A.N.: Hello everyone! I'm back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but between school, birthday parties, and Wattpad, I've been busy.
Wattpad removed my Winx Club one-shot fanfic. Idk why, but I'm currently looking into it as I bring it back, so that's infuriating. Seriously, who memorizes the TOS?
Ignore my ramblings lol. I'm just mildly irritated with this setback (I'm saving backups of everything rn in case something like this happens again), so my time is divided further.
Plz enjoy.
X - normal text
X - text where Bloom is not present
'X' - thoughts
'#$X#$' - Parseltongue
Chapter : Day of the Lily Pt.1:
Stella grimaced, her arms feeling like lead, her hands hurting, and a slight ache in her back from the constant leaning. Doing and sorting laundry was such a manual chore, and it was utterly gruesome for the Solarian Princess.
"This is such a pain." Stella bemoaned.
Flora and Musa exchanged looks. Both of them had to help with laundry at times, heck, Musa had to find clothes that she could reasonably wear from wherever she could. They were more used to the motions, the ebb and flow of sorting, folding, stacking, unloading, transporting, reloading, and unstacking laundry.
But neither of them had the stamina to go for the rest of the night, even after a week of work.
"This is our final night," Tecna stated, flapping her arms awkwardly in an attempt to get the blood flowing again. Out of all of them, she rarely did any of her own laundry, too used to having some sort of technological gadget do the work for her.
To Tecna, this was all completely absurd and irrational; it served no greater purpose. What was the logic in forcing them to sort every student's laundry from their generation, as a punishment? And what would this prove, was the intention to humble them or develop muscle memory for folding laundry?
She could generate dozens of other hypotheses off the top of her head, but most of them lacked a sufficient amount of data to prove a motive.
"After this, I strongly advise that we cease as much conflict with the Trix as possible," Tecna suggested. "Most of our encounters with them only end with us getting targeted, damaged enough that a stay in the infirmary is required, or we receive a detention for our efforts. And as educational as every night this week has been, I do not wish to spend another hour sorting through other fairies' undergarments, if possible."
Musa scowled, as did Stella. "It's not like we go looking for them!" Musa burst.
"Yeah." Stella's irises flashed molten gold for a moment. "Nor is it our fault that those bitches keep trying to steal my scepter!"
"I know we haven't really discussed this since the swamp, but...what if there is some sort of higher power in the Scepter of Solaria?" Flora brought up hesitantly while she loaded a washing machine with bags that contained bras.
Tecna scoffed. "The Dragon Flame is a myth. It is a legend, a folklore's tale. There is no factual evidence to prove its existence."
"You don't know that." Stella protested. "It could be hidden, like the supposed Water Stars and the ashes of the Original Coven."
Tecna resisted the increasingly human urge to pinch her nose in an emotion she identified as irritation. "Stella, we have no proof, only loose historical accounts. It is much like the 'Gods of Olympus' on Earth."
Flora looked confused. "What do the gods of Earth have to do with the Dragon Flame?"
"Wait, wait, wait." Musa held up a hand. "Hold on, how do you even know that Earth has gods?"
"Bloom told me," Tecna said, causing an awkward, tense, yet almost funny silence. She nodded to herself before continuing. "According to her, there are multiple religious sects on Earth, each of whom prays to a different sect of 'gods'. Beings with power who were perceived to be immortal, many of whom were believed to have laid with 'mortals' and given birth to 'demi-gods'."
All three girls looked lost. Stella almost scratched her head, but that would've definitely been behavior unbefitting of a royal heiress. "I don't...don't...wha--"
"The point I'm trying to state--", Tecna said with some frustration, "--is that most of these tales are just that. Tales. Myths. Stories that have been passed down through generations. For all we know, the 'Dragon Flame' could have been a very powerful spell that was used enough to make it coveted, and then, a legend when it was lost to history."
Musa hesitated. "You--might be right on that one, Tecna."
Stella snorted. "A very powerful fire spell. Yeah right."
Tecna's eyes widened, before her expression went blank. A fire spell. A fire fairy. A fire construct.
She highly doubted that the Dragon Flame was real. It was a myth, a story to regale, to awe. But a spell...possibly one encoded into the MDNA of a fairy...it could be. Bloom might be accessing it subconsciously, a final protection whenever their danger was greatest.
She could see a dozen holes or so, gaps where evidence was lacking with her hypothesis. No, that fire construct couldn't be the Dragon Flame. Tecna's theory must be incorrect. The Dragon Flame wasn't real, but perhaps...perhaps...the fire construct was real.
"Are you okay, Tecna?" Flora asked when she spotted the pixie-cut, pink-haired fairy standing still, a skirt held in her hands.
"Hmm?" Tecna blinked, before her cheeks started to heat up unnaturally. "Oh, I appear to be malfunctioning a little. It is nothing." she dismissed before folding the skirt.
Stella and Musa exchanged looks before they resumed the conversation.
"Even if there was, that would only give me more reason to keep it out of the Trix's hands," Musa said with a shiver. "They have defeated us multiple times already, imagine them with the capabilities of the Fire of Life?"
Everyone shuddered at the idea.
"They would be unstoppable," Flora whispered with a hint of fear.
Musa placed her hand on Flora's shoulder reassuringly. "Relax, Flora. Nothing bad's gonna happen."
"The moment that we're done--", Stella grumbled as she set another folded pile of clothes back onto one of the many tables lining a far wall, "I'm going back to my bedroom, soak in an oil-scented bath, go to sleep, wake up, and go to Magix City for a manicure. This is chipping my nails."
Musa rolled her eyes while Flora's lips curved up at Stella's whining.
"I do not think that would be wise." Tecna objected. "Most of our battles with the Trix have been in Magix City."
"They've gotten into Alfea!" Stella pointed out. "It isn't safe here either."
"But the professors are here." Flora reminded them. "Headmistress Dowling too. They can protect us."
Stella sniffed haughtily. "And remember how helpful Griselda was when she came with us to save Bloom at the Gala? Oh, that's right, she was absolutely useless!"
"It would've looked bad if she had cast spells at them, unprovoked," Musa said uneasily.
Stella scoffed. "Unprovoked??? They were attacking Bloom--one of Griselda's students who needed her protection--and all she did was scold them like my Arithmetic tutor back in my palace."
There was a disquiet silence before Tecna admitted, "Your statement does contain factual evidence."
Flora cleared her throat awkwardly, before looking to Musa. "So...uh, Musa."
"Hmm?" Musa pulled the door to one of the driers open before pulling out another large pile of clothes--whites this time.
"We discussed our plans for Day of the Lily a while ago, while you were uhm...below Alfea," Flora said gently, not wanting to upset her with a reminder of the day she got mind-raped.
Musa still stiffened, although it wasn't for the reason the Winx thought.
"Did you have any plans...for that day?" Flora asked.
Musa took a shuddered breath. Her eyes heated and grew slightly wet. "No."
Flora, Tecna, and Stella all shared a look, confused by their friend's behavior.
"Musa--" Stella started.
"I don't want to talk about it." Musa cut her off, stunning them with the raw emotion in her voice.
She wiped her eyes angrily before turning back and sorting out socks, missing the confused, understanding, and sympathetic looks her friends shot her way.
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Consciousness is a funny thing. When you go to sleep, you aren't aware, you don't know, feel, or think. Sometimes you dream and are aware enough, but unable to affect your dreams. Other times, it's just a big blank gap between the period where you're pretending to sleep, breathing softly while your eyelids are shut. And then...you are awake, feeling (hopefully) rested, and looking forward to a brand new day.
Contrary for me, I wasn't looking forward to waking up back in a bloody bed of all things. I'd been in this damn hospital bed for two fucking weeks, with another two to go. My fucking limp was still a problem, and the Winx were completely tired out from their detention.
Not that I blamed them. Sorting laundry for all of our generation? Sixty teenage girl's worth of laundry???
That was a fate worse than death.
I yawned, rubbing the sleep from my eyes before opening them. And immediately shutting, only to open them a peek, trying to see through the brightness of the infirmary. It took longer than I wanted for my eyes to adjust.
Light was bright, and the silence in the infirmary was so deafening. There was no tapping of Tecna's computer, or Musa's humming. Nor was there any of Stella's chatter or Flora's radiating aura of comfort.
