Posted July 10, 2022.
CHAPTER 42: ROXY ALONE
On the Matter of the World Tree
In Mayan mythology, the World Tree is said to represent the whole universe. The roots are the underworld, the trunk is the earth, and the branches are the heavens. They fill the skies with power.
The actual World Tree is the capital of the Mayan queendom. The queen of the aluxes lives there, and many other fairies thrive there, too. It is the seat of the Faerie Queen of Maya.
World Tree, Mexico
Flora flew with the spaceship, with Chatta at her side. They flew over Mexico, staring down below them.
The place was swarming with the fay. Fairies were guarding the jungle; she could tell that, since the jungle was a home to the fay, it was packed with Nebula's people. She sighed dramatically as Chatta let out a groan. "We have to face them?"
"I don't think there's any avoiding a fight." Flora couldn't help but feel guilty; she never wanted to fight unless she absolutely had to, especially considering the fay were being brainwashed by Nebula. It's really not their fault… She sighed as they landed on the ground. Staring up, she let out a gasp.
She had never seen such a beautiful tree. The tree was even larger than the ceiba tree they'd seen before; it rose higher than she ever could've imagined, and its roots clearly spread far and wide. The tree was so tall that she couldn't even see the top. Chatta grinned, darting out of the spacecraft. "Let's fly to the top!"
"Chatta, no!" Flora shouted, but Chatta was already flying. Groaning, she transformed into her Etherix, activating her speed wings.
The flight was impossibly long. Fairies stared at her as she zoomed up, so fast that they couldn't even make out who she was. She flew far and high, long beyond wing exhaustion. Finally, hundreds of meters later, they reached the top of the tree, near the crown. Staring around, Flora let out a gasp.
They were at the point where the tree's branches extended farther into the sky. The branches rose high, and she saw an alux nestled on the place where branches met trunk. She stared at her.
The alux wore a golden coat and gold jewelry. Her horns were adorned with a gold crown, and she looked formidable, yet kind. She sat upon a throne. And that wasn't all – a human stood by her side.
"Who are you?" Flora asked in confusion.
The woman smiled. "My name is Juanita Morales. I'm the policewoman your friends met in Mexico, actually. With their help, I arrested a few men for capturing animals. I've been helping Her Majesty in exchange for her protection from the fairies of vengeance."
"Indeed," the alux agreed. Gazing over at Flora, she smiled.
"I am the Queen of the Aluxes," she said. "I presume you met my husband, the prince. He was on the ground that day when you and the native people came to the ceiba tree. Welcome to the World Tree, my throne – also the throne of the gods."
Flora frowned. "I don't see any gods."
The alux laughed. "They are high in the heavens, unseen to any mortals. The branches kiss their abode, and they live upon the clouds. You shall not see any god, my darling, until death brings you to their home."
That's reassuring. Chatta crossed her arms. "What's up here, exactly?"
The alux queen sighed. "The seat of my queendom. I have placed a protective barrier around for all those who do not have benevolent intentions, so Nebula's forces cannot cross here. But she has all but taken my queendom."
"So you're basically just sitting here, hiding on your fancy throne, while your people suffer?" Chatta asked defiantly.
"Chatta!" Flora cried, although truth to be told, she'd been thinking the exact same thing. "Show some respect!"
"The young pixie is quite right," the queen said sadly. "I am a coward. And yet… I know not how to help."
"Join our alliance," Flora answered. "Be a part of the Rebellion. We – we need your help."
The queen stared at her. "You would have me join?"
"Yes," Flora answered firmly. "We need more fay on our side. Please, help us liberate your queendom!"
"Very well," the queen nodded. "I shall come with you."
"As will I," Juanita added. "I'm going to save my people, or die trying."
"Thank you so much," Flora said gratefully.
"No, thank you." The queen raised her horns. "My people shall suffer no longer!"
"Attention!" Musa stood at the top of the hill. Several fairies turned their heads as she glared down at them, her voice astute.
"As your Commander, I am demanding that a group of you search for Roxanne," she said. "Troops One, Four, and Five – I command you to find her!"
"Uh, Commander?" A fairy in Troop Five raised his hand. "Isn't she, um, in Gardenia? How can we find her there? There's a protective barrier around that place, and" –
Immediately, Musa flew down to the fairy, getting in his face. "How dare you talk back to me?" she snarled. "I am your Commander, and you will do as I say! If you do not, you will be severely punished! Understood?"
The fairy weakly nodded his head. Musa let go of him, storming away. She frowned, guilt coming over her as she thought of how cruelly she'd treated the errant fairy.
It doesn't matter. She had nothing to feel guilty about. Yet, when she thought of Roxy, she felt sadness rise up inside of her.
