signal!” Teya could feel herself getting frustrated. “Nope, lost it.” Alessandra was getting frustrated too by the fact that she had to answer Teya’s questions by herself.

“Did I say fairy? I, uh, meant dairy handbook! Never can tell when you need to make cheese?” Alika was behind Alessandra, holding up the fairy phone as it was making beeping noises. “Alika? A little help here?

“I’ve got three bars! Everyone freeze!” Alika pulled up a map on the fairy phone. “Got it!”. She finally looked up from the phone to look at Alessandra.

“Alessandra, forget it. We can’t give them an excuse after what they saw. Salena, Teya, it’s time you learned the fairy secret. Alessandra and I are fairies. So are those other girls.”

Teya wasn’t satisfied by this response, even as Alessandra nodded her head as Alika was talking. “Ooookay?”

Alika continued. “You see us all the time, you just don’t realize it because we keep our wings hidden. We come from Gloss Angeles and…”

“Woah, woah, woah. Gloss Angeles?” Salena started laughing. “I totally get this now. We’re being pranked.”

“Pranked? The studio must have set this up to promote our new movie.” This was probably the first and last time Salena and Teya would agree on something. Teya walked away from the rest of the group and started looking around for cameras. “Where are the cameras, can we do another take? I’ll give you way more of another take.”

Alika continued again. “This isn’t a stunt, we’re real fairies! I’m a shoe fairy, Alessandra’s a purse fairy, and Luke’s in real danger.”

“What kind of danger?” Salena was starting to take them seriously.

“Humans can visit Gloss Angeles, but Princess Blanka said she was marrying Luke. And if a human comes to Gloss Angeles and marries a fairy, that human has to stay in Gloss Angeles forever! Fairy law!”

“So if you’re real, and Luke really is in trouble, how do we save him?” Salena was wary of this sentence. Teya did flirt with Luke from time to time, but Salena really couldn’t tell if she was sincere.

“We?”

“Yeah we! Luke is my friend too!” She turned back to the fairies and asked how. Salena thought that Teya was a pathological liar.

“We go shopping!” said Alika as she held up the fairy phone to show a picture of a large building. Salena and Teya exchanged a glance and timidly smiled at Alika and Alessandra.

Chapter Text

Blanka got out of the portal, followed by Noa and a terrified Luke still being carried by the two guards. They entered into a room with high ceilings and ornate gold decorations. Luke still thought he was dreaming.

Noa flew slightly away from the group and took out her phone. “Okay! First couple pictures! Get together and say ‘fairies!’”

“Fairies!” Blanka was happily posing with Luke, her hands on his shoulders and chest. They took a few more pictures, all with an ecstatic Blanka and an uncomfortable Luke.

“Love it!” Noa put away her phone.

“Look, can you guys let me go already?” Luke was getting more uncomfortable by the minute.

“As you wish, darling.” Once Blanka finished giving the command, the guards let go of Luke. Luke was screaming and flailing his arms. Blanka blew him a kiss, causing glitter to follow him to the bottom of the room and make a net. Luke nervously laughed when he realized that he was all right.

“Gentle with my fiance .” Blanka flew down to get to Luke.

“What!? Okay, look. I don’t know who you are, or what you are, but you’ve made a mistake! I’m not marrying anyone. I’m-”

“Andrew!” Luke stopped talking to turn towards Noa to see what she was talking about.

“YOU!” Luke looked up to see a figure, presumably Andrew, pointing an accusatory finger at him. Andrew gallantly flew up and struck a pose. Noa was gushing and snapping several pictures. 

“Hi Andrew.” Andrew paid no attention to Noa as he flew down to meet Luke and Blanka.

“You thief!” Luke fell back onto the sparkly net out of surprise. “You plan to steal my love, Princess Blanka?”

“...No?”

Blanka stepped forward. “Yes! I’m going to marry…” she stepped over to Luke. “Uh, what’s your name, sweetie?”

“Luke.”

“Lukas!”

“LUKE.”

Blanka pulled him off the net.

“He is the love of my life! And we’re marrying at sundown.”

“WHAT!?” Noa smiled at Luke’s response.

“So, you think you’re man enough to marry my Blanka?” Andrew was circling Luke.

