Chapter Twenty-One: "Dangerous, Destructive, or Disturbing"
Awkward silence had befallen them.
Not a single word was being uttered as the girls were taking in the scene, still in absolute disbelief at the sight of their own future child.
Stella had tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, still managing to avert her gaze. Aisha's face was still a bright shade of red. At this point, Sky had wished that the earth had swallowed him whole, though he had personally shot Bloom a dirty glare, who was finding this entertaining along with Nabu and Brandon who were snickering behind him. It was utterly bizarre of them to see the younger versions of their mothers who were in their graduating year at Alfea.
Samara, after given the utmost shock of her entire life, had managed to pull herself together compared to Luna and Niobe who were still at loss.
Her jade green eyes flickered with utmost curiosity at her future son.
Sky looked like a splitting image of his paternal grandfather King Lysander of Eracklyon with the blond hair and rich blue eyes—though with Erendor's facial features. Sky was handsome just like his father.
The woman could easily see the fire igniting in his eyes—though she even noted the quick glances that her son Sky kept giving Bloom, one out of pure genuine love, nearly the same type of feeling she held towards Erendor.
It was strange to say the least to see her own son had strong harboring affections for Bloom in a way that had made her cheeks flush brightly. The feeling itself was almost unsettling. Though strangely enough, she had noted the tiredness on Sky's face (as it seemed to Samara that he was deprived of sleep).
Samara had lifted a curious eyebrow.
"Shall I ask you what had convinced all of you of doing something so reckless? Like landing yourselves here in the past intentionally?" Samara had curled her lips together; her tone was sharp and demanding for a reasonable answer.
Sky had winced at his mother's tone—not that he could fully blame his mother, but the situation itself had gotten out of hand since Bloom's disappearance. He wasn't going to allow Bloom to slip from his fingers for the second time. As disturbing as it was to see his own mother around his age or possibly a few years younger, Sky had managed to look at Samara firmly.
"You think we had any other choice?" Sky countered coolly without trying to loosen his temper. He was downright irritated. "When we saw Bloom in that photograph, we figured that she was stuck in the past and we had to do something about it. That demon's interference—"
Nabu had rolled his eyes at Sky's comment, interrupting him.
"Sky, we've already discussed the matter beforehand. This isn't Valtor's doing." Nabu said, his tone indicating that Sky should've already understood this by now, but alas, he was an awfully stubborn prince.
Sky had let out a frustrated puff—his deep blue eyes narrowing at Nabu—his hands turning into fist balls. It didn't click with him at all.
"I'm most certain this is Valtor's doing and definitely not the Elder Council. They wouldn't make such a reckless decision."
Bloom's eyes fluttered wide open at Sky's harsh tone. Her mouth had nearly fallen wide open. His facial expression had told her all what she needed to know about Sky.
Sky was in one of those sour temper that had made him unbearable to be around otherwise a nasty argument would ensue afterwards. Sky wasn't the type of man who hid his expressions very well. A look of absolute ire burned in his eyes.
"Sky, they would indeed precede with their plan if it was for their own benefit." Nabu had tried so hard to rationalize with Sky, but the blond-haired prince wasn't the seeing the blurred red lines like he was.
Samara's dark red brows had furrowed in confusion, as she had regarded Nabu's response for a moment before commenting.
"Your implication of words sounds rather dangerous wouldn't you think? Making an accusation towards the Elder Council is something you shouldn't take so lightly especially if you don't have any solid evidence."
Nabu's bright eyes had shifted onto the girls.
"Believe me, this isn't a matter I considered to be taken lightly at all. In fact, it is very dangerous. And we're going to get to the bottom of the truth no matter what."
There was a beat of uncomfortable silence lingering around them as the Winx had eyed one another nervously, meanwhile the others had appeared to be worried, already sensing the gloomy aura surround them all. The Andorsian wizard had wasted no time in telling their side of the story and for shedding the light over the growing situation in details in what they had come to discover.
"You thought Bloom was dead?" Marion muttered faintly.
She was utterly horrified upon hearing the news of her daughter's fate in her own timeline by her friends, tightening her hold on Bloom's hand. In fact, Marion had lost all coloring on her face and had appeared to be on the very verge of fainting.
It was no wonder why she had personally picked up on their auras through the smoky tendrils. Their emotions were spiraled all over the place and their souls were shattered especially Sky and Stella who had been the closet to her daughter.
And it had clearly showed on their faces as well, in a way, Marion's heart had bled for them.
The girl felt the corner of her green eyes fill with tears.
The blond-haired wizard had placed his hand on his little sister's shoulder—giving her the warmth and comfort she had needed from him. He could easily see the heavy sorrow in her emerald eyes which had caused his heart to shatter to pieces.
