Posted November 28, 2021.
CHAPTER 10: THE STONE OF THE SWORD
On the Matter of the City of Camelot
Camelot was the seat of King Arthur, the King of Camelot. He and his wife, Guinevere, as well as his several knights, resided there. They lived together in peace, as great heroes of the Celtic world.
The city is home to many secrets and powers. The Stone of the Sword, for example, is one of its greatest artifacts. Once the seat of Excalibur, it can only be moved by someone with great intellect.
– From the Book of Fay
Trevena Village, United Kingdom
Tecna gazed out the window, staring at the land that stretched before her. Though the grass was gray, the rolling mountains, cliffs, and ravines were just as beautiful as ever. Rivers cut through them, filling them with ancient power. She stared at the beautiful land before her, smiling.
"This is the village of Trevena," she said, "the land of King Arthur. Legend has it that this whole area used to be the great city of Camelot, the capital of King Arthur's empire. He and his knights had many adventures, adventures of nobility and heroism."
"Kinda like what we're doing now," Chatta grinned. Roxy snorted.
"Please," she said, rolling her eyes. "You guys are pathetic."
Musa frowned, irritation appearing in her eyes. "You don't need to make a comment every single time" –
"Guys, can we not with this today?" Tecna pleaded. She could see that Musa was getting more and more argumentative with Roxy, more and more so every week. True, they were all starting to get on each other's nerves, but she still felt that Musa and Roxy could control themselves much better.
She gazed ahead at the land below them. "Let's stop in the village," she decided. Turning the invisibility booster back on, she descended the helicopter from the clouds, landing it in a nearby field. The Winx climbed out of the helicopter, gazing around.
"So, what're we gonna do?" Roxy asked sarcastically. "Find more lame magic toys?"
Tecna gazed at the ravine. She could make out a rolling hill ahead of her, another crest – and then she saw it. A castle looming above them, in the early morning. She let out a gasp.
Fog had settled over the castle. From the underside, it looked like a castle in the clouds, due to how thick the mist was. She pointed, gasping, "That is the most logical place to go."
"All right," Bloom agreed. The seven women and their Pixies walked towards the castle.
Musa frowned as she gazed at Roxy, who was stubbornly avoiding her eyes. She let out a sigh, gazing down at her own feet as she walked forward.
She wished Roxy could be more understanding and accepting of their mission. It was getting harder and harder to justify Musa's desire to help her. She sighed, shaking her head.
Why is it that I care so much about her? Why was she so desperate to look after her friend?
Then again, she supposed it wasn't uncommon for people to feel protective of those whom they cared about. She frowned, remembering a few years before, during the Day of the Rose in Magix City…
There had been a parade in the city. Feeling like she needed to be by herself, Musa had rejected Bloom and Stella's offer to go downtown with them; she'd wanted to spend some time commiserating her mother. But curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she'd gone out just in-time to see Riven and the other Specialists racing down Fortuna Avenue, in the customary hoverbike race.
Musa watched eagerly as Riven, Sky, and Brandon raced with the other participants. Her fingers folded together, she watched as Riven led the pack, faster than everyone else. I do hope he wins… She cheered for him, watching as he sped down the road.
Suddenly, hands began to point up. Confused, Musa stared as she caught sight of a redheaded fairy flying over the track, wearing a sparkling blue fairy-outfit. Bloom? Why was she flying above everyone?
"Looks like we got an overenthusiastic fan flying over!" the announcer shouted. "Call security!"
Musa stared at Bloom's expression – one of concern. What's she doing? Why was she trying to fly over the track, over all the other bikers? She stared as Bloom whizzed straight past Brandon and Sky, heading to the lead. There could be no doubt as to where she was headed.
She was flying straight towards Riven.
Musa wished the crowd would just shut up and the bikes would stop making such noise. As it was, she couldn't understand a word of Bloom's yells. She was crying out to Riven, but he was ignoring her, biking down the length of the road.
Then suddenly, he lifted his head in agony. Something electric was zapping him in the head, and he was shouting, the hoverbike slowing down. It jerked once, and he flew off, hitting the road with a thud.
Musa felt her heart clench in fear and worry. Anxiety overtook her, and she began running towards Riven, pushing her way through the crowd. She wanted nothing more than to calm him, to soothe his pain and end his hurt –
A hoverbike rider with long brown hair picked him up in her arms, laying him on the ground. Musa stopped, a good distance away, as she placed her hands on his chest. She pushed energy into him, and he began to wake up. Then she pulled off her helmet, and Musa gasped.
This woman was none other than Darcy.
"Hands off, witch!" Musa stared as Bloom flew down, shoving the two of them apart. She glared at Darcy, her eyes filled with hatred and anger.
"Chill out, fairy," Darcy retorted. "I saved him."