They were all gone, had been since yesterday after a quick visit following dinner, to finish up their last night of laundry detention. And it left a void here. Was this my living purgatory? My fate for hiding my true nature all these years? For lying about who I was, and still am?
"Good Morning, Ms. Peterson."
I turned, only to groan aloud at the sight of more potions on the table.
Ofelia tutted with a hint of a smile. "I'm afraid that stretching like an exhausted cat isn't going to get you out of drinking those. They work on restoring your health."
"I know," I grumbled, rubbing my face to rid it of sleep. I hurriedly drank the god-awful stuff, stuffing one nasty tasting or smelling potion down my throat after another, until all of them were gone.
I stumbled, and it still was humiliating that I couldn't walk under my own bloody power. I really wanted to fly, but the nurse said not to, as Ofelia wanted to wait another week before seeing how much of the dark magic still clinging to me was gone.
I didn't much see the point in that, if it affected my fairy form, I'd like to know ASAP, not y'know, wait it out.
Buuuuut, I wasn't the one in charge of the infirmary, nor was my medical knowledge of fairy anatomy complete. I knew about fairy wings and what my previous life's magicals knew about the magical body. That was it.
Was it enough? I don't know.
I closed the door and lifted my skirts before settling down to do my business. I finished and glanced at the mirror, only to groan pitifully at my appearance.
I was pale--which was a given, considering that dark magic was still affecting me and I'd been out of the sun for a while--my magic was still weak despite carrying the Dragon Flame in my chest, and my hair was a frizzy mess. Not Anna from Frozen fritz, but still, really messy and tangled.
I carefully dragged my hand through my tangled mop, wincing every time my fingers were caught and I had to carefully disentangle the knots of hair. Grumbling to myself, I picked up my hairbrush (which Stella brought with some other personal effects of mine once I could walk--sorta) and started to fix my neglected hair.
Two weeks without brushing is murder to a girl's hair. Trust me on that.
It ended up being too much, so I fumbled with my phone before sending a text to Stella with a picture of my hair.
(Me):
7:34 am: Morning Stella! When you get the chance, plz help with my hair??
Stella barely took a minute to respond.
(Stella):
7:35 am: About damn time! You've been killing me slowly, not taking care of that beautiful hair ;-;
I rolled my eyes, typing quickly.
(Me):
7:36 am: Well...the sooner you get over here, the sooner you get to style it.
I swear I heard Stella's happy squeal from across Alfea.
(Stella):
7:37 am: REALLY????? OMG!! I'm coming over right now, don't move a muscle dawling!!
(Me):
7:37 am: Alright, dawling.
I shook my head in amusement, before taking up my brush and going to war with my hair. I winced as I brushed it, feeling some of my hair get torn out. Like sharp pinpricks, only going out instead of in.
I'd been trying to disentangle my brush without tearing through a particularly stubborn knot when barely ten minutes later, the bathroom door was shoved open with a 'BANG'. I jumped a foot in the air, yelping when I tore the brush down and ripped a fiery lock of hair from my scalp.
"Bloody hell!" I breathed, my hand pressing above my breasts, staring at Stella and Musa with wide eyes. "Don't scare a girl like that!"
"Sorry, Bloom," Musa said with a shrug. "Stella wanted to get inside urgently."
I huffed at them both but gave them half-hugs and repeated morning greetings.
Stella was studying me, or more accurately, the mess on my head. "I think I know the perfect fix for this!"
She pulled out a cream from her purse. "Madam Starlight's Every-Care Hair Conditioner. Makes your hair sleek and smooth, allowing you to brush it with ease. It wears off after six hours too, plenty of time for us to fix this travesty."
I pouted but knew that there was no fighting Stella when she got like this. "Alright, I surrender to whatever tortures you prepared for me." I teased her, directly quoting her from the beauty pageant.
Stella huffed at me. "Are you ever going to let that go?"
"Nope." I beamed innocently.
"Why?" she put her hands on her hips.
"Because it's when you admitted to fashion being torturous." I teased, causing her to scoff and mutter, "Why I never", under her breath.
Musa and I giggled, only for me to wince when Stella started to drag a brush through my hair.
"Owwww!" I whined.
"That'll teach you not to antagonize the Queen of Fashion," Stella smirked, waggling her fingers threateningly.
I glanced at Musa. "Is it weird that I can hear her capitalizing that?"
Musa shook her head, her expression making her amusement clear as day. "No, not at all."
"I can still hear you," Stella snarked. I winced as she dragged the brush through my hair again. "Ow! Sorry," I said, still wincing.
Stella cleared the brush of pulled hairs before nodding to Musa, who dabbed the cream over my hair, making it smooth and slightly damp, enough to work with.
Brushing it after that became sooooo much easier. Merlin, getting those tangles out was such a breeze, they fell apart like ice cream melting in your mouth.
Uh, maybe not the best analogy...but I'm hungry, so...food?
What would've taken me about...oh...let's say...four hours? The girls managed to do in half an hour; turn my ungodly nest into something that was both pleasing to look at and familiar. Then Stella tried out a few different braid styles before settling for what was like a pair of French braids.
I don't know, it's really hard to look at the back of your head when there's only one mirror.
I grinned at my reflection, happy with the way I looked, once you ignored the bags under my eyes, the redness of my hands, the paleness of my skin...y'know.
"Not bad," Stella commented from where she was studying my figure. "All we need is to get you into something decent, dab some makeup on that sleepy face, and then you'll be good to go."
I hummed, before responding jokingly, "So, should I break out my clubbing outfit then?"
Musa had been drinking water, but the sight of Stella's sudden impression of a goldfish caused her to spray water everywhere. Not that I blamed her, her expression was nothing short of hilarious. Eyes blown wide, stunned, and yet looking as though she had been sucking on a lemon...yeah it was funny.
"Are--you are joking, right?" Stella gaped at me as I snickered.
"What?" I asked, injecting enough into my tone to sound defensive. "Your eyes went big when you saw me in it on Earth, so I thought that--"
"Bloom, for the love of all that is Sol and Arcadia." Stella looked up at the ceiling before huffing as she refocused on me, the both of us ignoring Musa's quiet snickers in the corner. "Arcadia so help me, never, never ever wear that outfit while you're at Alfea."
I frowned in confusion. Was black leather illegal or something? "Wait, why? Was it a 'bad' kind of outfit?"
I didn't see what was wrong with my tight leather pants that firmly hugged my ass and legs, as well as the accompanying leather tube top that snuggled around my breasts, making their shape more prominent and noticeable...oh.
"Because, you'll end up with half the girls from Cloud Tower and maybe Alfea after you, and don't even get me started on the boys." Stella groaned, putting her face in her hands. "Most importantly, I'll never hold a candle next to you when you wear that!"
"Wait, why would witches be attracted to Bloom?" Musa looked bewildered. "I'm so confused."
"So am I," I muttered, a little disturbed by the topic, but starting to figure out what Stella was thinking. Or at least, getting the gist. You never know with that sun-lover.
Jealousy? Question mark?
Stella huffed again, her cheeks growing rosy. "Look, a good number of witches are...drawn to the same sex."
"You mean they're lesbians," I interjected, causing both girls to squeak with fully visible blushes at my bluntness. I blinked at their reactions, confused, before it dawned on me. Right, sexual preferences for the same sex...not exactly conservative, or in line with how the feudal kingdom system worked.
Guess I'm glad I haven't mentioned that I'm bi...wait, shit. I did, didn't I? That night, at the Gala, when I commented on...whose dress was it? Tecna's? No...but I might've implied it.
I'll go through the memory again with Occlumency later. All these potions are making me scatterbrained right now.
"Oh, was this one of those things that you don't..." I trailed off, starting to grow a little sheepish.
"Yeah." Musa snorted with an embarrassed expression as she turned to face Stella. "Still...why do you think that witches would be...ahem, drawn to Bloom?"
"Yes, please do," I said, crossing my arms under my bust. "I would love to know why a bunch of egomaniac, power-hungry, meanieheads would be after my ass, apart from me stopping their plans of course."
Musa broke composure, snorting, "Meaniehead?"