"I mean, after Bloom defeated Valtor in their final battle, her physical body just vanished into thin air. And from there, we just assumed the worse." Stella had offered Marion a half-hearted smile, though her hazel eyes were filled with sadness.
Bloom had winced at Stella's piercing words.
The Winx and Specialists thinking of her death alone had hit her right in the heart.
Marion had felt as if someone had personally jabbed a knife into her gut and slowly twisted it in a painful manner—making sure that she felt every excruciating pain possible.
She could hardly find any comfort in the idea that her two daughters would both suffer in the future. Daphne being cursed into a bodiless spirit and Bloom's near fatal demise under Valtor's hands. Her heart ached endlessly.
Marion had shuddered, knowing that it was a never-ending nightmare for her.
"That would make sense little sis. Think about it. Bloom landed in this timeline with no memories and it's obvious her physical body had to go as well," Alec said thoughtfully, as he glanced at his sweet little Marion who still appeared to be discomforted. He couldn't blame her. It was simply difficult to digest.
Upon hearing this Stella, Sky, Aisha, Nabu, and Brandon were completely stunned by this knowledge, and they instantly turned to Bloom's direction—shocked by the sudden revelation.
It had made Stella's blood run cold.
"You lost your memories Bloom," Stella had croaked out in a faint voice, utterly horrified.
The redhead princess had seen the petrified expression cross Sky's face. It was as if his heart had managed to stop pumping blood for a single second—he had given her a long stare—inspecting her for any sign of harm that was done on her, but there were no signs of any injuries.
"Yeah, I did," Bloom said almost timidly, casting a quick glance at her friends. "You don't have to worry about it. I got my memories back."
Sky had his deep blue eyes planted on her, as his lips curled together. "How?"
Cold shivers ran down Bloom's spine.
Although Sky's voice had come off rather demanding even though it wasn't out of his cruel intention, but merely out of curiosity.
The girl had not wanted to recall back to torturous, bloody nightmare she'd been put through under the Ancestral Witches' hands.
It had made her stomach twist and turn in all directions.
Their cold menacing laughter had burned into her mind for all eternity. Their spiritual bony fingers touching her had prickled her skin. Feeling the insufferable freezing temperature in which had swept over Bloom entirely had made the girl suffocate, unable to draw in a single breath of fresh air.
The Ancestral Witches.
It had made Bloom's skin crawl, as she'd nearly forgotten all about them.
The Winx nor had the Specialist had encountered them and that could be very problematic as they were now lingering in this timeline. The Ancestral Witches were causing all sorts of chaos and destruction all around the Magical Dimension. They were utterly barbaric and cruel.
The darkened look on Bloom's face had intensified.
"I'd rather not talk about it, Sky."
Sky had detected the sharpness in Bloom's tone, which had meant one thing: something tragic had happened to Bloom, in which she hadn't wanted him to know about. In a way, Bloom's tone of voice was an indication of utter denial.
Bloom wasn't exactly an open-book type of girl who easily poured out her emotions on a blank canvas. Sky had even noted her strange behavior. The blond-haired prince had never seen Bloom being utterly skeptical in a way that wasn't her, as if she were someone else. In a way, it had infuriated Sky on the inside.
"And why not?" Sky had stressed out on the last word, demanding Bloom to speak up.
Bloom's eyes had turned into slits—narrowing at him.
Why couldn't Sky just allow her to deal with it on her own? Not everything that had happened to her, he had to be directly involved. There were some things that she had wanted to keep to herself.
Sky simply wouldn't understand. No, it wasn't that he wouldn't understand. . . it was just that Sky would personally make it a big deal and become highly overprotective of her.
The redhead princess hadn't wanted to—
"Listen, Sky, I know we don't know anything about any of you but give Bloom a break! She's been through a lot, and I mean it. She doesn't need any more stress on her plate!" Luna snapped furiously. "And demanding it from her isn't going to get you the answers either!"
Stella for her part was surprisingly taken aback by her mother's raspy, harsh voice. The Solarian Princess had never in her life had once seen Luna losing her temper on anyone but Radius, as for she was a calm, collective, and a compassionate woman towards others due to having an undeniable big heart.
Stella had easily seen the distress spark in her mother's dark blue eyes. This was a new side of her mother that she never witnessed from before (or at least not in way that wasn't directly at her own father Radius).
Sky's face had grown hot, turning positively scarlet—embarrassed—and had given Bloom an apologetic look, in return she had given him a comprehending nod, fully knowing that Sky was just highly concerned/worried about her safety.
Bloom had felt her chest swelled with utter relief at Luna's defense.
