Let's pretend I was always supposed to publish this chapter this week. I just hope there are no typos, but feel free to comment or DM me.
Surprisingly, it's not my biggest chapter, even though it really took me a while to write it.
Winx4life : thank you, I hope you'll like this one as well ^^
IrisTurner : ce sont souvent mes passages préférés dans les fanfictions… malheureusement je n'ai pas pu beaucoup explorer ce côté chez nos héros… mais j'espère y remédier dans ma prochaine fanfiction. Honnêtement je suis un peu déçue par ça… mais je me dis que pour une première histoire c'est pas mal. Anyway j'espère te retrouver sur mon autre fanfic )
"I have made up my mind about you, and this trial has been going on for too long already. Your crimes have been left unpunished, but today that ends as you stand here before us, accused of conspiring against the Light Alliance, of conspiring against the Realm of Sparx, of betraying the Realm of Sparx, and of murder attempt against the Royal Family Bloodline."
Her words were loud and clear as she spoke with as much assurance as she could muster, staring at Baltor, dead in the eyes. He looked as serious as her, for once. No smirk on his lips, no mischief in his eyes, no taunting words coming out of his mouth.
He looked strange, and out of place, standing on the red carpet. Two guards were at his sides, keeping a close watch. And, on either sides of the Wizard, sat the Winx, the Specialists, and the old members of the Company of Light, who had been called to testify to this trial.
They were the only ones with chairs, the rest of the people filling the room being Sparx citizens that came to see how it would all go down. Even though most of them didn't know who this man was, they knew he had served the Three Ancestral Witches, therefor making him the only being responsible for their curse still alive. The only one that could still be apprehended.
The Magic Council had seen fit to let Sparx's rulers to put an end to this story, and apply justice as they saw fit. A benediction, had thought the red head. Although she needed to be very careful now. Everything had to be clear, at the end of the day, otherwise her Realm would have to deal with a lot of new enemies.
She discovered at the last minute that she would be the judge. Apparently, when it came to treason, the rulers were the one in charge of deciding which sentence fit best. Sparx citizens believed in the Royal Family to be strong enough not to be biased, something she didn't think possible.
But, as her parents had recently came back, and ignored everything about what had happened, it was decided that the Princess of Sparx would be the judge. And even though she'd tried to stay out of this, she realized it was the perfect opportunity to get Baltor indemnity. So she accepted. But as she sat on the throne, and motioned for the guards to let the wizard enter, she also realized that this wasn't going to be as easy as she'd imagined.
The people of Sparx expected a real judgement. But she wasn't a Princess, except by blood. She had no idea how to act, and worst of all, she liked the man ! At the end of the day, she could just decide he was a new Sparx citizen, and no one could contest her decision.
Although she knew they all expected her to give him a life sentence in Omega, as they knew what he had done to her the past year. How much of trouble he'd been in her life. How he had attempted to destroy her school, her friends, herself. Oh, and the Magical Dimension. But her opinion wouldn't be biased at all, no.
At the end of the day, though, she really didn't have a choice. So she learned everything she had to say by heart, and she hoped it would enough.
First, she'd questioned Griffin. Asked her about her time with Baltor, and the Ancestresses. She was the only one left to remember this time. And she had not deceived her, as the old witch made it abundantly clear that Baltor never had a choice, and was always forced to obey.
Baltor had made sure she would know which question to ask, and in which order.
Then she asked about how Mrs. Faragonda had talked her in joining the side of light, and fighting against her own side. She let Griffin talk about her time with the Company of Light, and how this helped her become the woman she was today.
Many people had raised brows when they learned that the respected headmistress of Alfea had been in contact with the forces of darkness, but it was clear that it had been a good thing.
Unfortunately, the witch couldn't tell anything about the last battle against the Three Ancestral Witches, as she'd been knocked out by something. It made Bloom clench her teeth, but she let her go, knowing she wouldn't get more.
She then chose to ask Saladin the same questions, and overall, it was the same story : he fought with bravery against the darkness, but in the last battle he, too, had been knocked out. Although, he said, he remembered pain in the back of his head, as if he'd been hit by something. But he couldn't tell her much more. Helia pated his back, and smiled encouragingly.
