Tecna reaches for my hand. I pull it away at first, but when she attemps to grab my hand again, I let her grab it. Flora and Roxy walk over to us. They also gasp at what they see. Flora moves her fingers back and forth on my hand. "Why? Why would you do this to yourself?" Flora asks. I can see tears forming in Flora's eyes. Flora takes her hand away from mine and covers her face while turning away from me. Roxy goes to comfort Flora.
Tecna looks at me with a sad expression, before walking over to Flora and Roxy. I feel bad for Flora, and think about talking with her, but then the rest of the Winx walk in. "Well, we tried, but we couldn't catch up to the creature. It was faster than we are. Wait, what's going on?" Bloom asks. The rest of the Winx approach Flora and comfort her. I hear them talking, and Flora talks about 'marks on her hand', and I sense Bloom looking at me.
I hear footsteps walk over to me. Bloom lifts the blanket up and reaches for my hand. Bloom stares at my hand, before giving me the same expression Tecna gave me. Bloom continues to stare at my hand for a minute, before returning to the Winx. By this time, Flora had stopped crying. The Winx approach me. "Do you...do you want to talk about it?" Bloom asks. I nod and sit up. I look at Flora to make sure she is okay with this, before I begin.
"So, I was a normal teenage girl with many friends and everybody loved me. Well, maybe not everybody. My dad would always abuse me. He would always come home drunk and become angry quickly. He always beat me and it hurt me physically, mentally, and emotionally. I didn't know what to do. I thought I should have called Child Protective Services, but I didn't want my father to go away. Then I...I..." I started tearing up.
Bloom hugs me. I hug her back, before I continue to talk. "I decided that the only way to deal with this was to cut myself, and it did, for a while. But then my mom found out and took me to counseling. My dad just continued to beat me while my mom wasn't home. My mom eventually found out about my dad and got a divorce. I lived with my mom for the past few years, and this is where I am now." I explain.
Stella hugs me. I hug her back. "Oh, I know how you feel. My parents are also divorced. Both of them love me, but they are divorced. I was upset at first, but then I learned to cope with it." Stella explains. Stella and I let go. "So, do you guys want to do anything?" Stella asks. I was about to respond, but then I start to get that weird feeling in my crotch again. I realize what that feeling is now, it's not pain, it's arousal.
I don't understand though. Why would I be feeling arousal? I mean, I could be sexually frustrated, but it wouldn't make any sense. I thought sexual frustration only occurs in males. The Winx look at me. "Um...I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind." I say. Stella nods in understanding. The Winx begin to leave, but then Flora decides to stay. I groan quietly. Once the Winx are gone, Flora walks over to me. "Flora." I begin. Flora stops walking. "Can you trust me?" I ask.
Flora looks at me with a confused expression. I look into her eyes. "I need you to promise me that no matter what I show you, it won't change the way we are with each other." I explain. Flora nods. I stand up. Black smoke begins to appear. My body begins to change. I feel the fangs and spikes grow from where they need to be. The smoke begins to clear, and Flora's expression changes quickly. "I...uh..." I start, not knowing how to explain this to Flora.
The door opens. "Hey Flora, I need to ask y-" Bloom stops. "Flora! Get away from that creature!" Bloom shouts. Flora turns to Bloom as the other Winx enter the room. Flora waves her hands in front of her body. "Wait, what do you mean Flora? Why shouldn't we attack it?" Bloom asks. Bloom narrows her gaze at me, before turning to the Winx, before turning back to Flora. "Wait, is this what I think it is?" Bloom asks.
Flora nods."This is Alexis. She wanted to show me this. I promised her that whatever happened, we would stay the way we are with each other, and I'm keeping that promise." Flora explains. "Will you guys keep that promise too?" Flora asks. I don't think The Winx believe Flora. "Trust me. This really is Alexis. Maybe she could actually explain how she became like this. That is, only if you promise to listen." Flora explains.
The Winx nod. Flora smiles at me. I transform back into a human. I sit on my bed. "So, all of this started when I was getting abused by my father. I knew I was magical, but I never knew something like this could happen. Back then, my magic wasn't as strong as it is now. I couldn't even transform into a creature. But then, I found out that I could transform into a creature if I became angry. I couldn't control it." I explain.
Flora sits beside me and notices I am tensing up. She holds my hand, and I calm down. "It happened all the time. I would transform all the time. It always happened unwillingly. As time went on, I learned to control it, and I only used it to scare people away if I had to. Now, I use it as a offensive and defensive strategy when I can't fight people with my own hands." I explain. "This too." I say. I reach between the mattress and pull out the book.
"This book has many spells in it. I learned the spells I know now from this book. So now, you can see why I wanted to protect it so bad." I explain. I feel like I am forgetting something. "Oh yeah. When the text changed, that was because I didn't want you to know what the book said at the time." I explain. I look at the cover. It's still in Russian. "The cover reads, "Alchemy Guide."" I add. "So...I take it you guys are fine with me being a beast?" I ask.
The Winx nod. "Well, I'm fine with it as long as you don't try to kill me in the middle of the night or something like that." Stella says. I smile at Stella, before nodding. "Also, don't try to kill the girls either. I kind of need them around." Stella adds. The Winx laugh. The Winx get ready to leave, but then I feel aroused again. "Is something wrong, Alexis?" Stella asks. The Winx stop to make sure there is nothing wrong.
"I...I don't know. Let me speak to Flora, alone." I say. The Winx nod before leaving Flora alone with me. I can tell what Flora was going to ask. I smirk, before leaning into Flora to kiss her.
