Chapter Thirty Seven: Part 1 - The Regret

Stella sat quietly on the dirty ground, eyes staring blankly forward as she let her long fingers run through her blond hair, the locks littered with blood and ash. She tried not to shudder as her fingers came in contact with certain parts of her hair, the left side mainly, as almost a whole chunk of her hair had been burnt off. Taking in a shaky breath she closed her eyes and willed the burning behind her eyes to cease, she was not a child any longer; she wasn't allowed to cry about her hair. But if she were perhaps younger she would be balling like a baby right about now. The only thing keeping her silent was the absolute blankness she felt in that moment, it was like in the last couple of hours someone had cut her open and scooped up all of her emotions and sewn her right back up. She was now only the shell of her former self. She couldn't believe what had happened. Replying it back in her mind she wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, her heart instantly rebelling against what her mind told her was true. So to distract herself she put her mind elsewhere, to the only comfort she could find. In beauty and fashion. She chanted her entire fashion collection over and over, every single piece of clothing she herself had designed, the one that she would probably never get to see.

After eight minutes of this an unpleasant thought popped into her head and all fashion related thoughts were blown away instantly. A violent shudder ran up her spine, stilling her fingers in her hair, the burning behind her eyes returning and a horrible need to scream arose. It was all so unfair. In the last day a long line of unlikely and unbelievable things had happened. EB had been kidnapped by the witches, Bloom had snapped, Musa had punched Medusa, Flora and Bloom had cried, Medusa had been a smartass, Bloom had slapped Medusa, they'd all been in a terrible accident, her and Brandon had broken up, Mandy had snapped, they'd met the witches, they'd gotten beaten by the dark knight and Scarlet had scared the living hell out of her and Bloom.

Worse: One of her friends had been mortally wounded. As in was definitely going to die.

Worst: They couldn't even help them and would never get the chance to say goodbye.

This was when Stella finally let her tears fall.

...Earlier that day.

"Our way home is gone?!" The words ripped their way up Stella's throat and she had screamed them, practically feeling her heart sputter in shock and her sanity throw in the towel. Stella's felt her chest rise and fall rapidly; she gripped the red and gold curtain next to her and told herself that she wasn't hyperventilating.

"So is EB" Bloom mumbled quietly then, her own voice dead.

Stella choked, and rested her head against the golden wall paper of the hallway. Yep...definitely hyperventilating. She stood in the hallway of the Salorian palace, the red glowing sky casting an eerie haze on all of them. The hall was filled to the brim with her friends and people she generally didn't like, AKA Medusa. They all stood gawking like fools at one another, not really knowing what to say, they'd just been fed the news that they were never going home and that they were all going to die. The witches forces were ploughing through the land, killing and burning everything in sight, the very land everyone in the hallway had sworn to protect. And now they'd very nearly failed.

The thought hit Stella like lightening and she knew what had to be done. She opened her eyes, looked over to her identical ancestor Queen Saloria and said the one thing she'd never said to anyone "Do you have any alcohol in this castle?"

Saloria turned to gawk at her now, mouth stuttering "W-why-"

"I need it" Stella replied sternly, looking her dead in the eye.

Ten minutes later they were all in some kind of recreational room filled with couches, no windows, a fire pit and most importantly...a bar. Brandon unceremoniously bashed down a bottle of booze onto the long bar and eyed everyone seriously "Okay people, here's what we're gonna do. We're all gonna have a couple of shots, take a shower and then go save the world. We good?"

Everyone raised their empty glasses and mumbled out tiredly "Good"

Brandon nodded and popped the lid, sending the cork flying across the room. Stella sat in a bar stool, head resting on her arms as she watched everyone else, everyone was still in shock but they were coming out of it. Saloria sat on one of the couches, arms wrapped around herself and rocked back and forth with Scarlet beside her, the girl looked haunted "I've-I've failed. My people...they were in danger and I left them. What kind of ruler am I? What kind of sorry excuse for a queen? If my parents could see me now, if my husband could! I bet they're all rolling around in their graves!"

