I hope you are all managing the epidemic. As of now, my school is closed for at least two weeks – schools all across the U.S. are starting to close now. Honestly, this feels like a dream.

Anyways, I hope you're all doing okay. Things have been rather odd lately, and I just hope it hasn't affected everyone too much. We will get through this. And so will Flora and Tecna.


CHAPTER 11: SHARED FATE

It was a lazy day. The sun shined warmly on Flora as she lay on the ground, her eyes half-closed.

She lifted her head and looked over at Mirta, who was smiling. Their hands met. And then so did their lips, as the two of them lay entwined.

"This reminds me of the day I began my transformation," Mirta murmured as Flora stroked her hair. "Do you remember that?"

How could I forget? thought Flora. That day had been very significant for both of them. She could still remember that day in Quintmensis, a little over a year ago…

The two had been sitting together in the waiting-room of Ganga Hospital. It was two weeks after Bloom, Stella, and Layla had departed for their mission. Flora, sick of moping around with Musa and Tecna, and always worrying about them, had elected to join Mirta at the hospital instead.

Flora carefully surveyed Mirta, whose rosy cheeks showed excitement. However, her eyes betrayed worry, worry she was trying her hardest to hide.

"Are you sure about this?" she asked. "You don't have to go through this, you know. We'll love you for who you are, no matter what."

"I'm sure," Mirta answered. "Dr. Iyengar warned me about the risks, but she also said my body is strong and healthy. She thinks I'll be able to make it through fine."

Flora nodded, though doubt was starting to settle in her heart. Not because she thought Mirta shouldn't transform; she knew that her friend would be much happier once inside a body she'd be comfortable with. But she was worried about the adverse medical effects it would have on her. Not to mention, how would her family react once they found the news?

"What are you saying to your parents?" she asked.

"I stayed here throughout the summer with Griffin, so we could work out the medical insurance stuff," Mirta answered. "You wouldn't believe it - she's become somewhat of a mother to me. I know she looks gruff and rude in the beginning, but once you get to know her, she's a really kind person. I told my parents I was staying at Cloud Tower over the winter, which wasn't a lie. They didn't really care; in fact, I bet they were glad to be rid of me"... She brushed a tear off her cheek.

"Don't say that," Flora said softly. "They're your parents. I'm sure they love you."

"No, they don't," Mirta answered, crossing her arms.

Flora sighed. Although a part of her still couldn't believe that parents could be this cruel, she understood and respected Mirta's decision not to tell them. She was glad that Griffin was treating her so kindly, though. The only problem was that, now that Cloud Tower had started, Mirta would be staying at the hospital.

"I'll come visit you as much as I can," she promised.

"Mirta Nakamura," a nurse called. Flora and Mirta immediately rose, following the nurse as she led them to Dr. Iyengar's office. The Magixian woman sat at her desk, gazing up at Mirta.

"Good morning," she said as the two girls sat in front of her. "Before we proceed, I have to re-remind you of the risks."

Mirta swallowed. Under the table, Flora squeezed her hand.

"The transformation will take anywhere between six to eight months," Iyengar said. "During that time, your magical abilities will be very limited. Unlike witches, a fairy's ability to fly is directly linked to her magical ability, so you won't be able to fly at all. You will also notice your body starting to change – it will be very disorienting for you. And even once you transform, you won't have the full abilities of a fairy."

Flora stared at Iyengar. "She won't?"

Iyengar shook her head. "A magical creature's magical source is untouchable. I can direct her magical energy in a different way, but I can't change her abilities. She will have enough energy to achieve her Winx status, and maybe even Charmix, but never Enchantix. Her magical source isn't made for fairy-dust. She'll also only have the lifespan of a witch; while most fairies live up to three-hundred, she may well only live up to two-hundred."

That isn't fair, thought Flora. But she knew they had no choice. The doctor looked directly into Mirta's eyes.

"Of course, there's no telling the transformation will even succeed. At any time, your body could reject the potions and spells we're giving you, and then you would be stuck in a half-state between fairy and witch. As your body won't be able to survive like that, you'll die. I want you to understand that there's no guarantee of survival."

