Hey guys! There's going to be more action in this chapter, with a Princess Ball gone awry. Next chapter is where things will really get interesting.
Guest: Thanks for the compliment! I worked hard with the world-building, and I'm glad you enjoy it. I like Tecna x Timmy, Flora x Mirta, and Mirta x Musa. Bloom x Stella? I know they're best friends, but personally, I think they'd fight too much and it would be more about physicality than true emotions. Bloom would probably end up saving Stella all the time, too. But you're right, it does sound like an interesting ship.
CHAPTER 4: THE PRINCESS BALL
Four weeks had passed of spring vacation. In those four weeks, Tecna hadn't texted anyone, except to tell Timmy that she couldn't talk. She had received several texts, such as Stella sending continuous reminders about her upcoming Princess Ball, but she'd never replied. She hadn't called anyone, either. All she did, all day, was sit at a desktop computer, solving any problems that needed to be solved, coding more algorithms to enhance the robots' durability. From dawn to well after dusk, she worked.
The work was much more than it had been in past years, but Tecna never complained. She knew that what the president was creating – whatever it was – was just reaching its final stages of development. She worked just as hard as the androids, the androids that operated off of battery and therefore could work as long as the battery lasted.
She still hadn't been able to get any news about Linphea. The only international news she'd gotten was about Melody. The day she'd left for Zenith, a portal had been opened, letting loose various criminals of Omega. By now, the criminals had been contained, but the portal – well, that was a different story.
And now, as she sat at the computer and worked, the door swung open. Surprised at the interruption, Tecna halted and turned towards the entrance. She jumped back in fear as a familiar man stepped in through the doorway.
"No need to worry, girl," he smirked.
Tecna swallowed. A visit from Igor Vasiliev, the head of the laboratory, was never a good thing. He was a close friend of her father's, but she hated and feared him immensely. She backed her computer chair slowly, feeling terrified and defensive at the same time. Oh, why is he here – Then she saw the figure behind him, and all breath escaped from her mouth.
Great Premier Medea Alexandrova stood in front of her, her eyes glinting. She wore a tight maroon dress, one that appeared to give her no room to breathe. Her eyes were narrow, and her hair was bright blue, tucked in a bun. Her lips were thin, a small line of magenta lipstick across her mouth. But it was her face that awed – and terrified – Tecna the most. Paler than the palest white, it made her look soulless and untouchable, a radiant beauty. There was no doubt about it; the premier was cold.
"Your Magnificence," she breathed, standing up and bowing low to the ground. "It is an honor to meet you."
Great Premier Alexandrova stepped forward.
"It is good to meet you too, Miss Ivanova," she said. "One of Mr. Vasiliev's best workers, I hear. Though a cyborg, nonetheless."
Tecna hid her wince. As premier for over a century, this woman had drafted some of the most significant anti-cyborg legislation in the history of Zenith. From the books she'd read in Magix, it had been a move to assuage the population. The people of Zenith had blamed her for their inability to put food on the table, but rather than listen to their complaints, the Premier had simply blamed it on the cyborgs. It had been easy to do, as cyborgs were universally resented, anyhow. The Cyborg Massacre of 917, known to Zenithians as the Culling, had been incited by her; although she didn't send troops to kill them, the people of Zenith had listened to her words and murdered the cyborgs, as they'd seen them a threat to their stability.
"The premier is with me on tour around the laboratory," Vasiliev said. "Today is her inspection day, to make sure everything is in working order."
"Of course," Tecna nodded, trying best to hide her fear. The laboratory, in fact, was owned by Premier Alexandrova. Many decades ago, Vasiliev had been contracted by the premier to work on this project. She had never yet witnessed one of her inspections, much less met her in person, but she was instantly terrified. The stakes are much higher now… She couldn't afford to slip up.
"Exactly," Premier Alexandrova answered. "The king of Solaria did send me an invitation to his daughter's Princess Ball, but I declined. It is much more important to see how check on my citizens." Her smile didn't meet her eyes; if anything, it looked more like a smirk.
"Today is the Princess Ball?" Tecna gasped.
"Yes," the premier said, and her smirk showed how little she thought of Tecna. "Time flies when you're working for your Motherland, doesn't it? Now, my dear, I must go." She sauntered out the room, Vasiliev following close by.