Scarlet didn't answer, but continued to rub her back with her other arm wrapped around her own middle, a small frown line in her forehead. Stella thought she looked nervous but that could be the impending booze talking.

Musa stood against the bar, with Flora wrapped around her, the gentle girl squeezing the life out of the smaller girl, mumbling sadly "Oh gods, don't ever leave me like that again"

"I promise" Musa mumbled absentmindedly as she watched Medusa and Riven across the room.

Flora shook her head against Musa's head "It was so awful. Luca was so mean to me, kept telling me I was doing everything wrong. I can't believe how much has gone bad in the last few hours, and I really tried to do my job"

"The bastard" Musa mumbled as she narrowed her eyes, Stella wasn't sure if she meant Luca or Riven.

Flora now nodded vigorously "I wish Helia was here!"

Musa reached up and patted the girl on the arm "Thanks sweetie, Bourbon, no ice" Musa then slipped from the girls grasp and stalked forward suspiciously, passing Stella on her way she whispered abruptly "Riven was never gonna come home with us"

"I'm sorry" Stella mumbled automatically, genuinely feeling it for her friend, even though she knew her tough friend didn't want to hear it.

Musa shrugged and kept on walking, Stella knew she was very good at hiding her feelings and she also knew this was killing her. She applauded her game face.

Medusa was seated on a high stool with Riven next to her, she was casually running her fingers through his hair and talking rapidly, him listening as if fascinated "And when we beat the witches, you and I will go live in my castle. Not the one you saw before but another one I have, it's on the other side of the world right in the middle of the ocean. We'll have no one to bother us, no neighbours except the occasional mermaid"

Riven nodded, eyes alight and a small smile on his face, not even bothered that the girl he 'loved' had just casually mentioned the fabled mermaids. The spell truly had stayed strong through this whole time, her magic still holding him tightly in her grasp. Stella would have felt sorry for him if he wasn't such a huge jerk to her on more than one occasion, it also weirded her out to see him so...in love. As Musa passed them he glanced at her and the love left his face to be replaced by a smirk as he looked at the girl "Witch"

Musa scowled back at him, turning her little chin up, humour in her eyes "Man whore" She then walked away.

A sound caught Stella's attention and she turned her head to gaze down the brown bar to see the terrifying and scantily clad savage Florance, sitting cross legged on a stool and sharpening her cool curved blade with a rock. It was such a strange sight that Stella wanted to giggle, the whole thing completely ruined an image she had of Flora forever. She always had it in her mind that any version of Flora would be gentle and kind, Florance was just...not. But Stella knew the difference between cold hearted and tactical, the woman wasn't a monster, she was just very dedicated to the survival of her people. In Stella's hazy cloud of 'I'm going to die soon' she felt the tiniest admiration for the savage, good on her. Stella thought about engaging her in conversation until she saw Brandon's expression, which had gone from its usual carefree look to a fierce one. Chills instantly went through her as she sat up quickly, fingers tightening on the bar. Brandon stood across from Florance with a dead serious look, not one you'd often see on him, brown hair catching in his eyes just slightly. Florance turned to look quizzically at him in silence until he asked "Did you come here alone?"

Florance didn't blink but glared right back "No. My men are right outside" A warning that still sounded like a challenge.

Stella immediately knew a fight was brewing, and fast, her fingers automatically stretched out to touch a silver knife that was resting in a heap of other silverware on the bar. If there was going to be a fight, she'd have Brandon's back. Brandon's face didn't change as he placed both hands on the bar and leaned toward her "Where's Timmy?"

This time Florance did blink, she veered back looking confused "Who?"

Brandon's eye twitched and Stella wanted to groan but was too keyed up watching. Florance suddenly gasped "Oh! The kid with the glasses!"

Stella spared a quick glance at everyone else, they all looked the same but she knew they'd all stiffened and were ready to pounce but still outwardly looking casual. Brandon smiled and laughed heartily with her "Yeah!" The smile instantly disappeared as he slammed his fist onto the bar, a glass rolling off and shattering to the floor "The kid with the glasses!"

A small sharp breath escaped Stella, fingers tightening on the knife, Brandon did not yell...ever. Not in anger.

