Disclaimer: I hate Straffi. Yes I do. I hate Straffi. And so do you. Just kidding. Sorry. Please don't kill me.

Fragile Innocence

By: Renachi

CHAPTER THREE – BESIDE ME

The last thing Layla wanted to do while she was pregnant was travel to Linphea where she could fall from shaky branches, but she couldn't reject her close friend's bridal shower invitation, at least not without a good excuse. Besides, Maria strongly encouraged her to "go out and have fun" and to "de-stress".

"Please Princess, keep yourself healthy for the sake of the kingdom…and for the baby," she earnestly pleaded.

If only she knew that going to her friend's celebration would only pile even more stress on her as Layla pretended and tried to hide.

"Congratulations Flora!"

The guests rose their wine glasses and took a long swig. Flora's bright lit face shone with happiness as she thanked every passing person for coming. When she spotted Flora's, her face full of mirth lit up even brighter.

"Layla! I'm so happy you're here!" Flora threw her arms around Layla and gave her a warm peck on her cheek. "It means a lot to me."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Layla smiled sluggishly before her head turned here and there, looking for the tables of food. Layla was already in her fifth week of pregnancy and began to feel pangs of thirst more often. "Where is the water?"

"It is over by the counters by the floating red roses, and you can set gifts over by the tree! Make yourself feel comfortable." Flora smiled sweetly and enveloped her in another hug before gracefully gliding off to welcome other visitors.

After setting her small gift box underneath the tree, Layla literally poured all of the water in the jug down the throat and chugged it all down .

"Layla?"

Layla turned around, and saw Helia standing behind her, anxiety built on his face. A slight frown tugged on the corners of his mouth, removing any trace of the sugary smile that had plastered his face moments ago when he chatted with visitors.

"Helia." Layla gulped down the nervous lump in her throat and forced on a jovial smile. "How is my best friend's fiancé doing?"

Layla hid any anxiety that clouded her thoughts, pushing them back into the recesses of her mind. She tried her best to not let her emotions overwhelm her, a formidable task for a pregnant woman. But Layla could act. She had more than enough practice on acting happy from years and years of royal events where she was forced to act presentable at all times.

"Fantastic," he warily replied. He narrowed his eyes and carefully scrutinized Layla. "You?"

"Great! You and Flora are such an adorable couple. The proposal must have been wonderful."

"It was on Valentine's Day." His reply make Layla's nerve twitch and Helia almost didn't notice the slight quiver in the corner of Layla's eyebrow, the only hole in her façade. Suddenly Layla gagged, startling Helia. Worry crossed Helia face as she timidly reached out of Layla's shoulder. "You all right?"

Layla gagged again, clutching her stomach as it revolted against her mind. "Restroom," she chocked before gagging once again, trying to fight against the rising bile.

"Huh?"

The contents of Layla's stomach came spilling out like a fountain. Helia grimaced and jumped back as he watched his shoes and pants take a bath in stomach juice. The warm juice seeped into his pants and socks, sticking to skin like goo.

Fumes immediately wafted into his nostrils, nausea hitting him like a ton of bricks. When Helia looked down at his shoes, throw up threatened to crawl up. When Layla finished throwing up, she neatly wiped her lips with her sleeve, at first acting as if nothing had happened.

"S-Sorry," she mumbled, a flicker of humiliation crossing her eyes for a second.

However, despite her acting, people still screeched like pigs and ran away from the throw up.

Helia instinctively froze, thinking that if he moved another inch, the vomit would spread across his body. He could already feel the vomit trickling down his legs and didn't want to speed up that process.

"Lay—Layla." Helia's voice quivered, a mix of worry, confusion, anger, and frustration.

"Yea?" Wiping the residue on her mouth with her sleeve, Layla replied with calm nonchalance that twisted a nerve in Helia the wrong way. Nevertheless, Helia managed to contain his anger and proceed calmly.

"What did you eat today?" he asked, his tone strained.

"You can smell it?"

Helia's face twisted into disgusted as his mind immediately registered Layla's response. "Yea."

"Helia!" Flora's concerned voice rang out as she ran to the scene, her arms overfilling with gifts although when she saw the vomit, the gifts fell to the ground and the cracking of porcelain sounded as her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh dear."

"Nothing to worry honey. Layla just…barfed," Helia informed, trying to comfort his beloved fiancé who grew nervous easily, however, as the said the last word, he felt like barfing himself.

