A/N: Okay so it's been a few days since my last update but I have a pretty damn good excuse; I literally couldn't see a thing for the last few days. After five years of wanting I finally got laser eye correction surgery! Yay! No more glasses or contacts! Of course the cornea in my left eye decided to be a pain so I wasn't able to get the most advanced procedure, which has a 24-48 hour recovery time. Instead I got to spend the last four days hiding away from the light like a vampire and have only just been able to see well enough to edit this chapter (after I enlarged the text to size 18 instead of my usual 12).
Anyways, I'll make it up to you with an extra long chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter Ten
There was a small crowd of people waiting for them when Timmy and Brandon returned with the two blondes. Before Brandon had completely stopped his levi bike Musa, Tecna and Annabelle ran forward to embrace Stella, but while the girls exchanged an exuberant welcoming the boys faced one filled with apprehension. Chucky was glaring furiously at them, his ears bright red with anger and the muscle in his jaw twitching as he clenched his teeth.
Resigning themselves to the consequence of their actions, Brandon and Timmy shut off the levi bikes, dismounted and stepped forward to face their fate. However, before Chucky could get one word out, Seleena suddenly appeared at his side. Her dark eyes quickly took in the newest members of her Rebellion, taking in more than was visually available to her and let out a hmmm of contemplation. And then the monochromatic witch gave a simple nod.
"All right," Seleena accepted, before turning to walk away.
Chucky, however, wasn't prepared to be so lenient. "All right? That's it?"
Seleena graced him with one of her condescending eyebrow arches. "That's what?"
"You're just going to let that slide?"
"Well there's not much else I can do, now is there?"
"They disobeyed a direct order," Chucky reminded her.
"They were following Annabelle's institutions," Seleena clarified, her dark gaze flicking to the blonde fairy who had the good grace to appear sheepish. "Besides, it's not like they've given away our position to the Trix or the Army of Decay. In fact, all things considered their movements were exceptionally subtle. Red Fountain should be proud."
"At Red Fountain we're supposed to follow orders," Chucky growled out, fixing his subordinates with a withering look.
"Perhaps but what's done is done and I've got bigger things to worry about," Seleena waved off as she turned to walk away. However she had only taken a few steps when suddenly she paused and looked back at Stella and Sky like she was noticing them for the first time. "Actually, keep them close. There's something I want to question them over as soon as we're done here."
"What's happening?" Timmy asked Tecna, noticing that the three seniors and their entourage were headed to where the rest of the Camp had gathered.
"Dominique should be back any minute now," the digital fairy reported.
"With the Paradox?"
"And Flora, hopefully," Musa nodded and even though they were all tired and hungry, they all rushed over to join the crowd. A few of their classmates noticed the arrival of Stella and Sky, but they kept their greetings brief. Everyone was anxiously awaiting the return of Dominique and they didn't have to wait long. Like so many times before, Dominique came bursting out of the undergrowth, slowed down and dropped her passengers. Only this time when she stopped, the witch collapsed as well.
The poor witch had literally run herself into the ground in exhaustion.
Seleena had the decency to spare Dominique a quick glance before she turned away, trusting that the witches who had rushed forward would take care of the exhausted speed witch. Instead Seleena focused her attention on the two individuals Dominique had brought to her.
Helia's legs had felt extremely weak after Dominique's magic left him but he refused to remain sitting on the group like some invalid when there were so many people staring at him. Therefore, despite his protesting body, Helia forced himself to his feet, helping Flora's to hers in the process and turned to address the monochrome witch that was standing before him. "Miss Seleena, I presume."
"You presume correctly," Seleena nodded politely, but there was an air of smug delight about her, like a cat who had cornered a mouse. "I am Seleena of Cloud Tower. This here is Annabelle of Alfea and Chucky of Red Fountain."
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," Helia replied respectfully, making it sound as though this meeting was taking place in some royal court instead of a war camp in the middle of nowhere. "I'm Helia, from Vallisto."
"You're a long way from home. Just happened to be in the area, did you?"
"Something like that," Helia answered cautiously. He was under the distinct impression that Seleena was very carefully leading this conversation a certain way. "Heard that you were having some trouble and thought I might drop in to see if I could help."