Her disappointment must've showed on her face though, because at this moment, Baltor chose to snort. She immediately told him to shut up, as a reflex, and it seemed the Court assumed it was an order, instead of the joke it really was. There had been some applauses, but they'd been silenced quickly by the looks on the guards' face. She sighed, knowing she'd just risked her cover. There was a plan, and she needed to stick to it. Only a few more hours to go.
Her gaze had turned to Alfea's headmistress, who smiled gently. It took all she had in her to avoid showing her disgust, and to smile back. Albeit it was a tight, fake smile, she was sure her old mentor would not think much of it. After all, it was a pretty hard day.
She began to ask if she had had any contact with other forces of evil, except for Mrs. Griffin. The answer had been a firm no, and Bloom believed it. The witch had only been a childhood friend, and that had granted her a special place in Faragonda's heart, nothing more.
The Princess nodded, and simply asked her about the last battle. As she expected, it was Mrs. Faragonda that had teleported them all out of the room and into a spaceship, as the curse spread on Sparx.
Stealing a glance at her friends, she saw Stella looking at the ground, her hands in tight fists. Flora had put a hand on her shoulders, and her mother held her other arm. The Solarian Princess seemed glad, and Bloom knew that having her mother support her meant a lot. Unfortunately, her father didn't make it in time, but he'd promised he'd be there tomorrow. The Winx suspected he was afraid of seeing Baltor again, after what he did to him.
Coming back to the scene before her, she thanked the fairy headmistress. She then let her eyes wander over to Hagen, and noticed his leg was bouncing out of nervousness. She resisted the urge to raise a brow at that, instead focusing on her questions. And sure enough, he told the same story as his two counterparts. Except, he stopped himself when talking about the last battle. Of course, the Princess had urged him on, and his reaction had been exactly what she hoped for : he looked at Mrs. Faragonda, for a split of a second. It had been too quick for anyone else to notice, but she'd seen it.
He then took a deep breath in and told her that he'd been knocked out, too. Probably because of the dark energy. Bloom had put on a tight smile, and nodded, hoping she didn't show her suspicions too much.
The red head then locked eye contact with King Sky, and then his father. Erendor nodded, signaling that he was ready to testify when the moment would come. So her eyes fell back on Baltor.
"I have made up my mind about you, and this trial has been going on for too long already. Your crimes have been left unpunished, but today that ends, as you stand here before us, accused of conspiring against the side of light, of conspiring against the Realm of Sparx, of betraying the Realm of Sparx, and of murder attempt against the Royal Family Bloodline."
Her words were loud and clear as she spoke with as much assurance as she could muster, staring at Baltor, dead in the eyes. He looked as serious as her, for once. No smirk on his lips, no mischief in his eyes, no taunting words coming out of his mouth.
Maybe a part of him was even worried about the events that were to come.
"How do you answer these charges…"
Her lower lip trembled, and balled her hands into fists. She felt her whole body tense, as she turned her head to the right, her gaze shifting to a face she'd come to hate.
"…Mrs. Faragonda ?"
For a moment, everything seemed to froze, as it took some time for people to understand what was going on. But gasps and whispers exploded at once, and her father had to get up from his seat to get silence once again.
Her gaze never left the old headmistress face, and out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Baltor turn around to face her too, finally back to himself. As for the fairy teacher, she sat there, her mouth opened, not quite knowing how to react.
"I believe the Princess asked you a question," he stated, satisfied with himself.
Immediately, she got up, and Stella followed suit, her body tense. Baltor slowly retreated toward Bloom, standing to her left, leaving his place to Faragonda.
"What are you talking about Bloom ?" She asked, obviously hurt. But no one could know if it was because of her student's sudden change in behavior, or the shame of being played.
"It's Princess Bloom, to you," told Stella, a burning hatred in her eyes.
Flora had a hand on her wrist, and slowly stood up too. The rest of the Winx Club slowly followed, unsure of what was going to happen.
"I'm talking about you conspiring against the Realm of Sparx. I am talking about you betraying my people. I am talking about you trying to get me and my friends killed, as you threw us in danger when we were only sixteen. Do you deny it ?"
"Yes ! I never did any of that !"
"You did," interrupted Erendor, as he stood up so that everyone would see him.
Faragonda's eyes widened, and she whispered his name in disbelief, but he ignored it.
