Hi beautiful readers! Are you excited for another update? I am!

This chapter is dedicated to SunshinewithHurricane, Elieza Mae Forever Winx, ImhereforMR and AngelCutie ChildAtHeart for their amazing support of this story! Your positivity and enthusiasm help me with my writer's block.

Enjoy this chapter!


"How is she?" the cloaked figure asked as he stood straight.

It had been a week since Musa's night terror, and it was the first time Tecna had left her friend's side. She stood in the secret meeting room in the post office to debrief with the rebellion man. To this day she still had no knowledge of his name, but she did eventually discover that he was high up in the rebellion chain. Sadly, though, he was not the rebellion leader everyone had been searching for.

When Musa finally pushed her friend to leave her side for some much-needed relaxation, Tecna decided to pay the much-awaited visit to the rebellion hide out. As promised, the cloaked man appeared at her side within minutes of her arrival. Tecna had just finished updating the man on Musa's status since the attack but she was silent for a moment, unsure of how to respond to his question.

"She is as well as can be expected," Tecna eventually replied with. "Her Highness is finally getting the rest she needs to recover."

"Has she had any further second thoughts about the plan?"

"No," Tecna immediately answered. "She is still fully committed to saving her people."

"Good," the cloaked man answered with a nod. "For this plan to succeed, we do need her. Zenith have been updated with the princess and the king's whereabouts and the princess' involvement in the rebellion. That is what swayed their agreement to join us. Without her, we will lose them."

"And without Zenith, we would lose Erakleon and the others," Tecna finished sadly.

"Yes."

"Any word on Solaria and Linphea?"

"Princess Stella is doing all she can, as I am sure you are aware from her letters," the rebel began. "Zenith and Erakleon's involvement have gained the king's interest but he is still hesitant."

"Why?"

"I am sure the king finds the idea of sending her only heir into battle, a battle that he feels they have no current business in, repulsive."

"We have never asked for Stella to join the rebellion. She volunteered for her friend."

"I do not disagree with you. I am merely stating a fact. The princess has voiced her interest to do more for the rebellion as well."

Tecna nodded her head. "She said in her recent letter that she and the others want to come back to Musa's side. They are aware of the attack and want to protect her."

"The princess does need further protection," the rebel agreed. "However, it is too dangerous. Too many known supporters of the princess in Melody will appear suspicious. We cannot risk the progress we have made, what the princess has had to sacrifice to get here."

"A sacrifice my princess was prepared to make. As her friend, though, I see that sleep and one friend is not enough to support her in a realm filled with enemies. She needs friends. She needs people she can trust."

"She can trust her knights."

Tecna scoffed. "They are Valkarians! They monitor her because the king and prince say so."

"Do you not trust the prince?"

Tecna raised an eyebrow at the question. "Would you? He is the heir to the Valkarian throne. He only protects her because he is starting to fall for the princess' ploy. Those knights only follow orders. I agree that they are better than Sir Jet."

"A dung beetle would be better than Sir Jet."

Tecna stopped her rant to smirk at the rebel's remark. Although the rebel was, again, stating a fact, particularly when said in such a monotone and serious demeanour, but a part of her wanted to believe he did attempt a joke.

"Agreed, but they cannot earn our trust," Tecna finished. "Princess Musa needs more support, more than what I or the rebellion can give her. She needs to be surrounded by more allies."

"Then how do you propose we do that? I have rebels carefully placed, as much as I can, in Melody. Anymore and we risk exposure. The king needs to believe that the rebellion is dead."

"You have spies, do you not?" Tecna asked.

"Of course."

"How good are they at planting misinformation?"

"I see where your mind is wandering to, Miss Tecna, and I do not like it. We cannot expose the rebellion!"

"Is that why you refuse to tell the princess or I the whereabouts of your men?!"

The rebel was silent for a few moments at Tecna's outburst.

"The less the princess knows, the better," the rebel eventually replied.