"How very kind," Seleena said with an intriguing flicker in her dark eyes. "Still, it's an awful long way to help out a bunch of strangers, don't you think?"
It was then that Helia caught on to exactly what kind of game Seleena was playing. The witch was a telepath and Helia had no doubt that she had already skimmed his mind and had learnt everything she needed to know, if not more. This informative but light banter was not for her sake; it was for the crowd of people looking on.
~You're very shrewd~ Helia projected and he knew she had heard him when the corner of her lips twitched in what could have been a ghost of a smile.
~Glad you noticed~ Seleena projected back. ~Now play along~
"I suppose, but the things you do for family," Helia said out loud. "And I would have been here anyway if I had listened to my Grandfather Saladin and attended Red Fountain like he had wanted."
"Your grandfather is Headmaster Saladin?" Seleena repeated just in case some of the crowd had missed that. Judging from the way they had started whispering the second Helia had let it slip, they hadn't.
"That's right. You wouldn't happen to know what happened to him, do you?"
"Nothing specific. There are rumours that he and the other teachers are being held in the dungeons of Cloud Tower but we cannot confirm that for certain."
"Actually I think I can," Helia frowned his forehead in thought. "I think I overheard Stormy saying something about Icy being held up in Cloud Tower with nothing but a bunch of rot monsters and teachers."
More whispering broke out throughout the crowd and Seleena regarded him silently for a moment before speaking. "I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves. First I want to know how you got into Magix and what's happening outside this Realm."
"I'm not entirely sure of all the details, but at some point a distress signal went out over all channels explaining the situation in Magix. Within a matter of hours ships from all over the Magical Universe were sent out to come to your aid. However, none of the ships have been able to break through the realms atmosphere due to the dark magic that is laced throughout the cloudbank," Helia informed them all. "I was able to slip through a weak point in the clouds and I'm sure my pilot has informed the necessary people. Help may be on its way as we speak."
"We can hope but I'm not exclusively counting on it," Seleena spoke over the excited chatter that suddenly broke out and then died just as quickly at her words. "I imagine the dark magic in the clouds are linked to Stormy's emotions and after her little run in with you this morning I would think that the weather up there would be more turbulent than ever."
"So we're doomed?" a voice from the crowd asked fearfully.
"Not at all," Seleena assured them all. "We now know that there is a fleet of war ships waiting just outside that cloudbank itching to get in. All we have to do is take out one weather witch."
"Well I'm sure we can manage that," Annabelle grinned, looking a lot more certain of their chances of taking out one of Trix instead of trying to wipe-out all three. The crowd seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Helia, would you please join me and a few of the others in my tent?" Seleena asked. "There's more we need to discuss but I'm sure you and your companion are tired and hungry."
"I would be delighted," Helia smiled cordially for the sake of the crowd. However he was well aware that the discussion that was about to happen in private would not be as light-hearted as the one they had just had.
It was only by luck that Brandon found himself inside Seleena's tent.
Naturally Seleena, Annabelle and Chucky were there along with their entourages, as was Helia since he was the one they all wanted to talk to. Brandon wasn't sure what had happened to Flora since the battle at Alfea, but whatever it was had left her shaken enough that she had almost panicked when her friends tried to take her away from Helia's side. Luckily Helia didn't seem bothered by her clinginess and the seniors were willing to give him anything he wanted. Stella and Sky's presence had been demanded (apparently Seleena wanted to ask them about something) which meant that Brandon, Timmy, Musa and Tecna had just sort of slipped in and were hoping nobody noticed them.
Fortunately everyone was too focused on this Helia guy to pay them any attention.
"So if Headmaster Saladin's your grandfather why don't you go to Red Fountain?" Chucky asked, studying the younger teen like he was suddenly going to see a resemblance between Helia and the old man that headed the school for heroics and bravery.
"I was offered a position but declined," Helia explained calmly, looking completely unfazed by the tense scrutiny he was currently under. "Instead I attend Ossacip School of Art in Vallisto."
"An art school?" one of Chucky's classmates blinked. "You chose an art school over Red Fountain?"