The fairy of the moon had casted Bloom a pitiful look.
"Thank you," Bloom had mumbled to Luna.
Someone had to outright say it to Sky's face even though she felt a tiny bit guilty. But at this point, Sky was being overbearing and Bloom needed room to breathe without being cut off from all air supply.
Niobe had dwelled on Nabu's explanation that had seemed to be closely strange to Teredor's own interpretation when they had been back on Magix, during the kickoff of a new school year. It had almost felt like it was eons ago, knowing that there had to be some type of correlation.
"I have a feeling that you may be right about something. I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch your name?" Niobe asked curiously, a playfully spark had lingered in her teal eyes.
Aisha felt her face heat up.
"This can't be! There must be another option besides these ones!" Oritel grumbled out of frustration, shutting the book with slight aggression, before glancing at Teredor with an apologetic look. He came to another dead end regarding finding a solution to the bastard's unfortunate predicament.
Well, it wasn't that, but most of the solutions revolved around paying the ultimate price—losing one's life in the process—which wasn't any better than his daughter's original idea of using her fairy dust over Valtor (while being in his inner sanctum to Oritel's own horror).
They had been in the royal archives for hours with several stacks of books scattered across the large table and yet none of the specialists had found another alternative way to break the curse over Valtor. Oritel had easily collapsed into the chair behind him out of the bitterness that had surrounded him.
Life wasn't fair to his future family.
It hadn't spared them of any tedious, distressing, grievous, and unimaginable suffering. No. Oritel was always aware of the fact that being Guardian of the Dragon Flame was an immense responsibility—not one for the faint heartened.
In that moment, Oritel had appeared to be on the verge of tears of not knowing what to do. He held his head with both his hands, trembling in rage. He was furious beyond any words he could utter imaginable. Frustrated. Worried. And above all, he was greatly disturbed. His emotions were slowly spiraling out of control, knowing that no matter what he did or how he would try to prevent it, Bloom would still suffer in the very end.
His heart had bled endlessly for his two daughters.
It wasn't fair for them to endure all those unforgivable hardships.
Fury had swelled within him, realizing that all his attempts of persuading Bloom with his own stubbornness was backfiring on him quite painfully. The man couldn't even imagine his daughter's scolding over the fact that Bloom had been indeed right.
It had appeared to him that even Bloom had done quite a bit of research on her own as well (what brilliant daughters he would have, so proud).
"I can't lose Bloom to Valtor!" Oritel snapped out of exasperation. The prince was frankly tired of not knowing the dark wizard's unpredictable charades especially with him gambling Marion's and Bloom's life. "I just can't."
Teredor had gazed at Oritel sympathetically. He had felt for friend's unbearable pain that seemed to be going on endlessly. He took a seat besides Oritel and glanced at him with a questionable eyebrow.
"This isn't just about the curse is it, Oritel? It's about the Prophecy, am I right?"
Oritel finally lifted his head to look at his friend.
"Pretty much. I've had a feeling that something was off from the very start ever since Bloom landed in our timeline along with her lost memories. Or why my parents wouldn't allow her to go back to her own time, even with her memories intact. We can't now until Bloom is freed from Valtor's spell."
Teredor was genuinely surprised by Oritel's revelation.
"Bloom being here, in the past, is illegal and yet her not returning back anytime soon could be problematic. I have a feeling someone or something is letting this slide for whatever reason. And remember what I said back at the beginning of the school year?"
Teredor's features had tensed up—his olive-green eyes were filled with suspicion. The man didn't like the sound of this at all. He had a hunch at the back of his mind that was clawing its way to him.
Oritel had glanced at Teredor with a solemn expression, feeling the heavy shift loom over the entire group. It was by no means a good feeling at all. In fact, the Prophecy that had been mentioned in the Book of Fate had caused Oritel to lose all coloring on his face. He had been dreadful for days afterwards (and during those days, Oritel to the best of his abilities had avoided Bloom by being drowned in his royal duties).
If Bloom had discovered a single ounce of information that regarded and her father Oritel had kept it hidden from her, there was no telling how she would react to the Prophecy. It was certain that his daughter would lose her mind about it. No. She'd personally rip Valtor's head off permanently. There was no doubt about it.
And as for Marion, if she knew how the Prophecy involved Bloom and in what ways. . . no she wouldn't accept it at all. No. She would be infuriated. . . no Marion would be damned if she'd allowed Valtor to touch a single strand of her daughter's hair.
"In the Book of Fate, curiously, I was looking into my daughter's future chapters and that's when the Prophecy was revealed to me or at least it's how we depicted it. In the illustration, we were all there including Bloom, but strangely enough there was about six unidentified magical creatures who were present, along with . . .Valtor. . ."