"I testify that this woman has conspired against the Realm of Sparx from the beginning."
"What are you doing ?" She asked, a little louder this time.
"Doing what I should have done a long time ago," he stated as he looked at her as you would an insect. "This woman tried to convince me to betray your rulers, King Oritel and Queen Marion, in the last battle against the Three Ancestral Witches. Her plan was simple : when the Witches would be in the middle of being casted out in the Obsidian Dimension, I, along with Hagen, would knock the others down, letting Mrs. Faragonda trap your King and Queen in this dimension."
"Why ?" Asked Hagen, as he slumped down in his chair. He seemed older, all of a sudden. But his face didn't show any anger, just simple curiosity.
"I was unfortunately unable to make it this day, as I betrayed this Realm by making a pact with the Witches : if I wanted to stop them from destroying my home, I would have to break my alliance with Sparx," he said while ignoring Hagen's question, or the whispers when he ended his sentence. "I am ready to face the consequences of these actions, from today."
Bloom nodded.
"Do you have anything to say, Swordsmith ?"
Hagen looked down, and nodded, under the angry eyes of the fairy teacher.
"What Erendor said is true. And… I lied," he let out in a sigh. "I did accept Mrs. Faragonda's offer, as she made it seem like it was the right thing to do. She said Sparx was too strong, and it was unfair for the other Realms. She promised that the King and Queen would not suffer, as if they were deeply asleep, and we could wake them up sometime later. And I was stupid enough to accept."
"What did you do exactly ?"
"I waited until Faragonda started her incantation, this was the plan. Then I knocked out my companions, and brought them next to Mrs. Faragonda, so that we could all escape the room safely."
"Except for my parents ?"
He took a sharp breath in.
"Yes."
The Princess simply nodded, and couldn't help to notice the look on the old fairy's face : disdain, or disgust. Bloom couldn't tell, but she knew this wasn't something she often saw on her mentor's face, making her realize that, maybe, she didn't know the woman as well as she thought she did.
But instead of dwelling on this thought, she reminded herself that this day needed to end, and it wouldn't be possible without her. So she forced her eyes to go back to Hagen's face, and her mouth to come up with new words.
"Were you in love with her ?"
Surprised, he looked up at her, and slowly nodded.
"Yes, I was," he answered without hesitation.
"Are you in love with her now ?"
His posture went rigid, and for a moment, she believed he was going to stop talking altogether : his eyes had suddenly lost all the life they held a second ago, and his shoulders had dropped. It was a sight she never believed she would see. Or ever hoped to.
In the short time she'd known him, Hagen had always been alive. Whether it was by being angry, fueled by hatred and bitterness, or love for everything he saw around him. Curiosity, as he discovered what Alfea had become. There had been a spark, always intense, telling how much this man had seen and done. Telling how much he still wanted to do.
But now, as she asked her question, all of this disappeared. The weight of years fell on his shoulders, something she never noticed before. All she knew was that he had grey hair, but she never noticed the bags under his eyes, or the marks of the time that scarred his face. And she couldn't help but feel a bit sad for him, even though he led her people to a tragedy.
"A part of me still is, yes."
And that was what made him so miserable. Somewhere, inside him, he hated the fact that he was still capable of loving a woman who had destroyed so many lives. He'd tried to punish himself for that, locking himself away for years, ready to endure whatever the punishment was.
The Princess licked her lips, nodding, as her gaze fell back onto her old mentor.
"Blo- Princess Bloom. I know my actions were a little weird, but I can promise you, I can explain everything !"
"Well, go on."
Surprise was written all over her face, but the old fairy quickly recovered and started talking.
"I never wanted to hurt you, or get you killed !"
"Yet, you put me and my friends in the front row of every battle."
"I had no other choice !"
"What about the army ?"
"She can't always be there in time !"
"What about the teachers ?"
"They're not enough, we needed the help of our students."
"To fight evil ?"
"Yes, Bloom. But I never abandoned you. I rescued you after Lord Darkar took you, didn't I ?"
"But this was your fault. You didn't really check Avalon's identity. A professor that would teach and could get near any student of yours."
"We needed new professors quickly."
"So you take the first creep that can do magic, I see."
