The Mirror Ball

by ayasna

The Mirror Ball is the unofficial meeting of the aristocracy, held at Eraklyon once a year. This year the tension is worse than usual because of Valtor's threat to the Magical Dimension. He however is no part of this event and so Icy decides to look for a certain prince... skicy with a hint of driven author: ayasna (jaspara on ao3) translator: minaviolea

The Mirror Ball

The Mirror Ball – the unofficial meeting of aristocracy, be it high or low, held at Eraklyon once a year. This year, torrential rain was pouring down, accompanied by a thunderstorm. The weather reflected the atmosphere in the bright hall. Even though the ball was typically hosted as an annual occasion of celebration without the influence of political struggles and wars and was in fact an aid to help light and darkness coexist, this year seemed unusually sinister. The mood was dampened by the threat of Valtor, who had been annexing planet after planet.

The countless candles suspended from the hall's ornate ceiling struggled under the sudden movements of some guests who kept looking around in paranoia. Afraid to see the evil wizard's face all of a sudden. But Valtor wasn't allowed to attend. Only the truly blue-blooded could enter the Golden Hall of Eraklyon. It was ancient magic at work, not only to keep the commoners from entering, but also to prohibit any use of magic inside, so that all guests were safe from harm or potential threats. The ball was meant to be a place of peace and exchange, and it was mandatory for every noble to attend. For some it was a chance to prevent a war from escalating, for others it was simply an opportunity to arrange a marriage between their youngest daughter and a rich noble.

In Icy's case, it was a burden, a farce. It was bitterly ironic for her and her sisters to repeatedly attend this ball. After all, it was no secret that the Trix were allied with Valtor. Everyone knew, and Icy could feel the disapproving glances of the guests on her skin like cold shivers. Not that their looks had been warm and inviting the past two years. She sipped on her champagne and wished she was anywhere but here. But Icy and her sisters descended from an old and almost extinct noble family, highly associated with dark magic of course, and therefore they had no choice but to attend the Mirror Ball . It was her fifth time, Darcy's fourth time, and Stormy's third time.

»Same awkward situation as every year, isn't it?« asked a slightly squeaky voice next to her. Icy recognized the voice immediately. Only a few days earlier it had shouted a solar attack at her.

»Same awkward situation as every year«, Icy confirmed, turning her head towards Stella. The princess of Solaria wore a light-yellow glittery dress revealing her shoulders. Too glittery for Icy's taste, but she had more important things to think about than Stella's sense of fashion, even though she couldn't help but think that Stella looked like a giant firefly.

Stella continued their little conversation as if they weren't total enemies out of these walls. »I've been told that these little pastries are absolutely delicious. Oh, oh! They really are. Want one too?«

»Thanks, I'm fine«, Icy declined. She actually would like to break Stella's fragile little neck but unfortunately that wasn't possible at the moment.

»Your dress is stunning,« Stella continued blathering, »even though it makes you look a little pale. Just kidding, just kidding! Don't take me too seriously, sweetie.« Icy didn't take Stella seriously, she never did. Her own dress was night blue, perfectly accentuating the color of her hair. The silky fabric enveloped her body like flowing water, and Icy knew that she looked flawless. Considering that Stella's brown eyes scrutinized every little detail of it, she seemed to share a similar opinion.

»But seriously, the fabric looks gorgeous - wait,« Stella took a closer look, »isn't that silk from Espero?« It was the first time that evening that Icy actually caught herself grinning. »Yes, it is indeed from Espero«. It was one of the "souvenirs" they got from Espero after they had conquered it together with Valtor. Stella didn't seem to grasp this yet as she continued: »You know, I have a dress of Esperian silk too and the quality is just the same. How come… oh.« Stella's face went blank for a few seconds before she finally understood. »Well, no politics inside of these walls, right?«, Stella claimed and reached for another pastry.

»Isn't it time for you to find someone to dance with, Stella?« Icy asked absentmindedly, her eyes searching for someone special in the crowd of people on the dancefloor.

