Hey, people. Thanks so much for all of those who reviewed, I'm glad that you haven't give up on this story.
Okay, so here it is. The most heartbreaking chapter I've ever written. I am feeling down right now, so I'll be spending the rest of my day watching comedies, because seriously, this is sad. This chapter is mostly about Flora, Henry and Catherine, but we do have some Flora X Helia scenes and also with the Winx and Specialists. I actually had fun writing this chapter, it is so intense that I could feel what the characters were feeling. I think it will go second in my fav chapter's list.
Let's start with the shoutouts:
LostMirage: Ah, it must be hard to be reading, with school/college and all. I'm still free, so that's why the chapters are coming so frequently. If last one broke it, this one will do worse.
Sweety Chou: Boy was I surprised to see your name here. It's been a while. Thanks for all the compliments towards the story and my writing. Yeah, I'm so glad that someone understands Flora's actions regarding James. Oh, those two are always messing with my emotions. It's even more beautiful and heartbreaking in this chapter. Thanks! I'm still free, so that's why updates are so frequent. I saw that you updated Her Red Rose as well and I can't wait to read the new chapter! It's been a while, though, so I'll probably have to reread the whole story.
winxkate: Yeah, this is one great tragedy, I think Shakespeare would be proud. We'll see about those two in the next one, this one's all about Flora, Henry and Catherine. You better have those handkerchiefs, because I think you'll be needing them. This one's the saddest and most beautiful chapter, in my opinion.
Alemara: We'll see about Tecna in the next chapter, I think. The answer to those two questions is here. I'm glad you liked that I made them villains. After we're done with the Catherine is the villain plot, it will be back to them. Ah, I understand. Well, thanks for reviewing now :)
dance76326: I'm a fan of cliffhangers, they make the story better and leave people anxiously waiting to see what happens next.
LoveFlora: I'm glad you do, thanks for reviewing :)
Xdaniekje: This is one crazy story, isn't it? And it's not over yet, we'll have even more plot twists next chapter.
Once again, thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and theories and for reading this story. I hope that everyone has reread chapters 11-16 or else this one might be a bit confusing. Happy reading! Or rather, good luck!
August 4th of 1543...
It was late at night and the palace was unusually quiet. The sound of footsteps was heard as a man walked along the corridors until he reached the door that led outside. He pushed it gently and stepped outside. He looked around at the quiet gardens before his eyes spotted the one he was searching for. He took a deep breath before walking towards the fountain where she sat. Her gaze was so focused on the water that she didn't notice when he reached her.
"Goodnight, love." He said gently and softly and she almost jumped.
"Henry!" She exclaimed while she stood up to stare at him. He gave her an apologizing look upon seeing the shock on her face.
"I'm sure I startled you, it wasn't my intention." Her face softened and she gave him a small smile.
"It's okay, I'm just glad you're here." She sniffed and he instantly went from curious to worried.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?" He asked and she shook her head as an answer.
"No, I'm not. I... I lost the baby." Catherine confessed sadly and his heart was filled with grief. It had been two weeks since she had given the news that she was pregnant once again and he had been filled with joy.
"That's terrible. I'm so sorry you had to go through that again, love." He said before wrapping his arms around her comfortingly. She cried silently for a few minutes while he held her.
"Thanks for meeting me, I really needed some company now and I didn't want to interrupt Flora's sleep." She told him after they pulled apart. He gave her an understanding look.
"I understand perfectly. I truly wish that this didn't have to happen again." Both sighed as memories of the first time they had lost a child came to their minds. Not wanting to relive the pain yet, Catherine decided to change the subject.
"So, how was the meeting?" She questioned, mentioning to the earlier meeting he had had with his close friend and advisor, Charles Bonnaire.
"Oh, it was good. At least we have one less problem now." Henry commented, sounding uncomfortable.
"What problem are you referring to?" She asked, curious and confused.
"Well, I'm sorry for not telling you before, but you remember the Italian wars, right?" She nodded slowly, fearing where this might be going. "We found out that there was a survivor, a Medicci that apparently wasn't killed all those years ago." Now she was definitely afraid, so she increased the distance between them, stepping back until her legs hit the fountain.
