Winx Club: Forbidden Love
Prologue – The Curse of Heartbreak
Written By: Nayoki Yakazami
(No. You do not get to know my real name. But my pen name is suhweet, huh?)
Eraklyon, one of the most splendorous worlds in the Magic Dimension. As the sun rises on the new day, A figure greets the sunrise in an elegant gown bearing the royal insignia of Domino, their fire red hair waving gently in the early morning breeze. The scent of a fresh new day fills the air as the world comes to life, yet Bloom, the Princess of Domino, waiting to greet the day ahead just gives a wistful sigh.
"The sun rises on a new day, in a world of wonders and pleasures that most people would give anything for. Today, the day of his birthday, Sky plans to announce our wedding to all of the people of the Magic Dimension ...Yet, my mind still lingers so far away with another... So far away with.. her..." Bloom says to herself and no one else as she turns away from the balcony rail to walk into her personal suite. She walks with slow, calm strides across the extravagant room, her footsteps drowned out by the velvet soft carpet. Bloom remains silent for several moments as she stares at the picture on the wall.. a picture of... herself. Slowly her hand moves upwards to the picture, her index finger running slowly along her jaw line, tracing a small outline along a small pink stain on her cheek. Finally, Bloom smiles, and reaches up with both hands to take hold of the frame and lift it away from the wall.
The elegantly carved wood work frame is no small task for Bloom to maneuver carefully to her bed, but she does so without dropping the frame even once. Laying the frame down picture first against the bed, she begins to unlatch the back of the frame, and remove the protective backing which holds her portrait in place. As the backing pulls away, revealing several smaller portraits face down against the back of the large portrait, she places it down against the bed and reaches into the frame to retrieve the smaller portraits. She looks only for a moment, lifting the pictures up high enough so that only she can see... then brings them close against her chest and lowers her head with another sigh as her eyes well with tears. Bloom's arms clench tighter around her chest, holding the portraits against her tighter, her eyes closing to fight back that which she knows she can't control. Tears stream down her cheeks, falling from her chin to land with quiet taps and patters against the back of the large portrait in the wooden frame resting on the bed in front of her. After a few moments, a soft knocking comes from the door on the other side of the room, as well as the quiet voice of one of the Eraklyon royal servants.
"Lady Bloom... Breakfast is to be served soon. I am here to help you prepare properly...", The young voice calls out as yet another soft knocking comes from the doorway, followed by the girl's voice again, repeating... "Lady Bloom?"
Bloom lifts her head away from her chest, her eyes widening with a hint of fear as she speaks. "Just a moment please..!" Bloom waits for a moment but after a few moments, the Princess of Domino begins to move quickly and silently, placing the photos that she had retrieved back in the picture frame, before she places the backing onto the frame again, fastening it securely. Once the backing is locked in place, Bloom moves the portrait with her back across the room to place it back on the wall. Then finally, after keeping the servant waiting for several minutes, she cleans off her face with a soft silk cloth and then opens the door silently. In response, Bloom is greeted by the servant awaiting behind the door with a deep, respectful bow.
"Good Morning, Lady Bloom, I hope the day greets you well?" She says to Bloom who doesn't reply immediately. In fact, the question gets no response from Bloom, prompting the Servant to look over at Bloom silently. Finally, the palace servant smiles, moving across the room to join Bloom. "Lady Bloom.. Would you like to speak with me about anything?"
Bloom's eyes move across the room to the portrait on the wall again before she hangs her head, shaking it slowly from side to side as she speaks, "No.. It's.. not important. ... Talking wouldn't help anyway." The Princess of Domino slowly stands up with that, and walks over to a large vanity near the bed, her eyes locking with her reflection as she moves her hands up to partially unlace the evening gown. The royal servant simply shakes her head, moving over with Bloom to help the princess unlace the gown. As the elegant fabric loosens and slides away from Bloom's body, the servant gives a sudden surprised gasp, followed by a long silence.
