Chapter 36
Alone
Alone at last, far from questions and responsibilities. She didn't even know how all that loneliness was possible, where had everyone gone? Nobody, nobody, nobody. She and the keyboard. So peaceful. She really needed to put her thoughts in order, knotted as they were they looked like a ball of wool left too long in the clutches of a cat.
Lzzy didn't like cats, they were too individualistic and ungrateful for her tastes. And she didn't even like the fact that she had behaved a bit too much like a cat in recent times, dodging and always on the living, but after what had happened to Alfea she was terrified of the possibility of an attack. The first week after that cursed Monday she jumped at every noise, only on stage could she forget her worries. She had even argued with Flora, which was simply absurd. She had rushed to apologize, but she felt she was quite upset and feared that Mz Hyde would peep again. When she took control, she could only intervene after it was all said and done and this frightened her, especially thinking about what it could mean for her control over her powers.
She ran her fingers over the keyboard and played the first a.
She hadn't even wanted Icy to tell to the Alfea girls about her. She had asked her to tell them her full name, Elizabeth, to avoid being recognized, and nothing else.
She played b.
That decision made her feel silly: she had wanted so much to get a little more into the witch's life, and now she didn't want to meet her classmates, the girls who had risked their lives that way so absurd because of a coward.
C.
He may have been a great wizard, but to her Valtor seemed only a coward. For his first real attack he had used the technique most loved by cowards of all ages, poison. He had not moved from his hiding place, neither that day nor the following three weeks.
D.
Perhaps his plan was to make them all crazy as their nerves wore out waiting for his next move. In that case he had missed his chance, although things in Magix didn't go exactly the best.
E.
Bloom and Sky had not spoken to each other despite all the efforts of the others, Tecna and Timmy spent whole hours sifting through the best protection spells described in their databases while Darcy, Flora, Musa, Aisha and the girls she didn't know were looking in the library and in what she had understood was a secret archive more supplied than the library, and everyone indistinctly had a great deal of back sleep which certainly did not help them stay more serene.
F.
And then there was Icy, her strong, very fragile witch who, while she trembled for Valtor's fear, held her breath whenever the Fortress of Light, the Griffin or the presidency were named.
G and then again a, b, c... The mechanical operation of the musical scales helped her to reflect.
The passing time had convinced Icy that Aire (was that the name of the little witch who had discovered them? She seemed to remember so) was right in saying that Cloudtower's principal would not get her in trouble, and who did the research allowed themselves moments of breath more and more often.
For her part, she had begun to study her powers and their manifestations more and more carefully, and thanks to this she was able not only to control them but also to use them with a certain versatility. Stella and Stormy, who along with Icy and Bloom had remained focused on her training, had agreed that she now had almost the knowledge of a first-year fairy or witch and, although this worried her, she couldn't help but feel a certain pride.
- The monster I keep, God bless the beast inside of me. - she muttered several times, leaving the stairs for a new melancholic melody.
Too bad she didn't think of anything other than those three chords and those two sentences. Well, not all of her songs were born in one day. Let's say none. But she had to grab that idea before it vanished, so she ran to look for a pen and a piece of paper to write it down.
§§
Darcy had no idea how it could have happened. Not even an hour ago she was in the library flipping through old dusty tomes that hadn't been read for centuries, proof of how wasted they were at Alfea, then suddenly Stella had arrived and she had found herself first on a bus and then in the busiest shopping area of Magix City.
Stella had often asked her to go shopping with her, but she had never consented, and not even that time: the blonde fairy who at that moment was dragging her into a shop had decided everything. That was the first in a long series of shops in all probability.
While Stella literally dived on the first exhibitor, Darcy looked around absently. She looked at the shop, a room not too large that seemed twice as big as it was thanks to pastel-colored furnishings, and she thought of her research and how much time was yet to pass before professor Xavier responded to their request for a meeting. They had sent him a letter as soon as they could find his address, but there was still no sign of the reply.
- Then? Green or purple? - asked Stella, with two shirts of the same model but in different colors in hand.
- Purple. - Darcy answered without thinking too much, only to find herself with the shirt in her hand and Stella pushing her towards the dressing room. - Oh, wasn't it for you? - she asked confused.
