Aideen hurried about her room, hanging up the final string of fairy lights. Unfortunately, because of her short stature, even on top of her desk she couldn't get them where she wanted. 

She knew that dragons tended to float— in the water and in the air. Almost every morning since that of her seventeenth birthday, she'd awakened hovering about three inches off of her bed, blanket still wrapped around her snugly. 

Could she hover on her own?

She tried, thinking like she did when she flew— only to fall off of the desk and land on the rug with a loud thud.

"Ow," Aideen moaned, and she pulled back the leg of her capris to see where she had bruised her knees.

She heard footsteps, and scrambled to her feet just as Felecia entered the room. 

"Are you alright?" Felecia demanded as she looked Aideen up and down for injury— luckily the pant leg had rolled back down, obscuring the bruise.

"I'm fine," Aideen laughed. "I was just trying to hover so I could reach the ceiling to hang the last bit of fairy lights."

"You could have asked me," Felecia pointed out. "Instead of trying to use magic for such a little thing— don't you know that magic is a last resort. Thought I raised you better than this."

Aideen was grateful for her lessons in composure, and was able to obscure her own displeasure at the last part of her grandmother's scolding.

"Sorry, it's just that I know you're older and I don't want you to hurt yourself—"

"Old?" Felecia's amber eyes flashed, and she snatched the string of lights from Aideen. "I am far from old, and even farther from the day that I can no longer hang up lights in my own house!

With that, she perched on the chair and easily reached the ceiling, being far taller than her granddaughter. Aideen blamed her dead mother for that particular physical attribute. 

"Thank you, Grandmother," Aideen said awkwardly as Felecia stepped down. She glanced around the room. "Everything will be perfect for tonight."

The edges around Felecia's eyes softened. "Good. I do regret that I have to be harsh with you— but you know why."

"Because I'm to be the Pendragon someday." Was it any wonder that Aideen still felt twinges of bitterness, resentment, and jealousy towards Kira and Elodie? It wasn't their fault, and Aideen tried to keep it from them— but it wasn't completely stifled, partially because Felecia would drag the feelings back up from where Aideen buried them, like a persistent dog after a poorly-buried family pet. 

Before anything else could be said, there was the sound of the doorbell melodiously echoing through the house, and Aideen was more than delighted to bound down the stairs and into the foyer, where she knew the others would be waiting. She flung the door open to reveal them standing there.

"You made it!" She flung her arms around them both as they engaged in a group hug. 

"Yeah, thanks for inviting us," Elodie said. 

"Come on, come on," Aideen said, making a grand, sweeping gesture as she welcomed in the other girls. "I'm ready to do all the grand sleepover stuff— you know, popcorn, Truth or Dare—"

"Hello, girls," Felecia called out to where she stood over the staircase. "Please do come upstairs— we have everything set up perfectly so you don't have to even leave the room."

"We are allowed to use the bathroom, right?" Kira whispered at Aideen, who nodded. 

Kira set down her backpack on the floor and unrolled her sleeping bag. It was a heavy-duty kind for the outdoors. She often used it when she and Seth went cryptid-hunting late at night, and it was in sharp contrast to the rest of the room.

Elodie's pretty Sanrio sleeping bag and blankets looked delicate and pristine, much like Elodie at any given time. Aideen had dragged her mattress and blankets down from the metallic golden frame, leaving it a bare skeleton.

In comparison, Kira's stuff looked masculine and not nearly as fun.

She tried to push the thoughts out of her mind, putting it where all the sharp thoughts went. 

"So, I've got all the snacks up here," Aideen explained as she showed off the glorified snack table that had been made out of her desk. "Grandmother ordered a pizza—that'll be coming soon— I didn't know what toppings you liked, so I ordered a plain cheese."

"Thanks," Kira said as Aideen plopped between her and Elodie.

"So, what do you guys want to do?"

Kira glanced at the clock on Aideen's wall. 

"I guess we could start with a movie."

Aideen lit up, and even Elodie seemed amenable to the idea. She rushed to the cabinet under the slick flatscreen TV and flung open the little doors with golden knobs shaped like dragon heads.

"I've got all the classics, Breakfast Club, Dirty Dancing, Pretty in Pink—"

"Ooh! Pride and Prejudice!" Elodie pounced on the DVD cover with Keira Knightley's face on it.

"Oh, I love that movie," Aideen squealed. She looked back to Kira. "Do you want to watch it?"

"I don't know." Kira pulled her knees up to her chest. "Never seen it."

"It's one of the most romantic movies of all time," Elodie promised. 

"The absolute best, we have to show you," Aideen said. "Jane Austen chick flicks are food for the soul."

"Well, I'm game," Kira said with a shrug. "Especially if pizza's involved."