"His name's Alexander and he was nominated as mayor of Florence a few days ago, which is how we found out that he was alive. I guess that he had been hiding before." She was barely hearing him, her mind focused on this new piece of information as disbelief crossed her face.
"This is impossible." She muttered, hoping that it had been low enough so that he wouldn't hear her. He looked at her confusingly.
"What?" She tried to calm herself down and act like these news didn't affect her at all.
"It's just shocking, that's all." She said nervously and his relaxed smile showed her that he believed her. "So,what exactly did you do about him?" Henry lowered his head.
"I had to get rid of him, he was a threat to us and we've already got enough trouble with England. So I sent Charles to do it, he just returned to tell me that his mission was successful." Rage and sadness filled her, but knew that losing control over her emotions would ruin everything. So she remained calm, at least from the outside.
"That's good to hear. Now, it's getting late, so I probably should head back in. Thank you for comforting me." She said with a fake smile and he gave her a sad one.
"I'm always here for you, you know that. Good night." He wished and she nodded before walking away. Her destination was her chateau where she planned on having the bottle of wine that she had recently purchased so that she could get drunk and not feel the pain anymore. It was overwhelming. Upon getting there, she was surprised to see there were lights, so she hurried, fear filling her. She entered the house and almost screamed when she saw someone near the stairs.
"Oh, good night, Catherine." It was William, looking tired yet blissfully happy. She eyed him suspiciously.
"William. I didn't know that you were back already." She commented and he gave her an apologizing look.
"Yeah, Mary and I just returned, I came to see Flora before going to see you and father." He told her and she couldn't help but smile upon seeing how happy he looked.
"I take it that your honeymoon was good." She said with a mischievous smile and he blushed.
"Yes, it was. Mary is amazing and I really like her." He said dreamily and Catherine laughed.
"Well, then perhaps we should celebrate." He looked at her confusingly before she disappeared into her kitchen to get the bottle wine and a couple glasses. She was surprised to spot a glass in the sink that was already filled with wine. "Must be Leonardo's. I guess he wouldn't mind if I used it, since he's nowhere in sight." She muttered to herself before she picked the glass and settled it on the table. She found the bottle already there, so she picked another glass and filled it. Getting the two glasses, she started walking back to the living room and she missed when a mysterious figure picked the bottle she had left behind and took it with them.
"Here. Let's make a toast for your happiness. May it last for a long time." Catherine told the young man after handing him his glass. He smiled at her before lifting it so that they could toast. Both drank the wine happily and the thoughts of what happened that day were momentarily forgotten from Catherine's mind. She was glad to have a peaceful moment with someone she loved, glad for his company when her own daughter was asleep.
The next day, when Prince William was found on his bedroom, having passed away due to the sweat disease, Catherine would wonder how this could have happened when he appeared so well before. It came as a shock to everyone and it left her with an uneasy feeling. That was when she suspected that there might be someone else in the castle, someone dangerous. Too bad she didn't have any idea just how dangerous the situation was.
Present day, in the King's Office (while the Winx were talking to Roxy)
After 20 minutes of walking around the palace, Flora finally reached her destination. Her father's office, where she was sure that her parents would be, probably discussing war plans. She sighed as she thought about what she was going to say, what she needed to say. She had to tell them just how broken she was, how badly their poor decisions had affected her.
"Let's just hope that they'll understand, they've been so unreasonable lately." She muttered to herself as she prepared to knock. She could hear voices coming from inside the office and she knew that they would be mad at her for interrupting them and for walking around alone.
"Honestly, Catherine, I don't understand why you've been so mad at me lately, you were the one that always wanted Flora to become queen." Her father's voice was heard and she found herself frozen, her right hand extended towards the door. But she didn't knock, she didn't even move.
"I know that and I'm happy that this plan is working." Catherine shot back loudly. "But I'm not stupid, I see how much this is hurting her and I really don't want her to turn out like me." Those words left the fairy of nature extremely confused and shocked and the arm that had lifted so that she could knock fell down as she silently pressed her ears towards the door, wanting to hear more.
