Chapter 52
A Perfect Way to Die
- I have no intention to learn to control other people's emotions! With all due respect, that's not like me! -
- Think of the endless possibilities this power would give you. -
- No. It's wrong at the roots and I don't care if I'll never reach who knows what level, I don't need to! -
Xavier mumbled something incomprehensible. He didn't expect his suggestion to be welcomed with open arms, but he didn't expect such stubborn hostility either.
- Exactly since the idea of manipulating someone disgusts you so much you should be able to do it. You'd learn to defend yourself and others if someone with similar powers tried to do that. - he insisted again.
For a second Lzzy considered that perspective. Xavier's idea of teaching her something so disgusting and vile was horrible, even though she understood where he came from. With the right training she would have been able to confuse Valtor and make him a less formidable opponent, but she couldn't bring herself to imagine bending anyone to her advantage, not even that crazy wizard. She didn't dare imagine how her friends and family would react to such a power.
- No. I may be stupid and idealistic and whatever you want, but doing such a thing would put me down to his level and I wouldn't be at peace with myself. My no stays a no. I'll be useful in some other way. - she said, with the tone of who didn't accept comebacks.
She felt in her mind Icy's approval and Bloom intervened in her defense as well.
- Lzzy is right professor, there's no reason to go that far. -
- If I'm not wrong spells that compromise free will are considered a crime. - added Andrea, who assisted and every now and then gave a suggestion or made an observation.
- Exactly. That's why love potions are banned. - confirmed Tecna.
Lzzy wondered if that was valid for illusion spells as well, but it probably wasn't the case: an illusion was different from modifying someone's thoughts and acts permanently, which was what Xavier suggested.
- Bof. Valtor won't play by the rules, but as you wish... any other perplexities on my suggestions? - asked grouchy the professor, looking at all the girls.
- Yes, I still don't get why you think I can see the world of spirits. I don't even read auras, I just perceive them like any witch. - said Darcy.
- Your illusions are psychic vibrations, right? - replied Xavier.
Darcy nodded and he continued:
- You're good at using them, really good, but there's an entire world living on those altered frequencies. With the right work you can see that world, even if you aren't born a sensitive. In the same way Stella could tend to the healing part of her powers and learn to handle it, channel it, same goes for Bloom. The Dragon Flame isn't known as Flame of Life just because. -
Bloom looked down. The idea didn't exactly make her jolly because, even though her healing powers had proven useful in different circumstances, they scared her. She felt she crossed a line when she brought Sky back to life and she had left aside that ability of hers as soon as she had learned enough to control it, but she knew it was time to get over this limit of hers.
- Professor, I don't get why you want me to only work on convergencies while the others will do other things too. - Icy said.
Xavier shrugged.
- Given what we said the other day and today, I can't think of anything you haven't already done with your base powers. That's it. I may be enlightened in a few days but I think it's important that the two of you - and he pointed at Icy and Lzzy, - work on combining your powers. -
Icy felt a tip of pride hearing that she had already experimented everything with her powers. Moreover, the perspective of working with Lzzy and thus having one more excuse to spend time with her didn't bother her at all.
Having exhausted the questions, Xavier asked to the youngest witch to show him her staff. Aire obeyed and gently passed him the heavy copper staff. The professor caressed the handle with the look of someone who greets a hold friend.
- Did Deimos give it to you? - he asked.
Aire was surprised.
- Yes! How... -
- I know him. He had this scepter with him for over half of his life, I know it very well. Take good care of it, it is a precious artifact. -
Having said that, Xavier handed the staff to the owner, who reconverted it into a necklace and asked a question that was buzzing in her mind since she got there.
- Professor, I was wondering if, well, if you could help me with my powers too. Sometimes I can't control them and I see the past of things and people and I don't want it to happen. -
- We can work on that. - replied Xavier after a few seconds of thinking, - But I don't see how you can use your powers here in the Wildlands. We should find another place actually, no one of you can do something useful here. -
The Winx exchanged quick looks and understood that they were all thinking of the same place. Were they sure they wanted to open their headquarters to so many people? They didn't have that much of a choice, but the girls looked at Musa. As the legal owner of the building, it was right that she was the one to decide.