Flora's look of confusion melted into worry. "Layla, are you all right?" she cried.

Nonchalance flew to her face as Layla continued to rub her lips. "I'm fine now. I just need more water to wash out the taste."

"Let me go clean up that mess. Luckily it was on wood," she tittered as she began to head towards the closet before a pack of women stopped her.

"Don't worry Flora! We'll clean it up!" Bloom loudly announced as if she wanted the whole house knowing about her act of kindness.

"We are?" Stella muttered in disbelief. She glanced at the vomit and started gagging herself. For the next hour, Stella hogged the restroom.

The Solarian princess wasn't on good terms with digestive acids.

Flora continued to fufill her role as the worrywart. "Will Stella be all right?"

"She'll be fine," Musa easily said without a second thought. "She's just being her usual high-maintenance self."

"Now let's clean up this mess. What was the Clean Up Pants spell again Tec?" Bloom asked, determined and ambitious as usual.

Tecna paused to recall the spell. "A mess we've wrecked, and magic we beck. Remove this mess, and make it spotless."

Bloom and Musa repeated Tecna's words, and in no times, the vomit was gone from the floor. However, the spell didn't bode so well for Helia's khaki pants and shoes. It certainly removed the vomit, but at the same time, it transformed the pant fabric and the shoe's leather into stainless pristine glass.

"Spotless indeed," Layla commented as Musa, and Bloom exploded into laughter and Tecna seriously pondered what went wrong with the spell.

"Was it the feeling behind the spell or maybe the image in my mind as I casted the spell went wrong," she reasoned, extremely dissatisfied with her failure as she let out an exhausted yawn. "Or I guess I messed up from lack of sleep. Timmy I have been working on program for two days straight with no sleep."

"That explains the eyebags," Layla replied.

"G-Good job Tec," Musa managed to choke out the words between her breaths of laughter. "So much for your fairy guardian status." Her comment earned a frown from Tecna.

"And nice briefs Helia." Musa pointed to Helia underwear colored with pink flowers that was underneath the glass pants as she tried her best not to laugh. Helia's eyes widened and his eyes shot downwards before hands covered up crotch. "Very eco-friendly."

"Reverse the spell," Helia bitterly muttered. He turned to Flora for support who wasn't laughing likes hyenas like her friends, but still couldn't resist letting a gigantic grin stretch across his lips. Then a slight muffled giggle escaped her pink lips. Helia narrowed his eyes and frowned.

"Sorry sweeties but you have to admit that it was funny. I'll return you back to normal now." Finished with antics, she cleared her throat and got down to business. "You have made this into glass, turn this back to its previous past. "

The spell worked perfectly and Helia's clothing returned, clean. Helia wholeheartedly thanked Flora, planting a light peck on her cheek, which made Flora's heart flutter.

"Wow Helia. You've got such a perfect fiancé. Lucky guy," Musa teased with a mischievous smirk plastered on her face. "You two sure are the perfect couple. Flora has perfect control of her life. I kind of envy that."

Layla couldn't help but think about Riven when Musa said the last sentence. Was there something going on with Riven? Then again, there was always something going with Riven and Musa. That was no surprise.

"Do you two ever have any problems?" Musa continued.

Flora immediately grew flustered as Helia gently smiled and brazenly replied, "How can I have any problems with such a stunning woman."

The hooting started much to Flora embarassment.

"A-Anyways, Layla, are you sure you're fine?" Flora casted another concerned look at Layla with eyes sparkling with concern. Layla knew that escaping Flora's perceptive radar proved to be a hefty task.

She would be a great mother, she bitterly thought.

"I'm fine." Layla gave a final cough before she stood up straight and regained her posture. "Perfectly fine."

"If you say so," Flora hesitantly whispered, and she refilled the jug with water using magic.

Musa eyed Layla suspiciously, her dark eyes studying her carefully and trying to read her every thought. "Are you really ok Layla?"

"I'm fine," she stressed.

Layla had heard the same question millions of time recently and it was starting to irritate her. Repeatedly voicing the same lie over and over again continued to remind her of how broken her body, soul, and life was.

She was far from fine.