"Now what do you mean, love?" Henry asked, sounding just as confused as she was. Catherine let out a deep sigh.
"I don't want her to be miserable for the rest of her life, haunted by the happy memories of the past. I just don't know how in the world I would ever be able to fix this." Her heartfelt confession was followed by silence.
"I don't think that there's anyway we'd be able to fix it by now. But what does this have to do with you being so mad at me?" Henry questioned, breaking the awkward silence and Flora didn't see the way her mother smiled bitterly.
"Do you really want to know the reason why I can't stand you right now?" Catherine asked and Flora missed the way her father eagerly nodded.
"Yes. I want to know what I could have possibly done to make you so angry." He said firmly and determinately and Catherine let out a sorrowful laugh.
"You mean besides feeding me with illusions of a happy life just before you married someone else?" Her statement was met with surprise for both Flora and Henry. The nature fairy pressed even closer to the door, curious about what they might be talking about. She had a guess, but one can never be too sure.
"Come on, Catherine. It's been 20 years, you need to let it go."Henry argued, tiredness clear in his voice and Flora got the feeling that they had had this argument way too many times.
"You're right. I'm so over your choice of marrying Diane against both of our wishes. But that's not the worse you did." This time Henry sounded more confused than Flora had ever heard him.
"What is it then? What have I done?" He questioned and Catherine remained silent for a few seconds.
"Because you killed my brother!" Flora had always known that her mother was a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any second. She had always been told to be careful around her and she had seen all the terrible things that she had gone through. She had watched as her mother remained calm after losing her child, when talking about her family and when they lost Queen Isabella. But now, it seemed as if Catherine had had enough and all of the anger she had kept bottled up for all of those years resurfaced in that statement. The nature fairy was glad that she wasn't in that room in that moment.
"Wha... what?" Henry's reaction was pure shock and heartbreak.
"You killed my brother and I don't think that I'll ever be able to forgive you for that." Catherine repeated it, despair and anger clear on her voice. Then she exploded. Flora couldn't see her, but she guessed that her face must be filled with tears because she started crying. It was loud and out of control, two things that her mother never was.
She couldn't see her father either, but as soon as Catherine started crying, he looked at her with sorrow for a second before taking her in his arms. It was a beautiful scene, yet at the same time heartbreaking. If anyone would have seen it, they would immediately realize that the couple in the room were two people desperately in love, yet broken, perhaps, beyond repair. After everything they had been through, everything they suffered, it was a miracle that they were still alive.
As she felt her lover's arms wrap protectively and lovingly around her, Catherine's anger faded away even if for a few minutes and she let herself cry. She tried to release all of the pain she had kept bottled up for all of these years, the sorrow of losing her family and her children. She wanted to let it go, she wanted to be able to look into his eyes without seeing the destruction that his father had caused. She wanted to be able to love him wholly, without any anger behind every kiss or sorrow behind every touch.
They stayed like this for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts, unaware that their daughter, their only child, was hearing all of this. They had no idea that she was learning all of these new facts about them, truths that could fix or ruin their relationship. They were unaware that she had fallen to the ground, silently crying after hearing the pain in both their voices, after hearing how much they were suffering too.
In that moment, Flora was able to push her feelings, her suffering aside as she wondered how she couldn't see just how broken her mother was or how much her father was hurting. Her mind went back to the day she learned of her brother's death and she wondered if maybe it had affected them worse than she had assumed. She wondered if maybe she should have just done what was asked of her, without running away, if maybe she could have saved them a bit of pain. After all, it was her fault that this war had began. Well, maybe not her fault since she hadn't taunted the enemy, but it was about her. She was the main target and all her parents had been doing was trying to protect her, keep her alive.
"Maybe I am the one who's being unreasonable." She whispered, doubt and guilt filling her. She didn't have much time to dwell on that, though, because the conversation was far from over.
"I'm sorry. I've been a crying mess lately." Catherine apologized, her voice still hoarse and Flora missed the way henry smiled gently at her.
"It's okay. I knew that you were upset during the last few months, because we lost the baby." His voice broke at the last words and Flora found herself even more confused.
