Last time found Bloom once again locked in battle with her dark side, but this time Dark Bloom was winning. But then Nabu used a spell that allowed Sky, Stella and Carmen inside Bloom's mindscape, where they then restored Bloom's strength of heart, allowing her to overcome and then come to terms with her dark half.
We then learned that Nabu was more than an ordinary wizard, while meeting three more Domino survivors. Later on, in a private meeting with her closest friends and fellow survivors, Carmen gave her plan to defeat Vicky herself in the event that Bloom can't do it. Carmen then had one of the newcomers, a former tattoo artist in a circus, give her a tattoo of a black dragon.
On Xaldo, The Trix and their allies found themselves just one failure away from the ultimate punishment from Zahidia. Vicky then told her sisters and the others that she was bluffing when she fought Bloom, that if she and Darcy die, then the curse will be lifted. But if Darcy has a child, then the curse will continue. Elsewhere, Vicky finally perfected her super soldiers, her Perfectives. 'Nuff said, on with the show!
Chapter 30: Between Love and Duty part 1
It was the middle of next morning when Bloom was fully recovered and pronounced fit to leave the infirmary. Sky hadn't left her side the whole night, and as she left the infirmary, he had no intention of leaving her yet.
"After all the fighting we've been doing," said Sky, "I'm not letting you out of my sight until I know you're safe."
At that Bloom smiled, "one of these days, Sky, you should read the 'Twilight' books, you'll find them identifiable."
"How so?" Sky asked.
"Trust me," said Bloom, "you'll be surprised."
They then went to the library, where The Winx and Faragonda were at the previously hidden door.
"Glad to see you back on your feet so soon, Bloom," said Stella as she, Musa and Flora went back into the main part of the library
"She's indestructible," said Musa, "nothing can keep our Bloom down."
"I wish being indestructible was easier," said Bloom, "so, what's with this door?"
"Timmy, Tecna and Elise are looking at it right now," said Flora, "they say the whole door is layered with enchanted locks and traps. If we're not careful, anything could happen."
Bloom saw Tecna, Timmy and Elise at the door at the far end of the hidden corridor. With them also was Faragonda, Layla, Brandon, Helia and Nabu.
"Those two seem to be getting along better," said Bloom, indicating Layla and Nabu.
"They are more civil," said Sky.
"But I don't think they're ready to resolve their little problem yet," said Carmen as she walked up to Bloom and Sky. Today, Carmen was wearing a black tank top that showed off her arms.
"Whoa!" said Sky.
"When did you get that tattoo?" Bloom asked, pointing to the long, black dragon on Carmen's right arm.
"Yesterday while you were being lazy," said Carmen as she held her arm up and moved it about. The light from the library windows on the tatto gave the black ink a rainbow hue, while the movement of Carmen's arm gave the image a more lifelike appearance.
"That think looks like it's ready to come alive," said Sky.
"That's the idea," said Carmen.
"But why?" Bloom asked.
"I was feeling spontaneous," said Carmen in a nonchalant tone. Bloom could tell that Carmen was lying, or rather, wasn't telling the while truth. But Bloom didn't want to ask further, feeling that this would violate Carmen's privacy.
"Now, what's this about a secret door?" Carmen asked
"That's what we're about to find out," said Faragonda as she, Elise, Timmy, techno, Brandon, Helia, Nabu and Layla, left the corridor, "if we've done this right, then the enchantments and traps have been properly removed, and the door should open any second. If not, then we're safer back here then in that corridor."
"Great," said Brandon in a sarcastic tone, "instead of being blown up in a confined space, we'll burn to death in a larger room full of books."
"Aren't you a ray of sunshine," said Nabu, "and there's nothing to worry about."
Just then there was the sound of the door opening. Bloom looked into the corridor to see the doors rising into the ceiling.
Cautiously, Bloom and Sky entered the room to find a bowling ball sized sphere made of white stone. It was sitting on a large pedestal. Strange carvings adorned the sphere.
