Hey there. I'm sorry this chapter's a bit late. I was busy with college and writing the revelation you've been waiting for. I think you'll like the backstory, but that will only come in a few chapters. I'll drop a few hints as I've been doing.
First of all, I have some bad news. For those who are reading Darkness, I'm so sorry. I won't be updating it in a while. I tried to do 2 fics at the same time, but it didn't work out. This fic is more planned in my head and there has been more response, so from now on I'll only be posting chapters of A World Of Fiction. Once I'm finished with this story, which should be by the beginning of next year, I will resume to writing Darkness. Again, I'm sorry.
Second of all, I've decided to give shout outs to the few people who are accompanying this story.
AlexisPeaney: thanks so much for reviewing every chapter! You've been a rock. I'm so glad you're enjoying it as much as I enjoy writing it.
LostMirage: thanks for your review! If you want to see Flora and Helia, this is the perfect story for you. There will be a lot of them. Not all scenes will be happy, though. When the truth comes out, they will have some major problems.
Windrea: I'm glad to see a review from you, I love your stories. Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough who Will is. He will be a very important character, so I advise everyone to pay good attention to the scenes where he appears.
Rockmantick: thanks for the review. Don't worry, there will be a lot of Will scenes.
So that's enough with advising! Time to get on with the story!
After good 12 hours of rest, the Winx woke up the next morning. They still felt a bit weak and tired, but not as much as the day before. Stella, for once, was the first to wake up. After a few minutes, she got bored so she decided that waking everyone else up was a great idea. Moans and groans followed the sun fairy as she went into each of their rooms and (not so gently) woke them up. An argument between Stella and Aisha quickly started as the fairy of waves didn't like being woken up on the first day in weeks that she got enough sleep since Lana had stayed with Nabu. But knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, Aisha had decided to get ready, but she sure planned how to get her revenge on the sun fairy.
Flora was the last one to be awoken and the only one that didn't complain. She was glad to be up and ready to find a way to save Limphea College and her sister. Thinking about Miele made her work faster and by the time Bloom finally got out of bed, she was already showered and dressed. She waited for her friends to finish getting ready as she read a book in her comfy chair. Her friends had been surprised to find out that she was a books lover even more than a nature lover, but after 5 years, they were used to it. The book she was currently reading was called Romeo and Juliet, a classic earth romance that Bloom had given her. The story was tragic and beautiful and it reminded her a bit of her own story. She read the book for over an hour and then the Winx were finally ready.
Getting at the cafeteria, the Winx instantly met Roxy as she waved at them. The six girls gladly joined her and started eating. It was rather quiet until Roxy spoke up.
"So, how are you doing?" The pink haired fairy looked worriedly at them. After all, they had lost their powers, it was no small deal.
"We're okay, I guess." Bloom answered for all of them. She gave Roxy a smiled that was soon returned.
"So, Roxy, we forgot to ask last night, did you manage to find out anything about the crow?" Musa asked curiously as everyone started at Roxy.
"Well, yes. I managed to make it speak." Roxy gave them a shy smile.
"That's amazing, Roxy. So, what did it say?" Bloom spoke once again.
"It wasn't a crow, in fact, it was Miss. Griffin." The Winx had horrified looks on their faces as they thought of the strong Cloud Tower Headmistress being transformed into a crow.
"Headmistress Griffin? Oh, god." Flora exclaimed, feeling sorry for the headmistress.
"I bet the Trix are behind it." Bloom commented and they had to agree on that one.
"But we'll beat, them, all we have to do now is train so that we can strengthen our skills." Aisha said determinately and the girls gave her a look, knowing what was coming next and not liking it.
"So we're going to train?" Stella asked with a yawn. Aisha nodded her head. "Great!" The blonde added with a fake smile. "Just what I wanted to do today." Laughs followed her last comment as the Winx dragged themselves towards their bedroom to get ready for training.
"Okay, guys, we're gonna need new outfits, since this is a whole new mission." Stella said as they were reaching their dorm room. "Everyone, to my boutique." She commanded and the girls laughed again before following her. She stood before them as she thought of the perfect outfit.
"Okay, I've got it. New mission, new look." She said as she clapped clapped her hands and waited for the outfits to appear on the girls. When it didn't, she gave out a frustrated sigh before trying again.
"It's pointless, Stella. Remember, we lost our powers!" Musa said and they gave out a collective sight.