"After losing Rose I never thought that I would have to go through that pain again. I guess God decided it should be enough punishment for my sins." The nature fairy rolled her eyes upon hearing these words. Her mother's over religiously was usually okay, but sometime Catherine went too far.
"But what sins? If someone has committed them, it has been me." Henry replied, sounding guilty. Flora missed the way her mother shook her head vigorously.
"No, none of your sins could compare to what I've done. I know that I had my reasons and good ones, but that doesn't excuse my actions." He stared at her with mild suspicion and confusion.
"Catherine, is there something you haven't been telling me?" She let out a bitter laugh that made Flora flinch because her pain was so clear.
"There are many things that I haven't been telling you, Henry, my love." A sigh followed such mysterious statement. "And I can never do that, not when I could lose the only person that still loves me." That one left two broken souls, one wondering how could Catherine believe that she no longer loved her and the other wondering how he could make such clear pain and suffering go away.
"You know that you could never lose me." He reassured her while taking her hand and giving it a tight squeeze, an action that Flora always thought was very sweet.
"Oh, Henry, you have no idea." Catherine shook her head and it was clear that she wanted to tell him, but she remained silent.
"Please, tell me what's on your mind. Perhaps it will be easier not to have to handle these burdens alone." He pleaded and Flora was touched to be able to hear this heartfelt conversation, something that didn't occur often between those two. At least not that she knew.
"But I've been alone for the past 20 years and it's because of you." Catherine pulled away from him, her anger coming back unexpectedly. "I know that it's not really your fault, but sometimes it's hard to look at you because I keep thinking of what happened to me, what he did to me." She added after seeing the confused and hurt look on his face.
"Who has hurt you?" He questioned and she let out a deep sigh before answering shortly.
"Your father." Flora pressed herself even closer to the door, glad to finally have some information on her grandfather, someone her parents and Queen Isabella apparently had an agreement never to mention. The young girl had never understood why her parents seemed to have a thing for keeping her in the dark about her family and barely mentioning them. Even those who were alive, such as her grandmother Claude, whom her father had honored by giving her younger sister the same name, were pushed away from her. They became barely strangers and Flora was glad that the same hadn't been done with Will.
"My father?" The nature fairy barely heard her father's cautious reply. "What did he do to you?" There was doubt and curiosity on his voice.
"He started an useless war that took away many lives, innocent lives." Catherine quickly continued her explosion so he wouldn't be able to interrupt her. "He was the cause of the destruction of my family, even if indirectly." Henry looked at her, shocked.
"You're talking about the Italian wars, aren't you?" He said slowly and barely audible. Upon seeing the look of pure anger and sadness on her face, he gulped. "You were in Italy when the attacks were on." It wasn't a question, but she answered it anyways.
"Yes. I lived there my entire life up to that point." She knew what his next question would be and so she quickly added. "Catarina de Medicci. That used to be my name." She said softly and he instantly pulled away, staring at her in shock. Outside the office, the nature fairy had to sit down so that she could try to stop the spinning on her head that left her quite dizzy. Words hammered in her brain as she understood the absurdity of the situation.
"Medicci. You...They...I can't believe it!" He knew exactly who those were, having heard their names many times over the course of his life.
"I'm not asking for you to apologize, though I know you want to. All I'm asking is that you focus on that piece of information when I tell you the next one." She tried to calm him down and his face paled even more as he kept connecting the dots.
"You're a Medicci, your family was murdered. So you came to France for revenge, didn't you?" He didn't let her answer it. "My father's death, it wasn't Gepetto, it was you!" He accused madly and Catherine didn't flinch at the anger in his voice. Flora let out a gasp that she attempted to cover with her mouth so as not to be heard, but both of them were so focused on their argument that they didn't pay attention to it.
"I killed your father to avenge my family, I won't deny it. But what he did was far worse." His face softened for he knew that she was right. But then, anger came back as another thought occurred to him.
"So that means that you never loved me, you were just manipulating me and I was stupid enough to believe you." Having seen this one coming, Catherine was quick to interrupt him before he could say more.