I felt my cheeks heat a little. "What? They haven't done anything really evil, and I highly doubt that the Council of Light would let a school that teaches women to become terrorists exist, so..."
"Terrorists??", Musa echoed, as I shrugged sheepishly before studying Stella, who looked more embarrassed by the minute. "You good?"
"Fine." Stella snapped, her cheeks nearly red. "Trust me on this, okay? You in that outfit is like an attraction magnet; with your hair down, and orange blazing eyes. You have this badass, sexy vibe going on. As in, 'Mess with me and I'll fuck you up'."
Wow...just wow. Okay, I did not know that she saw me like that. But a part of me is a little flattered.
I felt my blush spread across my cheeks at the compliment. "Okay, I see your point."
Musa coughed awkwardly, the sound stirring a giggle from my throat. It was so unexpected that the floodgates just broke, and I started to crack up, laughing until tears were streaming down my face, faintly hearing the other two giggling and snickering as well.
"Oh, man." I placed my hand above my breasts. "I needed that."
"Laughter is so good for the soul," Musa said as she straightened up, her eyes twinkling.
"You said it." Stella agreed.
Her phone chose to vibrate at that moment, making all of us pout as we read the time.
"Breakfast already?" Stella groaned.
"Aw, man." Musa pouted.
"Damnit," I grumbled. "You get to eat actual food, while I get fed magical mush."
Because of how the dark magic was affecting me, I was forced to eat this tasteless, bland, horrid magical paste that came with all the vitamins, minerals, proteins, and sugars that I needed (my magic somehow activated the stuff once it entered my body so it knew how much to generate in its stuffy mass, or something like that).
I couldn't eat any other kinds of foods, as some had enzymes or some magical properties that could unknowingly enhance the dark magic in my body, or it could compromise my immune system. A bunch of bullshit if you asked me.
Still, it was absolutely revolting to try, and I almost contemplated suggesting that the Westley Twins replace all the food for the professors with this disgusting glop under glamor charms so that they could taste this nasty gunk that they forced me to eat.
"It's okay, Bloom." Stella patted my shoulder sympathetically. "Two more weeks and you'll be out of here!"
I grinned weakly. "I can't wait."
The girls helped me back to my bed before leaving. The infirmary door swinging shut was like a final gong before the endless silence.
I refused to take this, so I looked between my homework and my phone before scowling to no one and picked up a stack of notes from Magical Invocation.
Stupid witches. Bloody professors and their assignments. Nagging nurses.
Seriously, why was there no sick leave for students? What the bloody hell???
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"Come on, 'Brandon'!" Riven cat-called, grinning from the opposite side of the dueling ring, having just dodged another of the blonde's slashes. "You hit like a little girl!"
'Brandon' gritted his teeth, doing his best not to let Riven's taunts get under his skin. His eyes narrowed in concentration, noting where Riven's feet and hands were positioned, including how much his knees were bent.
Learning those quick tells made the difference between countering a sword or receiving a kick to the face.
"Kick his butt, 'Brandon'!" Prince 'Sky' called from his place next to Timmy, standing in front of the training module that simulated enemies, as well as objects. It really wasn't anything more than manipulated force fields, but it still was impressive work.
The more advanced version of this room was called the Danger Room, which was the place where freshman were given their final test, to prove their skills out in a simulated wilderness, and defeat some magical creature.
The sophomores had the same, but their quests usually came with greater difficulties and more dangerous side missions that they had to complete for the training session to end.
And of course, at the very top, seniors had it the worst, with students needing to fight Level Twelve Hard-Light Constructs, and best at least one of them. Each level progressed to greater combat difficulty, with dirtier and more underhanded fighting tactics.
Because it was a simulation, the fighters had to wear symbiote suits that connected to the environment and would create feelings of pain or intense agony wherever they were hit, depending on whether their body would have been slashed open with a sword or whether they got stabbed by a sword.
"I know! We can give you a female name!" Riven said in a mock-cheerful tone as they started to circle around each other once again, brandishing their weapons in threatening manners. "Brandina? Brandy?
'Brandon tried to keep his anger in check, but Riven somehow always managed to get into his head, and he lost the fight. The few times he won were actually rare, and were usually under Codatorta's watchful eye, where Riven couldn't run his mouth as much.
"I know!" A wicked grin spread across the magenta-haired young man's face. "How about something like...Bloom?"
As Riven hoped, 'Brandon' stumbled at the mention of his badly-hidden crush, giving Riven the opening he needed to slam 'Brandon' down on his back.
'Brandon' didn't falter, holding his blade with the flat side up protectively, stopping Riven's phantosaber from striking his chest. He lunged upward, forcing Riven back, before flourishing, unleashing a series of slashes and swipes at a speed that forced the magenta-haired Specialist to give ground or get downed.
Riven slashed, 'Brandon' moving to block before Riven withdrew and slashed at his now unprotected side. 'Brandon' gritted his teeth as the saber cut under his guard, nicking his combat suit.
His eyes widened, his free hand moving to cover the bruise (their weapons were on the lowest setting). Riven tried to take advantage of the opening, only for 'Brandon' to lean backwards and thrust forward, landing another blow on Riven's sword arm, enough for the bigger teen to wince.
"Not bad," Riven smirked, getting over his pain faster than 'Brandon' had. "I'm just better."
'Brandon' brushed his blonde bangs from his face, blue eyes narrowing in concentration. His breaths were heavy, his muscles burning, his reaction time slowing. He was tiring, and his moves were predictable.
Riven was too, but the guy had been in street brawls and fights before Saladin had admitted him to Red Fountain. He had years of combat experience, while 'Brandon' and 'Sky' only had rudimentary training and fencing practice, which wasn't the same as the courses taught at the school for Specialists.
Riven leaped up, twirling around in the air, cape flowing behind him. 'Brandon' lifted his sword to block, only for Riven to get up close, his left hand ramming into 'Brandon's ribs, drawing a pained grunt, before the magenta-haired Specialist twisted and back-kicked the blonde to the ground, sword falling out of his hand.
Smirking in victory, Riven caught the falling blade and lunged over the disguised prince in the same move, both swords held in an 'X' executioner's position over his neck.
With a pained groan, 'Brandon' muttered, "I yield." in irritation, letting his head fall back to the ground. They'd been dueling for twenty-six minutes, nearly a half-hour. Riven had always been better at combat, mainly because he took any opening he got, no matter how dishonorable it was.
Riven smirked at him, before turning away, leaving 'Brandon' to pick himself up from the floor.
"Not bad, 'Brandon'." 'Sky' said with a grin. "You lasted five minutes longer than last time."
"Funny." 'Brandon' muttered as he rolled his sore shoulders. "I don't feel it."
"You did well, better than I could've done in any instance," Timmy said nervously, adjusting his glasses.
"You do better with a blaster in your hand than a sword." 'Sky' reassured him. "We all have our strengths to play, and anything with a trigger is your's, Timmy."
"Thanks." Timmy blushed pink from the praise.
"Aw, this is cute and heartwarming and all, but I'd like to hit the showers." Riven snarked. "I don't feel like breathing in 'Brandon's stench for the rest of the day."
With that parting remark, Riven made his exit, cape flowing dramatically behind him.
"What a git," 'Brandon' muttered as he climbed back on his feet, rubbing his sore back.
"Hey man, that was a close one." 'Sky' grinned at him as he walked over. "You're getting better."
"Yeah." 'Brandon' offered up a weak smile, before he scowled. "If only I could stop him from getting into my head!"
"It is called psychological warfare." Timmy gave his input, less stuttery and not as nervous now that Riven was gone. "Using anything they can to anger you, to weaken your concentration."
"Riven does that annoyingly well." 'Sky' replied quietly, glancing thoughtfully down at the door he'd exited through. "Still, it's probably a good thing that you get used to taunts now, so you don't falter in an actual battle."
'Brandon' rolled his eyes. "I know, I've heard that from Codatorta and Silva more times than I can count the swords in our armory."
Timmy chuckled nervously as he adjusted his glasses. "T-To be fair, they do like to repeat certain phrases until they stick."
"At least we have Day of the Lily to look forward to." 'Brandon' said, looking a lot happier.
"True." 'Sky' grinned. "I can't wait to see my mom and dad."