"La...Lady Bloom...!" The servant finally says aloud, breaking the silence in the room as Bloom just hangs her head. The royal servant slowly steps closer, lifting her hand slowly to trace her finger down Bloom's back, the tip of her finger following an arcane pattern that seems tattooed into her skin. An ancient symbol long forgotten throughout the ages, even by some of the most talented casters in the Magic Dimension. The servant just remains quiet, her hand continuing to trace the symbol as she tries to make sense of it's arcane signature. Bloom finally shakes her head, speaking out in a cracked voice, her body beginning to shiver, "Stop... Please... Just stop..." Bloom then pulls away forcefully from the royal servant, turning her back to the mirror so that she can face her as she continues, "....Every curse leaves a mark... A signature, denoting it's creators, what the curse is, and how long it will last. ...This symbol... ...Is the mark of the Curse of Heartbreak. An ancient and terrible spell created by the three ancestral witches..."
The young royal servant just blinks as she draws her hand back when Bloom pulls away, her fingers clenching ever so slightly into her own palm as she listens to Bloom's explanation. "...Lady Bloom... Are you ... sure? You have one of the most celebrated engagements in Eraklyon history... How could you-" Bloom shakes her head quietly, raising her hand to stop the servant from speaking. "...Allow me to tell you... The truth... However... you must promise me that what I say... will never leave this room." The servant quietly blinks her eyes, tilting her head to one side before she nods her head softly. Then as Bloom moves to sit down at the chair in front of her vanity, slipping into a very loose undergarment, she moves over behind Bloom and begins to comb through her hair with a hairbrush gently.
Bloom's hand moves up to the mirror quietly, putting one hand against the glass before she sighs deeply, her voice sounding deeper and more troubled as she begins to speak and recount her memories, "It all started four years ago... I had just made the biggest and most embarrassing mistake of my life... Attacking one of the Eraklyon nobles, Princess Diaspro, and interrupting the Exhibition Day at Red Fountain. The worst, though.. Was finding out that Sky had been lying to me about his identity.. I've forgiven him now, but at the time, it really hurt. It also led to my decision to leave Alfea, and Magix for my hometown Gardenia on Earth... An opportunity that the Trix had been waiting for, for a very long time..."
"Girls! This is our chance, our time to get revenge on that annoying PIXIE for everything she's done to us... And I say we enjoy it!" Icy says to her sisters in a triumphant voice, then grins wickedly as she continues. "We'll give Bloom a going away present to make sure that pitiful little heart of hers stays broken, and once she's suffered for a while, we'll strike and steal her powers. The final crushing blow to the poor little fairy's spirit." Darcy and Stormy look to each other for a moment before the three witches start to laugh, a menacing, dark laughter that travels through the dark rooms and corridors of Cloud Tower.
After the three stop, Darcy just grins to Icy, her hand lifting to generate a pulsating orb of darkness as she speaks, "I know just the spell, sister. An ancient curse meant to cause it's victim eternal heartbreak. One created by our ancestors." Icy's eyes lit up with what could be delight. The idea of causing a fairy, Bloom especially, that kind of emotional pain filled her with joy. Her hand moves forward to touch the orb of dark energy held by her sister, but Darcy pulls her hand away, and the orb with it, her voice raising as she speaks. "Be careful! This spell is not something you want to take lightly. It doesn't discriminate fairy from witch, it will be just as effective on us as it would be on Bloom.", Darcy explains as she picks up a crystal flask, allowing the energy of her spell to flow into it calmly. Then, as she writes down the words of the spell on a slip of parchment, the Witch of Darkness carefully puts the flask in Icy's hand, before she begins to detail the spell's procedure. "Take it to Bloom, recite this spell, and break the flask. The energy will target whoever the spell was cast upon."
Stormy just grins to herself before she crosses her arms, speaking in a condescending tone. "That sounds simple enough even Knut could do it properly. I hope Icy can pull this off without Bloom humiliating her again."