"What? In case she gets caught. You think that her plan will fail, and she will sing like a canary when caught?"

"No. The rebellion fears what they would do to her if they knew she knows more than what she lets on. Knowledge is power, Miss Tecna. The more you have, the powerful you are; however, it also increases the target on your back."

Tecna stared angrily at the rebel, wanting desperately to see his whole face under the cloak.

"Do not doubt our loyalty to Princess Musa and King Ho-Boe, Miss Tecna," the rebel continued. "The princess' welfare is our primary concern."

"Then have your spies feed fake information that a small protest started in another realm. The Winx will say that they defeated them. That will be the reason for their visit. They will gain the king's favour. No one will suspect it."

"It is dangerous."

"Life is dangerous. Every day that our plan goes undiscovered is a miracle. Question is, will you take advantage of it?"


True to the prince's word, every evening for the last week, Musa had been given a sleeping potion by either Sir Hammon or Sir Caelum. At first, Musa and Tecna tested it to make sure that it was not poisoned. When they were satisfied, Musa drank it and was shocked to suddenly wake up the next morning to Tecna opening her curtains. The servant had managed to make a make-shift bed on the foot of Musa's bed in case she had further nightmares.

Musa had not had a nightmare since that night with the prince. She felt less paranoid and more well-rested. Of course, it took a few days for the dark circles under her eyes to disappear and some colour return to her skin, but it was working. Musa had been thinking of what the prince had told her for days. How did he know all that she was going through? Had he experienced it himself? Had he helped his troops who may have suffered the same? Who knows, but Musa and Tecna were happy to see progress being made.

Every day since that night, Musa continued going to the library with the prince. However, the man had not uttered a single word to her. He had not asked after her, he had not responded when she thanked him for the potion, nothing. Had she done something wrong? Had she ruined the plan? A large part of Musa felt embarrassed for the state that the prince found her in. He probably only saw her as a problem that needed to be fixed now.

Musa sat down at her favourite desk by the doors with a sigh. It was official, she and Tecna had read all the Valkarian history books in the library. Musa could have sworn that there was still more to explore but Tecna assured her that with her photographic memory, all of the books available had been read. It was unheard of. Musa had access to a massive library, over two floors stacked to the brim with books. There had to be more available. Suddenly, a book was dropped in front of her face. The slamming of pages against the hard wood desk echoed, causing Musa to jump in fright as she fanned away the dust cloud in front of her. Musa eventually looked up to find Prince Riven standing on the opposite side of the desk, his hands behind his back.

"Sire?" Musa said confused once she calmed her racing heart.

The prince simply shifted his eyes down to the book and back to her eyes in response. Musa looked down and saw a large very old book in front of her. On the front was a large gold and black circle with two large eagle-like wings inside with the tips pointing downwards to form a diamond – the Valkaris seal.

"What is it?" Musa asked, her hand gently wiping the excess dust off the book. "I do not think I have seen this book before."

"You have not," the prince replied firmly. "This book is kept on the third floor of the library."

"Third floor?" Musa gasped. "There is a third floor?"

The prince raised one of his eyebrows in response. "Yes."

Musa felt embarrassed again. "I was unaware."

"Very few people venture to the third floor as it is filled with dusty old books."

"You brought one of them down for me?" Musa questioned.

The prince was silent for a few moments. "You clearly have read all of the books on the first two floors. I do not like wasting my time. My father has given you permission to the library, that includes the third floor. I will show you the stairwell before we leave."

"Thank you."

The prince did not respond and instead turned and went back to his position of staring out at the window to the training grounds. Musa was a little pleased that the prince finally spoke to her again, but his behaviour was back to cold and distant. A step backwards from where they were a week ago. Musa had to make up for lost time again.

"I am sorry," Musa said, breaking the silence in the library.

The prince did not respond so she took a small breath, building her courage, and stood up from her seat.

"I am sorry for last week," Musa repeated, slowly walking to the prince.

