A/N: Hello loves! Lots going on in this one so strap in! It gets pretty dark near the end, so be warned! Make sure to leave me love on the way out; I know a lot of people enjoy this story and reviews are like rewards for authors - they motivate me to update faster ;) Hope you all enjoy! XOXOX!
Chapter 16
When Bloom finally came to, she opened her eyes to black.
In fact, it was so dark that she thought she was still unconscious. It took a few tries slowly opening and closing her eyes for her to accept that wherever the witches had sent her was a place of eternal darkness. It wasn't dark in the traditional sense. The rocky structures seemed to emit a kind of luminesces that bathed the area in a gold tinge. It wasn't light enough to make much difference, but it was enough for Bloom to gather her bearings.
She stood on shaky legs, gravel crunching underneath her heels. The stones poked into her bare foot uncomfortably, and Bloom was reminded that she had lost one of her shoes in the fray so she was forced to remove the other. It wasn't comfortable, but at least she wouldn't hobble. Nothing felt broken, though her bones felt sore from the fall and her knees stung from scrapes she feel as she bent them. No doubt she had fallen a hundred feet. The fact that she was alive was a miracle...or a curse depending on who she asked. There were probably a lot of people currently rooting for her death.
Looking around, she realized that there was something familiar about this place. She had been here before, seen this pathway. There was a city not far past these rocks, a city bathed in red light and carved into the walls of the cavern itself. She began walking, hoping that whatever civilization lied beyond would be willing to help her get to Earth.
Bloom was almost over the ridge to see if she was correct when, out of the shadows, two men appeared. If she could call them men. Their bodies were bare saved the wraps around their waists and bejeweled cuffs on their wrists, scales scattered in patches along muscled arms and legs which led to sets of hand and foot claws. Horns protruded from their heads, pointing threateningly towards Bloom as if their beady red eyes and spears were not sending enough warnings. She stayed still, holding her hands up in surrender as the two men advanced on her.
"Who are you?" one demanded, voice raspy.
"Bloom," she replied, surprisingly calmly. "My name is Bloom."
She held her breath as the other poked his spear into her side, though not hard enough to break skin. He grew close, studying her. Bloom cast her glance to the side and saw that the other man had her suitcase. It had been damaged in the fall, the edges banged and peeling. It had also been opened, if the pieces of her few clothing items pinched out the sides were anything to go off of. Clearly these men had gotten to her suitcase first and were off to find its owner. Something told her it was not because they wished to return it.
"Hey, that's mine," Bloom said, trying to reach out for her case. It had food, supplies, and valuables such as pictures of her Earth mom and dad among other things she'd need to be a fugitive like money and identification. However, it was a mistake to try and take it, her wrist snatched in a painful twist behind her back.
"We are Guards of Eros, and you will follow."
It was not a suggestion. It was an order.
These men were stronger than she was; they knew this land better than she did. If she tried to run, they would find her. If she stood her ground, they would knock her down. The beast was not with her, not fully. She could feel it regrouping, gaining strength from the atmosphere of this strange place but not yet ready to fight. She was on her own, and right now her highest chance at survival lied with doing exactly as she was told.
Bloom followed the men over the hill and saw the city sprawled out before her. As they moved inside the catacombs, Bloom saw more of the clawed creatures - succubi, her mind finally registered - milling around, staring at her curiously. It was evident they were not used to visitors, taking in Bloom's appearance with both alarm and curiosity. An entourage had formed behind her, nosy passerbys following the guards through a grand set of double doors.
No...it couldn't be...
It was the hall from the book - the same narrow walls and onyx pillars. It was a real place. Up close, she could see the intricate details carved in the stone, looping patterns decorating nearly every square inch of the space. It was gorgeous in its darkness: tall ceilings, wrought iron candelabras underneath heavy tapestries embossed with the same golden seal, gothic windows with red stained glass letting in ghostly light from who-knows-where seeing as though they were underground. Bloom was so caught up in the aesthetic that she was distracted by the main attraction.