»No«, Stella sighed heavily and began to extravagantly lean against the buffet table. »Since Brandon isn't allowed to attend this ball, I have no reason to dance.« Oh, please not that again. Stella always told her tales of their relationship. Icy had no idea why the fairy always treated her like an old friend whenever they met at the Mirror Ball. She had lost count of all the dramatic couple anecdotes about Stella and Brandon that Stella had already cheerfully recounted to her. »This whole year has been so horrible, you know? Oh, of course you would know. Since you and your sisters are best buddies with Valtor now, you know what he did to me and my family. Luckily, I finally got my daddy back, but ever since that tense situation I haven't really felt like celebrating. You know, when I was turned into a monster, Brandon still never stopped caring about me. Isn't that true love…«

Icy didn't even bother listening. She was scanning the faces of the people around her, always searching for that one special person. Stella's elbow bumping into her waist distracted her and she caught Stella's final sentence. »You know, if you wouldn't always attack us, one could consider us almost as friends considering how well we know each other by now.« Well, from Icy's point of view, the Winx were always the aggressors. But she doubted that Stella had enough brain capacity to even imagine Icy's point of view.

»Yes, Stella. But only almost« , replied a dark voice instead of Icy. Darcy joined them. She wore a velvet dress as well. The fabrics were another "souvenir" from Espero, but the dress itself was new and perfectly flattered her sister's slender body. Darcy's long dark olive colored hair was pinned up, held together by a single black orchid.

She gave Stella a vicious smile and scanned the buffet. »What's that, Stella?« Darcy asked, making her statement from before look pretty invalid. Stella looked at the glasses filled with a light-pink liquid to which Darcy pointed and her eyes went from dull and exhausted back to shiny. »Oh, I heard of it. That's some new kind of rosé sparkling wine from Merianda. Good thing you didn't conquer that yet – oopsie, no politics, I know. Don't look at me like that! Come on let's try it. Icy, you too?«

For fuck's sake. »No, thanks. I'll stick with the champagne.« The forced smile on her face almost hurt.

»As you wish. Come on, Darcy. À notre santé.« Both took a sip, and their faces froze almost immediately and turned slightly green. Stella now looked like a sick firefly, while Darcy's face at least matched with her olive hair color. Finally, something amusing today.

»Need a handkerchief, Darcy?« Icy asked, turning to her sister. Darcy shook her head and swallowed, as Stella remarked that a spittoon would be more helpful.

»I wouldn't recommend conquering this planet as well,« she continued.

»And if we do, I'll be sure to dispose of all of these,« Darcy coughed while grabbing Icy's glass of champagne.

Icy was still letting her eyes scan the giant hall until they finally stopped at someone who caught her attention. This particular Blonde wasn't the one she had been looking for, but nevertheless a quite interesting person. This meant that the current affairs had been interesting.

»What's Diaspro doing here?« Icy asked Stella in a cold, low voice. »I thought, after that incident, Erendor and Samara banned her?«

Stella followed Icy's eyes and began surveying Diaspro as well, who was retreating into a corner quite unusually, hoping to catch as little attention as possible. This proved to be enormously difficult with her deep red dress and her beautiful, flowing hair.

»Don't you remember? Politics doesn't matter today! Maybe she's even trying to ingratiate herself with the king again. I wouldn't hold it against that mean bitch to use this perfect opportunity. Whoops, did I just say that out loud?«

Stella continued blabbering happily while devouring another pastry. It was a mystery to Icy that Stella could keep her figure, the way she was gobbling up so much food. As tasty as those pastries looked and as much as Stella was praising them, Icy didn't touch them. She wasn't hungry. Honestly, she felt a little sick. The weather. The weather was simply changing, she continually reaffirmed herself in thought. She wasn't nervous or anything. Why would she be? It was a Mirror Ball like any other. Dead boring and excessively illuminated. It was like always. Almost. Someone was missing. She resisted the urge to bite her lower lip. These feelings that were boiling up inside of her, just because he wasn't there, were bothering her immensely. Since when had she been so obsessed with someone that it made her heart race? She would belittle anyone else behaving like this, and now she, she was getting sick with anxiety about not seeing someone at a certain event. No, this couldn't be. It was the weather, the weather was changing. If Darcy can get a migraine with every change in air pressure, why would she not get sick. That was it, solely the weather.

Someone who didn't mind the weather at all was her youngest sister. »Hellooo!« Stormy put an extra emphasis on the "O" and, linked with Layla's arm, approached her sisters and Stella. Stormy wore a crimson red, incredibly revealing dress.

»Oh, Layla, there you are. I already considered sending a search party, where have you been?« Stella was munching on her fourth pastry.

Layla rolled her eyes. »I picked this one up near the treasure chamber when I arrived.« She gave Stormy an angry look. Stormy shrugged. »So what? Is it illegal to roam around here?«

»No, but today, this place is supposed to be politically neutral, so you can't just casually loot the treasure chamber!« Layla hissed fiercely. Her light green stole sharply contrasted the rest of her dark dress and accentuated her eyes immensely.