Helia fixed the senior with a disappointed look and suddenly they could all see the family resemblance between him and his grandfather. "Red Fountain doesn't exactly comply with my political beliefs."
"Which are what exactly?" Seleena asked. She no doubt already knew the answer but seemed to be enjoying herself too much not to ask.
"I believe conflicts should be resolved diplomatically, not with violence."
A stunned silence fell over the tent, until the sound of Annabelle's laughter rang out like a bell. "Oh, you're a pacifist. That's charming!"
"The grandson of one of the most brilliant battle strategist of our time is a pacifist. That sounds more ironic than paradoxical," Chucky noted.
"Well I did tell you that he was the Doom of the Trix Sister's reign but wouldn't take their lives," Calypso reminded them all smugly.
"I don't see how I'm going to be much help," Helia shrugged. "I was hoping the battle carriers on the other side of the cloudbank might be able to figure out a way into Magix using the weak point I used, but from the sounds of things that's not going to work out. Not with Stormy as ticked off as she is."
"I was never banking on outside help anyway," Seleena said in a mater-of-fact tone, shocking everyone to silence again. "We're on our own here."
"Then what exactly are we waiting for? And what is he supposed to do?" Chucky asked, pointing at Helia.
Seleena flicked the silver haired hero an irritated look before addressing Helia with her usual professionalism. "What can you remember about the conversation you overheard between Stormy and Icy?"
"Icy was there?" Annabelle gasped.
"Stormy was using a holographic-telephone," Helia told her before furrowing his brow in concentration as he tried to recall what he had overheard. "Um, Stormy was bored and asking when they were going to attack another realm."
"So they are planning to target other realms," Chucky muttered more to himself than anyone else.
"Yes but they're waiting for Darcy to prefect . . . Oh what was it? Um, the hold she had over the heroes she had enslaved. Apparently the Trix are going to use the dragon cavalry and spaceship fleet to get passed the forces waiting for them on the other side of the cloudbank," Helia said.
"Sounds difficult," Annabelle noted.
"It would be," Chucky agreed. "Dragon wrangling is difficult enough when you're just doing it normally. Can you imagine what it must be like controlling someone else doing it? And Darcy's gonna have to do that multiple times. No wonder she hasn't worked it out yet. It sounds impossible."
"Yeah but she's talented enough to get it eventually," Calypso informed them all.
"So they're relying on Stormy and her cloudbank to keep reinforcements out until Darcy's ready with an offensive move," Seleena recapped calmly.
"Which means all we have to do is attack one of them and their plans fall through!" Chucky added eagerly. The rest of the tent started whispering excitedly to one another, but Seleena remained impassive.
The black and white witch hmmmed quietly to herself before turning her attention to Stella and Sky. "Your Highnesses, I would like you to recount what you saw in the forest before Brandon and Timothy found you."
Not expecting to be addressed, Sky jumped when every set of eyes in the tent lock on him and the blonde princess by his side, but he quickly recovered.
"You mean the boar?"
"I do indeed."
"You do the honours," Stella told him. Clearing his throat, Sky described in gruesome detail the rot encrusted boar they had encountered in the forest. When he had reached the end of his tale many of the tents occupants wore looks of horror and revulsion.
"Ewww!" Annabelle squealed, making many people standing close to her cringe. "That is foul!"
"But what does that mean?" Chucky asked. "A pig with rot insects crawling in its skin? What is that?"
"It's the next stage in the evolution of the Army of Decay," Seleena answered, drawing the attention of the entire tent back to her. "When the Army of Decay was first summoned, they were pulling their nutrients from actual decay, so that's semi or full decomposed plant and animal matter. After the Trix won the battle of Alfea, the Army got an upgrade to the point where they could absorb nutrients from healthy plant life."
"Like the trees surrounding Alfea," Helia interrupted, recalling the dead trees that he had seen when sneaking into the school.
"Exactly," Seleena nodded. "And now it appears that they've worked out how to latch onto more complex organisms and I doubt they're going to stop at pigs."
A horrified look spread across Chucky's face. "You think they'll try to do the same with people?"
"They've already started," Seleena stated calmly, which wasn't how the others reacted to the news could be described.
"What?!" several people exclaimed at once.