"I know," Mirta said, swallowing. "But I can't keep living like this. I'm going to do whatever it takes to become a fairy, or die trying."

"Very well, then." Iyengar nodded. "I just need you to sign here."

Flora watched Mirta's hands tremble as she signed the final form. The doctor motioned her hands, and a bed zoomed down from the wall.

"Lie on the bed," she ordered.

Mirta lay down. Flora sat directly across from her, watching her friend with worry. She gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry," she said. "You'll be fine."

The doctor closed her eyes. A ball of green light formed in her hands, and she focused on it. The sphere grew bigger and without warning, she thrust it into Mirta's heart.

The witch gasped as she was levitated into the air. Her hair flew up, only to fall back down. Her entire body seemed to shake, with surprise and shock. Then, without warning, she fell back to the bed.

"Mirta!" Flora was on her feet. "Are you all right?"

"She's fine," the doctor said, walking up to Mirta. "How do you feel?"

"I feel… great," Mirta said, and the doctor stared at her in surprise. "I feel a new energy running through me. It feels so right and – I think this was meant to be."

"You do look better," Flora whispered.

But Dr. Iyengar wasn't convinced. "I'm going to keep an eye on her. You can go now." She nodded at Flora, who headed out the door.

"I'll see you later," she whispered to Mirta, who smiled sleepily in assent.

And now they lay together, the breeze softly lifting past them. The sky was completely clear and gorgeously blue. A perfect day… She leaned over towards Mirta.

She felt her girlfriend move towards her, a gleam in her eyes. Flora put her arm around Mirta, gazing at her beautiful face. The two moved closer, their lips almost touching…

A rustle in the bushes. The two immediately jerked apart. Musa flew out of the bushes, her eyes wide.

"Flora, thank Symphonia you're here!" she cried. "We need you!"

"What is it?" Flora was already at her feet.


"Tecna's disappeared."

They'd found Tecna lying near Roccaluce Forest. She'd been half-asleep, confused and groggy as they woke her up. They'd tried to get answers out of her, but the technology fairy had refused to tell them what was going on.

"Something's been going on," said Bloom.

"Yeah," agreed Musa. "She's been totally out."

"She's been like this every day," Flora added. "She's been tired every day during Magiphilosophy, though she's done her best to hide it. And succeeded."

The Winx immediately turned around to stare at her.

"You didn't tell us that," Musa said.

"Yeah," agreed Stella. "You kept that from us."

Flora felt wounded as her friends stared at her accusingly, and swallowed.

"I didn't want to say anything," she admitted, "because I promised Tecna I wouldn't. I tried to get her to stop, but she just wouldn't. She won't listen to us, I'm sure. She won't listen to anyone."

"Well, we've got to stop her," Bloom declared. "Haven't you noticed she's been doing badly in all our classes? I mean, I thought it was stress, but she's been averaging C's on every test. And it's because of some Zenithian work!"

"We won't let her hurt herself," agreed Musa. "Friends don't let friends do that."

Flora frowned. This doesn't sound like a good idea… But she had no choice but to follow along and listen to their plans. After all, it was she who had supplied them with the information so pivotal.

But the Winx got no further than they had on the day they'd found her. Another week passed, and still, there was no sign that Tecna was getting any better. She occasionally came with them out for lunch, but she was appearing less and less frequently than before. In addition, her coursework was getting poorer and poorer. Avalon had even offered her extra help after school, which she'd of course declined.

Flora hated seeing her like this. But she also hated seeing the Winx gang up on her, like some sort of criminals. Not that there was anything criminal with what they were doing, of course – they genuinely believed they were helping. But what they'd done was nothing but painful.

Sextmensis 18 arrived, and Stella turned eighteen. The Winx celebrated her birthday by going out to the beach after class and eating dolce luna, a Solarian pastry made of milk chocolate and fiores di luna. Stella also insisted on doing individual makeovers that morning, which Tecna and Layla reluctantly acquiesced to. That night, they all settled down for a slumber party.

"Tecna, you've been kinda down lately," Bloom said.

