We went to the school store and got most of the items in our list. School supplies, food, toiletries, food, bed sheets, food, a couple uniforms each so we could hang on for a little while as Ayla said we should get uniforms at Rogers' Fabric Boutique as the uniforms and clothes sold by Cecilia Rogers were the best, and damage resistant. We decided to go there the first opportunity and MJ actually said it will be fun. Oh, did I mentioned we got some food too?

We had an early dinner at high as we were both too tired to do much as it was a long day and we decided to go to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a busy day. We had to meet our Student Advisers first thing in the morning so we could choose the subjects we will enroll. I was supposed to see Dr. Bellows as my advisor, but I got a message from administration that I should go talk to Circe instead. I wonder why she chose that particular codename.

We decided to take a shower before bed and when we got to the bathroom, it was empty. I wondered what Tonni meant about a special setting for the shower heads and decided to try it out.

Damn! What can I say about the shower heads? It was mind blowing. I never knew water jets could do something like that. My legs still feel like jelly and I swear I saw fireworks. MJ tried it too and her face had the same look as mine. Now I understand the word afterglow.

We were changing for bed when I noticed that the only thing I had to wear was that sickly cute HK pajamas. I knew I forgot to buy something at the store. With a sigh I put it on and MJ commented how cute I looked in a pink HK pajama. I know it is cute and comfortable and all but that makes me feel uneasy. I feel like every time I put on something cute one more piece of my former masculinity is stripped away from me.

Sleep didn't come easy as it started to hit me that basically this is home now for most of the year. MJ was having similar trouble until she climbed down her bunk bed and laid down on mine with me, snuggling close and spooning with me. After that we fell asleep in no time.

Monday February 18, 2007

I woke up at 7:00 am by MJ screaming and my alarm clock was playing the most horrendous Brass Monkey song. I quickly turned it off as MJ was trying to calm down.

"What the heck was that?" She exclaimed.

"A band called Brass Monkey."

"How can you listen to that... that monstrosity?"

"I don't. That's the only thing that works for me as an alarm in the mornings."

"You are not going to keep using that... that... stuff as an alarm. I almost had a heart attack."

"And how am I supposed to wake up in the mornings?"

"I could wake you up doing this." She said and kissed me passionately.

"I... guess... that... would work." I said still breathing heavily after our lips parted.

"As long you don't put that monstrosity on I'll keep waking you up in the morning."

"Promise?"

  

  

We went to the bathroom and there were already a line to use the showers.

"Good morning." I heard someone say behind us. I turned around to see Nikki and Chou walking in.

"Good morning." MJ and I said back to them.

"Is it like this every morning?" I asked them.

"The line? Pretty much." Chou said.

"How was your first night at Whateley?" Nikki asked.

"It was hard to sleep at first. But after MJ decided to snuggle with me I slept like a baby."

"Me too, until I woke up to the most horrifying alarm clock ever."

"It can't be worse than Ayla's Brass Monkey music in her alarm clock." Chou said.

"That's exactly what it was." MJ said.

"Finally someone with good taste in music." Ayla said leaving the shower with a tower wrapped around his torso. "I am pleasantly surprised, Mel. It was time for someone else around here recognize their musical talent."

"Ayla, I'm sorry to tell you this, but I actually can't stand them. I use their music in my alarm clock because it is the only thing that worked until now." I told him.

"Oh." It was all he said with a look of disappointment on his face and moved to a sink to brush his teeth.

After I took my shower a few minutes later Ayla was still in front of the sink.

I was drying myself and asked Tonni that was waiting in line. "Good morning, Tonni. Does Ayla always take that long to brush his teeth?"

"Hi Mel. Nah, he isn't brushing his teeth. He thinks he is being discreet but he is checking all the hotties around. Not that many of us care around here as the majority of the girls here are gay and do check each other out, but more discreetly."

"Oh, I see. By the way if Ayla is still a guy, why does he showers in the girls bathroom?"

"Can you imagine someone with that body in the men's room?" Nikki asked me as she left the shower. Gosh I thought she was beautiful before but nude and wet, she is just... just breathtaking.

