Verboten
Chapter 29

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Disclaimer: Yeah, I really don't own the Winx Club.

Fore Note: It's my birthday!

Also, I've decided to forgo accents in the dialogue almost entirely because I have no idea how real Irish, Norwegian, German, Italian, Chinese or Arabian accents sound like in English, let alone French which is ironic since I live in a predominantly French province. Occasionally, I'll slip in some non-English words to keep things interesting.

In the sky, there floated a crystalline white tower. It floated like a dagger in the sky, made of ice and bright as a diamond. It was full of impossible angles and spires at its base with one long spire rising from the mass to be the main tower where the throne was. Nordic fairies fluttered around their home like bees and a beehive. The floating fortress was called the Frost Tower, an ugly hulking mass of ice but beautiful somehow. The Frost Tower came from the north—far more north than almost any creature on the planet had ever ventured to travel. It was from a land completely covered in ice and snow all year around—something which was completely unimaginable for Meadhbh.

Meadhbh stood on a balcony that jutted out from the ice. Behind her in the throne room, sat Aurora, the Queen of Eternal Winter on her crystal throne, eyes glowing white as she directed her frozen hive over the Roman Sea towards the African ships. The ice fairy was a classic blond beauty with shocking blue eyes but with the body of woman frozen in time. She had chillingly blue lips and skin whiter than snow, as if she were a perfectly preserved walking corpse. Her wings were razor-sharp shards of ice, thin and deadly enough to cut.

Meadhbh was a woman with knee-length black hair, windswept as if she did not brush it often enough. Intricate beadwork was laced into her hair with hair wraps. She wore black scale-like leather lamellar armour gilded with silver and similar gauntlets over her green gown. Her wings were bright orange and black, shaped like golden autumn leaves sprouting from her back with menacing tiger-like stripes. On each wing were opal-coloured eyespots like those of a butterfly to terrify her opponents.

She flexed her wings, almost hoping for a battle to ensue. Battles were no different wherever she went, whether they were at home to settle clan wars and property disputes or out in the south where tension in nature was rising. She could feel that something was happening to the planet. It felt big and bad but subtle. Meadhbh shivered, whether it was from the ice fortress or her nervousness, she was not sure.

"Don't get excited, Meadhbh," Aurora said, her voice echoed across the chamber. "This is only a front to warn them that the council is not to be trifled with and I think an army of Chinese dragoons, shoals of man-eating merfolk and a fortress of solid ice flying over the sea does that very well. Only a precaution. There will be no fighting. Join me here, Meadhbh."

"No, I must be ready at all times in case something happens."

"You're exceptionally duller than I expected for someone from the south. You have obviously not had much joy."

"I live almost as north as you."

"You live south of me. Anything south of me is south."

"Where do you live?"

"I live where I am needed. I move with the seasons occasionally."

Meadhbh did not move from her vigil over the ice balcony. She watched as dragoons flew over the surface of the water, imitating the motion of the waves below. Steorra was leading an amount of fae to hurriedly construct wall fortifications around the town with the strongest geomancers available behind the Frost Tower. Her husband Bladen was mounted on his pegasus riding at the front with Shang and the other warriors.

Meadhbh had various feelings about the turn of events. In some corner of her mind, this entire mounting a defense seemed so out of proportion in terms of human strategy after seeing so many humans fight and lose their lives over the smallest of things.

Then again, she nor her family and other foreign Earth creatures were not human either. It had started with the one life-defining migration more than seven thousand years ago. The exact names, actions and motivations were lost in the sands of time but there had been a need to move and her ancestors had moved. It was too late to go back for no one knew how to get back.

Erebos, Magycks, Tian and numerous other otherworldly names had woven their way into history. Their culture had undoubtedly changed the course of human history. There was King Daimon and his shades that had essentially assimilated their beliefs into the human population through various myths across the world; the dragon-born transformed-human Mu Lan and Shang and their less intelligent cousin dragons whom they represented were the symbols of pride and honour in China; anthros that seemed to prefer existence among the other animals of the planet rather than the so-called vile disease 'civilised society' and fairies or fae as they were referred to in the isles, well, they were born where they were needed and were not exactly a unified society.

It was not so much as a question of lineage but rather a question of purpose and need. The idea of calculating the chances of being born a fairy was impossible as being fairy was a matter of predestination than good breeding. It had been long establish before the migration that fairies were only born or created out of need for they were the various voices of nature. Fate, it seemed, was still an inexplicable force in the workings of the universe. No one could predict it and no one could stop it. Fairies were only physical personifications of the faces of nature born to do what they had been created to do.

