Okay, I know this chapter's a little late, but that's only because I went away on holidays and was too busy swimming and lounging in the sun to edit. Yes, you people in the northern hemisphere, while you guys are freezing I'm currently enjoying summer. Can you just see my smugness and sunny tan radiating off the page? I love Christmas in the summer time. The presents. The sun. The beach. I love it!
Now that I'm done gloating, let's get into it shall we? I'm bring back one of my old favourites; the Musa/Riven/Darcy triangle. Another thing I can't get enough of. Whoo!
Chapter Fifteen – Magic in My Heart
Darcy sat moodily on one of the many boulders Shadow Haunt had on offer, staring at the two shadow monsters before her with a bored expression on her wickedly beautiful face. With her right hand supporting her head, Darcy offhandedly waved her left in the direction of the two monsters, unleashing the hypnotic energy that she had conjured up inside of her and effectively enslaved the shadow monster to her will. Once she was certain that they were under her control, the Dark Witch uttered one word in a deadpan tone of voice.
"Fight."
With a screaming roar, the two shadow monsters broke out of their trance like state and immediately started ripping into each other with their razor sharp claws and teeth. Large chucks of flesh were torn off the monsters in the deadly exchange and the ground beneath their feet was soon drenched in black coloured blood. And still the ugly fight continued.
Darcy watched the bloody battle morbidly for several seconds before she lost interest. Dropping down from her boulder, Darcy slowly strolled off into Darkar's fortress in search of something else to entertain her. Almost as an after thought, she released the hold she had on the shadow monsters minds and then left them to bleed to death. There were countless shadow monsters lurking around Shadow Haunt. No one would miss those two.
Darcy was bored. Shadow Haunt should have been ideal for a witch as dark as her. Unfortunately, it was not the ideal place for someone if they were going through adolescence, mainly due to the fact that Shadow Haunt was situated in an underground cave network miles from anywhere remotely considered fun. Unless one was a bat or a trog, one couldn't live in the Under Realm without feeling its walls press in around you. Darcy had grown up in a modern world with shopping malls, pubs and large social environments, so the isolation of Shadow Haunt was killing her. She had nothing to distract her from the long hours of the day. There were no other girls to rule over, no nerds to torment and no boys to toy with. Instead she had traded all that for the company of her sister, the future Lord Darkar promised them and countless shadow monsters at her disposal.
But even that didn't satisfy her.
Darcy was feeling peevish and she was itching for a fight. Physical, verbal, magical. She didn't care. She just wanted something to rip her claws into to try and release some of the frustration that had bottled up inside of her.
And that someone presented themselves in the form of Stormy.
"Curse that Musa. I gotta rip those pig tails of hers out with my bare hands," Stormy snarled to herself as she stalked through the caves. Her hands were balled into tight fists with bolts of electricity sparking from them, her teeth were clenched and she was absolutely seething. Stormy was exactly was Darcy was looking for.
"So I take it you couldn't find Alfea's piece of the Codex?" Darcy asked mockingly. Stormy tried to ignore her older sisters taunting, but she couldn't stop an animal like growl escaping from her throat. "How tragic. You snuck out in the middle of the night to try and find their Codex in order to win Darkar's favour, but you just ended up getting your butt kicked by a pixie. It's almost so sad it's funny."
"Shut your mouth Darcy or I'll shut it for you," Stormy growled viciously.
"Careful Stormy. You've already been beaten once tonight. Let's try not to make you any more pathetic than you already are."
"Don't you dare talk to me about who's the pathetic one, Darcy," Stormy snarled, turning around to glare at her sister. "I'm not to one who been lounging around bewitching the monsters to destroy each other. At least I've been trying to get all the pieces of the Codex so we can obtain the Ultimate Power. You've been spending all your time lying in sloth."
"I've been waiting for the right opportunity to steal the Codex to present itself instead of rushing in and blundering it up like you did."
"I can't help but notice that every time we accuse you of being too hesitant you claim that it's tactical."
"It is."
"Well how very convenient," Stormy spat.
Darcy's golden black eyes narrowed. "What exactly are you trying to say, Stormy?"
"You know exactly what I'm trying to say. You've become weak, my dear sister."
"How dare you," Darcy hissed, her voice dripping with venom.
"Oh, I dare. Over the past year you've become soft and timid. You're now only half the witch you were as a child.?"
"Well at least that means I'm still better than you."
"Argh! Thunder Storm!" the Weather Witch screamed, throwing her magic out in front of her. Bolts of lightning flew at Darcy and large shock waves ripped stones to splinters as the rumble of thunder echoed off them.
"Pitch Black," Darcy countered, thrusting up a wall of pure darkness in front of her. The darkness absorbed Stormy's attack, leaving Darcy completely unscathed. "See? I told you."
"Damn you!" Stormy seethed, throwing another attack Darcy's way which the elder of the two easily blocked.
"No wonder Musa kicked your ass," Darcy tormented as she threw a couple of dark darts at Stormy, working her sister up more.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Stormy promised, but before she could do anything, a voice like a cracking whip ripped through the air, causing the two quarrelling sisters to freeze in their attacks.
"Darcy! Stormy!" Icy shouted from her place in one of the higher caverns of Shadow Haunt. "What the hell do you two think you're doing?"
"Just re-establishing the pecking order," Darcy told her evenly, her golden eyes burning into Stormy, who growled at her comment.
"You idiots! Did you even stop to think about what you were doing throwing all those thunder attacks around? Did you forget we are in a cave?" Icy spat, glancing at the shattered boulders and the fallen stalactites that had come crashing down from the ceiling due to Stormy's attack. Stormy looked humiliated while Darcy looked smug and when Icy saw this she quickly added. "I would have thought that you Darcy would at least have enough intelligence to notice that."
