Far away, deep in outer space, there was a distant galaxy called Magic, far from Earth. This galaxy once had nine uniquely different planets. Each planet was governed by its own monarchy and boasted its own unique landscapes and cultures. The planets lived in harmony with themselves and their galaxy. Until one day, the eighth planet, Symphoniya, began to die for reasons no one could see. Suddenly, the planet faced severe droughts, famine, and a loss of life itself. Despite the efforts of the people of Symphoniya to save their beloved home, nothing worked. With nowhere else to go, they were forced to leave and seek a new planet. They eventually found the ninth planet, said to be the home of the goddesses. Interestingly, when they landed, it was strangely deserted. They named their new home Melody and began to rebuild their society. Generations passed, and the people thrived once again in peace. Little did they know that their new home hid ancient secrets lurking in the shadows. 

The last month of the summer season had started once again for the planet, Melody. An array of celebrations erupted throughout the kingdom as the 10th of Leo was today, marking the birth of their youngest princess. As the sun began to set, the clock struck 6:30 PM, and the now 11-year-old Princess Michaela's bedroom was filled with busy servants and her nanny, who were preparing her for her first public ball. 

"Princess Michaela, please, you must stay still," the nanny pleaded with the young child. 

"How can I? It's my birthday after all!" Michaela squealed as she fidgeted more in her vanity chair. 

"Well, unless you want your updo to be crooked, I suggest you be still." Michaela let out a frustrated sigh, "Are you at least almost done?" 

"I would've already been done if you stopped fidgeting in your chair." 

"Okay. Okay, I'll be still," Michaela grumbled. The nanny softly laughed to herself when the sound of knocking filled the room, making the already nervous princess jump. One of the servants quickly went to answer the door. 

"Yes?" the servant called out as they peeked their head out into the hallway. A man stood holding a white wooden box. 

"Good evening, I have a special package from the Queen Mother for the Princess Michaela," the messenger sternly spoke. 

"Thank you, I will see to it that she receives it." The servant then took the box from the messenger and closed the door. They walked over to the nanny and, with a huge smile, they said, "The princess has a package from the queen mother." As the servant handed the box over to the nanny, Michaela quickly turned around in her chair and squealed, "Is that what I think that is, nanny?" 

"Yes, it appears so, my princess," the nanny smiled as she placed the box in front of Michaela, who was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement. As she turned to take a closer look at the box, she noticed a small letter attached to it. She, without any hesitation, ripped it open, and it read: "My dearest sweet granddaughter, I wish you a happy eleventh birthday as it marks your transition into public society. As you know, I started a tradition with you and your sisters to gift you a crystal necklace on your eleventh birthday. I am so overjoyed that it is finally time to give you yours. I hope your first ball goes smoothly and well. I love you with all my heart. Love, your beloved grandmother." Michaela set the letter down and turned her attention back to the wooden box. The top of the box had the elemental symbol of music carved into it. Michaela brushed her pale, thin fingers across the top of the box before she slowly lifted the lid, revealing a beautiful pink diamond-shaped crystal necklace with a silver band wrapping around it and a silver chain to match. 

"Oh, nanny. It's beautiful! Please, put it on me!" gasped Michaela, handing the necklace over to her nanny. The nanny let out a soft chuckle as she took the necklace and put it around Michaela's neck. The young princess quickly turned back to her vanity mirror to look at herself. 

"I think there's just one more thing that's missing," the nanny slyly stated. Michaela gave her a confused look. The nanny turned to one of the servants and nodded. The servant, smiling, handed the nanny a beautiful tiara. As Michaela turned to face the mirror again, the nanny placed the tiara firmly on Michaela's head. Giving Michaela a tight squeeze on her shoulders, she added, "Now you look like a proper princess." The nanny gave Michaela an encouraging smile as she then kneeled to her level. The nanny softly took Michaela's hands in hers and looked up into her light blue eyes. "Now it's finally time for you to make your way over to the ballroom. As you know, this will be the last night I see you, as you are a big girl now. I want you to behave and be the proper princess that I taught you to be." With tears pricking the sides of her eyes, Michaela nodded. 

"I will make you proud, nanny," Michaela promised her. The nanny cupped Michaela's cheek in her hand. 