Of course the ball is today, thought Tecna. It was Quadrimensis 13 already. She immediately checked the Winx Club group-chat. In addition to the 7563 unread texts from the past weeks, there were 342 just from this morning: everyone was talking about the Princess Ball.
The whole thing is going to be televised. She was itching to see it, to see all of her friends in the castle. But to do so would be a diversion from her work… something that would be unacceptable. And especially with Premier Alexandrova here…
But it wasn't every day that a Princess Ball happened, and Tecna so desperately wanted to see her friends on screen. Besides, Vasiliev would be showing the premier around the lab, which meant he wouldn't have time to check on her. I'll do my work and watch at the same time. She set up a firewall around her computer, so that Vasiliev wouldn't be able to see what she was doing, and hacked into the system so she could access the Internet. Keeping a tab open of her coding program at the same time, she typed "Princess Ball".
A live-stream video on the Magix Modern Matrix appeared, and Tecna clicked on it. Immediately, she caught sight of Stella, on an elevated platform, and her friends, in the front row of the court. Tecna stopped for a moment to admire them.
Stella, as the star of the show, was wearing a sparkling, floor-length purple gown with golden embroidery and blue opal jewelry. Her golden hair was up, falling in curls down to her waist. She sat on a gilded, red-and-yellow throne, next to her father. The king sat next to her on his larger throne, the throne that belonged to the sovereign of Solaria.
His daughter's face looked different from the last time she'd seen her, and it took a second for Tecna to realize why. She's not wearing a magimask. Whenever they went out into Magix, Stella and Layla always wore magimasks, so as to disguise themselves as common people. It was a very effective way for Alfea princesses to blend-in at Magix, and also the way Sky and Brandon had gotten away with deceiving the Winx in their first year.
The other girls were sitting in the chairs of the courtiers; Bloom and Musa were sitting with their respective boyfriends. Tecna was pleased to see that whatever danger that had passed on Melody was clearly well enough for Musa to be there. Not that I can find out what's going on. The firewall blocked her access to most of the Web; it took huge amounts of coding to even see the Magix Modern Matrix. Layla was wearing a sunny yellow dress, Bloom had a blue tulle ball gown, Musa was wearing garnet red, and Mirta wore a deep indigo. Tecna, however, thought Flora's dress was the prettiest, even prettier than Stella's. She wore a simple yet form-fitting peach-pink dress that suited her brown skin, and had flowers pinned in her hair.
As the video scanned momentarily through the rows of courtiers and guests, Tecna looked carefully to see who had come. The room was packed, everyone dressed elegantly. By the looks of it, all were barons and baronesses, dukes and duchesses, counts and countesses. Like many other realms, Solaria followed the system of feudalism, which meant that status was based off of relation to the king. It was very much unlike Zenith, a capitalist dictatorship.
Zenith hadn't always been capitalist, however. In the Age of Blood, its people had overthrown the king, and a dictator had taken his place. Zenith had become completely communist, centralizing all production. However, this method had proved to be very unstable, and in Year 543 of their current Age, the Age of Unity, Zenith had switched to capitalism. This switch had allowed the development of the Realm Wide Web to set off, and Zenith became a realmwide power.
The king took out a box from his drawer and held it out to Stella, who let out a gasp. A diamond necklace shone with dark orange and blue, the colors of Solaria, within its depths. The king began to speak. Though he spoke in Solarian, Common Tongue translations appeared at the bottom of the screen, and Tecna found she could easily understand.
"My daughter is now approaching adulthood. In a few short months, she shall be eighteen, the official heir-apparent of Solaria. She is now formally ready to enter society as a true princess." The king smiled down at her.
"Princess Stella Lucia Calisto di Solaria, please accept this token as a sign of your readiness to become part of society."
With a gasp of excitement, Stella placed the pendant over her neck. A wave of solar energy passed through her body, and the crowd cheered.
"Now," the king continued, "I have a special announcement for the public. I have kept it from all but my most trusted staff in the hopes of it being a surprise, and the fear that it would leak into the public. You paparazzi are devious," he said with a smile. The crowd laughed.
Tecna could see Stella nervously looking at the other girls. She could tell this wasn't part of the script.