'Brandon' rolled his eyes. "You see your dad all the time."
"Yeah, whenever he barks orders at us." 'Sky' said with a chuckle. "Or the newbies."
Timmy coughed awkwardly, looking at 'Brandon'. "Uh, give my best to the King and Queen, yeah?"
'Sky' and 'Brandon' snickered.
"Sure thing, Timmy." 'Brandon' agreed, before breaking away from them to head to the showers.
"What do you think that Bishop does on Day of the Lily?" Timmy asked in a hushed voice.
"No clue." 'Sky' shrugged as though the thought didn't bother him. "Probably throw another banger party, would be my guess."
"And Riven?" Timmy wondered, quieter.
"Meeting with his sister." 'Sky replied quietly. "But, you didn't hear that from me."
Timmy nodded, "Hopefully...everything goes smoothly for him."
Timmy knew that Riven's sister was always in some kind of trouble. She blamed Riven for their parent's abandoning them, secretly fearing that Riven would leave her too.
She was rather emotional, but hardened herself to the world around her. The Specialist squad had only met her once, and Susan's initial words still stuck in their heads; "So, this is the group of frat boys you were assigned with? They must be something special for you to be saddled with them."
"Yeah." 'Sky' said, before glancing at the empty room. "Want to go for a round of hand-to-hand?"
Timmy hesitated. "Uh, sure. Um, just don't knock me around too much."
'Sky' smirked, brushing brown hair out of his eyes. He moved to the center of the room, Timmy standing opposite of him.
He lifted his arms. "No promises."
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Tecna felt like wringing her hands--a very strange habit that required a surplus of nervous energy, according to her research.
All data led to the fact that she was nervous, which she still didn't know how she felt about. Having emotions was scrambling her logic center, her brain struggling to compute and act upon decisions when irrational feels kept on disturbing her thinking processes.
Two days ago, on Monday, Stella had quietly said over breakfast, "Three weeks left."
It was a threat, a warning, and one that Tecna didn't know what she could do about. Statistically speaking, she had already committed treason against her home realm and the royal family by telling the rest of the Winx--bar Bloom--about the mission.
To verify Alfea's safety for if and when Princess Angleyne would be permitted to attend Alfea. Whether her findings and compiled data were sufficient enough to convince King Hertzz into letting the princess attend did not occur to her. It did not matter what decision the king made. Her infiltration and secret compilation of research and background checking were solely for the safety of Zenith's primary heiress, the secrecy of the other realms's heiresses an afterthought.
But she had an ultimatum hanging over her head. She'd slipped up, and now, one way or another, her secrets were going to come out, and they were going to be damaging to the budding sisterhood that the Winx shared. The thought hurt, especially after prodding Bloom enough to ignite her rage and make her explode at everyone.
Fire fairies had a temper, Tecna knew this. By all the logic, she had documented that herself! Logic dictated that antagonizing her in any way, shape, or form when she had been grieving over the loss of her Magix-born family, was anything but intelligent.
One of her more but humiliating reports that she'd drafted, and still had yet to submit to the Mother the results of that blunder. She feared what the king of Zenith would do, what the Mother would decide once she reported her treachery.
No one was supposed to know, she herself had become compromised.
Her fingers tensed on her keyboard. She couldn't lie to the Mother, who, once connected to her implants, would be able to review her thoughts and actions, all but her memories. Trying anything of this magnitude warranted death.
The thought seizes her with fear, her heartbeat increasing to twice its acceptable speed-rate. She takes a routine breathing exercise to calm herself, before she looks back at her screen, staring at the list.
Stella wanted her to delete it, and to tell Bloom what she had done. Or she would do the latter bit herself, and leave Tecna with the consequences of holding onto the former.
She was trapped, between a rock and a hard place. Faced between potentially losing one of her best friends--a title that she'd decided in a moment of irrational thinking was well-labeled--and death...Tecna considered the situation a lose-lose, despite what she had to do.
She had to make this right. And the only way for her to do that, was to make amends. First, with Bloom. Second, report the failure to the Mother, and await judgment from Zenith.
If she disappeared in the night, ripped away from her friends, she knew that they wouldn't accept the logic of her demise on account of her betrayal of her realm. They would act irrationally, using emotions instead of logic.
She couldn't do that to them.
The thought was irrational, but, logic dictated that it was true.
Tecna swallowed, before closing the file and leaning back in her seat. She shut her eyes, and braced herself for what she was about to do.
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"If I hear another mention of Day of the Lily, I'm going to curse everyone's mother to be miserable on that day!" A witch snarled at one of the round dining tables in the mess tower, also known as the sole place for eating food.
"If only I had the power to curse the day itself, then we could sit back and laugh at those stupid pixies and irritating pretty men who have never wanted for anything!" Ranted another witch.
"Now there's an idea." Isobel mused from her seat at one of the tables, D'arcy and Beatrix sitting on the other sides.
"Bah." Beatrix snorted. "These pipsqueaks think too small."
D'arcy smirked coldly, lowering her voice, "World domination isn't for everyone, Bea'. Some witches can't even stomach the thought of it."
Isobel sneered. "Bad luck to whoever was unfortunate enough to grace our halls with that mindset. They'll be dead if they aren't already."
D'arcy's smirk widened. "It's actually one of the freshmen. A weak little illusions witch."
Beatrix cackled. "Ah, those shrimps. Always so easy to spook and blast into the ground."
"Keeping an eye on the competition, D'arcy?" Isobel asked with a raised brow. Her tone sounded bored to anyone who overheard, but her eyes shined with sinister curiosity. The unspoken question lay between them, would it affect the Grand Plan?
"If she would stop thinking with her heart, like a fairy, and more like a witch, well...she has potential," D'arcy admitted, stunning both senior witches. It was nearly unheard of for D'arcy to acknowledge another witch's skills.
"Potential???" Beatrix emphasized.
"Indeed." D'arcy frowned, looking every bit the perfect, calculating, studious witch that she appeared to be. "Her magic is fed by her emotions--both positive, and negative."
Isobel's brow raised doubtfully. "How is that possible?"
D'arcy didn't shrug. "Who knows?" But the glint in her eyes told her sisters otherwise--she suspected something.
"What do you know?" Isobel asked, unwilling as ever to indulge in her sister's little mind games.
D'arcy frowned, before glancing down at one of the bottom tables, where a dark red-haired girl with a bob-cut sat alone, her pale face turned downward, her posture defeated. "Her illusions aren't like mine. They're not derived from darkness."
They looked at her, waiting for the inevitable punchline.
"So?" Beatrix prodded in irritation, disliking D'arcy's love of dragging things out. "What are they made from?"
"Heat," D'arcy said, causing Isobel's eyebrows to shoot up and Beatrix's eyes to widen. "You're kidding."
Isobel now looked downward, her gaze cool and calculating. "Interesting..." She turned back to look at D'arcy. "Any connection to our little winged pest with 'red hair and blue clothes'?"
Beatrix scowled at the jab, if only they'd taken Knut more seriously when he said that months ago, they wouldn't still be biding their time.
"It's not fire magic." D'arcy frowned. "Or, if it was, it seems to be stuck in illusions derived from heat mirages. Only her magic has more effect on the physical world than mine."
"The darkness is psychological." Isobel reminded her coven-sister. "And heat is more...punchy."
All of them scowled, remembering Bloom's fist striking them in ways none of them had ever anticipated.
Isobel supposed that at this point, Bloom might as well be an angel, or a demon, sent to expose all the holes in their plans while stalling their progress. As much of a blessing as she was a curse. Both helping and hindering.
She supposed that it fit the nature of a fairy particularly well. Almost ironic, now that she made that comparison.
"Speaking of those infuriating pixies," Beatrix said in an angry whisper. "When are we attacking the Princess again?"
"Day of the Lily is this weekend." Isobel reminded them with a cruel smile. "The Princess's poor parents are getting a divorce."
"Oh, the scandal," Beatrix said with a vile grin, enjoying the thought of Stella's suffering.
"I can only think of two things the princess will do, depending on her anguish. Either she remains at Alfea and cries her little heart out, or, the more likely option, is that she will go home." D'arcy frowned. "Short of attempting to hijack her portal while she's mid-transport to Solaria..." she trailed off, a wicked idea forming.