Stella chuckled.
- Have you ever seen me with such dark clothes on? Darcy, honey, you should spend less time in the library, you start to lose touch with reality. -
Saying so Stella pulled the curtain that closed the dressing room and began to wait patiently. She was examining the nails of her right hand, where the orange enamel had slightly deteriorated when Darcy came out of the dressing room.
The stretch fabric perfectly wrapped Darcy's bust, who said:
- It's not bad at all, just that I don't like long and flared sleeves. -
Stella lifted her arm, watching the fabric fall for at least ten centimeters.
- I can modify it. Do I shorten them, or do I join them? -
- I would say adherents, the fabric seems good for winter to me. - said a warm voice.
The girls turned to the voice and saw Walter.
- Hi Walter. Do you shop? - Stella greeted him cheerfully.
- I tore yet another pair of pants during a workout, the last one that I had left intact, so... -
- Oh, I understand you! The plainclothes exercises always reduce Brandon's clothes to shambles, but I'm not complaining because he takes the opportunity to go for a ride together. - said Stella.
Walter smiled, well aware of the pitiful state in which he and his companions came out of those training sessions.
- Redfountain does nothing but talk about your bad adventure - he said, - and it's a while that you aren't seen around. Are you all right? - he asked.
Darcy blushed slightly, Walter's eyes didn't leave her for a moment.
- Yes, we are all fine, - she replied, - but we are still recovering. -
Stella interrupted the boy's reply before he even started.
- However, you are right, adherents is better. What do you say Darcy? -
- I don't know how convenient this is, but I trust you guys. - Darcy chuckled.
§§
Aisha raised her head from the book she was consulting and bent her neck, feeling it creak. To give a little rest to her eyes reddened by the endless hours of reading she forced them to do, she made her gaze wander over the magical archive. The bookshelves filled with books rose to a daunting height, surrounding the whole room up to the glass dome from which the light filtered. Next to her, Flora was browsing another book, like Musa and the Pixie Concorda, who had offered to help them in their research.
They didn't even know what they were looking for. They certainly did not expect to find a manual entitled "101 ways to find the Mystérion", they were only looking for help, a clue, a reference to that important and dangerous book. It was not an easy task to examine more than seven thousand volumes in four, but Faragonda had categorically refused to open the archive to the Trix or to the other girls so, after three weeks between the classes and the archive, they had examined only a few shelves despite Concorda carrying on her readings all day.
As the days went by, fatigue became more and more evident and the girls often couldn't concentrate, so much so that they happened to have to read the same paragraph several times. As if that was not enough, they were so absorbed in their task that they ended up neglecting their studies, and it was only thanks to Stella's telepathic suggestions, unbelievable but true, that the day before Aisha had not taken a resounding two in runes. "We have to find a balance" thought Aisha. "How was Francesca saying? Ah yes, I study an hour for each class and then I go to the library". It was a method as good as any other, at least the blonde and her friends didn't have a month's program in arrears. Perhaps in history of magic or literature it was not much, but in matters such as potionology or, indeed, runes, which required constant application, it was a disaster.
With a sigh, Aisha returned to work. She would begin to imitate the earthlings the next day.
§§
- Reading all the books in the library continues to seem like a bad plan. -muttered Giunia, resting her forehead on the book in front of her.
- In fact, we don't read them all, only those who deal with magic. - Cassandra corrected her.
Giunia raised her head slightly and glared at her.
- This lightens our work a lot, doesn't it? -
- Sure, ninety fewer shelves out of a few billion. Not to mention the scrolls. - Rebecca answered without even taking her eyes off her book.
Giunia again abandoned her head on the pages, moaning.
- Come on, think that we'll have fun on Halloween. - Francesca tried to comfort her.
The Winx had invited them to spend the evening of October 31st all together in Gardenia at the Amaranth Cafe, a gothic place that for the occasion would have given a masquerade party. Needless to say, they had accepted, driven both by Stella's enthusiasm, who had offered to create their costumes, both by curiosity: in fact, they would have known the mysterious Elizabeth. All very interesting, if not that...