Darcy's eyes narrowed, but she bit her tongue and refused to respond. Picking a fight with Stormy was one thing, but taking on Icy was a whole different ball game. When the Ice Queen failed to get a response out of her two sisters, Icy gave them both a chilling look and then vanished off into the shadows, muttering curses to herself. Darcy and Stormy glared at each other one last time before Darcy got bored with the idea of picking a fight with her little sister and decided to find some other form of entertainment.
"Later loser," Darcy hissed, gliding past Stormy.
"I'm not the one who's been acting like a loser recently," Stormy snarled back, stopping Darcy in her tracks. Apparently her dear little sister had some fight left in her after all.
"Excuse me?"
"Over the last few months you've been acting odd," Stormy told her, and it wasn't an argument. It was an accusation.
"I have not."
"You have so. You've been moping around ever since we failed with the Army of Decay."
"Duh? We lost."
"That's just it; you were mopey before we even left for Alfea."
"I have no idea what you're taking about," Darcy lied, storming off into the shadows. She knew what Stormy was going on about and she also had an idea of what may have caused it.
That was the day she broke up with Riven.
"Hey, do you know that Musa isn't actually royalty?" Brandon asked, striding into the juniors common room. His squad was all there, watching TV while they finished their homework; a combination every student in existence knew never really worked, but they still continued to do it regardless.
'What are you babbling about?" Riven asked, craning his neck backwards over the armrest of the couch he was lounging on so that he was looking at Brandon upside-down.
"Musa. She's not a real princess."
"Uh-huh. And is Stella a real blonde or is that just a lie too?" Riven asked, straightening his neck and returning his attention to the TV.
"Dude, I'm being serious."
"Brandon, Musa's a princess," Sky told his squire. "Ms. Faragonda announced her as Princess Musa when she sung at least years start of year mixer. Her father is the only child of Musa's granddaughter, who's currently the Queen of the Harmonic Nebular. So I'm sorry Brandon, but it think you're mistaken. Musa's a princess."
"Sky, I know all that stuff about her family, but she's still not a real princess."
"Why? Is she missing the authentic Princess tag that proves she's a product of the Perky Princess Company?" Riven asked sarcastically, getting tired of Brandon's ridiculous chatter.
"No. Her father was disowned by his parents when he decided to pursue a musical career when he was younger instead of focusing on the matters of state like his mother wanted him to," Brandon explained. "Musa's not royalty because her dad has no claim to what was his birthright."
"Are you serious?" Riven asked, suddenly no longer interested in what was on TV.
"I'm serious. I just overheard Musa telling Layla everything," Brandon told them all.
"I think Diaspro said something about this last year, but I thought she was just being . . . well, Diaspro," Sky said, before a thought hit him. "Hang on, Musa's father was an only child, so if they've disown him then who's heir to the throne of the Harmonic Nebular?"
"The King has a younger bother whose currently been named heir, but there's a massive legal battle over whether or not he has the right to ascend the throne," Helia, the only one who was actually do his homework, informed them all.
"Why?" everyone else asked at once.
"Because the King was the one who married into royalty, not the Queen and as a direct descendant of the Queen, Musa's bloodline is more pure. The case has been adjourned for now until Musa's reaches her twenty-first birthday."
"Why her twenty-first?" Sky questioned.
"Because in the Nebular's society, that the age where she's legally classes as an adult and she can challenge her great uncle for the throne or reject it forever. You guys didn't know this?"
"No," Timmy admitted sheepishly. They had been Musa's friend for over a year and yet they really had no idea about her family situation. They knew she had lost her mother at a very young age and that she never really got over it. She had never really liked to talk about her mothers' death since it always ended with her in tears, and it was because of that reason that the boys tended to avoid the topic all together.
"And that's not all," Brandon told them.
"There's more?" Timmy asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah. Apparently, her mother died while on a concert tour. She was sick and literally worked herself to death for the sake of putting on a good show. Musa's dad took it just as bad as Musa did and believes that it was because of the tour that his wife never let herself get treated for her illness, which is why he's forbidden Musa from pursuing a career in music."
"What?" Sky gasped. Telling Musa that she couldn't pursue a career in music was like telling Stella that she could no longer centre her life around fashion. That just didn't happen.
"If that's true, then how did she get on that Wizard-pa-looza tour last summer?" Riven asked, his expression unreadable.
"Because she told her father that she was attending a summer potions course and then ran off with a bunch of rock stars," Brandon told him.
"She lied?" Riven said before laughing out loud. "You're right Sky, she is as good a liar as me." (1)
"You're not angry about it?" Helia asked.
"Gods no. I applaud it. Lying is an art, after all, much like those stupid sketchy things you do."
"Thanks."
"So what do we do?" Brandon asked Riven.
"About what?"
"About Musa! She's scheduled to do that performance at festival in a few days and with her dad here she might not perform which leaves us without a main show. What are we going to do?"
"If Musa doesn't want to perform, we can't make her," Riven pointed out. "This thing's between her and her dad. There's no need for us to get involved."
"This is exactly why nobody likes you," Brandon snapped. "You're not a team player."
"Don't you need to practice that fire twirling thing Codatorta signed you and Sky up for?"
"Yes I do and you're still a jerk!" Brandon said, stomping out of the room like a pouting child.
Riven calmly looked over at Sky and said with a serious face, "This is why we need to cut some of his sugar out of his diet."
Darcy had tried to fight her boredom by reading through one of the old parchments that Shadow Haunt had on offer in the vain hope that she might learn something worthwhile and advance her dark magic. Unfortunately, Darkar had very little interest in books and had neglected them in the many years he had hidden himself away in this underground hell hole so most of the scrolls he had in his possession were half rotted since someone had conveniently left them under a dripping roof.
'It's always the way, isn't it?' Darcy thought to herself glumly as she tried to piece together what this document she was reading was actually about. Glancing up from yet another unfinished sentence, Darcy stared aimlessly at a rock wall for a long time without thinking anything, and then one clear thought entered her mind.
'I am really getting sick of looking at nothing but rocks all the time.'