"Y...you got a point."

"Also nobody wants to hear a bunch of Nancy boys having a fit, do we?" I heard someone say.

"He also just looks, It's not like most of us don't check out each other here. And he is more discreet than some of our more aggressive lesbians." Another girl said.

"I wouldn't mind to find out what that towel is hiding. That is so hot. I'm so jealous of his girlfriend." The first girl said.

At that point, Ayla seemed very uncomfortable and squirming. I swear I could see a tent on his towel. Oh my that’s big.

  

  

We went back to our room, changed into our new uniforms and went to get some breakfast. We decided to go by ourselves because even though the guys were great, we didn't want to intrude too much and we were in a bit of a hurry. The breakfast selection was enormous and a got a bunch of fruit salad, a few pancakes (that I covered with a lot of maple syrup) and a bow full of frosted flakes and drowned them in chocolate milk. Nothing like a sugar rich breakfast.

MJ's breakfast was somewhat different from mine. She got a plate full of bacon, one full of scrambled eggs and one with half dozen pancakes with a chocolate topping. How did I miss the chocolate topping? She also got a glass of water to drink.

"Why water?" I asked her.

"A girl have to watch her figure, you know." She said and giggled. "Actually it is for between the salty and the sweet plates. I drink a glass of water to help clean the palate so I can taste the food better without mixing up the flavors. I'm not too fond of the salty and sweet mixture."

"Oh, I see."

We were eating our breakfast when we saw Billie walking past with what looked like 5 serving trays overflowing with food. How can she carry all that without dropping anything I have no idea.

"Hey guys. Why didn't you wait and had breakfast with us?" Jade came to us and asked.

"Sorry, we were in a hurry this morning and we didn't want to intrude."

"No worries about that. You are welcome whenever you want, okay?" She told us.

"Thanks, Jade." We said.

"MJ, I wanted to ask you something. I wanted to get my boyfriend a gift and I was wondering if you think some HK boxers would be a good choice."

"Do you really have to ask that?" I asked Jade thinking no way a guy would want to get that as a gift.

"Of course it would. Just make sure you get him black ones. Those would look sexy in a guy."

Okay, did I just get transported to some sort of wicked parallel universe? Don't they have an ounce of common sense? I feel sorry for the guy. Oh well it could be worse, at least isn't for me.

"You won't believe what I found on the net last night. It's the cutest thing ever. I had to order some for Mel and I." MJ said and I had a feeling of dread.

"Oh, do tell. What is it?" Jade said enthusiastically.

"Hello Kitty tampons, and they come with the cutest bow at the end of the string." She said proudly.

NOOOOOO!!!!

  

  

After breakfast, still in shock at those disturbing news. We split to go to our respective appointments. I was walking towards Kirby Hall when suddenly my path was blocked by two boys.

"Good morning WARS fans, here is your host Peeper talking, and this morning we have here the hottest new arrival, the incredibly hot Pink Lantern and I, your host will tell you everything about her. Tell me pink hotness, what made you choose such....eeeek."

I'm sorry but I had to give the guy a atomic wedgie using my powers to make a hand pull his underwear up. That guy was so annoying and sounded like a total pervert. I felt like he could see through my clothes the way he was looking at me and that made me even madder than I already was.

I left him curled up on the floor, cupping his family jewels and yelling at the boy that was with him and went my way without saying a single word. At least I did vent my frustration a little.

I got to Kirby Hall and went to the Mystic Arts department and looked at the map to find where Circe's office was. Arriving at her office I checked my watch and was right on time so I knocked on the door and it opened by itself.

"Please, come in." I heard a voice say from inside.

I went inside and saw a woman with Greek features and black hair. "Good morning." I said nervously.

"Good morning. I assume you are Mirage Rose?" She asked me.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, I'm Mirage Rose, but you can call me Melody.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Melody. I am Circe but you probably already know that, and yes I am that Circe."

"But that would mean you're..."

"Old? You could say that I lived a very long life. I bet I look good for my age."