"Who?" Chucky demanded.
"The people of Magix," Seleena told him. "Those very first attacks on Alfea and Red Fountain were nothing more than distractions so that the students wouldn't be able to go to the City and help the civilians there. The rot monsters they sent into the City weren't like the ones attacked the schools; their objective was to capture and encase the City's population in cocoon-like states so they could study a humans molecular structure (1)."
"I saw those people," Sky spoke up. "When Bloom and I made it to Magix after escaping Cloud Tower."
"And those people are just lying there getting the life sucked out of them?" Musa asked in a small, sick sounding voice.
"If we don't act soon those people could die," Brandon said to which there were many murmurs of agreement. Seleena's silence, however, was incriminating.
"Seleena," Chucky warned. "What do you know?"
The witch shot him another irritated look before answering. "There have already been casualties."
More cried of outrage filled the tent. Chucky was furious with Seleena for withholding information like that. "So people have been dying and that just happened to slip your mind? What is wrong with you? How can you be so heartless? Is anyone in the City of Magix still alive or have they all been turned into mulch?"
"A vast majority of them are still resisting the rot monsters powers," Seleena assured him, appearing completely unaffected by his harsh words. "The death toll hasn't reached double digits yet, though I can feel others slipping away slowly. I don't imagine they'll last any longer than a few days."
"Who are most at risk?" Tecna wanted to know.
"The usual; the sick, the elderly and the young (2)."
"Children?" Annabelle and the Winx Club gasped.
"Not quite," Seleena said, a rare look of sorrow entering her dark eyes. "More like infants."
"Babies?" Stella's voice quivered.
Chucky slammed his hands on the black granite table. "We need to move now!"
"No," Seleena instantly object. "We still don't have a strategy that I'm comfortable with."
"But people are dying!"
"As will the students out there if I commit them to a fight I know they cannot win," Seleena shot back, gesturing to the teenagers outside the tent that had joined her Rebellion. "I have a responsibility to them and there is no way in hell I'm going to lead them into a death-trap."
"We have a plan. Take out either Stormy or Darcy."
"And how do you propose we do that?"
"I dunno. We just . . . attack."
Seleena somehow managed to make the long silence that followed sound patronising. "The strategic prowess of you Red Fountain students astounds me," she eventually replied.
"Oh shut up."
"I know it's frustrating for you Charles but I'm not going to allow another disaster like the Battle for Alfea. We don't have the numbers for a long siege or a second attempt. We've only got one shot to get this right and if we screw it up that's it. So I am not going to let something trivial like emotions force me to rash actions. Once I've got a battle plan I'm confident with we'll strike, I promise, but until then I won't be pressured into acting too soon."
"Well then by that stage hopefully it won't be too late. For all our sakes," Chucky muttered darkly, causing Seleena to narrow her eyes at him.
The meeting quickly dissolved at that point.
Dinner that night was not the celebration it had been when Timmy, Tecna, Brandon and Musa had all been reunited. Stella and Sky had been thrilled to see their friends, but Flora was a completely different story. She was now a broken shell of the girl she had once been and it was dragging down the mood of the entire group.
"Oh please Flora, just try and eat a little bit," Tecna begged, holding out a plate for food to her friend as they sat around one of the campfires. "You need to keep your strength up."
"Thanks, but I'm not hungry," Flora declined, hugging her knees and glancing off in the direction a few meters way where Helia was talking with Annabelle. The flower fairy had managed to relax to the point where she didn't panic if she wasn't directly at Helia's side, but she always made sure he was in sight and kept looking at him for reassurance.
"Look, Flo, you know you can talk to us, right?" Musa tried, adopting her most gentle and understanding tone of voice. She may have only met Flora at the start of the school year, but she – like the rest of the Winx Club – loved her like a sister and was desperate to help her in some way.
Flora decided to play dumb. "I am talking. See, I'm talking right now."
Stella rolled her eyes. The Princess of Solaria was just as worried about her friends as the rest of the Winx Club, but she tended to rely on brash comments and humour in tense situations like this. "She meant talk about what happened with you at Alfea."
"Nothing happened," Flora denied a little too quickly. "I'm fine."
"No you're not."
