- Edited -
"Jump."
Rhythma whimpered slightly as Icy approached her with a deadly glare in her eyes. She backed herself against the open window, mouth open in a silent plea. They couldn't make her do it.
Icy narrowed her eyes, the air around her going frosty. "Did you not hear me, wretch?" She spat. "I said jump." Her gaze was filled with malice - and Rhythma knew that her day at school had been bad, or else she wouldn't be ordering a fairy with no magic to jump out of a two-hundred story building.
The fairy turned around to look out of the window. Stormy hovered beside Darcy a little way away from the building. Both looked back at her with narrowed eyes. Both were ready to pounce. Rhythma knew that if she refused, they would drag her out by her hair.
Darcy smirked. "What's wrong, little fairy? You've fallen out before." Her voice was a taunt - and not a friendly one.
Rhythma backed away from the window, fear engulfing her when she felt Icy grab her by the back of the neck. "She's right." The ice witch sneered. "It's just a little fall." She shoved the fairy back toward the window. "Now go. Or I'll make you." There was a pause. "And by make you, I mean I'll throw you out myself."
But last time, I didn't get a beating afterward. She thought bitterly.
"If you don't jump right now, wretch," Icy warned. "I'll throw little Pipsqueak out the window instead." Her frown turned into a grin. "And we won't catch him. And you'll still be beaten."
Rhythma stepped back again, fear taking over. She couldn't do it. I can't be beaten again. I don't think I'll survive. Her body was already so weak from the last two years. She didn't know how much more she could take before she was knocked out and never woke again.
Icy smirked. "Alright then." She turned her back on Rhythma. "Knut! Bring me the blue duckling." There was a sneer in her voice as she glanced over her shoulder, a deadly twinkle in her eyes.
No! Rhythma felt tears well up in her eyes as she gave a sigh of defeat and stepped toward the window. No matter how scared she was, she couldn't let Pipsqueak suffer because of her.
She stepped off the windowsill.
The world tipped.
And she was suddenly falling.
This reminds me of something, she thought sarcastically as the ground drew closer. Darcy swooped beneath her and slammed into her gut. Rhythma gasped, which earned her a punch under her jaw, sending her a few feet upwards toward Stormy.
The magenta witch caught her by the wrist and flew back up to the room. Darcy followed.
Rhythma was thrown rather harshly onto the floor, where she lay limp, waiting for the first blow. Fighting back is useless. She thought. If it had been her first beating, she probably would have fought. But this had happened so many times now that it almost seemed pathetic to try.
The Trix all stood over her, arms crossed.
"Get up," Icy said, her voice cold. She glared down at the fairy with narrowed eyes.
Rhythma did as she was told.
The ice witch gripped her chin and smirked at the defeated look in the fairy's eyes. "I miss it when you fought back." She snickered. Rhythma whimpered as her nails dug into the young fairy's face, drawing blood.
"So do I." Stormy shrugged. "It's no fun to beat you up if you just let us do it." She walked forward, a sneer on her face as she pressed her hand to Rhythma's back and gave a weak jolt - making her stiffen, but not scream.
Rhythma looked down. It wasn't her fault she had gotten used to it. Icy scoffed and jerked her head up again, making the fairy yelp in pain and surprise. Icy's glare met Rhythma's pained expression, and a smile appeared on the witch's face. "Pathetic little fairy." Ice formed on Rhythma's lower jaw and the witch leaned forward, so that their faces were inches apart. "You're so much fun to mess with."
Stormy rolled her eyes. "I'm supposed to enjoy torturing you, wretch." She snapped. "But when you lay there doing nothing, I don't." Her eyes narrowed. "I don't think I want to beat you right now."
Icy tilted her own head to the side without releasing Rhythma's chin. "What do you propose we do, then?" Her voice held acid - as though she wouldn't mind sending a punch toward Rhythma.
Or throwing her out the window again.
Darcy walked up to them. "She could be part of our plan to get the ring." She suggested, glancing at the fairy still trapped in Icy's grip. A smirk appeared on her face.