“No! Uh, I mean uh, sure am man enough.” Luke saw it as more of a compliment to himself rather than a testimony of his love for Princess Blanka. He saw Andrew’s face and instantly knew that Andrew assumed the latter. “No, no, no! I don’t wanna marry Blanka! I’m in love with someone else!”

“*gasp* Lawrence! How could you say such a thing?” Blanka was crying. “And on our wedding day!” She collapsed on her knees and let the tears fall. Andrew gave a dirty look to Luke.

“Oh come on, don’t cry.” Luke ran over to Blanka. “It’s Luke, and look, haha! I don’t even know you!”

“You dare besmirch the honor of the loveliest flower in Gloss Angeles?” Andrew was sizing up Luke.

“No! There’s no besmirching! I would never besmirch! I don’t even know what that means.” One of the guards from earlier was now standing on the ground behind Luke. “Can one of you pinch me? Because I’d really like to believe I’m dreaming right now, and, OW!” He looked behind him at the guard who pinched him, and she just shrugged and smiled.

“I challenge you to a duel! We will fight to see who’s more worthy of Blanka’s love!” 

Blanka was no longer crying and stood up from where she was crouching. “A duel for my hand? That’s so romantic? We’ll have it right before the wedding.” She flew away before Luke could interject.

“No! No we are not!” He turned towards Andrew. “I don’t wanna duel with you.”

“So you think that my love for Blanka isn’t worthy of a duel? You insult me, sir!”

“I’m sorry. Believe me, it’s not my intention to.”

“And for that insult, I challenge you to a duel!”

“Again?”

“So, you think I’m not bold enough for two duels? And for that, I challenge you to a third duel!

“Oh, why not! I wasn’t doing anything after the second one anyway.”

Blanka reappeared to make an announcement. “Attendants! Gather weapons and help them prepare!”

One guard gave Andrew a staff. Andrew took it and stood valiantly while Noa swooned over him. Another guard gave Luke an identical staff, Luke not knowing what to do with it.

“Goodbye, my darling. I’ll see you at the duel.”

“Ahhh, you’re leaving me here? With him?” Andrew was stretching out his neck, unaware of Noa's obvious crushing going on right behind him.

“Oh don’t worry, he won’t hurt you.”

“Oh okay, good.”

“Not until the duel.” Andrew made a punching gesture with his hands, causing Luke to freak out and stumble backwards. “And even if you get pounded and pelted and pummeled, I promise that I will still marry you. So there’s really no losing, is there, Duke?” She kissed his cheek and flew away. Andrew growled at him, showing off his perfect teeth.

“Wait! Blanka!” Luke dropped his staff and ran after her. She flew through a door that closed before Luke could run through. He ended up running into the door and bruising his nose.

“My nose! And on my wedding day, too. Oh, what am I saying? Blanka!” Luke started pounding on the door. “Let me out of here!”

***

Alika, Alessandra, Salena, and Teya arrived at the same building Alika showed on the fairy phone. It turned out to be a clothing store. Salena and Teya initially didn’t know why they had to shop for clothes before rescuing Luke from a bunch of fairies, but they decided not to ask about it unless they were told why. Teya was holding a giant stack of dresses and added a short blue dress to the very top.

“Teya! Come on!” Salena was holding one dress as opposed to Teya’s dozens.

“On my way!” Teya hastily grabbed another dress and followed Salena. Alessandra and Alika were busy looking at dresses for themselves.

“Alika and Alessandra said just to grab something so we blend in. We’re not actually trying things on.”

“I know, but these all look so cute . I bet Luke would flip for me in this red one on top, what do you think?” Salena spun around and gave her a dirty look.

“What?” Teya shrugged and looked away. The two of them followed Alika and Alessandra to the lady behind the cash register.

“May I help you?”

“Yes. We’d like your finest fitting room, please.” Alika and Alessandra repositioned their hands and wiggled their fingers to look like butterflies letting out glitter every time they flapped their wings.” The lady lit up at the sight.

“Right this way!” Alika and Alessandra winked at each other before the four of them followed the lady. The lady stopped in front of a room with a glittery dress on display. “You’ll want this one!”