"Just leave me alone!" Flora shouted, clambering to her feet and bolting to Helia's side. The art student barely had time to acknowledge what was happening before Flora wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest. Looking somewhat startled, Helia glanced at Flora's friends before focusing on the fairy pressed up against him.
"What do you thinks' going on there?" Sky asked, staring hard at the two teenagers. Helia was talking to Flora softly as he rub slow, comforting circles on her back but whatever he was saying had her shaking her head in disagreement.
"I dunno. Heroes Syndrome? (3)" Brandon shrugged, referring to the well-documented event where heroes – some of which were happily involved in monogamist relationships – fell in love with the damsels they rescued. It might sound like something out of a romantic novel but many psychological studies had discovered legitimate reasons behind the phenomenon.
Sky snorted disapprovingly. "Timing's a little inappropriate, don't you think?"
"Actually the time's perfect for it. See, he's already saved her and they've spent all day running for their lives. Now they've got a fleeting moment of safety while a dark threat looming over them. It's the perfect combination of high emotions and the desire to seize opportunities before it's too late so all in all I'd say – "
"All right, all right. You've made your point," Sky interrupted. "I just wish we could help her. We are her friends, after all. This Helia guy just met her this morning."
"Yeah but if he's able to help her get over whatever the hell happened to her at Alfea then I don't think we should resent him for that," Brandon said logically which only irritated Sky more. However before he could comment, Helia starting to lead Flora back to her friends by the fire.
"Hi. You must be Flora's friends," Helia greeted pleasantly, trying to ignore the usual awkwardness that always appeared when one individual introduced themselves into a large group of strangers. The tension was only increased by the fact that Helia still had Flora tucked into his side, hiding her face like a small child shying away from a nightmare. "My name's Helia."
"Yeah, we got that," Sky said shortly. Helia's cobalt eyes met his briefly before the dark haired teen looked away and ignored that the blonde had even spoken.
They might be in the middle of the wilderness with an uncertain future looming over them, but Helia's mother had raised a gentlemen. "May I join you?"
"Is Flora all right?" Musa asked instead of replying to the question addressed to them. Her concern for her friend trumped everything – including any etiquette she had ever been taught – and Helia might have some desperately needed answers.
Helia was quiet for a moment as he considered his response. "Physically; yes, however I can imagine that things are still a bit raw for her."
"How can we help?" Tecna asked.
"Just give her some time. I'm sure she'll come to you when she's ready," Helia said in what he hoped was a reassuring way. Unfortunately the group of teenagers continued to stare silently at him as if they expected him to depict what happened to their friend using hand puppets, making Helia feel rather awkward. Clearing his throat, Helia decided to ask a question to which he already knew the answer. "So, you're Princess Stella, right? Of Solaria?"
"Huh?" Stella said stupidly, too distracted with worry for Flora to keep up with the conversation. However when she saw the pleading look in Helia's eyes she quickly caught on. He knew exactly who she was; he just wanted to distract the group from the flower fairy clinging to him.
And what a stunning distraction Stella could be.
With a flourish that sent that Tecna – who was sitting on the log next to her – to the ground, Stella shot to her feet, flicked her long blonde hair and extended a delicate hand to her new acquaintance. "Hello! I am Princess Stella, Radiant Jewel of the Royal House of Solaria and this year Miss Magix winner! So I can't think of anybody more appropriate nor authorised to official welcome you to the Realm of Magix!"
"I'm sure the pleasure is all mine," Helia nodded, trying very hard not to grin too widely at the blonde's flamboyant welcome and her friends' stunned expression. That level of gusto should come with a warning.
"You got that right," Stella giggled. Beneath the surface she was just as frightened as she had been ever since the Army of Decay had risen but she was a princess so she was a pro at acting like she didn't have a care in the world for the sake of the public. "Sit down. Join us. Pull up a log or whatever."
Too soon they were going around the circle introducing themselves to the newest addition to the Rebellion. Stella kept the mood jovial and everyone pretended not to notice the way Flora still kept a white knuckled grip on Helia's shirt.
"Wait, I recognise your voice," Helia said when they got to Timmy. "You're the one who sent out that message on all channels explaining about the Army of Decay."