"This has to be it," said Bloom, "this is what The Trix were looking for! This is the Construct piece!"
"But what is it?" Stella asked.
"Is it dangerous?" Flora asked.
"It's part of a machine that can enslave minds across the universe," said Carmen, "by itself, no, it's not dangerous, but yes if it's put back with the rest of the machine. But how did it get into the Alfea Library in the first place?."
"Who put it here and why?" Elise asked
"I believe the answer is right in front of us," said Faragonda. Bloom then realized that the walls of the room were filled with large stone tablets that were carved in a language she couldn't understand.
"This is an old dialect once used by fairies in their magic," said Faragonda, "this language hasn't been used in centuries, but I believe I know enough to read the message," she looked at the tablets, "yes…yes I see. Apparently this room was constructed when Alfea was first built many, many years ago, with the express purpose of containing this item.
"This sphere, the Construct piece, had been found on Magic, along with several other magical artifacts of unknown origin. One was given to the founding members of Cloud Tower, one was given to Red Fountain and one was given to the city of Magix. The fourth piece, the one in this room, had trace amounts of dark magic in it, as well as the other three pieces, but this one had higher levels than the others. The founders of Alfea believed that only here at Alfea would it be safe from those who would seek it out and use it for vile purposes."
"Well the founders of Alfea didn't anticipate anyone like The Trix," said Musa.
"Indeed they didn't," said Faragonda, "the founders of Alfea left the piece in here with the intent to keep it sealed away forever. They tried to destroy the piece when they determined its dark nature, but nothing they did could even scratch it."
"You said there was an artifact at Red Fountain," said Brandon, "what if that's a Construct piece as well?"
"The Trix could go after Red Fountain next!" said Sky.
"I don't think so," said Helia, "I did some checking. One of the two artifacts that The Trix took from the Magical History museum had been kept at Red Fountain. It was found in an old storage room that was locked for generations. Someone must have left it there and forgotten about it. My grandfather had it sent to the museum a few years ago in order to identify it, but nobody ever figured it out. The museum curators must have put the Red Fountain piece witht he one left with the city."
"So this is the last piece that was found on Magix," said Bloom as she looked at the white sphere. She could sense the latent dark magic in it, and it made her shiver with revulsion.
"What should we do with it?" Sky asked, "we can't just leave it here. The Trix could come back for it at any time. Should we move it somewhere else? Or should we try to destroy it?"
"I say destroy it," said Brandon, "get it over with. If this thing is part of a mind control machine, then destroy it so the machine won't work."
"I say we move it," said Flora, "the founders of Alfea tried to destroy the piece, but they had to lock it in here. If they couldn't destroy it, how can we?"
"Well it shouldn't be in here," said Bloom, "where the enemy can get to it, now that we've unlocked the door."
"Okay then," said Sky, "umm…Brandon, you carry it."
"I'm not touching that thing!" said Brandon.
"Me neither!" said Helia, "call me a coward, I don't care. That thing gives me the willies."
"Just being near it makes my skin crawl," said a shuddering Stella.
"I don't like it either," said Musa.
"You all are a bunch of wimps," said Carmen, "I'll move it." she grabbed the white orb and tried to pick it up, but it wouldn't budge from the pedestal.
"What's wrong?" Flora asked.
"Is it being held down by magic?" Elise asked as she, Timmy and Tecna scanned the orb.
"No, it's too heavy," said Carmen as she tried to lift it again, but to no avail, "someone help me!"
"Can't you use a levitation spell?" Musa asked.
"Oh," Carmen said sheepishly, "yeah, I can do that." She cast the hovering charm on the stone and it lifted from its perch and she carried it out of the room.
"I'm trying to think of a safe place to take it," said Sky, "if the piece can't be destroyed, then we should find somewhere that The Trix won't be able to get to it."
"The ruins of Shadowhaunt?" Brandon suggested, "I don't think any of The Trix would want to go back there."