"The last time we hijacked her portal, she landed on Earth and found a powerful pyromaniac." Beatrix snarled quietly. "I'd rather just attack her in person."
"Would an ambush on Stella even work? She rarely leaves the Winx's sides, for anything," Isobel mused quietly, neither discounting any plan nor jumping at the thought of a suggestion. She was too careful, too cautious for that.
She wasn't afraid of their plans getting caught, as she had a protective barrier up to block all noise. The Trix had already scanned their table for curses, listening spells, or eavesdropping charms. Even so, they never mentioned their true plans here, only in the privacy of their room.
Here, they alluded enough, making others that might be eavesdropping think that they were going to bully a fairy, or in the Trix's case--several. It was what was expected of a witch, to be cruel, mean, and vicious. To rival covens. To the underdogs. To fairies.
"It's almost like they're tied at the hip." Beatrix cackled.
"I have an idea, sisters." D'arcy smiled, her eyes shining maliciously. "I'll scry on the 'Winx' for the rest of this week, discern what their plans are. Then, once we know where Stella will be going, we manipulate them into another fight. But this time, they will find that they have a lucky 'savior'."
"Not him!" Beatrix groaned.
Isobel's eyes narrowed. "For a witch, you seem to be bringing up 'Darko' an awful lot lately..."
"My loyalty is to the coven," D'arcy said calmly, the sinister glow in her eyes the only cue that she was angered by the accusation. "And Darko's powers will be useful in furthering a divide in the Winx. The fire pixie doesn't like him, and nor does the princess, but she and the plant lover are slowly falling into his web."
She smirked. "I say we encourage their 'bonding' with a trial by fire."
Isobel scowled. "You already persuaded me to leave those 'Imps' out for him to find so he can grow stronger. They're taxing to summon, and he rarely uses his magic to defeat them."
"Once he's in Red Foutain's emergency education program for retards, well, his magical ineptitude won't be an issue." D'arcy shrugged this time, her yellow eyes cold and calculating. "I wouldn't worry, sisters. The closer Darko grows to the Winx, the easier it will be when we need a spy following our 'hostile' takeover," She smirked. "He's perfect for the job."
Isobel's eyes were like ice. "You better hope you're right, sister. Because if we fail this time, then we will go through with my backup plan."
"Dark magic?" Beatrix scrunched up her nose, before muttering sarcastically, "Why not? What can go wrong?"
D'arcy refused the urge to smack her sister upside the head. "You never tempt Fate, Beatrix. Never."
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I frowned as I looked at the calendar on the wall. Day of the Lily would be this coming weekend, technically spread over two days. Mother's Day, in the Magix Dimension, in other words.
Gods, I had been so distracted, with fighting with my friends, my humiliating defeat at the hands of the Trix, and now my stay at the infirmary. The last two weeks had passed, and now, in less than a week, I'd have to decide if I was staying at Alfea, or if I was going home.
Ugh, this put me in a bit of a bind. See, if I stay at Alfea, then I'll hopefully be able to get my other projects done. Plus, I need to establish contact with Hagan again, and with some luck, he'll agree to my plan to train me as a wordsmith and armorsmith.
Those skills would come in handy, seeing as there's no Basilisk skin lying around for me to pick up. Heck, not even a dragon scale, but seeing as Domino was all but destroyed, well, I can understand that more now.
But...I miss home. I miss Earth. I'm sure that there's so much stuff that I'm missing out on. Family get-togethers, meet-ups with Roxy, movie nights with James, Lily, and Violet. I miss my adoptive-slash-real-from-another-life parents, I miss my baby sister.
And yeah, I could wait. I could spend time planning, lazing about in the infirmary, or, I could go home, discharge from all the crazy events that keep happening, one after another, and relax a bit.
It's only a three-day weekend, plus, a chance to be held safely in my family's arms?? Fuck this, I'm going home.
Now there's just the whole other matter of informing my professors and nurse that I wanted to go home. I'm sure that will go over well (note my sarcasm). At a guess, I'm probably going to have to argue my case for why I should go home.
I'm sure that will go over real well.
It was also irritating because I'd hoped to have more time. Heck, my plans had been totally derailed when the Trix stuck me in that god-damned tree. My plans for the weapons and eventual armor I wanted to integrate into my fairy form were put on hold.
My fairy form. Yet another thing I still have to work on. I still needed to alter my damned mini-skirt, or at least make it a cover underneath. Every time I felt the air caress the bare skin between my thighs while in flight, I can't help but think that I was baring my 'goods' to the world; even though fairy magic makes it so that eyes cannot stray underneath, an immediate suggestion implanted in their minds that forces their gazes elsewhere.
Yeah, I had to ask Ofelia to find that out. And was heavily embarrassed as a reward.
I also needed to go back to work. Thankfully, Day of the Lily was an inter-dimensional holiday, so Madam Gretta had told Faragonda that I didn't have to come in, but I was expected the following weekend, with no excuses.
That was fine by me, but I definitely had some work to do. Not to mention, that Daphne was expecting me to visit her on Domino something this month. Putting off the trip would be a horrible idea, but given that I hadn't been to my birth realm since I was a baby, I had little clue where my portal would end up.
And knowing that the powerful curse laid upon Domino kept it a frigid wasteland would make traversing through the landscape (and yes, I was currently seething in my bed that I wasn't healthy enough to 'pop' over there and tear that curse down with my bare...magic? Sure, let's go with that).
I sighed, leaning back into the bed. I wanted out.
Pausing, I sent a quick message to Tecna, asking her to add my name to the list of fairies that were going home for Day of the Lily for me, seeing as I'm 'bed-ridden' and all.
With that done, I leaned back and began to plan out my counterargument. Waiting every hour grew tedious, and painful, especially since I forced myself to stand a couple of times. Nurse Ofelia came by with my meals, and our conversation was light.
My dislike of infirmaries and smothering nurses aside, Ofelia's a really great person, once you get to know her. I know I sing her praises then do a one-eighty and whine and bitch about how she's keeping me imprisoned here, but she cares.
She's like Madam Pomphrey in a lot of ways, actually. She's kind, firm about the rules, yet allows them to be bent for her patients. She's rather fussy when it comes to ensuring that we take our potions and meals, but she means well.
I ha--no, I strongly dislike the hospital wing of anyplace, but I appreciate what she does. Even if her potions taste like absolute shit and the 'food' is the blandest, chewiest, tasteless bunch of nutrients and minerals I've ever had.
Now I wonder if that's how the clones feel in Star Wars, with their nutrition bars and stuff.
I perked up when I heard a knock, hoping that it was my friends, only to see Stella, Tecna, and Headmistress Dowling entered with Professor Griselda (she has like, three titles, so I'm just going to call her professor and be done with it).
Stella wore a new dress, something that had soft frills flowing on one end of her slanted pink skirt, while her strapless top was a light purple. As always her hair was down, her skin was exotic and stunning, plus her sunset-colored eyes were killer.
Musa was clearly still refusing anyone's offers of 'charity' as she put it; drawing in baggy pants that looked like the ends had been folded up six times, a single-strap magenta top covering her chest but leaving her midriff bare.
I wish that she wouldn't be that stubborn, and let us loan her some of our lesser-used items. Heck, Stella's still only wearing stuff once, and between Stella, Tecna, and myself, we've been resizing some of Musa's clothes to fit her better. Hopefully, she'll realize that we just want to help her, and let her pride go.
Yeah, yeah, real ironic coming from me of all people.
Headmistress Faragonda wore a blouse with sleeves and tulip-purple-colored skirt. And of course, Griselda wore the same outfit she always did. I think she just likes wearing the same type, and probably has spares, but Stella still insists that it's the same one that she wears daily.
I blinked in surprise, not anticipating them coming so soon. The sound of multiple footsteps drew out Nurse Ofelia from where she'd been, wearing her white doctor's coat, white skirt, white shirt with potions on the sides of her hips, attached to her belt. "Headmistress Dowling, Deputy-Headmistress Griselda, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
"I believe that young Ms. Peterson can answer that," Faragonda replied with a bland smile.