She wished she was with the fairy. She missed her jokes, her sarcasm – everything about her. But, avenging Riven's death was far more important.
Yet, she couldn't let go of the sadness that threatened to destroy her heart.
Krithi walked down the street, headed towards Klaus and Morgana's house. She frowned, sadness coming over her as she thought of their daughter's condition.
She hadn't heard anything from Roxy for some time now. Every time she'd considered visiting her, she'd backed off. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Roxy; rather, she wanted to see her more than anything.
But everything else just took up so much time. Helping the Winx, building new weapons and armor for the rebellion, attending meetings with Morgana and the Winx – that was all her day comprised of. Though longingly she stared at Roxy's house, she knew that her duty was to help fight Nebula.
And, if she was being honest, she was scared of seeing Roxy in her condition. She didn't want to see what Roxy was going through, because that only made it more real. The fact that Krithi hadn't been there to save her when she'd been attacked by Merlin's poison. It filled her with sadness, and she wished, more than anything, that she'd been there to help.
Why am I feeling this way? Why did she think this way about Roxy, caring about her so deeply? It didn't make sense to her. She swallowed, shaking her head.
Without realizing, she nearly bumped into someone. "Sorry" – she began, and then stopped. Two familiar faces appeared in front of her, looking nervous.
It was none over than Giovanni and Ana.
"Hi," Krithi said, trying to move to the side. She hadn't seen those two in a while, which had been quite good, considering she hadn't wanted to see them. School was out for the summer; anyways, no one could possibly study in this wretched time. "How are you?"
"Terrible," Ana murmured, looking tired and spent. Giovanni looked miserable, too.
Krithi stared at them, taken aback to see them without their jeering faces. "Are you okay?"
"No," Giovanni answered. "We feel horrible. The way we treated you and Roxy was absolutely terrible."
"She saved us," Ana whispered. "She saved all of Earth from the Wizard of Light. And now she's hurt. If she died" – She let out a shuddering breath.
"Why don't you apologize to her?" Krithi asked. Sympathy washed over her; after all, she'd made plenty of mistakes herself. "Why don't you tell her yourself?"
Ana laughed. "And lose our heads in the process? I don't think so." She shook her head.
"Can you talk to her?" Giovanni whispered. "Can you let her know how we feel?"
Krithi sighed. She didn't want to tell Roxy, especially when the Gardenian fairy was already upset. On the other hand, Ana and Giovanni deserved a second chance. She nodded.
"I'm headed her way now," she said. "I'll talk to her. But I make no guarantees."
"Thank you," Ana murmured. "And I'm sorry to you, too."
Krithi nodded, continuing down the road. Soon she reached Klaus's house. She walked up the steps, opening the door.
Artu greeted her nervously as she entered, looking sad. Why is he upset? She looked up as Klaus walked towards her.
"Hello, Krithi," he said, sitting on the sofa. He and Morgana looked rather shaken. "Sit down, please."
Krithi stared at them as she sat on the sofa. "What's going on?" Is this something wrong with Roxy?
"This morning, I went to her room to check on Roxy," Morgana said, "and I saw the window open. She had flown out and escaped. Aonbharr was gone from his stable as well, too."
"No," Krithi breathed, all thoughts of Ana and Giovanni escaping her mind.
"We're very worried," Klaus continued. "Roxy is not in any shape to fly, and she could potentially get hurt. I don't want anything to happen to her." A tear formed in his eye. Morgana placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We want you to go and find her," she said. "I know that's a large responsibility to place on your shoulders. I would do it myself, but my place is here, helping the rebellion" –
"I'll do it," Krithi interrupted. "Do you know where she could've gone?"
"We don't know," Klaus answered hoarsely. "We don't know."
The sky was cloudy as Roxy flew over the west coast of France, staring down at the large landmass below her. She couldn't make out any activity there, much less any conflict between humans and fairies. She gazed ahead, towards the horizon.
She had no idea where she was going. She had spent the past several hours aimlessly roaming, touching land only to sleep briefly before starting up again. Her stomach rumbled – in her haste, she hadn't realized how hungry she'd be until she'd set off.
All she knew was that she was escaping. She needed to do this – leave the herd and never come back. She needed to discover herself, she knew for sure – she couldn't stay in Gardenia anymore. That place had long been gone to her since she'd found out she was a fairy.
Small droplets of rain touched her arms, but she ignored them. All she knew was that she had to put as much distance between here and Gardenia as possible. For all she knew, the Winx could be following her in their helicopter right now. She had to play it safe. Swallowing, she stared upwards at the sky, and had a shock.
The clouds weren't just gray – they were black. A storm was coming. In fear, she realized her mistake.
