Authors Notes: Would have had this had this chapter up last night, but my other hobby kind of took up my time. As most of my long time readers know, I play MMO's on the side. Current game is Star Wars: The Old Republic, and yes I have given in to the dark side. All hail Darth Midnight Lost….
Ok, now that I showed my geek, on with the chapter, but first.
Nentone - Yes she does. It is no surprise that Dark Bloom is my favorite character in the series, hence why I prefer to do stories around her or similar personalities.
Flamechild1998 - Glad to see your enjoying it, and fear not. This story is long from over. I haven't even completed the outline of it.
Now, there is going to be a scene in this chapter that I had not originally planned for, but felt it needed to be in. As in writing up the outline for the story I forgot to mention a certain character. Enjoy.
Crimson Flame
Chapter 10
Bloom sped through the darkened forest, weaving in and out of trees as she put more distance behind her from the school. Though she did have fun at the expense of her supposed guards, she was still furious that the old witch intended to keep her a prisoner. She knew that if she had stayed, the headmistress would of never let her leave. At least not by herself.
Her only problem now was where she was going to go. It wasn't until she stopped in front of a large cave opening that the idea struck her, and it was perfect. A grin visited her face.
"Of course." She said to herself, entering the cave.
This wasn't just any cave entrance. It lead to none other then Shadowhaunt. She had completely forgotten about this place since Darkars defeat nearly two years ago. This would be a suitable place for her, and it would be one of the last places the other girls looked. Bloom softly chuckled to herself at the irony of returning to this place.
She followed the unlit pathway until it opened up into a large cavern. Bloom took a moment to admire her surroundings. Even though it was completely dark, she could see perfectly. There wasn't much that was different that she could remember, aside for the fact that the fortress in the center was in ruins. Another thing she noticed was that there was no life in the place, none of the shadow beasts were around.
Bloom figured that she was going to have to repair it some how. Shadowhaunt seemed to react to her thought as crumbling noises could be heard from the fortress. Bloom peered at the structure as the walls began to repair themselves. This confused the fire fairy. A light flickered behind her, catching her attention and putting her on the defensive.
"Truly remarkable place isn't it?" Icy stated with a smile.
Bloom relaxed seeing who it was. She was so entranced with what was going on with Shadowhaunt that she failed to notice the three witches coming up behind her. She made a mental note not to ever let that happen again.
"How is it repairing itself?"
"Shadowhaunt gets its energy from its owner. Through that it can rebuild itself in the mind of its owner."
"But Darkar is dead."
"Perhaps," Darcy chuckled. "But you are not."
Bloom gazed at the witch in shock, as the implications sink in. She was the owner of Shadowhaunt now.
"So your saying I own Shadowhaunt now?"
"Correct." Icy answered.
"Why didn't you three claim it?" Bloom was curious.
"Believe it or not." Stormy began. "The three of us individually don't have enough darkness to be able to claim it, and it doesn't work when we combine together with our Gloomix."
"That it is a surprise." The fire fairy couldn't help but smile at this. She couldn't help but be a little proud that she held more darkness then the witches. "Shall we?"
With a nod, the group of girls bounded towards to the now fully repaired fortress. Bloom took in everything as they entered the structure. Everything was the same as she had remembered it, the only real difference was that it was clean. Not the filth that Darkar had kept it in. The girls made their way down the large hallway until they reached the throne room. Bloom eyed the throne and grinned, sauntering her way over to it before taking a seat; looking down at the three witches before her.
"How did you know to find me here?" Bloom asked as the thought struck her.
"We saw what happened in Alfea." Darcy informed her, then added. "Though I have to say, nice touch with your supposed guards."
Bloom couldn't help but smirk at the compliment.
"So what do you plan to do now?" Icy asked.
"I honestly don't know." The fire fairy admitted. "Didn't have much time to plan it out. I just knew that I wasn't going to be a prisoner."
"No doubt Faragonda is going to be looking for you." Darcy put in. Bloom only nodded in reply. She knew the old witch was going to start sending people out, most likely the girls; to find her.
"What do you suggest?"
"Bolster your power." Icy said flatly. "Your going to need to start hunting in Magix."