- But there's still a lot of time before Halloween, I'm dying first! -
- Some books never killed anyone. - Francesca answered.
- But they turned Leopardi's back on and ruined his sight. - rebutted Rebecca, in a neutral tone.
- Oh, how fussy you are. Support me! - Francesca said.
Rebecca would have responded with one of her jokes if Miss Barbatea had not called them to silence.
§§
- So the liquid made from amaryllis takes the name of firefly blood because... -
- ...because it shines from dusk to dawn. - terminated Stormy with a bored look.
Bloom rolled her eyes. It was her who had to repeat the lesson, not Stormy.
- Thanks. This ingredient is often found combined with antimony since... -
- ...it stabilizes it by preventing a violent reaction, such as an explosion. Bloom, even a freshman knows this stuff, and in any case, you know it. - said Stormy, tired of that repeated little lessons that had been going on since mid-afternoon.
- But I have to go over again, I'm not good at potions and probably Palladium questions me tomorrow and... -
Stormy looked more closely at Bloom. It was not like her to make excuses, what's more absurd, so the problem was another.
- We don't even have lessons tomorrow. The point is that you don't want to talk to Sky. - she said, and the eyes of the fairy proved her right.
Looking at her hands, Bloom said:
- I don't feel ready to face him Stormy, not yet. -
- I know I'm not an expert in love, but I really don't understand why you take what should be a simple clarification like a battle. It's your boyfriend, not a werewolf! -
Stormy's attempt to make a joke didn't have much effect because Bloom sighed.
- You don't know how much he can be stubborn when he puts something in his head. - she said.
"I wonder why, but it reminds me of someone" thought Stormy with a smile.
- He doesn't listen to anyone until he smacks his nose on his mistakes, then he comes back with his tail between his legs and pretends to be forgiven. But I feel that this time I just couldn't do it, a mistake that almost costs a person's life is too big. - continued Bloom crossing her arms over her chest.
Stormy thought for a few seconds, then said:
- Bloom, can I remind you that my mistakes, Icy and Darcy's, could really have cost someone's life? Yet you managed to forgive us despite all our clashes. I'm not saying you should forgive Sky immediately, he was wrong and it is important that he understands it, but you can't ruin your relationship for it either. Icy would never forgive herself, I know it. -
Bloom weighed the witch's words. How many things had she and Sky been through? Many, almost too many, and they had both been wrong more than once: he hadn't told her about his family and Diaspro, she hadn't given weight to his presentations about Avalon's clone, he hadn't told her that he had become king and had abandoned her for months, she had almost fallen in love with Jordan when he left for Eraklyon... the list was really long, but their mistakes had almost always only concerned them. This time someone else had been involved, of which Bloom felt responsible. On the other hand, it was true that she had forgiven even bigger mistakes to the three witches once the causes were discovered, and Sky certainly had not acted without thinking, even though she did not agree with his conclusions.
- I still need some time Stormy, that's all. - said Bloom, in the tone of one who wants to change the subject.
Stormy shrugged.
- Do as you wish. If you want to stay here and go over well known things do it, but I go to the library. - she said, pushing the chair away from the desk and standing up.
- If you are so good at potionology, how is it that when we made the exchange with Oskuria you blew up the amaryllis powder? - Bloom teased her, laughing when the witch gave her a glaring look and replied that she did it to give those college "dandies" an example of what they should not do.
Coming out of the room, the witch came across Icy who, sitting cross-legged on her favorite chair, was absorbed in reading.
- What's this? The dragon egg book? - she asked, referring to the umpteenth book that the witch had taken from Bloom's bookstore.
Icy didn't even raise her head, but replied:
- No. No, it's the book of Greek mythology, but it's just as fun. -
- You're not normal. - muttered Stormy as she left the apartment.
Icy smiled amused. What could she do if she liked fairy tales? All those stories, although less absurd for her than for the earthlings, helped her to leave the mind free for some time, just the time necessary to lighten and return to face reality. Someone could have objected that fathers who devour their children are not exactly the most relaxing reading one can do, but she was not a girl of romance. The stories that only spoke of love bored her, getting to the bottom of the book became a miracle (or martyrdom). It didn't take much for a book to interest her, but for her to like it, it had to be dynamic and descriptive at the same time, take her by the hand through the story and point out every detail, every nuance.