Every fairy had an affinity and with that came a responsibility or a task that one was expected to do. A fairy's affinity was often defined by his or her manifestation of powers and it also defined what their task was to an extent. At other times, powers were latent coming to a person because he or she was the only one worthy of the awesome task because of time or necessity. Sometimes, the affinity made direct contact or communicated with their fairy and at other times, it was up to the fairy to figure out their destiny.

Sadly, the fairies of Earth were just rediscovering this now through trial and error. If one succeeded in accomplishing your task, one was left alone by their affinity and left to do as their heart pleased at the price of being stripped of their powers since accomplished fairies no longer needed them. If one failed or refused one's task, one would immediately died becoming a shriveled husk and the task was given to another.

"Tell me, Meadhbh," Aurora started again. "How old do I look?"

The fae queen was irked by the question and turned to face Aurora from across the span of the throne room. What a totally vain question to ask! And of all times!

"Answer me, Meadhbh, please."

"Why do you care so much all of a sudden?"

"I'm curious to know. I own very little mirrors that are reflective enough or strong enough to accommodate my lifestyle—being apparently eternally cold as it is, I'm told."

"Can't you tell that you're cold?"

"Of course, but I have learned to pay very little attention to the cold in the years. Repetitivity dulls even the sharpest senses and all."

"Shouldn't you be dead than?"

"My affinity and purpose does not allow it."

"You've found your purpose?" Meadhbh, said startled.

"Centuries ago, Meadhbh. The preceding Fairy of the North had died on a hunting trip. He died admirably, normal and comfortably. I am his incumbent."

Meadhbh stared with wide eyes, a sudden new respect and appreciation for this hermit fairy.

"If you don't mind me asking," Meadhbh cleared her throat, "What is your purpose?"

"Will you tell me how old I look like?"

"Y-yes."

"Tell me first."

Meadhbh stuttered, "You look, well, twenty or younger about. Young enough to marry my son, I suppose."

Aurora closed her glowing eyes and sighed in pleasure. The sigh seemed to reach across in a vapour mist and push a cold breeze across the throne and out the balcony.

"Thank you. I've seen your son. Very handsome man."

Meadhbh regarded the strange fairy and went back to her vigil. She felt strangely happy.

"Don't you want to hear about my purpose?"

"No."

Friendship blooms in the strangest ways.

-

The next time Bloom woke up, she felt as if someone had repeatedly thrown a boulder at her chest repeatedly and there was a small crackling fire just beside her. It felt heavenly. She saw light of the fire make jagged shadows on the ceiling—cave.

"S-sky?" she croaked. Breathing was problematic.

She shifted her eyes across the chamber. Cold air licked at her legs, meaning that the entrance was at her feet.

"Sky?"

She faded in and out of the darkness, gradually seeing the fire die down. She was incoherent, barely able to form simple thoughts. She barely remembered where and why she was in that cave. She even seemed to have even forgotten Sky.

Bloom was jolted awake as a something big, heavy and hollow sounding dropped onto the floor.

She found herself on her side. "Sky!" she said in relief.

Sky had dropped a pile of wood on the cave floor. He did not respond as he sat on the floor, stoking the fire with a long branch. He looked exhausted. His hair was tangled and brushed by hand, he had removed his jacket to show the white t-shirt underneath and had buckled his sword over his shoulder. His jacket was spread over a rock drying.

"I found a town on the other side of the hill. It's a port, I think. It's archaic with no technology like on Earth. I tried to talk to them but there is no recognition at all. They just walk by me like I'm a ghost. I think it's safe to say, it's not one of Roxy's memory. It reeks of someone else's consciousness all over the town and I think that's why Roxy is subjecting herself to amnesia.

I watched for a bit. They were coming from all around the world but the strangest was that they were all magical. Fairies, witches, demons, vamps and everything. I thought that there weren't any magical creatures on Earth, Bloom. The strangest part was that they were mounting a defense with dragons and a floating ice castle from a couple of boats from Africa."

Bloom tried to talk but found herself coughing painfully like something furry was in her mouth. Her throat felt congested with mucus. Sky was at her side in an instant.

"Spit it out, Bloom. Don't swallow it, don't talk." He turned her over so that she was facing the ground.

She spat feeling embarrassed at the display. She felt less congested. "Th-thanks." Sky sat her up against the cave wall. "Faragonda said that there used to be magic on Earth but they had all disappeared when the Fairy Hunters came."

"I know but that's logistically impossible because how could the rest of the humans not notice such a large mass murder of that many people? A dead body is still a dead body, magic or not. You need to see this town, Bloom. You know Earth better than me but in the morning."