Darcy smiles quietly and shrugs her shoulders turning to walk over to a bookshelf before she reaches up to remove a book. "Well, I would come more trusting her to do it properly than I would you. Unlike you, she actually passed Professor Elditrude's Preparation and Casting of Curses class."
Icy just glares at the two witches for a moment before she lifts the sheet of parchment up in front of her eyes, reading over it before she smiles in an almost sweet manner. "Fine.. I'll take care of it. You two just be ready to move in when I call for you. We cannot let this opportunity slip through our fingers." Icy says before she turns away from the other two witches, walking through the doorway leading out of the room. Darcy and Stormy pause, looking to each other quietly before they both shrug their shoulders and continue their argument.
A short time later, in Gardenia, Bloom had made her way home, and reunited with Mike and Vanessa, her foster parents. While it was obvious to them that Bloom was unhappy, her decision to stay gave them a somewhat bitter sweet surprise. The two knew that Bloom would be much like a caged bird, living with them again after such a wonderful adventure in another dimension where magic and fairies were common, and they were right. They tried to hide their true feelings from Bloom, but thanks to her powers, she could see that both of them were truly unhappy with her decision to leave her world of magic behind... Or rather, that they were unhappy to see Bloom so unhappy. Still she had returned home, and that meant that at least for a time, they had their daughter back. Unknown to all of them, however... After everyone had finally gone to sleep that night, Bloom would have a guest that, had she been awake that night, would have been very unwelcome.
The midnight air had turned cold, far colder than any weather forecast had predicted. Frost began to form on the window of Bloom's bedroom, and a light fog seeped into the room from the difference in the air temperature outside and that inside the room. The fog began to coalesce, gathering together into a figure, before finally taking the solid form of Icy. In response to the sudden change in temperature, Bloom, who had fallen asleep on her bed in her clothes, simply rolled over and pulled her covers over her body in her sleep. Resting on the edge of the bed, the book that Bloom had been clutching desperately to her chest teeters, falling from the bed. The book never makes it to the floor, however, caught by a swiftly cast spell by the ice witch, who guided the book over into her hands.
'Fairies... Myth or Reality...' Icy reads to herself, in her mind, almost having to bite down on her tongue to keep from breaking out with laughter. She then places the book down silently on the nearby table before looking back at Bloom. 'So pathetic...She doesn't belong here, so she tries to drown herself in a fairy tale world, while leaving a true world of magic and adventure behind. We'll be doing her a favor by ripping the power out of her.' Slowly, Icy moves over to the bed near Bloom, her eyes moving down to watch Bloom sleep for a few more moments as she pulls out the crystal flask given to her by Darcy.
"Well, Bloom... I would say it's been nice knowing you... but the fun we've got planned for you is just beginning..." Icy says to herself, her voice low enough that it doesn't disturb Bloom's sleep. Icy then gives a cold grin as she waves her hand slowly, tracing a pattern in the air as she fills the area with dark magical energy, preparing the room and bed for the spell casting about to take place. Once she finishes, she places one hand forward just above Bloom, beginning to speak in a slow, calm tone as she recites the spell given to her by Darcy. "Power of Darkness, element of the first true ancestor. Cast your eyes upon this girl, the last heir to the throne of Domino, and keeper of the Great Dragon's flame. Let her soul not exist in peace, and her heart know true heartbreak and suffering. Let her dreams be filled with torment, and her mind be filled with sorrow from this night forward." Icy's hand then moves up, carrying the crystal flask with it... Then throws it to the floor with all of her might, the dark energy contained within being released in a sudden burst that fills the room with darkness, all of it beginning to converge on Bloom's sleeping form. Trapped in her sleep by the workings of the curse, Bloom is unable to hear or feel any of this, save for an oppressive feeling of darkness closing in all around her... and then... The room around lights up ablaze in magical flame, the roar of a proud dragon sounding off which causes Icy to take a step backwards.
