Phew, this story is fresh from the editing oven. I had such a hard time with this chapter and I don't know why. I still got it updated on Monday, though. *High fives self* I hope you do like it and if you don't, I'll make it up to you in chapter 5. Enough about my troubles, on with the story.
Ok, I know this thing is evil, but they had a good strategy. For weeks, they stayed silent, which built up the anticipation and fear. When so much of that builds up, everyone examines every little thing and overlook the obvious or don't think much of them. For example…
Sondra is walking down the corridor filled with doors to different dorm rooms. She soon reaches a point where a wide stairway and sitting areas on each side of it are seen. She was going to head down the stairs when her cell phone rings. She looks at the caller ID and looks to make sure no one is around.
"Hello." She says into the phone.
On the other end, the caller is ranting and complaining in response. She has to pull the phone away from her ear, they're so loud.
"Will you calm down?"
She rolls her eyes as she walks over to one of the seats. Her caller refuses to listen and it just angers her. The person goes on and on for multiple minutes and she gets fed up with it.
Sondra has an irritated tone when she is finally able to speak over him. "I know you've been waiting for weeks."
She closes her eyes and takes a deep breathe. "I can't make it if you don't have all of the things I need! I agree…we need to hurry up, but we can't rush this thing!"
In her peripheral vision, she sees Timmy walking down the hall.
She ends the call quickly and in a calmer tone. "We'll speak soon. Bye."
Sondra hangs up, stands up, and straightens the creases on her jeans. She walks over to Timmy and they strike up a conversation.
"Hey, uh…is everything ok?" He questions her.
She sighs, "Yeah, it's just my little brother."
"What's wrong with you and your brother?"
Sondra laughs, "Our mum's birthday is coming up and he wants me to make her favorite cake. I can't make the cake if he doesn't get me the ingredients."
Timmy nods, "Hmm…you know, they had a breakthrough in that study about genes and people born without magic."
"Really?" She smiles, "What's the breakthrough?"
They both start heading down the stairs as they continue talking.
"Well," he adjusts his glasses. "Dr. Donavon discovered that the part of the gene that contains the magic abilities of a person is pure 100% magic. A parent with magic has that while the parent without magic doesn't. When the parents produce offspring, the part that is supposed to contain their magic abilities is either non-existent or bit by bit of it dissolves as the person ages and then becomes non-existent right before puberty. It has..."
"That's interesting," Sondra starts, "I would love to hear more, but I have to go get my lunch from Magix. Why not tell me more over tea tomorrow? We can discuss the study."
"Uh…yeah, sure."
"Great!" She has a bright smile.
Sondra waves bye and starts leaving. Timmy waves back, but he found that she was acting kind of strange today. During the phone call, she wasn't her usual self. She wouldn't get upset over cake and wouldn't get irritated so quickly, especially if it was family. Something just didn't add up.
And strange it is, I agree. Uncle Timmy was able to sense this strange occurrence, but still didn't think much of it. If he would have known this behavior would go on all day, he probably would have kept an eye on her in the future. Especially, after viewing her actions in Magix.
Mrs. Emerald was walking along the many stores in Magix. She is trying to find a good place to pick up her lunch. She was trying to find a vegan restaurant when she gets distracted by the store Magic Creations. She is intrigued by the look and aura of the store and decides to enter. A bell dings and she notices that the place is small compared to the amount of objects inside. It was filled with sage, salts, dream catchers, and more. She walks over to the section filled with crystals and rocks. It wasn't long until a woman walks up to her.
"Excuse me," the woman starts, "are you Mrs. Emerald?"
"Yes, who might you be?" She questions.
"I'm Sondra," she holds out her hand. "The new teacher at Red Fountain."
"Oh," Mrs. Emerald shakes her hand. "I'm the same position at Alfea. Have we met before?"
"Not officially, but my co-teachers date the Winx Club. Plus, you have an Alfea pin."
Mrs. Emerald looks down at the gold pin. Engraved on it is Mrs. A. Emerald, Alfea Teacher.
"That explains it." Mrs. Emerald chuckles. "You can call me Ashton, though."
"So, Ashton," Sondra interrogates, "what are you doing in this store? You're not a witch, are you?"
Mrs. Emerald laughs, "No, no, I was just curious and wanted to look around. Is this a store for witches only?"