"I know you will. Now you'd better get going." With those final words, one of the servants escorted Michaela to the ballroom.  

As Michaela approached the ballroom door, she noticed that one of her older sisters, 12-year-old Yue, was standing by the door. Hearing the clicking sound of Michaela's heels on the wooden floors, Yue turned to her sister. She quickly gave her a bright smile and waved. Michaela, a little too excited, raised her arm in the air to wave back as she picked up the pace in her steps. This new pace would seem to have been too fast for the young princess as she stepped on her pink floor-length dress with her shoe. Unfortunately for her, she lost her balance and tripped over her other foot, causing her to fall onto the floor. Yue faced, palmed as she shook her head in complete disbelief. 

"You are the most clumsy person I have ever met," sighed Yue as she walked over to Michaela. Michaela looked up at Yue with a very frustrated and upset look, practically pouting. "Hey, be glad that it was me who saw you fall and not Layla." Yue then extended her hand out to Michaela. 

"Yeah, she would never let me live it down," agreed Michaela as she took her sister's hand. 

"No, she would not," laughed Yue. "How did you even manage to fall in the first place?"

"It's these stupid high heels," huffed Michaela. Yue shook her head again as they started to walk back to the ballroom door. 

"Mother told you they were going to be too tall for you." With her face all scrunched up, Michaela snapped her head to look at Yue and huffed, "Well...Stella said they would make me look taller!" 

"So, you look taller, but you can't walk in them, that's great logic there. How are you gonna walk around tonight?" 

"I'll manage, okay! Besides, like Stella always says, 'Beauty is pain, ' huffed Michaela. Hearing her name being announced, Yue turned to Michaela before she left. 

"Well, try not to fall on your face during the party, okay?" Yue smirked as she looked back at her now-angry little sister. Michaela angrily stuck her tongue out at her. Just as Yue went to leave, she quickly stuck hers out right back at her with a light chuckle. Michaela let out another annoyed huff. I'll show her! She straightened her tiara just before the announcer called out her name.  

"Princess Michaela Tracey Northwood, youngest child of the royal crown of Melody," the announcer called out to the crowd of nobles and royal people from across the galaxy. The two guards opened the ballroom door, revealing the stunning princess, who descended the marble staircase with as much grace and poise as she could muster. Her still shaking hand gripped her flowing pink ball gown with its glitter design shining differently with every step she took. When she reached the bottom step, she did as she was instructed in practice; she gracefully took her seat next to Yue. 

The gaze of the crowd falls upon the king and his family, who are perched on their thrones with an aura of authority. 45-year-old King Oritel rose from his throne and addressed the partygoers with a kind and laughing voice, "Thank you for attending this important occasion, as it marks not only the birth of our Princess Michaela, but also tonight she officially joins public society. With that being said, let the ball begin. Please enjoy yourselves." The orchestra began to play, and lively music and laughter filled the ballroom. The princesses got up from their thrones and disappeared into the crowd. Michaela, as could be expected of someone so young, targeted the sweets spread out on the banquet tables. Her nonbinary friend from school, 12-year-old Billie, surprised her just as she scarfed down half a plate of frosted sugar cookies. She spun around with a plate in hand and a mouth full at the sound of their carefree laughter. As she looked up, she found herself only inches away from their untamable dark brown curls and their ocean blue eyes. 

"Billie, you came!" squealed Michaela as she hugged them tightly. Not watching what she was doing, she almost dropped her plate. She stumbled to catch it in time, and in the process, she lost some of her cookies. Michaela quickly dropped to the ground to pick them up. "Oh, my goddesses! How embarrassing," she whispered under her breath. Billie could only chuckle as they helped her pick up the rest of the cookies. 

"Goodness, why did you get so many?" joked Billie. 

"Don't judge me!" Michaela glared at them as she soon realized how close their faces were to each other. She could feel her face getting hot. Michaela tried her best to look away, hoping the strands of her long black hair would cover her very red face. Billie gave her an intriguing look as they picked up the plate and gave her their hand. Michaela shyly took it as Billie smirked, "You know, I was gonna ask if the birthday girl would grant me a dance, but it seems she is too busy stuffing her face." Billie began to laugh just before Michaela punched them in their shoulder. 

