Sorry for the late update. I was creatively blocked so I had a difficult time writing this chapter. After writing down this chapter, I think I can update faster now that I know what I'm going to write.
Important Changes:
Mason is no longer an aristocrat; he is a prince (heir apparent). He doesn't have purple hair anymore; he has short, dark blonde hair and dark blue eyes.
I will make these changes in the previous chapters.
Enjoy and review.
It was finally dawn. The sun, hiding beneath the horizon, began to shine weakly. At 5:30, the alarm clock obnoxiously rang to awaken the slumbering heroes. Brandon sluggishly grabbed his cell phone from the side table and stopped the annoying noise. Sky heard the sound of the alarm and woke up. The prince and the squire rose from their beds to get ready for the day. One of them turned around to see if Vincent was awake. The amnesiac was sleeping quietly with the blanket over his head. It was strange. Vincent would usually react quicker than Sky and Brandon when the alarm goes off. However, it seemed that the sound of the alarm didn't get to his ears. Sky walked over to Vincent to wake him up. He mildly shoved him in the shoulder, but failed to wake him up. The prince did not attempt to try again for the second time. He assumed that the amnesiac returned late from work last night, so he decided to let him sleep a little longer.
Fifteen minutes later, after Sky and Brandon finished washing up, they finally dressed themselves up in their uniforms. While Brandon was making last preparations, Sky was going to make another attempt to wake Vincent up. The prince shook the amnesiac with more force, but failed again. This time, Sky resorted to a verbal callout.
"Vince, wake up!" said Sky.
Vincent repositioned himself underneath the blanket and groaned, "Ugh…"
"Come on, Vince. You have to get up."
"Leave me alone…"
"If you come in late, you'll get in trouble with Codatorta. He's not going to let you off the hook."
"Don't worry. I'll meet you guys soon…"
"Vince."
"Sky, just let him be," said Brandon.
Sky stood straight and sighed, "Alright, Vince. We'll meet up later. Just be on time."
Once they made their final preparations, Sky and Brandon left their residential quarter. After hearing them leave, Vincent pulled down his blanket and looked up at the ceiling with concern. He had been awake throughout this whole time. The amnesiac heard the sound of the alarm and woke up to it. He was just too embarrassed to show his injuries. Vincent got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. He turned on the lights and faced the mirror. Despite applying antibiotic ointment, the cuts were still there. Some of the deep abrasions on his chest and abdomen bled through the bandages. Few of his bruises worsened and became more conspicuous. Vincent also noticed that he developed a black eye, which must have formed overnight. The specialist who did this to him was no joke. His attacks were severe. There was no way Vincent could hide his injuries from everyone. If he had makeup to cover them up, he could get away with it. However, he didn't have the needed materials. All he could do is brace himself for what he was about to experience.
The incident at the White Horse affected Heidi negatively. Although she appeared to be impassive, she was actually hurt. The towheaded beauty felt humiliated by Mason's slanderous comments. After the incident had occurred, rumors about Heidi began to spread. Students in Alfea, Cloud Tower, and Red Fountain began to suspect that she was an indecent person. It made sense to them. How was it possible that Heidi landed on a major advertising campaign as her first job. After hearing the heir apparent's remarks towards the towheaded beauty, they concluded without evidence that she got the job through shady methods. Heidi would never do something so dishonest to fulfill her goals. The people who knew her well, such as her friends and associates, knew that she was very honest and hardworking. With her set of skills, the fairy of warfare could have dealt with the heir apparent easily. However, if she laid a hand on him, she would only confirm his nasty words and suffer serious consequences. All she could do now is to focus on her studies and work.
At the mess hall, the Winx were sitting at a table with their breakfast. As they were eating, they heard two students nearby, whispering about Heidi. What they were saying was unpleasant.
"Hey, do you think it's true? Do you really think that Heidi did something underhanded to get the job?" asked the first fairy.
"I'm sure she did," said the second fairy, in a snobbish attitude, "To be honest with you, I don't find her that pretty. She looks like a freakish alien."
"I know, right! There are so many models who are better-looking than her! She's also boring!"
"She should just stick to being a brute, since fighting seems to be the only thing she's good at."
Stella furiously stood up from her seat and shouted, "Hey!" The two students jumped in fright. "What did you two just say about Heidi? If you have anything to say about Heidi, why don't you just say it to her face instead of being cowardly about it!"
