Thank you again for reviewing! As to what's in store for the next chapters, well to all the Musa/Riven and Layla/Nabu fans especially please stay tuned lol. R&R!
Chapter 7: My Name is Diaspro
It was late in the afternoon. 5 O´clock maybe. The sun was setting slowly, letting a cool breeze stream through the air. There were no classes at this time so aside from doing homework, most of the students were sitting outside chatting with their friends, taking a walk or just relaxing, and lying on the grass.
Layla sat in her bedroom, with a letter in her trembling hands. The tears fell continuously without any sign of a hiatus. The girls were each in their rooms, only Bloom was speaking to professor Avalon, and Stella had gone off to see Nova.
How could they do this to her…Just when she had set herself free? Of course she was with the winx now, but regardless, it felt as though she were flying on her own two wings. Not locked up inside a palace. She had reason, goals, responsibility, she was independent. And just now, they were going to tie her down like this?
"Our beloved Layla,
Your mother and I are pleased to inform you that your engagement has been arranged to a wealthy young man, a talented wizard of Andros of an honorable family. His family is delighted and would like to meet you soon. We understand you have been occupied with your studies but your mother and I would like to visit you at Alfea and speak of this more in person. We´re proud of you Layla, and we know you will make a magnificent ruler.
With love,
King Teredor"
The thin piece of paper weighed heavily in her hands. She couldn't do this, she wouldn't. She remembered the years she had longed for company, until Ann came into her life. It wasn't until that day that she discovered her passion for dancing. She didn't want to give that up. She didn't want to go back to that monotone life she lived, before Ann. Surely the man she was now engaged to would forbid her to dance. He would forbid her to surf, and practice extreme sports. She was the kind of extroverted person who was always willing to learn and to try something new. And most importantly the winx, she would have to give up on their quests together, on her studies. Her father did say he was from an honorable family, high class…meaning he would want her to be the poised, refined wife and queen, who had duties, remained in the palace, with no time for anything else.
She folded the letter and put it away safely in the bottom drawer of her nightstand, where no one would find it. She dried her tears away with the back of her hand. Sky may have been able to break off his engagement to princess Diaspro, but knowing how traditional her parents were, and how they yearned for a worthy and honorable man to be her husband, considering this man would also become the king of Andros, breaking off her engagement to this mystery man wouldn't be an option for them. They would never take no for an answer, so there was no way around it. But she would find a way, if Sky found one, she would to…
"Knock, knock!" came Musa´s voice,
"Oh, hey Musa", she said, forcing a smile and shutting her drawer.
"Layla are you alright? You haven't come out of your room all afternoon…"
"I´m fine Mus, just a little tired. This whole Valtor situation has me stressed" she said simply. Musa gave her a wary look,
"Yeah, tell me about it. Let's go for a walk, there's something I need to talk to you about", she said, taking Layla´s arms and dragging her up and out of the room. Layla sighed, she didn't feel like going out or doing much of anything, but she couldn't tell that to Musa, or anyone.
"Marion!?" King Oritel questioned, completely misplaced.
"Is this real? Oritel what is the meaning of this?!" Queen Marion shrieked.
Oritel held his wife close to him looking in every direction, confused. They continued to look around but there was no sign of whoever was responsible for setting them free. One by one the people of Domino ran up to the King and Queen and bowed before them in respect and gratitude for their return.
Children and adults alike were staring in awe at their surroundings, hugging one another in pure shock and happiness. But Oritel´s gaze returned to focus on his wife. That vivid red color of her curls, her blue eyes and perfect smile, had never looked so brilliant to him, so alive! The pain of knowing that Valtor had killed both of his daughters, his greatest and most precious treasures, reflected clearly in his eyes. The moment they heard those words their hearts wanted nothing more than to grieve endlessly. The last thing his eyes had witnessed was being pulled into Obsidian along with his wife and his people. He had been staring boundlessly at the hard obsidian stone they´d been frozen in. The sword in his hand, his wife´s power, her spirit…
And now, without explanation they were here, in Domino, in their blossoming and prosperous land once again. Slowly the hundreds and hundreds of inhabitants stood up, and looked around, just as confused as they were.
"My Lord!" Came a voice, Oritel turned around to see a young man kneeling on one knee before them,
"My Queen! Are you alright?!" he asked losing his breathe,
"We´re fine Demetrius, how about everyone else?" he asked looking around in all and every direction,
"Everyone seems to be alright, your majesty",
"Someone must have freed all of us, someone brought us out of Obsidian, but who…?" King Oritel asked more to himself than anyone else.