"Okay, then. New mission." Stella disappeared for a few seconds and the girls gave each other a look, afraid of what this was about. When the sun fairy came back, she was carrying a bunch of clothes and she ended up tripping and the clothes fell onto the Winx.
"Hmm. Thanks, Stella." Bloom said and then each girl went to their bedroom to change. Within a few minutes they were all ready, except for one.
"Flora, are you coming?" Bloom asked as she came back into their shared room to call for the fairy of nature. Said fairy was siting on her bed, a sad look on her face. Bloom ran to her after seeing that look.
"Hey, Flora, talk to me, what's wrong?" She hugged her friend, but Flora quickly disentangled herself.
"I'm okay, Bloom. Just worried. I mean, this is important to me, it's my sister who's in danger after all." Flora lowered her head as she thought about how she had failed Miele the day before.
"I know, sweetie, but you don't have to worry. We'll save Miele and beat the Trix. I really believe we can do it." Flora smiled after hearing the determination and confidence in Bloom's tone.
"I know we will. I just need a moment alone, get myself together."
"Okay, then. I'll tell the others that you'll meet us at the gym soon." Bloom said she she got up after another hug.
"Thanks, Bloom." Bloom nodded her head and then she left the room. Once Flora was alone in the room she sighed. She was getting tired of all this lies. After five years you'd think that she would be used to it, but she wasn't. She had always hated lying, even as a child. She felt terrible and she knew there was only one person who had always managed to make her feel better. So she slided on the bed until she reached her pillows. Underneath them, there was a secret compartment where she kept important things. Flora used her magic to unlock it and she took out a framed picture. A smiling man with brown eyes, blonde hair and caramel skin looked back at her. She smiled at the picture.
"Hey, Will." She sighed, wishing that he could be there with her. "Today is a really hard day for me, so I really needed to see you. You were always able to calm me down, whether by giving me white roses or by making tea. I loved your tea." She smiled as she looked at the cup on her night stand, filled with the same tea he used to make every time she was upset. "I'm feeling like a failure right now, not only because I am powerless, but because I couldn't help my sister. Miele means a lot to me. I know that if you were here, you'd tell me it's okay, that we can't win every battle, but I don't know, I really want to win this one." Feeling herself getting upset, Flora stood up and poured herself some tea. She slowly drank it as a small smile came to her face. Then her thoughts went to how much she missed him and she put the tea back on the night stand as tears escaped her eyes.
"I really wish you were here, I miss you so much. I've had such a hard time dealing with you being gone, after all, you were the only one who was always there for me. But things have changed now, I have more people who believe in me. Like Helia." She smiled again at the mention of her wonderful fiancée. "He is so amazing and he knows me so well. Well, he knows the person I've been since we met. I hate lying to him, but it's necessary. You know, I think that you would have liked him, except for the fact that we are together." She laughed as more memories came to her mind. She heard a tick from behind her and she looked at the clock. She was surprised to find out that he had been there for over ten minutes.
"I better go now or my friends will start worrying. Thanks, Will, for always believing in me and giving me strength. I really need that right now. Je t'aime, mon petit chat." She gently stroked the picture before putting it back on the secret compartment before putting the pillows over it. Unfortunately, being in a rush, Flora forgot to lock it and she didn't notice when the picture fell to the ground. That would cause her many problems later.
At Aisha's Gym...
The girls were spread along the gym as they waited for Flora to come. Bloom and Musa were looking in amazement at the gym as they complimented Aisha while Stella was looking at herself in the huge mirror, unsure about the outfit she had chosen. Tecna sat on the wall as she barely payed attention to the girls, too concentrated on looking at her phone, probably texting Timmy. That was the scene Flora came into. As soon as she stepped onto the gym, everyone stopped what they were doing to look at her.
"Hey, Flo, is everything okay?" Aisha was the first to ask. The nature fairy quickly smiled at her friends.
"Everything's fine girls, I just needed a moment to recompose myself after what happened yesterday." They nodded their heads, understanding where she was coming from and how the day before had been harder on her than anyone else.
"It wasn't a moment, actually." The girls turned back to look at the technology fairy, who had stood up and walked over to them. "You were gone for 12 minutes and 36 seconds." Stella rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"Tecna, too technical!" The sun fairy said and Tecna shrugged her shoulders.
"Sorry if it's too hard for you to understand a simple counting of minutes, Stella. Anyways, I have some news." Then Tecna did one thing they had never seen her do, she blushed. The girls guessed this outta be good.
