A/N: Thank you for being so patient! This isn't the final chapter btw, R&R

Chapter 25: New Beginnings

Brandon´s lips parted from mine and I see him stare at me in awe.

"I always knew this was where I belong, next to you", he says casually, taking my hand.

"And I´m happy to have you…" I tell him, still not believing that any of this is real. There was a knock on the door,

"Hey guys, I´m sorry to interrupt. You didn't have anything planned did you? The girls and I were just talking about going out for some pizza tonight all together, what do you guys think?" Layla asks, Brandon looks at me,

"Well, what do you say Stella?" he asks,

"Actually…I had something else in mind. Can you and the girls all come in here for a moment, please?" I ask her excitedly. One of my best friends was pregnant and I finally reconciled with the man I love, celebrating with pizza was unacceptable!

My father spoke to Brandon on that very afternoon again. Leander tried to run away after everyone discovered what he had done. Fortunately my dad suspected as much and ordered the guards to notify him if Leander tried to leave, and stop him. Both my parents held back from calling the authorities because of the esteem they had for Brandon, but the truth was, Leander had indeed committed a crime, stealing from more than one and even attempting against my life. It was something Brandon felt couldn't be ignored or covered up. Despite Leander being his father, he knew what the right thing to do was. He knew it was his father's time to face justice for all the damage he had caused us all. And most importantly, it was time to forgive and start over.

That night at the palace, Brandon and I decided to offer a banquet for the entire Kingdom, we also took it as an opportunity to apologize for the happenings of the Solar Solstice Festival. Despite being a last minute idea, the winx helped me organize the biggest party Solaria had ever seen, we invited all of the royals, and the entire Solarian kingdom. We even invited our closest friends from all three schools including the headmistresses and headmaster. I have to say I´m in a happier mood than I have been during the last couple of months. After telling Brandon about my idea, he was reluctant and over protective of my health at first, but given that the other Winx and even my mother would help, he relaxed.

Musa offered to Dj and even sing a few songs herself while Layla and Tecna took care of all the light effects and decorations. Flora, Bloom, my mother and I made all the last minute phone calls and invitations. The grand ballroom hall was beautifully lit with dim lights, and the tables were covered by golden colored tablecloths. The royal gardens were also lit up and many of the couples were walking through it, admiring the freshly embedded roses, courtesy of Flora.

In all of the tables, the royals sat eating, talking and laughing. I see my parents, both sitting in their thrones and conversing quite peacefully despite the music. Over at another table I spot both headmistresses Faragonda and Griffin, Headmaster Saladin, Codatorta, and Ms. Griselda reunited.

I´m greeting a few of the royals who are just arriving, when suddenly I spot one of my guests,

"Nathaniel!" I greet him,

"Stella! I made it", he responds smiling. I pull him in for a quick hug.

"Thank you so much for coming! How was your trip?" I ask him,

"It was alright considering I don't travel very often, I enjoyed the scenery" he says laughing slightly,

"How about you?" he asks, his laughter stopping completely. I sigh,

"I´m…doing great Nathan! You wouldn't believe everything that's happened! Things are alright now, Brandon and I made up", I tell him, he smiles genuinely.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear that Stel, you deserve the best", he tells me giving me a small hug.

"Looking good Stella!" I hear a girl yell over the music, it's Nova, a childhood friend from Solaria who also went to Alfea.

"Thanks Nova!" I shout back, giving her a crushing hug which she gladly returns,

"Nathan, this is Nova, one of my closest friends. Nova this is Nathan, another one of my closest friends", I tell them, both laughing at my statement. They shake hands and Nova´s blush doesn't go unnoticed.

"I haven't seen you in the longest! I´m so glad you came!" I tell her, still surprised.

"Thanks for inviting me Stella, this party is awesome! I´ll make sure to write all about it", she says excitedly,

"Write about it?"

"Yeah, oh right I forgot to tell you. After graduating from Alfea I sort of started dedicating all my time to writing, now I´m the editor at Solaria-Life Magazine",

"Wow", I exclaim surprised,

"Hey that's cool, my sisters read that magazine all the time. What kind of articles do you write?" he asks her, truly interested.

