Chapter 9

Diaspro paced her room, sure, she didn't think too much of Sky, but lately, anymore, he had begun to act out, and all for that Bloom, she had been there first, not Bloom, and she racked her mind for anything that could help her, what she knew for sure, is that she didn't want Bloom in the picture anymore, and that, in spite of it all, she had a smidge of feeling for Sky, and she wanted him back, plus, she heard a rumor about the evil Valtor being in the picture as well, which was disturbing, why was he involved, and more importantly, why hadn't anyone either imprisoned him or killed him, could he be after Bloom too? She didn't dare use her imagination on that one, since it seemed to drift to seduction or manipulation of some sort, she decided that she would schedule a luncheon with Sky and he HAD to attend, no backing out, she gave the order and waited, and in the meantime, went about making a potion to tip the scales in her favor, something simple, that would remind him why they had been engaged to each other to begin with, and she made it strong, yet subtle, then she ordered her staff to make a picnic lunch, and poured the potion into a soda bottle, and closed it shut with magic, and finally, sat down to await his arrival, she figured a nice spot by a lake, it would be private and cozy, which made her smile, this plan would work, it had to.

8-8-8-8-8

"I still cant see why Sky wont leave you alone, seriously, you dumped him ages ago, and he made a pass at you? Not cool, not cool at all" Musa stated frowning, Bloom felt she had to agree, he had come on strongly, very strongly, and it made her uncomfortable.

"I know, and I don't want to give in to him, but I have an odd feeling someone or something is getting to Valtor too, hes been acting off lately and it worries me, I swear, I find out who or what it is, and i'll end it" she punched her fist into her other hand determinedly, and made a stiff nod, she made a mental note to talk it out with him later on their date for tonight. Techna nodded also, and looked up from her computer.

"Well lets hope it gets solved, you and Valtor seemed to be doing very well, i'd hate for it to end so suddenly, i'm sure he'll be honest with you about it, well...one can hope so" she finished, trailing off, and quickly looking back at her computer, and began to type furiously, Bloom sighed. She knew Valtor better than this, something was messing with them both, and she had to solve it soon, she did not want to split from Valtor, she loved him too much, and thinking about Sky only served to anger her, she hated him! He was ruining her love, all because he couldn't let go of an old, not to mention, dead love, that was no longer relevant to her, she wanted to let him go, and he kept coming back like a beaten stray dog, a bit sad really, he didn't seem to take the hint, and she had to make sure not to just rely on words next time, next time, she'd hit him one if he tried to make a move on her, she was sure of it, no, she was positive she would, she didn't like him anymore, and he'd be sure to know it, she plopped onto her bed, and patiently waited for dinner, then went and got dressed. She met Valtor at the same hotel they'd done it at, and sat on the bed beside him, for a moment, all was silent, till she burst.

"That's it, I cant take this anymore, I know something is messing with you, just tell me who or what it is, and we can solve this, we can do this together, you dont have to do this alone, remember? It's you and me, forever, I promised, and I wont back out of it, I love you, not just like you, I mean I really love you, and I want this to be forever, and I know you want it to be forever too, so please, just tell me the truth, because I can tell you, that Sky has been messing with me, and I hate it!" she finished in a huff and watched him, and he was silent for a minute more, then stood and cupped her face in his hands

"It's Darcy" he said simply, his eyes looked dulled and empty, then he lifted his sleeve, and broke off the gem from it, and went to the window, then threw it out, then stood there staring off, Bloom walked over and took his arm, and leaned on him, and the two of them stayed that way for a good 10 minutes, then he looked at her again, and stared, then spoke again.

"She's been making moves on me as well, and it sickens me how much of my innermost feelings are drawn in, and I cant stand it, I wanted to tell you, but how could I, I didn't want to...well I guess it would hurt, its so silly how I thought hiding it wouldn't hurt you, and I let things go on for too long, I am so sorry Bloom, I never meant for these things to happen, I have an idea, and this may be too soon, so tell me if it is, but I...I want to marry you Bloom, as soon as possible" he looked at her closer, and leaned down. "It would be private, of course, nobody would have to know, you can invite your friends if you want, that is, if they react positively, I don't want to cause an uproar, I simply wish, to be with you..forever, like you said, and I mean it" he finished quickly, yet paused at the end, and watched her face, at first, she simply stared in disbelief, then she slowly blushed and shook all over, she put her face in her hands, and shook her head, then jumped into his arms, squealing in delight.