Salena was skeptical. “Uh, but this looks like it’s being used.”

Alessandra politely corrected Salena. “Doesn’t it? Haven’t you noticed that there’s always one stall in every fitting room that’s always closed even though no one’s ever in it?”

“Yes! That’s a fairy thing?”

“Right! A fairy flyway!”

“So that means that the fitting room attendant is,”

“Yes, a fairy!” said Alika as the attendant made the same butterfly gesture with her hands.

“Ugh, can we go in already? Like, before these clothes go out of style?” Teya was getting impatient.

The fitting room attendant opened the door to the fitting room. Alika was up first. “Let’s do this!” Alessandra got in the fitting room after her, followed by Salena. Teya was having trouble with holding up her giant stack of dresses. “Okay, okay, I got it!” she said as she almost knocked over Salena. The attendant closed the door.

The four of them were whisked away by a bright light and trail of glitter, leaving the dresses they picked out on the floor of the fitting room.

Chapter Text

Salena, Teya, Alika, and Alessandra walked out of a butterfly-shaped portal. Salena and Teya were in awe of the night sky unveiled before them.

Teya slowly walked away from the group, eyes following a shooting star. “Where are we?”

Salena was familiar with the city skyline. “No, we can’t be. Is this….Paris?”

“Mhm! We’re at the tippy top of the Eiffel Tower!” Alessandra let out her signature giggle. Teya wandered over to the edge, careful not to fall off.

“We are? We’re in Paris!” Salena seemed to not at all be scared of how high up she was. “But…how?”

“The flyway. Flyways are fairy shortcuts to spots all over the globe!” Teya turned around to face Alika when she was done talking.

“Greeeeeat. Some reason you decide to take us to a spot with no safety rail?”

“We had to come to Paris. It’s home to the one Gloss Angeles store Blanka couldn’t look at: the personal portal of La Zarra!” Teya was confused whereas Salena lit up.

“La Zarra, the famous fashion editor? I know her!”

“*cough cough* name dropper.”

“I’m not dropping names, Teya. I’m just saying I know her. She came to a fashion show at my aunt’s.”

Alessandra made sure Teya wasn’t going to interrupt before talking. “She’s also the oldest and wisest fairy living in the human world! Want to see her again?”

“Sure! But, uh, how are we going to get down? The elevator doesn’t even go up this high.”

Alika had a mischievous look on her face. “Who said anything about an elevator?” Alika and Alessandra each spun around, letting a rainbow and glitter cover their bodies until sparkly wings appeared. Teya panicked at the sight.

“No. No, no no, oh no, no no no no. No plane, no fly.”

“You’ll love it. Honest!” Alessandra was her usual perky self despite Teya refusing her and Alika’s plans.

“Uh, what if people see us? I thought that wasn’t okay. Fairy law, right?”

Alika chimed in. “It’s dark, and we’re not flying far. No one will see us.” The fairy duo walked to the edge and positioned themselves. Salena would be flying with Alika and Teya would be flying with Alessandra. Salena gave Alika a worried look.

“You’re sure that you can do this?”

“I’m a shoe fairy! The more fabulous my shoes, the stronger my magic. Check these babies out!” Alika lifted up her heel to display a pair of ornate pink heels that crept up past her calves. Salena could tell that they were unique.

“Oooooh. If I had to trust my life to one pair of shoes, it would be those!” said Teya. Salena was surprised, since the style of shoes that Alika was wearing didn’t match up with her current wardrobe tastes.

“They give me enough magic so we can fly together when you hold my hand.” said Alika as she extended her hand towards Salena.

“And my purse comes with flying power and a matching belt! Ready?” Alessandra extended her hand to Teya. 

Teya and Salena turned towards each other, Salena happily nodding and Teya shaking her head. Salena took Alika’s hand, noticing a gentle burst of glitter. Alika flew straight up without letting go of Salena, gently guiding her into the air. Alessandra took hold of Teya’s hand and did the same.

“Oh no. Wait!” Teya was already in the air. Alika and Alessandra readied themselves and sped down the Eiffel tower. Salena and Teya held on tight as they screamed.