"No, I might have lied about who I was, but I never lied when I said that I loved you. Trust me, it's not as if I wanted to, you were the son of my enemy, the man who ruined my life. But love comes when you least expect it and sometimes, the most unlikely person is the one to catch your heart." There was silence once again after such a heartfelt confession. Henry's anger disappeared and he took bold and yet unsure steps towards her.
"I guess you and I can agree on the unlikeness of our relationship. I would never expect to fall in love just weeks before my wedding to Diane." He commented and both laughed bitterly. There it was, another thing that Flora was always kept in the dark about. The story behind Will's mother.
"About Diane, there's something that you should know." Catherine began, unsurely while Henry's suspicious stare bore into her soul. "Her death wasn't entirely an unfortunate accident. Nostradamus was the one to infect her after I had the idea." She lowered her head and waited for the outburst that never came. When Henry spoke up, he sounded calm.
"So you're behind her death too. I had such suspicions before, but I decided to let it go. I didn't think that you'd be capable of murder, but I can see that we both changed over the course of the years." He paused and sighed, ignoring her look of surprise and disbelief. "You're not the only one who has made mistakes that lead to someone's death, Catherine. As King of France, I have been behind many deaths, including your brother's." His last words caused her to let out a sob, her heart breaking once again.
"Poor Alex, he was only a child when our lives were destroyed. He was forced to live all this time with no family, all alone, unaware that I was still here. It broke my heart to realize that life was so cruel to the point of setting us apart and never reunite us again." Her cries filled the room, but this time it was more controlled and when he tried to approach her, wanting to comfort her, she shook her head.
"I'm sorry that I was part of the reason why you never reunited with him. I know from what Flora told me, since you never spoke to me about your family, that you cared a lot about him." She gave him a small smile that he didn't understand.
"As you did for Diane. I guess we could say that we're even." She told him after another bitter laugh and he shook his head.
"Let's not fool ourselves here, we both know I didn't care for Diane as much as you did for your brother. She was the mother of my child, but that was it. You were always the one I loved." Both smiled after his declaration before his face turned serious, deadly serious." There is one thing that I have to ask you, though."
"What is it?" She curiously asked and he sighed deeply.
"You said that you were behind Diane's death, with the help of Nostradamus. What about William? Did you infect him too?" His tone was barely controlled and tears were threatening to fall from his eyes. It was then that Flora couldn't stay hidden anymore, so she stood up and forced the door open. Both gave her frightened looks that she ignored.
"This is unbelievable!" She screamed, unable to contain herself any longer. Her parents shared worried looks.
"Goodnight, princess. What are you doing here?" Henry asked nervously and Catherine's face was pure white as she stared at her daughter.
"How much did you hear?" She asked anxiously and desperately, ignoring the surprised looks that both gave her. "I'm your mother, I know you better than anyone else." She added and Flora sighed.
"Enough." Flora replied shortly and Catherine sighed before throwing herself at a chair. "Now, since we're all here and apparently you two are in the mood for sharing the truth, for once, I need to ask: mother, are you responsible for Will's death?" Both stared at the nervously looking blonde woman, who shook her head vigorously in answer.
"No, I loved Will like he was my own son and I never wished any harm upon him." They let out relieved sighs after hearing this, but she wasn't done yet. "But there's something else. His death was similar to Diane's, he was indeed infected by someone, with the same poison that Nostradamus made. I didn't kill him, but someone else broke into my chateau that night and put the poison on the wine." This statement made Flora shiver at the thought of someone breaking into her home and murdering her brother.
"Is that why you told me that there was a spy on the castle?" Henry questioned and Catherine nodded.
"Oh god, this is just too much." Flora said, starting to feel dizzy once again with all that information.
"Flora, I..." Catherine started, her face filled with fear and regret. The nature fairy cut her off before she could continue.
"I'm sorry, but I need some time alone right now. I can't deal with this craziness yet." With that said, she started walking towards the open door, ignoring their calls for her to return. Just as she reached it, she was pushed back with full force. It happened so fast that she barely saw who pushed her, but her parents did. They stared at the stranger with wide eyes while she sat up after hitting her head on her father's desk.