Returning her attention back to the scroll, Darcy tried to lose herself in the mouldy writing before her, but she gave up on that when a slight movement off in the distance caught her eye. Looking up, Darcy saw a girl with straight, brown hair that fell past her shoulders duck through the caves. She was a pretty little thing that could pass as either witch or fairy but Darcy recognized her face instantly. Looking both way to make sure the coast was clear, the girl ran off into the shadows. With a sly smile Darcy rolled up the parchment and got to her feet.
"Where are you going, Stormy?" Darcy asked the darkness. "I guess the only way I'll know is if I follow you."
For years, Brandon had had a bit of a reputation of being a flirt and a ladies man. Ever since he had arrived at Red Fountain, Brandon's romantic career had dealt almost exclusively with the fairies of Alfea, but on the first day of the Red Fountain fundraiser weekend, Brandon was starting to get the feeling that he had limited himself by just focusing his efforts solely on fairies when he found himself in the company of two very attractive if not a little odd Cloud Tower witches.
"So, are you ladies interested in giving yours truly a good luck kiss before the sword and shield bouts?" Brandon asked charmingly. "You see, if you give a hero a good luck kiss and then he goes on to win the competition, you go in the draw to win a gift voucher at either Tommy Hillfairy or Aberzombie and Witch. Plus there's a prize for the hero who raises the most kisses. Tickets are only two bucks each or you can get three for five dollars."
"Do you do other favours for money too?" one of the witches by the name of Kristee asked wickedly, twirling a strand of her long brownish/grey hair around one finger.
"I think you can only get away with that kind of thing in Magix's red light district," her friend whose short haired was an odd shade of pure white and whose name was even odder, smirked.
"Fawks, I'm making sure I get my money's worth," Kristee grinned, and even though he wasn't a hundred percent positive, Brandon was pretty sure she was joking.
"Well, that all depends on the number of tickets you buy," Brandon smirked.
"Use a condom!" Fawks supplied cheerfully.
"So, does that mean I can put you two ladies down for some tickets?" Brandon asked. He was currently tied with Kane for the most tickets sold and he wasn't going down without a fight. "I don't have a hope of winning the combat bouts without some good luck from such gorgeous ladies like yourselves."
Despite the fact that they were both witches, the two Cloud Tower students couldn't help but giggle at Brandon's flattery. As soon as Fawks was able to compose herself, she asked, "But don't you have a girlfriend?"
"I do, but see we already talked it out. I mean, these good luck kisses are for charity. We're raising money to get the jousting team some new uniforms," Brandon justified. In actual fact, he hadn't even informed Stella of the kissing booth, but he was still mad at her so he really didn't care.
"Well, we'll have to run and find our purses first," Kristee smiled promisingly.
"Can we leave you a little lipstick before we go?" Fawks asked, an odd grin on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"Sure, but just leave it on my cheek, okay?" Brandon told the girls. So far he had only ever received and given kisses on the cheek and on the odd occasion the neck since he wasn't technically single, but he kind of liked the idea of parading his success around for everyone to see. The witches giggled and then suddenly ran off without giving Brandon the kiss they had promised him, but they did leave something else in both of his hands. "Huh? What's this? They actually left me lipstick?"
Staring after the two witches, Brandon saw them turn and wave cheekily at him. Kristee even dared to blow him a kiss and Brandon couldn't help but laugh. That was one odd pair of witches that was for sure.
Never one to linger too long on the failures of the past, Brandon scanned the crowd in search of his next target since there was no way he was going to let Kane beat him. After skimming over the girls who already had male company, Brandon's brown eyes fell on a rather pretty young lady that caught his attention for some reason. She was a bit of a looker, not doubt about that, and Brandon couldn't recall ever noticing her at any of the other interschool mixers they had had before. She could have passes as either fairy or witch, but today Brandon was quickly getting past his prejudice in the name of the festival and beating Kane.
"Ooh, hey there. You wonna kiss a hero?" he asked the girl with his trade mark charm. "Doesn't cost much and it's all for a good cause."
The girl just glared at him and there was something about her intense aqua green eyes made Brandon get the feeling he had met her before. "Argh! Get lost, loser!"
"Er, sorry," Brandon apologized, a little taken back by the girls – who he was now positive was a witch – attitude. And his luck with girls today wasn't improving when he heard a familiar, callous laugh come from behind him.
"Do you know what I find so entertaining about this situation?" a voice with a similar accent to Tecna's said, but there was a notable sharpness in this girls voice that reminded Brandon of a double edged blade. "It's the fact that we're both now in our junior year at high school and you still have absolutely no idea how to treat a woman, Casanova."
"Well, Victoria, if you can someday manage to dig up the slightest trace of oestrogen out of that waif-like shell you like to call a body – I know, sounds impossible – then maybe we'll talk," Brandon grinned charmingly.
Victoria was a fairy which Brandon had the great displeasure of knowing since freshmen year. As an heiress of noble birth from the Realm of Zenrith, Victoria had similar digital power and technical know-how as Tecna, but unlike the Winx Club member, Victoria could be thrown in with a bunch of witches and no one would be able to tell her part from the group. She had short, dark hair which was cut into a trendy bob and well tanned skin, which was a rarity on Zenrith. While fairies were usually all rather thin, Victoria slight frame was boarder line dangerous and she liked to ware tight fitting clothing to display just how skinny she was. Her tradition outfit consisted of a designer label little black dress that hide absolutely nothing and shoes which cost several thousand dollars. Brandon was almost positive that every junior girl at Alfea thought she was a callous, self-centred, manipulative bitch, but that did not change the fact that every time Victoria said 'jump', the other fairies would instantly reply with 'how high?' Victoria was normally surrounded her four friends who all tried to dressed like her and act like her and who all systematically despised her, but it was better to be her lackey than it was to be her enemy. Stella had been in Victoria dorm room during her first year of Alfea before the rest of the Winx Club came, and it was because of Victoria that no one in the junior year ever spoke to Stella any more. (2)
Because of that, Stella no longer called her by her real name, but simply referred to her as 'the Evil Stick Insect with no Soul'.