The prince did not acknowledge her presence and continued to stare through the large window with his back to her.

"It is not necessary," the prince eventually replied coolly.

"Clearly it is, Sire," Musa retorted, bringing back her Valkarian persona. "Valkarians do not need help and yet I broke that last week."

"It cannot be helped. Valkarians also do not apologise."

"It is necessary," Musa answered.

"How very Melodian of you," the prince said coldly.

Musa was taken aback by the retort. If anyone else had said that remark, Musa would immediately see it as an insult, throwing the difference in her face. The prince, however, merely stated it as a fact, no insult detected.

"Yes. All these studies and all these books cannot change the need for apologies when one is required. You may punish me for it, Sire, but I must apologise for being indecent in front of you and requiring your assistance."

The prince whipped around so that he was staring back at Musa.

"All of your study is pointless," the prince suddenly growled. "I do not need your sorry and I do not need reminding of your attempts to change your blood!"

Musa took a step back in shock at the prince's sudden mood change. For some reason, she was not scared of him. If another male had yelled at her like he did, she would have had a flash back of Sir Jet, and yet it merely lit a fire in her.

"That was not my intention!" Musa fired back. "I was stating a fact! A habit that Valkarians all seem to enjoy doing."

"Oh, then you must be taking something in from your lessons," the prince scoffed with sarcasm.

Musa suddenly saw a small shine of purple flash across the prince's eyes before being seen on the crystal that sat at the hilt of the sword on his hip. Musa subtly looked up and could not see a bright enough light above them to reflect that light on the crystal. Musa ignored that for a moment and focused on the prince's words instead.

"Yes, I am! I am trying very hard. I am sorry that my efforts are not enough for you, but they seem to be fine for His Highness. I am sorry that I keep requiring your help, and I am sorry that library duty is not as exciting as training."

"Stop apologising!" the prince yelled in annoyance. "I am sick of hearing it."

"What can I do?" Musa yelled back in frustration. "I am studying to be a Valkarian, I am following all the rules, I thought we were at least amicable with each other, but clearly I have done something to offend you. What more can I do?"

"Do nothing!" the prince yelled, shutting Musa up. "Do nothing. Say nothing. I do not want your apologies, nor do I need them. In fact, we should not even be talking."

"What?" Musa said softly in shock.

"I am not supposed to be talking to you," the prince said darkly.

"Then why do you?" Musa asked, her anger suddenly disappearing.

The prince said nothing and decided to end the conversation by turning his back to Musa to look back out the window. Musa was silent as she mulled over his words. Musa was not aware that the prince was not supposed to talk to her. Why would he? Musa thought about all their interactions until she pinpointed the moment that the prince became more vocal.

"It was that dinner, wasn't it?" Musa asked softly. The prince did not respond. "The night I wore that dress, the black velvet one."

"Don't," the prince said firmly.

Musa knew that he was an order. She knew that she should be smart and not continue further but she needed to recover the ground she had lost between herself and the prince. The rebellion needed the intel that he had. She could not go backwards. It was a huge risk but so was the dress and that time she had been right.

"That is when you started talking to me," Musa continued, remaining still behind Prince Riven's back.

"Go back to your studies," the prince growled, but made no effort to move.

"You know the meaning behind the dress that I wore that night, why the king reacted the way he did."

"I order you to go back to your seat!"

A huge part of Musa wanted to end this before she ruined everything she had built, and obey the prince, but she needed to get through his tough exterior if she had any hope winning the war.

"You started talking to me because you knew that I was wearing your mother's dress. You saw that I was taking my studies seriously. You started seeing me as a Valkarian!"

The prince suddenly turned around again and stormed up so that he was inches away from Musa's face. His eyes were almost shining in colour, and Musa thought she saw the crystal sparkle for a second again.

"I will force you to your seat!" The prince yelled in Musa's face.