There's no way she's helping. Fear turned to anger, and Musa glared at Darcy. Bloom continued, her voice filled with fury.
"Yeah right you did! It was you and the other witches who caused the accident!"
"You're lying," Riven snarled. "I saw you, Bloom! You flew over me and deactivated that bogus helmet you have me, so that your precious Brandon could win!"
"Hey!" Sky shouted defensively. "Why don't you hear her out first?"
"I've heard enough!" Riven threw the helmet at Bloom, whose eyes were beginning to brim with tears.
"I was tricked!" she shouted. "The Trix sent a Timmy look-alike with the helmet, so that I would give it to" –
"Timmy's not coming back from Magix until evening," Riven retorted. "Come up with a better excuse."
"I swear," Bloom protested. "You've got to believe me."
Musa knew what had happened looked suspicious. Bloom had flown over the track when she wasn't supposed to, and the helmet had only started acting up when she'd flown above him. But she knew Bloom would never hurt anyone like that. She stared in distress at Riven, wishing he would believe her.
"Of course," Sky said soothingly. "There's got to be an explanation."
"Oh, so you believe her and not me?" Riven snarled.
"That's not what I said" –
"You're all in on this, aren't you?"
"What?" Brandon had appeared. "Look man, we're just trying to" –
"Forget it!" Riven turned around. "I'm transferring to a different squad of Specialists! I'm sick of you lot!" He stormed down the road, shoving past a crowd of bewildered spectators.
"Wait, Riven!" Darcy called. "I'm coming!"
Feeling sick to her stomach, Musa watched as Riven willingly walked with Darcy, her fists clenched. How could Darcy do this? She wanted nothing more than to grab Darcy, to punch her and pull Riven away from her right that instant –
"Musa!"
Musa snapped back to the present. They were at the castle, staring around at it. Musa let out a gasp of awe.
The ruins of the castle shined before her. Made completely out of stone, they were small, exposing only a rock surface. Musa gazed in awe, taking it all in at once.
"This is so beautiful," she said. "It's so" –
"There they are!"
Musa whirled around. A group of policemen were standing before them, wielding batons and guns. Flora let out a cry of fear.
"Come on!" Musa shouted. They headed into the castle.
Tecna ran forward, dodging bullet after bullet. She stared back at her friends, who were running. Much to Roxy's chagrin, Layla had lifted her and was carrying her, so there was no chance that she'd try to escape. She ran forward, fear pounding in her heart.
We have to do something… The women ran down the ravine, gasping as they reached the edge. They stared around.
The policemen had them cornered; it was them against the sea. Digit let out a gasp. "Oh no!"
"Surrender!" the lead policeman shouted. "There's no escape!"
"I guess we're going to have to fight them," Bloom said warily. They drew their weapons, pointing them directly at the policemen. Bullets were fired, but they managed to block them with their shields. Tecna turned towards Roxy, who was struggling in Layla's arms.
"Let me go!" she shouted. Artu was barking at the policemen.
"We can't," Layla said sadly. "I'm sorry, Roxy." Bloom defended her, fighting with her sword.
Tecna gazed at the ravine. On the cliff's outcrop, there was a ledge right below her. She could make out that there was a stone there. Staring, she gasped as she saw what was before her.
The stone glowed bright orange.
Tecna crawled over the edge, analyzing it with her cyborg brain. The results came back almost instantly.
STONE OF THE SWORD, it read back to her.
Tecna gasped, remembering the story of the Sword in the Stone. She had never realized that the Stone itself had special properties. Leaning over the edge, she scooped it in her hands.
"Power of the Stone!" she yelled. Immediately, an orange aura surrounded her. Using it to her advantage, she pointed it at the policemen.
The policemen yelled as they were blasted backwards, hitting the ground. Tecna grabbed Digit in her arms.
"Let's go," she hissed. Before the policemen could recover, they'd already run past them, straight into the castle.
"I can't believe it," Roxy groused. "We're still not done here?"
They were standing at the castle. Roxy stared at the stone ruins in disgust, shaking her head. She motioned towards Artu.
"Well, this has been a fun trip," she announced, "but I'm ready to leave." She tried to head out the castle, but Bloom stopped her.
"Look," she said, pointing at the ground.
Roxy stared. Another stupid shining crack was in the ground, revealing a hole underneath. Musa stepped forward.
"My turn," she said. Using one of her arrows, she shot it directly at the hole.
The hole opened up, revealing a passageway down. Musa and Tune headed into the hole, nodding at the others.
"We'll find the next treasure," Musa said. "You guys keep Roxy safe."
I would've been safe with those policemen. Roxy opened her mouth to say as much, but Bloom shot her a warning glare. They stood together, silence reigning the castle.
Next chapter:
– Musa finds the Sword of Arthur.
– The Winx go to Tintagel Castle.