"Your majesty, please forgive my unrequited intrusion, but this doesn't make any sense!" Demetrius exclaimed.
Suddenly a portal opened, a light shown through it.
"I think someone´s there!" Marion exclaimed,
"Marion stay back, stay behind me!" Oritel ordered his wife. A figure could be seen crossing through the portal.
"My, my, your highnesses have conserved yourselves quite well after all these years", Valtor smirked,
"What are you doing here? What do you want Valtor, explain yourself!" Oritel demanded furious. Almost unconsciously, he put his hand over his sword. The people who were close by and had witnessed the wizards arrival gasped fearfully.
"Surprised to see me, I assume. I guess that's natural being that you´ve just gotten back yourself. I´ve come to resolve our…unfinished business Oritel", he said carefully, knowing how he could react. Had it not been for the three ancestral witches, they would have destroyed him. Oritel was an excellent fighter and swordsman, if not the best. But Valtor wasn't easily stirred, he considered himself to be in the same position, as a wizard.
"Oritel, what is he talking about?" Marion almost whispered,
"I´m afraid I'm uninformed of whatever business you´re referring to!" Oritel said angrily, but in truth the only existent business between them, was his daughters lives. And that was something that could never be negotiated or retrieved.
"I have something that belongs to you, a couple of things actually", he told him, wondering how long it would take for Oritel to catch him in his previous lie.
"Your majesty, this could be a trap!" Demetrius told him, Oritel glanced at him briefly.
"If it is, Demetri, he won't escape this time. That, I can assure you",
"Get straight to the point Valtor! Some beating around it and tell me, what is it?!"
"I´ll have to freshen your memory then", he said slyly.
"Icy! Darcy!" he called firmly, in his deep baritone voice. Another portal opened, barely visible. Quickly three figures stepped through it, the king and queen recognized one of them,
A slim figure, several inches shorter than Oritel. With long, light blond locks of hair and sea-green eyes.
"Princess…" Demetrius whispered,
"Daphne…!" her parents cried. Although still wary over what had just happened to her, Daphne was more than happy to see them. Icy, who held Daphne by her arm shoved her towards the royal couple. They ran toward her and helped her up, and immediately she jumped into her father´s embrace.
"Mom, dad, it's you!" she exclaimed with a frightened look and tears in her eyes,
"Sweetheart, where have you been?! How did you get here?" Marion cried.
"It's hard to explain mom, something's not right!" she cried.
"Daphne, are you alright? Did Valtor hurt you?!That wizard must pay! He made us think he-" Oritel began explaining, until someone started clapping…
"How sweet…" he said sarcastically,
"Stand back, you will not hurt our King!" A guard yelled, standing in front of the royal family. Valtor laughed, Icy and Darcy stood by Valtor, proudly…
"I have to say, you're a brave one, standing up to me….what are you thinking? But I wish not to hurt your King. Quite the opposite…" he said calmly. So calm that it made it impossible for Oritel to let his guard down.
"Daphne! If you're here, then where´s…" Marion began suddenly, as realization washed over her,
"Bloom…? So you do remember after all, you have two daughters. Two of which I have not killed either one of them",
"You…you liar! You´re out of your mind!" the king yelled, hurtfully. Icy smiled. If these brats only knew they´re walking right into Valtor´s lies…
"You´re right, it was cruel of me to make you believe I had gotten rid of both princesses wasn't it? Which is why I wish to give her back. Your daughter is of no interest to me, so why keep hiding her", he said smirking,
"Dad, I think he´d lying. I think I know where my sister is! She´s at-"Daphne started,
"Alfea College for Fairies? Yes well, not anymore. Your daughter is with me. And you will only see her once you agree to stay out of my way and let me remain in the magical dimension Oritel. Let us be…at peace. You won't interfere should there be a battle against me, you´ll keep your family and yourself at the side-lines, even if you were asked to help." he said to him, feeling he had won. Oritel clenched his fist exasperated. The life of his younger daughter was at stake, if he didn't agree Valtor would hurt her! But he couldn't allow a wizard so menacing to the dimension, so powerful and so dangerous go about loose. There was no telling what damage he would do, moreover, he couldn't allow another realm to suffer what he and his people had. He couldn't be as cruel as to allow this wizard to destroy somebody else´s home. To break up another family.