Victoria smiled in a way that didn't show her teeth, and Brandon got the impression of an animal trying not to bare its fangs. "Oh Brandon," she cooed in a voice that dripped with venomous sarcasm. "You are just too funny. Seriously, your sense of humour really shows your breeding."
"Don't you have a goat to go and suck dry along with the rest of your swarm or something?" Brandon asked, spotting the rest of Victoria's half staved posse standing not far away.
"Actually, for your information, I have a date."
"Really? I can not tell you how pleased I am for you. But does he have his own transport? After all it is a long trip from the seventh level of hell and traffic at this time of day would be dreadful."
"Yeah, you're funny, serf," Victoria said, dropping what little humour she had. "But believe it or not, I didn't just start talking classless, worthless serf just for the sake of general conversation. I came over to inquire just how are you going with my dear friend Stella?"
"We're fine," Brandon answered shortly. He knew he was lying, but he sure as hell wasn't giving Victoria the satisfaction of knowing that. Unfortunately, Victoria saw right through it.
"Ohh, is the honeymoon period over?" Victoria pouted mockingly. "Seriously Brandon, did you really think it would ever work? I mean, come on. Stella might be stupid, but that doesn't change the fact that she's a princess, and royalty do not consort with peasants who live with rats on the floor."
"My house does not have rats on the floor," Brandon snarled.
"Poetic license," Victoria waved off with a perfectly manicured hand. "And let's face it; you and Stella were doomed from the start. Stupid as she is, Stella's never going to remained stuck to a loser like you. People go with their own kind, Brandon. So fingers crossed you find some penniless whore for you to hook up and breed or whatever you poor people do, and leave the upper class for someone of better ranking."
"And this is a concern to you how exactly?" Brandon asked bitterly.
Victoria shrugged. "I have to go to high class dinners and events that Stella often goes to, and the last thing I need in my life is some squire dragging down the dignity of those events. It's bad enough Stella's there. I prefer to be surrounded by people of importance, such as my date for this evening."
Brandon followed Victoria's eye line and when he saw the Red Fountain student walking towards them, he almost gagged. "Justin? You're dating crow boy?"
"His father is a very powerful Duke so you should treat him with a little more respect," Victoria told him firmly before breaking into a smile that looked somewhat rehearsed as Justin approached her.
"Victoria my dear, you look absolutely breathtaking," Justin greeted, accepting her hand and kissing the back of it formally.
"Oh, Justin, you're too sweet," Victoria blushed coyly.
"So much so that I think I'm going to be sick," Brandon said loudly, earning a death glare off each of the noble teenagers.
"Brandon, since there's no one's coat to take, I see no reason for you being here," Justin spat, his black eyes narrowed and his long, pointed nose looking extremely fierce. It had healed well since Helia had broke it and Brandon had a suspicion that a large sum of Justin's daddy's money had gone towards ensuring that his son nose was cosmetically fixed so that he could continue the facial feature that had been a part of their household for countless generations.
"Don't worry, I'm already leaving," Brandon assured them. But before he could leave, he had to have one more dig at the annoying couple. "You know, I've heard that some female insects eat the male once they've mated. So, fingers crossed."
Although pleased that he had been able to leave the conversation with the last word, Brandon still felted somewhat sickened on several different levels as he walked away.
Out of the three Trix Sisters, it was Darcy who excelled at shape shifting and altering her appearance. The year before it had been appointed to her to pose as Stella in order for them to search for the Ring of Solaria and it had certainly not the first time she had used her talent to destroy people's lives and cause havoc. Which is why even though Stormy's disguise was pretty good, it had nothing compared to what Darcy did to herself.
Cancelling out the blonde tinge she had in her hair, Darcy darkened her long locks to a deep hazel colouring and pulled the upper half of her hair into a small braid to give her a slight fairy-like look. She added a bit of brown to her eyes to make them appear more like honey as oppose to her striking golden ones and raised her cheek bones in order to alter her face slightly while still remaining breathtakingly beautiful. Finally, dressed in a black short skirt, a plain white top and black knee length boots, Darcy entered the gates of Red Fountain and none of the sentries recognized her.
"Those boys really go all out when they throw a party," Darcy noted to herself, observing all the various stalls that the boys had set up in order to fundraise for their school. The campus was pack with people due to the fact that all of Alfea and Cloud Tower had been invited to this little shindig, and the thought of the three schools getting all chummy together made Darcy nauseous. But the fairies and witches all seemed to stick to their own kind while the boys slipped between the two looking for a bit of tail. "At least some things never change."
Darcy had lost sight of Stormy after she had teleported herself from Shadow Haunt to Red Fountain, and since she was in no actual rush to hunt her sister down, Darcy simply allowed herself to wander the campus, watching people and bewitching inanimate objects just for a bit of fun. She didn't use any serious magic since she did not want to alert Stormy or the guards that she was there, but she used enough to keep herself occupied.
Eventually, Darcy found herself being pulled towards the direction of the stadium amongst a sea of students. The Dark Witch had to admit that the school for heroics and bravery had really improved their campus ever since they ditched the dank old fortress they used to live in. Darcy had spent a lot of time at Red Fountain with various different boys during her years attending Cloud Tower, and she felt slightly cheated of the fact that she had had to put up with drafty halls in the past. The stadium was filled with students who had come to see the performance that Red Fountain was putting on. There was going to be acts put on by all three schools as well as a few acts from Magix City. Cloud Tower was putting on an advanced cauldron and potion display complete with coloured smoke and hex lights. Alfea was showing off their impressive spell skills as well as a dance sequence and a singing display, leaving all the martial arts and combat demonstrations for the Red Fountain boys. The performances were due to continue will into the night, and of course none of them interested Darcy. Loosing interest in the thought of stalking her sister, Darcy turned on heel in order to leave when she ran head long into a Red Fountain student that was all too familiar to her.