"I wouldn't," said Stella, "not even for all the best fashion accessories in the universe."
Nearly everyone was outside of the room, when someone must have stepped on a hidden switch, for the door slammed down, leaving Layla and Nabu trapped inside.
"Layla!" shouted Bloom, Flora, Musa and Stella.
"All the enchantments and traps have been reset!" said Tecna as she scanned the door, "It'll take hours to get them all off again!"
"Layla! Nabu!" shouted Bloom, "are you alright!"
From the other side of the door came Layla's voice, "we're alright, just shook up."
"We can't get the door open from this side," said Nabu, "it's like there is no door at all."
"Can you teleport out?" Bloom asked.
"Hang on," said Nabu. There was a slight disturbance from the other end, "no, we can't."
"The enchantments must have an anti-teleportation spell," said Layla.
"It'll take a while to get you out," said Timmy, "but we willll get you out. Just hang tight!"
"We're no going anywhere," said Nabu.
"Let's get to work," said Elise as she rolled up her sleeves.
On the other side of the door, Layla and Nabu sighed and sat against the wall of the room, "they'll get us out," said Layla.
"Until we've got nothing to do," said Nabu, "nothing except talk."
At that Layla laughed.
"What's so funny?" Nabu asked.
"It's us," said Layla, "I mean, here you and I are, stuck in a room we can't get out of, while out there in the universe The Trix and their freaky friends are planning who knows what. And you know what the worst part is? My parents are still gonna make me marry you."
"As if," said a slightly insulted Nabu, "you acting like I'm part of some diabolical conspiracy. I never wanted to get married, not yet anyway."
"You don't want to get married?" Layla asked in a suprised and confused tone, as if she never even considered Nabu not wanting to get married.
"Not at all," said Nabu, "there's still so much to see and learn before I settle down. And when I do marry, it will be with a woman I love with all my heart, not some stubborn princess with an superiority complex."
"I do not havea superiority complex!" said Layla, "I don't think I'm better than everyone else. Now The Trix, they're the ones with a superiority complex."
"From what I've seen of them," said Nabu, "I whole heartedly agree."
There was a moment of silence as they both tried to think of something to say. Finally, Nabu spoke, "I'm sorry I treaded you so badly when we were kids."
"And I'm sorry I treated you like crap when you showed up after all these years," said Layla, "you have changed."
"So have you," said Nabu, "I think getting involve with The Winx has made you less of a rouge shark."
"My friends have helped me become a better person," said Layla, "and I think I've changed enough to admit it," she held out her hand, "friends, at least?"
"Yes, friends at least," said Nabu as he shook her hand, "so, what do you want to talk about next?"
"I don't know," said Layla, "we hardly know each other. We spent so much time as kids getting on each others nerves. What music do you like?"
"Just what is this big announcement?" Stormy asked as she, Icy, Vicky, Kevin, Naz, Trabon, Rolf, James, Sara, Johnny and Plank, headed for the throne room.
"If it's from that psycho Diaspro," said Icy, "it can't be good for us."
"You don't suppose…no," said Stormy, "she couldn't have."
"What?" Trabon asked, "are you saying that she's done it? That's she finished making her race of super soldiers?"
"I honestly didn't know the little lunatic had it in her," said Naz.
"We don't know what this is," said Vicky, "but I have a feeling that'll be interesting to watch."
They reached the throne room, where a large area in front of the throne had been marked off. Several of Diaspro's lab assistants were already in the empty area.
As Vicky, her sisters and allies took their places among the minions, they saw Darcy and Toro enter the room. Both looked rather tired and somewhat sore.
"What kept you two?" Icy asked.
Both Toro and Darcy smiled wickedly and giggled a bit.
"What?" Stormy asked, "what's so funny?"
"We just spent the whole night in a frenzied passion," said Darcy, "and let's just say that I have never been more satisfied."