"You know it isn't like that, Bl- Princess Bloom."
"No, I don't."
"You were always the most obvious choice ! The most powerful fairy in my school, and you had your friends with you !"
"So you're saying it's okay to throw 17 years old in battle, when they don't even have their own Enchantix ?"
Faragonda gasped, and her magic electrified the air around her. Cracking, and clashing against the Winx's. Still, she tried to hide her anger, and pleaded to the red head as if she had no dignity. If anything, Bloom was disgusted, realizing the woman she held in high esteem was nothing more than a liar.
And they said the Witches were bad.
"Please Bloom !"
"Running out of arguments, is she ?" Wondered Baltor aloud, making the red head smile.
"Don't listen to that snake Bloom !"
The warning only made him laugh, and she honestly entertained the idea of joining him.
"Everyone, he must've marked her ! Act ! Quick ! Winx, save your fri-"
"We're not your soldiers," snapped Stella.
You could see the satisfaction on her face, as she said out loud the words that had been haunting her for the past few months.
"I never-"
"Stop being ridiculous and start telling the truth instead," shot Tecna.
It took Alfea's headmistress a second before composing herself again, and once again she looked to the thrones.
"Oritel, Marion, please. You know I would never do anything bad intentionally."
The red head heard a scoff, but she was too shocked by the audacity the old fairy had in her.
"How dare you ?" Asked her father.
"Your Kingdom was above everyone else ! I fight for equality for everyone. You were going to be the death of this society. I just couldn't let it happen."
Silence fell, and the headmistress realized what she had done.
It had taken but a second for the illusion to fall apart, and now stood before her the real Faragonda. The calculating woman, ready to do anything to accomplish what silly belief she had. Even if that meant the death of her close friends.
Ignoring the boiling anger in her, Bloom spoke up.
"So you admit ?"
"What ?" Asked Faragonda, as innocently as she could, even though her face betrayed her.
This was her shot. The old fairy knew it was too late to back down. She already said too much.
And this day needed to end anyway. She was beginning to have a horrible migraine.
"Do you deny conspiring against the Realm of Sparx ?" She asked once again.
It took a minute for Mrs. Faragonda for answering.
"No, I did but-"
"Do you deny conspiring against the Light Alliance during the fight against the Three Ancestral Witches ?"
"I don't but you have to under-"
"Do you deny attempting to murder the King and Queen of Sparx ?"
"I simply wanted them out of the way for a few years then-"
"Do you deny it ?"
"I think-"
"Do You Deny It ?"
This time she punctuated every word, tired of this mascharade.
"I- No," she admitted in a sigh.
"Do you deny attempting to end Sparx's bloodline ?"
"Bloom, I promise you, I never wanted you to die. I'm sorry if the way I acted was wrong, but it simply never was my intent-"
"Do you deny it ?"
Finally, her anger got to her, and she almost screamed the question. This was getting stupid, and she wanted this whole thing to be over.
And it seemed Faragonda was surprised to hear her that angry, as she looked to the ground and admitted her defeat.
"No. I don't."
Relaxing into her throne, she signaled to the guards to take hold of her. She did not fight, but the Princess would not take any unnecessary risks.
"Therefor, I am forced to condemn you to eternal banishment, in the Realm of Omega."
She avoided the gaze of the now prisoner, and instead looked over to Hagen.
"Master Swordsmith Hagen, you are charged with conspiring against the Realm of Sparx, and of betraying the Realm of Sparx. What do you have to say ?"
"Guilty, Princess Bloom."
"In light of your admissions, you will be sentenced to a banishment in the Dimension of Omega, for thirty years."
He seemed ready to accept, when someone coughed next to her. Looking up, she met Baltor's eyes, and raised an eyebrow.
"If I may… he was in love with this woman right ?" He whispered. "I'm guessing she knew of it all along, and counted on it. Perhaps his sentence could be a little… lighter ?"
She thought about it. Hagen had been manipulated, his love used against himself. And even though it was still strong enough to convince him not to tell the truth, he did help in this trial. She sighed.
Really, since when did Baltor make so much sense ?
"Hagen, your love for this woman has been used against you. In order to make up for your crime, I will let you decide between two sentences : fifteen years of banishment in Omega, or twenty-five years serving the Realm of Sparx, and putting your knowledge into our hands."