"Sorry," Riven said gruffly in a tone that indicated that he really hadn't put any sincerity behind his apology at all, but the sound of his indifferent voice made Darcy freeze in her tracks.
He was just how she had always remembered him being; irritable, callous and damn good looking. Ever since she had first laid eyes on him that night at Alfea, Darcy had always had a strong physical attraction to the cold outsider. His face was handsome enough to grab her attention and he had an excellently crafted body. Darcy had always gone for the more toned and muscled men – 'all brawn and no brains' is what her sisters had always described her choice in men as – but there was an intelligence that lurked behind those well defined muscles that Darcy had thrill at. The two of them had shared a similar state of mind that always slipped into the darker side of life and as a lover Darcy had known no equal.
Darcy had been bored over the last few weeks, and she got the feeling she had just discovered a way to break it.
"No problem," Darcy grinned, her honey brown eyes looking him over slightly before returning to fix on his violet ones. Riven noticed her observations of him, and shifted uncomfortably.
"Do I know you?" he asked. While he was fairly sure he had never met this girl before, he did get the feeling that she was very familiar to him. Watching her face keenly, Riven tried desperately to try and remember the girl somewhere in his memories, but he just couldn't seem to place it anywhere.
"Do you want to?" Darcy answered his question with one of her own. She allowed her look to become hungrier, knowing that Riven wasn't an idiot and would pick up on her intentions quickly enough.
"I'm not sure," Riven confessed. He wasn't stupid enough not to notice the fact that this girl was shamelessly flirting with him, and although any average teenaged boy would be leaping at this unknown girls advances, Riven found himself being a bit on the hesitant side. Firstly, he couldn't even identify whether this girl was a witch or a fairy and yet he still had the niggling feeling that he had met her before. Secondly, Riven was not the most affectionate of guys and felt it extremely difficult to start courting girls he knew let alone total strangers. And thirdly, he was still hooked up on that damn pixie Musa to the point that even now, he couldn't help but notice the difference between the musical fairy and the girl standing in front of him and find that this unknown girl that was hitting on him was the paler of the two. He had absolutely no interest in picking up some stranger for a one night stand.
"I can help you make up your mind," Darcy offered, running her hand up his arm in a somewhat intermit manner. Riven tensed at her contact, but he couldn't work out if was from distaste or delight.
Darcy smiled seductively up at her ex, and Riven felt his pulse quicken and his resistance waver. He was willing to admit to himself that he did have certain feelings for Musa, but he had never actually made any official move on her which technically left him free to do whatever he want and this girl was definitely starting to look very tempting.
Fortunately, just as Riven's will started to slip, he heard someone call out his name, breaking his trance. "Hey, Riven!"
Looking back over his shoulder, Riven noticed Helia standing not far off, his cobalt eyes fixed on the two hormonally charged teenagers. The art student had been watching the two of them pretty much since the start, and he had immediately noticed how hesitantly and troubled Riven had looked. Helia could tell Riven really didn't want anything from this girl, but he could see that the normally strong student was quickly losing a battle against his temptation and after the way Riven had arranged to get Justin and his goons off Helia's back, the least he could do was help his friend out of a sticky situation.
Riven shot a relieved grin back at Helia before facing the girl again to blow her off as politely as he could. "Look, I gotta go an – "
But whatever excuse he was going to come up with was sharply cut off when Darcy – never one who liked to lose her prey – took firm hold of the front of his uniform and dragged him down to kiss him fiercely on the lips. Riven's eyes widened and his heart slammed against his chest as Darcy's intoxicating smell and taste washed over him. Her tongue slide hungrily over his with well practiced talent that left him weak at the knees and the way her small lithe body pressed itself firm up against his was very inviting.
Then, just as suddenly as she had kissed him, Darcy pulled away, leaving him with passion clouded eyes and a craving for more.
"If you ever want to finish this, come find me," Darcy told him in a deep, throaty voice and hooded, seductive eyes. And then, with one final wink, Darcy shoved Riven away from her and vanished into the crowd without a backwards glance.
"Who was that?" Helia asked as soon as he joined his roommate. The two of them were left staring in the direction that the girl had gone, both rather shocked at what had just happened.
"I . . ." Riven stammered, rubbing his lips were the girl had attacked him. There was something very familiar about the way that girl kissed, but it couldn't be. Could it?
Suddenly, they were joined by Brandon who looked as if he had ran all the way through the crowd to get to them. "Dude, I so saw that," he told Riven. "Who the hell was that chick?"
"I . . . I dunno."
"You don't know?" Brandon repeated.
"I don't think I do."
"You're unbelievable, you know that?" Brandon said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're a total prick to girls and yet for some reason they still can't get enough of you (3). It's a damn good thing you didn't enter the good luck kissing competition 'cause you would have wiped the floor with us."
"Who won that, by the way?"
"Kane."
"Dammit squire. Can't you do anything right?"
"Apparently not which is why I need you to come help me put my war paint on for that tribute to the Founding Fathers of Red Fountain thing me and Sky gotta do."
"Can't you make Sky do it? I've kind of just been sexually assaulted."
"Sky's gotta do himself and Timmy's helping him which means I have no one."
"Then take Paintbrushes 'ere," Riven suggested, jerking a head towards Helia. "He's better at that kinda stuff than I am."
"Fine. Just the two of you come with me now!"
"Wow. These turned out pretty good," Sky noted, observing the tribal art that Helia had painted on his and Brandon's bodies. They were symbols that apparently meant a lot to Red Fountain's history, but Sky couldn't remember off the top of his head exactly what each symbol meant, however they looked cool none the less. Sky had gotten Timmy to try had help him paint them on, but all their efforts seemed to resemble a three-year-olds finger painting. Then Helia had arrived with Brandon and Riven and the task was passed to the professional. And the result was better than Sky could have imagined.
"They're all right," Brandon shrugged. He knew that they were in fact incredibly detailed and well drawn, but that didn't change the fact that Riven was spending more time with his new friend Helia instead of with them. However, there was no time for childish sulking as Codatorta – who was dressed in a coat and tails for his roll as the show's MC – walked out on stage to introduce the next act.