"What is it? Everything okay?" Musa asked a bit worried.
"She's blushing, you guys. I bet this has to do with roooomance." Stella excitedly screamed as Tecna blushed even harder.
"Well, it does, actually." She found herself too nervous to speak.
"So it's about Timmy. What about him? Has he done something bad?" Musa asked with threatening look on her face. If Timmy dared hurt her best friend, he would have to deal with her.
"No, of course not. It's just... He wants me to meet his parents." Tecna blurted out and they gave her surprised looks. They were well aware that Timmy didn't speak to his parents, so they wondered why he would want Tecna to meet them. "They went back to talking a few weeks ago. When he mentioned that he had a girlfriend, they really wanted to meet me. So, we'll have a dinner in about two days." Tecna said before they could ask.
"That's good news. I'm sure they'll love you, Tec." Flora said, always the positive one. Stella was even more excited.
"Yess. This will be a perfect opportunity for me to try out some new outfits ideas I've had. I mean, you'll meet his parents, you need to look just fabulous!" The blonde was jumping with joy and Tecna gave the others a scared look. She had gotten herself in big trouble!
"Okay, guys, this is definitely great news and we're happy for you, Tecna, but I think that we should go back to our training." Aisha said firmly before a discussion could begin. The others agreed and they started training. Aisha taught them some easy steps and they were having fun when they heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Winx." It was Sky as he entered the gym followed by the other specialists and Thoren and Nex.
"Hi, are you here to train with us?" Bloom asked the boys.
"The Trix's magic is beyond extreme, we're here to help." Nex said as he looked at Musa. The music fairy wasn't pleased by how he was once again staring at her.
"You must be careful, you'll be fighting without your powers." Miss Faragonda warned them with a serious look.
"No sweat, we've got this." Stella said as she winked at Brandon. He blew her a kiss after giving her a smile.
"I'll make sure everyone's prepared, Miss. Faragonda." Aisha told the headmistress reassuringly. "Since I won't go back there, I guess that's all I can do." The girls gave her surprised looks at the mention that she wouldn't be going back to Limphea with them.
"Why are you not coming, Aisha?" Musa asked.
"Aisha and I will stay here to take care of the baby. I'm sorry, guys." Nabu told everyone as he approached the fairy of waves. The others just nodded, understanding. Aisha and Nabu kissed softly and she looked at the sleeping child in his arms.
"She looks so cute when she's asleep." She said to her husband. They both smiled at the little girl. As if she could sense their eyes on her, Lana opened her eyes.
"Oh, great." Nabu muttered. He had had a hard time putting her to sleep the night before and she had only been asleep for about two hours.
"Hey, there, baby girl." Aisha greeted and Lana smiled at her. Then she looked around the room at everyone before her eyes set on the person she wanted. She cried out while reaching her small hand towards the nature fairy.
"Even from afar, she knows who I am." Flora said as she smiled. Then she approached the couple and looked at the little girl. "Hey, sweetie. Did you have a good night with your daddy?" Lana extended her arms even further and Flora understood that she wanted to be picked up. "Okay, okay. I missed you too." She told the laughing baby now in her arms.
"I can just picture when she grows up and she'll always ask to go to Auntie Flora's house." Bloom said with a smile.
"Okay, not wanting to ruin this sweet moment, but we should go back to training." Riven said from afar. No one missed the gentleness in his tone, unlike the old Riven who would be arrogant and rude.
"Riven's right. We just need to figure out where we'll leave Lana." Aisha said as she realized that Nabu hadn't brought her crib.
"I can fix that." Miss Faragonda said and she concentrated for a few seconds. Then a small crib appeared on Nabu's hand.
"Thanks, Miss. Faragonda." Aisha said. Flora gently placed the baby on the crib and she gave out a few cries before falling asleep again.
"I put a sound barrier around the crib, so she won't listen in while you train." The headmistress said. " One more thing before you resume, don't forget that now that you have pieces of the dragon flame inside you, you'll have a chance to earn the Bloomix Power through special acts of courage." With that said, she went back to her office and the Winx resumed training.
"Look what I've been practicing." Aisha said and she walked towards the mirror. She then performed some dance steps before she made a triple backflip. The others clapped, impressed with her skills.
"That was fantastic, Aisha." Stella said.
"It's not difficult, you try and I'll spot you." Aisha told her.