»You're always so quick with these accusations, can you chill, Layla.« Stormy had turned towards the buffet like Stella. After a quick glance at Stella's pastries, she turned to the sea food and reached for a shrimp hors d'œuvre . »Besides, Layla, it's not like I was alone over there.«

Layla's eyes were emitting angry sparks: »Zayn is my ex .«

Unperturbed, Stormy took another shrimp. »And I can understand why he left you. You're such a killjoy. Also, aren't you guys related? Ugh.«

»I'm not a killjoy, I just have a certain decency that keeps me from making out with random guys in dark corridors! But I know expecting any decency of you is pointless. Hey, don't you have enough already? Maybe someone else besides you would like some of those shrimps?«

»Well, first of all, he's not a random guy, after all, I've known him for three years, and, second of all, I will never have enough of shrimp.«

»You spent the last three months on Andros, one would think you've had enough fish!«

The storm outside was raging. It was probably the reason why Stormy didn't freak out and instead answered, »It's not like the water on your planet is particularly pristine, Layla. Have you looked a little closer at that yellow gunk? I doubt that there's anything nutritious in there at this point.«

Before Layla could remind Stormy that it was definitely also her fault that Layla's planet had turned into a wasteland, Stella had shoved a pastry into Layla's mouth. »Oh, come on, Layla, relax. Loosen up a little. There! Do you see the countess of Vekato? Look at that silly dress.«

If the building hadn't been secured by a magical barrier, Icy would have shock frozen every single person in the ballroom by now.

»Give me back the champagne, Darcy. Before I go insane.«

There was still no sign of that person, and Icy really began to grow impatient. She felt incredibly ridiculous as she caught herself nervously drumming her fingers on the table, and immediately stopped herself. Her mood became worse and worse. To her right were two annoying fairies who were complaining over trivialities and to her left was the dull high society that was deliberately ignoring her and her sisters. Whether it was due to fear or disdain, it bothered Icy. Out of principle. What concerned her even more was the thought that he might have stayed away from all the company to avoid seeing her like always. Because she overdid it this time. She knew how dangerous Valtor was. She also knew how dangerous their plans were, and she feared that she might be nothing more than a pawn for Valtor. It seemed as if she was losing control of everything. She didn't want to think about the fact that they were in over their heads with Valtor's plans. She didn't want to think about the fact that she might not make it out alive of everything this time. And she didn't want to fucking think about the fact that something could happen to one of her sisters because she was unable to sense the danger sooner. Even worse was the thought that this was because of her, that red-headed fire fairy. That he wasn't showing up because of her. Icy was not the type to cut her losses easily. In no shape or form. And then there was this damn feeling of being forgotten by someone who she had been able to count on for years. Even if it had always only been for one evening. But that had been enough. This tiny bit of stability was what she needed more than anything else now. She angrily hissed out air between clenched teeth. For so long she has claimed to have a heart of ice. Today, Icy's own body was proving to her that this was not the case. She had the same stupid little heart in her chest as everybody else did. And now it was fluttering like a hummingbird experiencing an epileptic shock. Fuck.

»By the way, where is Bloom?« Darcy asked, as Layla had managed to swallow her pastry and already readied a counterargument against Stormy. »As the princess of Domino, she should be here, shouldn't she?«

Stella's face became serious. »Oh, we talked her out of coming here.«

»Yeah,« Layla added, »she technically is a princess, but she has no clue about etiquette. It would be a burden for her, anyways. All of this would more so remind her of the loss of her family.«

»Yeah, but what's most important is that things aren't as smooth between her and Sky ever since that situation with Diaspro. It's kind of understanda- hey Layla, why are you hitting me?«

Annoyed, Layla cleared her throat and murmured to Stella in a way that was still intelligible: »Those are not our friends, remember, Stella? Come tomorrow they'll use every opportunity to harm us again.«

Wouldn't you know, this seems very interesting.

And just like that, Icy's mood began to improve. So the little twerp had trouble in paradise. How delightful. Icy wanted to initiate a smug response, when Darcy suddenly squeezed her arm and gasped for air. »What is he doing here?«

Everyone looked in the direction that Darcy's trembling finger was pointing to. Standing between two pillars, in his specialist uniform, was Riven.

»What is he doing here?« Darcy repeated with an uptight voice. A glance to her side was enough for Icy to be convinced that her younger sister had still not gotten over the violent-tempered young man.

