Chapter 11 : Our Homes… So Far Away: Ishandra, Part 3

The six Winx Club Faeries quietly form a circle around Ishandra, each stretching out her hands and touching her. The horses also come to join the circle. Latifa, Ishandra's horse, lowers her head over the Faerie circle and gently rests her cheek against Ishandra's head and nickers softly. After a few minutes, Flora wraps her arms about Ishandra's waist and, drawing her to her, allows Ishandra to rest her head upon her shoulder as she gently caresses Ishandra's cheek and kisses her forehead. There is not a dry eye among them. Even Tecna, who is often criticized for her insensitivity and cold objectivity, is sitting in the circle with tears spilling over her eyes and down her cheeks.

"We had no idea," says Bloom softly, breaking the silence. "To lose one's mother in such a gruesome and cruel manner must be unbearable. I know, because, my true birth parents have been taken away from me and are now lost in one of the magical dimensions. I never got to know them at all but a part of me aches and longs for their return."

"My father and mother are separated and I live with my father," whispers Stella. "I rarely get to see her and, if it were not for the support of my sisters gathered here, the intervening times between visits would be lonely and miserable for me. It is not like losing your mother forever but I can understand somewhat what you are going through. It is not that I don't love my father dearly. I do. But there are some things you can only share with your mother and some pains and heart-sorrows that only she can cure."

"I have lost my mother too," admits Musa between sobs of her own. "She died of a rare disease when I was still yet a child. It tore my father to bits and left a deep wound inside of me. Yet, I still feel her speaking to me when I sing the songs that both she and my father composed and I dedicate all my compositions to her."

"I don't know what made me spill this all out to you," sobs Ishandra. "I have been holding this inside of me for so long. Except for maybe Alysoun, no one at Cloud Tower knows about this. I have not even told as much to Darcy or Leffi when she was still Stormy. But something inside of me said that you would understand and I just had to let it all out."

"This is often the only way emotional healing can start to take place," says Layla with a break of sadness in her voice. "You let it all out because you had to. Isha, you never have to feel that you need to face this all alone! You are a sister to us all now and we all share each other's heart-break and support each other," and all the Faeries nod their heads in agreement.

"Ishandra," says Flora in a voice like a sweet zephyr, "there must surely have been good times. You must have some fond memories of your mother and of the time you lived in Taranto. Tell us something of those."

"My mother and I were very close," says Ishandra, sitting up and drying her eyes, "not only because we were Witches but also because my father, an English sea captain, was at sea much of the time and we only had each other. When my father, Andrew, would come home, it would be like being introduced to a stranger. It must have been difficult for him too seeing his daughter growing up in only spurts and jumps and missing out on many of the magical moments most parents share while their children grow up. It was awkward and sad at times for me knowing I had to keep secret from him my true nature and not being able to share with him all my triumphs while growing up as a Witch."

Ishandra pauses once again trying to keep reign of her emotions. It is Layla this time who takes Ishandra into her arms to rock her and to whisper, "Let it out, Isha. Don't feel ashamed to cry. Let your tears wash all of this out of your system."

Ishandra makes a deep sigh and begins again, "It was my mother who taught me the rudiments of witchcraft and who was teaching me the healing arts and magic. She also taught me how to fly and how to bend light. It was shortly after learning how to bend light that I then began to see Faeries."

"Faeries?" blurt Bloom, Stella and Tecna. "But didn't Miss Faragonda and Ms Grizelda tell us that there were no longer magical creatures on Terra?" asks Stella.

"Well, I can vouch for at least three Faeries living in Taranto during those times although only one of them, Muta, was to become my lifelong companion," confirms Ishandra. "It is she who has melded with me to create the new creature that I am today. But a few months after becoming friends, Muta came to our home one night beaten and bleeding. I am sure it was her two companions and maybe others too who beat her and kicked her out of their shelter because she had bonded with me and because I am a Witch."

"Muta?" says Musa, wide-eyed. "Then it was you who chased Stella and me that time in Magix. I remember being so ticked off with you for cornering me and for calling me Muta all that time."

"Yes, it was I," nods Ishandra. "You look so much like Muta that you could be twin sisters. I guess that I got carried away when I thought I was to be reunited with my friend and couldn't understand why it was you were fleeing from me and couldn't hear me when I tried to communicate with you telepathically. It broke my heart to find that you were not Muta and that you would not even consider being my friend."

"I'm sorry, Ishandra," mumbles Musa, shamefaced. "I guess that a great many bad things could have been avoided had I been a bit more tolerant and agreeable to having you as a friend."

"That may have been the case," replies Ishandra, "but it wasn't and we ended up battling each other in a senseless fight for possession of the Dragon Fire. My research at Cloud Tower revealed to me my lineage and that I was a direct descendant of Ardala who was the last Witch Guardian of the Dragon Fire. It was being Ardala's currently living descendant that indicated to me that I was rightfully the next Witch Guardian of the Dragon Fire. When you showed up with your splinter of the Dragon Fire, Bloom, I felt that you had cheated me out of what I thought to be mine. That is really what the fighting was all about. I just wanted from you what I thought you had stolen from me. It was not until I was taken into the confidence of my guardian, the Werecat, that I came to realized that there are four kinds of Dragon Fire. It is Bloom's destiny to be the Faerie Guardian of the Red Fire Dragon Fire... and mine is to be Witch Guardian of the White Ice Dragon Fire. The powers that I received shortly after being transported to the Planet of Alfea by Alysoun and her rescue party are not from dead planets, as I once believed, but from the Witches' sliver of White Ice Dragon Fire that the Great Dragon Herself gave me. I am so ashamed now for all the evil and strife I caused during the fighting. Can you ever forgive me, Bloom?"

"Certainly, I can," replies Bloom to Ishandra with a gentle look in her eyes. "You, as Flora and Layla have so often told me, are not the evil Icy against whom I fought in those days but a new creature. How can I blame you for the misdeeds done by an evil Witch who is now dead and gone? Besides, if it were not for your training, I would never have realized all the powers and potentials of my splinter of the Dragon Fire. And furthermore, it is simply not in our nature, as Faeries, to hang onto grudges forever. So, yes, Ishandra, I can forgive you if you feel that that is what you are still in need of."

"I think we can all show forgiveness," says Layla with emphasis – her gaze fixed on Stella and Musa.