" Of course I'll marry you!" then she went into contemplative mode and looked up at him, "But where would we hold the wedding, and when" he shushed her and smiled "Leave that to me" he replied, and scooped her into a hug, they kissed and Bloom rested her head on his chest, to be with Valtor forever, that was how it should be, she wouldn't let Sky interfere anymore, and she knew Valtor wouldn't let that disgusting witch get in the way either, it would be a perfect fairytale ending for her, and she would be sure of it, she could feel it, all of a sudden, the sky went dark, and lightning began to crash around them, Bloom looked up, and to her shock and horror, it was Darcy and the Trix, all three of them were floating down to them, Darcy looking beside herself with fury, but Valtor stood firm, he merely stared as they came almost eye level with the two of them, his expression holding nothing in it, Darcy stood mid air and glared at the two of them, arms crossed she practically had to speak slowly to avoid getting tongue tied.

"You have a lot of nerve! I went through a lot of trouble to make that gem specially for you and me, and you tossed it!" Darcy spat, Valtor kept his arms around Bloom and frowned slightly at her, in what looked like mild annoyance.

" It holds no use for me anymore, you should have known better Darcy, I do not take well, to meddlers, and fools, remember the saying 'fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you' I wont allow you to interfere any longer, your game is over Darcy, find some other fool to fall in love with because I am spoken for, yes, that's right, I aim to marry Bloom and you cannot sway me again, so begone, or I swear, my full power will come out and I will wipe you from the face of this planet" he finished quickly but made sure that every word spoken, had emphasis and a sharp edge to it, and it seemed to work, Darcy flinched and winced a little, though her eyes shined with unshed tears, she kept her voice steady, as much as she could.

"You...AIM TO MARRY HER!? That damn horrible pixie, who could no sooner know you, than she could spell her way to defeating me or my sisters! You chose her over me!? You are making a huge mistake, and I will make it known! Girls, lets end this!" she said through gritted teeth, Icy and Stormy nodded and went into fighting stance, Bloom transformed into her Believix and faced off against the witches, Valtor did likewise and floated to meet them, his hands enveloped in a purple glow, his face set into determination and replied "I do intend to marry Bloom, shes more than just a pixie, shes the best woman and she understands and gets me, more so than you could ever do, you fell for me due to my darkness and power, you did not get to know me underneath, bah, surface details, how careless of you, no wonder you can never defeat her or the Winx Club, you can only dream of doing so, and tonight, I will show you why I am feared throughout the realms!" he roared, and plunged his hand into her midsection, causing her to reel back in shock, Icy went about making an Ice Prison, and Valtor erupted in power, his demon form coming to light, and the Trix were taken aback, but quickly rebounded and Stormy sent a huge tornado their way, Bloom erupted the tornado with a fire blast and reached deep into her Dragonfire and summoned the dragon istelf, and launched it at them, even when they dodged, they managed to get scathed, Bloom's eyes glowed with power, this time, she would crush the Trix, she would not allow them to ruin anything more, Daphne reeled a little, but allowed her sister to tap into the power she needed, Bloom roared and unleashed a tidal wave of fire, this time the Trix couldn't avoid it, they got swept upwards in the flames, Valtor joined her hands, and together, they concentrated hard on a joint spell, to send into the flames, and a purple ball of magic went to join the flames, they outstretched their hands and dove right for them, the Dragonfire surrounding them, and exploded them, and reappeared on the other side, Valtor transforming back into his usual form, both of them, holding the other's hands, what was left of the Trix, they looked down to see all three of them unconscious in various spots on the small lawn behind the hotel, singed too, she had done it, they both had, together, they beat the Trix! Bloom's joy was cut short as she suddenly felt exhausted, she de-transformed and went limp in Valtor's arms, who floated her to safety, someone from hotel staff came up and demanded to know what the commotion was all about, and he calmly informed the, maid as he was, that the problem had come from three witches from Cloud Tower, and they had stormed in, no pun intended, and tried to harm him and Bloom, the maid nodded and informed him that he would send word to Cloud Tower immediately, making Valtor grin somewhat inside, knowing full well the extent of Griffin's anger, so he knew they would never hear the end of this, he let Bloom rest, and teleported them back to Alfea, this time, he knew he had to get into her dorm, he carefully helped her undress and put on pajamas, and slipped her slowly into bed, he was just turning to teleport out, when Faragonda eased open the door, "Valtor, if I may have a word with you" she inquired as softly as she could, he turned and walked over, "follow me to my office please" she finished, and he did so, much to her surprise, he even seemed calm and did not attempt to fight either, which made what Bloom had insisted upon earlier seem true.