The fire fairy grinned at the thought of hunting freely. The thrill of the hunt, the danger of being caught. Even though she knew that was unlikely. Her eyes then gazed down at her current outfit.
"Before I start hunting, I am going to need some new cloths." Bloom grinned. "I don't think this look is going to suit my new life style."
The three witches laughed at this.
The Next Day, Lockette
It was late in the afternoon as the small pixie hurried around the forest. She was desperately trying to find her bonded fairy. Lockette had just returned from a great gathering of the pixies that was a celebration and had learned of Blooms disappearance when she visited Alfea
Flora had been the most upset, though she had noticed that the rest of the girls were not acting the same. That was why Lockette was in her frantic search. She had picked up on Blooms magical essence and was in the process of following it. After nearly an hour of flying, she finally arrived to where the Blooms essence ended. Shadowhaunt. Lockette shivered as she continued on. Now more afraid for Bloom's safety as she began to speculate what could of happened, fearing the worst.
The tiny pixie steeled her nerves and entered the fortress, hiding behind various objects until she approached the dimly lit throne room. Lockette cautiously entered the larger room. To her right she caught a flash of red hair.
"Bloom! What are you doing here?" Lockette exclaimed as she flew up to the fire fairy. "The girls are looking for you right now."
"Are they now?" Bloom grinned, not turning to the pixie as she browsed the large book shelf that was in front of her. Shadowhaunt had been kind enough to give her a plethora of knowledge of various vampire scriptures and even extended to darker spells.
"We should really get out of here Bloom." The small pixie insisted. "Your friends are worried."
"As they should be." The fire fairy chuckled darkly.
"Bloom?"
Finally Bloom turned to look at the small pixie, a dark smile plastered to her face exposing her fangs. Lockette gazed in horror at the fairies crimson red eyes and elongated canines.
"What happened to you Bloom?" She managed to ask, despite the blood in her veins running cold.
"I've been perfected." The fire fairy merely stated as she approached Lockette.
"Perfected? But you're a…."
"Vampire." Bloom finished for her with a smile.
Lockette took this as a sign to flee, quickly trying to fly towards the entrance. Only to be blocked by Bloom before she could react.
"Leaving so soon Lockette?" Bloom taunted. "Here I thought we could catch up with each other. After all, you've been away for so long."
"What do we have here?" Came another voice from behind Bloom, causing the little pixie to panic even more. She was regretting coming her alone, as she had expected to find Bloom imprisoned here.
"An old friend of mine decided to pay me a visit Icy." The fire fairy snickered as she grabbed hold of the small pixie. Firm enough to keep Lockette from escaping but soft enough not to kill her outright.
"How sweet." Stormy mocked.
"However this does pose a problem for me." Bloom continued looking down at the pixie. "You see, I don't want to be found."
"I promise I won't tell the others Bloom!" Lockette quickly stated, not liking the implications of her situation.
Bloom considered the small pixie for a moment before giving her a soft smile. "Thank you Lockette. I knew I could count on you."
The tiny pixie was relieved until she noticed that Bloom had not loosened her grip as she tried to get out. She then cast a worried glance up at Bloom. The soft smile on the fire fairy's face had disappeared, replaced by a sinister grin. Lockette screamed out momentarily in pain as Bloom tightened her grip until the little pixies blood covered her hand.
Bloom dropped the crushed body of her once bounded pixie on the floor as she licked what little blood there was off her hand. She noted that the pixie blood had a rather unique taste to it, something sweet like candy.
The fire fairy turned to the three witches who had just returned. Even the three sisters had not expected Bloom to do what she had just did.
"Can't take any chances." Was all the red haired girl said, in answer to the shocked expression on the witches faces.
"So what are you plans for tonight?" Icy asked with a dark grin.
"Tonight?" Bloom smirked. "I'm going to go hunting."
Additional Authors Notes: The first official character death, and it happened to be an impromptu scene. This is the first of many character deaths to come. No, I am not afraid to kill off main characters. I already have some plans of who I plan to kill off, but as always I will take suggestions. So if you have a character, other then Bloom; you would like to see knocked off. By all means let me know, and I may be able to swing something.