I know it's taking so long for me to write chapters nowadays, but good things come to those who wait. Many thanks to everyone who reviews my stories - I'll try and reply to them from now on :)

"The dancing winds create a powerful tempest.
There is silence as the four seasons reveal a shadow from outside, in the boundary,
My eyes flicker, I am the Scarlet Onlooker."

'Queen of Rose ~Shinku no bōkansha~' - Kana Ueda (translated from Japanese)

While Tegryn was reacquainting himself with his own body (and listening to Charlotte timidly explaining just how he got that small but surprisingly sore hand-print on his cheek), Darcy was being helped up by her sisters in evil. She was feeling decidedly groggy at this point - the strain of the body-swap reversal coupled with the sudden revelation beforehand had taken their toll. She warily kept half an eye on Tegryn to gauge his own reactions, but to her relief he seemed completely oblivious to the mysterious voice that had bugged her during her stay in Alfea.

As she watched him, she gingerly patted her hands over her own body as if to check everything was in order. So far so good... until she reached her waist, that is. She stopped and glanced down to be greeted by a slight, almost inperceptible bulge over her belt-line.

"What the hell?" she growled as she warily pinched the flesh that sat over her hips. "Are these... love handles? He's given me LOVE HANDLES!? TEGRYN?"

He turned and looked at her, confused.

"What's up?" he asked.

"What's up? WHAT'S UP?!" she raged. "You've given me love handles, that's what's up! What the hell have you been doing with my body?"

"Erm... oh, that. Well, you see, you guys didn't have anything decent to eat for breakfast, so I magicked up a few doughnuts..."

"Doughnuts!?"

"...bagels, éclairs, Chelsea buns, custard tarts, fudge brownies, banoffee pie... oh, and a few bars of chocolate."

"What?! Are you insane? It took me years to get my figure just the way I wanted it?"

"Really?" Tegryn asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.

Darcy glared at him, her anger close to reaching its peak. "Is that it? 'Really?' Is that all you've got to say?"

"Well, I... erm... yeah, I guess so. I don't see what the big deal is, personally."

That flippant remark was the final straw. "I'LL KILL YOU!" Darcy yelled as she lunged at Tegryn, only to be restrained by Icy and Stormy who were both stunned by the unusual response by their normally cool and collected comrade. Darcy momentarily calmed down, and opened up a portal once Icy and Stormy had loosened their grip. Silently they trooped off, with Darcy pausing to turn and fix Tegryn with a steely glare.

"Just you wait, Tegryn. I'm going to make your life a living hell" she scowled before disappearing, leaving a crowd of bemused (and slightly amused) onlookers. even the normally stoic Principal couldn't help but be amused.

"Wow!" Musa exclaimed. "She's really got a strop on! Anyone would think it was her time of the month."

"No, that was last week," Tegryn casually replied. The three fairies stepped back in shock and stared at him.

"But... oh Teggy, how on Majix did you cope?" Musa asked.

Tegryn held out his hand, a look of disgust creeping onto his face as he relived those awful days. "Please Musie, don't go there, alright? Just... just don't."

"Whoa. Was it really that bad?"

"Let's just say she's not going to be too thrilled when she sees her laundry basket," he replied to a chorus of Ewwws. "Honestly, I don't know how you girls cope with crap like that - periods, bras..."

"Bras?"

"Yeah. It was actually rather embarrassing. Stormy had to help me out a few times. I could never figure those damn things out."

"Hmmm... maybe I'll let you practice when we get back to Alfea," Musa replied, adding a cheeky little wink for good measure.

"Oh pur-lease!"

The group turned to look at the source of this disquiet - the two freshman witches who were skulking behind them. Morgan was visibly hating everything she had just heard, while Noire was just disdainfully shaking her head with her arms folded.

"What are those two doing here?" Tegryn asked.

"They are the ones responsible for your little... adventure," Griffin replied "Rest assured, I'll make sure they are adequately disciplined."

"Oh, don't be too hard on them," he chuckled, pleading the case for the two girls as he walked towards them. "I mean, I'm sure you gals only intended this as a harmless prank, right?"

To show his forgiveness, he placed a hand on their hands. Morgan angrily swatted it away with a snarl, but Noire's reaction was very different indeed. After a moment's contemplation, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled herself up, and planted her soft mouth upon his. He quickly pushed her away, but not before her tongue had briefly tickled his lips.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded, very aware that they had a small audience watching this unexpected turn of events.

"I suppose I should explain," she replied, running a finger across her mouth and smiling demurely. "On my home world, a man placing a hand on a girl's head is considered a declaration of love."

"What?! You can't be serious!"

She nodded.

"But that's ridiculous! And anyway, we're not in your world right now."

"Au contraire, my dear," she replied. "You are in my world now, whether you like it or not."

By now, Tegryn was getting very flustered indeed. "Look - whatever silly ideas you've got going through your head, just forget it, okay? It ain't going to happen!"

Noire shook her head. "I know it's a shock, but you'll soon come round. I dare say I can make you happier than that fairy ever could," she said as she turned and made for the exit. "Until we meet again!"

"And just where do you two think you're going?" Griffin demanded.

"Back to our dorm, of course," Morgan replied. "It's getting late and we have classes tomorrow. We're done here, right?"

"Not yet. I want to two of you in my office now!"

Morgan groaned. "What, you mean right now? Surely it can wait until morning. Laters!"