"Y... yes you do."

"There is no need to be nervous, I won't hurt you."

"I'm sorry, it's just that I never met a legend before."

"Just don't worry about it. You must be wondering why I asked you here. I have to say that you picked my interest. Fey came to see me yesterday and told me what she saw. Whatever it was frustrated her and disturbed Aunghadhail."

"I have no idea why. All she did was to examine one of my constructs."

"I believe it was something in it's nature that did it."

"What could it be?"

"That's what you are here for. To find out the nature of your constructs."

  

  

"I would like to cast a spell on you. It's a scan spell that will be able to tell me more about your mutation."

"Nothing, but if you give me your consent it will work better."

"Sure, you can do it." I said and she started to chant something. When she finished I didn't feel anything nor saw anything.

"This is interesting. Would you mind to summon one of your constructs?"

"Do you want a regular one or one controlled by Sue?"

"Your avatar spirit? That would be interesting. Could you do one controlled by her and a copy of that one?"

"I guess so, but only one would be controlled by her."

"That's exactly what I am looking for."

I did so and soon there was two pixies flying in the room.

"Hi. It is so cool to meet a legend." Sue said as she flew to Circe. The other one... well she flew to me, landed on my shoulder and gave me a kiss on the cheek before giggling. Talk about embarrassing.

"It is nice to meet you too Sue. Fascinating. In all my years and this is the first time I see an avatar spirit to manifest physically in such fashion." She said and looked at sue for a few moments.

"I can see that the construct is hosting her consciousness but that the actual spirit is still within you."

"Is that good?"

"It is. It means that not even the most powerful avatar could steal her away using the construct."

"Why would anyone want to steal a spirit from another avatar?"

"For power of course."

"I'm glad that it can't be done then. I'm happy where I am and I would hate to not be able to come out anymore if it wasn't safe." Sue said.

"What if there was a way for you to leave Melody and move on? Would you do it?" Circe asked her and I was shocked by it. I don't know why but the idea of losing her now feels me with dread.

"No way. I love her and want to stay here. She became like a sister to me." Sue said with conviction.

"That's good. With both of your reactions I can see you two bonded deeply."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means that over time the bond will only grow stronger and the stronger it is the harder it is for the two of you to be forcefully separated."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. I would like to take a look at the other pixie now, if you don’t mind."

"Sure." I told her.

"Pixie? Could you go to Circe and let her look at you?" Why I asked her, I have no idea.

"Do I have to? I like it here, it's comfy." She told me. Is that weird or what?

"Yes you do." I told her.

"Okay." She said with a pout and flew to Circe, landing on her stretched hand.

"Now this is fascinating." She said. "Do you have any idea what your constructs are?" Asking after examining the pixie for a few minutes.

"I thought they were illusions, but after what Nikki said I have no idea anymore."

"No, they are not illusions. What probably confused the person that did your powers testing is the Telekinetic Field on them, partially masking their magical signatures. I can see why Fey was so frustrated."

"What are they?"

"Did you notice how life like your constructs act? It is because they are real. They are structured magical constructs. They are similar to hobgoblins in nature but in a structured form and intentional."

"Hobgoblins? What are those?"

"Wild coalesced magic. They can happen when manipulating raw magical energies during a spell that is interrupted. They are out of control small magical beings.”

"And my constructs are similar to them? Is that what frustrated Nikki and disturbed Aunghadhail?"

"That's what frustrated her, she saw the resemblance but didn't make the connection. What disturbed Aunghadhail was something to do with the magical signature itself from what I can see."

"What about it? Why would it disturb her?"

"What do you know about magical signatures?"

"Just what I heard about, like every magic user has his or hers own signature, like a fingerprint?"

"That's true, but also you can determine the species or race of the user too. There are similarities between users from the same species."

"And that's what disturbed her? Why?"

"The same reason it disturbs me. Your constructs magical signatures shouldn't be possible."

"I don't understand."

"Your signature isn't completely human. It is part human and part something else. Something that shouldn't be possible to exist. Considering that Sue is a human spirit, it most certainly didn't come from her and that raises other questions."