Teya and Salena were each still screaming a little when they started flying over the city. The city was still alive, to some extent. It was so dark that the streetlights and window lights did little to illuminate streets. There were some cars driving about, but the four of them couldn’t see any people. Salena noticed that they were flying away from the busy tourist destinations next to the Eiffel Tower.

Salena and Teya calmed down a bit and started to enjoy the breeze and scenery.

“We’re flying! We’re really flying!” Look, how beautiful!”

“This is definitely the way to see Paris!”

“Hold on!” Alessandra warned, interrupting Salena and Teya. Alika and Alessandra picked up speed and turned onto another street.

***

“AEAEAAAAAEAAAAAUAAAAAAA!”

“Louis! I heard your horrible scream! Did Andrew start the duel early and hurt you?” Blanka flew into the room out of nowhere, almost knocking over something and hitting Noa in the process.
“No. Your attendants put me in armor that’s way too tight! I don’t suppose you have a can opener handy, do ya?”

The attendant that was helping Luke before flew up right beside him and shoved an ornate helmet entirely of gold, matching Luke’s armor perfectly. Andrew, who had Noa help put on his armor, was giving Luke a dirty look.

“Ow!”

The attendant just smiled at him and shrugged.

***

Alika and Alessandra were flying over a series of quiet bridges over a stretch of water. The fairies flew over a few of them, then flew under a bridge to be just above the water. Salena put her hand in the water to create a little stream. The water felt nice and cool against her hand. Teya stuck her hand in the water when seeing what Salena was doing. They locked eyes for a split second before Alika and Alessandra flew higher and away from the water. Salena knew every one of Teya’s smiles because of how nasty they all were, but Salena had never seen Teya smile like that before. It must have been the only genuine smile to ever reach Teya’s lips.

“I know La Zarra lives somewhere in this neighborhood.” Alika said as they rounded a corner.

“That must be it.” They reached a building with lavish glasswork and towering buildings. The place was fully lit, so the four of them landed on the large balcony. Salena recognized the building, so they were in the right place. Salena stepped forward and knocked on the balcony door.

“Ms La Zarra?”

A woman wearing an elegant white suit went to the door. It was late at night, but she was still immaculately styled. Her makeup and hair were neatly done with no imperfections in sight.

“Ah, enchanté! Salena!?” Clearly La Zarra wasn’t expecting to see her, let alone with three other girls.

“Hi Ms La Zarra!” Said Alika and Alessandra in unison while doing the sparkly, butterfly-like gesture that all fairies did to show they were fairies. La Zarra did it back to them.

“Ah, fairies. Alessandra and Alika, oui?” The two fairies answered back in unison. Teya rolled her eyes.

“Eh-hem?” She stepped forward, expecting something from La Zarra.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

“Apparently not.” Salena gave Teya the side-eye, but Teya didn’t notice.

“Ms La Zarra, we have a problem, and Alika and Alessandra thought you might be able to help.” Salena could see from the corner of her eye that her taking over and doing the talking made Teya annoyed for some reason.

“Perhaps I can! Come in.” She gestured to the door and the four of them went inside. 

The inside was full of detailed furniture that was very French and most definitely was really expensive. Salena and Teya also noticed the plethora of things that could potentially contain fairy magic. The five of them sat down at a gold table, but soon enough they were lifted into the ground. Teya was too busy wondering why it still felt like the table and chairs were still on the ground to pay attention to what Salena, Alika, and Alessandra were telling La Zarra. It didn’t take long for La Zarra to catch up on what they were saying.

“So Princess Blanka flew off with Luke and said she would marry him?”

“And closed all the portals, except yours of course.”

“Hm, of course. And of course I’ll let you use it. But you might need something more. Hmm. Did you notice the color of Blanka’s eyes?”

“Yes, maroon! The perfect match to a sweet pair of boots I bought last week!”

“Maroon? But Blanka has brown eyes!”

La Zarra lit up. “A-ha! Then she HAS taken the love potion!” Alessandra gasped.

“A love potion?”

La Zarra thought for a moment before making her wings appear and flying away to a nearby shelf.