"And now, to honour the Founding Fathers of Red Fountain, two of our best students will be performing for you this evening the Traditional Fire Dance of the Elders," Codatorta announced. "I give you Brandon and Prince Sky!"
With a deep breath, the two teenagers started twirling the large staffs which stood as tall as either of them in a well practiced and synchronized routine. In their freshmen year, their entire grade had been taught the basics of how to use a bo staff since it was a useful and easily found weapon, and as a little incentive to make it fun, they had included fire twirling as part of the class. The students had really enjoyed that lesson, particularly the part where Lex accidentally set his hair on fire.
Brandon had remembered a lot from that class back in freshmen year – although a lot of it did focus on memories of Javelin calmly announcing to Lex that he was on fire and the commotion that followed it – but there was two things he had kind of forgotten; how hot fire was when it was thrown repeatedly around your head and how strong kerosene smelt. (4)
Finally, the two students cast their staff's into the air and after crossing each other, the flaming staffs fell into the hands of the opposite teenager which had been twirling it before and the Traditional Fire Dance of the Elders came to an end.
"Alright, that was Brandon and Prince Sky! Let's have a big round of applause for them!" Codatorta told the audience, but they were already cheering for him without the combat instructors prompting. "And now, it is my pleasure to welcome to the stage our next performer. Here to sing for ya is a very special fairy from Alfea. Her charm and charisma is only equalled by her amazing musical talent. This girl is a star in the making! Put your hands together for Musa!"
A deafening erupted from the crowd, making Riven cringe at the sheer volume of it. Despite the fact that she was only a sophomore, Musa had developed a strong reputation at all three schools as being an impressive songstress. They were all well aware of her musical talent in regards to her magical attacks which she displayed repeatedly during the Great Witch Invasion, so they were all eager to see how well she would transfer over to entertainment. Because her performance at the opening ceremony of Red Fountain's new campus was cancelled to at a Lio Dragerus attack, so far Musa had only really preformed publicly at the Alfea/Red Fountain start of school mixer during her freshmen year and all memories of that performance had lead people to suspect one hell of a show.
The curtains open and out ran Musa with her arms spread wide and her guitar hanging in front of her. While most people would freeze in front of as many people that packed the stadium, Musa looked right at home up there. She stood alone on stage, but she still managed to hold the attention of the student body of three schools, their teachers and several important guests that Saladin had invited. "Hey!"
"Go Musa!" Riven heard Bloom cheered from somewhere in the crowd, but Riven couldn't move his eyes off the stage to try and spot her in the audience. A wide grin spread across Riven's normally monotone face as he stared up at the musical fairy. Even though she had dressed down for the show – which Riven guessed had something to do with her wanting people to focus on her lyrics than what assets she was showing off – that damn pixie was able to hold his attention in a way that every other act before hand had failed to do. He didn't know if she was the Crowned Princess of the Harmonic Nebular or just the only child of a disowned songwriter and frankly he didn't care. He thought she was damn hot either way.
"This is the first song my dad ever wrote for my mom," Musa's voice rang over the loud speakers which were only slightly louder than the crowds cheering. But as her fingers strummed across the strings of her guitar, the crowd quieted as if spelled. Most of them had been expecting a hip hop song, but the tune she played out was much softer, gentler and more tender than any of them had anticipated.
Oh . . .
Lonely mountains and tragic spells
Forbidden potions from haunted realms
Sea of star dust light years apart
Fields of dragons that will rip your heart
I faced them all and I survived
To get right here as you arrived
And when I heard you voice and song
I knew that I finally belonged
Now I know we'll never part
Cause you magic lives inside my heart oh
And we'll always be together
Cause you magic lives inside my heart forever
The crowd was silent for a moment before erupting into a deafening cheer. The song in its self was brilliant but there was no denying that it was all the more enchanting because of Musa's musical talent. By invitation of Headmaster Saladin, two leading songstress from the esteemed Wolfgang Amadeus Academy of Music (5) had arrived to enjoy the performance. Asides from being and excellent academy for individuals who wanted a career in music, students from Wolfgang Amadeus had a greater chance of landing a record deal than people who tried to do it on their own. And by the looks of it, they liked what they heard.
But there was one person in the crowd who didn't like what she was hearing and who certainly wasn't invited, was Stormy. She had kept a low profile all night so far, waiting for the right moment to strike and she was ready. Slipping out of her disguise, Stormy gathered her gloomix enhanced power in the palm of her hand and threw an atrocious lightning bolt right into the back of an older gentleman that no one recognized. The cheering and clapping suddenly turned the screams of alarm as the crowd spread, leaving the collapsed man at the mercy of the witch. Shock and fear had overrun nobility as the crowd stared in fear at the powerful witch. A majority of the fairies of Alfea and witches of Cloud Tower hadn't seen any of the Trix since they were defeated and sent to Light Haven at the end of the last school year, but the specialist of Red Fountain remembered all too clearly what had happened the last time a Trix had entered their campus so that even though she was one against the population of three schools, no one was willing to try and oppose her. After all, her sisters or worse, Lord Darkar, could be hiding somewhere amongst the masses was well.
"Dad!" Musa gasped into the microphone, informing everyone of the mystery mans identity and shocking them. The artist formally known as Prince Presley had been described in the past as being somewhat of a sex symbol, but the man that now lay flat on his face was a life time away from the man who had been writing and performing chart toppers two decades ago (6). "No!"
Stormy laughed wickedly at Musa's distress and her fathers pain. She had levitated herself off the ground so that everyone could see her. She wanted to everyone to witness Musa's humiliating defeat so that she could get the revenge she thought she rightly deserved. "Nobody move of the old man loses more than his hair," Stormy ordered everyone. She noticed that Saladin and a few of the other teachers had started to send orders out to try and contain her. But with Musa's father at her mercy, no one could attempt anything without putting him at risk. "Except for you, Musa. Get down here!"