Oritel had felt his tongue go heavy upon speaking the name of the blasted wizard he had loathed entirely. The Dominian Crown Prince had continued to describe the exquisite details of those six unidentified magical creatures that were in the Book of Fate. Teredor had grew grave upon hearing the detailed descriptions from Oritel.
Unfortunately, the moment he wanted to say something to Oritel about what it possibly meant, Radius had approached them, unsmiling, as if something unpleasant had struck the man.
"Oritel, Teredor, I think the girls need our help! Luna says it's urgent for all of us to come, now." Radius had emphasized, worry shining in his hazel eyes. Something about Luna's tone had seemed to be distressed.
"I highly doubt she would need that kind of help, but rather a plea for some kind of fashion advice," Erendor snickered.
Radius had the urge to call Erendor out for his snidey remark but had simply rolled his eyes dramatically. The Solarian Crown Prince wasn't in the mood for Erendor's nonsense.
"Can you just for once take Luna seriously? This is a pressing matter. I'm in no doubt that this isn't Luna's usual sarcastic, flirty tone of wanting me to 'just' drop by. I think they'd encountered a serious problem Erendor."
Teredor's eyebrows had rose, alarmed.
"What kind of problem?"
"She wouldn't elaborate on the details, but she sounded troubled. She says it's better that we're all there in person." Radius had a grim expression before turning his attention back onto Oritel and his hazel eyes swept across the table, seeing stacks of books piled on top of each other, curiosity had gotten the best of him.
"So did you find something that would help Bloom?"
"No. They all seemed to be like Bloom's method with no other alternative," Oritel had sighed heavily, running his fingers though his short hair.
Erendor shot Oritel an annoyed expression, clenching his jawline. "So, you mean, we went to all this trouble for nothing? And you couldn't admit to yourself that Bloom may be right about one thing?"
"And even if Bloom was right Erendor, I'd rather not allow her to perform that spell for a second time especially when encountering Valtor alone. The bastard has several tricks up his sleeves that may end up costing my daughter's life." Oritel had explained, his lips twisting into a deepened frown.
The Dominian Prince wasn't going to allow his daughter to sacrifice her life for the third time. Twice had been plenty in one lifetime and Oritel would be damned if he'd allowed Bloom to take it into account for the third time if she'd get the chance to do so.
"Besides I wouldn't say it's for nothing Erendor. We did learn a couple for interesting facts that could be useful for future situations." Teredor said-matter-of fact.
Erendor snorted in disbelief. If there was one thing, he hated the most, it was wasting time on the most trivial things possible without getting anything in return.
"You'd never know how useful it'd be," Teredor shrugged.
Radius hazel eyes had fluttered wide open in realization. "Oritel, I think my brain hatched a brilliant idea. You'll thank me later for this. Why don't you ask Bloom to teach you that spell of hers?"
Oritel looked at Radius oddly, as if the man had been stuck in some sort of trance over the fact that he hadn't had considered such a thought from before. Why had his own brain proposed such an idea from before? In a way, the Dominian Prince had felt like he was the biggest idiot in the entire universe.
"What?"
"I'm on board with Radius' brilliant idea. To be honest, this sounds preferable compared to the other methods we had investigated. That way, Bloom doesn't have to do it alone. Like you said, Valtor might pull a shitty move on her and if you're there you can protect her," Teredor concluded.
Oritel had contemplated Teredor's words, knowing that this was probably one of the best solutions that they would come up with. The Dominian Crown Prince had turned to Radius.
"Did the girls say where we're going to meet them?"
Stella groaned.
A part of her was secretly thrilled over the fact that during this era, her parents had been deeply affectionate with each other, something that she hadn't seen much in their marriage except for the endless bickering arguments with one another over something childish and other times it was out of pettiness.
Seeing the sparks of utter delight dance in her mother's dark blue eyes and hearing the excitement that dripped in her voice had made Stella question how in the Great Dragon had her parents ever decided to get a split up in the first place? Or what had led up to them constantly fighting with one another?
The Solarian Princess could only speculate over so many theories and rumors she had heard in the palace over the years as she was growing up.
Stella had fiddled with the strands of her blond-hair, feeling Brandon's strong hand being placed on her should for support. Looking up into Brandon's chocolate brown eyes had made her feel at ease, but still it hadn't completely reduced her agitation.
Seeing her dear mother ramble to Radius animatedly and twisting the locks of her long pale blond hair, was the first ever glimpse of her Luna being quite cheerful on the phone, with the occasional giggles escaping her lips, without being utterly frustrated and pissed off.