“The potion adds a little red-the color of love-to the eyes. Red turns blue eyes purple, and that’s how you can tell for all other eye colors too.” With a wave of her hand, a secret compartment popped out. “I used to dabble in matchmaking, so I might still have, uhh, oui!” She exclaimed after grabbing a gold bottle and turning around. She flew back to the table. “Not much left, but enough for one dose. Here. Release this mist directly above Blanka so it can rain down on her. That will break the potion’s spell.” Salena looked at the gold bottle. There was hardly anything in it.

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go!” exclaimed Teya as she quickly turned to get out of her chair, only to remember that she was no longer sitting on the ground. Salena used her free arm to grab Teya’s arm just before Teya fell out of her chair and onto the ground. La Zarra was impressed.

“Nice catch. I think you are good friends , yes? You seem to work well together.”

“We do!?” Teya and Salena were both taken aback by this statement.

“Oui, you do!” La Zarra finished her sentence with a wink. Salena and Teya awkwardly readjusted themselves, refusing to look at each other. Alika and Alessandra exchanged a glance. “Now come. I’ll take you to my portal.

The five of them found themselves to be walking down a long corridor with ornate doors lining the walls. Salena and Teya could see that there was some type of fairy magic that disguised the portal. Salena was walking by the doors and reading their titles, Teya walking close behind her.

“Rodeo Drive, Fifth Avenue, Shanghai. Are these all Fairy Flyways?”

“To my favorite shopping spots. For those times when I just can’t wait.”

“I so know that feeling.” It was the first time in a while since Teya had said anything.

“You’re not going with them, are you? I thought you were banned from Gloss Angeles.”

Alessandra looked panicked. “You know!?”

“You are?”

“We are?”

“ Why? ” Salena was tempted to reprimand Teya for how she said it, but now was not the time.

“It’s a long story, but we’re going back anyway.” Alika sounded a little less confident than she normally was.

“But you’ll face years in the dungeon if you’re caught!” La Zarra was concerned.

“Friends stick together, especially when things are rough.”

“Exactly! Salena has always helped us, so we’re going to help her. And Teya. Is it still okay if we use your portal?”

“But of course.” La Zarra turned around and waved her hand, causing large doors to open. Alessandra and Alika walked towards the portal. Salena and Teya stayed a little behind.

“Going up.”

“Going up? But how? We’re in a penthouse, there’s no such thing as up.”

“Like there’s no such thing as fairies?” Salena turned towards La Zarra.

“Exactement.” said La Zarra. Salena smirked at Teya, who made an annoyed ‘bla bla bla’ gesture. They both rolled their eyes and got into the portal with Alessandra and Alika.

Just before they were about to teleport, the four of them took turns saying their goodbyes to La Zarra.

Alika: “Take care, La Zarra. Nice shoes!”

Alessandra: “See you soon!”

Teya: “We really appreciate it.”

Salena: “Bye, La Zarra. Thank you”

“Bonne chance! Be careful!” La Zarra started waving as soon as the portal doors closed and the four of them went up as if they were in an elevator. They went through a butterfly silhouette that was larger than the Fairy Flyway they used from the clothing store.

The four of them walked out of a butterfly silhouette. What laid before them was an array of floating islands holding architectural styles they’d never seen before. They were standing on a floating island far away from everything else they could see. There were no clouds in the sky, but the sky had many other colors besides blue. From a distance, they could see several other people getting around with wings.

“Salena, Teya, welcome to Gloss Angeles!”

Chapter Text

Salena and Teya were gaping at the city that lay before them. Salena was pinching herself like she was in a dream. Teya walked over to the edge of the secluded platform the group was standing on.

“How far down is the ground?”

“The ground?”

 “If I fall, I’m not just going to fall forever, right?” Teya kicked some leaves and watched them flutter away. She turned around to face Alessandra, who was just smiling at her.

“Oh. There is no ground.” She turned away from where she was standing to join the rest of the group.

“That’s okay. We’ll just hold on to Alessandra and Alika, like we did before.” said Salena.

“On a rescue mission? That’s too risky. If it’s trouble, you might have to fly on your own, you two.”

“Okay, no problem, we’ll just fly on our own! We can’t fly on our own” Teya was more pessimistic than Salena, as usual.

Alika just smiled. “Not yet.”