"As you all know, I haven't been married for ten years," King Radius continued on. "My former wife, Lady Luna di Lunaria, has parted with me on good terms. However, the kingdom needs stability, someone to stay with me as I part into old age."
Tecna watched the color drain from Stella's face. She could make out the other Winx looking at each other with wide eyes, unable to process what was happening.
"Therefore, I would like to announce my new bride." King Radius paused. "Countess Cassandra di Russo, and her daughter, Chimera, shall be our new family!"
A ripple of shock went through the crowd. Tecna watched as a demonically beautiful girl and her mother stepped out to the crowd, waving at the people. From the onset, she could tell they were Lunarian, not Solarian; they had lighter complexion, and wore dark clothes on a planet where everyone wore pastel. The mother was wearing a navy blue ball-gown adorned with gold, and her daughter was wearing a shimmering, deep purple gown with golden ribbons from head to toe. Except for the wicked-looking cut and the absence of sparkles, it was basically a darker version of Stella's gown.
There was cheering, but Tecna could tell it was very forced. The Winx stared at each other with horror, shocked at what had happened.
But it was Stella's face that was the worst of all.
She was keeping herself composed, as a princess always should, but Tecna could see the shock in her eyes. She knew she was upset. And she stared at the king, amazed at what had just happened.
Why is he remarrying? she thought. What kind of logic is there in that? He's got a stable kingdom, a beloved daughter, and great power! Why is he doing this?
"And now," the king continued, "let us celebrate with this new era of prosperity, with Solaria and Lunaria together as one!"
The people broke into cheers. The gentry began to dance; it was a custom, at the Princess Ball, that the people were well-fed and got to dance. King Radius took his daughter's hand, and they danced in the center of the room together.
Tecna watched Stella's face very closely. She was doing a good job of hiding her emotions, but she could tell she didn't appear happy. The paparazzi probably know it, too. The endless speculators they were, they loved to spread rumors about the royal family in general. This time, though, it's probably true…
A sudden rumble made everyone stop in their tracks. A clap of thunder sounded above them, frightening the citizens of Solaria. King Radius stared at everyone, his eyes wide.
Then rain began to fall.
King Radius gasped as he fell back, weakened by the storm. The crowd began to shout out in gasps of alarm. Stella stared at her father, her gaze stricken.
What's going on? thought Tecna. It never rained on Solaria; Solarians got their water source from underground, not from the air. This new energy was something sinister.
Then she gasped as Stella's dress began to burst open at the seams. She stared in horror as Stella's skin color changed from tan to green, and she let out an agonizing yell.
"My daughter!" cried King Radius, still reeling from the rain. "What is going on?"
Countess Cassandra stepped up and glared down at Stella.
"This is not your daughter," she announced. "This is a monster, an imposter. Guards, take it into custody! Make sure it doesn't cause any trouble!"
Stella let out a wail.
Tecna watched the camera shift uncertainly to the guards. After all, the countess was not authorized to command them; it was only King Radius who had that power. King Radius stared up at Monster Stella, and Tecna could see his heart breaking. Then his eyes hardened, and he shook his head.
"Guards, after her."
The effect was instantaneous. Stella yelped as the guards ran after her. She would've been captured and taken down to the dungeons, instantly under control –
Had it not been for the rest of the Winx. They instantly dove in front of Stella, blocking the guards from attacking her. Layla said something to Brandon, who ran out of the camera's view, along with Brandon, Riven, Galatea, and Mirta. Bloom grabbed Stella's hand, and they ran out of the hall.
Tecna stared at the screen, perplexed. What's going on? She couldn't believe that this was happening. Why are they being attacked?
I have to contact them. Immediately, she focused on her internal wiring, connecting to her phone. The phone dialed, and Flora immediately picked up.
"Tecna!" she shouted, and Tecna could see her standing in front of her, through the phone's screen. "Why are you" –
"Tell her this isn't exactly the best time!" Layla shouted from wherever she was standing.
Tecna gritted her teeth. The Magix Modern Matrix screen had moved from the girls to the citizens of Solaria, all of whom looked terrified. "I'm trying to help you! Obviously I know what's going on!"
There was a silence. Then Bloom gasped, "But I thought you couldn't watch us from Zeni" –
"There's no time for that!" Stella cried out. "Just tell us what to do, Tecna!"