"What?" She let out while she tried to make the dizziness stop as well as her aching head. After putting her hand on where she suspected to be the cause of her pain, she let out a gasp after feeling something wet. Blood.
"I don't believe it!" Henry said in disbelief and anger. Catherine looked terrified and the mysterious man that had entered the room.
"Richard?" She asked and he smirked at her. He was wearing a cape that was now let down, his almost black eyes showing madness and his brown hair was now down to his shoulders.
"Hello, Catherine. Long time no see." He said shortly and by then Flora had managed to make the world stop spinning and she stared at him curiously.
"Who are you?" She asked him and her parents looked back at her in a way that suggested they had forgotten that she was there. She could see fear in their eyes and that increased the fear she felt herself.
"Ah, I see that your mommy and daddy haven't told you about me." Richard said with the same smirk he had given her mother and he slowly made his way towards her. Flora stepped back, but soon she hit the table once again. "Well, we are all old friends." With every word he said she could see the madness within and that scared her more than the Trix ever would. Because while the three witches might be a threat, they weren't as dangerous as a man that was clearly not in the right state of mind. And Flora knew that people like that had no control, therefore they were most likely to do terrible things a villain like the Trix wouldn't even consider.
"Now that's bullshit. We were never friends, specially not after you attacked and almost raped Catherine." Henry said angrily, ignoring the glare said woman sent his way. Everyone knows that making an unstable person angry is a terrible idea, but in that moment all Henry could think about was the anger he felt after seeing this man once again.
"You mean when you took her away from me." Richard replied calmly and yet furiously and Flora went back to being confused.
"What are you even talking about?" Catherine replied just as incautious as her lover.
"I loved you, Catherine. But after you chose him, after you humiliated and rejected me, that feeling was long gone. No, all I could think about was getting my revenge." He ignored her question and kept on with his mad speech, leaving the three other occupants of the room confused and afraid.
"You're insane." Henry stated shockingly and. against any of their expectations, Richard smiled.
"Maybe I am, but I have managed to overcome you." He replied with a sense of superioress and they were left confused. "After all, I took care of your daughter and your son." Those words left Henry in a state of pure rage.
"You! You killed my poor Claude and William!" He exclaimed and he lunged forward, but Catherine held his arm to stop him, looking paler than ever.
"You've been watching us, haven't you? After all, how would you have known about the stack of poisons that Nostradamus kept in his lab?" She questioned the insane man and he nodded.
"Indeed. I've been watching you ever since William's wedding, when I discovered that he was actually your son. I killed him to get my revenge on you, but later I found out that it wasn't so true." With each word he stepped backwards, something none of the understood. However, his intentions were clear when he stood right before the fairy of nature, who found herself still unable to stand up due to her aching head. In a quick movement, Richard knelt down and picked her up by the arm.
"No!" Catherine's fearful scream was followed by Henry's rageful one.
"Let her go!" Flora wanted to scream, but the sudden force of been forced to stand up made her get dizzy again and her head hurt so badly that she was unable to form any words. Soon Richard held her in his arms with a dagger, one that they hadn't seen before, pressed to her throat. It was an all too familiar scene and her heart hammered in her chest as she realized that her fate would most likely be much different from Tecna's.
"You sure have been with a lot of women, Henry. It took me ages to find out who your child with Catherine really was. I found out at the beautiful ceremony you had to celebrate her wedding to the prince." Richard stopped his confession to smile contently."Ah, the sweet taste of revenge. I've been waiting for months to finally do this and now, I finally can." He let go of Flora, much to their surprise and she tried to keep herself steady.
"Now, I want you to look at them for a moment and know that this, is entirely their fault." He told her and then he acted. The dagger was pulled into her stomach and she let out a surprised gasp before the pain filled her. She heard her parents desperately screaming, but her attention was too focused on staying alive. As found herself unable to support her legs anymore and fell to her knees while holding her stomach, she cast a glance at the man who had hurt her so much without her even knowing. There was a smile on his face, a sad one and she even thought that she saw regret there.