»He's substituting Brandon in the security force this year,« Stella sighed.

Layla added: »You guys know that there's specialists here every year. If this was the job of Erendor's guard only, he could use that to his advantage and the whole neutral event would be done for.«

Icy hadn't paid attention to the security guards until now. Even though she was very perceptive by nature, her apathy towards service staff was something that had been ingrained in her since childhood. Not that there had been many staff around her back then, but those that had been there were treated with disregard. Good service workers were invisible after all. Seen from this stance, the security guards at the ball weren't doing too bad at their job.

Darcy's quavering voice pulled her out of her thoughts. »Oh no, he's looking over here. Damn, he saw me. Hey, Stella, give me that horrible pink stuff again.«

»Um, wouldn't it be better to keep a level head in a situation like this?« Stella was eyeing the glass of pink cider in Darcy's hand warily.

»No, the plan is to get so sick from this stuff that I need to vomit really bad so that I have a reason to stay in the bathroom for the rest of the evening.«

»Sounds like a good plan,« reckoned Stormy, who was still stuffing herself with shrimp. If she kept this up, she would surely be good company for Darcy later in the bathroom.

Stella didn't give up. »Darcy, sweetie, I wouldn't drink that. That wine is definitely gone bad. Let it be. I can also pretend that I have to take you to the bathroom. Oh – he's coming over.«

»Oh no.« Darcy slammed her half-empty glass back on the table and began scurrying towards the exit, undoubtedly to reach the toilets in order to lock herself in. Riven left his post and hurried after her. He skillfully made his way through the crowd of guests and caught up with Darcy before she had taken more than five steps away from them.

»Darcy, wait!«

»Definitely not.«

»Stop running away, I just want to talk to you!«

»Don't you have a task to do? Riven, let go of my arm!«

All of them were silently watching the spectacle until Stormy broke their silence with a grin: »I could watch this for hours.« Thunder flashed outside. Apparently, Stormy was really having fun. Even though Icy wasn't sure whether the magical barrier was actually keeping their magic in check and the storm outside was rising coincidentally.

Icy looked at her second-youngest sister who had become extremely red in the face and had apparently calmed down. Darcy was now quietly talking to Riven while fumbling with her hairdo. Riven had lowered his eyes and responded something, but they were too far away to be understood. He was awkwardly touching the back of his head while listening to Darcy's retort.

»So things aren't as good between Riven and Musa either?« Stormy asked, still busy with her shrimp.

»As if they had ever been,« Layla snorted. »That guy is not good for her. Darcy can have him.«

Icy shrugged. »I was never a big fan of him either.« But as long as Darcy was happy, Icy would tolerate him. The whole thing was doomed anyways if he didn't want to betray his specialist friends, which was likely . Therefore this one conversation would probably be all they'll have. In a few hours, all of them would walk separate ways. Icy thought Darcy deserved these few minutes of luck.

But the quiet luck was suddenly interrupted when Riven grabbed Darcy's hands and began adamantly talking at her. Either unhappy about or confused by this, Darcy pulled herself away and stormed off to the exit. Riven wasted no time and hurried after her. Slightly alarmed, Icy gave her still half-filled glass of champagne to Layla and was just about to follow the two, when she suddenly witnessed another small altercation out of the corner of her eye. She paused and caught sight of Diaspro again, who wasn't pushing herself into a corner now, but was wildly gesturing and grabbing the arm of her company. Opposing her was Sky , who tried his best to free himself from his ex-fiancé's grip. Icy's eyes widened a little and she changed her course. Her favorite toy had just entered the stage, and it looks like he needed some help. And of course she would love to help him. A smile spread across her lips again.

»Stormy, take over Darcy for me, would you?« Icy's eyes were focused on her favorite pastime, and without really noticing it, she approached Diaspro and Sky with quick steps. She barely registered Stormy shouting »After I'm done with the shrimp!« after her. Icy would have liked to ensure herself that Darcy was okay, but she had to come second in this moment. She wasn't too worried about Darcy anyways. Her sister could defend herself perfectly well. What Darcy rather needed right now was probably emotional support. But this would have to move back on Icy's priority list for now.

Outside, the thunder was cracking, while Icy's heels echoed across the stony floors inside the hall. Her ice-blue eyes were still fixated on her target. A few moments ago, it had bothered her that everyone seemed to usher away from her, now it was quite convenient, and she headed straight for the arguing couple.