"Don't worry Sunshine. I'm sure it'll be just fine." Brandon had pressed his soft lips against Stella's hairline lovingly.
Stella had stuck out her tongue, acting more like a nine-years-old-girl instead of sounding like a mature nineteen-years-old princess. "But it's awkward Brandon. Just picture it. My parents being the same age as me. . ." Stella had shuddered, ". . .this isn't how I imagined it was going to happen."
Stella couldn't help but scowl despite Brandon's reassurance. Naturally, Brandon's soft-spoken nature had managed to easily influence a distressed Stella to calm down and to consider things through that it may not all be unpleasant.
"Fine? Yeah right. Well, why don't you try being the one who's going to greet your so called 'younger parents' and let's see how well you'll take that?" Stella answered, with a drip of mockery in her tone—glaring at her boyfriend.
(It was disturbing to say the least knowing that she was around the same age as her parents and Stella had to mentally dissolve such a thought from her head).
Brandon had felt his face flush deeply over the thought of being in Stella's shoes. Beads of tiny sweats had formed across his forehead. He had let out a skittish chuckle, running his finger through his short brown hair. Yeah. For one he wouldn't like that at all. The specialist had taken a quick glimpse to see how Sky was fairing.
Sky wasn't doing well either from the looks of it.
Typical Queen Samara chiding her son's actions as usual. But wait Samara wasn't the Queen of Eracklyon, so how would he appropriately address Sky's mother?
Brandon couldn't causally drop by and say 'Hey Samara' or any of the likes. It was completely out of the question, disrespectful, and above all inappropriate unless if Samara had requested of him to simply call her by her formal name.
The prince was being harshly reprimanded by his mother with her sharp tongue, while Sky was mumbling (most likely cursing) under his breath in some form of retaliation as to why he had taken such a reckless decision.
Prince Sky had the urge to roll his eyes at his mother, since Sky knew she couldn't stand that whenever he would display his informal courtesy. Though Sky wasn't entirely sure if it would even affect her at this moment in time, perhaps Samara would tolerate such actions from him or not?
It didn't take long for Luna to end the conversation with Radius on the phone, that Brandon had found himself in the presence of Stella's mother who seemed to be observing him from head to toe—noting the slightest jerk of his muscles—to know that Brandon was some
Not that Luna could blame him, but a tug of a smirk formed on her lips. The fairy of the moon had noticed that Stella was fiddling with her ring, also as nervous as the specialist who was currently sitting beside her.
Luna blinked a couple of times, before her expression had perked up with the largest grin on her face, though in a way it had intimidated Brandon. Her dark blue eyes glittered upon catching the rays of the sunlight.
"So, Brandon, I've heard that you're my baby's boyfriend?" Luna said in a honey-sweetened voice, matching her kindly aura that was all around her. She was simply curious of the man who Stella had taken interest in.
Stella's hazel eyes had gone wide, paling rather drastically. Although she had suspected that Bloom might've tipped Luna off about her relationship with the Eracklyon's squire.
Oh. So that's how it was! Two could play that game! Her lips had curled into a sadistic smirk. Stella had wanted to get her revenge back on Bloom for spilling the beans and she'll do so in the most fashionable state possible.
The Solarian Princess had chuckled timidly.
"Who said anything about Brandon being my boyfriend."
The princess had jabbed Brandon in the arm, as he had let out a low groan, throwing her an annoyed expression before turning his gaze back on Luna, looking stiffly.
He could feel his cheeks burn infinitely.
For a single moment, Brandon had tried to rack his brains for anything to say, but apparently luck wasn't on his side as it normally would be especially in giving out last minute suggestions to King Erendor in helping to deal the crimes within their kingdom, as no single word or an explanation could spill from his mouth.
Luna titled her head to the side, clearing enjoying such a view of Stella and Brandon spluttering gibberish. She wasn't buying their entire façade.
It had amused Luna to no end.
She raised a quizzical brow. "Do you take me as fool? You think that I'm unaware of the intimate affection that you both share?"
"Who said anything about us being intimate?" Stella unintentionally had blurted out, feeling the intense heart rush to her face—glowing positively crimson—irritation had sept its way to her voice.
Luna's face had hardened at her daughter's accusing, harsh tone.
"Young lady, watch your tone with me. All I said it was clear that you two share an unbreakable strong bond with each other from what Bloom told me," Luna's expression had softened, giving her daughter a warm smile.
Stella, scarlet in the face, had gotten the wrong assumption of her mother's implications, mumbling an 'oh' under her breath.
"So, Bloom told you huh?"
"Don't worry I haven't uttered a single word to your father regarding Brandon. Dragon knows that your father would not be fond with the idea. Men could be invasively overprotective of their daughters. Believe me, your father had tried to interrogate Bloom."