"That's alright, I've got spotters of my own." Stella said and then she called the pixies and asked for their help. It didn't work out and when she tried the triple backflip, she ended up falling. "Ouch." She said while on the ground. Some laughed at the scene, but Flora went to Stella and helped her stand up.
"You okay, Stell?" She asked a bit worried.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Guess that didn't work out." The sun fairy responded.
"Hey, Bloom. Where's Daphne?" Thoren asked quietly as he went to the fire fairy's side. She gave him a knowing smile before answering.
"She's a the library, researching the treants. I'm sure she'd love some company." Bloom answered and Thoren blushed a bit.
"Okay, so I'll check up on her." Then he was gone.
At the library...
Daphne was looking through many books trying to figure something about the treants. She found herself disappointed, though. After reading the 20th useless book, she ended up throwing it back to the bookshelf with more force than intended, due to her frustration. Unfortunately, it was in that moment that Thoren entered the library and the book ended up knocking him down.
"Oh, no." Daphne screamed in horror. She quickly ran to him as he was sitting up while massaging his head.
"Wow! Why so mad at me?" Thoren attempted to joke and Daphne just gave him an exasperated look.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to throw that book at you." She quickly apologized and Thoren laughed at her despair.
"It's okay. So, tell me, why are you so... mad?" He searched for the right word that wouldn't set her off.
"I've been reading a million books for like two hours and nothing." Daphne said once they reached the table where she had been reading.
"Maybe I can help you." Thoren said before he walked towards a nearby shelf and picked up a random book. Daphne used her magic to bring the book back to her.
"Wow! I don't know how you did this, but this book will sure be helpful." She showed him the cover of the book. "It's the story version of the Treants' legend."She explained once he just gave her a confused look.
"You know, my father used to read me the story when I was a kid." Thoren told her and a frown appeared on his face as he thought of his father. Daphne wanted to question it, but she decided it wasn't a good idea. They had just met, after all. "Each time he read it, it gave me the creeps." Daphne started reading the book, a concentrated look on her face. "Are you looking for something in particular?" He asked.
"Yeah, I'm trying to find a way to control the Treants."
" Well, if anyone could get to the root of the problem, it would be you, Daphne." She gave him a confused look.
"Why do you say that?" She questioned and he was taken aback. Women didn't usually question it when he complimented them.
"I mean, from what I've seen so far, you seem to be good at fixing problems." He answered nervously. She smiled at him before it hit her.
"Wait a minute. The root, that's it! The Treants' roots must be firmly planted on the ground." She told him excitedly.
"Right! So?" He didn't get it.
"If the root makes contact with the ground, it stabilizes them." They high fived happily before going to the gym to tell the Winx and Specialists. Along the way, there was light talking and the two entered the gym unknowingly holding hands.
Back at the gym...
"Okay, guys. Let's do this!" Sky told the specialist excitedly. "This obstacle course will improve our agility and reflexes." He climbed into a platform with Next following him and he quickly finished the course.
"Well done, Sky!" Helia said once he was finished as the other specialists clapped. The Winx were too busy trying out the triple backflip to pay much attention to them. Tecna and Musa easily got it, while Bloom and Stella had a little trouble. Flora pretended not to do so well, not wanting to catch their attention on how easily she could do it. She had learned the first year that they had become friends that the best way to keep her secrets was not to call much attention.
"Not again." There was a scream and a crashing sound as Stella accidentally knocked Tecna to the ground after trying the backflip again. The Winx stopped what they were doing and Flora and Bloom walked towards their two fallen friends. Timmy quickly ran to Tecna's side.
"Hey, you guys okay." Flora asked.
"We're fine." Tecna answered once Timmy helped her stand up again.
"You sure?" The orange haired specialists looked worriedly at her.
"Yeah, Timmy. It was just a fall, nothing serious." The two lovebirds smiled at each other and they would have gotten lost in their own world if it wasn't for Sky's next words.
"What are you waiting for? It's your turn?" The prince told Nex as the blue haired paladin hadn't moved yet. Everyone watched the two of them.
"Piece of cake." Nex said with a smirk and he easily completed the course, even faster than Sky did.
"Great job, Nex." Aisha told him.
"Thanks, it was nothing special." He said while smiling at his crowd, his eyes resting upon Musa once again.
''Exactly. Now I'll show you something special." Riven said and he did the same as the others. He was fast, but due to a stunt Next pulled, he almost fell down.
"Oh, no. Riven!" Musa screamed as she watched him hold onto Sky's hand knowing that she could do nothing to help him. Sky pulled Riven up and he climbed onto the platform.