-

The next morning, Steorra walked across the battlements looking for weaknesses in the walls. He ignored the sentries overlooking the harbour where the Africans had anchored their ship. They had been allowed to anchor their ships but were not allowed to enter the village. It was a new day but news had spread quickly throughout the settlement about last night. Lady Mu Lan had met an African chief who seemed to be leading the boats and struck a quick deal with him. They were apparently responding to the same natural call to Sicillia.

Steorra, unable to repress his curiosity, examined the three foreign ships. He could see the crew coming up from below the deck going through a morning routine. Several women walked down a plank onto the docks and Steorra narrowed his eyes at sight.

Muslim. One of them at least. The others peasant and noble fairies and shades. The Muslim girl wore grayish black abaya and headscarf. It seemed that there were also Spanish from Gibraltar onboard the ships. He shrugged it off and continued his inspection of the wall.

-

Nebula sat before the fire, wrapped in a shawl. The town was in an unbearable frenzy. The inn was steadily filling up with all sorts of people. Some of them familiar and some of them completely strange. A rancorous laugh rang through the inn as several more men and women entered. Nebula turned.

"Mirela!"

The Rom had arrived and had responded to the call. One particular girl stood out from the others. She had shining black hair, extremely dark skin and angled blue eyes. She wore a fitting bright red gown with a worn leather belt.

"Nebula! You're here!" Mirela said. The

"And you, too! When did you get here? Where were you before?"

"We got here last night although we had to sleep in the ships. We had boarded the ships at Gibraltar. That nasty Chinese lady of yours wouldn't budge on letting even the Rom in even though she knew us."

"Are you going to set up camp near the village?"

"Near the big tent just outside. Where is your family?"

"They're all busy. Mama is part of the council so Papa is acting as her escort and Steorra is patrolling the walls."

Mirela nodded at the news and hooked one of her arms around Nebula's. "Come join us, we're all hungry for something warm. You know my sisters Viola and Gitana, my older brother Rafa. This is my little cousin Antonio," Mirela pointed to a little boy held in one of her sister's arms. "And this is Ayesha."

Ayesha had been hidden behind Mirela's sisters and Nebula realized how different she was from the others: she wore a black headscarf that showed only her face and dark dress that covered everything except for her hands. Ayesha had nice golden eyes and the roundness and femininity of her face was especially punctuated by her headscarf.

"Hello, my name is Nebula."

Ayesha looked away, flushed. "Marhaba, my…English is bad," she said in a deep low voice.

Nebula gave a concerned look to Mirela. "Who is she?"

"I'll tell you while we are eating."

They gathered around a table, sharing a couple of roasted chickens and drinks. Nebula kept a particular eye on Ayesha simply because of how different she was. Ayesha kept to herself in the conversation.

"We found her in March after coming upon a burning mosque in a town that had been destroyed by the Church." Mirela looked carefully to Ayesha. "Everyone was dead but she was hidden in an orchard. Rafa had found her while collecting some fruit. She doesn't speak a lot because she's a little scared."

"So, is she, um, human?"

"No magic at all."

"But doesn't she, you know, cause problems?"

Mirela tilted her dark head. "She's taking our magic very well if that's what you mean but the dragons last night was a little overwhelming, mind you. She's seen almost everything from what she considers angels to demons with us. She just doesn't speak English that well. She's nice, you'll like her, Nebula."

-

The war council had reconvened early in the morning after last night's events. The scare tactic had been effective but was totally unnecessary in the end. The tent was really a borrowed circus tent as there was no building large enough to house the council. Mu Lan sat on a dais with her minute taker, a Greek shade with unbeatable memory on her right and a French mindreader to judge on her left.

"My name is Chikere." Chikere had been the go-to leader of the African boats despite knowing nothing about sailing. Everyone had gone to him when Mu Lan had arrived on her dragon. Chikere was a young black man, barely pass twenty with a shaved head. He wore patterned robes that gave off an appearance of simplicity.

Everyone listened carefully, sitting on the edge of their seats in the stands.

"There are fairies suddenly appearing everywhere overpossessed by something."

"Over possessed?" Mu Lan repeated.

"Yes, they have this unstoppable urge to murder people at random—"

"What makes you think they're fairies?!" A fairy stood up and screamed offended.

"Be quiet!" Mu Lan fixed the fairy a stare and nodded for Chikere to continue. "Ignore them. Why do you think they're fairies?"

"They have wings just like all fairies."

"And they are murdering people at random?"

"It looks random but they seem to have specific targets. They plan, they observe and then go in for the kill like hunters. Some people who were never fairies would suddenly grow wings and they would strangle the person next to them. Some times, it would be more than one person targeting the same person. I don't understand but it's not mass murder. It's planned and there's a pattern. I drew out on a map and it seemed to be making a trail up and down the coast."