"Wow?" Timmy blinked. "Is my voice that distinctive?"
"I guess any voice is if you hear it enough in a small amount of time," Helia shrugged and when he saw the blank looks the others had he elaborated. "Well, the whole Magical Universe is following this story but given that it's impossible to get a signal in or out of Magix there's very little footage to illustrate what's happening. So every media outlet has pretty much been flogging that radio call like you wouldn't believe."
Timmy paled at that thought. "M-My voice? Across the entire Magical Universe?"
"Yeah. Your report was very thorough," Helia grinned before turning serious. "But how did you manage to get the signal passed the cloudbank?"
"Oh we were on the other side of it," Brandon explained casually.
It took Helia a moment to process what he had been told. "But if you got on the other side of the cloudbank what are you doing back here?"
"We weren't running," Sky said shortly, his hackles rising uncommonly fast. "It was a rescue mission."
"A rescue mission?" Helia repeated calmly, taking Sky's defensiveness in stride.
"Yeah, they came all the way to Sparx to pick us up," Stella told him cheerfully in an effort to keep the mood upbeat and Helia did not disappoint.
"Sparx? No way!" Helia said with the perfect combination of disbelief and admiration.
"Yes way," Musa laughed. "Planet Sparx; been there, done that."
"How did you end up there?"
The girls then launched into the tale that led them to Sparx and the adventure they found there. Brandon and Timmy also had their own inputs regarding the flight they had to take to Sparx. The banter the boys shared with the girls made it easy for people to stop pretending to be cheerful and instead actually having fun. Even Flora untucked herself from Helia's side to make the occasional comment.
And it wasn't long before other people joined their group. Given all the speculation that had occurred before Helia's arrival there was no surprise that it didn't die off now that he was here. Everywhere he went people followed and watched him in case he did something miraculous that would somehow defeat the Trix. However once the Winx Club got talking a lot of Rebellion member quickly got pulled into their story, especially since a lot of them hadn't actually heard it before.
The story of the adventure to Sparx then turned into the tale of the mission to Cloud Tower and then the Winx Club's first trek through the Black Mud Swamp. And as the fire crack and popped, the sound of laughter floated into the night's sky.
Away from the fire and partly hidden in the shadows at the base of the giant Tree, Prince Sky embraced a brief moment of solitude. He had silently endured listening to his friends recap their trip to Sparx, but as the crowd and laughter grew a suffocating sense of claustrophobic had built up inside of him. So the second he was sure his friends' weren't paying him any attention he had slipped off so he could be alone.
He just couldn't pretend, not even for a second, that everything was all right. Not when Bloom was still missing.
Sky knew it was selfish and irrational but he couldn't be grateful for the Rebellion and everything it represented. He couldn't focus on figuring out a way to defeat the Trix and stop the Army of Decay. If he was brutally honest with himself he didn't really care about the morale of his friends. Deep down all he really wanted was to find Bloom. He could only assume that Seleena had used her psychic abilities to searching for her. There was no way that the witch would have only been focusing all her resources on avoiding detection and entails reading. This Rebellion needed some big guns if they wanted to take out Icy, Darcy and Stormy and Bloom was the Keeper of the Dragon Fire. They needed her.
If only they could find her.
Sky was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice anyone approaching him until they were standing right beside him.
"Campfire getting a bit crowded for you too, huh?" Helia asked casually, seemly completely oblivious to the fact that his company wasn't exactly welcome. That wasn't to say that it wasn't unwelcome, either.
"Just needed some air," Sky replied wearily, wanting to be irritated but lacking the energy to keep it up. Besides, Helia had risked his life trying to get into Magix to help people. It was hard to think the worst of a person who had done something like that. "Hey, is Flora really okay?"
Helia sighed sadly. "She was tortured, your Highness. And I'm no physiatrist but I don't think that's something you just shake off."
Sky was horrified. "Tortured? Wha . . . How?"
"When I arrived Stormy was hitting her with bolts of lightning and I'm pretty sure there was some kind of water torture judging from the way she started hyperventilating when I offered her a drink. However I don't believe there was anything more . . . bestial than that."