Tecna focused on her computer monitor in her head. She had downloaded maps of the Solarian palace in her brain for a history project at school, but had never remembered to delete them. And she was glad she hadn't; this could save her friends' lives.
"I have a map here of the palace," she said. "Where are you right now?"
"The Aviary," Stella said breathlessly. "We're trying to escape out of there."
"Okay," said Tecna. "Send me your coordinates, Flora!"
Flora sent her the coordinates on her phone. Tecna immediately looked them up, and connected them to the map.
"Okay," she said. "From what I can see, you need to fly out, and go immediately to the ground. There's a tunnel due north of where you're standing. I'll mark your route and send you the map."
"Thanks, Tec!" Musa gasped. "You're a lifesaver!"
Tecna marked it as quickly as she could, and sent it to the Winx. Bloom scanned the map.
"Okay," she said. "So from what this says, we need to fly out of here, straight to the tunnel, and then radio Sky to get the ship there. If they meet us there, we have a lower chance of getting caught" –
"Stop where you are!"
Tecna froze as she heard the guards' voices, speaking the Common Tongue; obviously they knew everyone other than Stella was a foreigner.
"Give over the monster," one of the guards yelled.
"She's not a monster!" Bloom yelled. "She's Princess Stella of Solaria!"
"Liar!" another guard shouted. "Our princess would never look that hideous! This is an imposter! Tell us what you've done with her!"
"We haven't done anything with her!" Musa yelled back. "She's right here! Can't you see? She's been spelled!"
"You're all under arrest," a third guard said grimly. "Under charges of impersonating our princess, attacking the King of Solaria, and causing damage to the castle. The Solarian Army will be here soon to end this. This is a clear attack on the regime of Solaria!"
Shock ran through Tecna's body. They think the Winx are terrorists! This was worse than she'd thought. Can't they see that Layla's the princess of Andros, and that the rest of them are Alfea girls? How were the guards so blind?
They need to get out of there, she thought. She opened her mouth to yell to Flora, to warn her that they'd better get out of there now –
Then she squealed as she felt an electric jolt in her own bones.
Tecna fell to the floor, the phone clattering to the floor. Electricity zapped her again, and she shrieked in pain. Scrunching her eyes, she turned her head to look up in the face of Mr. Vasiliev.
To say Tecna was terrified was an understatement. No, I thought I'd been careful… he can't have found me… Her heard was jumping up and down in her throat, and her wiring was out-of-control. He walked up to her and held her chin in his hand.
"So you dared disobey me." He turned off the screen. "Disobeyed me and watched the network, instead of doing your work. Is this what you've grown up to become? Do you have any idea what would've happened if Premier Alexandrova had found out?" He pressed a button on his remote. Electricity zapped through her again, and she let out a yell.
"You know what I can do," Vasiliev whispered; he was now mere inches from her face. "I made you, and I can also destroy you. Just don't forget that. You will not dare disobey me ever again. Is that correct?"
Tecna nodded shakily. Shame coursed through her, and she bowed her head. How could I ever have shirked my responsibilities here? This man had done so much for her, and this was how she repaid him? "I'm sorry," she said meekly.
"Now, back to work." Mr. Vasiliev zapped her screen on. "I will speak to your father about punishment at home."
Tecna got to work fast. She slammed her fingers on the keys, and continued to work all through the night. She didn't stop once for food, water, or even a nap; the only thing that was important was her work. I have to make up for all my lost time… When Sammy came for his hourly check at 3 a.m., the only thing visible was Tecna's head on the keyboard, her snores haggard and pained to the world.
Poor Tecna… It's not going to get better from here, I'm afraid…
Next chapter:
- The first semester at Alfea starts.
- Stella is healed from her monster transformation.
- Faragonda speaks to the girls about Enchantix.
AOTD: I really like Flora x Mirta and Nabu x Riven. For a time, I was into Flora x Roxy, but they honestly wouldn't be so much on an equal footing. It would be more like an older-younger sister relationship. Flora x Mirta just feels natural, and Nabu x Riven would be cool, because Nabu and Riven temper each other perfectly. While Nabu is calm, Riven is hawkish. Both are extremely courageous.
QOTD:Which is your favorite canon Winx character and realm? (I might as well ask that at some point)
