The end of December is a very special time of the year. Everything comes to a conclusion. People reflect on the past and count their success over defeat ratio. For some it may be a blessing and a very reassuring process, but not for all. Aisha was all about celebrating success and she knew the importance of sharing that with people close to her heart, yet this time it was different. 

Defeating the Wizards of Black Circle was a great success for The Winx and the whole magical dimension. Same for bringing magic back to Earth. Who would have known that Bloom wasn’t the only fairy on Earth after all? Aisha grew fond of that rookie, pink haired, brave girl they met. It was all worth celebrating and Faragonda made sure to do that by throwing a massive party. The girl tried to appear composed and happy for what her team had achieved despite how strong the enemies were but she just couldn’t feel right with the price she had to pay for that success. 

Now, when a couple of months have passed, Aisha still felt bad and couldn’t really help her thoughts surf back to that day whenever they felt like it. She couldn’t control it the same way she could form the water to her will. That was much harder but she made a project out of it. She needs to find a way to control her emotions or her magic will destabilise. It cannot happen. Her friends and family count on her. She has to tame it. 

“Hey Aisha! Wait up!” It was Musa, screaming and waving at her, trying to catch up with the fairy of fluids almost jogging through the Love & Pet shop. “What’s the rush?” she asked, tilting her head, making her long, lush, dark ponytails move like a wave. “I haven’t seen you since morning. Is everything alright?”

Musa was one of these people who felt like they could read your mind. It was pointless to lie to her as she could detect the smallest off key note in your voice. Aisha sighed and said: “Yeah… I didn’t feel well. I don’t feel right today. Sorry.” She turned her head away so her thick, brown hair could cover up her face a bit, so the tear that had started running down her cheek could not be seen. 

“I see…” Musa said, tactfully acting like she hadn’t seen that. “I can take the afternoon shift in the shop today if you need more rest.”

“Thank you, Musa! I appreciate it.” said Aisha and started to walk away, faking a faint smile to appear that everything is alright. She picked up her pace to vanish in her own room, when she heard Musa screaming again: “Remember that we’re supposed to be at Vanessa’s Christmas Eve dinner next week! Do not plan anything!”

Planning. The old Aisha would write it down in her calendar to keep it in order, though right now she didn’t feel like it. She stopped planning anything a while ago. How can you plan anything after losing everything? What’s the reason? She was starting to circle back to the day she lost her love when a phone in her pocket started buzzing. It was her mom. 

***

Aisha couldn’t believe that she’d forget about the Day of the Tides. The most important day in her kingdom. The celebration of life. She still remembered how much she was waiting for the day to come every day when she was a little princess. Especially after Anne has appeared in her life. Her true friend, who introduced her to one of Aisha’s great passions – dancing. It was Anne’s idea to introduce a special princess performance to the celebrations of the Day of Tides. It brought so much joy back then. She gave it all to the preparations and choreography, making sure the final effect is on top of her game. It was always her goal to give her best to anything she agreed on. She’d be either best or not try at all and she’d never second guess herself. Not until that day when the gift of life she was using on Nabu to bring him back was wasted on a random plant. The greatest gift of nature was ruined by Ogron and his friends. That day she not only  lost a piece of herself but also all the will to be the best. She failed when she needed to be on top of her game the most. She couldn’t help Nabu. 

All the things running in her mind made her lose track of time, so when she finally arrived at the palace, she was surprised when one of the guards opened the door to her vehicle and offered his hand to help her out. 

“Welcome, Princess Aisha. It’s a wonderful day whenever you grace this Palace with your presence.” He bowed and stood on her right, ready to accompany her further. The fairy used her magic to open the trunk, revealing one, small suitcase, embellished with iridescent seashells. The guard looked at it and glanced at Aisha. “I assume you won’t stay for long, Princess? Your parents will be saddened.” 

“They might be, but I cannot stay too long. I promised my friends to join them soon on Earth, Ileus.” She remembered his name very well but didn’t use it often. That was a good occasion to do it, though. Looking at his surprised face, she understood that this could save her from further questions. 