We should've flown above the clouds! She'd been too worried about watching where she was geographically, through her sight of the world under the clouds, to think about the weather. She winced as rain began to fall, soaking her completely and utterly.
They had to get to the sun soon. If Aonbharr's wings got too wet, he would cease to fly. She nudged him, scanning desperately for an opening in the clouds.
A burst of lightning suddenly flashed right before her. Bright, white lightning caught Roxy's eyes, and she stared, mesmerized in its depths. Though the moment was instantaneous, it seemed to last forever. She could see something horrible within, something that made her shudder with horror.
A rainbow light was taking over the world, filling the entire horizon with menacing color. She could see the flames spreading everywhere, destroying earth and sky alike. It ate away at the world, till there was nothing left. She stared in horror as the destructive force pierced through, and she was no more –
"AAAH!" Aonbharr reared in fright at the sound of her voice. She tried to grab onto his mane, but it was too late. Before she knew it, she had fallen off.
Transform! She tried to will herself, but her wings wouldn't come. The dizziness in her head blackened everything, and her eyes snapped shut.
Musa sat on a rock, hunched over her knees. She lowered her head, thinking of Riven as she sat quietly.
She missed the Specialist so much that her heart ached. They'd had a pretty extensive history together, after all. Even though he'd been a jerk much of the time, she still loved him regardless. Her heart ached as she thought of him, and she closed her eyes.
She wanted him to be avenged. His death had been incredibly tragic and traumatic, and she needed justice for him to rest in peace. She needed it for closure.
But she was beginning to realize that none of it would bring Riven back. No matter what, she would always be alone. And she would never get her closure regardless. She sighed, looking up as Nebula came by.
"Your orders were fantastic," she announced. "The Warrior Fairies are all mobilized. We are continuing to search for the power under the poles" –
"Maybe we should take it down a notch," Musa suddenly suggested. "You know, like, we stop looking for that power so intently. It won't help us bring back our old loved ones. I – what do you think?"
Nebula was staring at her as if she were poisoned. She took a disgusted step back, then glared at her.
"You watch what you say, Commander," she snarled. "Be careful. I've made you powerful, but I can take your power back. You understand?"
Musa nodded weakly. "Yes, Your Majesty," she stammered. Nebula nodded, and spat at the ground under Musa's feet.
"See that you do," she snarled, turning away. Musa watched her leave, disappearing into the world of ice and snow.
Roxy slowly opened her eyes. Numbness pulsated through her body as she stared around, taking everything in at once.
She was lying on a moss bed. Women were running around, carrying buckets of water and placing damp balls of moss on her forehead. Her entire head still felt dizzy, and she stared down at herself. Heart quickening, she realized she was completely naked.
This should've embarrassed her, but it didn't. Wincing, she pulled herself up to a sitting position, asking, "Where am I?"
"Don't do that," a sharp voice called. Roxy stared as a woman wearing a white dress walked towards her, a sharp expression on her face. Meekly, Roxy lay back down, staring up at the woman. She spoke, her acute, dry voice filling the air.
"You fell from a great height," she said. "Though the clouds were low, still you fell a good few hundred meters. I cast a levitation spell just quickly enough to catch you, inches from the ground."
Roxy stared at her, and let out a gasp. "But – you're a human."
"I am no ordinary human," the woman answered. "I am a great sorceress. Years I have spent studying the arts of magic. I could rival your Warrior Fairies in battle."
Then why don't you? Roxy wanted to say. The woman's face came closer into view. Roxy watched as she sat next to her, a cool, fierce expression on her face.
"Tell me," she said, "Princess Roxanne Esther le Fay, why you and your steed have chosen to land on my ground."
"Wait – you know who I am?" Roxy gasped.
"Of course I do, you silly girl," she answered sharply. "The question is – do you know who I am?"
Roxy gazed up at her. There is something familiar about her… She gazed at her slowly, admiring her stature.
She wore a long white dress which shimmered with the emblems of ancient goddesses. She was clearly a warrior, from the way she walked and talked. A silver blade rested at her hip. She remembered something the Pixies had mentioned to her, and let out a gasp.
"Are you – the Lady of Sein Isle?" she asked slowly.
The woman chuckled. "Good work, child. Maybe you aren't quite as dense as I'd thought."
Roxy sat up again, despite the other women's protests. "So – are you going to help me heal?"
"That all depends on you," she answered. "Nonetheless, we will protect you and make sure you don't fall prey to the Warrior Fairies." Her eyes sparkled. "Welcome to Sein Island, Princess Roxanne."
Next chapter:
– Stella goes to Atlantis to get the Greek fay's help.
– Musa orders the Warrior Fairies to find Krithi.
– Roxy learns about the importance of synthesis and balance.