"What about the people being murdered? Are they connected?"

"Sometimes. Some are human and some are magical like us but those are only the ones who reside in communities. Some of them are powerful and some are not. I don't understand it myself."

"And you say that it's fairies?"

"I saw one transform with my own eyes."

Mu Lan narrowed her eyes as if seizing on something delicious. "Describe the transformation. Is it forced?"

"He just suddenly started to shake so violently. He fell to the ground and he said that his head hurt. I thought he was going to die. He was screaming and asking me to kill him and then suddenly, his back ripped open like it was cut open with a knife and wings came out." The young man paled, as if he had seen the Devil.

"And then he got up, looked at me and ran into the forest. I don't know what happened after that. I tried to run after him but he flew into the trees. I had heard of the usual human story of incubus visiting them in the night or vampires feeding but I knew truth behind that. Just shades feeding but I had also starting hearing that some fairies were starting to get murderous tendencies. I thought that those were fairies adopted by the shades because it's happened before but these fairies, they don't feed at all, they kill only."

"And the one that you saw?"

"He killed the clan chief a-a few days later. I captured him and brought him but he doesn't have any wings anymore—like he's completed his purpose by killing th-that p-person."

"Was this person, the one who was murdered, someone special to you, Chikere?"

"My father; I am chief of my clan now."

"And the man who murdered your father?"

"My friend."

"May I speak to your friend in private later?"

"Y-yes."

"You've spoken enough, Chikere. Go and rest," Mu Lan said gently.

Chikere saw himself out and the tent erupted into whispers as soon as the man was gone.

-

"Are you going to tell me what happened last night?" Bloom wheezed. Her throat still felt congested and her breathing was heavy.

She had Sky's sword buckled over her shoulder while Sky carried her on his back. When she had awoken, it was full day already and the fire had died. They had left the cave as soon as possible. Thankfully, there was a dirt road to the town.

"What about last night?" he said in a detached voice.

"What happened?"

"You almost drowned. You were clinically dead until I started giving you CPR. Your chest hurts right? Like something's stepped on you? That was me. A whole bunch of technicalities are involved and I really don't want to talk about it."

Bloom took a moment to take it in. "That's it?"

"Do you want me to get angry, Bloom?" he challenged, "If you want anger, I can tell you that I'm inwardly seething but I have bigger things to worry about. Bloom, you have to remember that if you die in this world, you die for real." He tossed her up on his back for better grip and continued walking. "The town is just around the bend."

Bloom kept quiet taking in everything she saw. She was confused but she thought better than to reply. Fighting when they were both angry got them nowhere so instead, she focused on the scenery. There was evidently smoke in the air but the hills kept obscuring her view. A stretch of stone wall three stories high came into view with an ornate iron portcullis. A walled city? Bloom could see sentries at the top of the battlement and she reflexively became cautious. She was confused when she realized that they never saw her or Sky.

Sky approached the wall. "Do you notice something, Bloom?"

"About what?" she said weakly.

"The wall."

"What about it?"

"It's too perfect to be made by hand. All the rocks are perfectly cut and smooth for the technology available and the mortar is of ridiculously good quality by just looking at the colour. Look at the size of this wall. It would take years to complete this. Even my castle is not that good."

"And that means?"

"Have you ever explored a castle?"

"I never get the time to, Sky."

"Never mind, what it means is that this was built by magic all in one night."

"Is it important?"

"It usually means that something bad is going to happen. Maybe a war or a battle, Bloom. It's a basic defensive tactic if you've got wizards handy but even a wall like this would either need a dozen wizards or an earth paladin."

Bloom tensed up at the idea. Sky walked into the walled city through the portcullis and let Bloom take it in for a moment. She gasped and tightened her arms around his neck to get a better view over his head.

"Sky, this has to be the Middle Ages!"

Bloom was stilled by the entire idea. Such opportunities did not come everyday and getting to see even a glimpse of the Middle Ages was overwhelming. Had she traveled back in time? Wait, what was the middle ages doing in Roxy's mind?

"Okay, so what does 'Middle Ages' mean then? Is it a date? I just know that this isn't the Earth I know," Sky said blissfully unaware.

Suddenly, both the inner and outer gates slid shut behind them with noisy crashes, almost making Sky drop Bloom. Sky got out of the way as several men descended from the battlements and looked into the portcullis corridor. They had trapped a horse and rider in there.

"Cavaliere! A knight! Get the captain!" One of the guards yelled.