Icy looked into the fairy's eyes and smiled, making Rhythma whimper. "Hmmm. Good idea, Darcy."
"Has she received the letter yet?" Stormy demanded as Icy taunted Rhythma by running her nails through the girl's hair.
Icy grinned as Rhythma stiffened at her touch. "I think so. The date is tonight, after all." She leaned around so that her breath tickled the fairy's ear. "If you move," she whispered. "I'll make you touch the stovetop."
Rhythma's eyes widened in fear. The last time they had almost burned her hands off.
"I still don't get why I have to play the stupid fairy." Darcy snorted. "What if she has the ring on her when we capture her?"
"Then we won't have to do much else." Icy explained calmly, sliding her nails painfully down Rhythma's back and leaving deep marks. The fairy cried out, but didn't try to get away. "However, if she doesn't, we have to look for it ourselves."
"Plus, you're the only one who can shapeshift." Stormy pointed out. She then crossed her arms and glared at Rhythma, who was crying at this point. Icy had drawn blood and she could feel it running down her skin. But she wasn't allowed to clean herself up without the witch's permission, so she closed her eyes. "What's she going to do?" Stormy's voice was like acid, and Rhythma winced slightly.
Icy chuckled and grabbed Rhythma by the back of her head, turning the fairy so that she was looking the witch right in the eyes. "She's going to lead Stella right to our clutches."
For the first time in her entire life, Rhythma both looked and felt like a witch.
She stood in her cloak - as Icy had insisted she put it on - and waited outside of 'The Black Lagoon' for Stella to arrive. Nobody seemed to recognize the mysterious cloaked fairy because she didn't look like herself.
Rhythma had always prided herself in her heterogeneous eyes. One red and one green. But Darcy had cast a spell that gave her simple blue eyes. To everyone else, she looked like a normal fairy - and not one who had mysteriously vanished from Alfea two years ago.
She's here, little wretch, Darcy snapped at her in her mind. Lead her to us. A slight ache formed in her head as the witch spoke.
As she listened, a bright blonde fairy approached her with a smile.
"Hello!" She said brightly. "I'm Stella and I'm here with a reservation with my boyfriend Prince Sky!"
Rhythma nodded and gestured for the fairy to follow her into the building. She did so without hesitation, which made Rhythma scoff mentally. Why were fairies always so trusting to everyone they met? She had learned long ago that trust only led to pain.
As they made their way toward the back of the restaurant, Rhythma was well aware of Stella babbling on and on about her boyfriend and whatever else was on her mind. Her cheerful attitude reminded Rhythma of her own best friends - Nebula in particular.
She would have graduated by now. Rhythma thought, remembering that Nebula had been a senior the day they met. There was a five-year age difference between us, and we were still the best of friends.
Suddenly, Icy lunged out of nowhere and wrapped her arm around Rhythma's neck. "Good job, little fairy," she breathed into the fairy's ear. Rhythma shuddered, making Icy tighten her grip and drive the breath from her body. Rhythma gave a small squeak of pain. But when Icy let her hand - now holding an ice ball - drift closer to her neck, she stopped trying to pull away.
Rhythma turned to face Stella - now in the arms of Darcy and Stormy. She was struggling.
"Does she have the ring?" Icy demanded, not releasing Rhythma's throat.
Darcy shook her head.
"Then you know what to do." Icy snapped. The purple witch sighed and stepped in front of Stella.
"Within the power of a Magic Lace
Give to me this Fairy's Face!"
And suddenly, Darcy stood before them, looking like the exact clone of Stella. Icy raised a brow. "Good. Now do this little wretch."
Darcy didn't even have to say anything as she sent a countetspell toward Rhythma, who was promptly released by Icy as soon as her eyes went back to their normal colors.
Stella's eyes widened. "I know you," she choked out. "You're a fairy!" Her voice was full of awe and loss.
Rhythma looked down.