"I have?" Tecna said, feigning surprise. Flora knew that this slumber party wasn't just about Stella's birthday; it was also about bringing Tecna closer to them. Well, slumber parties never hurt anyone.

"Yeah," Stella said. "And since it's my birthday, I thought of something totally fun we could do together! Why don't we do a Teen Fairy Quiz?"

"Oh," said Tecna, trying to sound cheerful. "Good idea."

Flora frowned, remembering the last time they did one of those – in the Resort Realm. That same day, Stella got upset when Layla inadvertently reminded her of her parents' divorce, and Musa had stormed off after Jared accidentally reminded her of Riven, and his refusal to come to the Resort Realm with them. That didn't end all that well… She sighed.

"Alright." Bloom pulled one up on her phone. The girls eagerly crowded around her, and Flora pushed her worry to the back of her mind, trying to force herself to relax and have fun.

"Question number 1: Let's say you're in bad need of a wing-shave, but you procrastinated and forgot to go to the wing-waxer. And now you have a test in aeroflynamics. Would you a) rush to the wing-waxer, b) ask to take the test another day, or c) take the test and accept whatever grade you get?"

"Rush to the wing-waxer it is," Layla answered. "Thank Marinus I don't have to do that anymore!"

"Yeah, you with your super-stylish and non-waxable Enchantix wings," Musa said enviously. "I vote 'b'. I don't feel like bombing the test in front of everyone."

"Yeah, I vote 'b' too," Stella agreed. "DuFour's a total pushover."

"I'd just take the test," Flora said. "It's the grade I deserve; I'd be able to make it up with another test, anyways."

"What about you, Tecna?" Layla asked.

"Huh?" Tecna frowned. "Oh yeah. I'd go to the wing-waxer."

Flora frowned. Tecna didn't appear to really be paying attention, and by the looks of it, the other girls noticed too. I just hope she isn't doing more calculations in her head… Bloom frowned and went to the next page.

"Question number 2: There's this boy in your potions' class that you're totally crushing on, and you want to meet him. Do you a) send him an anonymous love letter, b) make a love-potion for him to like you, or c) go up to him and tell him how you feel?"

"Ooh, here's the juicy stuff," Stella grinned.

Flora didn't see how juicy it was. She could understand why her friends were so boy-crazy; she'd been crazy about girls once she hit puberty, too. Yet, conversations like these always made her feel like the outsider, and especially now that she had a girlfriend, it was even more awkward.

"The love potion's the way to go," Stella said. "Totally tempting."

"Love potions aren't real, Stell," Layla said, rolling her eyes. "Just tell him how you feel. It's not that hard."

"Ha!" Musa laughed. "Come and tell me that when you find a boyfriend, Layla. I vote 'b'. If he sings love-songs for me, that's an added bonus."

"What about you, Flora?" Bloom asked.

Flora frowned. What did I do with Mirta? She remembered how shy she'd been last year, terrified to tell her. "Probably 'a'."

"Tecna!" Stella called out. "Wake up, girl!"

"What?" asked Tecna, pulling herself up from the pillow. "Sorry. I'd probably do 'a', too."

"Okay." Bloom looked at her list. "Question number 3 – er, this is a weird one" –

"What is it?" Musa asked.

"If you were alone with a really pretty girl and, out of nowhere, she told you that she like liked you, would you a) start to sweat nervously, b) reciprocate her feelings, or c) run out the room?"

For a moment, there was silence. Flora stared around awkwardly, and the other girls looked startled.

Finally, Stella spoke. "Um… 'c' all the way? How awkward is that?"

"It's not that weird," Musa said. "There're gay men in my hometown. They're fairly chill. Although, in that situation… I'd definitely vote 'a'."

"My parents have some gay friends," Bloom asked. "But I'm with Musa on this. It'd be totally weird if another girl had the hots for me."

"It's just… wrong." Layla sat down, her arms crossed. "About a few centuries ago, there was a prince in the Androsian royal family who announced on interrealm television that he was gonna marry another man. Let's just say it didn't go well. Yeah… I don't get that. Why would anyone have feelings for someone of the same gender?"