"Oh, no." Sondra laughs, "I have no powers at all and I shop here. It's just…most of the customers at this store are witches."
There is an awkward pause. Sondra picks at her sleeve and Mrs. Emerald looks around nervously.
"Um…what are those rocks good for?"
Sondra looks down at the bags in her hand. "These white rocks are perfect for meditating. They keep the positive in and negative out. If they are smooth then they work even better."
"I'll have to get some later. Unfortunately, I have to go eat. I'll see you around."
They wave and they both have a smile. Sondra, though, gets an angry look across her face once Mrs. Emerald is completely gone. She goes back to looking around the store, heading to the candle section next. By the candles, a woman with dark, purple hair scans Sondra's posture. She was wearing all black clothing and had a silver nose ring. They both have the same look on their faces.
As she examines a black candle, the woman asks, "Something wrong?"
"Nothing." Sondra answers plainly. "Just another annoying pixie to deal with."
Sondra is defiantly starting to show her true self. Saladin has been seeing it for weeks now, though. She is hiding it sloppily. At this point, she is probably thinking she can get away with anything she is planning. As shown when she misses another meeting with Saladin.
Saladin was pacing around his office. He was growing impatient waiting for Sondra to come. When he hears the door open, he hopes it's her. Instead, it was Codatorta. He was stern as he walked over to Saladin.
"Did you find her?" Saladin questions.
"No," He answers. "I searched the whole school. Timmy said that she went to Magix for lunch."
Saladin huffs, "Argh…this is the fourth time she has not shown up to our meeting."
"I understand she is a talented warrior, but is she worth the trouble?" Codatorta crosses his arms.
Saladin thinks about it for a bit. Having her teach at the school is very beneficial, but he has never had so much trouble with a trainer.
"We must do whatever we can to survive this battle."
"We can't survive the battle if she doesn't strategize!" Codatorta snaps.
"I know, Codatorta!" He sighs, "At this point…I don't know what to think of our situation with her. It's not just our meetings she's missing, you know. She missed her lesson on dragon training, missed an all teachers meeting, and missed who knows what else."
"Saladin, I know this school means a lot to you. You'll do anything you can to keep everyone here safe. But, you're not going to accomplish anything by keeping her here!"
"If we don't keep her here, this school will be finished!"
They are both silent, realizing that this is the first they have yelled at each other. Codatorta turns around to leave. When he is in the door way, Saladin speaks.
"I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into this school. I'm not going to let one female warrior destroy it."
I admire Saladin's passion for the school. I wish I could have that much passion in something. The rest of the day goes by without any more added issues. The tensions are still building, though. Even the strongest of relationships can be broken by the sharpest knife. It's…wait, another issue was brought up. It was night time at Alfea…
Some students were still roaming the halls. They were all heading to bed, talking with friends, going to the library to study, and many other reasons. Flora was one of them. She was poking her head into every room, knocking on every door, searching the place high and low. She was looking for someone, a friend. Eventually, she got to Ms. Faragonda's office.
She knocks on the door and hears a faint "Come in."
Flora walks in and sees Ms. Faragonda sitting at her desk. She walks over to stand in front of the headmistress's desk. She cuffs her hands together and they are hanging at her sides.
"How may I help you, Flora?" The headmistress looks over her glasses.
"I was wondering if you've seen Mirta. I've been looking all over for her."
Ms. Faragonda becomes silent and looks down. Her thumb rubs over her other thumb nervously as she looks back up at the fairy.
"Flora…you haven't heard?"
"Haven't heard what?"
Ms. Faragonda takes deep breathe. "Mirta's gone."
Wait, what! Mirta's gone? What, how, when, and why? Well, you'll find out soon.
I just wanted to take the time to thank two people. First, a thanks to cybercorpsesnake for being my newest reviewer. They have been giving me their opinions on this story and I appreciate it. Second, a thank you to PierceTheVeils for helping me find out the main issue with this chapter.
I, also, wanted to recommend two of her stories. "Out of the Darkness" is a wonderful story written by her and her collaborator SME (StrangeMindEnigma). Another great story is "A New Reality", a Winx Club season one rewrite. It is another collaboration that includes PTV and TDUAK (To die upon a kiss).
Again, don't be shy about leaving a review or PM. I would love to hear your thoughts on this story and how it's progressing. I can't wait for you all to read chapter 5, but until then, enjoy this one.