Chapter 9

Bound

- Icy, it's useless to torment you like this: you can't go and see what happens, so sit down... and stop going back and forth, you give me nausea! - snapped Stormy turning to the ice witch, who ignored her completely.

She stopped moving only when a portal opened. "Finally", she thought. She was stunned to see Lzzy's face streaked with tears, it was the last thing she expected from someone like her. "And that's the last thing you'd expect from someone like me... Darcy, Stormy, how did you endure me?" She dismissed these thoughts and looked at Arejay, who was supporting his sister. Aisha jumped to her feet and helped Lzzy sit on one of the chairs in the living room, while Icy asked:

- What is this story of objects that move? -

Meanwhile, Tecna and Darcy had also arrived, accompanied by Timmy. Seeing the siblings, Tecna began to say:

- Hey hello guys, we were working on the project... - she stopped seeing Lzzy's red eyes, - What...? -

- I think... I think I used m-magic. - she answered between sobs.

- You did what?! - exclaimed Stormy, her eyes widening.

Lzzy opened her mouth to answer, but Arejay was faster.

- She was playing and some papers started flying, surrounding her, I arrived and they fell, on the other hand the door closed by itself and the wardrobe opened, then the drawer... -

He was interrupted by his sister.

- The more I was frightened, the faster the sheets turned. When I thought it might have been me, I thought about opening a drawer and it pretty much flew on the floor. - She caught her breath and looked at the girls. - What happened? Was it really me? Do I really have magical powers? -

Darcy turned to the technology fairy.

- Could she...? -

Tecna shrugged.

- I don't know. - she replied - But I know who can tell us. -

§§

In Domino it was morning, in the sky there was still some pink nuance, a remnant of dawn. It was a wonderful sight, but Bloom was too busy avoiding the waiters to admire it. She had woken up earlier than usual to avoid eating live fish for breakfast, put on her riding outfit and was about to sneak into the stables from her filly when the phone vibrated. It was Tecna.

- Hi Tecna, how... -

She stopped when she heard a knock on the door.

- Princess! It's time to start another wonderful day! -

"Argh!" The three attendants had arrived. Meanwhile Tecna said:

- We need a hand here, could you... -

The handle was dangerously lowering.

- I am already there. - said the princess.

Anything, but not the waiters. She teleported while the three entered the room, much to their disappointment.

§§

Bloom reappeared in her room and breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the room was empty, she went into the living room. The girls were there, in the company of Halestorm. Timmy was there too, but no one seemed cheerful.

- Is something wrong guys? - she asked, slightly worried.

Aisha and Icy, who had their back to her, jumped, while Tecna told her:

- Lzzy believes she used magic, but we're not sure. Could you read her aura? If she has latent powers you should see it... -

Bloom was a little surprised by that request. She tried to never read the auras of people because she considered it a lack of respect, to be able to see everything a person is and what they felt was a great responsibility and not always useful, even if a few years before and at the caern it had probably saved her life. She would never read Lzzy's aura against her will, so she turned to her:

- Can I do it Lzzy? -

She answered:

- Yes, Tecna explained to me what it means to read auras. Go ahead. -

Bloom closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them again and stared at Lzzy. Her aura was not bright orange, as the aura of a human should have been, but of a pearly gray, a sign that Lzzy was indeed magical. Her mouth opened wide by herself. Not only did Lzzy have magical powers, but also a Bonding! Around the wrist of her aura, in fact, a red thread was wrapped, symbol of a magical bond. "But when can she have met a Selkie or a Pixie? It doesn't make sense!" thought the fairy. Then someone moved and another aura entered her field of vision, to be precise an aura with a red thread around its wrist. It could have been Tecna, or Aisha... Only the first was in front of her and the other was behind her. Furthermore, a fairy's aura was lilac, while the one she had seen was bluish, like a witch's. She turned to look for that aura, and thought she hallucinated.

- It... It's not possible... - she said, her voice trembling.

- What's wrong? - Icy asked her, then, not getting an answer, - Bloom? Lzzy is that way, why do you keep staring at me? -

Bloom didn't even hear her, she followed again and again with her eyes the invisible thread that connected the two auras until she was convinced that she had literally seen right: Icy and Lzzy were bonded.

She canceled the reading spell and spoke.

- Ok... It's a mess, but at least it's a positive mess... -

- Sorry, what are you talking about? - Stormy asked.

Lzzy dug her nails into her brother's arm, who gritted his teeth without complaint.

- Bloom, does Lzzy have magical powers or not? - asked Joe.

- Yes. - the fairy answered.

Before she could continue the tears began to fall from the eyes of Lzzy, who was trying to hold them back.

- I'm... I'm a stupid, right? I am crying for something that is actually wonderful. But it's stronger than me. - she said, then she buried her face in her hands.

Tecna, who was the closest, put a hand on her shoulder.

- You're right Lzzy, having magical powers is not at all negative, in fact. But it's a big change and it can be scary, it's normal. -

Icy took a step towards them, reminding Bloom that she still had something to say.

- There is more. - said the redhead, and everyone turned to her. - Lzzy, you... you and Icy are... bonded. You have a magical bond called Bonding. -

She saw Icy turn pale and stagger, while Darcy almost screamed:

- What?! -

Stormy was petrified, instead. Alarmed by the reaction of the three witches, Arejay turned to the fairy:

- What is a Bonding? -

Aisha intervened.