"Neither have I," said Toro, "It's a miracle that I can stand up, let alone walk." He looked at Vicky, "you wanted for us to have a child. Well, if last night didn't do the job, I don't know what will."
Just then Zahidia entered the room and took her place on her throne. Everyone bowed.
"Today our college Diaspro has a presentation to make," said Zahidia, "Diaspro, you have the floor."
"Thank you, Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro as she entered the marked off area in the middle of the room, "If I may have everyone's attention. For some time now I have been working on a special project that Lady Zhaidia had commissioned me to perform. I have been tasked with the creation of a race of super soldiers, of whom shall be the backbone of the conquering forces of the new R'leyh empire.
"The genesis of a master race of invincible warriors has been a lifelong dream of mine. And after years of exhausting work, I am pleased to announced that the first of this new race has been given life. Behold!"
A summoning spell was used to teleport her creature into the marked off area. The assembled baddies gasped in awe at the massive, muscular man.
"Incredible!" said an impressed Trabon, "she really has done it!"
"This creature was once a normal, pathetic, weak human," said Diaspro, "but now it has found perfection. I call this, and others like him, Perfectives. As you can see he is an astounding specimen, physically. But mentally he is under my complete control," she addressed the Perfective, "advance three paces and stop."
The Perfective did so. Diaspro then commanded to move about in more complicated patters. The creature obeyed without question and to the letter.
"I will now turn over command to Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro. She then used a spell that did so, "if the empress would," Diaspro then summoned a practice dummy, "command this being to destroy that object."
"It would be my pleasure," said Zahidia, "you!" she shouted at the Perfective, "destroy that object!"
"As you command!" said the Perfective. It then ripped the dummy to pieces.
"Fantastic!" said a delighted Zahidia.
"The best is yet to come, Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro, "but for that I must have control again."
"You may have it," said Zahidia in an eager tone, "if this next demonstration is as fantastic."
"It'll be that and more," said Diaspro as she received control of the creature. She then summoned a black glove with dark spells written into it. One of the assistants then put the glove on the Perfective, "the creature has now been fitted with an offensive weapon. This glove has the power to completely destroy anything it is aimed at, observe," she summoned a practice dummy, "aim and destroy!"
"Obliterate!" shouted the Perfective. He aimed and fired a stream of dark magic at the dummy, reducing it to ashes.
"Outstanding!" said a delighted Zahidia.
"I am honored that you are pleased, Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro.
Just then someone in the audience said "What's it doing now?"
The Perfective was looking among the ranks of minions, a look of grim determination on its face. It finally locked eyes on Darcy, causing his face to be contorted with unadulterated loathing.
"Ah," said an intrigued Diaspro, "it seems that our titanic friend has seen something he doesn't like, or rather, someone."
"You!" said the Perfective to Darcy, "you stink of happiness! Of joy! You reek of positive emotion!"
"I do not!" snapped Darcy.
"Are you kidding me?" said Stormy, "you're practically glowing, both you and Toro."
"We did have a good night last night," said Toro.
"As you can see, Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro, "the Perfectives have been ingrained with revulsion of anything positive, even the after effects of a night of passion."
"You are a threat to the empire!" said the Perfectives, "you are a threat to the creator! To Lady Zahidia! You must be destroyed!" he raised his gloved hand at Darcy and prepared to shoot, "Obliterate!"
"NO!" shouted Icy, Stormy and Vicky at the same time. The three witches got in front of Darcy and cast a triple defensive shield spell, just as the Perfective fired his glove. The beam of dark magic hit the triple shield and penetrated the first layer, that Stormy had cast, then the second, that Icy had cast, and was on the verge of breaking through Vicky's layer, but the beam of dark magic had run its course.
"Call your dog off, Diaspro!" snapped Vicky, "or we'll see just how perfect it is in a real battle!"
"I agree," said Zahidia, "I have seen enough to be more than satisfied. Diaspro, tell your creation to stand down."