"You son of a bitch!" Her father screamed before he charged for Richard, sword ready in hands. Catherine was quick to come to Flora's aids and she gently carried the nature fairy away from the fight. Her eyes showed the same regret Flora had seen in Richard's and the nature fairy worried about her state in that moment. While being carried by her mother, she could hear her muttering words of disbelief and her arms seemed way too weak as they took Flora away from Richard.
"Is that the best you got?" Richard's loud comment made both women stare at him and his opposer and they weren't too happy to see that he had picked his sword and was violently swinging it in Henry's direction. The king responded with equally violent movements.
"God, this hurts." Flora couldn't stop herself from groaning and Catherine stared at her worriedly.
"My sweet daughter, I am so sorry." She said while crying silently and Flora's heart was filled with sadness and forgiveness. Despite whatever her mother might have done, she could see clearly as day that Catherine had never meant for it to come to this. And she knew what it was like, looking back on her own experience with the Winx, she understood her mother better than ever. They had done the same thing, ran away from their troubled pasts, though after tonight the nature fairy knew that Catherine's suffering were far worse.
"It's okay, mother, this isn't entirely your fault. I know that you never meant to hurt me." She replied, each word punctuated by a heavy breath as breathing became more challenging due to the blood loss. She was sure that if this was any other day, she would be concerned about ruining such a beautiful dress that had been in her family for generations.
"But I did, I hurt you maybe even more than anyone else and I am so sorry." Catherine's tearful confession was followed by the sound of swords clashing as the fight in the other side of the room continued. While watching her father fight to protect her, an idea came to Flora's mind. It was something she would have never done, but by now she knew that peace wouldn't be their way out of this situation. So, with great difficulty, she was able to pull out the dagger and she gave the bloody weapon to her surprised mother.
"You should use it. Kill him before he kills my father." She said with a heavy heart and Catherine, knowing the dangerous situation they were in, pushed away her surprise at her daughter's words. So she silently picked up the dagger and looked back at the two man fighting, both too concentrated to pay any attention to them. With an agile movement, she threw it and miraculously it hit Richard right in his neck.
"What the hell?" Henry screamed in surprise and he looked at Catherine and Flora in disbelief. Next thing they knew, the door to the office was opened once again, this time to reveal the Winx and Specialists.
"Oh My God!" Musa screamed after she and Riven entered the room after Helia. The blue haired specialist looked between Flora and her parents with shock while his friends filled the room.
"What the hell?" Riven added and there was silence for a few moments as everyone's eyes shifted from the injured Flora to the injured man by her father's side. Richard watched them with uninterest while he attempted to pull out the dagger from his neck. He succeeded, but the damage was already done. Within seconds after he pulled it off, life left him and his body fell limply to the floor.
"Who was that guy?" Stella asked, breaking the silence and Henry and Catherine shared a look, but said nothing.
"Flora!" Helia screamed next, ignoring her question as he was quick to ran to her side.
"Helia." She said in a quiet whisper as her face lit up at the sight of him. As he kneeled by her side, Flora gave her mother a look and Catherine nodded, seeming to understand what she wanted. After leaving a small kiss on her forehead, Catherine gently passed her to Helia, who held her in his lap just as gently. The blond woman stood up slowly and looked at the couple with wide, sorrowful eyes. They were too focused on each other to notice how much she was trembling or how she kept looking at the open window just behind her with a sad expression.
"Oh, Helia, I'm so sorry." The fairy of nature told him while looking at him sadly. He gave her a sad smile before shaking his head.
"You don't have to apologize, okay. You should focus on staying alive right now, we'll take you to a doctor soon." His voice shook while tears welled up in his eyes.
"My love, I don't think that'll work out." She said while caressing his face with her small hands, leaving a trail of blood on his cheek. He used his own hand that wasn't supporting her to hold hers as they stared at each other with so much love in their eyes.
"No, it won't." Catherine said, ruining the sweet moment and Stella and Musa glared at her. She ignored them, her eyes solely focused on her daughter. "You'll die because of me and I can't bare to go through that again." She added and this time there was confusion in the Winx's faces.
"Catherine, love, I know this is tough, but we'll overcome it. I'm sure that Flora wouldn't want us to spend the rest of our lives grieving." Henry said while looking at her, a look that mixed pain, sadness and love.