Florance smiled, sharp teeth visible "Relax, he's fine"

"You didn't eat him?!" Stella gasped out, tension and relief coursing through her.

Florance looked a little revolted "Eat him? No! Are you kidding?" She picked up her glass and mumbled into it "He was much too scrawny"

One look at Brandon and Stella could tell he wanted to jump the bar and throw down with the woman; she quickly shuffled out of her seat and grabbed his arm, squeezing "That's so nice of you! Is he still alive though? Any chance we can have him back?"

Florance pursed her lips as she swallowed the burning liquid from her glass "Hmmmm maybe. The boy is certainly amusing, we've had fun"

Stella felt her mouth pop open and her stomach flip "Oh jeez, is he okay?" Stella asked quickly, not liking what her mind came up with when she thought of what savages called fun.

Florance smiled into her glass and did a little shrug. Brandon's arm tensed up and Stella had to wrap both arms around it to stop him from leaping at the woman, growling and cursing quietly. Florance popped her drink back on the bar and shook her head at them "Oh he's okay! He's down at the stables; I wasn't going to keep him forever. What do you think I am? Some kind of savage?"

With the end of her sentence everyone in the room (Who had been eavesdropping) jumped up and headed toward the door, each person just dying for something to take their mind off of their imminent demise, and Timmy was the perfect distraction. He would also know what to do. The only people who stayed where they was Florance, Bloom and Medusa, but everyone else needn't have bothered getting up because just then a person rounded the doorway and entered the bar.

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!" Mandy yelled with such venom and disbelief that everyone screeched to a halt and blinked.

Stella on the other hand could have danced for joy, she knew that tone and she knew that look. Here was a girl about to throw a class A hissy fit, and by god Stella was gonna enjoy it. A small smile presented itself on her chiselled lips as she leaned back against a couch and waited in anticipation.

Mandy stood in the doorway with her fists balled up and breathed heavily, as if she'd run here, her wide eyes taking everyone in. As usual she looked flawless, beautiful features and chocolate brown hair, all tense. She began after a heated moment, addressing everyone in the room "What is wrong with you people?!" There was a breath of shock and then "I literally can not believe this! I-I just can't! I mean they warned me that you could be childish and impulsive but they never said you were insane!" She shook her head frantically and stepped forward "I mean you're all supposed to be the leaders of the future, all famous and heroic warriors, the legendary Winx Club and Specialists! And here you are, our only hope for survival, drinking away in a cheap bar!"

"Hey!" Saloria exclaimed, offended on behalf of her bar.

Brandon held up a calming hand "Mandy, calm down"

"No!" Mandy yelled, stamping her foot "I will not, I've had enough of this crap! You're all just insane crazy lunatics with no regard for your own and others safety, no wonder Magix is being driven into the ground, people keep listening to you guys!"

Musa, who was now sitting at a table and drinking, chuckled "Yeah they should stop doing that"

Mandy continued "For the last five years all I've heard about is you people, you and your adventures, but now that I meet you, all I see is a group of insecure, self centred, trouble making assholes!"

Medusa toasted her with a cheerful smile "Thank you!"

Mandy shook her head in hopelessness as everyone just sort of looked awkwardly at each other, questioning whether they were actually like that. Finally the girl sighed heavily and marched off down the hallway. Next to Stella, Brandon sighed and put down the bottle he was holding "Damn it" When he made to go after her Stella grabbed hold of his arm.

"No no no, come on!" He slipped out of her grasp and she pouted with a grudging "Damn it"

Brandon jogged out of the room and met Mandy out in the hall, the girl was leaning against the wall and rubbing her temple, as he came closer she said clearly "When we finish this mission I'm applying for a transfer, I can't be around those people anymore"

"What?" Brandon sighed, already disappointed to see her go "Come on Mandy, they're not that bad"

Mandy laughed abruptly and looked over at him with intense clear eyes "Not that bad? This whole mission has gone downhill ever since they arrived. Trouble follows these people everywhere they go"

Brandon didn't know what to do but shrug and say "Those girls are my friends"

Mandy waved her hands frantically "That's the point! It's not just the girls, it's the guys too. I always thought that when I watched the girls behaviour that the Specialists would level them out, make them see what bad choices they make. But it's so much worse than that! It's all of you, the Winx Club make the bad choices and the Specialists let it happen. You're enablers!"