Again, in other circumstances, Musa would have been cowering and obeying his every command. Her old self would be scared at his response, seeing the Valkarian warrior prince within him, but it only made her stronger. She was not afraid of Prince Riven. A Valkarian never backed down from a challenge. She had to stand up to him if she wanted to show him that she was a Valkarian and that she was 'worthy' of seeing past his walls. She needed him for the rebellion and that was all that mattered.

"No, you will not," Musa said softly. There was no judgement or challenge in her voice, only a gentle fact. "What happened to your mother?"

"You do not get to speak about her," the prince said lowly. "A dress means nothing."

"From what I have read, she was the greatest Valkarian queen to rule," Musa whispered. "What happened to her?"

"You know nothing."

"What happened to her, Sire?"

"Murdered. When I was a child."

At the confession, Musa was a little shocked. She had heard rumours for years that the queen was murdered but she never had someone confirm it. The courtiers used to hiss that it was done by rebels, but Musa always thought it was to hurt her and was nothing more than idle gossip. A part of her felt sympathetic to the prince, having experienced the same thing herself but his family destroyed hers. The only sympathy she would have for the prince is only for show, to gain his trust.

"You must have loved her very much to react the way you did just now," Musa said sadly. "A mother's love is indescribable."

"Again, you know nothing," the prince growled again.

"Maybe," Musa said softly, her hands slowly and carefully encasing around the prince's. "But I know what it is like to lose a mother."

It was like the prince snapped like a rubber band at Musa's statement. Had she crossed a line too much? The prince's body immediately tensed up and he pulled his hands out of Musa's hold. Without looking at her, he started heading straight for the library exit.

"We are done talking," the prince growled. "Sir Hammon will escort you back to your quarters."

Then he was gone, and Musa was left alone in the library.


"What were you thinking?" Tecna said as the pair were in Musa's bathroom with the water running.

"I had to make progress, Tecna," Musa defended. "The prince had not spoken to me in a week! I had to get him talking."

"Well I hope it was worth it," Tecna replied sarcastically. "Because now it might be the last time he speaks."

"It was a risk I had to take, Tecna."

"Just because your risk on the dress worked does not mean that they always will."

"Tecna, I had to show him common ground between us. It was like he was offended at the apologies and my effort to be Valkarian."

"You are Melodian, of course he would be offended," Tecna said with an eye roll.

"The prince is different, Tecna, you know that."

"I know that he has a small soft spot for you because you grew up together. You are the annoying cousin he wished he did not have living under his roof. One who comes from a horrible lower-class family with no manners, at that. How else did you expect him to react after he blurts out that his mother was murdered?"

"Maybe kinship? I wanted to show him that he was not alone for someone else experienced the same thing as him."

"His father murdered your mother, Musa. To Valkarians, they see that as a loss in war, nothing more."

"To him, his mother was murdered by rebels, that is a loss in war too."

"Sounds like he loved his mother more than his father. Of course, he would be defensive of someone else speaking about of his mother for the first time in years. Now he will never talk to you again. We have lost our edge."

"I am sorry, Tecna. I had to try to recover ground with him. All may not be lost."

"You better hope not," Tecna said sadly. "What is this book he gave you anyway?"

Musa quickly stepped out of the bathroom, gathered the large book she brought back, and went back into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Apparently there is a third floor in the library that gets rarely visited by people. This is one of the books. Before I angered him, the prince seemed supportive of my studies. He gave me his family tree."

"Why in the world would he give that to you?"

Musa shrugged. "Supportive of my studies before I ruined everything, I guess."

"Did you find anything useful? Hopefully, some information on the queen? It is like she was erased from the history books after she was murdered."

"Must be too painful to have reminders of her."

"Reminders are all that is left of those we love once the pain leaves," Tecna said sadly.

"There were interesting things," Musa began. "Apparently the prince's mother had some noble blood in her."

"She was Valkarian, of course she would have been from noble birth."

"Then she had some really good blood," Musa joked.