"As you command, Lady Zahidia," said an outraged but restrained Diaspro, she then looked at the Perfective, "stand down."
"I obey," said the perfective. It then assumed an at-ease position.
"How soon can you have a full army ready?" Zahidia asked.
"At present only one at a time can be created," said Diaspro, "but I anticipate that a means of mass producing the perfectives can be perfected in a matter of weeks. After that the size of the army is limited only by how many you desire."
"I desire an army that will cover the entire universe in darkness!" said Zahidia, "return to your efforts, Disapro, bring me my army!"
"As you command, Lady Zahidia," said Diaspro. She teleported herself and the Perfective back to her lab, while her assistants also left the throne room.
Clearly the audience was over as everyone else in the throne room, including Zahidia and her entourage, left as well.
"Are you alright, Darcy?" a concerned Stormy asked as they headed back to their area of the palace, "we stopped that thing's attack, but…"
"You're worried that the stress got to me," said Darcy, "well no. I'm fine, so stop bugging me."
"But what about my niece or nephew?" Vicky asked.
"Give us a break," said Toro, "we're not sure that we're really having a baby yet. Give it a day or so, we'll know then."
"And what if you're not with child?" Trabon asked Darcy, "what then?"
"Then we'll just have to satisfy each other again," said Darcy as she and Toro grinned wickedly at each other, "and again and again, until we're sure we're having a baby."
"You!" shouted Diaspro as she ran and caught up with them in the corridor, "I have a bone to pick with you witches!"
"Not again," sighed Stormy.
"What do you want now, psycho?" Toro asked.
"I want you to die!" said Diaspro, "you had no right to interfere with my presentation! Zahidia was about to see just what my Perfective could do in an actual killing situation, but you had to ruin it! Ruin it!"
"It's not like we had a choice," said Vicky, "your monster was about to kill my sister, and possibly the last hope for the family as well."
"You still had no right to interfere!" said Diaspro, "my creature showed a natural desire, and instinct to destroy, and you interceded! You shall be punished for this!"
Without warning, an outraged Icy slapped Diaspro hard across the face, "now you listen to me, you gods-damned psychopath! Leave my family alone, or I will kill you with my bare hands! Got it!"
Diaspro felt where she had been slapped, but then a sly look crossed her face, "I was right in my assessment of you, Icy."
"What?" a confused Icy asked. Clearly this wasn't the reaction she was expecting from the mad princess.
"Oh yes," said Diaspro, "I knew that you were the one with whom I could lavish my attentions on!" Without warning, she grabbed Icy by the back of the head and kissed her hard on the lips. The kiss lasted only a second, but it was clear to everyone watching that Diaspro was pouring gallons of passion into it, while Icy was too stunned to resist.
Finally, Diaspro broke contact, "come see me whenever you're in the mood for forbidden fruit, Icy, and try not to dress to heavily." With that she turned around and skipped away.
"What the hell just happened?' Toro asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" Vicky asked in a teasing manner, "Diaspro swings the other way, and so does Icy."
"I…what! No!" shouted Icy. She furiously wiped her lips with the back of her hand, desperately trying to erase the memory of Diaspro kissing her, but to no avail, "I do not swing that way! Not with that psycho bitch! Hell no!"
"Actions speak louder than words, dear sister!" said a teasing Darcy.
"I am not like that!" snapped Icy, "and I'll prove it! I don't care how deep in cahoots Diaspro is with Zahidia! I'm gonna kill that little psycho fairy right now!" She then stomped off to find Diaspro.
"You think she's really gonna do it?" Trabon asked, "Kill Diaspro?"
"Either that or they'll both wind up in bed together," said Vicky, "either way it'll be worth watching."
They hurried back to their sitting room and used a scrying spell to find Icy trailing Diaspro into the lab. They could see with perfect clarity, but for some reason the sound wasn't working.
"Never mind," said Vicky, "I can tell that they're arguing. Icy is telling Diaspro just how gruesome her death will be if she ever threatens us again. Diaspro is taking this all cool like, like she's waiting for Icy to run out of steam."