From this point of view, Hesiod's Theogony, which she was reading at the time, left much to be desired: the language was rather thin despite the numerous metaphors and all the rhetorical mechanisms of a poem in composition, the narrative proceeded quickly passing from an anecdote to the other in rapid succession without dwelling too much on the less relevant details, even if it offered several interesting ideas to think about. After all, it was not a pleasure to read this, but planned by Du Four's program.
Thanks to the previous adventure she had to catch up to avoid getting unprepared for the test at the end of the quarter, which would have consisted in presenting and commenting on a particular topic of the program. She had taken as a point of honor never to go below the threshold of seven and a half (she and her perfectionism craze), the only exception was elementology, which in practice was very difficult for her. "In words they are all good at explaining that anyone can do anything with the basic elements. Then the facts..." she thought. She had no intention of giving up anyway, by the end of the year she would have had a report card to shame Amaryl and all those like her.
§§
- Seriously Mike, when we're in Berlin we must get back together in that place. I assure you that the beer was excellent. -
- And I believe you on the word Arejay. The point is that you are now doing programs, but in the end you four will go exploring alone as always. - said Mike, a stocky, chubby little man with a long tail of brown hair.
Before Arejay could reply he heard a sharp scream.
The two ran to see who had shouted and Arejay immediately put a certain distance between himself and Mike. Was the truce over? Had Valtor chosen Lzzy to start hostilities again? In the air there was the smell of something burning and of smoke.
Others had already arrived before him in the backstage room where they had laid jackets and bags and were trying to put out a small fire. It seemed to be just an accident, but there was something strange. Lzzy trying to reassure Susan, for example, or the fact that Susan reacted by stepping back, apparently frightened by his sister.
- Susan, I can explain everything, please... -
But the other, in response, shook her head and her soft black hair, her eyes popping out of her head, and finally she even tried to run out of the room, but ended up straight in Arejay's arms.
- It was her, it was her! - she shouted, trying to free herself from his grip.
- What happens? - asked Joe's voice behind Arejay.
- It doesn't turn off, this damned fire! - exclaimed Detroit, who was trying to stifle the flames with a rag found somewhere.
Lzzy, once given up to be heard by Susan, with death in her heart held out a hand towards the flames and, before Arejay or Joe or Josh, who had arrived in the meantime, could stop her, recalled the flames. These rose in a crackling wake that recomposed itself in her hands and then vanished in a single wisp of smoke as she joined her palms, crushing the enchanted fire.
A stunned silence took over the room. Everyone stared at Lzzy, who swallowed uncomfortably. Not for the simple fact of being at the center of attention, of course, but because now she would have to explain everything. And she did.
She explained that she had recently discovered that she had powers and was practicing their use when Susan entered the room. For the fright Lzzy had let go of the heat sphere she was handling and in doing so accidentally set the fire, which, being magically generated, did not go out with the classical methods.
- I'm sorry I lied to you all, - she said, - but I wanted to have some control over this before I told you. Forgive me. -
- Forgive you? We saw well the control you have! - exclaimed Justin, the guitar technician, - You could have hit Susan! -
Josh intervened in defense of Lzzy.
- Justin, Lzzy is working very hard, but she has known she has these powers for less than two months, she still has to improve so much. -
- And until then? Will we all be in potential danger because you will go to trial and error like all self-taught? - said Justin.
- I'm not self-taught, I have... people who teach me. - said Lzzy.
- And for how long do you think you can keep the secret? - Big T asked, crossing his arms.
- As long as it is necessary. - Joe replied, - Listen, I know this may sound crazy but... -
Mike laughed.
- Crazy? Crazy? I say it's scary! This time nothing happened, but what if she set fire to the stage during a gig? Can you play the hands game again, Lzzy? -
The sharp and almost hysterical tone of the man frightened Lzzy, already agitated.
- I... - she tried to say, but Susan interrupted her.