"Oritel, he has our daughter…" Marion cried, Daphne put an arm around her,
"How do we know you're telling the truth? You were the one who lied about our deaths to begin with! I don't believe you!" Daphne yelled. She missed her little sister more than anything. It had been a long time since she last spoke to her. Her sister was still new at this, new to magic, so naïve to the magical dimension, could he be telling the truth? There was so much her sister didn't know!
"We´ll see if you continue to think that way once you see her. As far as I know, there's only one keeper of the good counterpart of the almighty dragon´s flame. And that's her, you can prove it for yourselves", he said calmly,
"Well he does have a point there princess, if the girl he has with him possesses the dragon flame then it must be her! The young princess, there´s no mistake", Demetrius told her. Oritel stood quiet not knowing what to do. He was well aware that the people of Domino were all staring at him, waiting for his response as well as his family. Listening to his daughter and his servants words, he sighed and looked at Valtor once again.
"Very well, I want my daughter back! No tricks Valtor! Or the deal is off completely!" he said sternly. Valtor smiled,
"Very well, excellent decision Oritel. I´ll bring her to you immediately, and after that we won't see each other ever again", he told him. And with that, he disappeared.
Marion held Daphne close to her protectively.
"I really hope we never have to see that man again", Marion breathed.
"It's my fault mom. I-I…" Daphne paused,
"When you and dad were gone, I didn't know what to do, all I wanted was to protect her, so I-I sent her to a place where magic was forgotten! A place where I thought no one would ever find or hurt her. I sent her to Earth…mom, I thought it was the best thing to do. But if Valtor has her, than it couldn't have been the best choice! I should have sent her someplace else…to Ms. Faragonda, she would´ve known how to protect her, I´m sorry I-"she said between tears,
"Honey, you did the right thing! You saved your sister and the dragon flame! You have no reason to feel guilty. Soon we´ll be a family again, your sister will be with us again, you´ll see", she told her eldest daughter comfortingly,
"Daphne, you said Bloom was at Alfea now? How´d she get there?" Oritel asked, perplexed.
"I´m not exactly sure dad, all I know is that at some point Bloom realized she had magical powers and Ms. Faragonda took her in, but I´m not certain she knows who Bloom really is", she told him,
"If Bloom is at Alfea, we must speak to Faragonda, she must know if Valtor-"king Oritel started, but the queen interrupted him,
"You gave Valtor your word Oritel, we mustn't tell anyone anything about this if we want to see our daughter again", Marion told him firmly, and he knew she was right. He promised to keep his distance, and for the time being, he would.
"You´ve been improving Bloom, I´m impressed!" Professor Avalon told her. Bloom blushed slightly,
"Thanks professor, I need to keep going if I want to help defeat Valtor", she said, determined.
"Don´t pressure yourself Bloom, this takes time. And your strength has increased greatly as well as your friend´s. I'm confident that should there be another attack, you will be victorious", he told her smiling. Bloom laughed slightly,
"I sure hope so. Well then I guess I´ll take a break. I´ll be back soon, if that's alright with you of course?" she asked shyly, Avalon chuckled.
"Of course Bloom, you're more than welcome. We´ll be training again tomorrow together with your friends and with , so I´ll see you tomorrow",
"Thanks professor", she said with a smile. As Bloom turned around to leave, she felt a sharp pain in her chest,
"Aghhh!" she cried, and gripped onto the doorknob with one hand while she pressed her other hand against the wall.
"Bloom!" Avalon yelled as he ran towards her. He placed his hands on her arms gently,
"Bloom are you alright?! What's wrong? Say something!" he cried worriedly. But Bloom barely opened her eyes, taking hollow breaths. She froze in place not trusting herself to take another step. Avalon put one arm around her waist and another behind her legs and carried her, bridal style, taking her immediately to the medical wing.
"Layla, I´m confused", Musa said, sighing. They sat by a tree, enjoying the fresh afternoon breeze. Layla knew how confused her best friend was concerning her feelings towards Riven, and now, possibly Jared
"Jared is a nice guy. He somewhat…treats me the way I always wished Riven would, but it's not the same. It doesn't feel right and I don't want to hurt him", she told Layla sadly.
"Maybe you should give it some time Musa, I´m not an expert but I think these things take time", Layla said, Musa nodded. Little did Musa know that Layla had an ordeal of her own in mind.