"Ow!" Billie gasped in pain as they began to rub their now sore shoulder, but Michaela only smiled back at them. "You think this is funny, don't you?" 

"Maybe, just a little," laughed Michaela. "So, are you going to ask me or are you gonna keep holding that plate?" 

"Oh," Billie sheepishly replied, looking down at the plate that they just now remembered was still in their hand. "Yes, of course." They quickly threw the plate away and turned back to Michaela. With a cheeky, sweet smile, they bowed and extended their arm to her. "Princess Michaela of Melody, would you do me the honor of a dance?" Michaela's pale white cheeks flushed bright pink once more. It took her a minute to find her composure once again, but eventually she took their hand. Billie directed her to the dance floor and pulled her close into a slow waltz. Michaela could feel her heart almost beating out of her chest. What's wrong with me? It's just Billie, so why am I feeling this flustered? Michaela thought to herself. She looked back up into Billie's blue eyes, and they gave her a sweet smile. She blushed once more as she lowered her eyes away from theirs. 

"You're a very good dancer," Michaela remarked shyly. 

"Thank you, my mother taught me to dance," Billie responded as they spun her around. 

"You're-." Just as Michaela started to say something back, it was interrupted by the doors of the ballroom slamming open and the tall glass ballroom windows shattering. People all around them started to scream in terror. Not thinking Michaela clung onto Billie. Dark purple smoke swirled around the top of the ballroom stairs. The guards backed away, fearfully, but their weapons were drawn. A young woman, who looked around 30 years old, appeared as the smoke dissipated. She had long, jet black hair, deep purple eyes, and a very odd-looking black and dark purple tunic on. 

"Ah, a party! Why wasn't I invited?" she gasped as she placed her hand on her chest. "It looks to be someone's birthday." Her gaze went over towards Michaela and slyly smiled, "Princess Michaela." Michaela's eyes widened as she clung to Billie even more. The strange woman cackled as if she were insane, happy to see that she caused the princess fear. 

King Oritel angrily emerged from the crowd and shouted, "How dare you interrupt this happy occasion! Who are you?" The woman then looked around her, placing her hand over her chest again. 

"Oh, how rude of me," she gasped with an air of mockery. "I haven't properly introduced myself." With a mockingly curtsy, she slyly smirked, "My name is Gotha." 

"Well, Gotha, speak your business here!" Oritel demanded. 

"Oh, but of course, your majesty." Gotha smiled once more and continued to say, "I'm here for your precious Diamond Crystal." 

"I know not what you speak of! You will leave, now!" Gotha's face turned to disappointment. She clicked her tongue and shouted back, "Don't lie to me, King Oritel! I know you know exactly what I speak of, and you will hand it over to me!" She gave him an evil glare, her purple eyes like daggers. 

"Like I stated before, what you seek isn't here! Now, if you value your life, you will leave at once!" Oritel glared right back at her with a firm stance. 

"Oh, I'm not leaving until I get what I came here for! If you, too, value your life and the people here, it would be in your best interest to do what I say!" The tension within the ballroom was immense, but was cut by a young woman stepping forward. 

"You heard the king! What you seek isn't here! Now I order you to leave! Guards!" the woman yelled. The two guards who were beside Gotha pointed their weapons at her, and she just smiled and shook her head. 

"And here I thought we could do this peacefully. I do hate getting my hands dirty," Gotha remarked. With the nod of the woman, the two guards then charged at Gotha. She gave the woman a confident smirk before she threw her arms out, knocking the two guards off the stairs as if they were nothing but rag dolls. As Gotha walked down the stairs, she scoffed, "Oh, little Taylor. You have no idea who you are dealing with, my poor girl." The 21-year-old shuddered at the fact that this strange woman knew her name, but quickly shook the feeling away. She held her ground with a strong, confident glare. 

"Obviously, you don't know who you're dealing with either!" Taylor yelled back as she closed her eyes. Her body began to lift off the ground as she was consumed by bright red fire. Her outfit changed, and she grew big red and black glittery wings as she had transformed into her fairy form. 

"Oh, I see you're a fire fairy. And here I thought you were actually going to be a challenge," mocked Gotha. 