“Very well.” he coughed “Let me escort you to the Tea Room, where your mother is planning the celebrations” he bowed again and started to climb up the stairs, expecting her to follow. She looked up, taking in the whole glory of the Palace of Andros – all of her childhood and future. She breathed out heavily and started her way up the stairs, trying to catch up with Ileus, who was already halfway there. 

The Tea Room looked almost the same as the girl remembered. The high ceilings were ornate with stone carved waves, looking so light and flowy as the water itself. Big, arched windows were framing the southern wall, allowing all the light to come inside, making the room flooded with it. Aisha looked around, trying to notice her mother among the crowd of maids and high born ladies making sure that this year’s celebrations will be perfect. When she was young, her and Anne’s favourite activity was sneaking around them trying to stay unnoticed. Her friend was so much better at it than she was. 

“Aisha, my child!” Queen Niobe appeared from the crowd, wearing one of her big, bold gowns. This one in particular was shimmery like a mountain river, embellished with miniature crystals, formed like water drops, dripping from her shoulders just like waterfalls.”I haven’t seen you in a while.” She looked at her daughter with a worrying expression only a mother could have. “Your father and I were saddened when you didn’t join us during summer. Are you alright? You must be devastated after what has happened to Nabu. The whole kingdom is grieving that loss, Aisha.” Niobe said, embracing her into a motherly hug. 

The girl couldn’t move nor speak. Hearing his name in someone else’s voice made his death even more real. It was unbearable and Aisha would have loved to just run away crying, but she was a princess and she didn’t want to appear soft in front of all these people, who were already looking at them. She stood there, waiting for the queen to step back to bow down and thank her for the kind words. Niobe, being her mother, knew exactly what’s happening so she formed a great smile and said loudly enough for all to hear: “I expect my daughter to be tired after all the traveling. Let’s excuse her to her rooms to rest a little before joining us for dinner later on.” She leaned in to kiss Aisha on her forehead and used that opportunity to whisper to her ear “I know what you’re going through. I am sorry. You have a guest who couldn’t wait for our comeback”. She nodded and turned to join the ladies in commotion to make some final decisions. “Ladies! Please get back to work. The Day of the Tides is the day after tomorrow. There’s no time to waste.”

Aisha smiled faintly and rushed after Eeleus to the west wing, where her rooms were located. She was wondering who the special guest was, trying to form an excuse to be left alone. Ileus moved away in time to open the door to her room when she said “I got this, thank you. You’ve been very kind. You are dismissed.” and grabbed the knob herself. She turned it right and pushed the door open to see a tall figure standing near the window, looking outside. “I was waiting here for ages for you to decide to climb up the stairs. You’re that out of shape?” the person said in a familiar voice. 

“Anne! You’re here!” Aisha exclaimed, running to hug her friend. “I’ve missed you so much” she said, hugging her friend with tears running down her cheeks. Her friend hugged her back and said that she’s sorry for not being there for her, when all these things happened. “I couldn’t leave Andros due to my grandmother’s illness. We didn’t know how much time we’d have with her and my mother didn’t even want to hear about me leaving for Earth. I was devastated…” Anne took a step back and looked Aisha in the eyes. “I can see that you are still grieving, Princess. And that is okay. You can take all the time you need to do that. Don’t listen to anyone. Just please, do not alienate the ones who want to be there for you.” She took Aisha’s chin and lifted it slightly to be able to look her in the eyes. “There are people here, living, who care for you.” she smiled. The princess was conflicted about feeling happy, but she couldn’t help the corners of her mouth to move upwards. She felt a bit lighter, knowing that Anne is here with her. She needed that. Of course, she had the Winx girls, but sometimes it was too much to handle when they all tried to comfort her. This girl here was different. She just knew her so well, recognising how she felt and knowing what to say or not and when. She missed her so much. 

“Okay then. Speak to me, Aisha. I’m here for you and to listen to whatever you want to say” She smiled encouragingly.