It was the woman. The woman from the book.
She sat on her throne, a wide seat draped in red velvet so that she could sprawl how she wished. Now, she sat up straight, one leg crossed over the other while her claws were braced on either arm of the seat, nails digging into the stone that rose seamlessly from the ground. She studied Bloom with intensity, eyes so narrow that Bloom could barely make out he red of her irises. The man - her real father - stood silently behind the woman not a day older than she had seen him in her vision. He looked straight ahead, his face betraying no emotion.
The men escorting her pushed Bloom to her knees as they reached the foot of the throne.
"Bow before Her Majesty, Queen Abaddon!"
So, the creature had a name. Bloom did as she was told and remained down, bowing her head.
"What is the meaning of this?" Queen Abaddon demanded in a semi-disgusted tone. She looked at Bloom as if she were a pest to be crushed under her foot. "Why have you brought me an outsider?"
"She was found on the outskirts of the city falling from the sky," one of the men replied, his head also bowed before his queen.
"A portal then..." Queen Abaddon surmised, her lips twisting into a sneer that showed the tips of her fangs. "What a powerful witch you must be to summon one powerful enough to break our enchantments."
"I am not a witch," Bloom countered before quickly adding, "Your Majesty."
"It is true. The girl does not smell of witch," the other man confirmed.
Queen Abaddon sniffed the air herself to make sure, obviously not trusting the word of her guards. When she did, her face twisted into something akin to curiosity and confusion.
"What a fascinating scent," she mused, standing from her throne to get close to Bloom. Bloom tried to stay calm, but there was no way the Queen missed the way Bloom's pulse quickened or how her scent took on the tinge of sweat and fear. Perhaps that was why the woman smirked as she reached out one, deadly claw to hook under Bloom's chin. She pulled Bloom to her until they were practically nose to nose, those red eyes peering into the depths of her soul. "You smell of fairy but also of Earth. Two contradictions on their own and yet...something dark and eerily familiar as well..."
"I'm not a fairy, not anymore," Bloom said, trying to keep her voice level.
"Not anymore?" Queen Abaddon asked, amused.
"I gave up my power to get here."
"A foolish trade," she chided, clucking her tongue as she released Bloom's chin. "You have given up everything just to die."
Queen Abaddon snapped her fingers and the two men rushed back to Bloom's side, seizing her tightly by the arms. The crowd grew restless, eager to see what punishment the Queen would dole out this time. No doubt it would be terrible and cruel. Bloom did not want to die; she did not give up everything to die now. She wanted answers, and she would get them by any means necessary.
"LET GO OF ME!" Bloom roared, the beast returning in full force, much more comfortable with its new surroundings.
As if by instinct, Bloom lashed out. The guards didn't even stand a chance, her reflexes allowing her to rip her arms from their grips, throwing both men to the ground. They were just as agile as she was, springing back up, but they did not have her youth, her absolute need for destruction. She felt it pulsing through her veins, the desire to kill. These obsidian walls and the crowd of eager eyes spurred her violence. The Queen looked on with rapture at Bloom's force, not disgust but recognition in her eyes as Bloom tore both guards to bits. Their blood stained her skin, her hands dripping. In her rage, she had transformed into the hybrid: claws bared and eyes narrowed to red slits. Anyone would have called her a monster and looked away in horror. Instead, the Queen looked at Bloom as if she were the most beautiful sight in the universe.
"How could I have been so blind?" Queen Abaddon chided herself, all her anger ebbing to joy as she clasped her claws in front of her heart. "It is you! My sweet girl, you have found your way back to us!"
Suddenly Bloom found herself wrapped in a tight embrace, the Queen lovingly stroking her hair. It was a different reception than the one she received five minutes ago, one she was not sure how to reciprocate. But the Queen soon pulled away with a satisfied smile, eyeing Bloom up and down as if to make sure she were really there, claws and all. Satisfied, she took Bloom by the wrist and yanked her up the steps in front of the throne so they were standing beside the man from the book, beaming with pride.