"Trust me, I will be. Ring of fire!" Taylor spoke as she cast her spell. She waved her arms around, creating a circle of fire in front of herself. She then pulled her arms towards her chest, and she pushed them forward, releasing the spell at Gotha. She disappeared from where she was once standing, and she reappeared behind Taylor. 

"Is that all you got, Crown-Princess? Complete Darkness!" Gotha shouted as balls of darkness collected in the palm of her hands. She tossed it at Taylor's back before she could even react. The spell smacked Taylor down, and Gotha just laughed, "Pathetic!"

The ballroom erupted into chaos as people began to flee to safety. Within the chaos of Taylor and Gotha's fight, Billie grabbed Michaela's hand. 

"Come on, Michaela! We have to get you out of here!" Billie quickly told her as they pulled her to follow them, but she tried to pull away from their grasp. Michaela looked worriedly at her older sister, Taylor, and protested, "No, what about Taylor? She needs help." Billie huffed and pulled her forward again. They gave her a comforting tone, "She'll be fine. I promise." Just as Billie said this, two of Michaela's older sisters, Tylee and Stella, ran to Taylor's aid. "Look, your other sisters are coming to help her, but we need to get you out of here." Michaela nodded and finally followed behind them. Stepping in front of Taylor, the 20-year-old Tylee screamed, "Leave my sister alone!" With this, she and Stella transform into their fairy forms. 

"More stupid fairies, I see! You're going to regret this!" Gotha frustratingly shouted at them. Flying up in the air, 18-year-old Stella scoffed at Gotha, "Hey! Your clothes are like so 2,000 years ago! Sunburst!" A burst of light shot out of Stella's hands, hitting Gotha. 

"You will pay for that! Black hole!" Gotha yelled as she crossed her arms over her chest. She threw them back out, releasing the spell towards Stella. Tylee quickly jumped in front of her younger sister as she blocked the attack with air magic. 

"Took you long enough!" Stella huffed at her sister. Tylee gave Stella a very annoyed and shocked look in return. 

"Really? You're complaining after I just saved you!" Taylor then flew up in the air, throwing another fire spell at Gotha.  

"Not the time, guys! Now, would you help me instead of arguing!" Taylor shouted at them as the spell she threw knocked Gotha back. She slammed her hand against the floor and glared at them with such hatred. 

"That's it! I have had it with you, stupid little fairies! I will not be stopped!" Gotha stood back up as her adrenaline skyrocketed. She cast a dark spell at Tylee that threw her into a nearby wall. She then turned to Taylor and cast another spell that threw her into the thrown chairs. Her attention swirled around to Stella, who was now alone. Taylor, who was trying to get back up, shouted out with her arm outstretched, "Stella, watch out!" Hearing this from Taylor, Michaela turned her eyes back to the fight going on. Her frantic eyes went to Stella. Before Billie could even react, she yanked herself out of their grasp and ran towards Stella. 

"Michaela, what are you doing? You're too young to fight!" yelled Billie as they tried to grab her hand back to stop her. They sadly didn't grab her hand in time, and she was quickly gone. Billie turned on their heels and ran after her. As Gotha threw her most powerful spell at Stella, who was now already back on the ground, Michaela jumped right in front of her, taking the full brunt of the spell. Eyes widened, Billie, with their arm outstretched, screamed, "MICHAELA!" They could only watch as Michaela's small body was engulfed in the dark spell. The spell's energy was so powerful that she was flung across the room, slammed into the banquet tables, and finally smacked against the wall behind them. Billie's eyes filled with tears, as Stella could only lie there, shocked. Billie took no time to rush to Michaela's side. Gotha stood proud at her work as her evil eyes fell back onto the crowd of fearful people. 

"Let this-" She pointed at Michaela. "-be a warning to you all! You haven't seen the last of me, royal family of Melody!" Gotha stepped back as a cloud of purple smoke swirled around her, and she disappeared. 

Everyone came out of hiding as they were relieved that the nightmare was finally over. King Oritel and his wife, Moon, emerged from the crowd of people. The two parents rushed to their daughter's side, who was in the arms of Billie. 

"Michaela! Michaela, come on, please wake up! Open your eyes, please!" Billie cried out, shaking her limp body. At the sight of her beloved daughter's seemingly lifeless body, Moon gasped as she put her hands over her mouth. Meanwhile, Oritel knelt and checked Michaela's pulse. He sighed in relief as he turned to his wife. 

