Is Love Really Forever?
By: LadyNightSky
A/N: Gah, I am soooooooo sorry. I owe you all a lifetime of servitude for putting off updating for a third of a year. Hopefully you haven't lost faith in the story yet :) And thank you all so much for the reviews I've been getting. We're at 150 now xD. Enjoy the chapter!
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it. Wish I did, though.
Chapter Ten: Interludes of Cynicism
"I've called all of you here today to discuss a very grave danger to your individual persons and realms," Ms. Faragonda said in a clipped tone, peering over her spectacles sternly at the assembly of Musa, Riven, Sky, Flora, Brandon, Stella, Helia, Tecna and Timmy.
Musa raised an eyebrow in incredulity. "Danger? What do you mean, Ms. F? Baltor's been six feet under with daisies on top for a while now. So has Darkar, for that matter."
Ms. Faragonda shook her head. "It's worse now…much worse."
Musa's eyebrows went even higher and Tecna asked skeptically, "Worse than Baltor and Darkar, Miss Faragonda?"
"Don't look at me like I'm senile, Stella." Ms. Faragonda said wearily. "It is, regretfully, true. You, my students, are at an age where you are under the impression of invincibility. It is very dangerous to become too cocky. There is much about magic that you still do not understand. There are branches I have cut off at Alfea. I have never, for example, allowed Avenirs to teach their art at my school."
"Avenirs?" asked Stella, suddenly growing quite pale under her tan.
"Yes, Stella. Avenirs. Diviners. Beings that can, or pretend they can, predict the future. You may have kept it a secret from me, but I know quite well enough the Solarian royal family's…escapades into the art." Ms. Faragonda said, no real reproof in her voice, just a tinge of amusement.
Stella blushed a delicate pink, and was about to answer when Ms. Faragonda spoke again.
"Do not worry, I have no real condemnation. I merely avoid trying to forsee the future because it is highly susceptible, and if I plan for something that will not happen, it may be a matter of life or death. However…there have been a number of…powerful Avenirs. Those experienced and wise can sometimes predict with a high probability of truth. And the one that predicted this prophecy was one of the most powerful Avenirs the dimension has ever seen."
"Prophecy?" the Winx and the boys chorused, quite astonished and bewildered.
"Yes…the prophecy. I have been putting this off a long time," Ms. Faragonda murmured, putting her head in her hands in a subconscious gesture of defeat. "But now you must know, for the darkness has crept into too many to ignore."
"Ms. Faragonda…may I ask something?" asked Stella, sounding uncharacteristically hesitant, her bubbly manner sober.
"Of course, dear."
"This powerful Avenir. He wasn't by any chance-,"
"Related to you?" finished Ms. Faragonda, amused.
"Er, well, yeah."
"He was, actually. Quite the flamboyant man, Sollicito. He was your great-grandfather."
"But neither of my great-," began Stella, now sounding a bit infuriated.
Ms. Faragonda chuckled a bit sadly. "Greatness offends the less great. His father, your great-great-grandfather, was a stringent, cold man. He did not like what he could not control, and his son Sollicito was, indeed, uncontrollable. He was…excuse me…kicked out from the family, and sent on his way like a stranger. He sought refuge at Red Fountain. In fact, he taught some of his art to a young Saladin, who was being educated there."
Stella fell silent, not knowing quite what to feel about her forebears.
"And now, back to what the great Sollicito predicted. His prophecy, his least famous one, incidentally, concerns all of you."
"Us?" Riven's tone was colored with disbelief. "So this dude that lived a hundred years ago made a prophecy that there'll be a greater evil than anything we've defeated?"
"That is correct. And, Mr. Mauvais, I will thank you to please not interrupt." Ms. F's steely tone, as always, made Riven slightly abashed. He muttered a reluctant apology.
Ms. F continued as if Riven hadn't spoken. "The prophecy was not recorded, and so, only those that were there when Sollicito was on his deathbed remember…or at least, try not to forget. Of the five people that originally knew, one is dead. He never breathed a word about the prophecy. One is here in this room with you…me. Two more preside over Red Fountain and Cloud Tower. And the last…the last is related to you, Mr. Luder."
Sky looked up, breaking his fixed stare at Ms. F's desk. "I, Miss Faragonda?" He spoke quietly.
"Yes, you. Your mother's brother, your uncle, Nocen Proditor, was the last to hear the prophecy. We, the five that heard it, swore to each other to protect it with all we had. The four I know of have done so. We, however, have lost touch with Nocen. I do not mean to accuse him…but somehow, how to say this… the cat's been let out of the bag."
Sky nodded emotionlessly. "Miss Faragonda, I bear no affection for my uncle. If you would like me to question him, I would altogether be pleased to do so."
Miss Faragonda smiled gently at Sky, wistfully recalling a time when he had been less callous, less unfeeling, less… depressed. No that she blamed him.
"No, dear, it is quite all right. The damage is done, and old Nocen probably merely let something slip by accident. Do not worry about it."
Suddenly, a faint creaking sound echoed through the spacious office.
Instinctively, everyone turned to look at the west wall, the Winx and the boys tensing, as if prepared to attack. The conversation had put them all on edge.
The huge bookcase standing against the wall began to slide slowly, revealing a glimpse of a secret room. However, they were more interested in the voice that accompanied the opening of the bookcase.
"Hey, Ms. F, where'd you put the magiscale? The potion requires-,"
Bloom stopped short as she spotted the other occupants of Ms. Faragonda's office. Instantly, her features hardened and she stiffened as if bracing for impact. Damn it all, she should've known. Ms. Faragonda had told her the prophecy only half an hour before, and already, she was finding out whom the prophecy affected, besides her.
Ms. Faragonda had half-risen from her seat behind the big desk, her face stern, ready to stop any physical fight the tension might unleash.
Musa's face was contorted into a glare as she gazed at Bloom's matching expression.
"What are they doing here?" Bloom spat. She still hoped against hope the prophecy did not entail that she and her old friends work together.
"I might ask the same of you." sneered Musa.
"Musa! Bloom! There will be no animosity in this room, do you hear me?" Ms. F's voice was sharp and commanding.
"But-,"
"I do not want to hear it. Bloom, would you mind going back to the laboratory?" Ms. F was not asking the redhead, she was commanding. "I am tell your friends," she put heavy emphasis on the word friends, "about the prophecy."
Her worst fear confirmed, Bloom gave her former headmistress a withering glance, then swept back to the bookcase room, shutting angrily behind her.
Ms. F sank back down into her seat, and suddenly seemed to show her years.
"Miss Faragonda?" asked Flora softly.
Ms. F lifted her head up and gave Flora a small smile. "I am quite all right, dear. Just trying to remember the exact words I must tell you."
She heaved a sigh, and straightened up again.
"The prophecy Sollicito foretold began in an ominous manner, using the name of Eris…"
A/N: Minor cliffhanger :) R&R!!! Tell me what you truly deeply madly think xD