Musa opened to a page that centred around the queen. There were birth dates and death dates, blurbs on her first appearances in the court with the king, a brief blurb on their wedding, all of it. But there was nothing on her direct family tree.

"Look at this sentence, it claims that she was the perfect match for the king and her family brought a lot of resources to the realm," Musa explained. "The family must have had a lot of money."

"Yes, but what I find interesting is this last sentence," Tecna said, pointing to a small sentence at the very bottom of the page.

Valkarians are known to be skilled warriors with the House of Bellum the most revered of all noble houses.

"House of Bellum, that is the royal family's house, correct?" Musa asked.

"Yes. They have ruled for centuries," Tecna answered.

However, the marriage between Queen Miranda and King Kataar brought a new age to the House of Bellum for their descendants would be blessed with magic.

"Magic!?" Musa gasped. "Why would the family have magic? Valkarians are a warrior race, they do not possess magic. That is why they need Darcy on their side."

Tecna was just as shocked as Musa. "I do not know. They are not a magical race."

"Is that why they invaded Melody? To steal our magic?"

"No magic to steal now, Musa. How could they anyway? One would need spells and totems to do that and there is nothing large enough to steal our magic. Besides, magic would have to be passed down via blood for descendants to have magic."

"Are you saying that Queen Miranda may not have been Valkarian?"

"I have no idea," Tecna said in shock. "But I know someone who does."


It took a lot of convincing from Tecna, but Musa finally relented to let Tecna go back to the post office by herself. Musa was convinced that she would be able to convince her knights to take her outside the palace but Tecna knew better. It took months of work to get the king to allow her freedom outside of her quarters. She would be dead before they left the palace gates if she managed to get the guards to agree.

Tecna gave her friend a hug, pulled on her cloak, and left the quarters, heading straight for the city. Musa watched from her main window as Tecna's cloaked form left the palace grounds. After a few minutes of walking, trying to look nonchalant to the knights in the city, she finally arrived at the post office.

When she walked inside, she was met with the same man behind the counter as normal. He smiled warmly at her and quickly looked around the shop before he spoke to her.

"Back so soon, Miss Tecna?" Mr Yost asked with a smile. "Another letter, perhaps?"

"Something more urgent," Tecna answered.

Mr Yost's face grew serious. Tecna had visit the rebel stronghold just that morning so for her to return that afternoon made him worried.

"Let the music play?" Mr Yost said worriedly.

"And the musicians sing," Tecna immediately replied.

Mr Yost nodded his head and went over to the secret mechanism. A hidden doorway appeared that head down a dark flight of stone stairs.

"Be safe," Mr Yost whispered afterwards.

Tecna nodded her head and quickly headed down the flight of stairs. She should be careful as there were very few fire torches that lit her way but her and Musa needed to know answers. Surely, they were misinterpreting the family tree. Valkarians never married outside of their own kin, particularly the king. Soon Tecna found herself in the rebel hideout with two torches already lit. Tecna had no time to wait so she started calling out for someone.

"I am here, Miss Tecna," the rebel said, appearing from the darkness.

Tecna jumped at the man's sudden appearance.

"You know that I will always know when you are coming to see me," the rebel continued. "So why the urgency of your calls?"

"I could not wait, neither can Princess Musa," Tecna replied out of breath from taking the stairs so fast.

"Is the princess hurt?" the rebel asked worriedly.

"No, but we found an old Valkarian family tree, one relating to the House of Bellum."

"How did you find it? Most of those old texts were destroyed by the king."

"The prince gave it to Princess Musa today. Apparently, there was one left in the old part of the library."

"Seems very sloppy of King Kataar," the rebel commented. "Why come see me then?"

"There was something in the book that we are struggling to comprehend."

"Why do you think that I would have the answers to your questions."

"Because you and the rebellion seem to hold more answers than you are letting on," Tecna said angrily. "I have let it go a few times as we need you as much as you need us but today, I am not in the mood for games."

The rebel was silent at Tecna's accusation.

