Chapter 15 !
And I'm on time… what's happening to me
Heato-Kun : Oui quelqu'un d'autre avec un Enchantix, j'en avais marre qu'il n'y ait que les Winx XD Et le relooking c'est parce que whoever a fait la saison 8 n'a pas les droits sur les premières saisons (et c'est pour ça que la transformation se fait sur la musique du film d'ailleurs), mais bon, c'était pas ouf-ouf on va pas se mentir… on voit la transformation dans un épisode et ensuite POUF!, elle disparaît sans laisser de trace. J'avoue ne pas avoir compris le principe XD (je suis une horrible puriste mdr).
Winx4Ever : you're welcome XD
Bloom refused that they go to her parents' house. After what happened the past year, she didn't want to put them in any more danger. If she were to bring her teachers there, Mike and Vanessa would become targets or collateral damage. She just couldn't bear the thought of it.
She accepted to go to Earth. She settled on her home country so there would be no language barrier. She begrudgingly obliged when her friends told her they would feel safer in Gardenia. In the end, they settled in the only motel of the town, far from the city.
Valtor used his magic and convinced the woman at the counter they had reserved rooms. The Professors were still taking in their surroundings as Bloom and him chose the number of rooms, and tried to have them as close as possible.
Without a word, they took the keys and walked up to the second floor, trying to ignore each other as best as they could. The girls could feel the gazes of their professors on them, making them feel a lot more self-conscious than usually.
Tecna put herself in front of the door, and put a little device on it. They had to wait for a minute or two, but it quickly gave them the signal that they could finally enter the room. The pink haired girl then took it off and opened the door.
It was as if the original room had been duplicated ten times : there was a long corridor and on each side of it, a bedroom with a personal bathroom in the back, followed by the same bedroom with the same bathroom.
The floor was made of brown wood, while the walls were covered in a green wallpaper. The beds all had old white sheets, and a nightstand next to them with a lamp. The bathroom was completely white.
Overall, Bloom was just happy there were no rats or insects anywhere.
They all entered, and Flora helped Stella get into bed before she completely passed out from exhaustion. Meanwhile, everyone else claimed their own bed, the professors settling for the ones at the back.
The red head walked out once she settled her things on the bed in front of Stella, then let her back lightly hit the door. She looked up towards the sky, watching the stars shining bright as if they could be her answer. She closed her eyes and sighed, taking a break for the first time in what seemed to be forever.
The sound of boots made her slowly look at the man next to her.
'What are you still doing here ?' She asked.
There was no anger in her voice, just curiosity.
'We need to talk.'
She huffed.
Her mind immediately went back to the moment she almost took the life of that General, completely consumed by her anger. The images of him lying on the ground, almost lifeless, had been replaying in her head for a while now.
She was thankful that Valtor stopped her, because she would be a mess right now. He didn't deserve it, at all. Everything had just spiralled out of control, even she could admit that. She knew he never meant to kill anyone, he was simply defending his country as he could.
'What ? You're going to tell me how important life is and what I did was wrong ?'
He smirked.
'No, I trust you to be able to stop yourself next time.'
She stared at him, surprised he didn't want to talk about it. Anyone else would've tried to understand why she did but most importantly made sure she didn't do it again. Sometimes, she forgot that this man had seen and done things she couldn't even imagine.
He didn't care if she killed someone. He was only interested in his own little person.
He only stopped her because he knew she would react badly, forcing him or her friends to take care of her while she recovered and tried to come to terms with what she'd done.
'I wanted to inform you that I may have a lead on what happened to your parents, and where to find them.'
She frowned.
'I never asked you to help me find them, why-'
'I have reasons to think they're with the Ancestral Witches.'
She felt hope rising in her.
'They're alive ?'
He took a second to answer.
'Yes. I think so.'
'You think so ?'
He looked away.
'I'm not sure, that's what it means.'
Bloom closed her eyes again, the feeling of hope slowly evaporating.
'Where would they be ?'
The wind picked up around her. She suddenly became aware of the noises around her, may it be the cars on the road next to the motel or the night birds awakening. It felt like home.
For a single moment, she wondered how easy her life would be if she were still dreaming of Fairies, unbeknown to her that she was one herself. Her adoptive parents wouldn't have to worry for their lives, and her friends wouldn't have to throw themselves into danger. The Trix would've never been able to raise their Army, and Darkar wouldn't try to use her for whatever reason he had.
She opened her eyes to find Valtor calmly staring off in the distance, seemingly in his own thoughts too.
If she had to be honest with herself, the man wasn't so bad looking. Quite the contrary.
His long hair made her want to run her fingers in it. His coat was something she would definitely steal if they were in a relationship. Maybe she would ask him advice on what to wear, because he had some great sense of fashion.
Eyes had always been something she liked in people, however, his didn't reflect a lot. He either wore a smirk, plastered on his face as some kind of Joker wannabe, or he was dead serious. Few were the moments where he let down his guard to show anyone what he was really like.
But more than that, she felt something was wrong with his gaze. Sometimes, she could swear he was thinking about anything else but what was happening in front of him.
As he redirected his attention on her, Bloom suddenly realized she'd been staring at him like a freak for a good minute. She fought off the blush coming to her cheeks, and looked out too, hoping to play it off.
He didn't comment on it.
'I don't know either.'
It took her every last bit of strength she still had to remember what they'd been talking about. She nodded slowly, pursing her lips.
'So how do you know you can find them ?'
'I know where to start our research.'
'Really ?'
He nodded.
'On Domino. There is an ancient library. I never had access to it as an enemy of your Kingdom… but it shouldn't matter now.'
'But if you never had access to it, how do you kn-'
'I know there's a book about your bloodline. People used to say it was enchanted.'
She frowned.