"Let him go!" Musa begged, her voice shaking in rage and in fear. "He has nothing to do with this!"
"Sure, I'll let him go," Stormy promised, a purely malicious grin on her face. "As soon as you get down here and take his place! And you might want to hurry it up!"
Conjuring up another bolt of lightning, Stormy hurled her attack down at Musa's father squarely in the back causing him to cry out in pain. The entire crowd flinched as the electricity cracked through the air. Many of them – particularly the witches – had experienced Stormy's power first hand, so they knew that even though she was alone she was not one to be underestimated.
Musa, however, couldn't care less who Stormy was. She had attacked her father, and Musa sure as hell wasn't going to stand for that.
"All right! You asked for it! I took you out once and I'll take you out again!" Musa shouted as a bright red and purple light exploded out from within her. When it cleared, Musa stood on stage in her sparkly off the shoulder top and short skirt, her chunky knee length boots, funky ribbons tied around one arm and her headphones wrapped over her pigtailed head. Her navy eyes were narrowed and she was ready for a fight.
"Oh, we're not fighting Musa," Stormy told her firmly. "You're surrendering or I'm destroying your father right now."
Riven's violet eyes widened as panic started to tighten itself around his chest. He wasn't sure what 'surrendering' to Stormy entitled exactly, but he was sure it wasn't good. The Trix were deadly enough on their own, but ever since they had teamed up with Lord Darkar, they had crossed a line that they hadn't even dared to toe when they were in high school. She had unleashed a Mayhem Globe on Red Fountain campus which could have flattened the school and kill all the students inside it, and now there was a slightly insane glint in her eyes that indicated that she was going to get her revenge one way or another.
Musa bite her lower lip as she contemplated her next move. She didn't like the idea of giving up to Stormy – especially after she attacked her father – but there was no way she was going to put her father in any danger, not even for the chance to take Stormy down in front of a crowd this size. "Just don't hurt him."
"Musa! No!" her father begged meekly.
Ignoring her father, Musa descended down to lands back on the stage but instead of transforming back like Stormy would had expected, she moved over to the microphone to address the audience one last time.
"Good idea," Stormy grinned wickedly. "Get on the mic and give us some last words."
"Listen. I need each and every one of you to help me. Just sing with me, okay?" Musa begged and then – without waiting for a response – Musa started singing a simply, wordless tune that the crowd could easily follow along with. But instead of joining her, the crowd just shifted their stares between her and Stormy, totally confused at what was going on.
"One last song for your farewell concert?" Stormy asked, feeling somewhat pleased. It was brilliant enough that she was going to get her revenge, but having Musa make a fool of herself was just making her revenge taste all the more sweeter.
Unfortunately, Riven wasn't an idiot. He caught on to what Musa was trying to do almost immediately and when people still weren't understanding what Musa was asking of them, he had to step in and help her.
"Sing!" Riven ordered sharply, making several students jump. Not that he cared. They should have had the sense to figure this out on their own instead of having him hit them over the head with it. "Come on everyone! Just do what Musa says! Sing along! It'll help her! She gets her powers from music! She'll be able to blow this witch away if everybody sings!"
Finally, people got what Musa was asking them to do. Without the slightest bit of insecurity or hesitation, the two songstresses from Wolfgang Amadeus Academy of Music got to their feet and joined Musa in her simple song with incredible skill. Seconds later, the entire stadium – including the Cloud Tower witches – were lending their voice and the power of music to Musa and the attack she was conjuring up to take Stormy out. Riven was never one to consider himself to have any musical talent, so he delegated himself the role of supervisor. "That's it! Yeah!"
"What are you trying to do Musa?" Stormy shouted over the noise of the crowd, a notable level of panic in her voice.
"Something like this!" Musa shouted back before returning to her singing. Only this time, a small, white light started gathering in the palms of her hands. It was gradual at first, but quickly grew into something so powerful and bright that it actually hurt to look at as the power of the crowd singing intensified Musa's musical magic.
"Oh come on! What's going on here?" Stormy raged as her victory slipped away from her. With only the slightest bit of urging from Musa, the white hot attack in her hands floated up to hit Stormy directly, draining her gloomix of power and eliminated any chance for Stormy to counter attack. In fact, but the looks of it, she couldn't even muster the energy to block. "Ah! No! Stop it! Ahhh!"
With one final scream that linger, Stormy was hurled from the stadium and crashed painfully into the enchanted forest a fair distance from Red Fountain where she was far too injured and weak to even think of returning to the show for an encore.
"Stormy has left the building!" Musa announced to the crowd who erupted in the cheering that was several times louder than it was at the end of her first song. Slipping out of her winx form and back into her concert clothes, Musa sank to the ground utterly breathless but completely relieved. "Alright!"
Stella and Layla both ran out from back staged and dropped to the ground to envelop Musa in a tight hug, making it all the harder for the musical fairy to catch her breath, but judging from the smile on her face, she didn't mind in the slightest.
Riven wasn't sure when it happened, but he somehow found himself standing in front of Musa's father, holding out his hand in order to help the old man get to his feet. He really wasn't prepared to meet the father of the girl he was sorta-kinda-not-really seeing – not that he'd know what he'd say if he was give a months prior notice – so he just said the first that entered his mind. "Your daughter's really amazing, isn't she?"
Musa's father had instantly recognized Riven from his daughters' descriptions of her, and after a warm smile he reached out and accepted his help. He was a lot shorter than Riven to the point where the top of his head only just reached the students shoulders, but that didn't bother him. He was so full of pride for Musa that he felt six feet tall. "She sure is. She's just like her mother."
Once Layla and Stella had returned back stage and Musa had caught her breath, she got to her feet and beamed at the crowd. "Now how 'bout we get this show back on the road?!"
"An excellent idea!" Codatorta agreed, striding out onto the stage. He was a man who breathed disciple and order, so he wasn't will to let a little thing like a witch attack stand in the way of completing a well thought out program. "And now, to join Musa in another song, last years Miss Magix winner; Stella!"