"What the hell was that?" He asked the blue haired paladin as the elevator descended.
"You know, if this is your idea of helping, Nex, we don't need it." Musa told him angrily before she stormed away. Riven followed the direction she had gone after giving Nex a killer look. Just then Daphne and Thoren entered the room with big smiles on their faces.
"Hey, guys, we figured out how to control the Treants." Daphne said excitedly.
"All right!" Bloom cheered.
"Flora, we'll need some of your potions." Daphne told the nature fairy and she nodded before going to the lab to make the potions. Everyone got ready to go to Limphea College.
At the lab...
Flora was surrounded by bottles of different liquids as she concentrated on how to make the potions. Potion had always been one of her favorite subjects since she loved chemistry. She hummed a song for herself as she made it and she didn't notice when someone entered the lab. Suddenly, she felt strong arms wrap around her and her eyes were covered.
"Guess who's there?" A voice whispered in her ear. A part of her wanted to say his name, but she knew that would be impossible. He was long gone. She smiled as she remember how Will loved to do this to her and how he would change his voice so that she didn't know it was him, but she always knew that it was. But this wasn't Will and she knew only one other person who liked doing that.
"Helia." She smiled as he uncovered her eyes.
"Hey there, my beautiful fiancée." He told her as they shared a quick kiss.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave?" She asked him gently.
"Maybe. But I'd rather be here with you." He told her before bringing her closer for a kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck and they were lost in their own world. A boiling sound brought them back as Flora quickly pulled apart and erased the fire that she had put to warm up the potions.
"That was close." She sighed in relief as she picked the potions.
"So, I came here because I have to tell you something." Helia said and she looked at him while putting the potions on her backpack. "Nabu came to me a few minutes ago and he asked me if you and I would be up to taking care of Lana when they go back to Andros."
"Why aren't they taking her?" Flora asked, confused. The Andros couple would be going back home in a few days to discuss the taking of the throne. Aisha's parents thought that it was about time that they became the new rulers of Andros, but the fairy of waves disagreed. She had no intention of taking the throne yet. So they would have to go there to discuss it.
"He said it wouldn't be a good environment for little Lana, with all the discussion and fights that might follow their visit. So, are you okay with it?"
"Yes, you know how much I love her. We'll take her for the day." Flora told him with a smile.
"Or week. Who knows how long this discussion's gonna last." Both laughed at his joke before they walked out of the lab and towards the outside, where everyone would be waiting for them.
Outside...
"Is everyone ready for this?" Bloom was asking the group of 13 people. The specialists and Paladins were already mounted on their bikes as the Winx stood near a ship with Timmy, who would be taking them to Limphea College. "Okay, so here's the plan. Specialists, you and I are going to attack Cloud Tower." She told them of the plan.
"What about us?" Thoren asked her.
"You are going to free Limphea College with the Winx." Bloom told him with a smile. She liked Thoren, there was something different about him. She wondered what had happened between him and Sky for them not to like each other. She had restrained herself from asking about it, deciding that if Sky wanted to tell her, he would.
" Rewind, how are we supposed to do that?" Musa asked, breaking Bloom's train of thought. It was in that moment that Flora and Helia walked outside.
"Easy." The nature fairy told Musa. "With my potions." Then she started distributing them to everyone.
"Awesome!" Musa said.
"Excellent. These potions were prepared just perfectly. Well done, Flora." Tecna proudly said as she smiled at Flora. The nature fairy returned the smile.
"Okay, now we should go. Your sister, Miele needs us, Flora." Bloom said and teh Winx entered the ship as Bloom transformed into her Sirenix. She and the specialists left first. As the group of people left Alfea, only Aisha and Nabu remained in the courtyard.
"I hope that they can do this." Aisha told her husband as she watched her friends fly away.
So what did you think? This turned out to be too long, so I decided that I'd better split this chapter in two parts. Don't worry, I'll post the next part by sunday or monday. I just didn't want it to be too long.
Did you like the Will scene? I gave you many clues there. Wasn't it sweet how Flora loves to make tea and that's something he taught her? Next chapter one of the Winx will find out about him. Can you guess who that will be? Did you like the baby scenes or was it too much? In two chapters we'll have Flora and Helia babysitting baby Lana. Are you ready for the cuteness?
Did you like that I added some Tecna and Timmy? I didn't want to leave them out. Next chapter we'll have Aisha X Nabu and some Stella X Brandon.