Brandon chuckled and spread his arms "They're not kids that need a lecture"

"No they're not, they're so much worse. They're insane!" Mandy shook her head and leaned against the wall again, looking worn down "I seriously think that everyone in that room needs psychiatric help"

Brandon raised an eyebrow "Even me?"

Mandy smiled a small smile up at him "You're okay" A moment passed and her smile faded "But when we get back, something needs to be done"

Brandon felt a small chill run over him, making him frown "You mean...tell people?"

Mandy looked exasperated again "Tell people what unstable hero's they have? Yes! Although I doubt I'd make much difference, everyone must have seen how dangerous those people are and just ignored it"

Brandon had never thought of that. He knew people had seen how weird all his friends were but he always thought they'd just moved on. Brandon crossed his arms, feeling more tired than he could ever tell "Don't tell people"

Mandy looked slowly up at him, eyes guarded "Why?"

Brandon said the only thing that he could think of "Because, as crazy as we all are, Magix needs us"

Mandy gazed hard at him for a long moment before saying quite seriously "You're a good man Brandon" He smiled kindly at her, she continued on with a grave note "But if you keep going on like this...this life...it'll be the end of you" She stepped forward and took his hand with more force than he thought she was capable of "Get out while you can"

...

Stella watched the door where Brandon had disappeared, willing him to come back with the force of her mind, all to no avail. Sighing in defeat she turned back to the bar and stirred her drink, not really in the mood for alcohol anymore but needing something to distract her. Enter distraction. Bloom slowly and quietly sat down on the stool beside her, looking as solemn and serious as Stella had ever seen her. Stella's guard instantly went up, knowing that Bloom was in the middle of a drastic emotional rollercoaster, having just found out that EB was missing. If she was in her place, Stella knew she'd be all shouting and panic, demanding they set out immediately to go rescue her, but one look at Bloom told her that the girl wasn't in the mood to think. She was in the mood to break bones and wreak some havoc. Stella had only seen her like this two or three times, to be perfectly honest, it scared the crap out of her too.

Tapping her nails against the bar nervously she pursued her lips and asked cautiously "How're you doing over there?"

Bloom continued to stare hard at the wooden bar in front of her "Not...good"

Stella bit her lip and nodded; normally she would have slapped the girl on the back and told her to lighten up. If she did that now she was confident she'd break a finger, or lose an arm. Stella leaned in and said confidently "We'll find her. We'll get her back"

Bloom blinked "Didn't know I could miss her this much. It's like that song" Stella frowned and Bloom added "You don't know what you've got till it's gone"

Stella nodded, thinking: Ah, Earth song.

Bloom sucked in a sudden breath filled with barely contained pain "She was the only thing holding me together these days. I always felt like my heart was split into two half's, she had one, Sky had the other" Bloom's expression became strangled "And I can't do this without them, I can't function. If I fight I fight for them and they not even here. I can't-" She broke off suddenly, blinking hard as if to stop the burning in her eyes.

Stella felt a little awkward and very concerned. She always hated when Bloom lost hope, that's when you knew things were serious, she was always the last person telling them they could do anything. They fell into silence then, just watching everyone else interact and try to get along, escaping their fear for just a short hour before they faced the big bad world. Stella felt an abrupt sense of uselessness, a thing she did not like one bit and was unaccustomed too. Bloom reached over and took her hand, squeezing tight. Stella wanted to cry at this, loving the girl for being there for her when she couldn't help her herself. Stella sat for another minute, watching random little things to pass the time, one eye still on the door. Her eye caught a movement and saw that while one of Bloom's hands held hers, her other one was unconsciously rubbing at her arm, digging through the fabric of her clothing. Stella wondered if she had some kind of bite or rash bothering her, to be scratching at her arm so unconsciously, as if by habit. For a small moment the fabric at her wrist gave way and Stella caught a glimpse of a black shiny texture, she wrote it off as some kind of bracelet or something. She would have looked further but Brandon had re entered the room, looking pale and troubled, Stella instantly wanted to track Mandy down just to glare at her, just for making him look like that. She instantly wondered what was bothering him; it could be anything and everything at this point.