»What was I supposed to do, Sky? Tell me, what? Ever since you've known Bloom, you've been treating me like a stranger. That's not fair! What choice did I have?« Diaspro was upset and obviously fighting back tears. But that didn't interest Icy in the slightest now, even though she knew the desperate situation that Diaspro was in. Even in normal circumstances Icy wouldn't have cared, but now this little emotional outburst of hers played perfectly into Icy's hands.

»There's always a choice, Diaspro, and now please let me go.« Sky sounded frustrated, but tried to stay as polite as possible. How nice of him. A little too nice for Icy's taste. Yet, Diaspro was frantic and didn't let go of him. Not until Icy's cold hand touched her shoulder and softly but assertively pushed her away from Sky. »Sorry, sweetie. But his next dance is mine. You'll excuse us?«

Without waiting for an answer from the perplexed fairy of gemstones, Icy lead Sky to the dancefloor. Sky let her, but he seemed more stiff than usual compared to the former Mirror Balls. This was of course not surprising given the current circumstances. After all, he had ended up in an unfortunate position due to Valtor and had successfully proposed to Diaspro in front of the whole world without wanting to. And now Icy was allied with Valtor. That spell had really been extremely bad timing. Now Icy was stiffening up as well.

»Thank you for the rescue.« He didn't look into her eyes.

A slow waltz was murmuring in the background and the candles still flickered through the movements of the guests. Not only the overall mood was more tense than the previous years, Sky was acting considerably more reserved than usual. He was holding her formally, like it was proper. But more distanced than the past years. The disapproving glances of the other guests hadn't affected Icy, but Sky's rejection hit her hard. Whyever. Again, something began boiling up inside her. It was shallow. It wasn't impatience this time, it was pure anger. Every past year they had pretended like they were not sworn enemies. Every year they had played their little game regardless of any circumstances. That was what made everything possible in the first place. It wouldn't work between them otherwise. It was their only chance to be… close to each other. Why did he have to be so out of line this year?

Anyways, Icy acted like she wasn't noticing his coldness as she fought the urge to lightly kick him with her heel. She tried to distract from herself and talked about Diaspro: »Aren't you being a little harsh to her?« When he didn't immediately answer, she added: »She loves you a lot, Sky.«

He managed a pained smile and looked up. But he only pretended like he was looking into her eyes and instead focused his view on her earrings. »It'd be news to me that a girl is like that when she's in love. How do you know that it wasn't just revenge that made her act like that?«

Icy smiled. He didn't see and still concentrated on her earrings.

Ouch.

At once, Icy's smile vanished, and she replied: »She's very much in love, otherwise she wouldn't be this desperate.«

Sky grunted and didn't add anything. Slowly, but surely, Icy became angry. Wasn't this a neutral space? Hadn't this been their neutral space all these years? It cost her effort to not grind her teeth and instead lightly say: »It's not like I haven't done worse things to you.«

»That's true.«

They had reached the panorama gallery with the ceiling-high glass doors that led to the gardens. Lightning struck again, and for a split second the party was cast in a bright blue light. Icy's face froze. »Why are you so absent today? Last year you would've had every reason to act this way. After all I injured you, let's say, fatally in the heat of our battle for the codex. You didn't seem to have a problem with that last year compared to now.« Her voice started to shake towards the end of her sentence. Icy wasn't used to hitting a wall like this and, for the first time in a long time, she started to feel uncertainty rising up inside. Only slightly, but definitely perceptible. And this fact made her incredibly angry.

Sky himself seemed uncertain as well and seemed to try his hand at trivial smalltalk: »This seems to be magic thunder, it's not even stopping anymore. Is this maybe Stormy's…«

»Don't avoid me.« she hissed quietly, yet a few heads turned to them.

Amazing, really.

She just wanted to be away from these people, out of this stuffy hall, to go there. Into the room that they would always eventually retreat to. But apparently not today. Tragic. With clenched teeth Icy concentrated on the next dance steps. Their dance wasn't like usual. It lacked the passion, the thrill. Today he was formal, as if they were friends and not… whatever they were. Damn, it hurt to be let down without valid reason like this. Was the little prince really so superficial?