'You believe rumours ?'
'I believe that it was one of the most well-guarded places on Domino, one even the Ancestral Witches never had access to. It would at least lead us in the right direction.'
A smile graced her lips.
'Thank you.'
His eyes slightly narrowed, as if he doubted the words coming out of her mouth.
'You don't know how much this means to me.'
He kept staring at her, before a little sigh left his mouth, and the smirk was back on again.
'Don't get used to it Princess.'
He turned around, leaving her alone in the opened corridor.
'Aren't you staying ?' She asked before she could think about it.
He turned around slowly, and their eyes met once again. He had a curious eyebrow raised, but nothing more.
'Why would I ?'
Because I'd feel safer, she immediately thought.
He may be a criminal, but he was a damn powerful one.
'None of us should be alone right now.'
He hummed, as if he sensed her lie.
'I'm glad you're thinking about my safety, but some part of me wonders what your professors will think of me being amongst you all.'
She bit her lip, and nodded.
'I'll be back by tomorrow morning, anyway. We need to work on what happened with your professors, and what to do about your parents.'
She nodded again, and watched silently as he melted into shadows.
Then, after thinking a bit too much, she opened the door to their room, prepared for a war.
Which never came.
Stella and Flora were fast asleep while the other girls were taking care of the Pixies as they woke up. As for the teachers, they were quietly talking by themselves. Everything seemed normal, for the moment. Bloom decided to play it safe though, thus making her way towards Layla first.
'Valtor left ?' Asked the girl.
Bloom nodded.
'That's for the best,' sighed Layla, her eyes landing on the professors.
'How have things been ?' Asked the red head, changing the subject of conversation as fast as she could.
'Since the three minutes we've been here ? Good, I guess. Chatta and Amore have woken up as soon as we settled, but they're sleeping with their Fairies right now.'
'And for the others ?'
'I guess they're just resting. It seems Darkar had them imprisoned in a much darker prison than last time.'
Bloom looked down on the bed, watching the little Pixies sleeping peacefully.
'And our teachers ?'
'Haven't said a word,' interrupted Tecna as she came out of her bathroom. 'I ordered pizza, I hope it'll be enough for everybody.'
'Pizza ?' Repeated Layla, frowning.
'It's quite popular on Earth,' explained Bloom with a little smile.
'And it's delicious. She made us try it at the beginning of last year and you will not be disappointed.'
Bloom shook her head, still laughing at how much cultural differences there were between her and her friends.
'I guess it'll be a good time to try and explain the situation to our professors,' said Layla as she slowly stood up, stretching.
'And to find a plan to finally get back to Alfea,' nodded Tecna.
Bloom glanced at Lockette, who slept soundly next to her little friends. Even in her sleep, she seemed drained of all energy. This made her angry, because the Pixie didn't deserve it. None of them did.
Life in the Magical Dimension was great, but there was always a problem.
When she came to Alfea, she expected to be stressed about school, making friends, avoiding bullies, and maybe finding herself a boyfriend. She was excited at the idea of doing magic or having wings, something she dreamed about since, well, forever.
In the end, her school was taken over, she stayed with the same friends, the bullies became mortal enemies, and she rejected the only potential person that could've become her boyfriend. Doing magic wasn't as thrilling anymore, because it was like a second nature. Sometimes she didn't even think about it.
Having wings had been fun, but now she had to earn another transformation. She had to become stronger, to fight enemies that could very well kill her.
Last year, she didn't know what she was getting into. It had seemed surreal, like a TV show.
If she were honest with herself, she didn't even realize she could've died. Everything happened so quickly, and she'd been so angry with the Witches that she overlooked the real danger. No real damage came to her or her friends. Magic had been the answer to any problem after the battle, such as Alfea's destruction.
'Earth to Bloom !'
She blinked, and focused on a curious Musa.
'What ?'
'We were trying to ask about what happened to Stella's friend ? She wasn't with you.'
Bloom bit her lip.
'Is she alright ?' Asked Layla, worried by her friend's silence.
The red head shook her head.
'Well there was an accident with the General… and then she… transformed. It was really weird. She had big wings… well to be honest everything about her changed. She had blue hair, her eyes seemed different… I-'
'She got her Enchantix ?' Interrupted Musa.
With one look at Bloom's face, her friends quickly understood she had no idea what she was referring to.
'Oh my… It's basically the strongest transformation for a Fairy !'
'So it's… normal that she changed so much ?'
The three Fairies exchanged an uncertain look, putting Bloom on edge.
'Is there something you're not telling me ?'
'Well,' started Tecna. 'As Fairies, we fight for peace. When you earn that transformation, you prove to everyone that you are ready to make a great sacrifice.'
Bloom frowned.
'What do you mean ?'
The images of the sword going through Astrid replayed in her head, but somehow she could not connect that to her friend's words.
'You have to… put your life on the line for someone of your own planet.'
'Of course not every Fairy earns that transformation,' immediately interrupted Musa. 'Not everyone needs to fight for the greater good.'
'As a Princess though, it is expected of you,' informed Layla.
Bloom laughed lightly, her eyes darting to the sides of the room.
It all suddenly felt very suffocating.
'But don't worry about it. For most Fairies, it comes easy. It is in our nature.'
'I don't wanna die though,' said Bloom before she could contain herself.
Her friends seemed to avoid her gaze once she said that.
'As I've said, you don't have to.'
'But it would be better if I did.'
Bloom didn't wait for any answer. She got up, bid her friends a good night, and took a long, hot shower to forget about the day's events. She needed the break.
So, this chapter is kind of an in-between.
I hope you like the lack of action, but there should be more happening in the next chapter.
Thank you to everyone who's following me, this is so important to me.
Don't hesitate to comment, for whatever reason !