Brandon seemed in a daze, looking lost, he took in everything in the room and everyone. He frowned deeper as more time wore on, his eyes going to the hallway window where the red hell shown through, with sudden quickness his eyes shifted to hers. Stella knew that everyone was reaching the edge of their psyche, and someone had to crack first, with one look she could tell he was falling off the edge and into darkness. She got up from her seat and walked over to him, ignoring everyone else's chatter and gazed questioningly at him, both of them silent. She watched as the lost look turned hard and became determined. Stella opened her mouth to speak when Brandon caught her hand and dragged her quickly from the room, when they were out in the hall walking toward the stairs she finally asked "Where are we going?"

"Stables" Brandon answered quickly.

Stella frowned as she allowed herself to be dragged "Why am I coming?"

"Still my job to protect you, if I want to see if Timmy's okay, I have to take you along" The seriousness was still in his voice. Stella frowned and felt worry run through her, all the stress and frustration was getting to them, it seemed like this whole mission was a mountain that just got bigger and bigger the farther up they climbed.

"So you're gonna skip the distractions and just get right down to work, huh?"

"Nothing we were doing in there seemed to be helping"

When they got outside Stella finally allowed herself to ask "Are you okay? Did Mandy say something?"

Brandon stopped walking, still holding her hand but facing the direction of the stables. Stella's mind was instantly flooded with the day she'd screwed up in those very stables, the words crashing back into her mind.

"You...are asking me to choose...between saving my friend and keeping you happy" It wasn't a question but she answered anyway.

"Yes"

Oh gods she'd been awful to him, ordering him to stay. Spoiled, rotten, unfair, unjust. The bitch with the crown. But things were different now, he didn't have to leave to save his friend, his friend was safe now. Timmy could have been safe sooner but Stella decided that her own selfish need was stronger than her need to help her boyfriend's best friend. Timmy was safe but Stella knew that the words she'd said still cut deep, even now; they would for the rest of their lives. Their short lives. Stella let out a little gasp as she realised something, Brandon heard her and turned to look at her "Brandon I'm sorry"

Brandon frowned, confused. He could sense this wasn't a general apology but for something in particular, he waited until she spoke again "Your family. They'll never know what happened; they'll never know why you never came home"

Brandon's expression went from confused, to realisation, to horror in a second. He dropped her hand and walked away. Stella gasped again and covered her face "Oh my gods, you hadn't thought of that yet, had you?!" She uncovered her face and began walking again "Damn it! What is wrong with me?"

Brandon opened to door to the stables for her, a humourless chuckle escaping him "Nothing, you just say the wrong thing when you're in the general location of stables" The end of the sentence was said in a slightly hard voice.

Stella flinched as she stepped inside, she deserved that one. He was definitely still hurting over what she'd done. Stella immediately looked around the stables for Timmy and a bunch of savages but found the place empty. The red glow in the sky still casting a red sheen over everything, there were no horses either. When she listened she could hear them whining in the distance, probably in the gardens, accompanied by the sound of a foreign language and whistling. Well at least Florance's savage friends were enjoying their day, keeping Timmy safe with them as well. Taking this opportunity, probably one of the last ones she'd have, she turned to Brandon sadly and crossed her arms "Look can we just...stop for a second? Take down that wall between us and just...talk?"

Brandon was leaning against a beam; playing with a piece of straw "What do you wanna talk about?"

"Us" Stella answer immediately.

Brandon pursed his lips and looked down "Go ahead"

"I hurt you" Stella began in a pained voice "When I asked you to stay, I know that. I knew it even as I did it, I knew what it would do to us but I did it anyway. I needed to keep you safe"

"But that's my job. To keep you safe" Brandon replied, twirling the straw around his fingers.

Stella suddenly didn't want to talk about them anymore, already not liking how it was going. So she asked instead "But I need to know, are you okay?"