"She's alive, but we need to get her medical attention. Billie, give her to me," Oritel ordered softly as he reached for Michaela. Billie looked at the king with such despair. They turned back their gaze to Michaela and whispered a silent prayer as they finally let go of their grasp on her body. Oritel immediately scooped Michaela's limp body into his arms and ran off to get her help with Billie and Moon following closely behind. As this was happening, the crown prince of the planet, Faiadora, ran to his wife, Taylor, side. He knelt to her, giving her a quick look over. 

"Are you okay?" Ezume asked as he cupped Taylor's face in his hands. Taylor gently placed her hands on her 22-year-old husband's and gave him a soft smile. As Ezume helped her up off the ground, Taylor answered, "Yes, I am fine. I am just going to be very sore tomorrow, but nothing that a healer and rest can't fix." Tylee and Stella quickly ran to their sister. 

Taylor, are you alright?" Tylee asked Taylor nodded as she gave her sister a thumbs up. Looking over the utterly destroyed ballroom, Stella noted, "I can't say the same for the ballroom, though." They all looked around the room. Everything was completely destroyed as the windows were shattered, the furniture was thrown all over the place, and there was an array of food, dishes, and other things all over the floor. With a shake of their wings, the three sisters transformed back into their normal selves. 

"Man, that woman was so tough to fight," commented Stella as she glanced over to the spot where Gotha had disappeared. 

"Agreed, I have never fought anyone that powerful before. What's weird is that I didn't recognize any of the spells she used on us either," Taylor added as she rubbed her sore body. 

"Neither did I, and did you see how she was dressed?" Tylee noted. 

"Yeah, she looked like she was from centuries ago," scoffed Stella. "I personally wouldn't be caught dead wearing such old clothing." Stella flipped her blonde hair with her hand as Tylee and Taylor rolled their eyes. 

"Sadly, Stella is right. No one in the galaxy wears clothing like that, so where could she have possibly come from?" Ezume questioned. 

"She also knew my and Michaela's names. This can't be good," sighed Taylor. 

"I am sure father and his council will be able to figure everything out," Stella reassuringly pointed out to Taylor. 

"Agreed, but come on. We should probably see how Michaela is doing," Tylee softly suggested. They all nodded to one another and headed to Michaela's bedroom.  

As they entered the room, they saw their parents and Billie standing at the foot of Michaela's bed. The royal doctor and healers were busy tending to the princess. Taylor slowly approached her mother, "Will she be okay, mother?" Moon turned to the royal doctor, who had walked over to them. 

"Well, doctor? How is she?" Moon questioned. The royal doctor let out a heavy sigh, "I'm going to tell you straight. She's been badly injured and is very lucky to be alive. She has a few broken ribs and slight bruising on her brain. I have bandaged her up, and I will keep an eye out to see if the swelling in her brain has gone down. What I am more concerned about is the effect of the negative energy from the spell she was hit with on her body. I've never seen energy like this before. It is quite foreign, but as she is still very young, I am afraid her body isn't showing good signs of being able to fight it." Moon let out a heavy sob as she grabbed her husband's hand. 

"W-what.....what does this mean, doctor? Is-is my daughter..." Oritel could barely keep his composure. 

"I am not going to lie to you, your highness. As of now, I just don't know. As I stated before, this energy...it's nothing like I have seen before. Sadly, the healers and I have done everything we can do for the young princess. We will continue to monitor her closely, but we can only wait and hope that her body's natural energy can combat the negative energy. You need to be prepared for the possibility that she may never wake up." Moon buried her face in Oritel's chest and began to sob uncontrollably. "I'm sorry; I wish I could give you better news. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to check on the princess." Oritel nodded, "Thank you." With that, the royal doctor and healers bowed and left the room. 

"Taylor, we should probably head back home," Ezume whispered in her ear as his hand rested on her shoulder. "Unless...you would rather we stay?" Taylor's gaze turned over to her sobbing mother. 

"No, we should stay. I can't leave my family in this state," Taylor answered with a heavy sigh. 

"Father, we would like to stay here until Michaela has recovered," Taylor softly told her father. He nodded, "Thank you, you can stay in your old bedroom. And make sure you see a healer and rest up. That goes for all three of you."