"Yes, thank the gods for that I guess," Sky sighed, understanding what Helia was implying. "She's gotten very attached to you, I've noticed."
Helia shrugged. "I was able to save her when she was at her weakest. As childish as it seems she's associated me with some level of safety," Helia explained. He then looked Sky in the eyes as he said, "But I give you my word, your Highness; I will not take advantage of her while she's in such a vulnerable state."
Sky might not know this Helia very well, but he had the feeling that he was a young man with the ideals of a gentleman and that his word could be trusted. "I believe you. And you don't have to worry about the title. Just Sky's fine."
"If you insist."
"I really do."
"Then Sky it is," Helia grinned before glancing back at the fire where he was carefully remaining in Flora's line of sight. "However when the Trix are defeated and this is all over with, I hope you don't object to me taking the chance to get to know Flora a little better. Y'know, under normal circumstances."
A sly smile spread across Sky's face at Helia's request and the fact that he was so confident that that day would come. "I doubt I could stop you. I think Stella's already started planning your wedding."
Helia laughed. "She is a character, that one."
"Yeah," Sky agreed, glancing over to the blonde who was entertaining the crowd with the dance that had won her the title of Miss Magix. It made his heart ache to see Stella acting all cheerful, especially since he was willing to wager every priceless heirloom in Eraklyon's royal vault that she was also dwelling on the missing Princess of Sparx. Desperate for something to distract him, Sky shifted his gaze back to Helia who was staring up at the Tree that loomed over them. "It's big, huh?"
"It's amazing," Helia agreed, reaching out to place a tender hand on the rough bark. "A fine old Tree."
One of Sky's eyebrows arched curiously. "You like trees then?"
"Oh yeah. I've always had a love for the natural world," Helia grinned widely as he continued to stroke the Tree. "I've never seen a tree like this in Magix, however. She's old. Very old. Old enough to still have the magic of the dryad nymphs that used to inhabit this land flowing through her."
"Used to? Aren't there still nymphs in Magix? The ones that live in the Black Mud Swamp?" Sky frowned, recalling the small creatures that had come to Alfea to warn Faragonda about the Trix's final attack.
"Yes and no. The nymphs you're referring to are water nymphs, which are a different species to the dryad nymphs. It's kind of like comparing a house cat with a tiger; similar but worlds apart," Helia explained patiently.
Sky didn't know if it was because he was desperate for a distraction or because of the soothing sound of Helia's voice, but he found himself being pulled into this conversation without even thinking of the words. "What are the nymphs you're referring to?"
"Dryad nymphs; the race that inhabited this Realm long before it was ever colonised by man," Helia explained, his words painting a vivid picture in Sky's mind. "Back then this Realm was covered by a great forest of giant trees. Spirits and intelligent beasts roamed the lands but the most apex species were the dryads'; an entirely female race. I'm not too sure how they managed to reproduce but all the descriptions state that they were very humanoid, resembling young, attractive girls between the ages of twelve and fifteen."
"You make it sound like a middle school version of Alfea," Sky snorted.
"Not quite. Dryads are technically classified as a monster race and when their tribes or their trees are threatened they are extremely savage. What do you know of Red Fountain's history?"
Sky suddenly got that nervous feeling every student got when they were called on in class to answer a question they hadn't prepared for. "Um, just that the original fortress was built over a thousand years ago when Magix was first colonised. And that it was a base for the Great Magix War before it became a school."
"And who were the settlers fighting against in the Great Magix Wars?"
"A small indigenous population of monsters," Sky answered automatically and then it all clicked. "Wait, those monsters were dryads?"
"I take it your text books left out the bit where they resembled little girls," Helia said cynically. "Records imply that the dryads had no real interest in settlers but when they began cutting down trees to build Red Fountain and what is now the City of Magix, that's when the dryads got angry. The whole realm turned on the settlers; dryad, animals, trees. There were many bloody battles, staged more often than not on the fortress that is now Red Fountain. It actually got its name after one battle that was so violent that the fountain located in the front courtyard ran red with actual blood."
Sky grimaced. "How have I not heard this story before?"
"It's not exactly the type of story you'd put in the school brochure, but back then Magix developed a reputation of being a savage realm where only the bravest went and where boys became men. Not completely dissimilar to what Red Fountain is today."