"My daughter has returned to us!" Queen Abaddon exclaimed, raising her arms as the people roared and cheered. "All hail Bloom, Princess of the Succubi!"
Icy reveled in victory as she stepped over the ruins of the Alfea College for Fairies.
The battle was all she had hoped it would be: a glorious takeover that had an entire school begging on hands and knees for mercy. The looks on their little faces, so surprised, so shocked, was worth every single second of hard work and plotting. In fact, it had almost been too easy to reduce the school to rubble, the stone towers crumbling under the might of her supercharged ice. Her ice dragon roared from its perch on the cratered roof, picking off straggling survivors as they tried to flee.
She came across a fairy still half alive and struggling. The poor pixie's treble-cleft shape wings were crushed, her arm was bent at an awkward angle, and a boulder was pinning her legs to the ground. From the looks of things, she wouldn't last much longer. But Icy was a merciful ruler. She would put the girl out of her misery so she wouldn't have to suffer.
"N-no..." the girl pleaded desperately, still trying to fight despite impossible odds.
It did her no good. Icy only smirked and raised her boot, snapping the girl's neck between her heel. Her blue eyes looked blankly out into the distance. Icy moved on, unaffected.
Darcy was in the center of the Quad, making two captives fight. The pixies were already covered in bruises and cuts, blasting attacks at one another before falling down and getting back up again. The girls looked like they were ready to drop, miserable in their death match. Neither seemed willing nor wanting to fight the other, but Darcy's purple magic bent their will, filling their minds with anger and the desire to kill. Stormy looked upon the madness, cackling with glee as storm clouds gathered above, lightning bolts raining down and striking at the girls at the heels whenever they slowed their battle, causing them to jump and move faster.
Icy approached the makeshift arena. As much as she enjoyed watching pathetic pixies destroy themselves, she and her sisters had work to do.
"Enough of this," she said, her tone bored.
Darcy merely shrugged, releasing her hold on the girls. They dropped to the ground on all fours, panting and struggling for breath. It didn't matter much anyway. In the next moment, lightning came down, this time striking them directly, and the air was filled with the scent of burning flesh. Their lifeless bodies crumpled and smoked. Icy sent her sister a callous glare.
"Was that really necessary?"
"No," Stormy shrugged, admiring her handiwork. "But it was fun."
Darcy and Icy both rolled their eyes.
"What do we do now?" Darcy asked, surveying their destruction. While it was fun to destroy Alfea, it was very short lived and left the three with the urge to ravage more.
"Now, we summon the Army before anyone else gets in our way," Icy instructed. "No doubt an attack this scale attracted the attention of both Red Fountain and Cloud Tower, not to mention all of Eraklyon. They're probably gathering more forces and sending them as we speak."
"We should go before they get here," Darcy suggested. Icy nodded and summoned her ice dragon, the creature reverting back to pure energy before disappearing inside her whisperia crystal. They started moving, flying away from their devastating masterpiece.
"After we summon the Army, then what?" Stormy asked as she caught up to her sisters, impatient as ever.
"Then we get rid of the other two schools and rule over this planet like the queens we are," Icy said with conviction, her sisters grinning at the thought.
"First Magix, then the universe," Stormy sighed dreamily, more than likely envisioning a world where everything was as dark and chaotic as she was.
"What about the rest of these pixies," Darcy jerked her head back to what used to be Alfea's main entrance, the winged gates shattered and bent off the frame. "You can't possibly think we got them all. They're always coming out of the woodwork like parasites."
"What about them?" Icy replied callously, flipping her silvery white hair over her shoulder. Perhaps it was foolish to act so cockily, but she felt invincible. "Even if a few managed to survive, what power do they possibly posses that can stop us now?"