Guilt had filled Stella's mind over the image of her father demanding of Bloom to spill the beans regarding a significant lover in her life.
Stella was ripped from her thoughts.
"Don't worry I'm not Radius, but I love to meet the man who happen to take a liking to my daughter. What's important is that you both have real feelings for each other that's all what I need to know."
Both Stella and Brandon had exchanged glances. Brandon had placed his hand on top of Stella's hand which was resting in her lap, giving her some moral support.
Bloom stared at Nabu.
Uncertainty flickered in her eyes.
It was hard to believe that someone powerful would come up with such a scheme to fit their universally agendas.
"So, you are positive about this? Like what Samara said, we don't even have any solid evidence to prove that the Elder Council had something to do with this?"
Bloom had personally never met the Elder Councils in her time due to her incomplete Enchantix that hadn't allowed her to miniaturize, going through the tiny door that would lead to the Golden Kingdom, but the Winx had.
Apparently, the Elder Council weren't the easiest of beings to deal with—or that's how the Winx had emphasized it when they were trying to obtain the Water Stars. They don't make any deals with lesser beings, which had annoyed Bloom.
The redhead princess had easily noticed the frown on Aisha's lips.
Aisha didn't like it any more than Bloom did.
Nabu had lift a curious eyebrow. "Bloom, do you really think this was Valtor's doing? Sparing your life and giving you this kind of opportunity? Doesn't that seem a little suspicious to you?"
Bloom pondered in Nabu's words.
In her opinion it was sort of making sense with all what was going on. Even her uncle had confirmed it—it had to do with the Prophecy.
Bloom casted a glance at her uncle, pursing her lips together.
She had it with all those damn secrets.
"Uncle you're going to have to tell me about the Prophecy in full details. You and Dad can't keep pretending like it's preventable. You're sweeping this matter under the rug like it's nothing to worry about."
Marion had her attention on her bother; her vividly emerald eyes narrowing at him. Lately it seemed to her, that Alec and Oritel had been awfully keeping a lot of secrets from her and Bloom.
She didn't like her brother's strange behavior, always being around Oritel and tiptoeing around her and Bloom as if they were some sort of fragile glass that needed to be safeguarded from the threats that had surrounded them.
Recently, Oritel's intolerable behavior had begun to irritate the hell out of Marion. He had a subtle way of making sure that his beloved girls were out of harms way.
"Bloom. . ." Alec had started, but unfortunately his niece had cut him off, giving him a harsh glare. The girl was simply done with hidden secrets.
"No. Don't Bloom me uncle. I need to know what's going on. The truth."
"Alec, if not for Bloom, but for me. I'm her mother. You can't just leave me hanging in the dark, not knowing anything about my child," Marion had tried to express wholeheartedly with her pleading emerald eyes.
Alec couldn't bear to see Marion pleading to him from the bottom depths of her heart, urging him to spill the beans. He hated to see his little sister not knowing what she was going to do. The way Marion gazed at him, despairingly, it had punctured a hole in his heart.
"Please Al," Marion whispered brokenly.
He ran a finger though his blond hair, gazing down at her downheartedly. Alec simply didn't know how Marion or Bloom would react to the foretold Prophecy.
"It can't be that terrible, right?" the Andorsian Princess had emphasized.
Aisha had brought up a valid point.
Was the Prophecy something to be considered as indescribable?
Bloom had noted the expression on her uncle's face-it seemed to be the very case. The girl felt a cold breeze sweep down her back, giving her the goosebumps.
"I'm afraid it is, possibly worse than what we can imagine," Alec spoke cautiously, his eyes flickering between his sister and niece. He really didn't want to discuss the subject with them. The topic itself was simply unapproachable and out of the question.
Marion knew better than to lose her temper even though the girl had an intense intuition that told her that this wasn't going to go very well. Her grip had tightened on Bloom's hand.
And so, Alec much to his own dismay, had begun to share the details of the prophecy with the girls and Nabu. By the time Alec had reached the end, Marion had lost all coloring on her face, tears were slowly filling the corner of her eyes, her body was trembling.
"You can't be serious!"
"Trust me Bloom none of us had thought it would come down to this. You think your father is thrilled to know what might happen to you."
Bloom was beyond furious.
She knew it.
Her father had been hiding something significant from her. Something that would have a great effect on her life! Yet, her father was simply brushing it off like it was nothing or like the fact that he could deal with it. This wasn't nothing!
This was a very big deal!
In a way, Bloom had wanted to cry her heart out.
It wasn't fair!
No.
She can't. . . this can't . . . possibly happen.