“Oh, goodie! We get to go to Wings & Things!” exclaimed Alessandra. Alika then joined her in a little song with choreography.

“When humans need some fairy things, fly them down to Wings & Things!” Teya glared and Salena smiled when they finished up with some laughter. Salena turned to Teya and nodded while Teya staunchly shook her head now. Despite Teya’s protests, Alika and Alessandra positioned themselves next to Teya and Salena and prepared for flight. Teya calmed down a little, knowing exactly what to expect from flying.

The four of them set off for the rest of the floating islands of Gloss Angeles. The breeze felt nice and the view was almost peaceful.

“Okay, now I’m starting to get worried about the no-ground thing.” said Salena. Teya agreed with her, the second thing they’ve ever agreed on. Alika pressed on, confident that she and Alessandra wouldn’t let go of the girls.

“Wait until you experience the air-evator!”

“The air-evator? What’s the-”

Teya and Salena were suddenly whisked away into what could only be described as an air tunnel. Teya and Salena were screaming and holding on tight to Alessandra and Alika. Salena thought the wind blowing them around made it seem like a hurricane. Teya forced her eyes to stay open. After a few minutes of screaming and worrying about letting go, the four of them were pushed out of the tunnel. Alessandra and Alika were unbothered and kept flying.

“See, wasn’t that fun!?” exclaimed Alessandra, who didn’t care about the possibly abnormal heart rates coming from the two non-fairies.

“Uh, not sure. Maybe if I can go back and get my stomach, and Teya doesn’t throw up, it will have been fun. As long as we don’t go to another one anytime soon, or preferably never again, I guess it was fun.”

Once Salena and Teya got ahold of their senses, they looked around to see hundreds of fairies. One woman was walking her dog, but both the dog and woman had wings so it probably wasn’t considered walking. A small restaurant and cafe were set up. Even the drinks and the trays holding food had wings. Instead of billboards, they had little advertisements and posters that functioned similarly to some of the actions on Alika’s FairyPhone. All of the fairies were wearing striking clothing that Salena and Teya had never seen before on earth. It was like a world out of a storybook jumped out of the pages and was existing solely for the two of them to marvel at. Even purses and longboards had wings. The dog from earlier was now dragging an unfortunate owner in the direction of a stray cat, who also had wings. 

“Look! Wings & Things!” Alika was pointing to a glass building that had a projection of three pairs of fairy wings. There was no door, but there was a golden ledge covered in turf grass for them to land on.

When they got closer to the building, an opening magically appeared, allowing them to enter the store and put Teya and Salena down. There were towering displays of fairy wings and a few mirrors that looked like they came directly from a storybook. A woman wearing a red dress was flying around, seemingly looking for a place to put the pair of wings she was holding. She put them into a part of the display before Alessandra shouted a bit to greet her.

“Hi, Mimi!”

Mimi turned around to face the voice and lit up. “Alessandra! Alika! My favorite fashion fairies!” She flew down to the floor and gave each of them a tight, prolonged hug. Her face that was lit up with joy suddenly twisted into concern.

“Princess Blanka had you banned. Fairy law says I should call the palace guards on you right now!”

Alessandra looked a little worried. “Will you?”

Mimi laughed. “Of course not! But be careful . Princess Blanka is a ‘passion’ fairy. Her emotions are incredibly powerful, especially when she’s angry.” A man with fairy wings walked into the room. “Nothing is stronger”.

The man who walked into the store laughed and put his arm around Mimi’s shoulders. “Our love is stronger, Mimi.” Mimi let out a laugh, and Alika and Alessandra exchanged the same knowing glance they gave each other when Salena and Luke were with each other at Wally’s. Salena saw this and realized that one thing that felt like forever ago was only a few hours ago. Mimi’s words dragged her out of her thoughts.

“Truer words had never been spoken!” The same man that was near Mimi now walked away to a different section of the store. She turned back to Alessandra and Alika. “How can I help you?”

Alika stepped aside and motioned towards Teya and Salena. “We need some wings for our human friends.”

“Hi, I’m Salena!”

“I’m Teya.”