"I guess you're right. It's just…hard giving your heart to someone when it already belongs to somebody else", she said quietly. But she knew it was time to wake up. Sometime had already gone by and there was no sign of Riven. It was time to accept that he just wasn't coming back. Riven was in her past, and Jared was in the present…and possibly, in her future.
"Yeah, must be tough…" Layla said, absentminded.
"Jared does seem like a great guy. He really likes you that's for sure", Layla told her.
"He is incredibly sweet…and thoughtful", she said with a smile.
"Maybe your right, I'll take things slow. After all, love doesn't just happen overnight, right?" she asked. Layla smiled,
"Definitely",
All of Domino was on the move, the inhabitants returned to their homes, using magic to make reparations. The palace was opened, inspecting the damage caused by the events of the previous twenty years. The royal palace, now free of the ice, proved to be a beautiful place. The treasure room and the king´s library were the only two rooms that had remained completely intact. Each and every one of the servants and royal guards returned to their respective positions and occupations as well, working efficiently on repairing the palace to its original and glorious state. Daphne stood by the balcony, staring in awe at the beautiful horizon of Domino after twenty years. Something didn't make sense. Many things didn't add up actually. Beginning with the way she was brought back to her human form.
Flashback
"I wish for the Sirenix curse to be broken, and for the effects of the curse to be reversed!" a voice called out. As soon as she heard those words being called out, something stirred within her, something strange was happening.
"Who are you? What's going on?!" she yelled, frightened to the person standing before her. It was a triton, but why would he make such a wish?
"I´m here to free you, Daphne" he said to her firmly. Before she knew it, she was above the water, standing at the edge, on her own two feet. With trembling hands, she slowly removed her mask. She looked down at her hands, legs and feet. She was alive, the curse was broken! Tritannus came out from underneath the water and she could see his face clearly for the first time. He was a handsome Triton, but she had never seen him before. A complete stranger.
"I know you don't know me but I know you, my name is Tritannus. I was ordered to bring you back", he told her in a calm voice, trying not to startle. He was slightly taken aback by her beauty, nothing emotional, but she was certainly a remarkable sight. Icy who had been waiting for him on land, along with Darcy, rolled her eyes, noticing his sudden change in attitude. She grabbed Daphne by the arm roughly, causing her to shriek,
"And you-you"
"The names Icy and I was ordered to take you to Domino, so let's go!" She said, annoyed.
"Wait!" Tritannus said to her,
"Daphne, Domino has been restored. You will be taken to your home. Fear not", he told her. The girl looked gentle, with long blond hair and mesmerizing emerald green eyes. She was a bit shorter than Icy and Darcy but had a pretty slim figure nonetheless.
"Domino? Restored? But how-"she asked, not understanding at all.
"Enough with the chit chat! You´ll know everything there is to know once we get there!" Darcy yelled at her. Darcy opened up a portal and they pulled Daphne through it, Daphne took one last look at Tritannus before entering,
"Thank you…" she mouthed, not sure if he had understood her or not…
End of flashback
She was taken out of her reverie when she heard a servant calling her parents hastily,
"King Oritel, queen Marion, the wizard has returned and wishes to see you. He has brought company, your highnesses",
She stood behind her parents as Valtor walked through the main entrance with a girl behind him. A blond…like herself…
"As promised", Valtor said, in a serious tone, as if this were strictly business matters. The blond girl looked up, still not saying a word. She looked, nervous…unsure of what to do or say…
Marion slowly walked towards her, examining her carefully,
"Bloom?" she asked. Oritel stood still, tears threatening to fall, the girl suddenly looked up.
"Queen…I mean…mother" she said quietly,
"Forgive me, my adoptive parents call me Diaspro, I´m used to being called Diaspro…"
Daphne had met her little sister a while back, but as a spirit she could only see people´s aura´s. It was difficult to make out their aspect, true, but if this was indeed her little sister, than something had really changed. Had Valtor done something to her? Was she hurt? This wasn't the same Bloom…or "Diaspro" she had spoken to a while back…she had the dragon flame, she could sense it! Valtor did something to her little sister to make her change the way she did!
Marion closed her eyes, sensing the presence of the dragon flame within her daughter. Tears began spilling from her eyes as she embraced her,
"My little girl…you´re back!" she said between tears. Daphne smiled and took her hand.
"Welcome back, little sister!"