In contrast, Flora never had problems with her relationship Helia. Her life was under her thumb, and Layla was the disturbance that Flora had yet to discover

Stella trudged back into the room, dramatically flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"That was torture," she firmly declared with an exhausted huff, but excitement easily replaced fatigue in no time. "So, have you decided your wedding dress yet? Or the bridesmaid gowns perhaps? Or the flowers? Or where you wish to hold the wedding yet?" Stella asked Flora with a playful wink, giggling. Flora acted coy and lowered her head. Layla took another gigantic gulp of the water from the jug.

"I'm not sure about the clothing and flowers yet, but, well, at first we were thinking of holding it here in Linphea, but now we kind of want to hold it in Andros on the beach," Flora turned with Layla with her round jade eyes glittering with hope and humble.

Layla gaped, not sure whether to be ecstatic or horrified. "On Andros?"

Flora nodded. "So actually, we were going to ask you if we could stay at the Andros castle while we plan for the wedding...please?"

Layla gave an unconvincing grin, her eyes awkwardly diverting as she tried to make her decision. However, before she even decided, her mouth involuntarily replied the one breathless word, "Kay."

"Thank you Layla!" Flora pounced on Layla like a cat for a tight hug. "Do you think Helia can go back to Andros with you tomorrow night then? I'll be arriving a week later because I have some things to take care of here in Linphea first."

Her eyes widened in shock as she finally understood the weight of her words, but it was too late to refuse. "Sure…" Flora didn't give Layla the chance to take back her words as Flora wrapped her loving warm arms about her.

"I'm so glad you are my close friend." Flora beamed and then glanced at all of the Winx Club, including Stella who had returned from her eventful trip to the toilet. "I'm so glad all of you are my close friends!"

"As do we." Tecna nodded with a faint smile. Stella had a massive grin plastered on her face and ran towards Layla and Flora like lights, her arms wide open. She pulled the two into a hug, and the rest of the Winx awed and joined the bear hug.

Layla enjoyed the warm moment, and a tear almost escaped for a second. But deep inside of her, a gnawing feeling ate away at her conscious.

If they knew, they would take both their words in an instant.

ººº

Nabu and Layla had taken a portal to Andros in the afternoon, but because of the time differences, when they arrived at Andros, it was near dawn. The morning sun peaked up from above the horizon, splashing its golden rays of light over Andros's chilly ocean and forest. A soft breeze blew by and Helia gladly welcomed relief from the suffocating humidity attacking his skin for beads of sweat.

On the plus side, somehow the humidity quelled Layla strange thirst. The tides lapped against the shoreline as Helia glanced at the surrounding ocean that seemed to go on forever like an infinite plane and let out a large yawn.

"Sorry to make you walk such a long way. I wanted to spend some time out here."

"It's fine and besides, the scenery is beautiful. I would love to sit down and paint this sunrise."

"I'm sure you will be able to during your stay." Layla turned towards the sea.

A few minutes later, the two found themselves in the gate of the castle.

"Welcome back Princess Layla," the two stern guards called with firmness in his voice which showed this strict, discipline. The guards look completely identical with their ashy hair and tanned skin except the guard on the left had the faint splatter of freckles across his cheeks.

Layla politely bowed to both of the twin guards and took a step to the side to reveal Helia behind her who stared at the castle with awe, probably thinking that he wanted to paint every corner of the magnificent building. When the guards stared him blankly, he snapped out of his artist fantasy of painting the dawn and took a graceful bow.

"Hello Avi. Hello Lance. This is a guest of mine. He will be staying in the castle for a few weeks."

The guards didn't allow themselves to show any emotion, but deep inside curiosity brewed. Princess Layla had never brought a man back home to the castle other than Nabu. Could the Princess be making a rebound with a new man.

The two guards scrutinized the man like hawks, pretending that they were studying him to make sure he wasn't a threat to the safety of the royal family. Their intents were far from professional. In reality, they had to make sure that the new man could match their beloved Princess's beauty.

"Open the gate!" the guard on the right, Lance, called with a face void of emotion.

"Open the gate!" the left guard, Avi, repeated.

Slowly, the aquamarine gates creaked open with an unflattering moan that reminded Layla of a sickly dragon's roar. The ancient doors desperately needed to be remodeled. Layla immediately began the tour of the castle once they got in beginning with essential rooms such as the nurse quarters, the kitchen, and the guest rooms. Helia had expressed a keen desire to see the aquatic gardens by the castle's ponds Layla quickly led him out of the corridors.

"These are the castle ponds called the Rainbow Ponds. Cheesy right?"