She knew those choices were hard, and she let him think about it while they all looked at him.
The idea of spending fifteen years in Omega would easily bring down anyone. But Hagen valued his knowledge about swords above his life. And as the seconds ticked by, it was easy to see he entertained the former idea, as surprising as it was to anyone.
He fidgeted, his eyes darting on all sides in the room. Pity filled her, as she looked at him. This was not entirely his fault, and because of Faragonda, he now faced sentences reserved for the worst criminals.
"I will serve your Kingdom, Princess Bloom."
She smiled. At least she would be able to try and alleviate his sentence. A good thing indeed.
"Very well."
She motioned for other guards to come get him, and they put him behind Faragonda.
"As for you, King Erendor, you are charged with betrayal against the Realm of Sparx. Do you have anything to say against those charges ?"
"No, Princess Bloom."
She nodded, glad the two men weren't trying to make it hard for her.
"Very well. We shall sentence you to twenty years of banishment in Omega."
He got up from his seat, ready to join the two other prisoners before she ever could give him the order. But she put her hand in the air, stopping him in his tracks.
"However, this betrayal was done to save your own people. Moreover, your son, the King, has proven his loyalty to Sparx as he helped me break the curse bestowed upon my people, risking his own life in the process. Therefore, we will simply give you a warning : that any action that you could ever do against us, will be taken as betrayal and be harshly punished."
His eyes had widened out of surprise, not expecting mercy on him, and he immediately bowed to her, and her parents, repeating his gratitude toward her, and her family. She only nodded. And then stood up, wishing to appear as confident as possible.
"As for Baltor, here standing next to me, it has been confirmed that he was under a curse the Three Ancestral Witches had put on him, forcing him to do their bidding, to obey their every order, and make him forget any notion of free will. They made him the monster that attacked us," she revealed. "During the battle, however, this curse was broken. He now has his own free will, and has vowed to serve me to make up for his past actions."
The court seemed to agree with that explanation. They knew what kind of vow she was talking about, or they assumed they did. In anyway, none tried to contest her decision. Griffin had her eyes strained on him, and it was obvious she would talk to him later. As for Saladin, he had the hand of his son in his, the situation being a lot more than what he expected.
She cast one last look to her old headmistress, and Hagen, before waving her hand. Mrs. Faragonda was put in magical handcuffs, effectively stopping her from doing any magic, then led to the prison. Hagen was roughly pulled back, too, and led to a vacant chamber, his work starting tomorrow.
Everyone looked towards the gates, not a word being uttered. They watched the two convicts as they disappeared out of the room, and the only sound that could be heard was the noise the chains made as they hit each other. Then, some people started exiting through the giant doors, not forgetting to bow towards their Highnesses.
It was slow, and Bloom could feel herself getting tired by the second. It was terrible. All she wanted to do was get back to her room, and sleep. This had been hard on her : seeing her mentor trying to lie her way out of this situation had the same effect of knife being plunged inside her chest. It had took all her control to not make any rash decisions, knowing she would regret it.
Her mind became blank, and she closed focused on staying up on her feets.
At some point, she opened her eyes to find herself in her room, Baltor helping her get to her bed. She used her magic to get into a comfortable night dress, and fell onto the bed, a heavy sigh leaving her mouth.
"You were very good," he said, resting in a chair, facing the bed.
She hummed, not really in the mood to discuss the quality of her trial. She really wanted to forget about it.
"Who will take Faragonda's spot as headmistress ?"
She groaned.
"Baltor…" she warned.
"I'm just kidding," he said, although they both knew that was a lie.
She smiled at him, and then closed her eyes.
She now had tomorrow to worry about all that.
For now, she could just lay there.
And rest.
So this scene is heavily inspired by Little Finger's final trial, when Sansa and Arya trap him (Game Of Thrones, Season 8). I had shivers all along, and I just thought that it'd be perfect… So, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll finish the last one and publish it when I can.
I called the chapter "Greedy" because of three reasons : Faragonda was greedy to see her version of "good" when destroying Sparx, Bloom was greedy because she acquitted Baltor in a simple sentence... and I like the song from Ariana Grande.
Anyway.
Leave some reviews please, and I'll see you in the final chapter.