Chapter 17 - Bloom By Fate's Deeming
Immediately after Dark Bloom and Baltor left, Bloom turned to exit the room. She'd have left no contest, if someone didn't grab her hand. She turned and found herself gazing up at Sky's confused expression. "Bloom… what is going on?" he asked, a mix of pain and relief shining in his eyes.
She bit her lip and looked around at the royalty, who'd since recollected themselves and gathered around her. The lot of them were obviously shocked; some actually appeared to have regret while others, glanced at her warily. Uncertainty was unanimous in all of them. Her parents and Daphne weren't exactly rushing to embrace her . As for the Winx and the Specialists, they all had the same expressions as Sky; they felt pained and guilty for condemning her, but relieved she wasn't actually the evil.
The only problem with their logic was that she was the evil.
"I'm so sorry!" Stella burst out. She pushed through the crowd and practically smothered Bloom in a hug. Sky pulled back from them, looking awkward. "I didn't want to believe it was you! But all the threats, all the destruction, and what she did to Sky's father…"
"Erendor?" Panic and fear filled Bloom and she looked toward Sky. "She… I…Is he alright?" Sky looked away not answering her, and she understood. "I'm so sorry."
"Where've you been?!" Layla interrupted. "If you'd just stayed with us then we could've proven it hadn't been you!"
"Layla, I'm sure Bloom would've come back, except there's that tiny little fact that we were hunting her down to turn her in to the Royal Council to be dealt with accordingly!" Nabu looked at Bloom sympathetically. "Besides, that I'm sure she's got a very good explanation for not coming back."
Bloom peeled herself away from Stella and took a couple of steps back from everyone. "Look, I'd love to divulge the details of my disappearance, but I've got to get to Earth before I do…" she thought about that statement, "…yeah. That's right."
"Why do you keep talking about her like she's you?" Daphne came forward and took Bloom's hands. Her relief was the most obvious out of anybody's, and Bloom couldn't help wondering if her own sister had questioned her intentions. "She's not you. She's this Dark Bloom creature, obviously made to make you look like this terribly, power-hungry person…"
"That's why she's me!" Bloom snapped. She pulled away and held her head in her hands. "I…I think she's a manifestation of me. I'm not sure how she is, but she's a part of me. I have to stop myself." It was way weird to talk about stopping herself. Thinking about dealing with herself was giving her a headache.
"But, you're not power-hungry." Daphne frowned. "Bloom?"
"I don't have time, I've got to get going!" Bloom shoved past the Isis royal family, who'd been blocking her way. Diaspro looked at her with a smirk, then glanced sympathetically at Sky. Bloom fought every fiber in her being to not retaliate in some way and made her way to the exit.
"Wait! Bloom! Let us help!" Flora called out after her.
"NO!" Bloom turned to her friends and family fighting back tears. "I've got to handle this myself." Then she summoned a portal and blindly threw herself into it, wanting desperately to get away from the people she loved before she could hurt them again.
Mathias had been waiting patiently in a thicket outside an old temple that once housed worship for the Theistic Wizards. Bloom had finally discovered the evil's presence on Domino, and elected to go there and deal with it. Mathias had declined and told her to report to him at the temple once she was done on Domino. He didn't want to accidentally run into Daphne. Somehow he trusted Bloom to return.
There was a blinding flash signaling the opening of a portal and out of nowhere stumbled his charge. Immediately he knew that something was wrong. The girl was crying.
"What happened?" Mathias asked as he pulled Bloom to her feet. She just shook her head and covered her face with her hands. But Mathias wasn't about to allow her to drop the subject. "Well? Did you find this so called evil?"
"You were right…" Bloom sobbed.
"What?" Mathias furrowed his brow, confused. "What do you mean I was right?"
"I did it. It was me. Mathias, I did all this to the universe." Bloom fell back to her knees and bowed her head, hands still covering her face. She shook with each sob. "I attacked Eraklyon a few hours ago. I hurt Sky's father."
"That's impossible. You were with me…" Mathias knelt next to Bloom. He remembered Daphne sitting like that, crying when her parents had left to deal with Baltor. Bloom reminded him so much of Daphne and he longed to reach out and comfort her. He held back, reminding himself that it was Bloom and not Daphne. "I never left you."
"It's like there's two of me, Mathias. I looked at her and it was like looking in a mirror. An identical but very angry mirror!" She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. "How is that even possible? How can I be in two places at once?"
Mathias frowned, then looked back toward the temple. "I'm not sure. But I'm certain the Theistic Wizards would know." He pulled the distraught girl to her feet again and began leading her to the ruined temple. "Come on."
"Mathias… we don't have time. My next target is Earth. I'm going to attack my parents. I have to protect them." Bloom tried to pull from Mathias, but Mathias kept hold. "Mathias… I…"
"Don't worry, I'm not taking you to the Death Realm." Mathias threw back what he hoped was a reassuring look. "I'm just going to call upon the Theistic Wizards for answers and guidance."