Helia let his eyes suck in the ginormous scenery. Multiple ponds of different sizes were scattered across the garden and various types of colorful plants and exotic fish teemed the ponds. Seaweed swayed to the pond's current around the coral in the ponds, which the fish hungrily nipped.

Helia observed a strange phenomenon as the coral reached out of the ponds, and leaned towards other ponds, and stone, specifically calcium carbonate sprouted towards the direction the coral pointed, creating an arc. Helia could see the fossils and seashells fused in the arcs that tantalized him to touch. Some of the shells had a rainbow sheen, making the garden shine as if they were rainbows in the sky.

"Rainbow ponds," Helia whispered caught in awe. "Well, it is a cheesy but it is also benefitting."

"Haha. That would be something you would say. You know when my ancestor built this castle, they decided not to tear down this garden, so they built the castle around this natural beauty."

"I don't see how they could tear down something this beautiful."

"And I'm glad they didn't. Andros doesn't have a strong economy or powerful magic. In fact, this world doesn't have that much to offer, which is why Baltor quickly laid waste to it."

Her tone fell…

"But we do have beauty."

…and rose...

"And Baltor almost destroyed that beauty."

…and fell.

A grim frown appeared on Layla as she thought of the times of war.

"This world still looks beautiful and healthy to me though," Helia replied with a confused frown as he thought of a way to get Layla's mind off of depressing memories.

Layla laughed and looked another look at the garden, a rare gentleness shimmering in her eyes. "That's the greatness of the ocean. It regenerates and heals at an amazing rate even without the assistance of magic." Her head fell for a second, a smile still on her face as she pondered on how majestic her world was even though Baltor didn't agree. "Anyways, you look like your enjoying yourself."

Helia gave a boyish grin. "I am. Every world have their own Wonders of the World, but Andros's are just breathtaking."

Layla laughed again, and Helia felt pleased that he succeeded in cheering up the fairy. "Good. I felt like I needed to repay you after I threw up on you."

Helia winced at the memory and his face turned a bit green as he remembered the stench of puke seeping into his skin the day before. "As long as that doesn't happen again, I'm fine."

Unsure and trying her best to act casual, Layla forced a weak laugh, knowing that the probability of throwing up on him was high because of her morning sickness. The best way to prevent barfing on Helia again would be to not eat, but of course, that would not only be unhealthy, but also impossible.

"I'm sure it will never happen again," she lied with a tone that probably convinced everyone but her. She felt a strange sensation on her back like someone was watching her from behind.

"Do feel like you are being watched?"

Right when Helia asked, his brows jumped up as he quickly turned around again and met the familiar, annoying sight of desolation. As he turned around, a little round head full of golden hair belonging to Esther curiosity popped out, and Layla didn't miss it. A giggle escaped her mouth and Helia raised a brow in confusion.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. I just discovered who is watching us, or maybe I should say the group of people watching us." The confusion on Helia face didn't leave, which entertained Layla so she decided to pause longer to build up suspense in Helia.

"Who?" Curiosity overflowed from him, and Layla grinned.

"Oh, just the maid, guards who SHOULD BE WORKING," she called out the last part loudly, making sure the palace workers knew they needed to get back to work.

"This happened last time when Nabu came. It was hilarious and I eventually got them to get out. You should have seen their faces when they—" Layla continued with a joyful expression as she began to share her fond memories. Her heart dropped as she mentioned Nabu and realized once again that he was dead. Why did it take forever for Nabu's death to sink into Layla's memory?

"Why don't you show me other places of the castle?" Helia tried, hoping to rise her spirits.

Layla's face countenance remained sullen as she nodded. "Ok," she replied, her voice devoid of the energy that she emitted just a few moments ago.

Helia finally understood Flora main reason to arrange her wedding at Tides. Flora chose Tides as the place to host her wedding not because it was beautiful. Flora chose Tides because she wanted to Layla to be close to Layla. She wanted to involve Layla in her wedding, hoping that Layla would realize the beauty of love by looking at her marriage.

Flora's wish was kind and heartfelt like an angel but the result was anything but pleasant.

Author's Notes:

I don't enjoy OCs, but I found it hard to avoid them in this setting. As usual, constructive criticism is always welcome. Tell me if there are scenes that would have been better to cut out because recently I feel like I have too much junk in random places. There is the right time and place for everything. Now I just have to find out what those times and places are.

Renachi