"But Magix's isn't like that now. What happened to the dryads? I don't think I've ever seen one."
Helia shrugged. "One day they just left. No one really knows why. Their numbers might have grown too thin or they may have just given up. Who knows? Rumours are that they retreated back to the wild lands beyond the Barrier Mountains that still remain uncharted to this day. Either way, the land that was once theirs has diminished. The trees aren't as grand as the used to be, the animals grow small and dumb, and the spirits spend most of their time hiding from the humans."
"It's kinda sad when you think of it that way," Sky said softly. "That humans came in and changed this whole Realm."
"Not all of it. There's still a little bit of the dryad magic left. The Standing Stone's (4) near Lake Crysalous was a scared ritual site for the dryads and my grandfather told me most people avoid that place at night because of lingering spirits. And Magix's landscape remains largely untouched because for a long time the settlers where taught to fear the woods, preserving trees that would have been cut down hundreds of years ago. This Tree, for example, would remember the dryads and the old ways of the forest. Look."
"What?" Sky frowned, peering up at where Helia was pointing. At first he wasn't sure what it was he was supposed to be looking at, but when he did see it he couldn't hold back a gasp. There, sitting in the branches of the great Tree, was a tiny little creature. Sky couldn't see it very clearly with it being so far above them, but it had a soft green glow about it. "What is that?"
"A kodama (5); a tree spirit. And this Tree is its mother," Helia explained, remaining calm even when the little spirit faded into thin air and reappeared on a branch further up. "Don't worry, it's not going to do anything. It just means this Tree is healthy."
"For now," Sky added, still a little thrown by the history lesson and the disappearing spirit.
"Don't lose faith so easily, Sky. We'll get through this. After all, you're a student of Red Fountain. That place has seen more dangers than a pile of rot," Helia reminded him. "I better get back. Flora's looking like she's about to fall asleep on that log."
"Hey, thanks for being so patient with her. Y'know, with her being so clingy like that. I know I'm speaking for all my friends when I say I'm glad someone's able to help her feel safe, especially since she's not willing to let us help."
Helia gave him a smile that was soft and somewhat sad. "Give her time and she'll remember to trust you all again. And in the mean time I'm more than willing to support her in any way I can. My only regret is that it's even necessary."
"Yeah, but some good might come out of it," Sky shrugged. "You know she's from Linphea, right?"
Helia blinked in surprise. "Really? No, I didn't know that."
"Well I figured you might want know that the two of you have some similar interests. Y'know, besides dodging rot monsters."
"Thanks," Helia grinned and Sky's lips moved on their own accord to return the gesture. "Goodnight, Sky."
"Goodnight Helia."
(1) That's a thread that came out of nowhere that I'm actually pretty proud of. It explains why there's only students fight, those people were cocooned and increases the threat of the Army of Decay. So this is just me giving myself a little pat on the back over that which could be seen as being a little arrogant but I think I'm pretty enough to pull it off
(2) Once again, just upping the ante. Plus by this stage it's been something like a week since the Army of Decay was summoned so there's got so be some human cost
(3) Heroes Syndrome, as mentioned in Episode 14 of Season 2 "The Wrong Right"
(4) Just in case anyone's confused, the Standing Stones (as I've called them) is that Stonehenge looking location where Flora runs into Helia during Episode 13 of Season 2 "Gangs or Gardenia". So that location's canon but its history and all that stuff about dryad nymphs is my own creation
(5) Another element I stole from Princess Mononoke. In Japanese folklore a kodama is a spirit that live in certain trees that if cut down is thought to bring misfortune. I get the impression that they're similar to the dryad nymphs from Greek mythology, so I figured the two could tie together well.
Also you may have noticed a few consistencies that I made with Helia's character that I made in some of my other stories, namely the name of his art school and the fact that he's Saladin's grandson instead of his nephew (I just think it works better). That and I liked to add a tiny bit of tension to him joining the group instead of just letting him slip in nice and easy.
Oh, one last thing; did anyone notice the little nod I made towards Down Land's Queen Amentia from the second season? I forgot to highlight it but there is one in there.
TBC.