Griffin shook her head. "That wasn't a request young lady." With a click of her fingers, a small portal opened up beneath the pair of witches, sending them tumbling out of the chamber. She then turned to look at Tegryn.

"And as for you, young man - I think it'll be best if you and your friends leave now, before you accidentally marry one of my students!"

While Tegryn and the others were thanking Griffin and saying their goodbyes, Morgan and Noire had found themselves unceremoniously dumped in their principal's office. Morgan watched on in silence while her friend absent-mindedly thumbed through a couple of books.

"Okay Noire, I gotta ask you something."

Noire mumbled something, her mind clearly somewhere else.

"Were you serious with all that 'declaration of love' crap? You were kidding, right?"

"Of course," Noire replied unconvincingly, gently placing her hand on her well-rounded chest. "As if I would ever fall in love with someone like him... although you have to admit," she paused, a small smile creeping across her face, "It will be rather fun to mess with him a bit more, don't you think? Ah well, if it means forcing myself onto him a few more times, then so be it."

Morgan cringed but decided it'd be a better idea to change the subject, if only to try and restore some sanity to the conversation.

"I tell you what's pissing me off though."

Noire turned to look at her friend. "What's that?"

"It's the way Griffin keeps being so chummy with those damn fairies. I mean, they're our rivals. We should be kicking their glittery backsides into next week, not cosying up to them! What does that old hag think she's doing anyway? She should be sticking up for us, not them! Don't you agree?" she ranted, looking to Noire for back-up. What she got instead from her friend were a frantic shaking of her head and a discreet throat-slash signal. Morgan looked at her with a confused look on her face, then visibly sank as she realised what those signals meant.

"She's behind me, isn't she?"

"Yes, Fair Lady Morgan, she is."

Morgan shuddered. "Please Miss Griffin, don't use my first name in public. It's so embarrassing!"

"Enough! You need to learn that being someone's rival isn't the same as being their enemy. Faragonda and I have been rivals for decades now, but I'd never dream of harming her. Now, both of you, go over to my desk!"

The two girls sheepishly did as they were told. The principal followed them, before circling around to the opposite side and slamming a thick book down in front of them with such ferocity, it made the two girls jump.

"I take it you know what this is."

"Of course," Noire replied as coolly as she could. "It's a book. A collection of pages bound between a front and back cover..."

"Don't get clever with me young lady. Do you recognise what book this is?"

The two students stared at it, but didn't dare to say a word. Griffin sighed - she wasn't in the mood for such a flimsy show of innocence.

"This is the book the two of you got that mind-swap spell from, isn't it?"

"Ooh yes, it is and all!" Morgan replied as she peered closely at it. "Where did you get it from?"

"The big question is, where did you get it from? This book belongs in the restricted section, accessible only to seniors and staff."

"Ah."

"So I'll ask again - where did you two get it from?"

"We, erm, found it lying around on a table."

"Oh yes? And you decided the sensible thing to would be to read it and try out a spell? Besides, who do you think left it lying there in the first place? A Book Pixie perhaps... or maybe it was another student?"

Morgan and Noire looked at each other, withering under Griffin's interrogation while wondering just what the hell a Book Pixie was and why it would want to mess up their library. They both knew they were up to their necks in trouble, but grassing on Megan - or any senior, for that matter - would make things a whole lot worse for them for as long as they stayed at Cloud Tower. In that instant, they made the decision to keep quiet and take whatever short term pain was coming their way. Meanwhile, Griffin glared at them, enjoying just how uncomfortable the girls were getting.

Eventually, Noire broke the silence. "So, Principal Griffin... what punishment can we expect to receive?" she asked meekly.

Morgan turned her head and stared at her in disbelief. "Dammit Noire, why d'you have to be so blunt about this?" she blurted.

However, Griffin just laughed. "Punishment? Punishment?! Now why on Majix would I punish my students for showing some aptitude and skill?" Morgan and Noire's jaws dropped as their principal continued. "Sure, you both acted highly irresponsibly, but let's look at the facts - you successfully pulled off an advanced spell, and at the first attempt too."

The two girls started to breathe a sigh of relief, but that was soon cut short as Griffin continued. "However, if you EVER try anything like this again, the consequences won't bear thinking about. Now get out of my sight!"

The girls didn't need telling twice, and quickly made their way out of the Prinicpal's office.

"Phew! We sure dodged a bullet there!" Morgan exclaimed.

Noire chuckled. "Fair Lady Morgan? Fair Lady!?"

"Sssshhhh! not so loud!"

"But how did you end up with such an un-witchy name?"

Morgan groaned. "Back home, it's the custom for parents to celebrate for a week when a baby is born, then name it at the end of that week. Trouble is, most of the time they end up getting completely drunk and giving their kids stupid names, just for a laugh. And once a name is given, you can't ever change it. We're stuck with it for life!"

"Sounds... interesting."

"You could say that. That's why we usually go by our surnames rather than our first names. I remember, one of best friends from primary school had the most embarrassing name ever."

"Oh yes? Let me guess - Spotty? Fatso? Fuzzy Lumpkins? Princess Angelina Contessa Louisa Francesca Banana Fana Bo Besca the Third?"

"What!? Nope - Dave."

"Dave?!"

"Yep!"

"Well that's hardly embarrassing."

"It is if you're a girl!"