"Well…"Nova begins answering,

"I´m going to drink some water", I tell them excusing myself, grinning at them both.

While walking through the crowd I feel someone grab my hand.

"Hey where have you been?" Brandon asks concerned,

"Oh I just needed something to drink and I ran into Nova and Nathan, I-"a

"Oh, he made it?" he asks calmly,

"Yeah, he´s talking to Nova right now. I hope they get along", I say grinning, while making the invitations I spoke to Brandon about inviting Nathan to the party. Not only was it the fact that there was nothing between us, but also that Nathan had been a really good friend to me when I was alone. On more than one occasion he listened to me when I needed someone to talk to. Thankfully, Brandon understood. I wanted him to be sure that what we had wouldn't change or falter.

"Let's go sit, shall we?" I ask him smiling, we make our way to our table,

"This party was definitely a great idea Stella", Layla tells me, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah, I think we all needed to relax a bit", I say, winking at Brandon. He laughs. Suddenly, Tecna stands up and rushes over to Musa, who stops the music and asks for everyone's attention,

"Good evening everyone, I would like to propose a toast!" Timmy says suddenly, each and every one of the guests standing up, including my parents.

"To Bloom and Sky and their baby, congratulations you guys, we wish you all the best!" he says. We all congratulate them and cheer,

"I propose another toast!" Bloom says standing up from her seat,

"To the King and Queen of Solaria, Brandon and Stella!" she says, I feel a knot start to form in my throat at the sound of those words, but smile widely nonetheless.

"To us", Brandon says, as we clink our glasses. The Grand hall fills with cheers and applauds,

"Hey aren't you guys forgetting someone? What about the party organizers? The best and fastest I´ve ever seen" Helia says in awe, causing us all to laugh madly. Before we can all sit back down Musa makes an announcement, and all the girls seem to be preparing for something, strange…

"Please before continuing the celebration, we would like to ask everyone to gather outside in the royal gardens for a special surprise!" she announces, huh? This is unexpected…and Brandon doesn't seem the least bit surprised,

"Brandon, do you know what it is they´re talking about?" I ask confused, he smiles,

"You´ll have to wait and see", he says taking my hand and pulling me out to the gardens.

We´re all standing outside waiting for the surprise, and suddenly there's a loud bursting sound coming from the sky. High up in the night sky are the beautiful multicolored fireworks. Everyone´s clapping and cheering and I hear Musa putting the music back on. It´s perfect. I turn around to see the girls all watching the firework exhibition, but not before smiling and waving at me teasingly.

"This is amazing! Who´s idea was it?" I ask Brandon astonished,

"Mine", he says simply, looking at me now. I lower my gaze from the sky and turn to look at him,

"You thought of this?" he laughs,

"I did and…" he says pulling something out of his back pocket,

"I bought these", he says, showing me two tickets.

"What are they?" I ask, surprised.

"Two tickets for a trip through the Harmonix realm", he tells me. My jaw drops. The harmonix realm is a beautiful place known for its touristic attractions mostly, with some of the most beautiful museums showing the history of the magic dimension, monuments, not to mention souvenirs, spas, parks and more.

"It's a trip to the honeymoon we couldn't have, Stella", he tells me, taking my hands.

"You mean the world to me Stella and I want to make it up to you. I want us to have a new beginning, the one we should've had, the one we deserve."

"I´d love that, I love you Brandon", I tell him, not holding back at all this time.

"I love you too", he says, and this time, it's me who wraps my arms around his neck and pulls him in for a kiss.

A year later…

Its nine o´clock in the morning, the sun is shining through the curtains, she´s crying again. I groan and nudge Stella who starts waking up…

"It's your turn…" I tell her, I feel her weight shift as she gets out of bed. I open my eyes slightly and watch her pull her hair up into a messy bun,

"Good morning Grace", she whispers sweetly, lifting our 3 month old baby out of her crib. A beautiful baby girl with bits of blond hair. I don't know what I´d do with out them…

She turns to face me and smiles, with our daughter in her arms. A perfect picture…