Usually Icy wasn't wrong about people. Sky had apparently eluded her knowledge of people this time. It seemed to her as though he wanted the dance to be finished as quickly as possible. She would've liked to break something right now, channel her anger somehow. But it wasn't possible at this moment. The only question was why this upset her so much. Icy's inside didn't look a lot different from what was happening outside. And for a tiny moment, Icy let her façade slightly crumble:

»What's up with you, Sky? This is our night.« She could taste her anger with every word. »Why can't you finally look me in the eye?«

She really needed him more than ever this time. For a painfully short moment, she just wanted to forget. This whole misery that they were all deeply buried in. The thing with Valtor. The certainty that he was using her more than anything else. And the fact that this hurt her heart more than she would like to admit. Sky was fleeting, Sky was limited, Sky was her retreat. A small piece of yearly routine in her completely skewed life.

And now that she needed him so much for this one instance, he was acting up for some reason. For the first time in her life, she wanted to run away. Crying like a little girl. Whatever, just away from this cold Sky who didn't even want to look her in the eye. She just couldn't deal with rejection. And she didn't want to. What she wanted was an answer. An explanation or a dismissal. Mainly something that could take her out of this limbo. She wanted to either fight Sky's rejection or run away. But she would need a goddamn reaction for both. At best she would've liked to hit him. But that would not only disturb the choreography of the dance but also probably provoke an action from the security unit. Furiously, she dug her fingernails into his shoulder. He started, but he didn't get to an answer.

»Sky?!« Bloom's delicate voice echoed through the entire hall.

This can't be happening.

Didn't Stella say Bloom wasn't here? And yet, her favorite little fairy stood in front of them. Silly would still have been a compliment for Bloom's dress. It was a nightmare of pastel blue, pink and ruffles. Really, it suited her fabulously.

»What… what are you doing here with Icy? Are you under a spell again?« Bloom seemed to be unsure about whether to break down in tears or just go berserk.

Icy took over. This was exactly the outlet she needed right now: »It might come as a surprise to you, Bloom, but Sky is quite capable of thinking for himself.« When he wants to, she would've liked to add, but she saved that remark.

»But that can't be. Why then would he… what does that mean?« Bloom growled. Her anger seemed to have the upper hand right now. An angry little twerp in tulle and lace. Cute.

»That means that right now, during this hour, in this hall, all outer influences are invalid«, Icy explained and couldn't conceal the smug grin that was forming on her face while Bloom looked like a cow in a thunderstorm, »Neither political feuds nor personal disputes matter today.« She raised her voice slightly to ensure that Erendor and Samara, who were standing in their vicinity, could make out every single word. »You really seem extremely badly prepared for this situation if you don't even know that magic cannot be used today in any form in this part of the castle. Neither as a curse nor as a potion.«

Bloom gulped and looked back and forth between Sky and Icy uneasily. To Icy's great satisfaction she realized that Sky's hand was still resting on her waist.

Even better.

She nonchalantly placed her hand on his shoulder and looked at Bloom defiantly. You could see the screws turning in the little fairy's head. She bit her lower lip and again looked from Icy back to Sky, who was still not making any moves to approach Bloom or let go of Icy in any way. He stiffened himself, yes, but not because of her, Icy, but because of Bloom. That was clear. Icy would have been surprised by this behavior, hadn't Stella's words suddenly echoed back through her head. What's most important is that things aren't as smooth between her and Sky ever since that situation with Diaspro. Apparently, this was a strong understatement.

Bloom found her voice again. »Do you really have nothing to say to me at all, Sky? How can you, after everything that happened with Diaspro, just… with her…?« Bloom's eyes seemed to emit sparks as she looked at Icy and Icy's smile widened even more. It was so amusing to put Bloom in a frenzy. Icy's anger had flown away and made place for a surge of malicious joy. Cute, really cute. An angry little cotton ball stood opposed to an entire snowstorm, it seemed. Icy raised an eyebrow and still looked at Bloom while confidently leaning against Sky.

As soon as the next round of thunder rumbled through the hall, Bloom exploded: »Icy!« she yelled furiously, »you bewitched him, admit it! Magic Winx!« Nothing happened. That is, nothing happened to Bloom. The majority of the guests, on the other hand, were now staring at Bloom blankly. It was quite pleasant that the disapproving looks no longer belonged to Icy, but now to Bloom.

»Why isn't it working?« Bloom asked desperately and looked down at herself. Apparently very confused that she was still in her repulsive ball gown and not in her repulsive fairy outfit.

»Did you really not listen to me just now, honey? There is a magical barrier in this part of the castle. You cannot transform just as much as I cannot,« her eyes wandered over to Sky, »just as much as I could not have bewitched someone.«

Bloom stayed in her battle stance and growled, her eyes still fixated on Icy.