"Do you deny it?" Tecna said.

"I do not," the rebel eventually answered. "However, there are certain things I am ordered not to divulge."

"By who?"

"By the rebel leader."

"On behalf of her highness, Princess Musa of Melody, you are ordered to answer my questions truthfully."

The rebel was silent again for a few moments. "What do you want to know?"

"The book said that the descendants of Queen Miranda and King Kataar could have magic. Is that true?"

"…..It could be…." The rebel answered carefully. "There is a chance, but nothing is certain."

"Why?" Tecna demanded. "Valkarians are not blessed with magical powers so how could there be a chance that their descendants would?"

"…I think you and I both know the answer to that….."

"I am not in the mood for games!" Tecna yelled angrily. "Answer my question. If Valkarians have no magic, then why would King Kataar's descendants have it?"

"…"

"Sir!" Tecna yelled. "I need to hear you say it!"

"….Because Queen Miranda was not Valkarian."

Tecna knew it! There was a part of her and Musa that both knew the answer, they just needed someone to confirm it. Still, it was quite a shock. It was a huge revelation.

"What was she then?" Tecna demanded.

"Knowing the truth will not gain you anything," the rebel answered.

"It will!" Tecna said. "It will help us to understand…"

"Understand why the Valkarians invaded?" The rebel interrupted with a scoff. "Even the leader does not know why they invaded. No one but the king knows why, and we will never get the answer to that question."

"Is her blood the reason why the history books are missing all reference to her?"

"I cannot answer that for the rebellion does not know. What we do know is that King Kataar once had a heart and it was only for Queen Miranda."

"Princess Musa heard that the queen was murdered, is that true?"

"Yes."

"Was she really a good ruler?"

"….Yes…."

"Then why destroy her memory?"

"Valkarians are an interesting race. They are proudful, stubborn, and brave. They love but not as other species do. They once were skilled in other aspects outside of battle and war. They also had the ability to learn."

"I do not understand."

"Queen Miranda was a high ranking noble on her home world and was a valued member of the princess' court. She met the then Prince Kataar when she and the princess attended a ball with other realm dignitaries. You see, Valkarians never invaded anyone before Queen Miranda's reign. They had their own planet which I am sure you are aware of. Your studies said they had peace for years. Sure, they were highly regarded as fierce warriors but never seen as brutes or invaders. After the death of their queen, resources disappeared, and the king was broken. Rumours spread that Melodian rebels were the ones who killed Queen Miranda and in his broken state, the king believed them. He had never loved anyone the way he loved Queen Miranda. She taught him to love the way others do."

"Is it true about the rebels?"

"No. Melody had no rebels, no need to back then."

"Who started the rumour then?"

"We do not know."

"Why would the Valkarians believe that Melodian rebels killed their queen?"

"Rumours say it was because she was a traitor."

"What? A traitor? But…..I don't….."

The rebel was silent at Tecna's response. Tecna was so confused at what she was hearing. First Prince Riven's mother was not Valkarian, now the Queen was murdered for treachery? None of it made sense.

"You know the answer, Miss Tecna," the rebel said after a few moments.

"No….no I do not believe it."

"Yes."

"No! This brings up more questions than answers!"

"I told you that you will not gain anything from knowing the truth."

"No, you are wrong!"

"I am not wrong. The rebellion is not wrong. You wanted the truth and there it is."

"No!"

"You must say it out loud, Miss Tecna, for the truth is there. The rebellion believe that the history books died, not because the king could not handle reminders of the love of his life, but because others did not want information to get out of the Queen's heritage and cause more rebels to unite."

"I cannot say it."

"Then I will. You were so hellbent on hearing the truth, despite my warnings, so I will not hold back."

"I cannot tell the princess this."

"You must, Miss Tecna," the rebel said. "Queen Miranda was Melodian."


Please do not be mad for the cliff hangar! I promise the next chapter is not far away.

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Until next time!

~AngelAlexandra