Bloom couldn't lose the people she most cared about in the entire world.
No.
There had to be a way to thwart such a Prophecy from ever taking place. She would be damned to hell if this ever becomes such a reality.
Intense heat waves had surrounded Bloom due to her unpredictable emotions that was sputtering out of her.
"Bloom, careful," Marion clicked her tongue warningly.
Snapped out of her thoughts, Bloom hadn't realized that she allowed her magic to sputter in such a way, sparks of flames were flickering in the air. It was that she was outraged. She'd had forgotten that losing control of emotions was connected to channeling out magic.
"Sorry," Bloom had muttered apologetically.
"I don't even know what to say, Bloom. I don't think any of us had predicted that something like this would even happen," Aisha had glanced at Bloom sadly, appearing pale.
Alec had muttered every curse phrase known to magic-kind.
Niobe had tried to console Marion but even she too had lacked any words to say. She had been appalled by the Prophecy. It wasn't something that anyone could easily digest especially if the situation regarded someone's own child. Not at all.
Niobe's phone buzzed from the inside her pocket skirt and pulled it out, reading the text message Teredor had shot her. A warm smile playing her lips.
"Well. . ." Marion pressed her lips together, trying to get a read on Niobe, though she had suspected what had made her grin. "Are they here?"
Aisha had felt as if lightening had struck her—freezing up entirely—upon noting Marion's tone of voice that had sounded more like giggles.
"Yes."
"Perhaps I can give Dad a piece of my mind," Bloom seething, as she had stood on her two feet.
"Bloom." Marion snapped warningly. "Sit down young lady."
Bloom huffed. With a roll of her eyes, she had taken a seat, scoffing her mother in processes of doing so. She had crossed her arms over her chest out of annoyance.
Aisha was genuinely surprised to see Bloom's attitude towards her biological parents—the parents she'd always dreamed of being reunited with. But then again that Prophecy had reared its ugly end in Bloom.
"Maybe there's another way out of this Bloom," Aisha had calmly suggested, hoping that Bloom wouldn't outright snap at her.
"Like what?"
"Like what I said earlier Bloom, Elder Council is the key. And we have solid evidence from what your uncle had mentioned." Nabu said grimly.
Alec had dwelled on Nabu's words. Even he too agreed with Nabu. There was so much going on and it was all leading to the very same conclusion even if the idea had sounded preposterous.
"It all makes sense Bloom. But I would suspect that the Elder Council may have a trick or two up their sleeves. They're not known for doing business with 'lesser' magical beings," he said, clenching his jaw.
"But first we must break the curse over Valtor before decided to visit the Golden Kingdom." Bloom pointed out. "It's important we do that before anything else."
It had caught both Nabu and Aisha by storm—utterly baffled.
"Why would you even consider helping the dark wizard Bloom after all what he's done?" Aisha furrowed her brows cluelessly.
Bloom had informed both Nabu and Aisha about Valtor's cruel bargain with her and Marion, in which had come at a cost of hers and Marion's life being tied with Valtor's essence. If any harms come towards Valtor, it would be directly hurting Marion and Bloom.
Aisha's mouth dropped open, utterly disgusted by Valtor's pure wickedness. She had never once thought that he would stoop to such level. Her teal blue eyes were filled with worry over her friend.
"That bastard," Nabu spat lividly.
"Language please," Niobe had chided, before sipping her glass of water, side glancing Nabu with a look of disapproval.
"That wasn't necessary, mum," Aisha mumbled under her breath.
"Are you going to be using the same Pyros Spell?" Nabu's gaze had shifted back onto Bloom again.
"Absolutely not! She'll not be performing that spell ever again." Marion admonished her daughter, glaring at Bloom.
"Mum! It's pointless finding other methods when it will all lead to the same result in the end. You know this is the only way." Bloom had scoffed. "I don't even know why no one's listening to me."
"Perhaps you are right Bloom. My judgment was clouded on that," Oritel's voice had piped up from behind the girls—startling both Marion and Bloom.
Bloom had noticed that Aisha's face had gone red beat, slowly sliding down in her seat out of pure embarrassment not that Bloom could blame her friend. Nabu had seemed to stiffen in his place as if trying to impress a certain someone who happened to be Aisha's father.
"Teredor." Niobe couldn't help but give her fiancé a flirtatious smile, causing Aisha to groan uncomfortably.
In that moment, Aisha had wanted to die out of humiliation.
Lewis was right at their side. "I filled them on everything that had happened."
Erendor had approached Bloom, unsmiling, like his usual pricky self. He looked down at her. "I do believe that this whole problematic situation is somehow linked to you Bloom."