- We have a place in town. There's a simulation room and we're the only ones to use it. - said the fairy of music.
- And how did you get a simulation room? - Donnie asked in surprise.
That was a rather expensive toy.
- I programmed and built it myself. - said Tecna.
The boy complimented her. After solving that question, they had nothing else to do. Leaving the professor, the girls walked the path to the bikes accompanied by Donnie and Andrea.
- Somebody has to get the groceries and, between you and us, it's better if the professor isn't in charge. - said the fairy.
- Yeah. You never know what ends up on the table if he's the one buying food. Once he bought some sort of giant grasshoppers from Andros... no offense, but they don't look nice. - Donnie added.
- Those are meant to be grilled. - giggled Aisha.
- I think I couldn't eat them anyway. - replied the boy with a disgusted face.
- Well, I could never eat those vegetables he bought last summer, remember those? - asked Andrea.
- I preferred forgetting them, Andy, thanks. -
- They looked more like rubber and smelled so bad. The smell stayed for a week. -
- Once I forgot meat in the fridge. I came back home a month later and it smelled like there was a corpse. - said Lzzy.
- You weren't home for a month? - asked perplexed Francesca.
Lzzy shrugged.
- Work. - she said, laconic.
She hadn't told them yet that a search bar and internet would give out lots of information about her.
- Rebecca melted a coffee maker. - said Desirè.
- I was young and unexperienced. - Rebecca tried to minimize while the others laughed.
- It happened last year. - Maria contradicted her.
Andrea noticed that Cassandra wasn't laughing like the others, she looked worried.
- Hey, is everything alright? - she asked lowering her voice while the conversation went on.
- Not really. I still haven't managed to transform in a fairy nor a witch, and it's been a few days now. - replied the girl, looking down.
- I see. If you want, I can help you. We're meeting on Wednesday, right? -
Cassandra was surprised. They were basically strangers and transforming didn't just mean a pair of wings or awesome clothes: transforming meant to trust oneself and one's own abilities, to be the best version of oneself. She didn't know if a person she met twice could help her to do that, but it was worth a shot.
- Of course. Thank you, really. -
- Oh don't thank me, I did nothing yet. -
- I appreciate the intention. - replied Cassandra.
The two groups separated once they reached the bikes: Andrea and Donnie were going to take a bus to Ad Quistes, the others were going first to Cloudtower and then back to Alfea.
- Mae, if you want, we can stop right outside the Wildlands and you can open a portal. - said Icy taking her helmet.
- No, I'll come with you. I want to see Cloudtower, I'm curious. - replied Lzzy putting on hers.
Shortly after, always thanks to Solaria's ring, they were a thousand meters away from Cloudtower, near the point where the Gloomy Wood forest abruptly ended to leave room for the naked pointy rocks which surrounded the school.
A shiver run down Lzzy's back: even she could clearly feel that place's negativity, which made her question if staying there for too long was good for health. Although, she noticed, the feeling she had wasn't uneasiness. More so, she was fascinated and intimidated at the same time from that building's atmosphere, so dark and reaching out to the magical clouds surrounding it.
"What do you think?" Icy telepathically asked her. "It's… strange. It's frightening but it attracts me at the same time, I don't know how to explain it" "You know, the castle is alive. It has a conscience and it breathes and moves" "Even more frightening. And fascinating" replied Lzzy who, under the light of that new information, observed with renovated interest the foundations and the suspended structures. From below it almost looked like an enormous, withered purple tree.
Saying goodbye to Aire, Maria and Desirè, the girls headed to Alfea, but they didn't have the time to speed up that a greenish light appeared in front of Icy's bike, followed by headmistress Griffin. Icy cursed and swerved, scaring Lzzy to death and stopping really close to the woman.
- Suddenly appearing in the middle of the street is a perfect way to die. - exclaimed Icy after lifting up the visor.
- If you weren't in such a hurry, I would just get your attention, - replied seraphic the headmistress, - and if you think you can even touch me with that bike, you underestimate me. -
Icy thought to herself that she had her reasons to underestimate her, but she kept such observation to herself. The others came back.
- What do you want? - Icy asked.