"How weird would it be if someone was like that here at Alfea?" Stella asked.

Flora felt as if her heart had just stopped beating. Oh no… She lowered her head and stared at the ground.

Not for the first time, she was fiercely grateful that her friends didn't know she was with Mirta. If they found out, that would be the end… She couldn't let them know anything about their relationship.

"Um," she said, trying to make light of the situation, "I" –

"I can't believe it!" Bloom suddenly groaned. "Tecna's asleep again!"

And she was. Tecna was lying on the pillows, her mouth open and snores loud. Musa walked over to her.

"It's gonna take more than one slumber party for her to start opening up," she said. "She's totally zonked out."


Flora didn't tell anyone about her friends' feelings about gay people. She didn't even tell Mirta about what they'd said. Three more weeks passed, and they continued to spend time together, hanging out in each other's apartments and walking in the woods.

Anyways, Mirta already had plenty to be anxious about. Metamorphosis and Charms came easily to her, and as a former witch, her knowledge of Potions surpassed that of even the Winx girls. She was even okay with Professor Patel's History of Magic class, although she hated how warlocks were always spoken about in a negative manner. But her biggest problem was with Palladium's Spellbound class. As a new fairy, she was still struggling to understand her magical mechanisms, and was finding it very difficult to control her powers.

Tecna had been wrong; Eris wasn't getting tired of taunting Mirta. In fact, she was getting even worse. One day, when Flora and Mirta were walking together in Roccaluce Forest, Mirta suddenly tripped and fell on the ground.

"Mirta!" Flora was on her knees. "What's wrong?"

Mirta didn't answer. Flora helped her up and stared at the ground, seeing a sharp stone on the ground. That wasn't there before… She stared at it, confused and alarmed.

"Hello."

Flora spun around. Eris and her friends were standing behind them, sniggering, and Flora clenched her fists. That's such a juvenile trick… The Eraklyonese fairy stepped forward, smirking.

"Such a loser," she said. "Well, that's what happens when you decide to set foot on a sacred establishment meant solely for fairies."

"Leave me alone." Mirta tried to sound brave, but Flora knew how scared she was. She glared at Eris.

"We're tired of your attitude," she said. "What's Mirta ever done to you? Leave her alone!"

"I see you've been completely brainwashed by this hag." Eris rolled her eyes. "Well, you are a Linphean, after all – you people are the definition of stupid. No wonder Zenith's been beating you guys."

"Leave her alone!" Mirta stepped forward.

"You two are so predictable," Eris smirked. "Seriously? What, are you both homos together or something?"

Flora froze. First the girls, now Eris… What if they figure it out? She forced herself to look as shocked as possible. Fortunately, Eris answered her own question with a laugh.

"Of course you aren't. Even you wouldn't date a girl." She gagged. "That would be just disgusting." The girls behind her nodded. Instantly, Flora thought of Layla and Stella's reactions to the questionnaire, and winced.

Mirta stepped forward, her hands sparking with a spell. Flora put her hand on Mirta's shoulder.

"Mirta, don't!" she whispered. "We'll get in trouble" –

"Go ahead," Eris sneered. "I'm waiting, hag. Let's see if you can take me down!"

Mirta glared at Eris, nothing but pure fury in her eyes. The other girls behind Eris watched with interest as the former witch created a ball in her hands.

"Mirta, don't do it!" Flora whispered. "She's trying to bait you, don't you see? Don't try anything! She'll report you and" –

The spell escaped her girlfriend's hands. But instead of hitting Eris, it backfired on Mirta, hitting her in the chest. Flora screamed as an explosion filled the air.

"Mirta!" She knelt on the ground, staring in alarm at her girlfriend.

Mirta's hair was completely singed off. She was completely bald, nothing except for her head. Burn-marks appeared at the top of her forehead, and there were tears in her eyes.

Eris and her friends howled with laughter.

"Classic hag move," she crowed. "Trying to burn off my hair! You're not even good enough to be a hag, actually. I bet even your Cloud Tower friends don't want anything to do with you. You aren't good enough to be anything."

"That's enough!" Flora stood on her feet, glaring at Eris.