"Ms. Faroganda told us about you," the fairy breathed. "You disappeared one night and didn't come back! I was a freshman that year." Her voice lowered. "Your friends were devastated when you didn't come back. The Comedy one especially. And the Peace one."
Humora. Nebula. Rhythma felt her eyes tear up at the mention of her friends
Icy laughed and draped her arm around Rhythma's shoulders, once again keeping the little fairy in place. "Dear, she didn't just 'disappear'."
Stormy grinned from where she was holding Stella's right arm. "We took her." She cast a glance at Rhythma. "She owed us her life."
Stella looked at Rhythma sadly. "Why couldn't you just escape?"
"Because with escape comes punishment," Darcy chuckled. "She can't ever leave."
"Not even death provides escape." Icy gave a wicked grin toward Rhythma. "She's tried." Suddenly, the ice witch waved her hand toward Stella, and rings of pure energy - the same ones Icy had trapped her in a few days before - appeared around the fairy. Stormy and Darcy were able to release Stella without having her run.
Stormy turned to Rhythma. "You are going to watch her." The storm witch ordered. "If she escapes, we will break your arms."
Why my arms? Rhythma wondered, but didn't question it. The Trix could do whatever they wanted, and it was not her place to protest. So, taking a step forward, she positioned herself next the the fairy, pulling her hood over her head once again.
The Trix walked off, and Darcy teleported away.
"What did they do to you?" Stella asked, glancing down at her with curiosity glimmering in her eyes
Rhythma didn't answer.
Stella narrowed her eyes. "Can't you speak?"
Still no reply, but Rhythma shook her head.
The fairy lapsed into silence.
Rhythma stared ahead blankly, listening to the whimpers of pain coming from Stella. She wished she could help the fairy, but another beating would surly kill her. Not that she didn't want to die anyway . . .
Rhythma sighed when the Winx rushed into the building, looking for Stella. She had been leaning against the wall for about four hours now, waiting. The Trix hadn't done anything to her in front of Stella, but the looks they gave her suggested that they wanted to.
Darcy revealed her true self to the fairies as Icy and Stormy appeared at her side. Then Icy stepped aside and revealed the real Stella floating high above their heads. Rhythma took several paces back.
"Poor little Stella," Icy grinned. "Prisoner of my disks of energy. Squeezing her ever tighter." The ice witch cackled evilly. "You better hurry or she might pop."
"What do you want from us?" The redhead demanded.
Icy frowned. "Haven't you got it yet? We want Stella's ring." She smirked. "And you have a choice: the ring, or Stella's life."
"This is blackmail!" The flower fairy gasped.
The music fairy nodded. "And we never give in to blackmail."
Rhythma smiled slightly. She admired the loyalty and devotion of these fairies. She missed her own friends so much.
But the redhead just detransformed. "We can't put Stella's life at risk." She mumbled, walking over to Icy with the ring in her hands. "You guys win. But this time keep your word." She dropped the ring into Icy's hand.
The ice witch grinned. "Normally I wouldn't," she said. "But I don't need her anymore." With a snap of her fingers, Stella was released and hit the ground with a thud.
Rhythma backed away slowly.
"At last!" Icy cried, gleefully. "The Scepter is ours!" She tossed the ring in the air and it transformed into the scepter. Then with a wave of her arms, the Trix and Rhythma all disappeared.
Stella's POV
Bloom helped her to her feet and then gave her a big hug. "Are you alright?" Her voice held concern.
Stella nodded. "I'm fine." She croaked, feeling part of the rock on her heart lift.
"Who was that girl?" Flora asked. "She looked familiar."
Stella shook her head. "All I know is that she used to be a student at Alfea before she disappeared." She explained. "Nobody knows what happened to her."
Miss glared at the place where the Trix had vanished. "Well it's obvious that she was kidnapped."
"And by the Trix." Tecna added. "What should we do?"
Bloom sighed. "Let's keep quiet about it for now. We need more information on her before we can help her."