"W...What?!" Icy calls out as the darkness that was seeping into Bloom's body begins to be pushed back by a dull yellow glow... The glow gets brighter and brighter as do the flames surrounding the bed, pushing the darkness, what remains, further and further back until it begins to coalesce around Icy and converge on the witch instead. Then.. in an explosion of power triggered by the Dragon's Flame.. Icy is gone, the room is quiet, and Bloom sits up with sweat forming on her forehead. She looks around slowly, her eyes moving around the room... but once she's finally convinced that she was only awoken by a nightmare, she lowers her head and drifts back to sleep.
Having reappeared a short distance away outside of Bloom's home, still smoking from the blast of energy that had repelled her, Icy heaves in pain. Her body aches, her mind almost completely unsure if the curse she cast had taken affect over Bloom or not. However, rather than risking another attempt that night, Icy simply shook her head, deciding that it would be best for her plans to lay low and watch over Bloom for a short time. Her sisters would understand, and if it meant ensuring the plan were to go ahead without a hitch, Icy was more than willing to lay low for a time.
The next morning, Bloom awakened to her mother's voice, trying to rouse the girl from her sleep. Slowly Bloom rolled over to one side, giving a quiet yawn before she finally sits up and shakes her head. "Mom... Just five more minutes, please...?" Vanessa just smiled at Bloom, shaking her head silently as she spoke. "Sweetie, if you're going to work in the flower shop with me today, you need to wake up and get ready. You fell asleep in your clothes, you know." Bloom's response to this was to look down at herself, then sigh quietly before she smiles, picking herself up off of her bed, and undressing to her undergarments as she replies, "I know, Mom.. I was just so tired last night that I didn't feel like changing out of my clothes. I'll be down in just a bit, do you mind if I take a shower first?" Vanessa just shook her head to Bloom as she replies, "No sweetie, go right ahead. Breakfast will be ready when you get dressed." With that said, Vanessa turns and walks out of Bloom's bedroom, leaving the girl by herself as she gathers up her clothes and walks into the bathroom across the hall.
Half an hour later, Bloom finally makes her way downstairs, having showered, and changed into fresh clothing for the day ahead. Mike, having a job at the local fire station, had already left for his shift by the time Bloom came down for breakfast. This was no real surprise though, and it didn't really bother Bloom in the least, instead her attention turned to her mother. Bloom pauses to look at her plate for a moment before she sighs, her voice somewhat quiet as she speaks. "Mom.. Are you sure you don't mind if I come to work with you today?" Vanessa just smiles and nods her head quietly before she speaks. "Yes, Bloom, I'm sure. It will be nice to have you around to help out again after so long. Besides, you need to get out and get your mind off of things, this will be the perfect opportunity." Bloom gave a silent smile before she nodded her head in agreement, her hand moving to put her utensil down beside her now empty plate, "Mom.. I-" Vanessa shook her head, cutting Bloom off, her smile genuine as she replies to Bloom, "Bloom... You don't have to apologize... Your father and I want you to be happy, that's all that matters to us." Giving a soft smile in reply, Bloom slowly nodded her head, then stood up to head out to her mother's vehicle so that the two could head to work for the day.
Vanessa's shop had recovered well, after the fire set by the greedy business tycoons and their limo driver only a few months earlier. Luckily, Bloom had been home during the time, and was able to help contain the fire and save the store. It hadn't taken Vanessa long to restock the store after the fire, due to the insurance money, and customers were once again arriving on a daily basis. Bloom and Vanessa spent the better majority of the morning assisting customers, and yet somehow, no matter what the customers asked for, they always seemed to have just the right amount and color of flower in stock. A fact Bloom's mother noticed, after she told one customer that they were out of pink carnations and Bloom came to the counter with a bundle in hand. As the woman paid for the flowers and left, Vanessa just smiled to Bloom quietly as she turned to the girl with an almost accusing look and said, "You know, it really is wonderful to have an assistant with a... magic touch."