A dozen more guards came at a run. Sky and Bloom ducked into an alley and saw archers take positions at the top of surrounding roofs.

"Any idea what's going on?" Sky said to Bloom as he let her off his back.

Bloom gave Sky a quick rundown of 'Middle Ages.' "Well, if this is a town full of magical creatures then a knight of the Church is not welcome here. The Bible says that they're not allowed to exist basically. Witches were burned at the stake and there were the Inquisitions...I guess it's normal to be a little jumpy. Magical creatures were like outcasts on Earth."

"Savages. Watch, this might be important," Sky said drily and watched with his eyes darting from speaker to speaker.

The guards had formed an offensive semicircle with spears and swords pointing at the gates waiting for more orders. A brightly dressed and highly decorated warrior broke the circle. The man stood taller than the rest wearing red scale-like armour with his helmet tucked under his arm. The man's armour was completely different from all the other guards, like a big contrast of cultures. He had sleek black hair combed back into ponytail and angled eyes.

Bloom belatedly realise that the man was Chinese in a dominantly European town acting like he owned the place. That screamed totally wrong for the Middle Ages.

"Open the gate!" he ordered.

The name 'Shang' popped into her mind and she tightly grasped Sky's arm.

"Calm down, it's a bleeding effect of memories. Information will just suddenly pop into your mind as it progresses. It's like you're watching a movie with subtitles."

The creaking of chains from some unknown place signaled the opening of the iron gates. A man in knightly armour stepped out of the impromptu cage leading his white gray charger. The man wore a large shabby cloak over his armour and chainmail. He had a shock of unruly blond hair and pale skin. On the top of the horse's packs was a white shield with a black cross.

"My name is Kasimir Abendroth," the knight said in English. He had a thick accent leftover from his German.

"And what business do you have here, Kasimir?" Shang said in English.

"I heard the call."

"I see."

"You don't believe me?"

"That's exactly the problem. A knight, wearing the colours of the Teutonic Order on his shield, in a village full of magical beings doesn't bode well." Shang raised a hand at the surrounding guards, "Thus the treatment."

"I'm much older than you think. It's only a lifestyle," the knight assured, "I'm sure that there are priests in the village too living the same way as I am."

"I don't care about your age. I want to know what are you. Do you have magic or not and are you born of this world? I don't see any glamours hanging over you so you're obviously either human or fairy. The question is what can you do?"

"My magic is based on sound. I can manipulate it to make quakes or send messages that only dogs can hear."

"A proof would do," Shang said impatiently.

Kasimir looked about unsure. "It's very destructive. I don't want to hurt people."

"Then destroy this, please." Shang raised an arm and the earth shook as a pillar of solid stone grew out of the ground.

Kasimir looked uneasily at the crowd around him and his charger blew out a large breathe. The knight stepped forward and clapped his hands down vertically towards the pillar. There was a large boom as the pillar of stone exploded and sent the surrounding guards running.

Shang nodded at the display of physically impossible skills. "That will do, Kasimir. Thank you. I'm sorry for this treatment but as you know..." Shang left it hanging and gestured for the knight to follow him. The Chinese man shouted more orders and the piazza emptied as people returned to their business.

Kasimir grabbed his horse's reins and led him. Sky and Bloom watched as Shang and Kasimir passed by the alley they had holed themselves in. Bloom took note of the men's faces, completely awed by their appearance in such a place. Then her gaze fell onto Kasimir and instant recognition hit her.

"Liar!" Bloom screamed, "That's Gauntlos, Sky!"

Latter Note: It's days like this when I think I have a really wild imagination.

Meadhbh: Isn't she cute? Actually, her description scares the crap out of me. I would be terrified if I ever met her in the flesh with those wings.
Aurora: Isn't she adorable? Wisdom beyond her age comes to mind. I like her because she's extremely loyal in face of adversity in the show.
Fairy...hood?: I always thought that being a fairy was a question of destiny rather than lineage because it seemed weird to have fairies of music all the way to fairies of sun, stars and moons. The diversity and distribution of powers seemed extremely unfair if we assumed that fairies were all genetically of the same race. Darwinian theory, anyone?
Rom: In layman terms: gypsies. They're usually of Indian-ish descent?
Chikere: Um, I'm reading Anne Rice right now if that means anything to you. Originally, he was supposed to be Anagan but I scrapped the idea because it really sucked.
Kasimir: Gantlos or Gauntlos? I prefer the latter for some reason... And yes, he is a fictional knight of a non-fictional order called the German/Teutonic Order who "aid Catholics on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured" (Wikipedia).
Shang: You can like him or hate him but he is very straightforward.