Layla stood up and joined Stella. "Do you realize whose words you're taking into account? You two are believing in that pathological liar, who constantly philanders around and harrasses people! Both of you are so stupid. Get credible proof before you judge someone!"
Embarrassed, the two students scurried out of the mess hall. Once they were out of sight, Stella and Layla sat back down.
Flora looked at Heidi with a sweet, concerned expression. "Heidi, are you okay?"
Heidi slowly nodded her head, aloofly.
"Ignore what those girls just said. They're just dumb and jealous," said Stella, attempting to cheer Heidi up.
"I feel like I'm reliving my high school years," said Tecna, cutting her veggie omelette with her knife.
"I can't believe people are believing in that asshole's remarks and spreading nasty rumors," said Musa, in disbelief.
"This is all Mason's fault! I really REALLY hate him," growled Stella.
"Girls, let's try to be calm," said Bloom, "Rumors are basically false and temporary. People will gradually forget about them within time. What's important is that we know the truth."
"No one should have stopped me from punching that pretentious bastard in the face," said Layla, chewing on her almond pancakes in bitterness.
"It's alright, Layla. You didn't have to hit him. Vincent already did the job," grinned Stella.
When Stella brought up Vincent's name, Heidi stopped eating her fruit cereal and subtly looked up.
"Yeah, that dickhead got what he deserved," smirked Musa, referring to Mason.
"I'm very concerned about Vincent though. After hurting and humiliating him in public, Mason isn't going to leave him alone," said Flora.
"Don't worry about it, Flora. Vincent is a strong guy. He can take care of himself. Don't forget that he's in good hands of our boys!" exclaimed Stella, cheerfully.
"I guess you're right," said Flora, with a small smile on her face.
"Heidi, what did you think of Vincent that day? Wasn't he cool?" asked Stella, eager to know.
"...It was foolish, but brave," spoke Heidi.
"By the way, when Vincent sought you out after the incident, what did you and him talk about?!"
"...Nothing in particular."
"Oh, come on! You two must have talked about something!"
"Stella, just leave her alone," said Tecna.
The radiant beauty squinted her amber eyes and pouted her lips. She crossed her arms and turned away. It was very difficult to get the towheaded beauty to open up. She prefered to be very private about her own affairs. She will only share information that isn't too personal. Heidi looked down at her bowl of fruit cereal and spaced out. In her thoughts, she wondered about Vincent's welfare. After what happened at the White Horse, he will be relentlessly targeted by Mason. He should have never gotten himself involved.
The Specialists arrived at the hangar for mechanical engineering. However, Vincent was still missing. The amnesiac promised that he would meet the guys soon, but he didn't. He didn't even come for breakfast. His absence began to raise suspicion.
"Hey, Brandon. Did you call Vincent?" asked Sky.
"Yeah, but he's still not picking up," said Brandon.
"He's probably on his way right now," said Timmy.
"This is quite unusual. It's unlikely for Vincent to be unpunctual," said Helia.
Riven glanced at the side and spotted something very noticeable. "Hey, check it out."
The Specialists turned around to see what Riven was looking at. The heroes saw Mason's coterie entering the hangar. Since the heir apparent was still on probation, he was unable to roam around campus freely and attend his classes. While Kyle was in front, the rest were behind. It was the guys who were behind Kyle that caught everyone in the room's attention. They had facial cuts and bruises, which were most likely from a rough brawl. After seeing their injuries, the students in hangar were surprised and amused.
"Damn, what the hell happened to those guys?" asked Brandon, out of curiosity.
"It seems that their hunt didn't go as planned," said Riven, with a smirk on his face.
"They really took a good beating," said Sky.
"Alright, lads! Line up!" shouted Codatorta.
The students hurried to the center and lined up. As Codatorta was taking attendance, he received response from each student. The Specialists looked around to see if Vincent was nearby. If he arrives late or doesn't even come at all, he will infuriate Codatorta. As his name was getting close to be called, the heroes became nervous. Nobody wanted to see the battle master's wrath. When Vincent's name was finally called, there was no immediate reply. Five seconds later, a familiar voice responded back to callout. Vincent finally arrived and joined the lineup. When he made his appearance, the students were shocked, especially the Specialists. Their eyes were wide and their jaws dropped. Vincent also had facial injuries as well, similar to Mason's coterie. Codatorta looked at Vincent and Mason's coterie in suspicion, but he decided to let it go.
"Alright, lads! Get to your stations and start working!" ordered Codatorta.