"This is about me wanting to go home for Day of the Lily?" I asked reluctantly, but knowing that this conversation was necessary. Hell, I anticipated it, mainly because Madam Pomphrey would let Dumbledore pull similar bullshit.
I still wasn't sure where Faragonda's loyalties lay, but she sure as hell hadn't said anything to me about her being my godparent, and I'm starting to doubt that she ever will. If she chooses to keep things secret--either because I'm 'just a kid', or some other bullshit, I swear to Merlin that I will recreate the Marauder's 1976 prank in the Great Atrium,
Faragonda frowned. "I do not believe that it is wise for you to go home at this point and time. These witches sought you out personally once, they may do so again."
"I can't keep looking over my shoulder forever," I said bluntly. "Living my life in fear is not living at all."
Griselda frowned at me, while Stella and Musa nodded in agreement.
Faragonda exchanged a glance with her second and the nurse before facing me. "And...if you were to go home...you do realize that using magic isn't safe there."
"I know." I frowned in worry, knowing that Dad--James--was being stubborn and unconvinced. "But I've lived on Earth for all my life. I can survive without magic for a weekend."
"Headmistress, I must protest!" Ofelia looked flustered. "You cannot be considering--"
Faragonda held up a hand, silencing the other fairy. "If we were to release, you, Ms. Peterson, would you still take your medicine without complaint?"
I hesitated, before nodding. Drinking disgusting potions daily was going to happen whether I went or not, at least this way I could eat some real food with flavor in it, instead of gross magic mush.
I glanced at Musa and Stella, both of whom looked a little sad. I winced, knowing why Musa felt down, but not Stella.
"Headmistress, please, I beg of you to reconsider--"
"This discussion is over, Ofelia," Faragonda replied firmly. "Ms. Peterson will be allowed to go back home and spend the holiday with her family."
I smiled, internally doing a happy dance, before looking at Stella and Musa, sobering up. "What about you girls?"
Stella and Musa exchanged reluctant looks. "We're staying here," Stella said quietly. "Both of us."
I frowned in confusion. "Wait, why?"
"Tensions in the realm of Horus are high," Griselda said as though that explained everything, before writing down something--probably my name on her clipboard--and turned to leave.
I lifted a brow in her departed direction, before glancing at the others. "What am I missing?"
Headmistress Dowling turned from where she was quietly arguing with Ofelia, seeming to listen to us girls talk.
"My father," Stella said quietly, refusing to meet my eyes. "He sent a courier to deliver me a letter yesterday, telling me not to come home, that it was too dangerous."
Musa laid a supporting hand on Stella's shoulder, her eyes meeting mine. "A group of Solarian barons is attempting a coup. All of the realms are on alert. King Radius wants Stella far from the ongoing struggle."
I blinked in surprise. "I didn't realize it was that bad."
Stella sighed heavily, her eyes shining and wet. "It's true. It's been getting worse since my parents announced their divorce. And my Mother--", she snarled, "--has all but abandoned him to these...these vultures!"
I frowned, before my lips curved upward.
Musa started at me. "Uh oh. Bloom's got a thinky-face."
I pouted at her before grinning. "I got a great idea. You should come with me to Earth, both of you." I added, when Musa had slumped.
Stella hesitated. "But...Bloom...Day of the Lily is special. It's Mother's Day."
"In the Magix Dimension." I agreed. "But Earth's Mother's Day is some time away. Besides--", I smirked at them, "--don't you think that me expectedly visiting would be a happy surprise?"
Musa smiled sadly. "Yeah, it would be."
I tutted at her, grasping her hand. "No sad faces, Musa. Both of you. Tecna and Flora may be going home, but I'm not going to let either of you mope, brood, or fight without any of us here."
"To stop us?" Musa said dryly, so dry that even Stella threw a surprised look her way.
"To save you from yourselves," I said quietly, feeling a surge of guilt. "We've fought and bickered, sometimes over the simplest of things. Other things we've kept inside of us, letting it build and build until we explode."
Both Stella and Musa's faces softened, knowing that I was referencing my own blow-up.
I turned a bit so I could reach Stella's hand with my other one, clasping our fingers together. "I don't want either of you to be left alone. It's not a great day for either of you." I said solemnly. "So, I'm going to do what any best friend would, and get you 'out of the house' and distract you for a time. We have an extra guest bedroom at home, so either both of you share a room, or one of you uses the spare air mattress in my room."
Both of them wiped what looked suspiciously like tears. Both of them looked touched, and grateful. I could see the light growing in their eyes, that had dimmed when they realized that I too would be going home.
Stella had been to Earth already, but Musa hadn't. I know that Lily wasn't expecting me, let alone two of my friends, but I couldn't bear to keep them away, not when I knew that Musa would do what Harry did, blame herself and brood away her sorrows, while Stella would act like Ginny, lashing out at everyone and gaining tunnel-vision for herself.
Besides, its not like Mum even knew that this holiday existed, with her being out of the loop for so long.
Faragonda frowned, turning to face us again. "Ms. Peterson, they have elected to stay."
"And they can change their minds, right headmistress?" I asked, trying to stay respectful.
Seeing Stella and Musa's hopeful looks, Dowling hesitated, before admitting, "If that is their wish."
"Please?" Musa all but begged.
"We can make sure that Bloom drinks her potions, too," Stella added brightly, causing me to huff at her with a smile.
Ofelia looked at us before nodding at the headmistress. "I trust Ms. Sung and Ms. Sol to ensure that Ms. Peterson takes her potions."
I smiled at them both. "Earth doesn't have Mother's Day until next year, so you won't be reminded of that everywhere you go. We showed Stella some of the sights, but we haven't shown you everywhere. There's so much to do in California."
"I won't lie and say that some of the stories you and Stella have shared haven't made the idea of visiting Earth temping." Musa admitted, before looking hesitant. "Are you sure, though? I don't want to be a burden."
My heart went out to Musa at those words.
I waved her over before wrapping my arms around her back as best as I could. "You'll never be a burden, you're one of my best friends." I said firmly, but softly.
Headmistress Dowling chuckled, before shaking her head. "Very well. You three may go to Earth, but you are expected back by Sunday night. I will not excuse any of you for skipping class."
Stella and Musa high-fived while I grinned and shook my shoulders--hey, it's the only way I can celebrate when I'm stuck in this tight little thing--while grinning excitedly.
"This is gonna be fun!" I cheered as Musa and Stella beamed. "We're going to Earth!"
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Friday morning saw my 'release' from the hospital wing. Nurse Ofelia had given me a collapsible case with all the potions I needed to take inside, each labeled for each day. I'll give the woman credit, she's awfully kind.
Tecna and Musa had ended up taking me back to my room, passing by Freddi and Georgina, who was leaving to grab Timmy from Red Fountain before heading home to their family.
"I still cannot compute my utter lack of opportunity to visit 'Earth'," Tecna complained as we neared our dorm.
"There will be other opportunities, plus, we also have Christmas break coming up, and summer." I pointed out, excited at the thought of sharing Christmas with my friends, since Yule wasn't really a big deal here. Yule in the Magix Dimension was more like...a second Thanksgiving, only with fewer turkeys and the snow depending on the realm you were in.
"Bloom's right." Musa agreed. "You'll have other chances, Tecna."
"I certainly hope so," Tecna said after an awkward pause. She'd been doing that a lot...around me. I don't know what caused this sudden gap between us...but I'm kind of concerned.
Neither of us have been particularly close, Musa and Tecna are closer, like how Stella is with me. Flora's getting there, but she's still shy about a large number of things...including things that I've walked in on.
Not that I blame her.
Of course, then there are my other concerns, that it's not something that I did, but rather, something that Tecna discovered. Something that she found out...about me.
If anyone could uncover my secrets, it would probably be Tecna. She's smart--very smart. I don't give her enough credit sometimes.
The idea that anyone could discover what I'm hiding--my heritage (Princess of dead realm, yay), Keeper of the Dragon Flame, has an undead sister, is planning to make weapons and armor with the Fire of Life...
Oh yeah. Not to mention that I'm a FREAKING OLDE SOUL, who lived a whole other FUCKING life and couldn't rest because of some Deity bullshit.
Seriously, a part of me is driven boinkers by the fact that I still haven't found out why I was reincarnated, although I have a few theories.
Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for this life. I don't have deluded egomaniacs out for my blood--mostly. But, I have a good life. Not the best life, I still lost my birth parents, but I have my first family back, with some new additions.
I may not have Hermione, Susan, Fred, George, Sirius, or Tonks (with how shitty Ron and Ginny turned out to be, they don't deserve to be on my list of trusted allies. Is it petty? Yes. Do I care? A bit...but not enough), but I have the Winx. I have Lily and James. I have Daphne, and Hagan.
And of course--
I smiled as my little bunny hopped onto one of the couches in the common room, before hopping into my arms.
I have Kiko.
"Oh, I missed you, Kiko." I rubbed my cheek against his fuzzy, soft one.
My adorable blue rabbit squeaked at me, concern in his gaze.
"I'll be fine." I smiled at him; magic had really made him more expressive, more human-like in terms of his mannerisms.
I smiled at him before setting him on my bed, and moving to pack a few things.
One; bras that I desperately needed to replace. My girls had grown bigger, definitely D-cups by this point. I was...well...okay, not in constant pain--that's an exaggeration--but it was very uncomfortable to wear a bra that squished my breasts tightly. It also made it a little difficult to breathe, with my injuries and all.
Thankfully, I'm long since past the point of embarrassment; I can ask for help. None of the girls are close to my bra size though, Stella's slightly smaller than I am, while Flora is the largest of us all. Tecna and Musa are even slimmer.
I just have to wait til I'm back home, but as soon as I am I will be ditching my bra, at least while I sleep. Musa and Stella agreed to share the guest room, and while I dread them fighting over something again, I also hope that it will allow them to bond, give them another reason to keep their friendship strong, instead of strained.
Two; my homework. I still had about a dozen assignments from Magiphysics, Magical Invocation, Good Manners, and Metamorphosis to catch up on. Our flight class was fine...oh shit, well, I can't do anything about Defense at this point.
Practical assignments are something that I will probably have to spend the rest of my days at Alfea catching up on, if the Trix continue their rampage. The rest of my theoretical work however, I can get done. Chapter assignments, reports, and of course, bloody essays.
Three; Magix City fashion trends. I'd bought four different outfits, and received about two dozen more from Stella whenever she needed to make space in her closet for her latest grabs (I had to talk her down to just taking one of her expansion-charmed mobile closets with her).
While some of these outfits could pass for some trends on Earth, there were a few shirts and tops that skimmed the line between being small and risque. Very, very risky. Risky enough to give James a heart attack, if he saw me in it.
I turned to Flora, who was setting her suitcase on her bed. I limped over, choosing to ignore her pitying look in favor of wrapping my arms around her. "I'll miss you."
"Me too." She said with rosy cheeks. I wonder what she must be thinking about. "I never thought that I'd have such a great roommate."
"Flora," I clicked my tongue at her. "Any girl would be lucky to have such a sweet fairy like you as a roommate."
"The same goes for you." She smiled before hugging me tighter, then released me.
I looked around at all the greenery. The vines on the walls, the plants and flowers. The ones in pots, and the ivory that decorated our window ledge. "So...whose going to water the plants while we're gone?"
Flora smiled knowingly. "Alfea will take care of that."
"Oooookay?" I drew the word out, feeling like I was missing something. Something very important, and obvious, and that I either stared in it's face or saw it at some point...
She turned and picked up her suitcase, levitating her talking plant, Tetris, onto a trolley cart that could levitate up and down stairs. Very useful.
I slid my bag over my shoulder, before grabbing my suitcase. With a warm smile and a last fond look around our shared room, I turned and helped Kiko climb up onto my shoulder. He'd been very clingy since I'd returned to our dorm, not that I blamed him. I missed the adorable little bugger too.
I pulled my suitcase out of the room, mindful of my limp so that I didn't trip over anything. I entered the common room to find Flora talking with her cousin, Terra, at the entrance.
Terra was a little more plump than Flora, but still had her same complexion, and bluish-green eyes, although her hair was cut far shorter, ending just before they could touch her shoulders, brushed so that they looked like puffy brown clouds.
I turned to see Tecna awkwardly hugging Musa goodbye, while Stella sauntered up to me, her hand resting on her suitcase handle. "Ready to surprise your mom?"
My lips rose. "Yeah." I breathed out.
Tecna came over, and I swept her into a hug before she could react.
"See you in three days," I said with a grin at them, almost missing the look exchanged between Stella, Musa, and Tecna.
I bit my lip, hoping that I wouldn't have to interfere, although I did wonder what had gotten Tecna on Stella's radar.
We all shared one last group hug before we walked out of our dorm together, passing by Luna, who waved at me and Musa with a mysterious smile. We both waved back, before joining the growing line of girls who were waiting to get checked off to leave the gates of Alfea.
Professors Griselda, Palladium, and Madam DuFour were all helping to check off lists, with Palladium busy with the Wings Generation--ours--, Griselda busy with the seniors, and DuFour with the sophomores.
I bounced on the balls of my feet, despite my injury. "And here I thought I'd never escape the infirmary."
Stella and Musa giggled, while Tecna's lips twitched upward and Flora covered her mouth to hide her smile.
"Usually, if you're told to stay in the infirmary, it's for good reason," Terra said softly.
I shrugged, ignoring the numerous eyes on me, pointing fingers and whispering. I had become a sort of unwanted celebrity, and even with my desire to stay 'under the radar', I still managed to stand out.
Then again, at least there wasn't the usual looks of discriminate dislike this time. There were a large number of sympathetic, worried, pitying, heck, even concerned looks cast at me, at my legs.
In all fairness, I was still limping. I'd been targeted by three senior witches.
"Oh, I can't wait for you to try some of Earth's cuisine," Stella said to Musa, practically writhing with excitement, even if her exterior demeanor was stoic with a calm smile, her tone was all but hyper. "They have this incredible bread dish called pizza, and it is one of the best foods I've ever tasted in my life."
Musa lifted an amused brow. "So, it's good?"
"Good?" Stella scoffed, before adopting a haughty pureblood tone. "It's divine! Simple heaven!"
We giggled at her antics (Tecna's lips curved more into a smile).
"Oh, I wish that we could go too." Flora sighed dreamily. "Earth sounds like a wonderful place."
I frowned internally, remembering that the Wizards of the Black Circle were still out there, still hunting me and my family down. They destroyed an enter kingdom of fairies, who's to say that I couldn't become another casualty?
That wasn't even including the daily violence that went on in California. Don't get me wrong, it's an amazing state to live in, with some great opportunities, celebrities, and theme parks.
"I'd love to show you all around." I reassured her, before repeating what I'd said to her and Tecna earlier. "There will be other opportunities."
Flora smiled, hugging me tightly. I hugged her back, Kiko even giving Flora a cute pat on her hair with his paw.
The last of the girls moved away, leaving just us.
"Ah, let's see here. Ms. Techne, off to Zenith. Ms. Vitale and Ms. Harvey, back home to Linphea? Ms. Sung, Ms. Sol, and Ms. Peterson, going to Earth?" Palladium asked us with a fond smile.
"Yes sir." I nodded with a small grin. I liked Palladium, he wasn't goofy like Wizgiz, nor serious or strict like DuFour or Griselda. He was more like...that friendly big brother, who was there to help you. To watch out for you. Stern, but not overbearing. Kind and gentle.
I can see why Flora has a crush on him, although I don't think she realizes it yet. And yes, he's hot, but not my kind of hot. Shut up.
He wore a green vest over an ivory puffy long-sleeve collared shirt and pants. A teal ascot was wrapped over his chest, partially tucked underneath the vest. Over his pants, he also wore a pair of tan-colored, knee-high boots.
"Excellent, excellent, and might I say, that it's nice to see you back in good health, Ms. Peterson." He said with a friendly smile. "You've given us more than a few scares."
"Sorry." I ducked my head, feeling my cheeks warm a bit.
Ah, lovely, back to showing my emotions. I guess I'm going to have to spend another whole day sorting memories and desensitizing my emotions.
Fun (note the sarcasm).
"Oh no, there's no need to apologize," he reassured me. "Just, be more careful out there. Witches are not to be trifled with."