They got to her office and she gestured for him to sit, which he did, and they faced each other for a few moments, until she spoke. "I understand that you have been seeing Bloom a lot lately, but until recently, did not think it was so wise, you did start out as an enemy after all, and I did not expect things to take this kind of turn, but I wonder, what all you could be planning, and if it's whats best" she finished leaning forward, Valtor merely nodded, and leaned forward as well.

"If I may, I am afraid that I cannot say what I am 'planning' as I am currently busy trying to arrange it, but I assure you, it is for the best, and I have more than enough faith, that it will work out perfectly, Bloom has faith in me and loves me, I hope you see this and understand" he replied smoothly, and sat back, Faragonda tilted her head a little, then nodded, "I hope you're right Valtor, I must make sure of the safety of the students here, you know this...sigh, but still, if I must, then I shall try to believe you, also, may I ask what brought you to bringing back Bloom the way you did" she inquired, Valtor sat up straighter and nodded.

"As a matter of fact I can..the Trix of Cloud Tower, they attacked us, and we fought back, though we won, Bloom became drained, she will most likely be sore tomorrow" he replied, with a small yawn, Faragonda blinked some, and put on a serious expression, and went to a crystal ball, "Griffin, please respond" she waited, then the face of Griffin appeared, her expression was even more stern than Faragonda's and she had an edge of annoyance to her tone.

"What is it Faragonda, I am most busy, reprimanding students, who in spite of my teachings, have veered off the right path, and I find myself wondering about them continuing to study at my school" she replied coldly, Faragonda merely shook her head.

"Yes I know, I was just informed, I know you will handle this accordingly, but I wondered if you knew" she responded back, with a set expression of stone, Griffin nodded curtly.

"Yes..." she drawed out "I was informed by a ...hotel employee about this, it was rather appalling, to hear that my students have once again, performed horrendous acts outside of school, they shall get a months worth of detention and be restricted to the grounds, but I wont bore you with the details" she frowned, and shook her head "Now I must be going, goodbye Faragonda" and her face disappeared, Faragonda turned back to Valtor and sat back down, deep in thought, she looked up at him, and sighed.

"Do I want to know, because I have this funny feeling like they did this not for simple reasons, but a determined attack, of some sort" she inquired.

"They tried to drive a wedge between me and Bloom and would go so far as to attack and try to prove to me how weak they believed Bloom to be, the fault must lie with me, I let Darcy take me too far, then she lashed out in an attempt to take me away, I will not allow it to happen again" he let his eyes rest on his lap, and shook his head, Faragonda waved a hand.

" Do not be too hard on yourself, those witches have always had it out for Bloom and her friends, but this...attacking in a heavily populated area, they really went off the handle with this one, sigh, it was too foolhardy and reckless, but I think i've taken up enough of your time, you may go now, and be careful" she made a small soft smile, and nodded, Valtor stood and bowed slightly, then teleported out.

8-8-8-8

Sky had spent the afternoon with Diaspro the other day, and now, he felt odd, his thoughts of Bloom ended up evaporating before he could blink, instead, sweet thoughts of Diaspro floated in, and memories, amd he found himself wondering if he should or shouldn't renew his vow to her, instead of Bloom, but even while he debated it, the answer kept coming to him 'go and be with Diaspro, she loves you and you love her' so he could only allow that thought in, as trying to avoid it, only made it come faster to him, he even sat through his classes thinking of Diaspro, and eventually, he decided to write her a letter, telling her that he had decided to renew their vows and be her fiance again, this time, it would work, and he felt his feelings for Bloom slip out of his reach, and he did not seem to mind, for some odd reason.