The crowd broke out into another round of cheering, only this time they were accompanied by wolf whistles from a few of the Red Fountain boys. Stella of course was lapping it up shamelessly, but her graceful entrance was ruined when she tripped over her heels and fell flat on the face in front of the entire stadium. The crowd all burst out laughing – Riven in particular was almost floored from laughing so hard – but Stella seemed to look more insulted that anyone would dare laugh at her than embarrassed.
"Come on Stella! What do you say? Me and you together!" Musa grinned as her friend got to her feet. "Let's bring down the house! I hope that everybody is ready to move you feet 'cause this tune we're about to sing is call 'This is the Beat'!"
All I really want is just one chance
To grab a boy and start to dance
All you go to do is move your feet
Cause baby here's the girl and this is the beat
Feel the magic get into the groove
Clap you hands and start to move
Baby that's the way two hearts meet
Oh
Here's the girl and this is the beat
"Rivelle!" Brandon cried, running up to Riven and leaping onto his back with a bone crunching bear hug. Riven nearly folded under the unexpected weight, but he managed keep his feet and stop Brandon choking him with his affection. Musa and Stella were still on stage, entertaining the crowd with another song complete with Layla and two other fairies as back up dancers, and somehow, through a sea of dancing and cheering people, a few of Riven's friends had managed to track him down.
"Get off me," Riven growled, shoving the squire off of him but Brandon quickly reattached himself. Riven gave up, but that still didn't mean he had to like it. "You stink like kerosene."
"You still love me," Brandon grinned impishly.
"You're pushing it."
"Not bad, getting all those people to sing to help Musa," Helia said, clasping Riven on the shoulder that Brandon wasn't latched onto. "Though I can't help but notice that you didn't join in."
"Yeah, well, you don't expect the conductor of an orchestra to start playing along with everyone else in the band. He's job is to oversee it all and make sure it comes out right," Riven defended lamely. So singing wasn't his thing. Big deal. He was more than happy to leave it to the people who were good at it like Musa, but that didn't mean that he wasn't still embarrassed about the fact that he had played cheerleader in front of everyone, though he'd later discover that it did have its rewards.
It was late and the concert was just starting to wind down. Codatorta was giving his final speech which included thanks to everyone involved in the night and directions for the fairies and witches about how they were going to get back to their school. Riven was thinking about skipping off to his dorm to go to bed when a pair of arms wrapped around him from behind and hugged him tightly. His first impulse was to tell Brandon to piss off, but then he noticed that the arms around him were more slender and delicate looking that any male could have and instead of kerosene, he smelt a perfume he had learnt to recognize all too well.
"Thanks Riven!" Musa squealed, squeezing him tightly. She was on a massive buzz from the performance and from kicking Stormy's butt, so she found herself doing this that her emotionally shy nature would never let her do under normal circumstances. "I dunno what would have happened if you hadn't made everyone help out!"
"I-It's fine," Riven stammered, his entire body tense in her embrace and a bit of colour entering his cheeks. His heart was beating loudly at Musa's close proximity and for some reason his mouth had gone dry. Musa had somehow snuck herself under one of his arms and was currently grinning up at him widely. "Y-You sung well, you know, when you weren't being threatened by Stormy."
"Oh, that's sweet of you to say. And oh my gosh! Thank you so much for taking care of my dad," Musa beamed at him, making him smile despite himself. "He said you were very courteous."
"You sure he didn't confuse me with somebody else?"
Musa laughed. "You were great tonight," Musa said, standing on tip toes and brushing a light kiss across his cheek. Riven's heart pounded hard against his rib cage at the contact and when he saw Musa staring up at him charmingly, Riven subconsciously started to low his face down towards hers.
"Hey Musa! Where are you?!" Stella's voice called out and Riven had an almost undeniable desire to kill that damned harpy as Musa pulled back and looked in the direction that the voice had come.
"Stell! Right here!" Musa waved. When the Princess of Solaria spotted her, she ran over and seized her hand.
"Musa! You so have to come with me right now! Those songstresses from Wolfgang Amadeus Academy want to meet you! They loved your performance and they might even be considering you for a scholarship when you graduate!" Stella squealed, pulling Musa away. "Come on!"
"See ya, Riven," Musa muttered in a small voice, looking awkward for the first time during that conversation and a second later she was gone, leaving Riven feeling somewhat cheated.
Not far away, still hidden in her disguise, Darcy watch the entire exchanged and she too got the feeling that she had been cheated out of something she had really wanted.
(1) Brothers at Arms. Chapter Seven: Grounded
(2) I'm gonna need an OC at Alfea and I works better if she's a bitch. I mean, I've got OC's at Cloud Tower and all throughout Red Fountain so it was only a matter of time before I got my claws into Alfea
(3) So true, ain't it? Riven is such a jerk and yet most people – my self included – can't get enough of him
(4) Now I've done a bit of fire twirling and the smell of kero . . . my god. I used tow work with a girl who did fire breathing and I have no idea how she could stand putting that stuff in her mouth and then spitting it out when there's clearly going to be some spray back. Yuck!
(5) Mozart's name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. I figure he deserves an academy in the magical dimension. He's earned it
(6) Elvis was a sex symbol. I don't see it
I have to admit that this chapter was a hard on to write. 4kids really screwed up on this one. Firstly I had to find a way to cover there is Musa a princess or not debacle. Secondly, the time line in this episode is screwed up because 4kids decided to be creative and add a Musa dream sequence in the middle of the episode which I simply chose to ignore. That scene with Brandon, the witches and Stormy actually happened on one day and the show was the following day, but that meant that Stormy was wondering around for a whole day in disguise. And thirdly, Riven was completely out of character in my opinion. But anyways, it's done and yes, I did merge The Artist Formally Known As Prince and Elvis Presley to make fathers now. And by the way, how short in he?
BTC.