- To understand why you made up that story about the Bonding with Faragonda. -
- Excuse me? -
- As far as I know you were alone that night and since my source is nothing less than your memories, I believe it's rather reliable. -
Icy shook in surprise. She forgot that Aire had already told Griffin about Lzzy.
- I didn't want to get into more trouble. - she said, defensive.
Griffin placed her hands on her hips and looked at her, scorny.
- Ah! You're lucky Faragonda has much more on her head right now! If the situation was calmer, you would have had the opposite outcome, little girl! -
Icy was starting to get nervous.
- Why are you so concerned?! Aren't you satisfied with forcing me to track down that book? -
- You should have done that anyway and I am trying to help you! -
- Maybe you'll be surprised to know that you really don't give off that impression. - Icy retorted angrily.
Lzzy would have wanted to calm her down with a word or a gesture, but she knew that it would just embarrass Icy.
- That is because you can't see an inch away from your nose, little girl. - the headmistress scolded her.
- You have quite an eyesight instead. How did you know I was here? -
- Cloudtower warned me when it felt a neutral aura together with yours. You can be sure we were still going to have this conversation soon enough. -
- Cloudtower feels auras? - Lzzy asked before she could think about it.
Icy would have gladly nudged her, but she had to balance the motorbike so she settled for a death stare.
- Sorry. Come on, she already knew I was here. - whispered the earthling.
- Headmistress Griffin, - Stella intervened, - the idea of telling that story was mine. Will you tell Faragonda? -
- I could have done that already, but no. We'll consider it our little secret. How is the research of the Mystérion going? -
- We can't track down Valtor. - Aisha answered, - It's like he disappeared, we don't even know how he managed to bypass our defenses. -
- If I were you, I wouldn't look for him, but for someone who acts for him. It's his favorite strategy and it always came to something. - suggested Griffin.
- But there's no one in Alfea like Diaspro or Chimera. - objected Bloom.
- It's not like Sky hated you before he had you guys chased down by dragons. - said Stormy, who understood what Griffin meant.
- Do you think he hypnotized someone like he did with the mermaids? - Flora asked.
- And with my students, Cloudtower's monsters and king Radius himself. It isn't unlikely at all. Anyway, I am busy. It was an interesting chat, and the two of you, - she said, looking at Icy and Lzzy, - I'm looking forward to talk to you some more in the near future, more calmly. -
Before Icy could unenthusiastically ask the reason of such words, the headmistress teleported inside the castle.
- Bof. Let's go back to Alfea. - mumbled Stormy.
Lzzy held tightly onto Icy, worried. She kept thinking over and over to what the woman with greenish skin said until they arrived to Alfea. She got down from the motorbike and took off the helmet, then asked:
- Are you sure nobody has it up with you guys? Aren't there two fairies in your class who don't like Icy, Darcy and Stormy? -
- Yomi simply isn't able to do something like that. - Musa said.
- Amaryl could though. - Stella said, - She can't stand you ever since the duel, Icy. -
- If we want to think that way, I was recently reminded I turned Mirta into a pumpkin. - Icy replied, - Half the school has good reasons to have it up with us, the other half knows us by word of mouth and if we want to consider the other schools the list of people who might hold a grudge with us gets longer. The point is: who has a motivation strong enough to team up with Valtor? -
- If there's somebody, we'll find out. - said Bloom, determined.
While the others began to walk to the enchanted gates, Lzzy held Icy back holding her hand.
- I'll go back from here, I don't need to get in. Sorry for earlier. -
- It's not important. Just, I don't really like Griffin and the less you're around her, the better. -
- She was sincere when she said she wants to help you, I felt her. She really cares. -
- I'll take that into consideration. -
Lzzy smiled and opened the portal.
- We'll meet the day after tomorrow at my parents' place then, ok? -
Icy nodded. Lzzy was about to cross the portal, but thinking twice she turned to Icy again and, quick, she kissed her cheek, then she sprinted through the portal before the witch had the time to react. Icy stood jammed for a few seconds. Stormy's coughing woke her up.
- Chee-sy. - the witch of storms mocked her, giggling.
- Shut up. - Icy said, lightly pushing her away.
Luckily Stormy was the only witness. But the sweetness of the gesture and the surprise and the love it transmitted to her didn't bother her at all. She could even get used to it.