»Well, Bloom,« Icy's smile was knife-sharp, »maybe, in reality, your fairytale romance isn't the fairytale you imagined.«

Since Sky did not react to this at all, she decided to add on: »From an outside perspective at least, you two currently look like a married couple in the process of divorce.« With these words, she nestled even closer into Sky which he still did not prevent. Stella had apparently really made an understatement. She almost felt sorry for Bloom. But only almost.

»How… dare you assume something like this?« Bloom gave back with a pressed voice. She was breathing heavily and practically spewed her next words at them: »Sky freed me from Lord Darkar's spell after all! Would you dismiss this as something trivial?!«

Icy remained relatively unimpressed. »That might be, but from what I've heard, you couldn't save him from Valtor's spell, could you?«

Bloom's face was completely aghast. For a short moment, the air between them began to flicker, and Bloom's clenched fists began to glow. »Why aren't you saying anything to this, Sky?« she asked with a shrill voice.

»Bloom,« Sky now began hesitantly, »this is not the right place to talk about private things like these.«

»YES! It is the perfect place! Because once again it's you who is exposing me in front of everyone like this!« Bloom's hands were glowing dangerously. But not so dangerously that Icy would have had to worry. The magical barrier was working in her favor. Even for the great Bloom it was impossible to create magic in this room. Out of the corner of her eye, Icy saw Erendor, who was looking in their direction alarmed and seemed fully prepared to send the guard over to his son to help.

»Bloom, sweetheart, the only person who is making a fool of you in front of everyone right now is yourself with your ridiculous behavior,« Icy dryly determined.

That seemed to have been the last straw. Bloom was apparently so strongly provoked now that the power of her dragon flame overrode the magic barrier.

»Someone like you could never understand what it is like to truly feel, Icy! And now get your hands off of Sky!«

A ball of fire was forming in Bloom's hand. It was really impressive how strong her powers were. And how closely they were tied to her unstable psyche. The only problem was that Icy didn't have anything to counter Bloom right now. The magical barrier held her powers a hundred percent in check. It wasn't like Icy wasn't used to some form of burns by now, but she had assumed that she wouldn't have to suffer any today. What a fallacy.

But before Bloom could aim and hurl the fire ball at Icy, Sky stepped in between the two.

Oh.

Oh.

This was new.

»Let it be, Bloom. My father would love to order the guard on you, and you're giving him the perfect opportunity right now.« Softly, Sky pushed Bloom's hand down and she complied. The fire ball disappeared. Now, however, tears clearly sparkled in her eyes and her voice broke as she quietly asked: »Why… why is it as if you guys have known each other forever? Why are you so close to her? Why, Sky? Why couldn't I reach you back then? Tell me why.« Bloom swallowed heavily.

»Bloom…« Sky made a move to step closer to Bloom, immediately Icy dug her fingernails into his shoulder, she barely noticed it herself. But it worked and Sky stopped.

»Why her, Sky? Why her of all people?« Bloom now audibly sniffed.

Never before had Icy seen her enemy so broken down. Bloom seemed to continue to shrink more and more, piece by piece her fiery gleam vanished until only the little miserable pile of ashes was left that Bloom really was. A simple earth girl who had suddenly stumbled into a world that she didn't fit into. It was incredible how out of place Bloom seemed. All eyes were still turned on Bloom disapprovingly. On this troublemaker at the otherwise very harmonious celebration. All fear of Valtor and the uncertainty of the future had vanished. Something had been found to distract from one's own worries. A cocky little fairy who had been put in her place. A princess who had been acting like a complete peasant. Had Icy been just the tiniest bit more friendly deep inside, she would've resisted the temptation to squash the already beaten fairy under her heel. But one would search in vain for friendliness in Icy's heart. So she lowered her voice, lowered herself to Bloom so that a thick curtain of her hair blocked the surrounding guests' view, and whispered:

»You know Bloom, I don't really like to admit it, but apparently there are indeed some similarities between us. Our taste in men, our first times…«Icy's eyes sparked wickedly with these words. With one blow, Bloom turned even more pale as her sky blue eyes met Icy's ice blue ones. It seemed as though Bloom was desperately searching for the lie, for proof that she had just now been victim of a sick joke. But instead of this certainty, Bloom just found the cold, hard truth. Panicked, Bloom turned to Sky and searched for his eyes. He avoided her and instead concentrated on the lapis lazuli stone on Icy's hand that was encased in a silver ring.