Bloom smiled softly in response to her mother, her eyes moving away to the flowers on the counter as she reached up and began to adjust and straighten one of the displays, while speaking. "Flora taught me that trick." She said, to herself before picking up the display and moving it forward where it would be more visible to the customers. Vanessa just smiled and shook her head calmly before she looked to the clock. "...Hm... Almost lunch time. Do you want me to go pick up anything to eat?" Vanessa asked, looking to Bloom as she began to collect her things. Bloom stopped and concentrated for a moment before she nodded her head. "Actually, lunch would be good, but we can't leave the shop unattended, and you really can't close up in the middle of the day... I'll stay behind to watch the store, alright?" Bloom replied, causing Vanessa to blink for a moment then nod her head with a smile as she replied, "Alright, Bloom. I won't be gone too long." Vanessa then walked out the front door of the shop and down the sidewalk to the parking lot nearby.
Soon after Vanessa left, Bloom picked up a small display of flowers and walked off into the back of the store. As Bloom walked out of sight, a lone figure entered the flower shop, approaching the front counter. Placing them down on a work desk. Bloom began picking out the wilted flowers. Each time she pulled a flower from the display, she concentrated her energy, focusing on the flower to re-energize the plant. Once she was satisfied with each, she put them back in the display carefully and when she was done, she slowly stood up to pick the display back up. Once Bloom reached for the display however, a sudden and sharp pain traveled up her spine and over her right shoulder, nearly causing her to fall to the floor. Bracing herself against the wall, Bloom was just able to hear a sudden thud in the display room outside. Once the pain began to subside, she quickly made her way back out to the front of the store, to see what the noise she heard actually was.
On the floor in the main display room, a young girl with bright white hair had collapsed and appeared to be in a great deal of pain. A cold chill surrounded the girl, and on her back, Bloom could recognize what only could have been a magical symbol glowing through her clothes. Without stopping to think, Bloom imiedately moved over to the prone girl, her hand reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder. The moment their bodies touched, a sudden jolt of energy traveled through Bloom's arm. Then the girl stopped clutching at her body, a sudden calm overtaking her. The pains seemed to subside slowly at first, but the longer Bloom's hand stayed in contact, the quicker they dissipated. Soon, the young woman sat up, taking great lengths to keep from looking at Bloom for the longest time, until she finally spoke, "...Thanks..."
Bloom's eyes widened, her hand moving away from the girl's body quickly as she fell over backwards and tried to pull away, the sudden realization of who this young girl was causing her to almost scream out, "Icy!?" The girl just sat with her back to Bloom, not looking back for the longest time before she finally turned her head. With her hair down, it was harder to recognize, but the face was definitely that of the witch from Magix. Icy, leader of the Trix. Something seemed.. different, though. The longer Bloom looked, the less harsh Icy's facial features became, until finally the witch was blushing a dull red through her cheeks. A sight Bloom only got to see for a brief moment before the witch turned her head away, her voice snapping out, but in a somewhat broken tone, "W..What you stupid pixie! Why are you staring at me like that?!" Bloom just continued to stare quietly for several moments, before finally looking away. Something was wrong, she could feel it, or was it? Something seemed different, something she hadn't felt when she last saw Icy in Magix, but the more Bloom tried to place the feeling, familiar it became.. as if she had always felt it.
Bloom finally shook her head in response to Icy, slowly moving to her feet before she reached out with one hand to help the witch off the floor. Icy paused for the briefest of moments, looking up at Bloom before she reached out to take hold of the fairy's hand, pulling herself up to her feet. The two stared at each other again, for what seemed like almost an eternity before Bloom shook her head to clear her thoughts. "A..Ah... Welcome to Vanessa's Flowers.. ...Mom's flowers must be popular if you're hearing about them in Magix..."