"You're trying to make me feel better, as usual. That is one of the reason why I love you." She declared softly and the Winx were surprised to realize that the look she gave him was the one they found themselves giving their partners. A look of adoration, of genuine affection, of pure love.
"Mother..." Flora began, but Catherine interrupted her. There was nothing that she could say that would be able to change her mind.
"I hope that you can forgive me someday." She said intensely and sadly, her eyes focusing on the two people she loved more than anything in the world. Before anyone figured out what she was doing, she had backed away until she reached the open window. Fresh air made her hair sway and she gave everyone a peaceful smile before letting herself fall.
"NO!" Henry's loud and heartbroken scream covered the one his daughter let out as he immediately ran towards the window. It was too late, though. As he stared into the night, he could see Catherine's figure lying on the floor far below. She wasn't moving, her brown eyes looking empty and her face was pure white. She was dead. Unable to hold himself any longer, the heartbroken king fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands as he sobbed uncontrollably. Flora wanted nothing more than to run to him, hug him tightly and comfort him. But she couldn't. She could feel herself slipping further away by the minutes and she knew that she needed to say goodbye.
"Girls." Her friends looked at her, still shaken by Catherine's suicide. "I'm so sorry that I got you into this mess." A pause was necessary so that she could attempt to regain her breath. "I hope you can forgive me." In that moment, all of the lies and secrets were far away from their minds.
"And we do, Flo." Bloom said,silent tears streaming down her face while Sky's arm was wrapped around her comfortingly.
"We'll never forget you." Musa added and then it was Aisha.
"Of course not, you're my best friend and I love you. I wish it didn't have to end this way." By then they were all crying, even some of the specialists.
"Oh, god, I can't breathe." Tecna said and they didn't pay much attention to her, assuming that she was just too sad. Timmy, however, knew better than to believe that.
"Tecna?" He asked silently and his eyes widened when he realized that she was even paler than before, if that was even possible. She started coughing violently and they assumed that this was caused by her cold. Some, like Musa and Stella, looked back worriedly.
"Tecna, are you alright?" Musa asked a few minutes later, once the fairy of technology had stopped coughing. There was no answer as Tecna fell unconscious right at that moment.
"No!" Timmy screamed worriedly and he kneeled down with her weak body in his arms. He checked her pulse and realized that it was too weak. "No, Tecna, you can't do this to me." He said desperately and the others were confused and afraid. From the other side of the room Flora watched her best friend fall unconscious and the stress made her feel even worse. She knew then that she didn't have much time, she needed to talk to Helia before it was too late.
"Helia." She caught his attention and his worried eyes turned to her. "My hero. You have taught me so much and I am so grateful that I met you." She began her confession and they mirrored sad smiles. "I love you, more than I ever thought it was possible, and I always will! I wish we could get married and build our lives together, but that's not gonna happen. I'm so sorry for lying to you and for leaving you. I will never forget you and I truly wish that you can find happiness in the future. We'll see each other again someday, I promise." It took all of her strength to say these words and she barely heard his tearful reply.
"I love you too, more than anything." He said brokenly and she was miraculously able to lift herself up so that they could share a last kiss. It was gentle and loving, wet due to their tears. It was perfect and way too short. Soon her body felt limp on his lap, her eyes closed and silence filled the room.
I KNOW. I KNOW. I'M SURE YOU HATE ME RIGHT NOW, BUT DON'T HATE ON THE STORY. IT'S NOT OVER YET.
I never thought I'd be killing my main character, but what can you do, I've read too much Shakespeare.
So, thoughts anyone? What did you think of the Catherine X Henry scenes? And the ones with Richard? Were you surprised that he made a comeback? Did anyone even remember him?
What about Flora X Helia? Weren't their scenes sad and beautiful and incredibly cheesy? And Catherine, were you able to feel empathy for her here? I bet you were thinking that she had killed Will. Is anyone sad about her suicide?
I'm afraid next chapter will take awhile to get here, I'll be travelling this weekend to a place where there's no wifi. The next update should come by Monday and I beg you, don't give up on this story yet.