They watched Icy shouting at Diaspro as the mad princess wrote down a few notes, then entered some data into her computer, then walked out of the lab and headed for her quarters. All the while, Icy was trailing after her, still venting her anger.
"I think I can fix the audio," said Trabon as he used a modification spell. Finally, The Trix and their allies could hear what was being said as Icy followed Diaspro into her bedroom.
"Then I'm going to cut you up into little pieces!" shouted Icy, "then I'll burry the pieces! Then I'll dig them up and jump on them!"
"Are you done?" Diaspro asked.
"Just one more thing," said Icy as she smiled wickedly, clearly having finished venting her anger and was now in the mood for a more enjoyable activity, "I'm the dominant one, and don't argue with me."
"You have no idea how long I wanted to hear that," said Diaspro in a lustful tone, "I've been hoping to find someone to be on top!"
"You've found her!" said Icy. With that they kissed lustfully
"Well I'll be damned," said Stormy as she and the others watched Icy and Diaspro commit acts of a mature nature that shouldn't be described to children under 17, "Icy, our Icy, she does swing the other way."
"And here I thought you were a swinger," said Vicky.
"I don't think you should be talking like that," said Darcy as she placed her hand on her abdomen, "not in front of the baby at least."
"We don't know if you're having a baby yet," said Trabon.
"Don't belittle my son or daughter," said Toro.
It was nearly an hour of mature situations before Diaspro and Icy finished. Diaspro reclined with satisfied desire on her bed, wearing a silk robe, while Icy sat at the other end of the bed with her back turned, getting dressed.
"Must you go so soon?" Diaspro asked, "you've only just begun to explore the depth of pleasure your body can experience. Stay a while, and I will show you a world you could never imagine."
"What you can imagine would fill volumes, I'm sure," said Icy, "but right now I want to be alone. The others will be worried about me, so I should check in with them for a bit," an unpleasant thought crossed her mind, "I'll bet they were watching us the whole time. Oh, I'll teach them to be voyeurs!"
At that Diaspro laughed, "Let them watch!" she said, "I'm not ashamed of who I am, and neither should you be. Whoever said that it was wrong to give yourself over to pleasure should be slowly ripped apart."
"I'll have to agree with that," said Icy as she finished tying her boots. She then turned around and glared at Diaspro, "I don't know what you did to me that made me do this, and I don't know if it's your doing that's making me want to come back later for more, or if it's my fault, but know this; if you ever tell anyone about us, I'll kill you, got it?"
"My lips are sealed," said Diaspro. She then blew Icy a kiss, "don't be a stranger."
Icy merely walked out of the room. Diaspro waited until she was sure that Icy was out of earshot before she called her mysterious mistress, "It's done, Icy is mine in body and soul, though she doesn't know it yet."
"Excellent," said the mistress, "all that remains now is to put Darcy and Vicky under your control and all will be set."
"There is one flaw in the plan," said Diaspro, "two actually. First, Darcy and her shape shifter of a mate are trying to have a child."
"That should not be a problem," said the mistress, "so long as she and Vicky die, you can bring them back with some extra genetic commands to be deployed when everything is ready."
"That's the other thing," said Diaspro, "I've gone over Vicky's genetic profile several times, and I've come to the conclusion that she will not be helpful when the time comes."
There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before the mistress continued speaking, "That's a pity. Are you absolutely certain of this? The plan requires all four sisters, not just the younger three."
"I am certain," said Diaspro, "it's not my fault that she's incompatible. If this inconvenient to your plans, then you'll have to make a new plan, one without Vicky."
"We may have to," said the mistress, "events are accelerating faster than we anticipated. So be it. Just make sure that Darcy ends up in a situation where she will have to be brought back to life through cloning."
"Consider it done," said Diaspro, "on, and one more thing. When this is all over, and your group is on top of the universe, I want Icy for myself. I've cooperated with you and your intrigues. I believe I've deserve a reward for my efforts, don't you think?"