"Which questions?"

"The source of such signature. It makes me believe that maybe Sue isn't the only spirit you are hosting."

  

  

"Sue? Do you have any idea about what is she talking about?"

"I guess so."

"Do you care to elaborate?" Asked Circe.

"I'm not sure, but I felt someone else within you when we first bonded."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her.

"You didn't ask? Seriously, I forgot all about that when we started to talk. Don't get mad at me okay?" She said looking sad.

"I'm sorry Sue. I'm not mad, just surprised." I told her calmly.

"Do you think you can contact it?" Circe asked.

"I don't know, but I can try."

"That's all I ask." Circe told me.

'There is no need to try. I am here.' A soft, feminine voice said.

'Who are you?'

'I am an impossibility, an aberration, something that should never have existed.'

'What makes you say that?'

'Because that's why I was killed. Because I was different, an aberration that would destroy the purity of the Sidhe race.'

'That is horrible. It sound like something the Nazi would have said.'

'For many of the Sidhe, humans are still considered inferior. Bellow them.'

'Do you think you could come out like Sue and talk to us? I think Circe would like to meet you and it would be more comfortable.

'If you insist.'

  

  

After I got her to send me a mental picture of how she looked like, I made her a pixie sized body. She was very pretty, She had long hair with gentle waves like mine, had fine, delicate features and her ears were slightly pointy. Other than the ears, she looked mostly human, an unearthly beautiful woman nonetheless.

"What is your name" I asked her.

"My name was Laura Downing."

"Laura doesn't sound like a Sidhe name." Sue said.

"It isn't. My father was Sidhe, my mother was human. When my father fell in love with my mother, he was banished from his Clan. They let him go because Humans and Sidhe can't procreate with each other. What no one expected was that my mother to be a what today would be called a mutant. She was a powerful sorceress and a probability warper. Her desire to have a child was so strong that she somehow was able subconsciously use her power on herself and thus I was conceived."

"It sounds romantic. Your mother must have loved you very much." Sue said.

"She did. But her pregnancy was the beginning of her nightmare."

"Somehow the others found out I assume." Circe said.

"They did. When my mother told my father she was pregnant he accused her from being unfaithful and left her. A few months later a woman from his clan went to visit my mother and after examining her, she tried to kill my mother. It seems my father went back to them and told about my mother supposed infidelity and her pregnancy and the leaders decided to investigate and if my mother was indeed pregnant from my father she was to be killed. Fortunately my mother was able to escape the attempt on her life and ran away. She kept living on the run, hiding from them."

"Talk about a dream turning into a nightmare. What about your father? Didn't he try to save your mother?" Sue asked.

"No. He betrayed my mother. My entire life we spent on the run. It was hard because of my unique appearance as we always had to keep my ears hidden. When I reached puberty my own mutation kicked in as did my Sidhe heritage. My eyes and hair turned pink and I could summon pink magical constructs. At that time my father found us. He said he had been looking for us for years and that he left the clan for good and my mother ended up accepting him back. Only a few months later he led us into a trap and my mother fought valiantly to protect me but she was mortally wounded during the fight. The last thing she did was to cast a spell that killed herself and the attackers. I could only watch at a distance as my own father stabbed my mother, trying to stop her from casting the spell."

"Oh gosh, that was terrible." I said.

"After that I spent over a hundred years running from them and ended up in the US after the civil war. For a few years I managed to leave a peaceful life as a seamstress in New York until I was found again. I was captured and tortured for months. They tried to use blood magic to control me and my constructs but my blood, hair and skin samples would all vanish. My mother used a strong magic, that she spent years developing, and cast on me when I was 7. Somehow it seems to still be active."

