A/N: Okay loves, things are starting to go off-canon now! I hope you all enjoy the next installment of Sweet Seduction! Make sure to send me your love on the way out! XOXOX!
Chapter 7
If anyone had asked Bloom a week ago what her weekend plans were, she would have said something along the lines of 'curled up on the couch watching old movies with my mom'. Never in her wildest dreams would she have seen herself playing janitor with her suitemates while the rest of the Alfea College for Fairies went on trips around a place called the Magical Dimension.
She wasn't really a janitor, that was just the additional punishment Headmistress Faragonda decided to tack onto the original one - the one she and the rest of the girls got for breaking at least a dozen rules the night of the Back to School dance. They all thought the fact that they were being reprimanded for saving the school was ridiculous, but no one dared speak out against the Headmistress when she siphoned off their powers and confined them to the campus grounds for the weekend. It was supposed to keep them off the witches' radar, but all it really felt like was that they were sitting ducks.
However, for Bloom, it came somewhat as a reprieve. If she didn't have her powers, she didn't have to think about what they meant or why they were so dark. None of the other girls brought it up, that little detail conveniently forgotten. They had seen her face first hand after she'd stepped away from the mirror, all of the confusion and the anguish. Her powers were supposed to explain all her problems, not add more questions and doubts to the pile. Perhaps in their silence they were just being kind.
"Damn, house arrest sucks," Musa complained as she shoved her mop into the bucket of soapy water. "I haven't worked out this hard since my tour ended six months ago."
"We should consider ourselves lucky that our punishment was not more severe," Tecna countered, moving her own mop listlessly around the floor. "We performed an unsupervised convergence and antagonized three hostile witches. Usually such acts result in suspension for the rest of the semester."
"I don't know Tec, this is a pretty cruel and unusual punishment," Stella disagreed, her nose crinkling in disgust as dirty mop water droplets splashed across her open toed wedges.
"Maybe for the few of us that are used to having our asses wiped with gold plated toilet paper and have never had to do manual labor before," Musa jabbed, earning snickers from the other girls and a glare from Stella.
"If I had my powers right now, I would so curse you!" Stella whined.
"Yeah, well tough luck princess. We're grounded until the Headmistress says otherwise so we better start liking each other."
"Maybe not too much..." Bloom teased as she cast a glance between Musa and Tecna.
"Ha ha very funny," Musa replied, though the slight smile pulling at her lips contraindicated her annoyed tone.
They all went back to scrubbing the floors in companionable silence. At some point, Musa had put on some tunes, but her taste was a far cry from what Bloom usually liked, so she just chose to drown it out. None of them knew how long it would take them to finish this one hall, nonetheless the cafeteria and all the connecting halls. Wasn't this what magic was for - to complete menial labor tasks like this without having to lift a finger? Was the Headmistress purposely just being cruel? The answer was probably yes, but the girls just put their nose back to the grind, not wanting to further the old woman.
"You've been unusually quiet Flora," Musa commented. "Everything okay?"
She was right. Flora hadn't said a word since they'd started their chores and had barely even cracked a smile at the jabs just made at Stella. Bloom was slightly worried she was still fucked up from the other night, but the other girl hadn't said anything about it so Bloom was content to live in denial.
"Oh, everything is fine," Flora assured, her voice just as calm and sweet as usual. "I've just been thinking about how to get this job done faster."
"Care to share with the group?"
Flora nodded and handed her mop over to Musa. She then placed two fingers into her mouth and whistled. A few seconds passed and a barrage of plants came walking down the stairs...like real people. All of Flora's experiments surrounded them, and all the nature fairy had to do was take the mop back and hand it to the closest plant for them all to take the hint. Soon, the small botanical armada was hard at work scrubbing the floors.
"Flo that was awesome!" Bloom exclaimed, still unable to believe her eyes. She didn't see things like that in Gardenia, and her mother owned a flower shop for crying out loud!
"Thanks!" Flora beamed, absorbing the praise and blushing. "I wasn't sure if the spell had worn off yet or not, but I think it should hold for at least the next few hours."
"Well, I say we order pizza and celebrate getting off early," Musa suggested much to everyone's delight.
"So long as we get a low-carb one for me," Stella insisted, and Musa rolled her eyes.
The girls all headed towards the staircase, careful to give way to the plants who were quick to clean up their footsteps. Bloom, however, still held onto her mop, uneasy with just letting things go. She looked down into the shadowed halls, looking for any traces of movement.
"Yo Bloom, you coming with us?" Musa called, already half way up the staircase.
"Yeah, just give me a second. I'm going to make sure no one's around so we don't get caught."
"You're the best," Stella singsonged. "We'll save you a slice."
Bloom smiled and waved to her friends, watching them disappear into the upstairs, leaving her alone with the plants. She passed her mop over to one of the green workers and stepped lightly into the adjacent hall. The school was supposed to be empty of most staff and students; no one was expected back for hours. Still, she had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. She'd had it for a while now, and if she could only locate where it was coming from...
"Oh look, if it isn't the little Earth girl."
Bloom spun around, her heart rate kicking up when she recognized the ice witch and her two followers. They were standing under an archway, watching her amusedly.
"What are you three doing here?" Bloom demanded, body itching for a fight. She wasn't able to transform, but she would defend herself and her friends either way.