I bit my lip to keep myself from replying that not all witches were bad, nodding, and making sure that my expression was solemn.
Sure, the ones like the Trix would end up falling into a dark abyss if they didn't do something about their actions now and start to repent (not that I really thought that they had much of a chance at redemption, but hey, you never know. Malfoy, for all that the git did, did surprise me in the end), but not all witches were bad, or evil.
Care in point: Mirta. I haven't really seen or looked for her since that night at the Gala when she warned me, but, she was different from the other witches. She lacked...a backbone, she didn't have the same drive that Icy, Darcy, and Stormy had.
A bit unfair to compare her immediately to them, but, the only other witches I had met were the two who had also applied for a job working at the White Horse. Those witches weren't any kinder, in all honesty, but their honesty was more blunt, more out there. Icy, Darcy, and Stormy were more dangerous.
I definitely wouldn't be going alone to Hagan's for a while.
We all walked through the gates--and I was pleased to note that I wasn't in pain anymore, I barely shivered as we passed through the wards safely--and out onto the grassy fields.
I smiled, turning as I looked at the Winx. "Group hug?"
"Yes!" Musa whooped.
"Sure." Stella agreed.
"Yes." Flora smiled.
"I suppose that it couldn't damage my--whoaa!" Tecna yelped as we dragged her into a group mass, our arms encircling each other as we pressed our bodies close, hugging tightly.
I smiled tightly at them, wondering how I'd gotten so lucky to get these four as my friends.
"As Bloom has a preference for stating--", Tecna said as we all pulled back, "--We'll see you before you know it."
I beamed at her before we turned to grab our luggage.
Stella, Musa, and I began our walk to the edge of the barrier, where the teleporting zone lay. There was a couple in Magix City, which was where Flora, Terra, and Tecna were headed, but chances were that it would be more crowded. This way, we should encounter fewer people.
I glanced at the girls as we walked, both of them looking excited but nervous.
Musa finally broke the silence. "So, Earth...what will we do there?"
"Let's see..." I trailed off, thinking of a number of different activities we could do, before Stella interjected, "Well, there's shopping centers, beaches, shopping centers, the Frutti Music Bar, malls, a theme park for fantasy characters and plastic ones, shopping."
"Looks like we won't have a shortage of shopping." I teased her.
Stella held up a finger. "Shush. I'm just getting started."
I threw a mirthful look at Musa, who muttered, "Uh, oh."
Stella continued to list a dozen more activities, half of which were shopping--the girl has a one-track mind for a princess, seriously--before she started to list online stuff. "And oh god, Earth's internet is such a fascinating place! So many websites, so many celebrities and fashion icons! We really must set Tecna loose on there, and see what she can dig up."
I snorted to hide my snickers, as well as slight dread. Tecna was born with code ingrained into her magical DNA. The girl could probably peruse through the Dark Web in a matter of seconds. Heck, I doubt that the best government-grade encryption could keep her out if she tried.
"Let's plan to hack the internet another day, okay?" I said dryly as we approached the edge of the barrier. "The last thing we need are Earth's a hundred and ninety-five soverin nations taking to arms because Tecna hacked them on a dare."
I didn't really understand why most of Magix was covered by the barrier, or what it could mean. All I did know was that the six schools in Magix--Alfea, Red Fountain, Beta Academy, Oscuria, Malacoy, and Hagan's school--were the combined source of this shield.
What it was keeping out, I had no clue. I assume that it was a leftover defense from the war against the Ancestral Witches, but Hagan hadn't said anything about it. Then again, I never did ask.
Something else to put on my list of to-do's next time I see him.
Musa blinked in shock. "Wait, really?? Why is Earth so divided?"
"That's what I asked," Stella commented.
I sighed as we pushed through, before turning to face them. "The long and short of it is that Earth has a very bloody history. More bloody than even the Fae Wars."
Both girls shivered, probably remembering some of the more gruesome details from Barbatea's lecture in history this week.
"History has also been changed by the victor so many times, and their perception of right and wrong went to shit when the Earth fairies went into hiding after they were..." Stella and I exchanged a tense look before I said to Musa, knowing that the topic would come up later, and it was probably best if she was given a bit of forewarning now, "...hunted down."
Musa stopped walking. "And you lived on Earth? Like that? For sixteen years?"
"Hey!" I defended. "Earth is home, just as Melody is your home."
Stella. "Ready to do your thing?"
"Of course!" Stella slid her ring off her finger, before tossing it into the air. I felt and saw the ring release a wave of magic, moments before it expanded, the hoop portion elongating into the staff while the jeweled top grew into the whitish-blue ball with orbiting orange sun jewels.
And thanks to Daphne, I now could understand what Stella was saying when she opened a portal, "Portale de Terra!"
A shimmering blue vortex surrounded us, Stella's scepter shining brightly, just mere moments before I felt a tug behind my navel, and then, we were sucked in.
A blue field of magic surrounded us, with white and green, pink and orange sparkles forming a tunnel.
My hair was caressed by magic, Kiko squealing somewhere near my ear as we flipped around, while Stella and Musa gracefully arched their backs, soaring through the portal.
I felt the tug behind my navel grow stronger as we grew nearer to the bright white light at the other end of the tunnel.
And then in an explosion of pink and yellow-white lights, we were falling onto soft grass.
"Oof!"
"Ugn!"
"Uhhn!"
I groaned, rubbing my sore bottom. "My landings need work."
"Well, you are a fairy," Stella said cheekily, who had the grace and skill to land on her feet, while Musa and I had planted into the grass. "Just get your Winx on."
I scowled at her tease. "Believe me," I said dryly. "I would if I could."
Stella shrugged as we climbed to our feet and gathered our stuff. Kiko stayed near us, hopping onto my suitcase as I pulled it along.
"Huh...something feels...off."
Stella and I paused, before looking back at Musa's confused look.
"What's up, Musa?" I asked.
She frowned, looking around, her limbs trembling slightly. "I...don't know. It's like...magic was there...but suddenly it's not...?"
Stella and I shared a gasp as we understood.
"Earth doesn't have magic," Stella explained as she grabbed her luggage, making it shrink to fit on a little string around her neck. "You're probably just woosy."
Musa frowned, looking a little light-headed. "Yeah...probably."
I looked at her with concern. "You sure you're okay, Musa?"
She nodded after a moment of hesitation. "I--think so?" She winced, before clarifying. "I'm used to hearing magic around me in the air. Like an ever-present song."
"The buzzing." I nodded. I had long since learned how to tune it out after a month at Alfea. The ambient magic could be distracting at times if I let it, but I had Occlumency to ground my thoughts and actions.
"It's like a fish being taken out of water." I went for an analogy. "You're suddenly deprived of water in this case, gasping for air that you can only get through gills."
Musa frowned worriedly. "But, I'm not in any danger of dying..." she paused, her looking turning a little scared. "...am I?"
I shook my head quickly. "No, no, no." I winced. "Sorry, that was probably the worst anaolgy I could've used."
Stella didn't snort, although if she wasn't exercising her ettiquete training, I bet she probably would've. "You could've used worse."
Musa shook her head firmly. "Nope, I do not want to dive down that rabbithole."
Kiko perked up, looking at us, causing me to coo at him before I gently scratched the fur between his ears. "Not you this time, you silly bunny."
I glanced at them, watching as Stella shrunk her ring down before speaking. "Just remember girls. No magic here."
Musa nodded after a moment while Stella gave us both an innocent look that deceived neither of us for a second. "What, do you really think that I'd break that little rule?"
"If you thought you could look good doing it, yes." Musa muttered under her breath, but I still heard it.
As did Stella, whose eyes narrowed at her in challenge. "What was that?"
I almost pinched my nose. "Look, girls. I invited you to get us away for a weekend, not so that we could fight and bicker. Can you try to be peaceful, for me? For our friendships?"
Musa and Stella shot each other looks before nodding slowly.
"Fine."
"Sure."
I nodded, feeling my lips curve upward, and I didn't fight to keep my smile away. "Now, come on. I have a family to surprise, and a little sister to ambush."
We all shared smirks.
"Count me in." Stella said.
"Me too." Musa agreed, her eyes sparkling.
I threw them a mirthful look. "Come on then. Let's go, Winx."