In each station, there was either an Owl or a Crow. The aircrafts needed maintenance and repair. Once everyone got to their assigned stations, he began working. Vincent walked over to his station and began fixing the broken Crow. The Specialists approached the amnesiac and confronted him.
"Oh my god, Vincent! Are you alright?" asked Timmy, with a concerned look.
"...Yeah," replied Vincent, succinctly.
"Vince, what happened to you?" asked Brandon.
Suddenly, Vincent diverted his attention somewhere else. Out of curiosity, the Specialists looked towards the direction Vincent was facing. The amnesiac was glaring at Mason's coterie, who were on the other side of the hangar. The four injured specialists glared back at him. After seeing the intense eye contact, the Specialists finally understood the situation. The heroes wanted to ask Vincent bunch of questions, but they knew he wouldn't answer them. Not now. As good friends, they decided to wait patiently after class.
An hour and a half passed and class was finally over. The Specialists finally ceased the opportunity to question Vincent. The heroes decided to take the amnesiac to somewhere private. The guys went to the infirmary and occupied a room. Now that the six were alone, they began to talk.
"How much time before training session starts?" asked Sky.
"Approximately thirty minutes. We have a sufficient amount of time," answered Timmy.
"Vincent, what happened?" said Helia, in a demanding voice.
"Why are you asking me that question? You guys already know the answer. Everyone does," said Vincent.
"It's obvious that we know who beat you up, but we want to know EXACTLY what happened," said Brandon.
"Vincent, there's no point in evading now. Just tell us what happened," said Helia.
"...Last night, after I finished working at the arsenal, I was cornered about Mason's friends," explained Vincent.
"Last night?! Vince, why didn't you say anything?" asked Brandon.
"I didn't want to bother you guys," said Vincent.
"Okay, what happened then?"
"They wanted to take me to Mason, but I refused to go."
"So they decided to get physical," said Sky.
"They tried to drag me away, but I fought back and barely escaped," continued Vincent.
"Since Mason is on probation, he sends his friends to go fetch his target," said Brandon.
"That doesn't matter. Mason isn't the type to go out and look for us. He sends his friends to do that," said Timmy, glumly.
"Red Fountain is no longer a haven for me. Not only do I have an outside enemy, I also have an inside enemy. I'm not safe anymore," said Vincent.
"None of this would have happened if you didn't your get yourself involved," said Riven.
"Riven," said Helia, in a stern tone.
Riven ignored Helia and continued to direct his statement towards Vincent. "How foolish can you be? You tossed away your peace and comfort for someone you barely know. How sad. Eventually, you'll learn that your sacrifice wasn't worth anything."
The maverick leaned off of the wall and left the room, leaving the amnesiac in silent angry.
At the end of the day, majority of the students returned to the dormitory to get some rest. Vincent managed to survive training, despite the discomfort of his injuries. He also managed to work at the armory. After he finished his work, he exited the armory and headed back to the dormitory. Along the way, the amnesiac felt very paranoid. If he encountered Mason's coterie again, he would have to fight them and escape them. Fortunately, Vincent returned to his residential quarter safely. Once he returned, he went to sleep with the other Specialists. However, one of them was still awake.
There was a knocking against the door. When the door opened, two guys faced each other with serious demeanors. The person who opened the door was Kyle and the person who knocked on it was Helia.
"What are you doing here?" asked Kyle.
"I'm here to see Mason," said Helia. Before Kyle could close the door, Helia forced his way in and found Mason outside the balcony. "Mason, we need to talk."
Mason turned around with a cigarette in his mouth. "Helia, what a surprise. I didn't you expect you to come all the way here."
"You need to put an end to this."
Mason walked back inside the room and sat down on a chair. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm talking about the tormenting. You need to stop bothering Vincent, Timmy, and everyone else."
"Why would I do that?"
"What are you so unsatisfied with? You have status and wealth. You shouldn't abuse your power to hurt people. Is this how you're going to treat your citizens when you become king?"
"Did you come all the way here to lecture me?"
"Mason, you don't want to push this any further. Please put an end to this. It's not too late."
Mason pulled out the cigarette in his mouth and exhaled the smoke, "Alright. Since you asked so nicely, I'll stop."
Helia skeptically stared at Mason, "Are you serious...?"
"Of course. Besides, I'm getting a little tired and my friends are becoming more and more useless. It's not fun anymore."
"I hope you stay true to your word, Mason."
Helia turned around and left. Once the pacifist left, the heir apparent chuckled in a sinister tone. He placed the cigarette back in his mouth.
"So naive…"