"When they discovered that using magic they wouldn't be able to control me, they kept torturing me, trying to break my will. They almost succeeded but in the end I decided to kill myself. They used cold iron shackles to keep me bind, but unlike them, my powers weren't completely negated although they were substantially reduced. I managed to create a bubble around my heart, and for all purposes severing it. I was losing consciousness and thinking that was that I was finally going to see my mother again when the bastards found me and banished my soul. For a long time I was in a dark place where there was nothing. I was completely alone for the longest time in the dark until one day a small spot of light appeared. That light was you, Melody. Somehow your soul reached me and then I was inside of you. At first I felt the same warmth as I used to feel when I was in my mother's arms. At that point you were starting to manifest as a mutant and the more you changed, the more shocked I got. I learned with you about Mutants, BITs and other things. It seems my eyes and hair ended up getting into your BIT, but other than that, you look exactly like a younger version of my mother."

"Is that why you didn't contact me until now?"

"What I was supposed to say? Hey, I think you are the reincarnation of my long dead mother? I was afraid of you rejecting me, so I decided to stay silent."

"I'm not sure about your mother part, we are together in this. Why would you think I would reject you?"

"Because of the pink hair, eyes and constructs. You're always complaining about them."

"I have no idea what to think about right now. It has been a shocking day and it isn't even 10 in the morning yet."

"I think we should talk again another time." Circe said. "I think we found out more than we hoped today."

"Thank you, Circe." I said.

"However we need to discuss your courses. I have a few suggestions of a course work for you." She said and passed me a piece of paper.

"Introduction to Magic Arts? Powers Theory? Powers Lab? Basic Martial Arts? Avatars I? Flight � These subjects make Algebra, American History, French and English Composition seem out of place."

I was told that the school still had to teach some of the regular curriculum and although I was
Technically a sophomore, I was enrolled as a freshman in Whateley so I had more space for some of the non regular high school classes. Dammit, does it mean I just got myself another year in high school?

I also had to choose the time for my Flight I class, either starting at 5:45 am or 3:45 pm weekdays. The choice was clear, I got the afternoon classes. MJ would kill me twice if I had to use my alarm clock and wake her up before 6.

  

  

After I left Circe's office I decided to go to my room and see if MJ was there yet. Sue and Laura were both seated on my shoulders and I could swear I heard some students nervously saying something about shoulder angels as I was waking. Why would anyone be nervous about shoulder angels?

I got to my room and MJ jumped in excitement when she saw me.

"Mel! This place is great. I got the coolest classes... Am I imagining things or there is one too many pixies with you?"

"Yeah, MJ I want you to meet Laura. She is my other avatar spirit."

"I didn't know you had two. I though Sue was the only one."

"So did I. Laura, why don't you introduce yourself?"

"Okay, mom. Hi, I'm Laura. I hope we can be friends." Shit I didn't expect that.

"Mom?" MJ asked.

"It's a long story, but she thinks I am the reincarnation of her long dead mother."

"But you are. You have her warmth and you look just like her. Your spirit feels just like hers and you were able to reach me. You even got her name."

"But my mother was the one that gave it to me." I protested.

"So did her mother. You just have a face that screams Melody."

"I have to agree with her, Mel." MJ said.

"I do too." Sue piped in.

"You are my mother and I know it." Laura said and hugged my neck. "And I'm so happy that you didn't reject me."

Her hug made me feel good, I could feel a warmth filling my whole being. I can't really explain it. What if she is right? What if I really am who she think I am?

"Awww. Isn't that sweet?" MJ said.

"They look so cute together." Sue added.

I could only sigh in defeat. In less than a week I managed to get my gender changed, got cool powers, a girlfriend, a girly girl spirit living inside of me and now I found out I am probably the reincarnation of the mother of a halfbreed spirit that is also inside of me.

What did I get myself into? Is my life going to be always this crazy?

At least now I know where all the pink came from. And you know what? I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to like it.

  

---

  
The End.... of Book One

  
Hi everyone. You know the drill, right? Comment, press the kudos button, blah blah blah blah.

Seriously, I love to hear your opinions. Even if I don't answer every single one of the comments I DO read them all and I want to hear what you thought about this silly tale of mine. Don't let the 'The End' there fool you. Mel's story is just starting and will continue on Book Two.

Hugs everyone,
Andrea.