"But my parents…"
"I'm afraid the answers you need are more important." Mathias dragged her across the threshold of the temple, ignoring her protests. "It shouldn't take long at anyway." He dropped Bloom's arm and wandered to the center of the Spartan room. Power surged through him as he spoke his incantation in Latin, "Theistic pythones egressus obtulerit obsecro sapientia duce dui. Lorem ipsum supervenerit. Quadrivium sto, mea nata decernat. Placere submouit. Respondeo humilis servus vester, rogo vos ut …"
Wraithlike images began to appear about the room, like holograms except they radiated with different forms of power. They were correlative to the Divine fairies: each figure wore a color to signify alliance. The figure cloaked in gold gave him the slightest nod. "We have come, Servus Fidelis. Ask of us your questions. But ask not of us any favors. We supply only the information you seek. We cannot alter the course of fate." As if to emphasize his point, the figure glanced toward Bloom. His eyes showed pity, but still held a resoluteness.
"Of course, Arlen." Mathias bowed his head. As he glanced back up, he noticed Ciaran glaring at Bloom. Ciaran caught his eye and Mathias quickly looked away. He aimed his focus once more on Arlen. "I was charged with returning Princess Bloom of Domino to the Death Realm in order to restore the balance of power."
"And as we can see you've located you charge. Why then have you not sent her to the Death Realm?" shot Ciaran.
Mathias eyed Ciaran. "I was prepared to do such, except there is an extreme imbalance that's shifting from good to evil. She was as alarmed about it as I was and wished to investigate for the sakes of her friends and family. I agreed to allow her to do so, with the condition that I accompany her and she turn herself in when her mission is complete."
"Foolish! What if you had lost her? Or if she'd gone to undermine fate…" Ciaran began his rant but was cut off when Arlen raised his hand.
"Let him continue. The girl is with him now, so your 'what ifs' are pointless words wasted for the sake of speaking your piece." Arlen gave Ciaran a warning look. "Do not voice your opinion again. I want only thoughts of use and meaning."
Mathias frowned. He'd never seen the Wizards fight before. "Bloom went to Domino where both she and I sensed great negative energy. She went on without me, to ensure my anonymity." Ciaran gave Arlen a look, but Arlen ignored him. Mathias continued, "She returned, perturbed by what she'd discovered."
"And what was it you discovered?" interjected the gray wizard, Strahan. He was not looking at Mathias, but at Bloom, curiosity alight in his eyes. "What would be so disturbing that you, a powerful fairy, would be perturbed?"
Bloom's lip quivered the slightest, but she kept her composure as she faced the wizards. "I saw myself. I'd attacked the royal council. I was about to kill the Princess of Zenith until I intervened." She looked down at the cracked floors of the temple. "I am now headed to Earth, to destroy my family."
The Theistic Wizards didn't respond to Bloom's story, not even Ciaran: rather they were quiet. Mathias held his breath as he waited for a reaction. Oddly enough, the instruments of fate appeared to be shocked by the turn out of events. It seemed as though they hadn't even expected what had happened.
"What kind of insane statement was that? I was about to kill until I intervened… are you being possessed?" Ciaran snapped.
"To clarify… you're the one who's caused the destruction and terror at Alfea and Eraklyon. Now you're about to go to Earth and destroy those who fostered and loved you?" Strahan tilted his head slightly, intrigued by Bloom.
Bloom didn't even look up from the floor. "She is me."
"No she's not." Mathias intervened. The girl was condemning herself just by speaking. "There is a second Bloom at work. This one has darker more evil intentions."
"They're my intentions!" Bloom shouted. She looked at him, pain showing in her blue eyes. "They're my feelings she's feeling. They're my thoughts! I shared those thoughts when I caught her eye on Domino. I felt her feelings! She was once a part of me. Now she's been freed and holds my darker intentions as though I want them carried out!" Her tears began spilling again as shame fell over her.
Silence fell again as all the Theistic Wizards regarded the hysteric girl before them. Mathias fought back the urge to comfort her again. He focused on the question he had wanted to ask the Wizards. "I'm asking which Bloom of Domino I'm supposed to return to the Death realm." he stated softly. He looked up at Arlen, imploringly. "There are two. One of terrible, cruel intention. The other a humble servant who only wants to protect the ones she loves."
Arlen glanced at his brothers. They were all looking at Bloom with mixed feelings: feelings of condemnation, sympathy, and anxiety. Ciaran threw a dark look at Arlen in response to his glance. "This is most certainly unprecedented." Arlen said slowly.
Mathias almost felt his heart stop. The Wizards were at a loss. They had no idea what to do. And they were the agents of Fate. They had to ensure everything ran as Fate intended. If they didn't know what to do…
"Bloom." Arlen addressed Bloom, sounding as formal as possible. "What should be done?"
Mathias whipped around and stared at Bloom. They were asking her? This distraught young girl they insisted had to be returned to Death's clutches to return the balance? He watched as she clenched her fists, then released them and slumped her shoulders. It was an action of surrender…
"I'm going back to the Death Realm." Bloom said quietly. She looked up, her blue eyes dulled with solemnity. "All of me."