But Eris and her gang seemed to have had enough. "Later, hags and hag-traitors." Within a second, they'd vanished.

Flora held Mirta, who was sobbing. "Don't worry," she said soothingly. "I know how to reverse the spell." She closed her eyes.

Not for nothing was she grateful she'd taken the Magical Maladies class last semester. Under Professor Aditi's instruction, she'd learned how to reverse simple spell, potion, and charm damage. Mirta's hair grew back to normal, and the burn marks disappeared.

Mirta clung to Flora and wept, tears falling down her cheeks.

"She's right," she whispered. "I'm so bad at this. I'm not a witch, I'm not a fairy, I'm not anyone. I'll never learn Palladium's spells."

"You just need practice," Flora said soothingly. "Palladium understands it's difficult for you. You'll get it in time."

"But she's right," Mirta cried. "Lucy hasn't even bothered to contact me in ages. I think something's wrong."

"What?" Flora stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't heard a thing from Cloud Tower in weeks," Mirta said, looking scared. "I think something's happened there."

"I don't think anything's happened," Flora tried to console her. "Ms. Faragonda hasn't warned us about anything."

"She's been keeping so secretive about Valtor," Mirta pointed out, "so why would she tell us anything? What if this is one of his ploys?"

"I" – Flora couldn't deny Faragonda was being very secretive, and quite frankly, she couldn't understand why.

"I want to go to the library and see if we can read up some information about this Valtor guy," said Mirta. "I mean, I've checked the Winx Wide Web, but there's not much known about him. It's like his entire existence has been kept a secret."

"That's true." Flora frowned. After all, plenty had been known about Darkar, the Shadow Phoenix, and they'd done their research on him. So why was it so hard to find information about Valtor?"

"I've checked the regular library, but I don't see any information about him there," Mirta continued on. "That made me realize, Flora, what's going on. I bet you anything Faragonda's hidden all the information about him in the Golden Gate."

"The Golden Gate?" Flora took in a breath. The Golden Gate was the restricted section of the library, and was guarded by spell and key. "Mirta, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we break into there and open the gate."

Flora gasped at Mirta. "What? Mirta, we could get in serious trouble for doing that!"

"I know," said Mirta, and a flash came over her eyes. "But I want to know who we're up against. If Valtor has gone to Cloud Tower and done something, I need to know how horrible he is. I don't know why Faragonda can't just tell us what's going on; if we don't know anything about him, how are we supposed to fight him?" She clenched her fists. "I need to go, Flora, and I need you by my side."

Flora hesitated. She doubted the Golden Gate would even open for them, or that it was possible to force their way through. But she understood Mirta's frustration; for her, there was no holding back. And she would support her the whole way.

"All right." She took in a breath. "Let's do it."


The girls tiptoed their way out of their apartments and down the corridor, Chatta flying behind them. Flora had cast a silencing spell on their feet, but she didn't know long it would last. Since Mirta, as a night-fairy, had illusion-powers, she knew how to make them invisible so they wouldn't be caught.

"But it won't fool all the teachers," Flora pointed out. "Barbatea and Patel, sure. If Faragonda or Wizkiz come across us, we're dead."

"Or Avalon," Mirta pointed out.

Flora felt a shiver go down her back at that statement. She didn't know why Avalon still frightened her so much, or why she was so mistrustful of him. She bowed her head.

"All right," Chatta whispered, drawing to a halt. "I'll wait out here for you guys. If anyone comes by, I'll send you a signal!"

"Thanks, Chatta," Flora whispered to her pixie. "You've been a big help." She turned around to Mirta and took her hand. "Come on," she said.

The two made it to the secret corridor leading to the library, the one Bloom had discovered in the first week of sophomore year. They peered through the door, staring.

"Barbatea won't be around," Flora whispered. "She doesn't sleep near the library. She'll be in her room, like the other staff members." Each word sounded like a sharp noise in the air, and she winced at her own power.

"Look." Mirta had pointed to the Golden Gate, which stood sharply at them. "Maybe we should concentrate our energy to open it."