Mimi smiled at both of them. “Hi, I’m Mimi. That’s my husband Marco.” Marco turned around and waved at the girls. “I’m a human like you girls. But I fell for him the minute I arrived in Gloss Angeles, and didn’t think twice about staying here forever.”

Salena’s smile dropped. “Forever? You really can’t go back once you’ve married a fairy? Never?”

“Nope. Never. But who needs it?” Mimi flew over to where Marco was standing and put her hands on his shoulders. “When you’re with the one you truly love, that’s home.”

Marco put his hand over one of Mimi’s. “I think Princess Blanka’s husband feels the same way.”

Salena panicked. “NEW HUSBAND!? You mean they’re already married!?”

Mimi let out one of her signature laughs. “No, no, no. Not until sunset.”

Salena let out a sigh of relief. They still had some time to save Luke. But Mimi’s words from earlier stayed with her. When you’re with the one you truly love, that’s home . Lately she hadn’t really been thinking of Luke as her boyfriend. She was basically thinking and interacting with him as if he was her best friend. She couldn’t even remember the last time they kissed.

“Oh, but you’re not here to gossip about fairy business. You’re here for wings!” Mimi spread out her arms and flew to her giant displays. “And I have the perfect pair for each of you!”

She flew around the displays, picking out a pair of black wings for Teya and red wings for Salena. Salena stood in front of a tall mirror. Mimi came up behind her and put the wings on her back, leaving a small burst of glitter. Mimi did the same to Teya. The two of them loved admiring their new wings in the mirror.

“Well, tell me you love them!”

“I do love them! Thank you, they’re incredible!” Salena and Teya talked over each other a bit to compliment Mimi. This was the third time they’ve ever agreed on anything. Teya stepped a little closer to Mimi. “How do they work?”

“You just think about what you want your wings to do, and they’ll do it!”

Salena tried first. She shakily flew higher into the air, trying very hard to not knock over anything. Once she was in the air and steady, Teya humphed and flew into the air. Instead of steadily hovering like Salena, she instead flew all over the place. She bumped into a display, fell, and landed in a pile of wings. Teya definitely had bruises, but she sat up and claimed that she meant to do that. Salena, Alika, and Alessandra laughed in response.

Alessandra looked at a clock on the wall. “It’s getting close to sundown, so I think we’ve gotta fly. Thank you, Mimi! Goodbye!” The rest of the group said goodbye to Mimi and Marco, Mimi of course enthusiastically waving back.

“Happy royal wedding day!” she exclaimed as Marco put his hand on her shoulder.

The four of them were out of the store and standing on the same ledge from earlier. “Think you can try it for real?” asked Alika as her and Alessandra started to hover. Alessandra motioned to the air. Salena and Teya exchanged a nervous glance and walked to the edge. They looked down at the vast nothingness underneath them.

“Alright, Salena. I’ll do it if you do it.”

“On three. One, two, three!”

The two of them took flight with Alika and Alessandra close behind. They were both terrified and trying their hardest to stay steady. Salena was wobbly at first but quickly got the hang of it. On the other hand, Teya was extremely shaky and couldn’t fly straight.

The four of them were soon flying over a park that was way more colorful than on earth. Salena, having gotten over her nerves, flew around a tall tree and laughed out of pure joy. Teya looked on in jealousy. Instead of gracefully flying up and around the tree, she crashed into it and landed on a giant flower. The flower swayed back and forth before involuntarily launching Teya into the air.

“We’re rocking it, Teya!”

“No. You’re rocking it, Salena! Do you have to rub it in that you’re naturally brilliant at everything?” Teya wobbled a bit when she finished her sentence.

“What!? Teya, I-”

“So now we have wings. How do we find Luke?”

“Teya…”

“What? Don’t you want to find him?”

“You know I do.”

Alika and Alessandra appeared out of nowhere. “I’m sure Blanka took him to the palace: the highest point in Gloss Angeles.” said Alika, pointing up to a building more profound and beautiful than anything Salena and Teya had ever seen before. All of it was golden and even from a distance they could see that it had very ornate details.

“Woah, that’s really high.” The three of them could see that Teya was struggling to keep herself from falling.

Alika reached out her hand. “Do you want to hold my hand to make it easier?”

“No thanks. If Salena can do it, I can do it.”