Icy just blinked quietly, staring at Bloom as the fairy tried to pass off the encounter without conflict, then she looks away to one side for a moment. The more the witch stood there trying to call up her rage against Bloom from within, the less she found. Finally, the witch nodded her head in reply, her eyes moving around the shop. "Actually... ... Yes, I was thinking about finding the perfect flowers to ... uh... brighten up the dorm room back at Cloud Tower...", She said without much hesitation, and resisting the urge to gag on her own words. Bloom just gave a sweet smile, fairly impressed with Icy's own feat herself, and after a moment she smiles and nods her head as she speaks, "I think... I think I know exactly what kind of flowers to give you, Icy. Just one moment..."
Bloom walks off behind the front counter again, to a display of red roses in the corner, where she stops for a moment and looks back to make sure that Icy was waiting as she said. Then she collects a cluster of roses from the display and bundles them up carefully, her hand moving over the petals gently to change the color of the petals from red to white. Pausing, Bloom looks at the flowers again for a moment, before she smiles and moves her hand across the rose petals again, this time using her powers in reverse to generate a light frost on the petals which turns the white to ice blue. Satisfied, Bloom smiles and moves back over to Icy in front of the counter and presents the roses gently as she speaks, "Here..."
Icy looked down quietly at the roses for a moment, another light blush forming across her cheeks as she notices the changes Bloom made to the roses. Then she shakes her head quietly while beginning to speak in a genuine tone, "They're beautiful... but I-" Bloom shook her head to stop Icy mid sentence, her lips turning up into a smile before she replies, "Please. Don't worry about money, consider it a gift..." Bloom smiles as she slowly offers the roses again, smiling even more, with a light blush to her cheeks as Icy takes them from her. For the briefest of moments, Bloom's mind wandered to her friends, to what they would say if they saw her giving their worst enemy a gift of flowers. Similarly, Icy's mind wandered to her sisters, wondering how they would tease her for taking a gift like this from a fairy, let alone Bloom. Then in almost perfect harmony, the two smiled, the thoughts in their minds being pushed out. Icy then looks to the roses again before she looks back to Bloom and smiles just before she speaks, a sentence of two words that Bloom never had heard Icy say before, "Thank you." With that, Icy turned to walk out of the store, and as she walked away down the street, Bloom's eyes followed the witch until she was out of sight, her fingers still in a half closed position as though she had never let go of the rose bundle. A sudden jingle caught her attention, causing her to jump slightly and shake her head as her body relaxed, her eyes moving back to greet the face of her mother entering the store.
Vanessa just blinked quietly at Bloom for a moment, her head tilting as she walks up to bloom and asks, "Bloom? Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost..." Bloom quietly shook her head in response to Vanessa's guess, her hands moving to the counter momentarily before she looked back to the place where Icy had left her view one last time. Finally, Bloom replies to her mother in a quiet voice, "Ah... No. I'm fine Mom. I guess.. I guess I just zoned out for a moment or something..." Vanessa just smiled at Bloom quietly, shaking her head before she walked back behind the counter to set the bag of food down, then she turns back to Bloom with a smile on her face as she speaks, "You know, it's a good thing you did come home. At least here you can get some rest so that you'll stop spacing out like that." Bloom just blinked quietly to herself before she smirks quietly, replying to her mother, "Mom! I'm not spacing out, I just have a lot of things on my mind, okay?" Vanessa nods her head in response to Bloom before she waves her hand towards the food while saying, "Either way, you should come get something to eat while things are relatively calm... and try to take it easy for the rest of the day, okay?" In response, Bloom nods her head a final time, then walks behind the counter to retrieve her food. As she sits down quietly behind the counter, her eyes drift off again to the place where Icy left her view, her thoughts beginning to drift again as she eats her lunch silently.
This concludes my Prologue for my new fan-fic, I hope you like it as I put a good deal of thought into it. I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors, as they frankly tend to slip past me on a regular basis. Please feel free to comment, tell your friends, and leave large gifts of pecan pie on my doorstep. Remember. Pecan Pies help the creative process, and only you can prevent writers block. ....
You know. I'm fairly sure that's a sign I should be in bed. 9.9. Adios, Reader! See you next time!
-NayokiYakazami