Sometimes a feigned lie was easier to take than the cold truth. Icy herself hated pretense and preferred to know exactly where she stood. And whatever Sky was doing, or, whatever he wasn't doing, gave her more and more certainty that he wasn't being so distanced because of her, Icy, but that it was Bloom who was causing him a headache. Not out of lovesickness, but more so frustration. Icy assumed that Sky might not have been willing to accept the fact that Bloom and him did not have a future together. Maybe he had been telling himself that everything would be fine if this time he didn't have a little adventure with his sworn enemy. The sudden confrontation with Bloom seemed to have opened his eyes. Maybe even Diaspro's reaction from earlier helped him come to the realization. It seemed as if he himself came to the conclusion that things with him and Bloom couldn't continue on like this. The little fairy seemed to think differently.

Bloom's eyes practically begged to hear another sweet lie, to keep up hope once more of everything turning out okay after all. But Sky decided to not give her mercy. To Bloom's repeatedly sobbed »Sky, say something!«, he replied calmly, but firmly, »No, Bloom. I'm sorry… but she's telling the truth.« Icy could feel how Sky's fingers were slightly shaking on her waist. Then, finally, he raised his head and looked into Bloom's tear-stricken face. »We should end it here and now before it gets even worse.«

Icy didn't budge. She still stood closely leaned against Sky, his arm around her waist. By the great dragon, it was immensely satisfying to see Bloom's little heart break into a thousand pieces. With a furious face Bloom looked into Icy's eyes through her veil of tears. Oh, if looks could kill, then neither of them would be alive anymore. But at least Icy would have died with a smile on her face.

»Checkmate,« Icy breathed to Bloom. The latter clutched the fabric of her dress in her trembling fists and finally turned on her heel, only to storm straight out of the hall.

»Too mean?« Icy asked Sky in passing, as if a supposed dream relationship hadn't just broken apart. Although Icy would even deem her relationship with Valtor as less toxic than that between Sky and Bloom. Had there even ever been a time where those two did not have problems?

Sky seemed to catch her thoughts. »It's not like she and I didn't have problems in our relationship.«

»Well, I believe the biggest problem of your relationship just said goodbye,« Icy said and nodded in Bloom's direction, who had just disappeared through the large ballroom doors. Sky didn't say anything and Icy too searched for words, she wasn't used to consoling someone.

Even though it was clear that he didn't want to, she asked: »Do you want to go after her?« She almost made a move to take a step back, but Sky's arm was still tightly wrapped around her. When Icy made an effort to release herself he just held her more tightly. Not that this bothered her, after all this was what this evening would always come to eventually. This was what she had been working towards continually for the past minutes. These last years during their… fleeting relationship, there had never been a disturbance in form of a girlfriend of her… lover.

But now this disturbance had been eliminated anyways for the time being. Nothing stood in their way anymore this evening, if not only Sky's feelings of honor. He was the type of guy who didn't like making mistakes and who would rather retreat during conflicts to quietly think about them rather than distract himself with someone. Icy sighed internally. She had gotten rid of Bloom, but now her own distraction from everything on her mind was done for as well. Any minute now Sky would withdraw and leave her alone in this horribly brightly lit hall and then people would remember that just a few minutes ago they had been worrying about their own well-being threatened by Valtor. And then they would once again acknowledge that noble witch that floated across the floor so carelessly as if she wasn't in league with the most dangerous wizard of all time and as if she wasn't set on killing them all sooner or later.

Now Icy could only hope that Darcy was done with Riven, and that Stormy had upset her stomach so much with the shrimp that they could say goodbye for today.

Sky pulled her out of her thoughts: »Honestly I'm pretty happy right now that she's gone,« he said with an unusually firm voice. »This is all too bad, but I just wasn't expecting her today. Other times she always stayed away from this gala, and I didn't expect her wanting to surprise me like this today. Had I known that she would come -«

»You would've stayed away from her,« Icy finished the sentence dryly.

He looked at her. For the first time this evening he directly and unashamedly looked her in the eye. »No, then I would've broken up with her before.«

»Ah,« Icy found her smile again. »And what are you going to do now? After all, you're a free man.«

»Let me forget that for a while,« he whispered in her ear and inconspicuously pushed her to the exit to find that room in which this evening would conclude for the both of them every time.

Sooo, Icy really goes straightforward, right? But Sky doesn't seem to bother, lol. I hope they enjoy their short time together. Actually this takes place in my planned rewrite au of Winx s1-s3. More ffs will follow!
Okay, this is my very first Winx Club fanfiction! I hope you enjoyed it. I'd be so happy if you'd leave a comment. *kiss*