Bloom blinked her eyes—stunned. But then again, she was sort of used to his typical behavior and accusations, but still, it did kind of hurt at times.
"Erendor," Oritel titled his head at him, sternly. Oritel had placed his hands on his daughter's shoulder. "Come on now. This isn't the time for such things."
Aisha was aware of Erendor's rude and insulting behavior towards Bloom and other people who weren't on the same page as him or his lovely wife Samara. She had often seen him on Andros for a royal meeting with her father, negotiating trades, and dealing with internal royal business between their two realms.
"Sir," Aisha had Erendor's attention on as the girl had sucked in a deep breath before glancing at him with a serious expression, "you do realize that your son Sky can make his own choices you know. He's a man of twenty years of age which means you shouldn't be blaming everything on Bloom for Sky's actions."
At this being said, everyone was absolutely surprised by Aisha. No one had ever dared or at least the girls hadn't spoken in such a way to Erendor expect for Bloom, but it was only a few times during her parents' engagement party.
Radius had let out a chuckle.
"It seems you're not on the popular vote Erendor. It seems like none of our children likes you expect for maybe Sky. Can't blame them for your pricky attitude."
Erendor had threw Radius a dirty glare. His dark brown eyes had traveled to a certain two blond girls who were chatting endlessly with an unidentified man. Revenge. Erendor's smirk had stretched across his face.
"It seems to me a daughter of yours has a significant lover in her life. Say, shouldn't you be involved with that unless it's only reserved for Luna. . ."
The Solarian Crown Prince's hazel eyes had widened upon seeing Luna with a girl who appeared to have inherited her mother's beauty it seemed, had an actual lover? A boyfriend? No. He mustn't allow her. Men were. . . pathetic and unreasonable and complete jerks.
"What. . . wait. . ."
They had delight watched as Radius had rushed over to Luna in a single heartbeat.
Oritel had found himself chuckling. "Oh, how the tables had turned."
Teredor couldn't help but snicker over the fact that Radius had once been teasing Oritel all about his daughter potentially having a boyfriend who might one day leave the family nest, venture out into the world, and have a family of her very own.
Erendor who was curious a future son named Sky had departed his way towards Samara and the blond-haired son. Their son. A prideful smile had tugged at his lips.
Teredor, with curiosity in his olive-green eyes, had gazed in Aisha's direction. The girl was as beautiful as her own mother with her curly brown hair, teal blue eyes, but her skin tone was just as dark as his own. He noted how athletic his daughter was. Aisha had seemed to be the type of girl who expressed utter enthusiasm in her daily sports practice.
The unfamiliar long-haired that was styled in a braid man sitting next to Aisha, was apparently the man whom he had chosen in the future as a potential candidate for his daughter.
From what Bloom had informed him that Aisha hadn't been too pleased with the idea that he and Niobe had tried to put her in an arrange marriage. But seeing from the quick glances Aisha kept giving the man—to Teredor it appeared that Aisha had taken a liking to Nabu.
Teredor had approached Niobe, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead before his eyes had planted on the girl. He had felt Niobe's hand giving him a tight squeeze, beaming up at him.
"Aisha."
Author's Note
Omgggg! So sorry for the long disappearance but a lot of things had been happening and I haven't been having enough time to really update! I can't believe I'm gonna say this and yes my heart breaks for it, but there's going to be a few more chapters before this book wraps up! There will be a squeal for this book! But when its gonna be published is still unknown, possibly early December or January. I might do a poll as to how the squeal would follow. . . (for now can't spoil anything so you gonna have to keep reading LOL).
As for Bright Lights, Black City I was going to post a new chapter in August, but I'm gonna have to push it to the mid-September (maybe around the time Fate: The Winx Saga S2 is released).
Bellchocolate: Omggg! Thank you so much! Definitely next chapter is the moment when Oritel and Sky finally meet lol. Poor Sky all I'm gonna say he's a nervous wreck! xD You certainly give me a lot of ideas, but yeah, they are gonna have that bonding time again! Oh yeah as for Samara, yeah a lot of people write her like that and to be fair I can kinda see it in her lol. I mean the show kinda gives you that vibe! But since she's younger here, which means less harsh criticizing and formality compared to when she becomes Queen. Erendor well he isn't really the most likable of Kings but eh what we gonna do about that.
bex55: Omggg! Thank you! Bloom smirks while her friends are being embarrassed. I mean, unlike Bloom, they've grown up with their parents sooo you can easily see why they are so awkward by this! Boom is clueless about her bio parents sooo kinda makes it easier for her but Oritel and Sky meeting and how Marion and Samara gonna keep them in line (Oritel, Erendor) LOL.
Asher174: Thank You! I deeply appreciate it! :)