8-8-8-8

Bloom awoke feeling sore and very tired, she didn't want to get up, her body even refused to move, Musa and the others attempted to help, but all they managed to do, was to get her to sit upright, her eyelids were droopy and her energy was gone, she felt like she was grasping at wisps of energy, even Daphne was unresponsive, mostly, whatever she did do, it was just enough to get Bloom to go shower, to hopefully wake her up some more, meanwhile, Daphne snoozed on, recuperating and overall, trying to get up enough energy to perhaps get through the day, Bloom felt like a zombie. Deep inside though, she felt the joy she had felt last night, Valtor had proposed to her, she chanced a glance at her hand, and to her surprise, there was a glittering diamond ring on her ring finger, that woke her up, she stared at it for a minute, then went to dry and brush her hair, readying herself for another day. Bloom walked with her friends to the lunchroom and had breakfast, something she felt grateful to do, then, Musa broke the silence. "OMG! is that what I think it is?" she squealed softly, so as not to alert anyone else, Techna looked up, and took notice, Aisha did too, and blinked in surprise. Bloom blushed and nodded, and then leaned in.

"Promise you can keep a secret, also, I hope that you guys approve, because I want to invite you...he asked to marry me" Bloom said in a whisper, smiling

"Do we approve?" Techna sputtered a little, eyes wide "Well, I uh.."

"Of course we do, right girls" Musa interjected, grinning, Stella looked at Bloom and broke into a grin herself.

"We have to find the perfect dress, no wedding is perfect without, the perfect dress, and I will personally see to that, you can count on me" she finished, a determined grin on her face, and hands on her hips

"Well this is exciting" Aisha nodded, "I mean, one of the Winx is getting married, though, can we all agree not to fight over who gets to be the bridesmaid" she shuddered, "I don't think I could stand that" she finished taking a sip of her juice, then leaned back

"Of course not, besides, wont this be private? I highly doubt there will be a need for a bridesmaid, since ..." she lowered her voice "Valtor wont be bringing a best man, it would seem fitting that she doesn't have a bridesmaid, besides, we are ALL here for her, and we will do so for the wedding" Techna replied, nodding a little

"So, did he say where and when?" Musa asked, titling her head, Bloom shook her head

"No, but he probably will send a letter, or tell me at lunch break, yeah, probably then, I told him I wanted to see him then, so I'll be cutting lunch today" Bloom replied, rubbing her eyes, she still felt tired, and sore. The others nodded and went to their classes, once again, Bloom only noticed it passed by in a blur, her potions class was the longest, and she gritted her teeth at the long winded lesson,when it finally let out for lunch, she waved to her friends and went to join Valtor in the forest, he was waiting for her by a tree in a clearing, she immediately went over and hugged him, and noticed his own engagement ring, she smiled.

"Hey, did you wait long? Sorry, darn teacher was taking forever" she rolled her eyes a little, and Valtor smiled back.

"Not too long, I was fine, no doubt you want to know about the wedding plans" he replied, smiling more, she blinked in surprise, then smiled again.

"You have got to get out of my head, how did you know" she asked, blushing

"I didn't have to ask, but I made sure I even had plans, before I came to see you again, and I know now, I had to hire a priest of a church, he reluctantly agreed, but after I explained the situation, he understood, and yes, I had a cloaking field around me, so my appearance was different, to him, I looked like a common man, not a famed criminal" he finished with a short laugh.

"Whew, that's a relief, but where is it going to be held, is it fancy or what" she replied with a puzzled look on her face, Valtor merely kept smiling.

"It will be in a church, but like I said, it will be private, just you and me" he replied

"And my friends, they were totally cool with my marrying you, and there wont be a bridesmaid, which was also cool with them, they kind of figured that since you didn't have a best man, that I shouldn't have to have a bridesmaid" she said quickly, brushing back a strand of hair from her face, he nodded.

"That does seem fitting, the day will be tomorrow evening, its a weekend, so we can spend our honeymoon somewhere nice, nicer than that hotel we went to, we can go to my realm, and spend the next several hours together, as husband and wife" he replied, with a warm smile, she hugged him tight, and nodded into his chest.

"That sounds awesome, I cant wait, but I know i'll have to" she grinned, and kissed his chest, he held her tightly, it felt so warm and cozy, she didn't want to let go.

"Yes, but it wont be long, now hurry back, you don't want to be late for class" he chuckled, and let go, they kissed deeply and then parted ways, his heart leapt into the air, and he grinned, as he stared after her, he knew in his heart that he was doing the right thing, that his heart belonged to her and her alone, and tomorrow, he would make her forever his. And this time, nothing was going to be in the way, all had been taken care of, and he teleported away, with the knowledge of this, making his heart soar higher in joy.

Note: more next time, these will include updates on Diaspro and Sky, and the Trix ^^