***

The next day was pretty busy in the kingdom of Andros with all the preparations to the events happening the next day, yet Aisha decided that she could use some time with Anne. After they spent the whole afternoon and evening talking about the events they couldn’t share earlier, the princess felt a lot lighter. She didn’t know what it was, but it turned out that talking about her loss lifted some weight from it and she felt like it actually is possible to still enjoy some things. Anne explained that after her grandma’s passing, she focused on dancing the pain away and that it has helped her cope with the situation. She even came with an idea that maybe bringing back the princess performance could be a great occasion to focus on dancing. The fairy wasn’t sure at first, but when her friend agreed to support her and help with choreography, she couldn’t refuse. That is what they were doing today. During breakfast Aisha asked her parents to allow her to perform and after a surprised glance at each other, they nodded with smiles forming on their faces. 

Now both girls were back in their favourite part of the palace, the big room placed in the west wing’s tower, with big windows surrounding it and flooding the place with light. Aisha stood up from the floor and grabbed her water bottle. She came to one of the glass walls and looked at the bay at the feet of her home. Her thoughts were drifting with the waves she was watching. She felt conflicted about being here, dancing and even laughing with her friend when her world was shattered. Her face must have given it away, because Anna looked at her and started: “What’s up with the frown, Princess? You don’t like this part? We could switch the slide and turn if that would help.” 

“I don’t think it would help here, Ann. How can I do this? How can I be here and actually enjoy dancing, when he’s not with me anymore?” Aisha couldn’t help tears coming down her cheeks now. It was too late to stop this. Her friend stood up from the floor, making her orange braids dance around her shoulders and next second she was next to her friend, embracing her in arms, with her right hand on Aisha’s head, making sure she knows that she’s not alone. 

“Do not be that harsh on yourself, Princess! It is okay to be happy and sad at the same time. It is not like he would be angry with you to enjoy something after he’s left. If anything, Your Love wouldn’t be happy if he knew that you decided to focus on being sad for the rest of your life. Imagine how that would make him feel. I know that it doesn’t feel right at the moment, but it will be easier with time. it will come and go as tides, but in the end it will get better, trust me.” Anne smiled and took Aisha’s face in her hands, making sure they held eye contact. “You have me and your winx crew. We will always be here to listen. Don’t be scared to talk. You’ve seen that it helps, right?” Her friend tried her best to hold eye contact, but it wasn’t easy to her, so Anne closed her in her arms once more and let her stay like that until she felt that the tension left her body. “Let’s go back to training, shall we, Your Highness?” she bowed elegantly, holding her imaginary dress not to step on them. 

“Stop mocking me, Red!” Aisha’s voice was cracking with laughter. She felt calmer now, maybe even more energized. As if her inner battery was recharged now. She put the bottle down on the bench and tied her hair in a high ponytail. “Let’s do this!” She smiled confidently, walking towards the center of the room, while Anna started the music. 

***

Would Aisha ever think that this trip could bring her some well needed peace in this situation? No, not at all, but it turned out to be one of the best decisions she could make. Even if the time spent on Andros was short, she managed to find her way back to herself. She spent some time with her childhood best friend who turned out to give her the best advice and encourage her not to give up on herself. 

The performance went well. When the princess appeared on the stage, people were concerned, given the situation, but once she started to move and incorporate her fairy powers to enrich the choreography, they started to applaud. Once it was finished, Aisha was rewarded with a loud ovation from the crowd and white lily flowers thrown on the stage. She picked it up and breathed in the smell. She moved a strand of hair from her face and smiled widely, before bowing and leaving the scene with grace. She found Anne in the backroom and hugged her with tears in her eyes but still smiling. “Thank you for everything, Anne. I couldn’t do that without you.” Her friend moved away, still holding her hands and said: “Of course! You needed me and I emerged to my duty. It’s what friends are for.” Now it was Anne, who was crying, so Aisha hugged her friend again, hiding her smiling face in orange locks of a fancy hairstyle that Anne had done for this occasion. Maybe that is the Christmas Magic that Bloom was talking about?