"I'll consider it," said the mistress, "just as long as you maintain your efforts." With that the call ended.
"We'll see who get's their rightful reward in the end," said Diaspro as she put her phone away.
Icy walked back to the sitting room where her sisters and the others were all in the middle of various idle activities, such as book reading, card playing and small talk.
"I take it you all saw what I just did," said Icy, "and don't deny it."
"Yeah, we saw," said Stormy, "so, how was it?"
"Oddly satisfying," said Icy, "but that's beside the point. None of you are to speak of this, ever!" she had put her foot down, and everyone had gotten the message.
"Okay," said Tecna, "we have the last of the traps and enchantments removed again."
"Just open the door already!" said Stella, "they've been in there for six hours!"
"Don't yell at me," said Elise as she used the spell that would raise the door. It opened, and everyone was surprised to her Layla and Nabu laughing at what was clearly a very good joke.
"Oh, Bloom," said Layla as she tried to calm down from her laughing fit, "you just missed the funniest joke ever."
"It's about these three planetary explorers," said Nabu, "who find an alien tribe and get taken prisoner."
"We all heard that joke before," said Brandon.
"What joke?" Bloom asked.
"I'll tell you later," said Sky, "right now I'm glad that you two are alright."
"Actually we're more than alright," said Layla, "Nabu and I have had plenty of time to put our differences aside."
"We've agreed not to talk about 'that' issue," said Nabu, "and just be friends, for now."
"That's great," said Flora.
"It is," said Layla, "so, what now? What are we going to do with that stone? The Construct piece?"
"We haven't had much time to think about that," said Sky.
"It's been a long day," said Stella, "I think we should worry about that stone tomorrow."
"It's only mid afternoon," said Musa.
"Then there's still time to catch a sale!" said Stella, "come on, girls! Shopping awaits!"
"There's just no arguing with her when it comes to shopping," said Bloom to Sky.
After a hectic afternoon and evening of intense bargain hunting and running up lengthy credit card bills, Bloom and her friends returned to Alfea for a well deserved rest, or at least Stella thought so.
"I don't know about you, girls," said Stella, "but I'm ready to fall down and pass out."
"I'm tired to," said Musa, "but we still have homework to do."
"I'll do it in the morning," said Stella as she stifled a yawn and headed for her room.
"Some things never change," said Tecna, while Flora nodded in agreement.
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Bloom?" Layla asked, "alone?"
"Sure," said Bloom as she and Layla went over to one side of the room, while Tecna, Flora and Musa went to their rooms, "what's up?"
"I think I'm in real trouble," said Layla, "in here," she tapped her heart, "I think I'm in love with Nabu."
"Say what!" exclaimed Bloom.
"Not so loud!" hissed Layla.
"Okay," whispered Bloom, "but how did this happen?"
"It was when he and I were stuck in that room," said Layla, "we passed the time talking about what we liked; music, magic, dancing, he's really good you know, and a lot of other things that we have in common.
"And as we were talking, something just clicked between us, like I had found my soul mate."
"But I thought Tatewaki is your soul mate," said Bloom.
"He is," said Layla, "I love him with all my heart, but I also love Nabu, or at least I think I do. I don't know." she sighed in exasperation, "can someone have two soul mates? And if not, how can I choose between them?"
"And I thought Bella had it hard with Edward and Jacob," said Bloom to herself.
"What's that?" Layla asked.
"Nothing," said Bloom, "I'll tell you later." Bloom felt that Layla had enough to deal with without learning that her problem was similar to that from a book from Earth.
To be continued...
The Dragon Princess and her companions struggle to help the Water Princess resolve the conflict of her heart. But she will be forced to choose between the two men she loves, and the one she does not choose will be forced to pay the ultimate price.
Next chapter: Between Love and Duty part 2
'for those with wings, fly to your dreams'