- I'd like to fire myself, but you know what? I can't because I need this job, I wouldn't know where to go if I dropped. But I warn you Lzzy, if anything ever happens because of these powers of yours, I will do anything to stay out of it. - she said pointing her finger at the girl.
Lzzy turned to look for a friendly look, but saw nothing but fear and dismay in the eyes of her friends. Most of them did everything they could to avoid meeting her gaze, comparable to that of a puppy suddenly thrown in the middle of the road: betrayed and wounded, seeking comfort without finding it.
- Detroit... you too? -
The girl with the blond braid jumped to hear her name and instinctively looked up from the floor, but continued to make it wander here and there, full of embarrassment.
- I... well... you can't ask me to be on your side Lz, I'm afraid. This thing scares me, I'm not afraid of you but... I mean, I thought I knew you and now it turns out you're kind of a witch or I don't know, it's weird. I have to think about it, it's a thing so... so... -
Lzzy listened to those words and received them as slaps. They were abandoning her. They feared her, or at least feared what she had become. They were afraid of what she was. But she couldn't do anything about it, she hadn't asked for it, she hadn't chosen it, it wasn't her fault! She wanted to say it, shout it, burst into tears, let them know that she was always the same and that they were hurting her to death, but at the last she held back. Why show her pain? Why allow them to tear her to pieces, tear her apart by searching for the right words to get deeper and hurt her more? She had another chance: to react, fight, suffer less. She certainly didn't need the magic for this, indeed. Her tongue was more than enough.
- Different, Detroit. That's the word you are looking for. - Lzzy said coldly interrupting the babble of the blonde who, silenced in that brusque way, took a step back. - Well, if that's what you think and that's okay with you, it's okay with me too. So, since you are all so scared, why don't you get out of the way, so I can get back to training? -
No one moved, everyone stared at her in shock. Only Josh tried to calm her, but she didn't even let him finish.
- Come on, Lzzy, don't do that. You can't… -
- Whose side are you on? -
- Yours Lz, we are all on your side, but you have to try to understand... -
- Oh, but I understand very well! - she exclaimed, feigning a tone of condescension, - It's exactly as Darcy said, the terrestrials are afraid of everything that is not normal. I've always been the slightly bubbly one until now, the rock star who has her quirks, but who doesn't have them, right? Quite right. But now something has changed, I'm not even human anymore for them! -
- Lzzy, you're exaggerating now. - Arejay admonished, seriously.
Lzzy opened her arms, tears crowding angrily over her eyes.
- I'm exaggerating? Me?! Who's surrounded here, uh? Who are they all looking at like some rare beast? You don't feel them Jay, you don't feel them, but I do! It's my fucking power to perceive emotions, and now I feel only disgust and fear outside of me! -
Here, they had begun to run down her cheeks, tears, she felt them thick and warm on her skin as they drew their glittering salt roads. She had ended up shouting, and she had achieved nothing good.
She wanted to get out of there, she wanted someone to comfort her without making her the moral, at least for the next five minutes. She could not really hear good advice from anyone as long as she remained in the midst of that swamp of negative emotions. "Magix. I can go there" she thought, immediately relieved at the thought of rejoining her mind mate.
Suddenly she moved, the troupe opened to let her pass (what a horrible feeling) and, with jerky movements full of nervousness, she looked for the bag with her mirror-portals inside. She no longer cared about being seen, her only thought was to leave as soon as possible, also because she realized that she no longer controlled her own aura. She didn't know how long it had been like that, but it was black, intense, vibrant, a flow of polished pitch that surrounded her with at least five centimeters thick. That was pain, she felt it pulsing in her veins and feeding her magic, almost out of control.
- Lzzy, what are you doing? Try to calm yourself. - called Joe.
Mumbling to herself Lzzy swore at the calm that everyone was talking about, feeling a salty trickle wet her lips, until then tightened.
Once she found it, she hastily activated the mirror and, before anyone could stop her, she said:
- I don't know when I'm back. -
Then she crossed the portal, leaving everyone speechless.
A green and white tunnel enveloped her, and she found herself immersed for a few seconds in what she used to call "a toothpaste tube". She always laughed at that idea. At that moment instead she was crying, crying without any restraint.
She was alone now.