"Okay." Flora nodded. "I'll use my Charmix."

The girls transformed and flew towards the lock, frowning. Flora remembered Palladium's lock-opening incantation from Spellbound 101, and she focused her energy.

"Reserare!" she shouted, closing her eyes.

But the spell backfired. As soon as it hit the lock, it turned into an electric bolt, and zoomed back at them. Flora and Mirta both screamed, falling back.

Flora winced and stood up. A dust-cloud had settled over their heads, and she coughed madly. The cloud cleared to reveal Mirta lying motionless on the floor.

"Mirta!" she shouted, running to her. The girl was back in her civilian outfit, breathing but not altogether stable. "Are you all right?"

"She's fine," a voice behind her said. "I wouldn't say the same about you."

Flora gasped in alarm, turning around. A man was striding towards them, wearing white flannel nightclothes. Avalon… She drew back in fear as soon as he knelt down, shaking his head sadly.

"Library duty," he responded in answer to her expression. "My pager notified me as soon as you cast that spell." He nodded to the item around his neck. "You're not the first to try that, let me tell you that."

"Oh." Suddenly Flora felt foolish, and she stared at the ground.

"I know you are all worried about Valtor," Avalon continued, "but this is not the right way to go around it. You cannot sneak around at the night and try to look for answers. We're keeping this from you for your own safety."

Really? thought Flora. Is it really safe for us to not know how to defend ourselves? She stared at Avalon.

"But we need to know," she said desperately. "It's not just curiosity about Valtor, Professor! We think Cloud Tower's under attack."

"Is it?" asked Avalon, though his gaze reflected the slightest hint of alarm. Flora caught it and stared at him.

"So? You know about it! You know something's up!" She stared at him. "So why won't you just tell us?"

"Headmistress's orders," he answered curtly. "Now, I'm going to escort you both back to bed." He moved forward to pick up Mirta, but Flora stopped him.

"Look, Professor, all we want to do is defend our school," she said weakly. "We weren't trying to be a pain in the school system, but we need to know what's going on. Please, don't make us go back."

"I already told you," Avalon answered. "These aren't my rules."

"But don't you remember being trapped in Shadowhaunt?" Flora pressed on. "I don't mean to hurt you by bringing up those memories, Professor, but didn't you feel helpless? As if you couldn't do anything? Well, that's how Mirta and I feel right now. We need to do this, Professor. We need to save Alfea!"

Something in Avalon's gaze shifted. He stared at her, and she held his gaze firm. Green eyes met brown. He stared, and then finally nodded.

"Alright, I will tell you," he said. "I'll tell you, because I believe you are more mature than the other girls. But I don't want you telling anyone else. Not even Mirta."

"Okay," Flora nodded.

"Cloud Tower has been silent for over a week," Avalon said. "Headmistress Faragonda has tried contacting Headmistress Griffin, to no avail. We cannot say for sure whether it was Valtor, as he has left us no signs."

"But don't you think it was him?" Flora cried.

"Like I said, we cannot say for sure," said Avalon grimly. "That is the reason why she hasn't alerted the students – she doesn't want to cause a mass panic. But I will warn you that he is after us, and he's going to come to Alfea next. Not just because of our treasures, but because of someone far greater, someone he knows will be the end of him. Bloom."

"Bloom?" Flora gasped. The panic they'd all faced at the end of last year, after her disappearance, was still fresh in her mind. "I-is he going to capture her, like Darkar?"

"Certainly not." Avalon shook his head. "He doesn't want her even around. He wouldn't be able to stand seeing someone else who has his power."

"But" – Suddenly, it became clear to her. "Valtor! He's got the Dragon Fire!" She paced around. "No wonder Bloom said she sensed him!"

"Exactly." Avalon nodded. "But there is more to it than that, Flora. All fairies power-sources are at the essence of their spirits, the essence of their survival. And whatever puts Bloom's power out will put Valtor's out, too."

"You're saying"… Flora breathed.

"I'm saying," answered Avalon, "that whatever kills Valtor will kill Bloom as well. Their fates are inevitably tied. And in order for Valtor to be defeated, they may both have to die – together."