"To get the ring. Now if you'll excuse us, we're on a very tight schedule," the brown-haired witch said curtly, purple magic flying from her palm that sent Bloom falling to the ground.
Bloom scrambled up, ready to fight, but then she remembered that her magic was currently being held by the Headmistress who was somewhere unknown. Bloom had no means to defend herself but tried her best to put up a tough front, both fists in front of her face as if prepping for a physical brawl. She'd never been in one of those either, though there was a first time for everything she supposed.
"Sister, I don't think she can transform," the poofy haired witch said conspiratorially. Bloom didn't like the way their eyes narrowed in dark delight.
"Well, isn't that convenient," the ice witch simpered, her smile crooked as she extended her hand. "Ice prison!"
A flurry of snow came towards Bloom at lightning speed. Then her whole world turned cold and dark.
"Bloom!"
The voice echoed through her ears, the first thing she could hear as she regained consciousness. Somehow she had gotten out of the ice and ended up on the floor, lying face up so all she could see was the ceiling and a cluster of concerned faces.
"Th-the witches..." Bloom chattered, her entire body shaking from the cold.
"Are gone," Flora replied solemnly, helping Headmistress Faragonda pull Bloom to a sitting position and wrap a blanket around her shoulders.
"They took my ring!" Stella complained.
"It appears as though I had made a mistake in underestimating their gaul," the Headmistress lamented, a frown pursed on her thin lips.
"We h-have t-to get it back..." Bloom said, trying her best to get up but her muscles complaining sharply in reply. It hurt to much to use them, to strain them, so she fell down on her ass.
"Take it easy girl," Musa insisted.
"You were trapped inside the ice for precisely one point six seven hours. By my calculations you will not be capable of full mobile function for at least another forty-eight hours given you receive proper medical care," Tecna rattled off, though through her monotonous drone there was something akin to sympathy.
"Precautions have already been taken and Headmistress Griffin has been made aware of her students' actions," the Headmistress assured. "The situation will be resolved in the morning. For the time being, you girls get some rest. You have class tomorrow after all."
"Does that mean we can get our powers back?" Flora asked meekly, her head ducked to avoid any rebuke sent her way. However, before the Headmistress could open her mouth, Musa was there to defend her friend.
"Flo's right," the music fairy agreed, arms crossed over her chest defiantly as she stared Headmistress Faragonda down. "We've more than earned them. Besides, it's not like taking them away did us any good. The witches were still able to steal the ring."
"Very well," Headmistress Faragonda conceded, clearly irked that she had been proven wrong by one of her own students.
The older woman waved her hand and five globes of pure golden light appeared, one going over and hovering above each girl and pulling them off the ground like a tractor beam. Bloom could feel the energy radiating from them, the warm sensation of power flowing through her veins. She couldn't admire them for long before the golden balls were absorbed by their rightful owners, all five girls landing back on the floor as if nothing had happened. Musa flexed her fingers, Tecna shook out her head, and Stella was seconds away from jumping for joy. This was the first time none of them would stop her if she did.
"Do not take this as a kindness," the Headmistress said sharply, eyes narrowed in on the group of celebratory girls. "Be warned, if you break the rules again, your punishment will be more severe."
"We understand, Headmistress," Tecna replied humbly.
With one last warning look, Headmistress Faragonda took off down the hall, no doubt to sort out the paperwork from this mess. That left Ophelia, the school nurse, to deal with the aftermath. She cleared the space around Bloom and did a few simple physical tests. While they hurt, Bloom could touch her toes and lift her arms above her head. Once frostbite was ruled out, Bloom was given the okay and the girls were instructed to take her back to their room. Bloom couldn't wait to get a good night's sleep; all the cold made her want to do was curl up in blankets and never wake up.
Back in their suite, Bloom flopped down on the couch while the other girls took the surrounding furniture. There were pizza boxes on the table, not even opened and left to cool. No one touched them, food seemingly forgotten - or more likely, unappetizing seeing as though it preluded an attack. Everyone seemed tense.
"What's gotten Faragonda's panties in a twist?" Stella asked, glaring at the door as if the woman was going to walk in. "I swear she was not this bitchy last year."
"Whatever, we have our magic again. It's all good," Musa waved off the odd behavior.
"All good? My ring is still in the clutches of those witches who are doing who knows what with it!" Stella whined, looking forlornly at the empty space on her right hand where her ring used to reside.
Like it or not, Stella was right for a change. Whatever the witches wanted with the ring was not good. Besides, Bloom had not suffered through as much as she had to roll over now. If she let the witches win, it was like accepting that her parents were attacked for nothing. She would have failed them, and that was an idea she could not stomach.
"Not for long," Bloom said decisively, getting everyone's attention. "We're going to get it back."
"How?" Flora asked, both curious and concerned. "You heard the Headmistress: if we break the rules again, we will be punished even worse than last time."
"Who cares about the punishment - this is about doing what's right. We can't let these witches walk all over us like we're nothing," Bloom countered, getting heated.
"So tell us what to do," Musa said, everyone else looking intently at Bloom, waiting for her instructions. In fact, they were all looking at her like that, as if she were their brave and fearless leader and they were her soldiers, ready to jump into the line of fire. All the needed was the word.
"It's simple. We break into Cloud Tower."