"I'd love to go track down some of the witch's monsters" He rolled a shoulder "Get some of this tension out"

Stella sighed and twined her fingers together nervously "Come on...really, what's wrong?"

Brandon pushed away from the beam and walked a step or two in front of her, looking out at the view of the courtyard through the open double doors, his voice was urgent when he spoke "I don't want to get out, I can't"

Stella blinked, confused and fascinated "Get out of what?"

Brandon gestured around them with a hand "All this. This life. The missions, the danger and my friends" He paused for a heartbeat before adding "You"

Stella dared not speak, her fingers tightening as he spoke again "This life is dangerous but it's mine. It's what I signed up for. And I can't leave it, I won't" he shook his head slightly "I won't leave you to fight by yourself"

Stella was floored by how serious he sounded, how very not care free he was, he was definitely at the edge. She opened her mouth to say something when Brandon suddenly turned around and kissed her, hard on the mouth with intensity she was not expecting. She let out a little sound of surprise when she registered her feet moving backwards and her back hitting one of the walls in the stable. With what little sanity she had left she wondered if any of the hay had gotten into her hair, that little piece of sanity quickly evaporated as she let herself register the kiss. She hadn't realised how much she missed being close to him until she was so very close to him once again, pressed right up between him and a stable wall. One of his hands wrapped around her while the other tangled at the back of her neck, still kissing her. Stella immediately felt herself go from tense and battle ready to soft and quite warm, arms automatically going around him as she kissed him back, loving every second. Brandon broke the kiss slightly to whisper quickly "I'm still incredibly angry with you"

Stella nodded "I know" She grabbed him and kissed him this time, digging her nails into his scalp as she held him to her, she quickly broke it to gasp out "Thank you for not leaving me to fight this life alone, I don't deserve you. I never even said I was sorry, did I?"

Brandon shook his head as he kissed along her jaw line. Stella closed her eyes and leaned her head back "God I'm such a jerk sometimes"

Brandon came back to her lips "This whole thing is so messed up"

Kissing her again Stella heard herself make a tiny squeak at the back of her throat, pulling him closer than before. Break again "Do you think we'll live through it?" She asked seriously, halting any further making out.

Brandon stared at her for a long moment, breath slightly deeper, hands still twined around her body "I don't know. But if we die we go down fighting, to the bitter end"

Stella nodded, their faces still inches apart "Like we always do"

Brandon leaned his forehead against hers and closed his eyes "I don't want to be angry with you anymore, I want to forget about it and just enjoy what time we have left"

Stella smiled "But you can't, can you? My betrayal won't go away, not ever"

Brandon sighed deeply, reaching up to brush away a stray lock of blond hair "But I love you though"

Stella swallowed back more tears, her throat tightening; she let herself wash in this moment. Yes it seemed like they'd made improvement toward forgiveness but that didn't mean everything was going to go back to the way things were. No matter how much time passed, the fact that she'd crossed a line would never go away. And someday she'd have to pay the price. She knew she'd probably lose him but for now..."I love you too"

They kissed again, slower and more tender this time. All the tension from before, the stress and worry, it had all evaporated. After a while they broke apart as a loud whistle and laughter was heard in the distance, reminding them that they had to go rescue Timmy and get to work rescuing EB and defeating the witches. They parted reluctantly, letting their fingers still twine together for a brief moment before both people broke apart and walked toward the sounds in the yard.

One thing they knew, this day was far from over.

FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS IN PART 2: THE RESCUE!

Hi. I started this chapter meaning to include the rescue and all the stuff Stella was thinking about at the start but then (As I always do) I somehow get caught up in details and before I know it the chapter is over and I have to put off exciting stuff for the next one. Which WILL be awesome. They haven't had major action and fighting in a long time, now they're going in guns blazing. And you know things are gonna go down because I've already told you what they are! Why does Bloom punch Medusa? How does Scarlet scare Bloom and Stella speechless? Who shall be mortally wounded?

Muhahahah! But seriously, lots of love to you guys, you rule!

Review! xoxoxoxo