- Bonding is a bond between magical creatures, it combines minds so that if one suffers the other feels it, nullifies numerous spells and is indissoluble. It almost never happens between two humans, and with a witch... it's even rarer. -

She had hesitated. She had hesitated. She was about to say "practically impossible", Icy was sure of it. If she had a shred of reactivity left, she would at least have frozen her. Did she believe that a witch was not able to build bonds? But, fortunately for Aisha, Icy could barely stand up. She felt suddenly drained, breathed quickly and her head was spinning. How had she not understood it? How had she not noticed it? She, the most powerful witch of the Magical Dimension, was bound to an earthling! She felt looks on herself, and it was a weight she could not bear.

She shook and for a moment she met Lzzy's brown and bewildered eyes, then ran to her room and entered, slamming the door behind her. She leaned against it and let herself slide to the ground. The air came out of the lungs faster than it entered. She felt Stormy reassure Lzzy. Incredible how calm she was managing to be, she didn't look like herself.

- It's not that she doesn't want to be bound to you Lzzy, it's that it's a big deal. It's already difficult for a witch to have a Bonding, let alone with a human... You have to get used to the idea, that's all. - she was saying.

She heard Tecna's voice.

- What seems absurd to me is that she didn't notice. I mean, there's always a visual cue when it's triggered... -

- Maybe there was, though not very obvious. - replied Aisha, - When I bonded to Piff the only clue I had was a twinkle in her eyes, maybe the same thing happened, and she didn't pay attention. -

A pair of heeled shoes were approaching the door. It was Bloom. The fairy knocked on the door, saying:

- Icy, can I come in? -

The witch got up and opened just enough to let the girl in. They looked at each other for what seemed like hours, then Icy broke the silence.

- I should never have entered that alley. It's all my fault, if we hadn't met, she could have continued to live her life normally and her powers could never have awakened! -

- Don't talk nonsense Icy! If it hadn't been for you Lzzy... I don't want to think about it, I get the chills. You saved her life, you can't regret saving her life! -

Icy put her hands to her head, sighing in irritation.

- In fact I don't! Except that a Bonding is the last thing I expected... from me! I can't even maintain the bonds I already have, how can I create new ones? -

She walked over to the desk, her back to the fairy. Bloom was a bit surprised by the way the witch was opening up with her, this insecure Icy was completely foreign to her. She answered her gently, careful not to go too far.

- Did you think that maybe new bonds are just what you need? - Not receiving an answer, she continued: - From the concert you're much better Icy, it shows. You are more serene, you can laugh... I never heard you laugh really. Perhaps this is what binds you to Lzzy: with her you are truly yourself. -

Icy turned and looked into her eyes, then smiled.

- Thank you. Come on, I need to talk to her. -

She opened the door again and found Lzzy waiting for her. Her eyes were dry but still red from crying.

- So, you and I are practically obliged to be friends? - she asked, sketching a smile.

Icy held back a smile.

- Basically... sorry for my reaction. Come, let's sit down. We need to talk about a lot of things. -

- Oh my God, does the game of I-tell-you-my-life begin? No, because I warn you that I hate it. - Lzzy said with a grimace.

- What... Absolutely not! Those are stupid little things from kindergarten! - replied the witch laughing.

Behind them, Bloom shook her head, amused. Joe, Arejay and Josh had settled on the sofas, as had Timmy and the girls. The drummer saw them coming and said:

- It's all OK? Good, because I want you to explain to me where these powers come from, why right now and what it entails. -

The three sat down and Bloom replied:

- Powers don't jump out of anywhere Arejay, Lzzy always had them even though she wasn't aware of them. But the auras of people communicate with each other, even if we don't realize it, and sometimes they stimulate each other. The closeness of our auras must have awakened Lzzy's powers. And as for what it entails... Here come the problems. -

Lzzy frowned.

- Problems? Didn't you say it's a good thing? -

Bloom wrinkled her nose.

- Let's say it's relatively positive, because for us it means that magic is spreading on Earth, for you... it could lead to problems on a professional level. You must learn to control your powers before returning to a stage, Lzzy. You must be able to pretend that they don't exist. -

- What? Why should I hide it? -

Bloom sighed.

- When we brought magic back to Earth, people didn't take us seriously at first, or worse, they were afraid of us. You can't let people be afraid of you. -

Icy frowned in turn, thoughtfully, then asked Bloom:

- Fairy or witch? -

The redhead grabbed the fly.

- I don't know, - she answered, - her aura was gray, she hasn't chosen yet. -

Lzzy's eyes shone.

- Can I choose whether to be a fairy or a witch? -

Tecna smiled.

- Of course you can choose. At the moment you are at the center, but you can decide to change at any time. -

- We were all at the center when we discovered our powers. - said Darcy.

- How can I figure out what I want to be? - Lzzy asked.

Icy shook her head and said:

- It is almost never a conscious choice. You are in a particular situation and you transform. In a fairy or a witch, you can't know until it happens. -

Lzzy watched her carefully, then asked:

- When did you first transform? -

Icy did not expect that question and was about to respond when Darcy intervened.

- You're not going to tell her, I hope. -

The witch of ice ignored her and said:

- The first time I transformed into a witch I was fourteen. It was the three Ancestral Witches who did it, and it was not pleasant. -

She wrapped her arms around her body remembering those moments.

- Why? - asked Josh.

Icy closed her eyes. She felt a knot tighten her stomach, almost as if remembering it was too painful, and indeed it was.

- Please, that's not something you'd like to know now. - she answered.

She clearly heard Darcy's sigh of relief, but she preferred not to comment.

Lzzy, on the other hand, was struck by a detail.

- Fourteen? And when did you discover your powers? -

- At ten. You are the one who is outside the box, not me. According to our canons, thirty years is very late to discover one's powers.-

Lzzy snorted.

- What can I do if I have just arrived? -

- Don't worry Lz, you've arrived at the right time. - Icy replied, smiling sincerely.